Pathfinder Player Companion: Occult Origins (PFRPG)

Thank you Lord Gadigan.

I would like to hear more about the Peacock Spirit one if that's alright.

What's odd about Beseeching the Patron and does it mean you need to be a witch to use it?

What's odd about Beseeching the Patron and does it mean you need to be a witch to use it?

I would like to hear more about the Peacock Spirit one if that's alright.

Thank you for those update Kalindrindara.

I don't suppose you could tell me about the other three occult rituals?

Sure!

Thank you Kalindlara! This has been very helpful.

The rituals sound great. I especially like the Ulfen one, it has the feel of something you'd actually find among the non-adventurers in any world.

I'm interested to know what the True Silvered Throne Shaman archetype is like: what do they give up and what do they get (in a nutshell of course)?

I'm interested to know what the True Silvered Throne Shaman archetype is like: what do they give up and what do they get (in a nutshell of course)?

Massive trade up on class skills.

Losing Wandering Hex hurts, since using Ritual Hex doesn't let you grab a hex from another spirit.

What are the new Uncanny archetypes?

"Uncanny" isn't really its own category - it's just part of the back-cover blurb. I think all of the archetypes have been described already...

The Blog Walk Paths Unseen in Occult Originsdescribes Void kineticists as those "who channel the universe's devouring maw and wield death and decay", does this mean that Void kineticists are naturally evil ?

How would a good aligned chaokineticist be portrayed considering the source of it's power ?

The Blog Walk Paths Unseen in Occult Originsdescribes Void kineticists as those "who channel the universe's devouring maw and wield death and decay", does this mean that Void kineticists are naturally evil ?

How would a good aligned chaokineticist be portrayed considering the source of it's power ?

Well, kineticists generally aren't portrayed as seeking out their power, instead they "often awaken to their kinetic abilities during a violent or traumatic experience, releasing their power involuntarily". So, yeah, a good-aligned chaokineticist would be someone with a terrifying power who would presumably seek to use it carefully but for good purposes. Much like anyone who possesses a dark power they seek to use for good, like a good-aligned abyssal bloodline sorcerer.

The Blog Walk Paths Unseen in Occult Originsdescribes Void kineticists as those "who channel the universe's devouring maw and wield death and decay", does this mean that Void kineticists are naturally evil ?

How would a good aligned chaokineticist be portrayed considering the source of it's power ?

Death and decay aren't inherently evil. New plants and insects thrive off a rotting log. Growth and new life comes from death. I guess you could thematically look at it kind of like the Jedi, they seek to maintain a balance to the order of life.

In fact, some occult circles have a strange view of the interaction between the Positive and Negative Energy Planes as being part of a single whole, rather than opposites, that, while many inhabitants of those planes disagree, could be a deeper reality. Perhaps a void/wood element kineticist might consider those two halves to be part of the same thing in terms of her power.

In fact, some occult circles have a strange view of the interaction between the Positive and Negative Energy Planes as being part of a single whole, rather than opposites, that, while many inhabitants of those planes disagree, could be a deeper reality. Perhaps a void/wood element kineticist might consider those two halves to be part of the same thing in terms of her power.

Which kind of makes sense. Imagine what rampant uncontrolled POSITIVE ENERGY might do to the fragile balance between life and death. Rather than things dying and potentially coming back as undead(like what happens from time to time with negative energy), Imagine NOTHING dying or even being able to be killed.

Plant-life, Dangerous animals and monster populations running overtime, while some isolated groups are dying from positive energy over exposure. And that's not even considering the implications for if you happen to be in a position with no real hope of rescue, like being tortured or stuck inside a monsters innards(like an ooze, tarrasque, or any of the other creatures that can swallow whole, engulf, or anything similar in style), or worse their larders. Ogre cooks or other cannibalistic beings are some of the last people you want to see in a positive energy uncontrolled surge.

It reminds me of Ragnorra and the Sign of Twisted Life. (I loved that book.)

Bring on the positive energy overlords.

Whoop, reading through the whole section, I found two composite blasts (similar to Aetheric Boost and not actually having 'Blast' in their names) that I missed above.

Gravity + (Any Other Simple Physical Blast) gives Gravitic Boost. It amplifies a simple physical blast to do d8s instead of d6s; at 15th Level for a point of Burn you can also amplify composite blasts.

Negative + (Any Other Simple Energy Blast) gives Negative Admixture, which turns another simple blast to do half its normal damage type, and half negative energy.

I'll also note that the Negative Blast (the basic one) specifically doesn't heal stuff, instead just dealing no damage to things that would be healed with negative energy normally. (There is, however, a power called Void Healer that works on things healed by Negative Energy as a mirror of Kinetic Healer).

Edit: Partially ninja'd here by David Knott.

So if I'm aether/void then I really don't have a composite blast and instead can either add +1 per dice to my gravity blast or dice up to d8 to my telekinetic blast? (which averages out to the same thing) That sucks. I would have thought aether + void would have been able to actually combine into something cool.

Lord Gadigan wrote:

Whoop, reading through the whole section, I found two composite blasts (similar to Aetheric Boost and not actually having 'Blast' in their names) that I missed above.

Gravity + (Any Other Simple Physical Blast) gives Gravitic Boost. It amplifies a simple physical blast to do d8s instead of d6s; at 15th Level for a point of Burn you can also amplify composite blasts.

Negative + (Any Other Simple Energy Blast) gives Negative Admixture, which turns another simple blast to do half its normal damage type, and half negative energy.

I'll also note that the Negative Blast (the basic one) specifically doesn't heal stuff, instead just dealing no damage to things that would be healed with negative energy normally. (There is, however, a power called Void Healer that works on things healed by Negative Energy as a mirror of Kinetic Healer).

Edit: Partially ninja'd here by David Knott.

So if I'm aether/void then I really don't have a composite blast and instead can either add +1 per dice to my gravity blast or dice up to d8 to my telekinetic blast? (which averages out to the same thing) That sucks. I would have thought aether + void would have been able to actually combine into something cool.

Good eye, I was wondering who would spot that first. They intentionally don't have one; these two new elements are small due to space constraints and are thus better served mixing and matching for that reason (you can run into situations where you run out of selectable options if you don't diversify). It wasn't worth cutting other abilities to add it, as then it would have doubled down (both encouraging wood/wood/X more while also giving even fewer choices for a character who did so). If they ever appear in a longer format where they have enough options to go wood/wood/X or void/void/X, I would be sure to include a wood/wood composite as well (void has two blasts and so it required another composite). Wood/wood blast would likely be a damage increased version of the simple that uses the same infusions; if someone wanted to run with singleton of a new element in my game, I would use that composite and work with them to make some extra wood wild talents (perhaps from my list of other ones that wouldn't fit).

Gordrenn Higgler wrote:

What would be the cost of combining the Gravity blast (or Telekinetic blast) with Aetheric Boost and the boost composite from void?

Also how would the damage be calculated?

Gravity or telekinetic with both of those is an option at 15th, since they each work on composites. It would cost 3 burn and do 8d8+16. If you really wanted to run wild, though, you could put both of them on something that is already a composite (at 15th) like void blast (if you were void/aether/void), which would do 16d8+32. It costs 4 burn so is a significant commitment (even composite specialization, supercharged gather, and internal buffer would need to all come together to negate its cost, and that last one is a pretty limited resource), but it is the most damaging composite blast currently possible.

This question is for Kal and anyone else that has the book:

Is there ANYTHING that does a seance type dance like it does in Spirit Dance OR does seances like Medium for other classes?

I'm asking for a friend. He's interested in such things. Me I just want a spiritualist that has an animal as a phantom.

Okay, the picture of the void kineticist just became my favorite piece of art. Not just because it looks super-cool (which it DOES), but because it looks EXACTLY like how I imagined a race for my home-brew setting. It's like you guys ordered it just for me. :D

For those with the book, do you think the Defense Talent Emptiness is worth taking ? And why ?

Will this book have expanded information/rules/uses for the chakra feats in the first book?
Can't wait to be able to get the pdf

In fact, some occult circles have a strange view of the interaction between the Positive and Negative Energy Planes as being part of a single whole, rather than opposites, that, while many inhabitants of those planes disagree, could be a deeper reality.

That philosophy's known as the esoteric tradition, which has a section devoted to it in Chapter 6 of Occult Adventures. (There's even a cute bit of art of a[n apparently now blonde] Enora standing on a chair just to talk to Rivani about it.)

This question is for Kal and anyone else that has the book:

Is there ANYTHING that does a seance type dance like it does in Spirit Dance OR does seances like Medium for other classes?

I'm asking for a friend. He's interested in such things. Me I just want a spiritualist that has an animal as a phantom.

Not really, no. Seances are barely mentioned at all...

K. Thank you Kal. I wasn't sure there was anything like that. I mean I didn't THINK there was, but thought I'd ask.

Will this book have expanded information/rules/uses for the chakra feats in the first book?

Can't wait to be able to get the pdf

Not auite, but it does have a Monk archetype that is really good at opening his chakras. He gets Psychic Sensitivity and the new Chakra feats as bonus feats along with bonuses that help him make the needed saves.

Just a quick query again:

What are the archetypes that are mentioned in this book again?

Thanks again Kal. I was just checking to see if I missed something.

Did I miss the part of the thread that talks about " the secrets of Chelish mental disciplines to wither the unbending will of devils?"

Did I miss the part of the thread that talks about " the secrets of Chelish mental disciplines to wither the unbending will of devils?"

You may have... ^_^

** spoiler omitted **

Q1: Does the Monk archie specifically allow it to work with Unchained? 'Cause Imma roll one when my Barb dies in that case.

Q2: Any other class specific features, such as Rage Powers, Rogue Talents and such?

Kalindlara wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

Q1: Does the Monk archie specifically allow it to work with Unchained? 'Cause Imma roll one when my Barb dies in that case.

Q2: Any other class specific features, such as Rage Powers, Rogue Talents and such?

A1: Yes, it gives alternate replacements where applicable for the Unchained Monk.

A2: Not for core or hybrid classes. Obviously, there are quite a few class specific features for occult classes.

Thanks, Dave!

So excited about my future Kundalini master! Could you at least tell me which features are removed for the UnMonk? I imagine that Bonus Feats, but what else?

The archetype alters the class skills and loses stunning fist and all bonus feats. Depending on which type of monk you are playing, he also loses either Slow Fall, High Jump, and Wholeness of Body or his 4th and 8th level ki powers.

I'm curious about the Id Rager, Reliquarian, and Fated Guide. Any chance that we could get some details about them (and the Nexian channeler as well. That's got my very curious too).

I'm curious about the Id Rager, Reliquarian, and Fated Guide. Any chance that we could get some details about them (and the Nexian channeler as well. That's got my very curious too).

Id Rager is a Bloodrager that gets Phantom abilities instead of a bloodline. Unfortunately, it is also completely unplayable without significant GM fiat, because of how vague it is about what 'abilities' you get from the phantom.

Fated Guide is a Pharasma-centric Spiritualist that requires taking the new Remorse Phantom and gets Deific Obedience.

Reliquarian Occultist gets a domain, but loses an implement and uses Wis for mental focus.

Nexian Channeler gets the Nex spirit (very similar to archmage, but cannot use necromancy) instead of the archmage spirit and has a few thematic abilities that reward you for never changing from the Nex spirit.

EDIT: Woops, meant Remorse, not Regret.

Supernatural druid sounds cool!

Fated Guide is a Pharasma-centric Spiritualist that requires taking the new Regret Phantom and gets Deific Obedience

Can't wait to see this. What's the Regret phantom like?

Duskblade wrote:

I'm curious about the Id Rager, Reliquarian, and Fated Guide. Any chance that we could get some details about them (and the Nexian channeler as well. That's got my very curious too).

Id Rager is a Bloodrager that gets Phantom abilities instead of a bloodline. Unfortunately, it is also completely unplayable without significant GM fiat, because of how vague it is about what 'abilities' you get from the phantom.

Ultra odd. A lot of the abilities are useless without a master and/or a slam attack.

This is not errata or a FAQ, just how I read the ability.

For the id rager, go to the emotional focus in request ion. let's say Dedication. The id rager gets the abilities listed with the dedication emotional focus (that is, the additional abilities a phantom receives for having that focus). Skills and saves aren't abilities, so he gets Iron Will, Dutiful Strike (and he counts as both the spiritualist and the phantom, so if you attack the id rager, he gains the benefits listed), defending aura (when 7th), devoted servant (when 12th - which doesn't do anything for him) and steadfast devotion (when 17th).

Unless the id rager has a slam attack, abilities connected to a slam attack don't apply. So the id rager won't benefit from every ability, and some emotional focuses are better than others.

Ironically, the only Emotion Focus that is fully functional without a slam attack and with no dead features due to the lack of master is the Hatred focus... Which grants Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat, a rather lacklustre feat for the STR-crazed Bloodrager.

PS - fittingly, the only way Bloodragers can get a slam attack is Undead Anatomy, without dipping that is.

What's the new monk archetype like? I have a player who really wants to build a character around the new chakra system, is this what he needs?

Ironically, the only Emotion Focus that is fully functional without a slam attack and with no dead features due to the lack of master is the Hatred focus... Which grants Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat, a rather lacklustre feat for the STR-crazed Bloodrager.

PS - fittingly, the only way Bloodragers can get a slam attack is Undead Anatomy, without dipping that is.

Urban Bloodrager from Heroes of the Streets seems to stack with Id Rager, so get your rage bonus to Dex instead!

Secret Wizard wrote:

Ironically, the only Emotion Focus that is fully functional without a slam attack and with no dead features due to the lack of master is the Hatred focus... Which grants Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat, a rather lacklustre feat for the STR-crazed Bloodrager.

PS - fittingly, the only way Bloodragers can get a slam attack is Undead Anatomy, without dipping that is.

Urban Bloodrager from Heroes of the Streets seems to stack with Id Rager, so get your rage bonus to Dex instead!

I thought about that. Sneak Attack on top of it, granted from Hatred, seems quite fitting.

It's still a CRAZY specific archetype combination to make Id work.

Maybe Remorse is more workable?

I am waiting for my subscription to be posted so I can get my complimentary pdf. It is the only reason I resubbed. Does this book actually contain the additional options for kineticist that are mentioned in the blog?

Specifically I am talking about

They're definitely in there. The basic phytokinesis talent wasn't in the first printing, though - make sure to check this thread to find it.

what do you think of the new types? interesting?