Mythic Trials & Boons
Mythic characters advance through two mechanisms: character levels (via XP) and mythic tiers (via trials). Trials are the peaks of the mythic story — turning points at which one wrong move might cause the entire quest to fail. This chapter covers how trials work, 16 sample trials, mythic boons for moments of achievement, and optional mythic flaws for dramatically flawed heroes.
Mythic Trials
Think of trials as an important plot point intrinsically tied to the legend of the characters. Unlike a noteworthy fight, trials are lengthy tales of multiple dangerous encounters, against mythic foes and unimaginable adversity. A trial should be the culmination of an entire adventure or a short series of adventures.
Each trial should include at least three of the Elements of a Mythic Adventure. These elements define a trial as mythic and help players understand they're approaching a vital stage of their journey without directly telling them a trial is forthcoming.
Trials per Tier
As a guideline, PCs should face a number of trials equal to the amount needed to gain a tier in the time it takes to gain two character levels — keeping mythic tier roughly equal to ½ the character's overall level.
The GM can alter this rate. Alternatively: every trial = one tier (less frequent, weightier trials) or double the required trials (more frequent, lighter trials). Either way, tier progression shouldn't feel radically different.
Designing a Trial
- Trials represent important stories in the legend of the characters — not a single tough encounter
- Must be the culmination of an entire adventure or short series
- Should include at least three mythic elements (cunning foes, hard consequences, impressive settings, etc.)
- Should not count toward advancement until the major goal is completed
Sample Trials
The following trials give GMs ideas of the various challenges mythic characters need to face to gain tiers. Use them as-is or as inspiration for designing your own. Some suggest a mythic origin but can be reworked for PCs already on their mythic journey. Note that some are larger in scope and might represent several trials at the GM's discretion.
A Noble's Mind Overthrown
A great king or emperor succumbs to a strange madness — possibly from disease or a
villain's magical corruption — and declares war on the major religions. To avoid
outright war between crown and church, the mythic characters are charged by their
patron to discover the cure for their monarch's besieged mind.
Abyssal Parasite
A powerful interaction of multiple mythic spells destroyed a demon's body, creating a
vengeful spirit neither dead nor alive — capable of possessing others and infusing
hosts with demonic powers. A celestial being calls upon the PCs to stop it; they must
track the spirit as it moves from victim to victim until they can eradicate it.
Aftermath
The kingdom has been ravaged by a terrible battle — the king's armies won a pyrrhic
victory and the realm is nearly destroyed. The PCs must root out remaining enemies,
tend to suffering people, rebuild cities, strike deals with neighboring nations for
aid, and protect the kingdom against further attack by emboldened foes.
First Steps
The PCs come to the aid of a strange creature beset by vicious enemies. By the time
they fend off the attackers, the gravely wounded creature is drawing its last breaths
and bestows mythic power on the heroes with its dying act, entrusting them with a
quest it could not complete.
For Those Who Must Follow
The PCs are heroes in the days before an impending apocalypse they cannot avert.
Instead, they must use mythic power to lay a foundation for future heroes — creating
secret repositories of knowledge, leaving slivers of their own mythic power, and
forming deep alliances across the world.
Into the Abyss
The PCs go on a quest to the Abyss itself, enduring a harrowing expedition through
the infinite layers of that chaotic evil realm. They're tasked to rescue an important
mortal sold into demonic slavery, retrieve a soul condemned there by mistake, or
topple a particularly destructive demon lord.
Lost Souls
The souls of the dead are not reaching their final destinations — they're trapped
in a state of waiting, being twisted into monstrous forms, and causing pockets of
corruption and instability. The PCs must unravel the mystery and defeat the furtive
villain behind it all.
Mirror through the Multiverse
A sudden magical event shreds the barrier between parallel worlds. The divine powers
of each realm perceive the others as threats and send ascended champions to eliminate
rivals. The PCs are selected by their world's pantheon and must either vanquish or
ally with their parallel counterparts to stop this cosmic bout.
Proving Grounds of the Great Beyond
The PCs are captured and taken to a grand arena where they must fight legendary
creatures for the amusement of powerful planar entities. Each round is more deadly
than the last. If the PCs are victorious, a great boon may be bestowed — but an
escape opportunity complicates the decision to continue or flee.
Redemption
Pursuing a fallen champion (fallen angel, antipaladin), the PCs use mythic power not
to oppose the enemy but to discover the source of his defection and turn him back to
the light. Or they must cleanse a relic polluted by festering malignancy, requiring
a journey to a distant place reachable only by strong mythic heroes.
Revenge Unyielding
A legendary warrior or powerful monster — a dragon once imprisoned, a giant in stasis —
returns to find its world gone and all its kin long dead. Its mind collapses into madness
and it vows revenge on the descendants of those who defeated it, or on the entire world.
The heroes must find a way to stay the avenger's madness or put the tormented soul to rest.
The Culling Plague
A rare disease has stricken one of the great races of the world — giants, dragons,
even outsiders. The PCs must trek to far-flung parts of the world (and possibly beyond)
searching for rare ingredients to concoct a cure. A plague that strikes both good and
evil creatures may make the PCs unlikely peace brokers between ancient enemies.
The Giving Rain
The flensed flesh of a deity executed for unknowable crimes falls as a gory rain
across the land. Areas with the highest concentration exhibit bizarre effects. The
PCs, near one such epicenter, gain mythic powers — and are drawn to other epicenters
to deal with monstrous transformations, battles over divine blessings, and masses of
godflesh hidden underground and atop the highest peaks.
The Old Guard
The PCs inherit a grand duty from aging heroes with a sacred and momentous charge —
guarding a rift in the multiverse, maintaining the prison of a lich or elder god, or
preserving the first teachings of a fighting style. The veterans either direct the PCs
toward quests to increase their power, or the PCs may not even know they're being
vetted as replacements.
To Challenge a God
An evil deity and its minions are making a play for ultimate power in the mortal
realms. Other gods — prevented from interfering by divine compact — task the
characters to oppose the usurper. The PCs must disrupt the deity's schemes one
link at a time, working up through the ranks until they finally confront the
ambitious god directly.
Uniting the Armies
War rages across the land. Disparate humanoid and monstrous races fight each other,
oblivious to a rising threat that has orchestrated their conflicts. The heroes alone
learn the truth and must use their mythic powers to unite the warring groups through
diplomacy, intrigue, and brute force — only together can the land defeat their
immense common foe.
Mythic Boons
Mythic boons are special rewards given for moments of dramatic achievement. Mythic PCs should repeatedly act in a heroic fashion, and they should be rewarded for accomplishing astonishing feats of daring, luck, and courage. Awarding mythic boons encourages players to push their characters to their limits.
Mechanics: When the PCs accomplish an astounding feat of bravery, cunning,
or luck, they regain one use of their mythic power (not to exceed their total). Reward all
PCs involved in that moment and keep rewards balanced across the group. A character should
get a boon no more than once per encounter, though the GM may waive this in
special circumstances. Boons should not be automatic — if a character is built to score
critical hits, they shouldn't be rewarded every time, but only under extreme circumstances.
Many boons require the character to perform the task against a mythic foe, but a suitably challenging normal foe might qualify as determined by the GM. Unless otherwise specified, boon moments must take place within the same encounter.
Boon List
| Boon | Trigger |
|---|---|
| Assassinate | With a single melee or ranged attack, defeat a mythic creature that has its full hit point total. |
| Behind Me | The PCs defeat four or more creatures, but only one (or none) of the PCs takes any damage during the battle. |
| Bloodless Victory | The PCs defeat a mythic foe by dealing nonlethal damage only. |
| Calm Down | End or prevent a combat against a mythic foe with a single skill check (usually Diplomacy or Bluff). |
| Cling to Life | Survive a single attack dealing damage ≥ half max hp (min 50) and exceed the subsequent Fortitude DC by 5 or more. |
| Close Call | Defeat a creature that has you entangled, grappled, or swallowed whole. |
| Counter Caster | Counterspell three or more spells from a single enemy spellcaster. |
| Critical Chain | Without failing any attack rolls, score three critical hits in a row. |
| Deadly Dance | In 1 round, provoke four or more attacks of opportunity, but none of them hit. |
| Death's Door | Confirm a critical hit against a mythic foe while at 0 or fewer hit points. |
| Deep Breath | Defeat a mythic foe entirely while underwater, without spells or abilities that allow breathing. |
| Desperate Measures | Start a combat against a mythic foe without any uses of mythic power remaining. |
| Distant Crit | Score a critical hit using a ranged weapon against a target at the maximum range increment. |
| Final Gift | At 0 hp, use a spell, item, or ability to heal an ally instead of yourself, falling unconscious with the dying condition. |
| First to Fall | Defeat a mythic foe at the beginning of combat, before any other creature has a chance to act. |
| Indestructible | Survive taking three critical hits in the same encounter. |
| Maneuver Display | Successfully perform at least four different combat maneuvers. |
| Mass Obliteration | Using only one spell, defeat six or more creatures, ending the encounter. |
| Massive Attack | Make a single attack against a mythic creature dealing ≥ half its total hit points (min 50). |
| Massive Swing | Deal damage to five or more creatures in a single round with melee or ranged attacks. |
| Master Healer | Using only a single spell, item, or ability, heal a dying creature to full hit points. |
| Mythic Challenge | In one day, defeat mythic creatures with a combined total tier ≥ 3 × the highest tier in the party. |
| Outrageous Lie | Using Bluff, convince a creature of a nearly impossible lie (−20 modifier to the check). |
| Overkill | Use a catapult, ballista, or ram to deal ≥ half a mythic creature's total hit points (min 50). |
| Performance Victory | Use bardic performance to inspire allies for 8 or more rounds. |
| Pinpoint | Make three successful attacks against a creature with total concealment from you. |
| Push On | The group overcomes six or more encounters without resting or regaining any abilities. |
| Resilient Caster | After sustaining a critical hit while casting a spell, succeed at the concentration check and defeat a foe with that spell. |
| Return to Sender | Catch an arrow or projectile from a ranged attack and use it to make a successful hit on the attacker within 1 round. |
| Savant | Succeed at a skill check with DC 20 or higher when you rolled a natural 5 or lower. |
| School Display | Cast at least one spell from each school of magic (not counting spells two or more levels below your highest). |
| Shield Ally | Using path abilities, prevent an ally from taking any damage from an attack at least three times. |
| Skill Supremacy | Exceed the DC of a skill check by 20 or more. |
| Solo Warrior | Defeat a mythic creature without assistance from any allies, including animal companions and cohorts. |
| Swift Doom | Defeat a mythic creature with a single spell on the first round of combat, before it has a chance to act. |
| Swift Victory | The group defeats an encounter in a single round. |
| Tumbler | In 1 round, use Acrobatics to move through the threatened areas of at least five foes without provoking any attacks of opportunity. |
| Undead Bane | With a single use of channel energy, defeat eight or more undead or four or more mythic undead. |
| Unstoppable | Suffer the effects of at least three of the following at the same time while fighting a mythic foe: blinded, confused, deafened, disabled, exhausted, frightened, nauseated, paralyzed, pinned, stunned. |
| Wild Warrior | While using wild shape or another polymorph effect, defeat a mythic foe. |
| Wrestler | Reverse a grapple against a foe and pin that foe on the following turn. |
Mythic Flaws
Mythic heroes, for all their might, are still people with troubles and flaws. Many such legendary beings have equally legendary flaws that are ultimately their undoing. Because of the heroes' great power, these failings are also often dramatic — if their enemies learn of these flaws, they will seek to exploit them.
Optional Rule:
Mythic flaws are optional. The GM should carefully weigh whether their addition is a benefit to
the story and whether the players will enjoy playing them. Flaws provide no mechanical benefits —
they exist purely for dramatic purposes, not character optimization.
If included, flaws are gained at the same time the character gains mythic power, during the moment of ascension. The GM can select flaws to match the theme, or allow the PCs to select them and integrate them into their backstories.
There is only one food or drink (other than water) that can nourish this hero. Without
it, mythic powers fade. After the first day without it: can no longer regain uses of
mythic power. After the second day: loses all powers and abilities granted by the
mythic path. After the third day: loses all mythic abilities except ability score
increases, bonus hit points, and bonus mythic feats. These are immediately restored
upon consuming that food or drink.
Select either acid, cold, electricity, or fire. The character takes double damage
whenever that damage type is dealt. They never benefit from resistance or immunity to
that element, and effects of that type used against them are always treated as though
from a mythic source.
Whenever hit by a critical hit or demoralized by the Intimidate skill, the character
goes into an uncontrollable rage. This functions like the barbarian's rage but grants
no bonus to Strength or Constitution. It limits actions and imposes −2 to AC. The
rage lasts 1d4 + mythic tier rounds; the character is not fatigued afterward. If
already raging, that rage immediately ends and this effect begins. This does not
count toward uses of the rage class feature.
The character gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear. However, whenever
they succeed at a saving throw against an effect that would cause the shaken, frightened,
or panicked condition, they instead gain the staggered condition for the same duration
(spending part of each round boasting). If they fail such a saving throw, that effect's
duration is doubled as they're also confronted with doubt or shame.
Select cold iron, silver, or wood. Weapons made primarily from that material
automatically confirm all critical hits against the character and the critical
multiplier is increased by 1 (max ×4). If the character has damage reduction,
weapons of that type always bypass it.
The power that the character wields speaks to them and befuddles their mind at critical
moments. Whenever hit by a critical hit or failing a saving throw against a mind-affecting
spell or special ability, the character also gains the confused condition for 1d4 rounds.
Select one school of magic (except divination). When attempting a saving throw against
a spell or effect of that school, the character takes a −4 penalty. If they fail, the
effect's duration is doubled. Spells and effects of that school used against them are
always treated as though from a mythic source. The character also may not benefit from
spells and effects from the selected school (subject to GM discretion).
Select one fighter weapon group. Weapons from the selected group gain a +4 bonus on
attack and damage rolls against the character. If a weapon from that group scores a
critical hit, the critical multiplier is increased by 1 (max ×4). If the character
has damage reduction, weapons from that group always bypass it.
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Pathfinder-derived Open Game Content on this page is used under the
Open Game License v1.0a and Section 15 notice.