VMC Archetypes?

[IZ42]

I had a build floating around in my head that involved using the new Variant Multi-classing rules from Pathfinder Unchained, and thinking about said build brought up a mildly important question. Are you able to apply archetypes to the features gained through Variant Multi-classing? And if yes, does this mean you could, say, take the Beastmorph Alchemist archetype and apply it to your Alchemist VMC, so you could potentially gain Pounce, fly 60' (Good), and Grab, at 10th level from drinking a mutagen?

Edit: And a slightly-related question: Could you potentially pick up Alternate Favored Class bonuses that improve on your abilities from VMC, such as adding 10 minutes to a mutagen time, to give a rough example? I'm guessing no, but I want to be absolutely sure.

[Extra Anchovies]

Not by RAW. It would also be a buff to VMC, because a lot of archetypes affect more than just the class features that are granted through VMC. If a class grants feature X that is available through VMC and feature Y that isn't, and an archetype replaces X with something a lot better in exchange for trading away Y, then VMC gets a bit stronger. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'd only allow it as a DM if a player asked for my approval for the specific archetype they wanted.

[IZ42]

Not by RAW. It would also be a buff to VMC, because a lot of archetypes affect more than just the class features that are granted through VMC. If a class grants feature X that is available through VMC and feature Y that isn't, and an archetype replaces X with something a lot better in exchange for trading away Y, then VMC gets a bit stronger. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'd only allow it as a DM if a player asked for my approval for the specific archetype they wanted.
Hmph, I suppose that makes sense.

[grarrrg]

I had a build floating around in my head that involved using the new Variant Multi-classing rules from Pathfinder Unchained, and thinking about said build brought up a mildly important question. Are you able to apply archetypes to the features gained through Variant Multi-classing? And if yes, does this mean you could, say, take the Beastmorph Alchemist archetype and apply it to your Alchemist VMC, so you could potentially gain Pounce, fly 60' (Good), and Grab, at 10th level from drinking a mutagen?

No, link to most relevant FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fz#v5748eaic9sxm).


Edit: And a slightly-related question: Could you potentially pick up Alternate Favored Class bonuses that improve on your abilities from VMC, such as adding 10 minutes to a mutagen time, to give a rough example? I'm guessing no, but I want to be absolutely sure.

Also no.
You do not actually have levels in class Y. You might "count as having levels in class Y for [class feature]" to function, but you do not actually have any levels in the class to apply a favored bonus to.

[Psyren]

No, link to most relevant FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fz#v5748eaic9sxm).

In addition to the FAQ citation, Unchained specifies that the VMC options come from the base version of the class, and Mark reiterated that on the forums.

[IZ42]

No, link to most relevant FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fz#v5748eaic9sxm).



Also no.
You do not actually have levels in class Y. You might "count as having levels in class Y for [class feature]" to function, but you do not actually have any levels in the class to apply a favored bonus to.


In addition to the FAQ citation, Unchained specifies that the VMC options come from the base version of the class, and Mark reiterated that on the forums.

Ah, thank you both for clearing that up.