Student of Stone

Discover the Student of Stone archetype in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous! Learn about its unique progression, feats, and abilities to build an unmovable force.

Alright, so you're looking at the Student of Stone archetype for your Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous character. Think of this build as the ultimate defensive powerhouse – all about staying put and weathering any storm, rather than dancing around the battlefield. You'll be trading mobility for some serious staying power.

First things first, the absolute non-negotiable requirement: you must be an Oread. No exceptions here!

The progression table below lays out exactly what you get at each level, but let's break down some of the cooler stuff that really defines this archetype.

Key Abilities and Progression

The Student of Stone gets a unique set of abilities as they level up, focusing on defense, unarmed combat, and eventually, some pretty wild earth-themed powers.

Special Ability Breakdown:

• Hard as Stone (Level 2): You get a +4 AC bonus specifically against critical hit confirmation rolls. This means enemies trying to confirm a critical hit against you will have a harder time.
• Strength of Stone (Level 3): When you're touching the ground (which, as a stable character, you'll be doing a lot!), you get a +1 bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, Bill Rush, and Trip rolls. Plus, you get a bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) against bull rush and trip attempts. Basically, you become harder to move and more effective when you stand your ground.
• Bones of Stone (Level 7): For 1 ki point, you can gain Damage Reduction (DR) 2/magic until the end of your next turn. This DR improves at higher levels to DR 2/chaotic (level 10) and then DR 5/chaotic (level 15). It's a great way to shrug off incoming damage.
• Body of Stone (Level 9): You gain a 25% chance to completely ignore critical hits. That's a huge defensive buff against enemies that rely on landing those devastating criticals.
• Soul of Stone (Level 12): Spend 1 ki point as a swift action to gain tremorsense out to 15 feet for one round. This helps you detect invisible or hidden enemies, especially those burrowing or hiding underground. The range increases to 30 feet at level 16.
• Stone Self (Level 20): At the capstone, you become an outsider with the earth subtype and gain tremorsense out to 20 feet. This solidifies your connection to the earth and enhances your ability to sense your surroundings.

Bonus Feats:

The Student of Stone gets some really thematic bonus feats at specific levels:

• Level 6: Elemental Fist (acid) - Adds acid damage to your unarmed strikes.
• Level 10: Shaitan Style - A combat style that likely enhances your earth-themed abilities.
• Level 14: Shaitan Skin - Probably further boosts your defensive capabilities, making you even tougher.
• Level 18: Shaitan Earthblast - Sounds like a powerful earth-based ranged attack.

So, if you want to be an unshakeable pillar on the battlefield, a character that enemies simply can't budge and who shrugs off damage like it's nothing, the Student of Stone is definitely worth considering. Just remember, you'll need that Oread race to even start!