Purple Worm's page

That +4 strength requires 6 points of mental focus. If the occultist wants a +2 resistance bonus from the abjuration school that's another 4 points. Still more for every other implement school. And of course if he only invests 6 points in the transmutation implement, then when he spends a point to activate the Legacy Weapon ability his strength bonus drops to +2. A 6th-level occultist only has 6+Int points of mental focus.

I agree with most everything in the above post, but resonant power does not work as indicated:

Occultist Mental Focus (Su):

"Once mental focus is invested inside an implement, the implement gains the resonant power of its implement school (see page 50), and the occultist can expend the mental focus stored in the implement to activate the associated focus powers he knows. If a resonant power grants a bonus that varies based on the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, the bonus is determined when the focus is invested, and is not reduced or altered by expending the mental focus invested in the item. Once all of the mental focus in an implement has been expended, it loses its resonant power until mental focus is once again invested in the implement."

So in the example referenced, the 6th+ level occultist that invested 6 mental focus in his transmutation implement would not lose ANY of his +4 STR enhancement bonus until ALL six points of his invested transmutation implement focus had been expended.

INT is still important to the Occultist (especially for increasing mental focus). However, while going beyond 16 INT is definitely beneficial, it is not necessary for all Occultists, especially martially focused ones.

Dawnsbury Days

Released in March, this game uses the PF2E ruleset and is worth every penny of its purchase price!

Join the Discord server to find out about updates, mods, and a possible sequel!

Lotus Tree?

Thank you everyone for your responses. Let me see if I can sum this all up:

1. The basic description of a feat is not meant to be used as rule for how a feat functions.

2. Acquiring the Shatter Defenses feat normally (i.e., obtaining all prerequisites first) would then allow only weapons with which a character has Weapon Focus to be used to Shatter Defenses. This is determined by considering the whole feat chain and the Shatter Defenses feat prerequisites and not just the feat benefit itself.

3. This leaves procuring the Shatter Defenses feat without first gaining all of the prerequisites (like a Ranger/Slayer/Scaled Fist Monk/etc. is able to do). If a character doesn’t have Weapon Focus with any weapons, and/or Dazzling Display, then how many weapons can be used to Shatter Defenses? If #1 above is true, then reading only the benefit section of the Shatter Defenses feat would seem to indicate that any weapon could be used with this feat. That would be a RAW reading of the Shatter Defenses feat benefit itself without considering any of the prerequisites or feat chains involved with this feat.

Does all of this sound like a proper interpretation of the rules and this feat?

Does taking the feat Shatter Defenses require a character to select only one weapon that can be used with the feat itself?

Shatter Defenses

The first line in the feat starts with “Your skill with your chosen weapon” and “chosen weapon” is not referenced in the benefit section of the feat. Is the beginning part of the feat’s text just for narrative purposes or is it a rule that is meant to be obeyed?

If that quote is just for narrative purposes, how does that work for characters that have taken the feat? Can they only use weapons with which they have taken weapon focus to Shatter Defenses or can they use any weapon with the feat?

Also, does this work the same for Rangers/Slayers that take the feat using the Ranger Combat Style (Menacing) class feature? They do not need to meet the prerequisites for the feat (and may not have any of them), so can a Ranger/Slayer use any weapon with Shatter Defenses acquired this way or do they have to choose only one weapon when the feat is taken?

Treasure Hunt!

An Antipaladin with the Tyrant archetype could work. This archetype allows the antipaladin to be lawful evil and happily worship Asomodeus if desired. Diplomacy is a class skill for this archetype as well. Spells will not come online until 4th level, but wands are possible. UMD could be used as well with a high CHA.

Pickup a +2 Reversing BabyBjorn from your local magic shop.

This will keep your arms/hands free to wield a sword and board while you're smoochin'.

Not sure what the +2 enables...

The Savage Technologist Barbarian archetype could work for this player's concept.

The rage bonus to Dex instead of Con would be nice as well.

Since your concept is a "psionic thief", why not steal the items you will ultimately throw at your enemies. You don't have to be evil to swipe the tableware at the local tavern, to steal small foodstuffs/sundries at the general store, or to pick various items and baubles from townfolk on the street during or between adventures. This would be even easier if you select the Telekinetic Finesse utility wild talent and would make using keys as your projectiles simple. How cool would it be to pilfer a guard's keys to not only open your cell door, but to then knock him out in the surprise round with those very same keys! This adds some danger to acquiring your telekinetic ammunition, but the possibilities are limitless!

In addition, the Foe Throw infusion is the most enjoyable way to utilize adversaries as your weapons against their own in an encounter. Good times!

Another possibility is the Wizard archetype Pact Wizard (from Haunted Heroes Handbook). You get a Witch Patron, of which Time is a possible selection. That patron grants you spontaneous castings of a list of time related spells (two of which are not on the Wizard list). Effortless Magic is included, which is basically the Fast Study Arcane Discovery that allows for the quick preparation of spells, and Greater Power, Greater Expense gets you an Oracle Curse with other powers that can bolster your Time concept. This archetype stacks nicely with the Exploiter Wizard archetype and would afford you some time related Arcanist Exploits as well (Quick Study and Dimensional Slide are two decent ones). Both of these archetypes remove all of your Wizard bonus feats, your specialized school, your arcane bond, and scribe scroll, but oh the things we sacrifice for our character concepts...

Playmolas.

Armolas?

Thank you Brian! Not only did you fix the issue, but you did so in under an hour. Thanks for all the great work you and the other developers do! Have a great weekend!

RSS is down again. Clicking the RSS icon on any forum page results in a “The requested application was not found on this server.” error page. Would it be possible to have this fixed today so the forum feeds will be available this weekend? Thank you.