Need help building an Occult Paladin


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


Can anyone give me some advice on how to build an occult paladin? Gained a level in our last adventure and I want to cross-class over into an occult class. At the moment I've been looking at the spiritualist and occultist since I think they would best compliment what I'm going for with this character but all the same any input would be greatly appreciated.


Well, what are you going for with this character, other than wanting to be an "occult paladin?" What do you want to accomplish mechanically?


assuming you CHA is higher than your Int, it would make sense to go Sorcerer, Summoner, or Bard. I like bard because a combat bard can kick some booty, and that class will help counter the crappy skill points the Pally gets. Spell selection is mainly buffs and controls, but I think the other class benefits would work well with Pally. Sing (or play the spoons, or tell dirty jokes, etc) and give you and all your buddies +1 to hit and damage? That's OK.
Sorc gives the best spell selection, but Summoner and bard has medium BaB which will help keep you swinging at stuff. I say Summoner- you can rationalize it as your connection to the Higher Planes because of your Paladin-i-ness (real word, honest) allows you to be a conduit for celestial critters to aid you. I think there is something somewhere that gives your summoned critters the 'celestial' type, but I may be wrong. Consult your GM...

Liberty's Edge

So there's no way to improve a spiritualists phantom as far as I know - it doesn't stack with paladin divine bond, there's no equivalent of boon companion I could find...

We can't advise on what matches what you're going for since we have no idea what you're going for...

Medium seems to be incredible for rp opportunity.

Liberty's Edge

Geek did you misread occult and arcane??


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Spiritualist will probably work better mechanically (Cha-based), as long as you avoid choosing an emotional focus that could have issues with the paladin code of conduct/ethos: "negative" emotions such as Anger, Despair, Fear, Hatred, and Jealousy do not tend to mesh well with LG in general (and even more difficult for paladins); Dedication or Zeal are decent fits, however. The onmyoji archetype may be a thematically better fit than the base spiritualist, especially if the paladin is from an "Eastern" background (although the ofuda divine focus can be changed back into a normal holy symbol easily enough to remove the Oriental flavor).

Occultist can work as a dip; but as an Int-based caster, you need to spread your ability scores even more than normal for a paladin if you want to take more than 1-2 levels. The battle host archetype is fairly close thematically and may be worth taking 6-8 levels in if you have 14+ Int (the loss of 2 BAB can be made up with the Transmutation resonant power and the Heroic Splendor class feature stacks as an insight bonus). A second option might be the sha'ir archetype for a Middle-Eastern flavor.


Spiritualist is wisdom based.

Scarab Sages

If you're willing to grab 2 levels of Kineticist, you could pick up their Kinetic Defense ability. If you grab Water as your element, you get a shield bonus that doesn't actually require you to use a shield, as well as a ranged touch attack (which you can actually make pretty decent by taking the Elemental Annihilator archetype).

The only downside is that, as a Paladin, your Constitution probably won't be great (Charisma is better for you overall anyways), but it's still a solid choice, and adds a good bit of flavor to your character, as well as an additional attack option that doesn't require much monetary investment, and can be used when disarmed. Heck, you could even smite/annihilate.


If this is a character already in play, people would have an easier time giving advice if you post your build so far.

Dark Archive

I would suggest if you want to multi class then go medium(I personally like Kami medium) and say that the spirits you channel are the spirits of saints/followers of your god. If you focus on the champion(take spirit focus with it) then you don't even lose that much to hit bonus if you take 7 levels or less of medium overall(and gain quite a bit of spellcasting/flexibility overall to boot)


You can add occult/psychic flavor without multiclassing. One feat gives you access to occult skill unlocks. Another lets you open your third eye, which can grant insights into your opponents beyond "are they evil?" You can also use all the charka rules, but you would need to be using the Enlightened Paladin archetype to qualify (cause it gives you a Ki pool). If you have the ability to see a Ki pool in others, I would , if I were your DM, give you the ability to see kundalini energy and whether or not an opponent has open charkas. How good is that? Your mileage will vary by campaign.

Which brings up another point: Is your DM going to use all the "Running an Occult Game" material? Planning on dropping occult class items into treasure? How about the upcoming Occult Bestiary? Having an occult character designed to take down haunts and psychic spirits won't be worthwhile if they are few and far between in your campaign. Similarly, making a character designed to own in a psychic duel will be a waste of time if you are going to run into exactly no opponents who ever instigate one.


I second using the Psychic Sensitivity feat tree if you just want to add some occult to your char.

Otherwise, if you really want to multiclass into an occult class I recommend the Relic Channeler Medium. You don't get the flexibility of the base Medium BUT you never have to worry about not having the right location around for the spirit you need.

Just flavour the spirits as saints or martyrs from whatever religion your Paladin follows.

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