How would you build a Battle Host Occultist

[Mellok]

I am looking at starting up a Dwarven Battle Host Occultist for PFS. My thought is to go 16str 16con 12dex 12wis 15int 5cha and take stone plate as my free MW item. Pair the armor with 12dex and a heavy shield you have 22ac at level 1 within starting budget. My intent is also to use a dwarven waraxe and perhaps have an oversized one to use 2 handed.

The real challenge I am running into is how to manage the super low number of spells known. One implement school to start with and a second at second then not a third till 10th level I will have next to no spells. Transmutation is going to be a given as the initial focus but I want both enlarge person and lead blades but I would also like evocation to add some versatility.

Is there anyway anyone can think of getting additional spells as a dwarf?

[Chess Pwn]

the only way to get more spells is to get more implements. And there's no way to do that besides leveling. maybe you should go normal occultist instead of battle?

[Mellok]

You loose the free masterwork item, heavy armor prof and the spiritual ally and insight bonus to physical stats is really strong in exchange for circles and auras.

[Farrindor]

Liberal use of expendables would be my suggestion.

Also, Occultist is a spontaneous casting class - pages of spell knowledge are your friend.

[Mellok]

Do pages of spell knowledge work for psionic spells? This is intended to be for PFS so raw only.

[Farrindor]

We are a bit short on full detail but since scrolls are allowed (just waiting on final language for some of the details) I am fairly confident. Then again, it will take a bit to start buying them and by then I hope we have the rest of our clarification needs for PFS.

In the meantime, carrying an enlarge person potion in hand in combat zones is a very viable tactic.

[Iammars]

Page of Spell Knowledge

It appears that the only requirement is that you are a spontaneous caster and the spell is on your spell list. Since the item doesn't account for psychic casters (due to them not existing yet), the pricing is a little wonky, but otherwise should work.

Just remember that for an Occultist, your spell list is only the spells that are in the schools you have implements for.

[Farrindor]

Psychic magic, on reading closely, has a line about not being able to use items that specify use by arcane or divine only. Pages sort of have that callout as written, so mileage is going to vary until a FAQ is generated on the subject.

[Slithery D]

Pages allow use of spells that are on both the divine and arcane lists, so they should work fine for psychic casters.

I.e. if an oracle can make a page of spell knowledge for Summon Monster that a Sorcerer can use, there's no reason a Psychic shouldn't be able to use it as well.

Spell Lattices (same item but usable also by Arcanists) should also be usable by psychic casters.

[cavernshark]

Mellok wrote:

I am looking at starting up a Dwarven Battle Host Occultist for PFS. My thought is to go 16str 16con 12dex 12wis 15int 5cha and take stone plate as my free MW item. Pair the armor with 12dex and a heavy shield you have 22ac at level 1 within starting budget. My intent is also to use a dwarven waraxe and perhaps have an oversized one to use 2 handed.

The real challenge I am running into is how to manage the super low number of spells known. One implement school to start with and a second at second then not a third till 10th level I will have next to no spells. Transmutation is going to be a given as the initial focus but I want both enlarge person and lead blades but I would also like evocation to add some versatility.

Is there anyway anyone can think of getting additional spells as a dwarf?

One trap I see a lot of people falling into with the Occultist is living in this perfect world where you're going to be able to take multiple rounds to buff up. Action economy is a real challenge for the Occultist if you're not careful. The transmutation school, while clearly the most powerful for a melee combatant, is also the one where this is easiest to fall into. Many of the powers are also standard actions to activate and there are lots of nice looking spells, but when you really try to play it out it's not viable to expect to be able to use them all in most situations. You might actually get more mileage out of taking a misc utility spell with your one slot and just grabbing a wand of lead blades and a wand of enlarge person for when you have time to buff.

What seems like a pretty big limitation of the Battle Host at first isn't necessarily the case when you consider that the more implements you have the harder it is to take advantage of the resonant powers. So you can look at the Battle Host's limited spells as a hindrance, or as an opportunity to focus hard on a few things.

Think of it this way:

At level 1 with your stats, you'll have 3 mental focus. That's enough to fill your transmutation implement and nothing else. That's three combats with Legacy weapon. At the start of combat, you'll probably use it to enchant your weapon. Combat is so short you probably won't want to waste time casting another buff like Lead Blades.

At level 4, you've probably added +1 to Int, so you should have 7 mental focus. Three of it will stay in transmutation to activate the resonant power. And realistically, you'll probably have closer to 5 in there so you can use Legacy weapon more liberally. You might toss 2 into a second implement, which is all you have as a Battle Host, so it's no loss.

At level 7, you're now up to 10 mental focus. 7 of that still needs to go into Transmutation to keep the physical stat boost up and you'll probably grab a belt to boost one of the other stats. That only leaves 3 points for a secondary implement, which is still what you have.

At level 10, you're now at 13 mental focus, maybe 14 if you've boosted your headband. 7 of that still sits in Transmutation, leaving 7 to float between your now two implements.

I'd also really not recommend Evocation for a Battle Host. I know some folks are talking about combining the conductive enchantment from Legacy Weapon with an Energy Ray - but as I point out above I don't think it's reasonable to rely heavily on Mental Focus as a damaging source unless you're going full INT based to raise the pool. Abjuration and Divination, however, both have moderately useful to good resonant powers and a few abilities that you can activate as immediate or swift actions. So you plan to spend a point or two from Transmutation each fight, and then have a small reserve for defense.

This is the build out I've been considering for a Battle Host (with some modifications based on what you've posted so far):

Spoiler:

1: Feat: Extra Mental Focus, Implement (Transmutation)
2: Implement (Abjuration)
3: Feat: Power Attack
4:
5: Feat: Weapon Focus (Whatever)
6:
7: Feat: Open, Maybe Steel Soul since you're a dwarf?
8:
9: Feat: Vital Strike
10 Implement (Divination)
11: Feat: Open

Focus Powers:
1) (T) Legacy Weapon, (T) Sudden Speed
2) (A) Mind Barrier
3) (A) Energy Shield
4)
5) (A) Unraveling or (T) Philosopher's Touch
6)
7) (T) Mind Over Gravity
8)
9) (A) Unraveling or (T) Philosopher's Touch
10) (D) Sudden Insight
11) (A) Globe of Negation

Pick up a Cloak of the Hedge Wizard (Divination) since your Abjuration resonant power will replicate a Cloak of Resistance. You'll end up with at-will Detect Magic and 1/day True Strike and Detect Traps.

For spells I'd probably grab the following (once you get the implement and required level:
0th) Mage Hand, Resistance, Read or Detect Magic
1st) Enlarge Person or Feather Fall, Shield, Heightened Awareness
2nd) Spider Climb, Resist Energy, See Invisibility
3rd) Haste or Magical Vestment, Magic Circle, Arcane Sight
4th) Telekinesis, Stoneskin or Dimensional Anchor, Arcane Eye

I think you'll end up functioning a bit like a heavier version of the Inquisitor with more of a Magus feel. Most of your mental focus will live in transmutation and you'll rely on it to spend one round buffing for a full minute of effect (2 Focus gives you +30 movement in heavy armor and your weapon enchanted). You'll have enough to pull that off 2-3 times in the early levels. As you can, fill up Abjuration a bit for a fall back plan which you can then in later levels consume for at-will Dispel Magic or Globe of Negation.

[LuniasM]

Something to note - the Battle Host Occultist isn't meant to be a caster. You get less spells known than a normal occultist and all of your abilities make you great in melee. The obvious implement choice is Transmutation since you've got 3/4 BAB and lower than average Strength for a melee character - with 3 points of Mental Focus at level 1 you have 18 Strength and can enhance your weapon twice a day. For spells consider Magic Weapon, Enlarge Person, or Lead Blades - all 3 last 1 minute per level and give a nice combat buff. I personally prefer Magic Weapon since I want as high an attack bonus as possible every combat. Plus, in the event that you need to take an enemy down quickly and have a little prep time, you can cast Magic Weapon and then use Legacy Weapon to get a +1 weapon enhancement like Bane, Keen, Flaming, etc. Bane in particular is very powerful at early levels.

When choosing your second implement, consider that you will not be getting another one for 6 levels. This means you have less spells known so you'll want something you can spam, but it also means you have less implements to split your focus up into - you should be able to have enough focus to use both effectively. Consider Abjuration if you want to be very defensive or Divination for Sudden Insight on attack rolls.

Here's a cool idea - consider taking the Magus Variant Multiclass. You trade 5 feats out but your archetype gives you bonus feats anyway. At 3rd level you get Arcane Pool (Legacy Weapon with no action cost), at 7th you get a Magus Arcana (Familiar is a strong choice as well as Lingering Pain), at 11th you can use Spellstrike with any of your spells that are also on the Magus list (take the Evocation implement at Level 10 for some extra damage on your blasts), then gain another arcana at 15th and 19th levels. If you're wielding a 2-hand weapon you typically have feats to spare anyway and what you get in return is definitely worth the trade.

[Secret Wizard]

I prefer straight Occultist to Battle Host, even for battle Occultists. Heavy Armor Proficiency you can just grab at level one.

In any way, for Battle Host, here's how I would build:

1. Extra Mental Focus
3. Power Attack
5. Furious Focus
7. Weapon Focus/Toughness/Iron Will
9. Weapon Focus/Toughness/Iron Will
11. Improved Critical
13. Critical Focus

[Pounce]

Well, what I like about the Battle Host is that it gives you an opportunity to give the middle finger to WBL statistics and stingy magic item availability. First thought I had when I saw it was going reach-style (seems to work better for a psychic caster) and combining it with VMC Magus... but obviously this is for PFS, so it is not a valid option. If I were to build a Battle Host, however, this is probably what I would do;

20 PB:

15+2 / 14 / 14 / 14 / 10 / 8, or
16+2 / 12 / 14 / 14 / 10 / 8, depending.
Race: Half-Elf (with Dual Minded alternate racial trait)
Traits: Ancestral Weapon (Not PFS-legal) & Opportune Slayer
FCB: +1/2 point of mental focus (Elf) / level

L1: Combat Reflexes
L4: Power Attack
.. spend your other feats like candy.

Since the Elven Branched Spear is treated as a martial weapon for elves, you qualify. Ancestral Weapon gives you a free MW weapon, Transmutation gives you a free self-upgrading +2 belt of strength, and the Battle Host can give you a set of MW full plate. Together it totals up somewhere around the wealth of a level 4 character, at first level - without using ANY of your starting funds.
Arcane Pool + Legacy Weapon means that once you upgrade your EBS to a +1, you'll never need to bother about sinking gold into a weapon again.

Altogether, with the second PB you could be hitting 20 AC shieldless, and passively attack at +7 at level one (+1 trait, +1 MW, +5 strength), or a whopping passive +9 on movement AoO's. (Not to mention that you're doing 1d8+9 damage on AoOs -all- the time)
The bad news is, you're worshipping Lamashtu. The good news? The Occultist doesn't have alignment restrictions, so you can be LG if you really want to, however weird that sounds. And, as noted by cavernshark, the Battle Host gives you an opportunity to really make your implement amazing.

Go crazy!

[Secret Wizard]

There is really no point in having good DEX on an Occultist.

Heavy Armor removes the necessity for it.

If you wanted to TWF, you'd be better off getting Artful Dodge and then all the line of TWF feats based on your INT.