Classes and Archetypes II: Advanced Class Guide Part 2

Here's some more from the Advanced Class Guide.  I've got one more part there before I'm done.

• Cavalier
• Daring Champion: While many cavaliers are the champions of old fighting forms, some younger, more daring cavaliers mix a martial style influenced by the lighter armored and more flamboyant swashbuckler forms with the dedication of cavalier orders. — To the extent that the Swashbuckler is a tactical and mechanical version of a mobile, lightly armored stunt fighter, putting them on a horse seems a little unusual as a concept.
• Cleric
• Ecclesitheurge: Eschewing physical armor for the protection of his faith, an ecclesitheurge focuses on the miracles his deity bestows and the breadth of that deity's dominion. — Again, this sounds like a very esoteric D&D related variation, rather than something that I can do much with in another FRPG environment.
• Druid — although I've often suggested that I don't really have room for a druid per se in FANTASY HACK, in reality, the archetypes related to the druid—nature sorcerer, basically, seen through various lenses—is one that I like, so I actually hope to find concepts in here that are usable for me.
• Feral Shifter: A feral shifter internalizes her communion with and mastery over animals. Instead of forming a bond with an animal companion or an aspect of nature, she alters her own essence or being in an homage to the noble creatures of the wild. More in tune with transformation and animal bodies than a normal druid is, a feral shifter blurs the line between humanoid and beast. — This is just a less out of control werewolf archetype, or one of various shapeshifter archetypes.  I don't really have much going on in my system that caters to this archetype, but it is a cultural touchstone, certainly, and I do at least have spells that would accommodate it.
• Nature Fang: A nature fang is a druid who stalks and slays those who despoil nature, kill scarce animals, or introduce diseases to unprotected habitats. She gives up a close empathic connection with the natural world to become its deadly champion and avenger. — Actually, all of my druids, as a concept, would conform to the idea that they stalk and slay those who despoil nature, I think.  I'm not sure what else this means from a mechanical perspective (I'd have to dig further into the PRD to see the specific changes it offers) but yeah—I've already kind of decided that to the extent I have any druids at all, they'd conform to this concept.
• Wild Whisperer: A wild whisperer is an expert at studying, predicting, and explaining animal behavior. She is less interested in plants, fey, and other aspects of the natural world, and uses her gifts to tame or relocate dangerous beasts and soothe the hurts of wounded and sickly creatures. — Crocodile Dundee in fantasy drag!  Yeah, OK.
• Fighter
• Martial Master: There are those who learn the fighting arts though countless hours of repetition and training, while others seem to pick up new stances and forms as if they were born to them. — I have no idea what that means, really.  That's not a concept, that's just... I don't know what that is.
• Mutation Warrior: While most fighters rely on physical fitness and rigorous training to achieve martial superiority, a few prefer to create and imbibe dangerous concoctions that mutate them into fearsome creatures. — Another, more feral and darker take on the Hulk archetype.  Or maybe I should go back further and call it the original Jekyll and Hyde archetype.
• Gunslinger
• Bolt Ace: While most gunslingers are full of sound and fury, a few never soil their hands with powder or smell gun smoke. — An Arrowslinger?  It's the same archetype, just slightly different equipment.
• Hunter
• Divine Hunter: While most hunters heed the call of nature and fight to protect its bounty, some are inspired to serve a higher power. These divine hunters use faith to aid them in their struggles, and their faith infuses their animal companions, making these companions champions of their deities. — I'm not sure what this is except adding a few cleric powers to what is already a hybrid class (so a three-way hybrid?)  I'm also not convinced that slapping "divine" as an adjective in front of an archetype really creates a meaningful distinct variant of the archetype.
• Feral Hunter: A feral hunter has forged a bond with nature that's so strong that she doesn't merely channel the aspects of animals—she actually becomes an animal herself. Though she lacks an animal companion, a feral hunter is in tune with the beast lurking within her flesh and spirit, and lives in a near-wild state of being. A feral hunter often resembles a lycanthrope, but her power comes from her own nature and is not influenced by moonlight or silver. — I've already mentioned how two or three of these archetypes fit this same bill; now here's another.  It'd curious that many of these "archetypes" are really just different approaches to the same archetype.
• Packmaster: Some hunters form bonds with packs of well-trained creatures. Whether such a hunter is a northern berserker running with a pack of timber wolves or a savage warrior dashing through the jungle alongside her herd of dimetrodons, the packmaster revels in the thrill of the hunt and the glory of the kill. A packmaster is more comfortable in groups than alone, and although her animal companions may be weaker than a typical hunter's, what they lack in strength they make up for in numbers. — Less of an archetype, but certainly an intriguing unique character concept.  I like this idea.  Not sure how I would model it in my game; maybe just a house rule that animal companion can have more than one creature as long as the HD total is the same.
• Primal Companion Hunter: Most hunters are skilled at awakening the primal beasts inside themselves. However, some can instead activate the primal essence within their animal companions. These primal companion hunters bestow upon their companions the ability to suddenly manifest new and terrifying powers—whether throwbacks to long-extinct beasts, bizarre mutations from extreme environments, or new abilities crafted through generations of selective breeding. — Kinda a cool concept; change your puma into a sabertooth, or something like that. 
• Verminous Hunter: A verminous hunter calls on the ceaseless, single-minded dedication of vermin to hunt and overwhelm her prey. Where other hunters invoke the cunning, animalistic powers of the alpha predators, she calls on the powers of the lowest life forms, reaching out to the spider instead of the monkey, the mantis instead of the snake, or the moth instead of the owl. — Another good idea, especially for a villain.  Heck, doesn't that kind of describe the villain in the new Jumanji movie, for that matter?
• Inquisitor
• Sacred Huntsmaster: Some inquisitors create a strong bond with an animal companion, and the two of them hunt and punish threats to the faith as an awe-inspiring duo. When they work together as one, there are few that dare to stand in their way. — It's a bit ironic to see this right after I just did a bunch of animal companion classes.  This is hardly a unique archetype; it takes the archetype of one class and grafts it onto another.
• Sanctified Slayer: While all inquisitors root out enemies of the faith, in many orders and churches there's a select group of these religious hunters devoted to one goal, and one goal alone—to terminate the enemies of the faith wherever they can be found. Sometimes these sanctified slayers are given special dispensation to commit ruthless murders for the faith's greater good. Other times, they're simply willing to take the initiative to revel in the zeal of their grisly work. — This seems like already the archetype for the Inquisitor to begin with.  I'm not sure, without reviewing the mechanics, how this is different, but from an archetypal perspective, it's not at all.
• Investigator
• Empiricist: Champions of deductive reasoning and logical insight, empiricists put their faith in facts, data, confirmed observations, and consistently repeatable experiments—these things are their currency of truth. — Yes, well... again, it's suggesting that Sherlock Holmes is a very specific sub-archetype of the investigator, or something.  I think he's more like the most exemplary single investigator, personally.  But is there any investigator who doesn't see himself as a champion of deductive reason and logical insight with his faith in facts, data, confirmed observations and consistently repeatable experiments?  
• Infiltrator: An infiltrator specializes in investigating or disrupting groups from within. He uses his specialized set of skills and alchemical abilities to take the shape of the people or creatures whose company he's infiltrating, or even of specific individuals. — A worthy archetype for spy or crime type stories.
• Mastermind: Although many investigators use their honed senses and cunning insight for personal gain, no one excels at such endeavors like the mastermind. Typically, these investigators dwell at the centers of complex networks of lies, minions, or precious information, from which they dispense commands, threats, and rumors, all carefully crafted to increase the power of their peculiar empires. While masterminds often act as the heads organizations such as criminal families, thieves' guilds, or corruption-riddled bureaucracies, they aren't always evil. — Another archetype that... is really probably more of a narrative archetype than one I'd expect to see mechanics for.  But intriguing nonetheless.  I'll probably actually check out exactly how they modeled it just for the heckuvit.
• Sleuth: A sleuth is an investigator who relies on good fortune and guile rather than alchemy. Having no intrinsic mystical energy, she must forgo the more magical aspects of alchemy to solve her mysteries with wits, gumption, and the fickle consideration of luck. — In other words... every detective from real life ever.
• Spiritualist: While most investigators look to the physical world to gain their knowledge, there are those who seek out knowledge beyond the pale. Those who think that the dead tell no tales are quickly proven wrong by the spiritualist. Instead of toying with chemicals and reagents to find clues, he talks directly to the spirit world to uncover the ways and means of skulduggery and the desperate acts committed in the heat of dark passions. — Reminds me a little bit of that old TV show Medium that was big a few years back, right?
• Steel Hound: Black powder and firearms are a natural extension of the alchemical experimentation that investigators use on a regular basis. Steel hounds are investigators who have taken to using firearms in place of the more mundane weapons their counterparts favor. — An investigator... who carries a gun.  I don't think carrying a gun makes an investigator into a unique archetype.  Even in a semi-Medieval fantasy.
• Magus
• Eldritch Scion: Unlike typical magi, eldritch scions find that their spells and abilities come to them instinctively. — Again, this is merely a mechanical variation on how spells are cast.
• Monk —  in general, I don't see the monk class as compatible with Western Civilization based FRPGs, but there might yet be something usable in here.
• Kata Master: The kata master takes the visual aspect of his martial art to its logical extreme, harnessing his flowing movements and skilled maneuvers as a psychological weapon against his enemies. A kata master forsakes the mental discipline of his more contemplative brethren in favor of flamboyant exhibitions. He often performs in staged fights and tournaments, utilizing stylized forms to amaze the audience and shock and dismay his opponents. — Uh, no.
• Wildcat: A wildcat is a student of the school of hard knocks who dedicates himself to learning how to take down foes by any means necessary. A wildcat isn't afraid to smash a tankard over a foe's head, stomp an opponent's foot, gouge an eye, or generally create mayhem to gain any possible advantage. — Given that my preferred way of playing is rules-lite, this doesn't require anything other than roleplaying to get out of whatever other fist-fighting approach you've already got going on.
• Oracle — yet another alternate spell-casting class to give an alternative to normal D&D magic in the D&D game.  For the most part, I'll probably find these unusable given that I already have an alternative magic system and only one magic system as it is.
• Psychic Searcher: A psychic searcher is devoted to revealing the hidden within the world around her by sensing and communing with residual mental energy, haunts, and fragments of living spirits that can dwell in objects or rooms. — This is also like Medium in many ways, or at least the same archetype.  I like this as a character concept, really, although we've already had it under another class.
• Spirit Guide: Through her exploration of the universe's mysteries, a spirit guide opens connections to the spirit world and forms bonds with the entities that inhabit it. — We've also already had this exact concept in another class too.
• Warsighted: A warsighted's unique gifts are not grounded in strange magical revelations, but rather in her ability to adapt in the midst of a battle with new fighting techniques. The warsighted is a master of combat, as dedicated as a fighter and as flexible as a brawler. — A brawling prophet who uses his gift of prophecy to be a better fighter?  lolwut.
• Paladin
• Holy Guide: A holy guide believes he has a sacred calling to clear the roads of bandits between towns as well as to escort travelers to safety. He must enforce the rule of law in the wilderness and help those that cannot defend themselves against the many dangers of the area. — This doesn't seem much like a paladin archetype.  It's basically just... the local sheriff.
• Temple Champion: A temple champion is a powerful warrior dedicated to a good or lawful deity. She thinks of herself primarily as a servant of her deity and secondarily as an agent of her deity's church. She has a refined understanding of a specific aspect of that faith and gives up standard paladin spellcasting in favor of a warpriest's domain-based blessings and granted powers. — Just some mechanical stunts, it looks like.  The Paladin and Warpriest are already pretty much the same archetype anyway. 
• Ranger
• Divine Tracker: Blessed by his deity, a divine tracker hunts down those he deems deserving of his retribution. His weapon is likely to find purchase in his favored enemy. — We've already seen this exact archetype under another class.  Plus, I don't think slapping "divine" in front of a character class makes it a new concept really anyway.
• Hooded Champion: The hooded champion lives on the periphery of civilized lands, and is often at odds with the forces of law and order. He is frequently a hero of oppressed peoples, lurking in the woods near their homes and trying to right the injustices inflicted upon them by the wealthy and powerful. — It's probably about time that the game acknowledged that Robin Hood was the original example of the ranger class, and that the class has drifted way too far from the details of the archetype, I think.
• Wild Hunter: A wild hunter seeks to emulate the animals around him to keep him safe while he tracks his prey. Instead of studying the traits and behaviors of a favored enemy, a wild hunter studies those of various animals, incorporating those attributes into his hunting strategy. — Uhh.... I'm not sure what to make of this.  It's not much of a character concept, really.
• Rogue
•  Counterfeit Mage: Charlatans and stage magicians use sleight of hand to fake magic. A counterfeit mage goes a step further, parroting the motions and phrases used by arcane casters to activate wands or other magical accoutrements. While counterfeit mages rarely fool a real wizard, their command of the arcane is enough to convince most lay people. — I actually kind of like this idea.  It's not exactly an archetype, but it would make one heckuva interesting character concept.
• Underground Chemist: Underground chemists are part of the fetid underbelly of the alchemical world. While underground chemists can't hold a candle to dedicated alchemists, their use of alchemical substances and potions makes them tricky and dangerous. — On the other hand, what the heck is this?  A fantasy drug dealer?