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I was looking at the Investigator class as a possible base for a new character and ran across the Spiritualist archtype. Thematically it sounds fantastic, the ability to converse with the dead to achieve results in place of alchemy. Mechanically I don't think I understand the trade. I lose my Alchemy and poison handling traits, but only seem to gain access to a small handful of spells - far less than the breadth I could access with extracts.
Is there an advantage to Spiritualist Investigator I'm not seeing? Has anyone tried this archtype out?
It is not generally a good trade, but has a couple of uses.
1) Legend lore abuse: You get the spell before anyone else, can cast it Level + Wis times a day, and most importantly it explicitly takes a minute rather than the normal casting time. Which, if you'll recall, can range from 1d4x10 minute to 2d6 weeks! That many uses in a single day and in a few minutes seriously pushes the limits of divination, and could easily be game-derailingly powerful.
2) Whispering Spirits: 4 levels is the far upper limit of what I would consider a "dip," but Wisdom as Insight to AC and Saves could theoretically have niche use in some bizarre all-WIS, high defense Monk-ish build.
3) Non-casting game: it sort of skirts the line, but I could see someone still allowing this class in one. It might not be the greatest choice, but hey, it would still be better than Sleuth.