Putting together my very first Occultist (for play, rather than running as an NPC) for a future Hell's Vengeance game. Its been a while since I first experimented with the class and I've gone back to update my initial rough draft of what I wanted to play. Feel free to offer advice and suggestions as you deem helpful. I am intending this character to be mostly a frontline combatant, competent for the first few levels and then hitting their stride fully by level 6. Squeezing every bit of optimization is not the overall goal and I am trying to keep between the blue ranking and green ranking provided by the Bench-Pressing: Character Creation by the Numbers. There can/will be dips between green and orange at times, as I am not seeking to erase all of his weak points. Positioning and tactics will help bring those numbers up (flanking, magic buffs, etc)
Starting gold was a generous roll, 4d6 (20) x10 = 200gp. Having randomly rolled some key events of his background through the Ultimate Campaign history options, I felt that having the Noble (Gentry) background justified selecting some additional traits (via the Additional Traits feat) that started him off with some masterwork gear. His ability scores were not highly optimized (20 pts) and that is balanced out by an early bonus to hit, and the silvered weapon actually lowers his damage by 1. Most of his 200gp was to purchase a Riding Dog for a companion, which won't really be effective after 3rd level unless I choose to spends feats for Animal Ally. That's to be determined. I expect to spend little to no actual feats in an attempt to boost his combat ability, aside from Power Attack though I might be able to get that through a weapon enhancement (Training).
He wears a fairly distinctive set of chainmail armor and wields a sword of the noble caste, a jian made of something akin to mithril though on closer look, it is an alchemical approximation. Whatever noble ranks he belongs to appears to be more interested in the appearance of wealth than it does in actually spending its wealth properly. Despite the deceptive attempts to make it appear as a rare and valuable metal, the armor and weapon are, in fact, masterwork in quality... They are old but well maintained, being passed down for several generations.
Metagamey stuff: He is the product of two half-elves; his mother a typical half-elf (high elf and chelaxian, which is a mix of Azlanti and Ulfen) while his father was a half-drow and kellid mix. His father's elven genetics seem to have been the dominate part of the pairing, determining his overall physical structure, but his mother's dark hair and pale skin stood firm in the mix. His eye coloring is some unique occurance, perhaps a mutation or blending of the Azlanti purple eyes with the red eyes of the drow. Neither of his parents had such an eye color. Some creative liberty was taken with the Moonkissed alternate racial trait to influence this outcome.
Those that spend enough time will him will eventually discover that his outward displays of personality are a multilayered fortress that surrounds who he is at his core. The same little boy who never had a true father figure, was essentially abandoned to the church by his mother when she found a replacement for his father (and himself, in the form of a half-sibling who was not half-drow), and who had to figure out how to fend for himself against all the preconceived (if well founded) notions and hatreds directed to the drow. As a child, he was not really a threat but as a teenager and then young adult, bearing the increasingly projected sins of a people he only shared genetics with was a burden he couldn't bear. So, he became the monster that they expected him to be. It was an easier choice than to allow them to break him.
The church was one of the Asmodean churches. He was encouraged to be legalistic, to work with the laws of the land, and to outwardly project loyalty while always scheming to better his own position. And that is what he does, even after being an adult for just over a decade. He expects payment up front as he always expects to be stiffed due to his heritage. He refuses to allow people to exploit his efforts as some kind of reparation for sins he never participated in. This attitude is not one that helps him develop friendships, nor long term relationships of other kinds. He has found, however, that it doesn't matter one bit to animals and he has a softer heart towards them. You feed them, tolerate their presence, and show even a little affection, and they will fight and die for you. Useful. And ... endearing. Athena is such a good girl.
Male half-elf (Half Drow)
Occultist (haunt collector) 1*
Variant Multiclass: Magus
NE Medium humanoid (elf, human)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +3
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Defense
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AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +2 Dex, +1 shield)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +4
Defensive Abilities dual minded
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Melee Silvered Jian +5 (2d4+2 P & S/19+)
Implement Schools (Mental Focus invested)
. . Abjuration (Buckler, 1 point) Resonant—warding talisman; Focus—mind barrier
. . Transmutation (Silvered Jian, 3 points) Resonant—physical enhancement (dexterity); Focus—legacy weapon, sudden speed
Occultist (Haunt Collector) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +4)
. . 1st (2/day)—enlarge person (DC 14), shield
. . 0 (at will)—message (at will), resistance (at will)
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Statistics
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Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 8, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Additional Traits
Traits amoral mercenary, ancestral armor, ancestral weapon (numeria), pragmatic activator, warrior of old
Skills Acrobatics +2 (-2 to jump), Bluff -1, Craft (tattoo) +7, Diplomacy -1, Disguise -1, Intimidate -1, Knowledge (planes) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +7, Perception +3, Sense Motive +4, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +3, Use Magic Device +7; (Vain: -2 on all CHA based skills for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check)
Languages Celestial, Common, Elven, Infernal, Shadowtongue, Undercommon
Other Gear mwk chainmail, buckler, silvered jian, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), mess kit, pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, riding dog, feed x5 (per day), leather barding, saddlebags, 14 gp
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Special Abilities
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Abjuration Implement (Buckler)
Additional Traits You have more traits than normal.
Amoral Mercenary As an imm action, shift effective alignment to neutral for 1 effect.
Ancestral Armor Begin play with a set of masterwork armor.
Ancestral Weapon Begin play with a masterwork melee weapon made of (silver).
Automatic Writing (Linguistics, 1/week) You can produce mysterious writing that pertains to the immediate future.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Dual Minded +2 Will saves.
Elf Blood Treated as both human and elf for effects.
Half-Drow Elven half is of drow descent
Implements (Su) Gain a series of items which grant access to schools and powers.
Legacy Weapon +1 (Su) 1 focus: weapon touched gains enhancement bonus plus a special ability.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Mental Focus (4/day) (Su) You have a pool of points that activate your focus powers.
Mind Barrier (-2 damage) (Sp) 1 focus, swift action: Reduce next damage taken before next turn. 2 for Imm.
Moonkissed Gain a +1 bonus on all saving throws.
Pragmatic Activator Use Int for UMD checks instead of Cha.
Physical Enhancement +2 (Dexterity) (Su) Implement grants bearer enhancement to one physical attribute.
Prognostication (Sense Motive, 1/day) You are skilled in means of folk divination.
Read Aura (Perception, 1/day) Read the psychic impressions left on objects or in places.
Sudden Speed (Sp) 1 focus: As swift action, gain +30 land speed for 1 minute.
Transmutation Implement (Silvered Jian)
Vain -2 to Cha checks for 24h after failing an opposed Cha check
Warding Talisman (Su) Implement grants Resistance bonus to saves.
Warrior of Old Gain +2 to initiative checks
Female fighting dog
N Medium animal
Init 2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
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Defense
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AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 13 (2d8+4)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +1
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee bite +3 (1d6+3 B & P & S plus trip)
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 15 (19 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Tricks Attack, Combat Riding, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel
Skills Acrobatics +6 (+14 to jump), Perception +8, Survival +1 (+5 when tracking by scent);
Racial Modifiers +4 Survival when tracking by scent
Other Gear leather barding, feed (per day) (5), saddlebags
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Special Abilities
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Combat Riding [Trick] The animal has been trained to bear a rider into combat.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Scent (Ex) Detect opponents within 15+ ft. by sense of smell.
Trip: Bite (Ex) You can make a trip attempt on a successful attack.
After a bit more consideration of the possibility of keeping his dog an active participant in combat, I've discovered an archetype Reliquaran that allows for the acquisition of a cleric domain, which Animal (or subsequent subdomains) fits the bill perfectly, and kicks in at level 4. This allows my 5th level feat to become boon companion. Trouble is ... it doesn't stack with Haunt Collector due to modifying the Implements class feature (even if it only swaps out one of your two starting implements with one that provides the domain).
That isn't going to be an issue, as far as I can tell. Home games being what they are, we are not restricted by pure RAW or PFS restrictions. My main concern is the alteration of Mental Focus to be reliant on Wisdom, a stat that I have chosen to be a dump stat (offset due to racial choices). I can pull back INT to 15, and boost WIS to 12, but even that will cut my Mental Focus in half (4 to 2). I am taking the favored class bonus of +1/2 mental focus per level. I'd have to drop Con to 12 in order to bring Wis to 14. Tanking CHA to 7 just isn't viable to me. We can't have a noble (even of the gentry class) that weak of presence. CHA 8 is already pushing it.
I guess I'm looking for opinions on whether or not acquiring the domain is worth the significant alteration to the character build. Reduced Spell DC, skill points, mental focus ... to reduce the cost of an animal companion from three feats to just one. The switch from psychic spellcasting to divine casting is actually a benefit in my mind.
I've already got an infernal patron in mind, Losarkur, who seems to fit the bill perfectly for having their sacred animal being hounds. And eyes are on the Fur subdomain, as it will somewhat alleviate the loss of Sudden Speed.
An occultist for Hell's Vengeance may also want to consider dipping 2-3 levels in the hellknight prestige class; it will require taking the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat. Also note, the servitor base power for a Conjuration implement can be used to summon infernal (fiendish) creatures, devils, and hell hounds; very appropriate for a hellknight.
Yes, you were considering NE instead of LE. Just throwing out the idea in case it might be useful.
An occultist for Hell's Vengeance may also want to consider dipping 2-3 levels in the hellknight prestige class...
Thanks for the suggestion. Any particular class feature of the hell knight that stands out to you? Aside from the thematic aspect of using the conjuration implement, I am having trouble see anything that would serve to balance out the dilution of level scaling of the Occultist class features. If I do switch to a Lawful Evil alignment, I'll need to figure out a new campaign trait, as the one I chose requires Neutral Evil.
As to how the Reliquaran impacts the character, I statted up the character from levels 1 to 6 in Herolab and it does cause a bit of a constriction and narrowing of focus up until that point, where it then seems to snap right back into an area slightly above the green (on average). The addition of an animal companion simply should not be underestimated as a selling point. The issue of being restricted to entirely Abjuration and Transmutation spells until level 10 is the only real issue I am facing. That can be made up for with Use Magic Device, and clever uses of spells like Node of Blasting or Violent Accident.
Any particular class feature of the hell knight that stands out to you?
The ability to move at full speed in heavy armor (hellknight plate) is pretty hard to come by, without being a dwarf or spending a thousands of gp on mithral. In general, an occultist can do well as a "tank" and 6-level caster; hellknight helps to make them a bit better tank.
An occultist can't take levels in the hellknight PrC until after 7th level (+5 BAB), so it might make sense to go occultist for the first 10 levels (to get that 5th implement, 4th as reliquarian), take two levels in hellknight, and switch back to occultist.
Hmm... That opens up an interesting idea. I don't particularly see this character swinging a lawful alignment just yet, but who is to say something won't happen during the game. Ten levels is a long time. Feats are at a premium so spending a feat to get Heavy Armor proficiency is a bit daunting.
Perhaps dipping into Hellknight Signifer to grab that heavy armor proficiency (and maintaining spell progression AND animal companion, as it is a domain power that gives it to me), and then slipping into full on Hellknight for two levels? It'll mean taking Warrior Priest instead, but that gives some immediate benefit up front.
I'll have to give it some thought. Good thing I had plans on taking Intimidate, Knowledge (Planes) and Spellcraft anyway. Looks like I don't need to worry about losing the Amoral Mercenary trait if the alignment changes... You get need to be NE when you take it.