Pathfinder

"The world leaves trails if you know how to look. The river whispers where it flows, the mountains reveal where they break, and the stars themselves point the way. Follow me, and we will find the road no map dares show."

Subclass Overview

Pathfinders are the vanguards of discovery, the ones who carve routes where none exist. They are skilled survivalists and explorers, unmatched in navigating perilous terrain, enduring hostile wilderness, and guiding others safely through the unknown.

Where other rangers stalk prey or wage war against the unnatural, Pathfinders are driven by curiosity and necessity: they chart unexplored frontiers, protect caravans, escort expeditions, and lead allies through environments where survival is uncertain. In both civilization and wilderness, a Pathfinder is the one others look to when the path is lost.

Subclass Features

3rd Level: Trailblazer’s Instincts

Your mastery of survival and navigation makes you a natural guide.

• You gain proficiency in either Survival or Nature. If you are already proficient, you gain expertise instead.
• You have advantage on checks made to track creatures, forage for food, and navigate difficult terrain.
• You cannot become lost by non-magical means.

Guided Path: When you travel with allies, up to six creatures of your choice within 30 feet add your Wisdom modifier to checks made to avoid getting lost or find safe passage through natural hazards.

3rd Level: Explorer’s Strike

Your attacks carry the resolve of the pioneer.

• Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal an additional 1d6 weapon damage.
• This increases to 2d6 at 11th level and 3d6 at 17th level.

7th Level: Wilderness Guide

Your guidance ensures that others can endure the wild as you do.

• You and allies who travel with you ignore nonmagical difficult terrain.
• Whenever you finish a long rest, you can choose one environment type (arctic, desert, forest, mountain, swamp, or underground). You and allies within 30 feet of you gain advantage on saving throws against environmental effects from that terrain until you finish your next long rest.

Defensive Escort: When a creature within 10 feet of you is targeted by an opportunity attack, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.

11th Level: Trail of the Pathfinder

You learn to push beyond the limits of endurance, carving the road ahead even under duress.

• Unyielding March: You and allies within 30 feet of you can travel for up to 12 hours in a day without suffering exhaustion.
• Silent Scout: When you take the Hide action in natural terrain, you may move up to half your speed as part of the same action without breaking Stealth.
• Guide’s Strike: Once per turn, when you deal your Explorer’s Strike damage, you can also reduce the target’s speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

15th Level: Master Pathfinder

Your mastery of exploration borders on the supernatural, allowing you to carve paths where none exist.

• Unseen Roads: As a bonus action, you can create a temporary safe path through obstacles. For 1 minute:
• You and allies within 30 feet ignore nonmagical difficult terrain, gain advantage on saving throws against being restrained or grappled, and leave no tracks behind.
• You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.
• Enduring Presence: You have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion, and when you finish a short rest, you can remove one level of exhaustion from yourself.

Playstyle and Mechanics

The Pathfinder thrives as both guide and survivalist:

• At low levels, they ensure parties can navigate, forage, and survive hostile terrain better than anyone else.
• Mid-levels grant party-wide benefits for travel and exploration, cementing them as invaluable guides.
• High-level features allow them to push through supernatural hazards and exhaustion, ensuring the party always has a road forward.

Unlike the Hunter or Gloom Stalker, who focus on combat and ambush, the Pathfinder embodies the adventurer’s heart—the one who leads companions into the wilds and brings them back alive.

Role in Aetheris

Pathfinders are vital across Aetheris:

• In Thaldrinor, they guide warbands through frozen tundras and mountains.
• In Velmyris, they are jungle scouts who chart hidden ruins.
• In Sahariad, they lead caravans through the endless deserts and shifting dunes.
• In Ozythralis, they find hidden passes across shadow-warped terrain, helping hunters and scholars survive against the unnatural.

Pathfinders are often employed by guilds, armies, or explorers’ leagues, but many work alone, answering only to the call of discovery.

"When the road ends, I begin. When the map fails, I find the way. And when the wilderness rises to consume us, I will lead us through."

Trailblazer’s Instincts

Your mastery of survival and navigation makes you a natural guide.

• You gain proficiency in either Survival or Nature. If you are already proficient, you gain expertise instead.
• You have advantage on checks made to track creatures, forage for food, and navigate difficult terrain.
• You cannot become lost by non-magical means.

Guided Path: When you travel with allies, up to six creatures of your choice within 30 feet add your Wisdom modifier to checks made to avoid getting lost or find safe passage through natural hazards.

Explorer’s Strike

Your attacks carry the resolve of the pioneer.

• Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal an additional 1d6 weapon damage.
• This increases to 2d6 at 11th level and 3d6 at 17th level.

Wilderness Guide

Your guidance ensures that others can endure the wild as you do.

• You and allies who travel with you ignore nonmagical difficult terrain.
• Whenever you finish a long rest, you can choose one environment type (arctic, desert, forest, mountain, swamp, or underground). You and allies within 30 feet of you gain advantage on saving throws against environmental effects from that terrain until you finish your next long rest.

Defensive Escort: When a creature within 10 feet of you is targeted by an opportunity attack, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.

Trail of the Pathfinder

You learn to push beyond the limits of endurance, carving the road ahead even under duress.

• Unyielding March: You and allies within 30 feet of you can travel for up to 12 hours in a day without suffering exhaustion.
• Silent Scout: When you take the Hide action in natural terrain, you may move up to half your speed as part of the same action without breaking Stealth.
• Guide’s Strike: Once per turn, when you deal your Explorer’s Strike damage, you can also reduce the target’s speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

Master Pathfinder

Your mastery of exploration borders on the supernatural, allowing you to carve paths where none exist.

• Unseen Roads: As a bonus action, you can create a temporary safe path through obstacles. For 1 minute:
• You and allies within 30 feet ignore nonmagical difficult terrain, gain advantage on saving throws against being restrained or grappled, and leave no tracks behind.
• You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest.
• Enduring Presence: You have advantage on saving throws against exhaustion, and when you finish a short rest, you can remove one level of exhaustion from yourself.