I was lucky enough to have a level 1 character with three experience who had not yet played at level 2, so I rebuilt him per Society rules as an Occultist. I built the character with the expectation that I will continue to play it after the playtest and chose my feats and traits accordingly. Taking on summoning feats and a trait is risky because at this time, the Occultist is lacking any summoning spells (an oversight which Jason Buhlman has stated he will fix). Still, we can't always expect every ability/power to be useful all of the time. The character's stat block can be seen by clicking on the avatar's name. For the first, and likely only, time I found Heirloom Weapon to be a worthwhile trait as it was my transmutation implement and for fluff I could say it was an ancient family heirloom passed down through the generations.
Mr. Harbourne, Esq. joined several other intrepid adventurers in searching out the Emerald Spire and exploring the tower ruins. His companions included: Alchemist 1/Investigator 1, Paladin 1, Sorcerer 1 and Wizard 2.
Initial Impressions: The Occultist meshed really well with the party members. His skills complemented the other skill monkeys. Having the Conjuration and cure light wounds spell worked out well as he was able to take on the primary healing duties with a wand while the paladin main tanked and the sorcerer and wizard both used UMD to help heal as they were both hindered from ranged spells and attacks by the lack of light. His attacks were on a par with the paladin and it was nice to have a keen falcata at level 2 (which would also be available at level 1).
Starting off:
Upon Entering:
Moving Around:
Penultimate encounter:
Ultimate Encounter:
All in all, I liked the class. I felt it was balanced and the abilities are pretty cool. I was so excited to try it out that I actually bought props beforehand to use in play (twas the season to buy plastic human skulls and toy swords; I even found one of those octagonal mirrors used for feng shui). I will definitely continue to play this character and look forward to seeing more about it when Occult Adventures comes out next year.