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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures (OGL)

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures (OGL)
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There is an unseen world all around you. On the streets and in the halls of power, in your dreams and across the bizarre planes of the multiverse, there are those who walk among us like giants among ants, twisting reality to their wills in their search for ancient knowledge. Now pull back the curtain of the mundane world and learn the secrets of these occult masters—if you dare!

Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures is an indispensable companion to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. This imaginative tabletop game builds upon over 15 years of system development and an Open Playtest featuring more than 50,000 gamers to create a cutting-edge RPG experience that brings the all-time best-selling set of fantasy rules into a new era.

Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures includes:

  • Six new occult base classes—the energy-shaping kineticist, the spirit-calling medium, the deceptive mesmerist, the mind-bending psychic, the uncanny occultist, and the phantom-binding spiritualist.
  • Archetypes for all of the new classes, as well as a broad selection of strange and mysterious archetypes and class options for existing characters.
  • New feats to flesh out your occult character, plus a whole new way to use existing skills to become a master of faith healing, hypnotism, psychometry, and more!
  • More than 100 spells using the all-new psychic magic system, plus rituals that grant even non-spellcasting characters occult power! Explore worlds beyond imagining with dream voyage, or defend yourself from mental threats with tower of iron will!
  • Rules and advice to help you steep your game in the occult, from chakras and deadly mindscapes to possession, psychic duels, and the Esoteric Planes.
  • A wide variety of new magic items, such as the eerie spirit mirror and the peculiar tin cap, plus new cursed items and powerful artifacts.
  • ... and much, much more!

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-762-8

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

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An Endzeitgeist.com review

5/5 —

This massive hardcover clocks in at a whopping 271 pages, though 1 page inside of front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC and 1/3rd of a page decrease that down to 267 2/3 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Well, before we do, let me deal with the confusion for a second that this review undoubtedly will cause. Yes, I usually only do 3pp material. This has several reasons: For one, I want to showcase the fringe of gaming, the evocative books that push the envelope. Secondly, I'm not particularly affluent, to say the least and want to reward the publishers that do send me their books. Well, I obviously *HAVE* to get the Paizo books anyways, but for the most part nowadays, that means pdf or waiting until they're open sourced - I just can't afford them all. Then again, I do have a policy of covering all books I receive...and I got this book on gencon.

That would be the justification I provide from an intellectual point of view. There is another reason. I *WANT* to write this review and, since I have the hardcover now, have absolutely no reason not to.

Now usually, I provide the respective breakdowns of classes and crunch, but frankly, there are whole guides devoted to that out there, which is why I have elected to pursue a different path this time around. (Different path...that'll be a leitmotif, as you'll see...) In order to properly be able to contextualize my take on this book, I will have to embark on a little recap of Paizo's hardcovers and my history with them, so if you're not interested in that, please skip ahead.

When I got my hands on the core rules hardcover for Pathfinder, I was generally positively surprised - it represents a tightening of 3.X's engine and some sensible, smart tweaks to the mechanics. Still, it didn't manage to elicit cheers or particular excitement at my table - that only came with the APG. The Advanced Player's Guide, in spite of its minor flaws, would represent, at least to me, the truly identity-constituting moment of Pathfinder. It is here, with the alchemist, witch, oracle, etc. that the game set out to truly distinguish itself from its roots and transcend basically anything 3.X ever offered. To this day, the APG classes rank among the favorites at my table, which only bespeaks their staying power and coolness. Next up were Ultimate Magic and Combat and with them, alas, came the power creep.

While, much like many out there, I did enjoy the magus, not much else from Ultimate Magic sees regular use in my games and I went through the book with a fine-toothed comb and ban-hammered/restricted material. Ultimate Combat is a more complex story - on one hand, I did like the new classes and e.g. the emphasis on the narrative aspect the gunslinger entailed; alas, for said class, player agenda suffered and mathematically, it would have been served better with a slightly different chassis. So while I like what it represents and quite a few pieces of UC's options, many aren't used in my games. Mythic Adventures is peculiar - I like mythic gameplay, but only when supported by the ton of Legendary Games material I own - I tried running vanilla WotR and it was PCs curbstomping through everything. Still, I do like this book - just not as a stand-alone. I adore Ultimate Campaign. Its downtime and kingdom building make sense to me, are used a lot at my table and story feats are a good idea as well - there's nothing I don't like about that book and what it has brought to my table.

Well, and the less I say about the ARG and ACG, the better. My stance on both books is well known. (Hint: To say I don't like them would be a gross understatement.)

Fast forward to Occult Adventures. For one, this book's class design represents an organic development that benefits the game. An easy way to look at a class would be to examine it regarding player agenda and character agenda. Character agenda, in this instance, would pertain the ability to contribute meaningfully to various situations. It's why I think that skill unlocks are a good idea and 2 + Int skills for all but Int-based casters, generally, is not a good idea. It's just not as fun to play a fighter who can only kill things and excels at one non-combat thing...unless, of course, that's how you roll, but in general, I have observed players gravitate to classes that provide more skill-use and versatility. Player agenda would be just as important: Can the player make meaningful choices that alter the playstyle? The higher the player agenda is, the more rules-knowledge is required; true. But at the same time, it does help immensely in the long run to generate a unique being from a mechanics point of view - if you don't get to choose, you'll sooner, rather than later, run into a character on distinguished from you by his skills, equipment and feats. Pathfinder, as a system, has covered the base classes for a while; it has advanced players that demand unique concepts. As such and at this point in the system's life, the occult classes with their plethora of meaningful choices are very much appreciated - and if you need some proof of players loving choices, look no further than the modularity of the "Talented" classes invented by Owen K.C. Stephens.

Speaking of classes - let us talk a bit about them and begin with the least "occult" class herein and the most popular one. That would, obviously, be the kineticist...and while I kinda like Avatar, I'm not a rabid fan of this franchise, though I get its appeal. This does not change the fact that the class, as presented, is very niche in focus. Then again, thankfully the 3pp-circuit has since expanded the kineticist's appeal far beyond its thematic confines. (A cheers to N. Jolly for that, even if I don't always agree with all balancing...) So, flavor-wise and regarding base-options, I am not the biggest fan of this class...but at the same time, I absolutely ADORE it. Why? Because it is an engine that would be daring for a small publisher, much more so for Paizo as the industry leader. The rules-engine employed by the kineticist is inspiring and complex and its success is well warranted. Were I to nitpick this class, then my complaints would pertain the fact that its power-curve could be a little better distributed; 17th level plus in particular can be an issue...but that extends to more than just this class and is, to an extent, system-inherent. That being said, I still love this class, though for completely different reasons than probably 99% of its fans and players. It remains a great addition to the class roster and I'm glad it exists.

Now, let us talk a bit about the classes that are designated as occult not only by inclusion in the book, but also by their themes...but for that, we need to talk a bit about genre conventions. It is a general truism that Pathfinder, as a game, is indebted by proxy of D&D to Tolkienesque fantasy and a society structured very much akin to the Early Modern period in history due to the advances of magic. Kobold Press' Midgard is closer to the beginning of the Early Modern period and features a more feudal, medieval flair. Golarion and Pathfinder's default, due to the influences of the weird that made me enjoy the setting in the first place, can be roughly situated at the end of the Early Modern period, with overlaps with the Edwardian and Victorian age - once China Miéville (one of my favorite authors - read the Bas-Lag books!!!)-like aesthetics come into play, you're definitely looking at a society that is bordering a magical industrial revolution. This suits me well, for I come from a Ravenloft background (don't ever get me started on 4th and 5th edition Ravenloft and what I think of those...for all of our sakes...) as such, have always been in love with the fantastic aesthetics of Penny Dreadfuls, early weird fiction, Sword & Sorcery, Sword & Planet...you get the idea. I enjoy these somewhat less standardized, less covered aspects that have been an organic part of the old school aesthetic back in the day, but fell by the wayside somewhere along the lines. Anyways, the classes herein very much support this slightly advanced aesthetic; they resonate well with both the ancient and the more modern themes evoked in their resurgence in aforementioned timeframes. The more subtle magic psychic magic represents and the emotional component inherent in the variant spell system works well in the context of more magic-hostile environments as well as in less fantastic settings with more subdued themes than all out fireball-slinging. The marriage of the aesthetics associated with occultism and their relevant mechanical representations are what makes the classes interesting for me.

Take the medium - while I prefer spirits with names and unique identities, the need to offer the general mechanical framework for the defining spirits of the medium is obvious for such a book and in this context, employing the nomenclature of the mythic paths does make sense and can generate some pretty fun tricks. Had a mythic campaign? Use the PC-names when acting as a vessel for the respective spirit - it's simple, but incredibly rewarding. The general notion of taboos and the influence mechanic similarly can make for some great roleplaying. The mesmerist class tends to be called unfocused by some reviews I've read...and frankly, I have no idea why. The mesmerist, from the cool concept to the execution, makes for a very rewarding playing experience and has some serious optimization potential to boot -the implanting of tricks, the skill-array...both from the perspective of the stories you can tell with this class and the options available for the enterprising player, this class is absolutely amazing and allows for some neat, diverse characters. The stare-mechanic is also something that can be employed to rather great effect. The occultist is a similarly evocative concept - the focus on implements and fact that each can make for an unique item on its own is a lot of roleplaying potential and the respective focus powers provide a similarly interesting playing experience. The psychic, as the full caster, ranks as one of the more intriguing full casters in my book, with magical amplification and disciplines providing a nice array of diverse builds. The spiritualist, finally, would basically be a balanced take on the summoner with a fluff that I consider amazing.

This would bring me to what sets the classes apart more so than their mechanical validity - the fact that, to me, they represent, universally a great blending of providing player and character agenda, but this also means that they have things they can do beyond the confines of combat - there is a significant emphasis on the ROLEplaying aspect of the game we all know and love, with a wide variety of diverse tricks associated with actual roleplaying; the classes have means of depicting interesting characters; a player can really make each class its own: The implements, phantoms and all the components of the classes and their structure almost demand, organically, to be used by the player to make something that exceeds the totality of the mathematical components. In short, as far I'm concerned, these are the best player-focused options since the APG and as a whole, I consider the roster to be superior to even that gem of a book.

However, the customization options similarly provide some seriously cool tricks: Want to play Scarecrow from Batman? Yup. Cultist leader? Yep. Eat books and draw strength from it? Yeah. Amnesiac psychic? Yup. As a whole, covering archetypes and feats would obviously bloat the book beyond compare - but one crucial point as opposed to most books of this size lies in the big C-word - consistency. There are no overpowered options here...and neither are there options that you'd consider to be subpar traps sans value - there is some character concept, some specific thing that makes sense from a build and/or flavor perspective. (The options that I won't use will be the onmyoji, elemental annihilator, psychic duelist and kami medium - the Eastern-themed ones mainly since I prefer Interjection Games' take on the Onmyoji and its themes; the psychic duelist is a nice specialist, but doesn't blow me away. Finally, the annihilator...well, I have 3pp options that are more versatile.) - notice something? My criticism here pertains mostly taste.

Now this alone does make the book shine very much for me; at the same time, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have complaints, right? So there we go: The book contains various pieces of advice and alternate rules/subsystems of the material and one would by psychic duels...which are generally an awesome idea and provide for cool, creative minigames when handled right. Alas, the spell used to start them, instigate psychic duel, pretty much is a save-or-suck option, since the affected target has the save...and while the duel is in process, the target cannot move...which allows allies to stab the foe to bits. Oddly, the instigator of such a duel can end it via a Will-save as per the spell, when the psychic duel-rules do not mention such an option for the affected character - this is intended, undoubtedly, since those caught in a duel can be shaken out of it. At the same time, I think that pretty basic modifications could have prevented that little lockdown-aspect: For example, taking a penalty on MP to be capable of at least utilizing a fraction of the action array available...you know, moving slowly towards the instigator while battling him in the duel, maintaining at least defenses...the like. Granted, the system is optional and can be modified rather easily, but I'm still somewhat astonished that this very basic strategy was not used, particularly after the complaints the slumber hex etc. received. Still, this represents a relatively minor issue when seen in relation to the number of things that *do* work pretty perfectly...and the fact that psychic duels work infinitely better than 3.X's mindscapes and similar tricks.

Once again, the storytelling potential is what sells this on me. Beyond the copious GM-advice, the book contains some information on esoteric planes like the akashic record, the positive/negative energy plane and the like - which I generally enjoyed. At the same time, I did feel like the book could have done a little bit more with unique planar features for some of them, since not all receive this component in detail. Of course gear, both mundane and magical, can be found in this tome - from the phrenologist's kit (phrenology being the by now debunked belief that the size and shape of the skull influences personality etc. - and yes, there's a feat inspired by it here!) to the Dorian Gray-ish pictures, we notice one thing - the items, much like a ton of material herein, is steeped in a sense of the real, in the occult traditions and pseudo-science of days gone by.

What do I mean by this? Take alchemy, an established concept in our fantasy games. If you have the stamina to power through them, I'd sincerely suggest getting a copy of the writings of real world alchemists, sit down with the cool alchemy recipes and start - I guarantee you'll come up with new and evocative material. A similar observation can be made here - the tying into concepts and ideas established in our world generates basically the largest hand-out you could fathom and some research will almost assuredly provide a vast selection of truly evocative concepts to represent, while also teaching something new along the way. You do not have to be interested in masons, OTO, etc. to enjoy this book - but you can draw upon esoteric and occult knowledge to enrich the game tremendously. Heck, I'm pretty much a nihilistic atheist and my fascination with the subject matter stems from a purely intellectual point of view, but I still appreciate all the ideas and their impact on the genesis of our mode of thought. Similarly, the idea of locus spirits, of tapping into ley lines and similar high-concept tricks complement an implied world-building and -conception that goes beyond the surface, that extends into a level of depth beyond the superficial pushing of numbers.

Part II of my review can be found here!

Fun, but a bit esoteric

3/5 —

Don't take it the wrong way. You can have tons of fun with this book in other games. I played a mesmerist and it was hilarious, had a whole Doctor Orpheus thing going on. The Kineticist can be flavored a little and it basically becomes a bender from Avatar! How freaking cool is that?!
There are quite a few spells and special abilities that feel like they can only come in handy in very specific ways though. All the mindscape things would almost never come up in a regular game. This feels very much like a book that would be a lot more fun if all your players HAD to take a class from this book, which is a terrible premise for a core book.
On a personal note, almost none of these classes work with Mythic Adventures...

Solid Product

4/5 —

Really, nothing in this book is bad overall, and while there's a few mechanics that I would like to change, it's not enough to change my thoughts. The psychic casters are interesting with different mechanics that still feel familiar, and everything else works very well. I'd say it's worth picking up.

Finally psychic powers makes it's way to Pathfinder

5/5 —

I have been waiting for psychic related rules for Pathfinder for a long time and I am happy for what I see.
Kineticist- This one has become one of my favorite classes with it's all day blasting and at will/always active spell powers and supernatural abilities. I would love to see more classes that focuses on spell powers and supernatural abilities then just spellcasters, martials, and skill monkeys.
Medium- While I am not big on this one, it does have some interesting flavor and good story ideas. My only problem is it is one of the more complex classes.
Mesmerist- I like this one, it is a debuffer counter part to the bard and also makes a great villain. It is also a good spiritual successor for the Beguiler class.
Occultist- As with the Medium interesting flavor and good story value but complex mechanically. Not one my favorites but like all classes in this book, it fills a niche.
Psychic- Interesting class and fills the 9th caster for psychic magic but lacks in the flavor/story department compared to the other 5 classes. Still a solid class with some interesting abilities.
Spiritualist- One of my favorite classes has good flavor/story value and is not as complicated to use as the Medium and Occultist. A great class when dealing with incorporeal creatures especially undead.
These classes are just the tip of the iceberg, we get rules for auras, chakras, psychic duels, possession, occult rituals, occult skill unlocks, loci spirits, ley lines, mindscapes, and more. This one is as useful as the APG and the ARG.

A great addition to the game

5/5 —

Read my full review on Of Dice and Pen.

Occult Adventures is a great addition to the Pathfinder game. It does more than just introduce a bunch of new classes and create Pathfinder's version of psionics. It adds a whole new flavour and style of campaign with new rules options that back that flavour up. I eagerly look forward to trying out some of its ideas in a future campaign.

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Can you dual wield kinetic blades?
Silver Crusade Contributor
Milo v3 wrote:
Can you dual wield kinetic blades?

Spoiler:
The elemental annihalator gets something like this in their flurry thing around 6th level, but I don't believe the regular kineticist can.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Hargert wrote:

I am not sure this is the correct place for this but I have noticed that a number of the shape powers for the kineticist F

limit the damage to half damage and then if saves are made are half of that. Am I not understanding something but it would seem that by the time many of them come online hitting for 1/4 damage in say a 30 foot cone would be less than effective. It also seems that many of the AOE shapes are limited to a single element. I would have thought that having a basic 20 foot fireball style blast would come online much earlier.

You should take a closer look, the majority of the area of effect blasts only have their damage halved if the blast being altered is a physical blast, while energy blasts usually remain at full damage. This is presumably partially because physical blasts have higher damage, ignore spell resistance, and don't have to deal with energy resistance or immunity at the cost of accuracy and dealing with damage reduction; an area of effect totally removes the accuracy problem by avoiding making an attack roll in the first place.

@chad hale 637 and the whole telekinesis thing: There is now a cantrip called telekinetic projectile. Also, while it's not yet on the psychic spell list due to being in a Player's Companion (which I hope will change in the upcoming Occult Origins), you should check out the telekinetic volley spell from Ranged Tactics Toolbox.

After spending some time with the book...I'm surprised at how much I like the new Occultist, especially with its archetypes. The Tome Eater's art threw me off at first, but the archetype's vibe resonates with me and I look forward to seeing one in action.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mar Nakrum wrote:
After spending some time with the book...I'm surprised at how much I like the new Occultist, especially with its archetypes. The Tome Eater's art threw me off at first, but the archetype's vibe resonates with me and I look forward to seeing one in action.

Any thoughts on the Necroocultist? Sadly I'm in the minority of people who haven't gotten their shipping email yet or I would share some myself.

Jack of Dust wrote:
Mar Nakrum wrote:
After spending some time with the book...I'm surprised at how much I like the new Occultist, especially with its archetypes. The Tome Eater's art threw me off at first, but the archetype's vibe resonates with me and I look forward to seeing one in action.
Any thoughts on the Necroocultist? Sadly I'm in the minority of people who haven't gotten their shipping email yet or I would share some myself.

If I was into Necromancy, I would run this archetype like crazy. The Necromancy implement powers are varied and all have something to bring to the table, even if you worship Pharasma.

Specifically to the Necrooccultist:

Each level gets you a Necromancy spell off the Wiz/Sorc spell list.
You gain knowledge of a dead or undead creature by eating a little bit of it.
The ability to conjure a malevolent mob of spirits, that doesn't hurt nonliving creatures, but isn't negative energy based either.
Around mid-level you acquire a level drain ray attack.

You don't have to take a Necromancy implement each time you get a new implement, but you do have to take it first level, and you don't get a second one (usually you get two of your choice).
Liberty's Edge
3 people marked this as a favorite.

Is this serious?!
Are we really talking about the art not fitting a given statblock?!
Wow - just wow!

*face palm*

You know what, from now on I will not allow my players any item, or ability which is not recognizeable in the artwork for their pc. That, surely will make them happy! :)
Mar Nakrum wrote:
Jack of Dust wrote:
Mar Nakrum wrote:
After spending some time with the book...I'm surprised at how much I like the new Occultist, especially with its archetypes. The Tome Eater's art threw me off at first, but the archetype's vibe resonates with me and I look forward to seeing one in action.
Any thoughts on the Necroocultist? Sadly I'm in the minority of people who haven't gotten their shipping email yet or I would share some myself.

If I was into Necromancy, I would run this archetype like crazy. The Necromancy implement powers are varied and all have something to bring to the table, even if you worship Pharasma.

Specifically to the Necrooccultist:

Each level gets you a Necromancy spell off the Wiz/Sorc spell list.
You gain knowledge of a dead or undead creature by eating a little bit of it.
The ability to conjure a malevolent mob of spirits, that doesn't hurt nonliving creatures, but isn't negative energy based either.
Around mid-level you acquire a level drain ray attack.

You don't have to take a Necromancy implement each time you get a new implement, but you do have to take it first level, and you don't get a second one (usually you get two of your choice).

Awesome! By the sounds of it, I'll definitely want to play one. Even if I get late access to the undead creating spells I'm guessing it wouldn't be entirely out of the question to perform an occult ritual to duplicate the effects of them so it all sounds pretty good.

Now I just have to decide whether to wait for the Occult Bestiary races (which should logically have favoured class bonuses for the occult classes) or just play one as soon as my copy ships.
Contributor
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Chad Hale wrote:
So, how is Rivani doing what she does in the artwork?

I'd like to note that Rivani's backstory already accounts for the psychic being capable of feats well beyond her established abilities, as the events of the Trial of the White Lotus revealed. According to the 1st-level statblock, she can't read the most guarded thoughts of a court chamber packed with monks and advisers either.

In other news for the non-PFS crowd, there's always this 0-level 3PP spell that will be right at home on the psychic spell list, and help bring this ability to life.
Jack of Dust wrote:

Awesome! By the sounds of it, I'll definitely want to play one. Even if I get late access to the undead creating spells I'm guessing it wouldn't be entirely out of the question to perform an occult ritual to duplicate the effects of them so it all sounds pretty good.

Now I just have to decide whether to wait for the Occult Bestiary races (which should logically have favoured class bonuses for the occult classes) or just play one as soon as my copy ships.

The Necromancy Implements actually give you a leveling, temporary skeleton or zombie summon that lasts 10 minutes per occultist level. You can get it first level. Have fun!

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Did it change from the playtest?
Dryder wrote:

Is this serious?!

Are we really talking about the art not fitting a given statblock?!
Wow - just wow!

*face palm*

You know what, from now on I will not allow my players any item, or ability which is not recognizeable in the artwork for their pc. That, surely will make them happy! :)

I think it's more art not fitting any mechanics available to the class even at level 20 without homebrew magic items or homebrew spells.

Azouth wrote:
Did it change from the playtest?

Not very much, but for the better. You can give it the bloody or burning template instead of just the advanced template for instance.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

For those looking for their fill of tiny, flying objects, there's telekinetic projectile and telekinetic storm in Occult Adventures.
Luthorne wrote:


You should take a closer look, the majority of the area of effect blasts only have their damage halved if the blast being altered is a physical blast, while energy blasts usually remain at full damage. This is presumably partially because physical blasts have higher damage, ignore spell resistance, and don't have to deal with energy resistance or immunity at the cost of accuracy and dealing with damage reduction; an area of effect totally removes the accuracy problem by avoiding making an attack roll in the first place..

I get that but the fact that people get to save for half is already the down side of that. It just does not seem worth it for when you are getting them. Also some seem way better than others. I was just wondering if there is some combo that I was missing to make them overpowered otherwise.

Still that said I love the Kineticist and I hope they get support in books to come.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Has anyone else noticed that the psychic knows four knacks at first level but there are only three knacks on her spell list? What does she do with the extra knack? What am I missing here?

The knack entry is worded exactly like cantrips or orisons, and I don't see any [ed: relevant] notes about adding other spells to the psychic spell list.

Heck, at 10th level the psychic can know 9 knacks. That's 6 more than what she has on her spell list...

The psychic spell list just seems really limited in general, but it's not quite so dire as the level 0 spell situation, if I'm reading this correctly...
Silver Crusade Contributor
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Terminalmancer wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that the psychic knows four knacks at first level but there are only three knacks on her spell list? What does she do with the extra knack? What am I missing here?

The knack entry is worded exactly like cantrips or orisons, and I don't see any notes about adding other spells to the psychic spell list.

Heck, at 10th level the psychic can know 9 knacks. That's 6 more than what she has on her spell list...

The psychic spell list just seems really limited in general, but it's not quite so dire as the level 0 spell situation, if I'm reading this correctly...

Check the Classes chapter for the full Psychic spell list. ^_^

Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Kalindlara wrote:
Terminalmancer wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that the psychic knows four knacks at first level but there are only three knacks on her spell list? What does she do with the extra knack? What am I missing here?

The knack entry is worded exactly like cantrips or orisons, and I don't see any notes about adding other spells to the psychic spell list.

Heck, at 10th level the psychic can know 9 knacks. That's 6 more than what she has on her spell list...

The psychic spell list just seems really limited in general, but it's not quite so dire as the level 0 spell situation, if I'm reading this correctly...

Check the Classes chapter for the full Psychic spell list. ^_^

Ah, there we go. Thanks! I was wondering what was going on...

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4
Terminalmancer wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that the psychic knows four knacks at first level but there are only three knacks on her spell list? What does she do with the extra knack? What am I missing here?

The knack entry is worded exactly like cantrips or orisons, and I don't see any [ed: relevant] notes about adding other spells to the psychic spell list.

Heck, at 10th level the psychic can know 9 knacks. That's 6 more than what she has on her spell list...

The psychic spell list just seems really limited in general, but it's not quite so dire as the level 0 spell situation, if I'm reading this correctly...

The spells list in the magic chapter only include new spells. You'll want to look at the psychic spell list at the end of the psychic class section for the full spell list that includes spells from books outside Occult Adventures.

Edit Ninja'd!
Silver Crusade Contributor
4 people marked this as a favorite.

*sheathes katana*
Contributor
6 people marked this as a favorite.
QuidEst wrote:
Anybody (devs too if they want!) feel like sharing stuff they really loved?

Mr. Brookes already covered one of the most awesome aspects of this book, and that was the unparalleled collaboration between all the teams. We had a blast talking about real-world mysticism and debating esoteric topics, and putting our heads together to bring those concepts to the gametable. Erik and I had about a year of bouncing this totally bizarre, gonzo stuff between us that we obsess over in real-life, wondering how in the world all this was going to manifest in a hardcover. But finally bringing the developers in was like watching the slo-mo walk of career badasses in Reservoir Dogs--they arrived to get. it. done. Then they called in the freelancers they knew got what we were doing and it was just about the most crack operation I've seen in RPG publishing.

But you're talking about materials, aren't you? =-)

I'm primarily an adventure writer, so being able to indulge in some class design was awesome. I mentioned upthread, but I'm really proud of the ectoplasmatist, which started life as a base class but works even better as a spiritualist archetype. Being able to apply esoteric concepts I research in the real world, like phrenology, and figuring out how to apply them to classes like bards (with the phrenologist archetype) was a ball. And as someone who spends a *lot* of time researching fraudulent mediums, figuring out how rogues could pull off all those crazy seance tricks with the fraudulent medium archetype was a lot of fun.

When the promethean alchemist and tome eater and reanimated medium archetypes came to the table from the others, I was floored. They're so cool.

Similarly, bringing real-world spells to life was awesome. Ben McFarland is the master of incantations, and I think you guys are going to love his rituals section, and they are sure to get your PCs in all kinds of trouble. Rituals you can perform without having to be a spellcaster-as-a-prerequisite is a design space that was sorely needed in our game. We also got to play around a lot with ectoplasm, and making sure those spells were more than just "he slimed me" was an important goal for this book, and I'm pretty pleased with the results.

I'm THRILLED with the new possession rules/spell/abilities. I always had big issues with magic jar and the design team knocked this one out of the park.

The haunts section is going to clarify a LOT of questions people have had on the threads for the last few years, and give them some new goodies to play with as well, so I was glad to see that stuff make it into a hardcover.

Personally, the Occult Skill Unlocks are one of my prouder moments. I had conceived of those well before similar concept sprang up in Unchained and was scared to death things wouldn't be compatible, but they totally made the cut, and really open up these strange esoteric concepts to any PC, at a relatively low costs, so it's one of those things that I'm really proud to have brought to the table so players can experience this stuff even if they aren't totally on board running a psychic or mesmerist or something.

And lastly, I know these chapters don't get much love compared to sexy new classes and nifty new magic items and spells, but the Running an Occult Campaign chapter is essential reading for those interested in introducing these concepts into their games in a satisfying and properly-thematic way. I am really proud of the work Steven Townshend, Thomas Reid, Thursty, and myself did on that chapter, and I hope its lessons don't go unrecognized in the glare of all the new bright-and-shiny stuff in other chapters.
Silver Crusade Contributor

I always loved the "mysteries revealing deeper mysteries" type of narrative... great to see it explored in such detail!

Also, the skill unlocks are amazing. (I did make some references to Discworld's "retrophrenology"...)

The new haunt adjustments are great - especially for my purposes - but I feel like we desperately need something for haunts to bypass fear immunity.
Community & Digital Content Director
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Removed some aggressive posts. Don't attempt to pick a fight in our product discussion threads.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Robert Brookes wrote:
Terminalmancer wrote:

Has anyone else noticed that the psychic knows four knacks at first level but there are only three knacks on her spell list? What does she do with the extra knack? What am I missing here?

The knack entry is worded exactly like cantrips or orisons, and I don't see any [ed: relevant] notes about adding other spells to the psychic spell list.

Heck, at 10th level the psychic can know 9 knacks. That's 6 more than what she has on her spell list...

The psychic spell list just seems really limited in general, but it's not quite so dire as the level 0 spell situation, if I'm reading this correctly...

The spells list in the magic chapter only include new spells. You'll want to look at the psychic spell list at the end of the psychic class section for the full spell list that includes spells from books outside Occult Adventures.

Edit Ninja'd!

Which is a shame, because the inline list style is pretty much unskimmable and hard to use! But that's what I get for never using them, I totally forgot they existed. I always use one of the databases instead. Oops.

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Hargert wrote:
Luthorne wrote:
You should take a closer look, the majority of the area of effect blasts only have their damage halved if the blast being altered is a physical blast, while energy blasts usually remain at full damage. This is presumably partially because physical blasts have higher damage, ignore spell resistance, and don't have to deal with energy resistance or immunity at the cost of accuracy and dealing with damage reduction; an area of effect totally removes the accuracy problem by avoiding making an attack roll in the first place..

I get that but the fact that people get to save for half is already the down side of that. It just does not seem worth it for when you are getting them. Also some seem way better than others. I was just wondering if there is some combo that I was missing to make them overpowered otherwise.

Still that said I love the Kineticist and I hope they get support in books to come.

Generally speaking, in my opinion the primary use is to combine it with a substance infusion and perform battlefield control, like entangling, grappling, or tripping a number of enemies simultaneously, though it remains useful if you have a large number of weaker enemies. I think of it as the pros and cons of both kinds of blasts. Energy is better for area effect blasting, but has to deal with more kinds of defenses than a similar physical blast would, so physical blasts deal less damage against a multitude of enemies but are more effective against a single one.

In general, it seems like energy blasts get debuffs (chilling, flash, thundering, unraveling) and things that boost damage (burning, disintegrating) and physical blasts get battlefield control abilities (bowling, entangling, pushing) when it comes to infusions; grappling is an exception but the forms that work with it are all 1/4 damage. Cold does pick up entangling, though, so it's not a hard and fast rule, but it seems to be the general trend.

I'm curious about all the archetypes in general for the core/hybrid/base/and alternate classes. Does anyone care to make a list of them (along with a brief description as to what they do/replace)?

I've been thinking, and the Occultist reminds me of an old 3.0 3rd party class that came in a little pamphlet, I think it was called the Inventor. In any case, it was strictly a worse wizard that used devices to cast spells from the Wiz/Sor list. Don't get me wrong, the Occultist is far and above that class mechanically and thematically, it's just interesting to see the item catalyst concept evolve over time.
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Mar Nakrum wrote:
I've been thinking, and the Occultist reminds me of an old 3.0 3rd party class that came in a little pamphlet, I think it was called the Inventor. In any case, it was strictly a worse wizard that used devices to cast spells from the Wiz/Sor list. Don't get me wrong, the Occultist is far and above that class mechanically and thematically, it's just interesting to see the item catalyst concept evolve over time.

Yeah I can see the Occultist class making a good psychic detective (not like the Psychic Investigator Archetype). I could imagine an Occultist examining an area and use his object reading plus other divinations to quite literally piece together a crime through the visions he gains.

I believe some people were talking about using it as a replacement for wizards in campaigns where 9th level spell casters are banned.

All in all, the occultist seems like it has a lot going for it.
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 8
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Brandon Hodge wrote:
QuidEst wrote:
Anybody (devs too if they want!) feel like sharing stuff they really loved?

Mr. Brookes already covered one of the most awesome aspects of this book, and that was the unparalleled collaboration between all the teams. We had a blast talking about real-world mysticism and debating esoteric topics, and putting our heads together to bring those concepts to the gametable. Erik and I had about a year of bouncing this totally bizarre, gonzo stuff between us that we obsess over in real-life, wondering how in the world all this was going to manifest in a hardcover. But finally bringing the developers in was like watching the slo-mo walk of career badasses in Reservoir Dogs--they arrived to get. it. done. Then they called in the freelancers they knew got what we were doing and it was just about the most crack operation I've seen in RPG publishing.

It was pleasure working with Brandon and the rest of the team on this. For me, personally, it was kind of like getting a crash course in Occultism 101 since I dug deeper into the topic than I ever had before. Many tomes were purchased for research (as well as the whole Akira manga, for me) to both get the right feel for the topic and inspiration. I particularly enjoyed a lot of the bold choices Paizo made in this book- skill unlocks, new subsystems, and some very meaty archetypes. I think you'll see the passion people had on this project really come through.

Jack of Dust wrote:


Now I just have to decide whether to wait for the Occult Bestiary races (which should logically have favoured class bonuses for the occult classes) or just play one as soon as my copy ships.

Dont bet on it. I cant remember any bestiary entries with favored class bonuses.

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I don't own the book yet but some of the things I have read have really piqued my interest. From the playtest, I loved the Spiritualist so I am looking forward to how that evolved.
My first love for character classes will always be Bard, and I am intrigued by the Silver Balladeer (I'll have to read the Silver John series now...).
I have never been interested in the Cavalier. However, the Ghost Rider archetype sounds so very creepy-cool! May have to make one of those!
Thank you developers/designers for continuing to help Pathfinder be the best RPG ever (IMO).
Jack of Dust wrote:

I believe some people were talking about using it as a replacement for wizards in campaigns where 9th level spell casters are banned.

All in all, the occultist seems like it has a lot going for it.

And a fine replacement it would be.

I completely agree, I feel like Pathfinder is brand new again.
the xiao wrote:
Jack of Dust wrote:


Now I just have to decide whether to wait for the Occult Bestiary races (which should logically have favoured class bonuses for the occult classes) or just play one as soon as my copy ships.
Dont bet on it. I cant remember any bestiary entries with favored class bonuses.

I'll definitely be betting on it. "New playable races, including variant duergar and samsarans, as well as munavris—albino humanoid denizens of the Darklands' Sightless Sea." So yeah, really looking forward to that. :)

Jack of Dust wrote:
I'll definitely be betting on it. "New playable races, including variant duergar and samsarans, as well as munavris—albino humanoid denizens of the Darklands' Sightless Sea." So yeah, really looking forward to that. :)

Variant Duergar!?! Color me extra interested.

Kalindlara wrote:
*sheathes katana*

Nicely done. :)

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Robert Brookes wrote:
The reanimated medium isn't still dead, but was once dead and now channels his own ghost! It's one of my favorite medium archetypes, just for the flavor of it. A samsaran reanimated medium would be a great character concept.

OK, so I'm having a REALLY hard time getting the fluff behind this...could someone explain in more detail just what the concept behind this archetype is ?

So you died....and then what exactly happened ?
Designer
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nighttree wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
The reanimated medium isn't still dead, but was once dead and now channels his own ghost! It's one of my favorite medium archetypes, just for the flavor of it. A samsaran reanimated medium would be a great character concept.

OK, so I'm having a REALLY hard time getting the fluff behind this...could someone explain in more detail just what the concept behind this archetype is ?

So you died....and then what exactly happened ?

You were destined for legend, but you died. Your destined legend was so strong, death could not break it, so your spirit returned to possess your own body, and the death didn't stick.

Dark Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Kalindlara wrote:

Well, it's on my list to run. ^_^

On-topic, when you get a copy of this book, you may want to look up the Necroocultist archetype...

Is that a hint about my Mummy's Mask concept, mayhaps?

Mark Seifter wrote:
nighttree wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
The reanimated medium isn't still dead, but was once dead and now channels his own ghost! It's one of my favorite medium archetypes, just for the flavor of it. A samsaran reanimated medium would be a great character concept.

OK, so I'm having a REALLY hard time getting the fluff behind this...could someone explain in more detail just what the concept behind this archetype is ?

So you died....and then what exactly happened ?

You were destined for legend, but you died. Your destined legend was so strong, death could not break it, so your spirit returned to possess your own body, and the death didn't stick.

Soooo....your in the same body that "died"....but have reanimated it by your spirit refusing to leave ?

But your not "undead" (a dead body, animated by it's former spirit)?
Can you continue to do this ?
Designer
nighttree wrote:
Mark Seifter wrote:
nighttree wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
The reanimated medium isn't still dead, but was once dead and now channels his own ghost! It's one of my favorite medium archetypes, just for the flavor of it. A samsaran reanimated medium would be a great character concept.

OK, so I'm having a REALLY hard time getting the fluff behind this...could someone explain in more detail just what the concept behind this archetype is ?

So you died....and then what exactly happened ?

You were destined for legend, but you died. Your destined legend was so strong, death could not break it, so your spirit returned to possess your own body, and the death didn't stick.

Soooo....your in the same body that "died"....but have reanimated it by your spirit refusing to leave ?

But your not "undead" (a dead body, animated by it's former spirit)?
Can you continue to do this ?

You're not undead. You're more like one of the mythological and legendary figures that came back after dying as part of their tale, the most famous of which these days probably being from Christianity. You can continue to keep your body as long as you want, but if you overtax yourself, you risk slipping away for a while, leaving the body in a coma.

Mark Seifter wrote:
nighttree wrote:
Mark Seifter wrote:
nighttree wrote:
Robert Brookes wrote:
The reanimated medium isn't still dead, but was once dead and now channels his own ghost! It's one of my favorite medium archetypes, just for the flavor of it. A samsaran reanimated medium would be a great character concept.

OK, so I'm having a REALLY hard time getting the fluff behind this...could someone explain in more detail just what the concept behind this archetype is ?

So you died....and then what exactly happened ?

You were destined for legend, but you died. Your destined legend was so strong, death could not break it, so your spirit returned to possess your own body, and the death didn't stick.

Soooo....your in the same body that "died"....but have reanimated it by your spirit refusing to leave ?

But your not "undead" (a dead body, animated by it's former spirit)?
Can you continue to do this ?

You're not undead. You're more like one of the mythological and legendary figures that came back after dying as part of their tale, the most famous of which these days probably being from Christianity. You can continue to keep your body as long as you want, but if you overtax yourself, you risk slipping away for a while, leaving the body in a coma.

The first comparison that occurred to me was Dead Boy from the Nightside series. He is always described as possessing his own body rather than being Undead in the standard sense. It's not quite the same since his body was already dead and now he can't leave it.

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Mark Seifter wrote:
You're not undead. You're more like one of the mythological and legendary figures that came back after dying as part of their tale, the most famous of which these days probably being from Christianity. You can continue to keep your body as long as you want, but if you overtax yourself, you risk slipping away for a while, leaving the body in a coma.

Ah, I was under the impression that it was 'kinda undead' like a dhampir. I was gonna be an Ancient Osirion pharaoh whose tomb was sabotaged, trapping his spirit and forcing him to possess his own mummified body.

As is I'll probably just go no-archetype Shabti that doesn't remember his trials in the afterlife, channeling his closest advisers, generals, and bodyguards. (Maybe they actually assassinated his previous not-self for being a terrible person, and cling to him and alter his memories out of guilt of the fate they accidentally consigned him to. Spooky!)
Mark Seifter wrote:
You're not undead. You're more like one of the mythological and legendary figures that came back after dying as part of their tale, the most famous of which these days probably being from Christianity. You can continue to keep your body as long as you want, but if you overtax yourself, you risk slipping away for a while, leaving the body in a coma.

So that implies, you can't be killed ?

I believe someone mentioned up thread that the class abilities made it "easier" to return from the dead....but do you actually gain some form of resurrection ability yourself ?
Designer
nighttree wrote:
Mark Seifter wrote:
You're not undead. You're more like one of the mythological and legendary figures that came back after dying as part of their tale, the most famous of which these days probably being from Christianity. You can continue to keep your body as long as you want, but if you overtax yourself, you risk slipping away for a while, leaving the body in a coma.
So that implies, you can't be killed ?

Nah, just that the archetype itself will not kill you ;)

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