CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are the class features of the occultist.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An occultist is proficient
with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium
armor, and shields (except tower shields).
Spells: An occultist casts psychic spells drawn from
the occultist spell list presented on page 42, limited by
the implements he knows. He can cast any spell he knows
without preparing it ahead of time. Every occultist spell has
a implement component (see the implements class feature).
To learn or cast a spell, an occultist must have an Intelligence
score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class
for a saving throw against an occultist’s spell is 10 + the spell
level + the occultist’s Intelligence modifier.
Like other spellcasters, an occultist can cast only a certain
number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily
spell allotment is given on Table 5: Occultist. In addition,
he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence
score (see Table 1–3 on page 17 of the Core Rulebook).
The occultist’s selection of spells is extremely limited.
For each implement group he learns to use, he can add one
spell of each level he can cast from that implement’s spell
list to his list of spells known. When he learns to cast a new
level of spells, he immediately adds one spell of that level
to his list of spells known from each implement group he
knows how to use
Upon reaching 5th level, and at every third occultist level
after that (8th, 11th, and so on), an occultist can choose to
learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect,
the occultist “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new
one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the
spell being exchanged, and it must be at least one level
lower than the highest-level occultist spell the occultist
can cast. The spell learned must come from the same list of
spells provided by the implement group of the spell lost. An
occultist can swap only a single spell at any given level and
must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same
time that he gains new spells known for that level.
An occultist need not prepare his spells in advance. He can
cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet
used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.
Focus Power (Su): Starting at 1st level, an occultist learns
to use a number of focus powers. At 1st level, he learns the two
base focus powers from his implements and can select one
more focus power from the list of those made available by his
chosen implements. Whenever he gains a new implement,
he gains the base power of that implement. In addition, at
3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, he learns a new focus
power, selected from all of the powers granted by all of the
implements he knows. He can use focus powers only by
expending mental focus (see the mental focus class feature).
Unless otherwise noted, the DC for any saving throws against
a focus power is 10 + 1/2 the occultist’s level + the occultist’s
Intelligence modifier. He cannot select a focus power more
than once. Some focus powers require him to reach a specific
level of occultist before he can choose them.
Implements (Su): Starting at 1st level, an occultist learns to
use two implement groups. At 2nd level, and every 4 occultist
levels thereafter, the occultist learns to use one additional
implement group, to a maximum of seven groups at 18th
level. Each implement group adds one school of magic to
the occultist’s spell list. No other school is considered to be
on the occultist’s spell list until he selects an implement
group associated with that school. He cannot use spell
trigger or spell completion magic items from unknown
schools without making the appropriate Use Magic Device
skill check. An occultist can choose to select an implement
group more than once if he wishes, in order to learn more
spells from the same school.
Each implement group is represented by a small list of
objects. Each day, the occultist selects an item from that list
to be his implement for the day. The occultist needs only
one such item to cast a spell of the corresponding school,
unless he selected that implement group multiple times, in
which case he needs one item for each set of spells gained
from that group. Implements do not need to be magic items,
and nonmagical implements do not take up a magic item
slot. Implements that are not magic items are often of some
historical value or personal significance to the occultist,
such as the skull of a famous wizard’s familiar, the finger
bone of a saint, or the broken scepter of a long-dead king
Whenever an occultist casts a spell, he must have the
corresponding implement in his possession and he must
present the implement to the target or toward the area of
affect. This act is part of casting the spell and does not
require any additional action. If the occultist does not have
the corresponding implement, he can attempt to cast the
spell, but must make a concentration check to do so, with
a DC of 20 + the spell’s level. In addition, spells cast by an
occultist without the appropriate implement are always
treated as if they were cast at the minimum caster level
for the spell in question (1st for a 1st-level spell, 4th for a
2nd-level spell, and so on).
Each implement group also comes with a base focus power.
This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by
the occultist. In addition, each implement group also adds
a number of other focus powers that the occultist can select
using his focus power class feature.
See the Implement Groups section for a complete list of
implements, the objects that qualify as each type, their focus
powers, and the schools associated with them.
Knacks: An occultist learns a knack, or 0-level psychic
spell, for each implement he learns to use. These spells are
cast like any other spell, but they can be cast any number
of times per day. Knacks cast using any other spell slots
(due to metamagic feats, for example) consume spell slots
as normal.
Mental Focus (Su): Starting at 1st level, an occultist
can invest a portion of his mental focus into his chosen
implements for the day, allowing him to perform a variety
of abilities depending on the implement and the amount
of focus invested in it. Each day, an occultist has a number
of points of mental focus equal to 3 + his occultist level
+ his Intelligence modifier. He can split this mental
focus amongst his implements in any way he desires. If
the implement is lost or destroyed, the focus is lost with
it. Once mental focus is stored inside an implement, the
occultist gains a resonant power and can spend the focus to
activate the implement’s focus powers. Whoever possesses
the implement gains the resonant power, so the occultist
can lend the implement to an ally to assist that ally, but if
he does so, he has difficulty casting that implement’s spells
and cannot spend that implement’s focus on focus powers
until he retrieves the implement or refreshes his focus.
The occultist refreshes his mental focus once each day
after receiving at least 8 hours of sleep. After refreshing his
mental focus, the occultist must spend 1 hour preparing his
implements and investing them with this power. Mental
focus that is not used before the next time the occultist
refreshes his focus is lost.
The occultist can choose to save generic mental focus
inside his own body, but spending this focus comes at a
higher cost. He can spend his generic focus through any
appropriate implement on any focus power he knows, but
he doesn’t receive any resonant powers, and any focus power
he activates with generic focus costs twice as much focus to
use (and to maintain, if applicable).
