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I was looking through my copy of Penumbra's Occult Lore yesterday, and I'm starting to feel like enough is enough: I NEED to better understand how some of the classes and magic systems are supposed to work - some, like the Astrologer and Elementalist and the entertaining Arcane Healer and Computer NPC Classes, I mostly understand; for others, I seem to have failed my Spellcraft checks. Is there anybody out there who's familiar with this book and been able to make sense of it?
Of particular fixation to me is the "Gleaner", the very compelling-sounding tradition of abstract elven necromancy. I get that you pick up leftover souls, make lots of little boxes for them to live in, and get some token low-level spells - but where is the power? What is the allure of the Gleaner's abilities?
I wouldn't mind some help understanding some of the other forms of magic in the book as well.
Near as I could tell, the real advantage was when you got the spells that allowed you to take on the abilities of the souls you were nurturing. If I recall correctly, you got a variant on Tensers' Transformation for most PC classes, assuming that you had a soul of the appropriate type. You could also use any knowledge or skills the souls had, though that power is highly dependent on the actual adventure. I do remember getting the impression that the class was not at all suited for a dungeon crawl style adventure, though- and keep in mind that this is a 3.0 book, so the mechanics are already well behind PF power levels. I'll probably give it another look-through in a while...
The thing that made the Gleaner a really attractive class to me was the non-mechanical potential in it- talking with potentially centuries-old spirits is an absolutely fascinating thought. Are there gleaners who get called in to harvest heads of state, the religious elite, or aristocratic families, to preserve their knowledge for future generations to consult with? Are there some immortal gleaners (Dragons, Warforged equivalents, etc) who have acquired more collected knowledge than any library? Is there a potentially lucrative business for adventuring gleaners to kill, harvest, and resurrect certain important people, then trade the remains to these immortal collectors?
It's something I've pondered trying to convert, but I haven't been able to find the time it would take to make it adventure-worthy.
Not all the classes in Occult Lore have a lot of "power." Many were intended to create NPCs. The assumption in many cases was that the PCs were powerful heroes, but many spellcasters in a magical world would be more like skilled professionals. A lot of the magical styles would have an NPC-focused base class, then a prestige class that would work with either that class or a PC spellcasting class. While the gleaner is labelled as a PC class, it is in some ways closer to an NPC class in power. That said, the gleaner does have many useful abilities. The gleaner is not combat-oriented. Rather, with their ability to communicate with the dead, cast divination, and create illusions, they would be at full strength in an intrigue-based game. In a pinch, their avatar spell allows them to gain some modest abilities. In effect, they are a four spell level fighting class like the paladin or ranger, but geared toward information gathering.