Segev
2016-01-15, 09:50 PM
I am playing a character for whom I like elements of the Occultist and elements of the Investigator, and I am not thrilled with the Psychic Detective archetype because it pushes in not quite the right direction. So, I'm trying to see if I can't put together an archetype that combines Investigator and Occultist.
The short version of it is that this replaces Alchemy with the Occultist's spellcasting and implements, allows Inspiration to be used as Focus Points with the implements he knows as well as for its normal purpose, and grabs the magic item-related powers (Object Reading and Magic Item Skill) in place of the poison stuff and swift alchemy. It can also take Focus Powers from implements as if they were Investigator Talents.
A more formal write-up is in the spoiler block.
As with anything I build for my own use, I fear I may be giving up too little and taking too much, making it overpowered, but I am unsure if it really is so or not. So I come to you, O Homebrewers, for your expert analysis. Please help me judge if this is balanced as an archetype, and help me improve on it or find any flaws that might lie in it.
Thanks!
Occult Researcher (Investigator Archetype)
Spell Casting
An occult researcher casts psychic spells drawn from the occultist spell list, limited by the implement groups he knows. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. Every occult researcher spell has an implement component (see Implements). To learn or cast a spell, an occult researcher must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an occult researcher's spell equals 10 + the spell level + the occult researcher's Intelligence modifier.
An occult researcher can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is the same as an occultist of his investigator level. In addition, he gains bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.
The occult researcher's selection of spells is limited. For each implement school he learns to use, he can add one spell of each level he can cast to his list of spells known, chosen from that school's spell list. If he selects the same implement school multiple times, he adds one spell of each level from that school's list for each time he has selected that school.
When the occult researcher learns to cast a new level of spells, he immediately adds one spell of that level to his list of spells known from each implement school he knows (plus any extra spells from schools he has selected multiple times).
At 5th level and every 3 occult researcher levels thereafter (8th, 11th, and so on), an occult researcher can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the occult researcher loses the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least one level lower than the highest-level occult researcher spell the occult researcher can cast. The spell learned must come from the same list of spells provided by the implement school of the spell lost. An occult researcher can swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for that level.
An occult researcher need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell's level.
Implements
At 1st level, an occult researcher learns to use two implement schools. At 2nd level and every 4 occult researcher levels thereafter, the occult researcher learns to use one additional implement school, to a maximum of seven schools at 18th level. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occult researcher's spell list. No spells from any other school are considered to be on the occult researcher's spell list until he selects the associated implement school. He can't use spell trigger or spell completion magic items from unknown schools without succeeding at the appropriate Use Magic Device check. An occult researcher can select an implement school more than once in order to learn additional spells from the associated school.
Each implement school is represented by a small list of objects. Every day, the occult researcher selects one item from that school's list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occult researcher needs only one such item to cast spells of the corresponding school, unless he selected that implement school multiple times, in which case he needs one item for each set of spells gained from that school. Implements don't need to be magic items, and non-magical implements don't take up a magic item slot even if they're worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occult researcher, such as the finger bone of a saint, the broken scepter of a long-dead king, the skull of a mentor's familiar, or the glass eye of an uncanny ancestor.
Whenever an occult researcher casts a spell, he must have the corresponding implement in his possession and present the implement to the target or toward the area of effect.
This act is part of casting the spell and doesn't require any additional action. If the occult researcher lacks the corresponding implement, he cannot cast the spell. To the researcher, his spells are functions of the implements being used properly, not inborn psychic powers of his own.
Each implement school also grants a base focus power. This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by the occult researcher (see Inspired Focus below). In addition, each implement school grants access to a number of other focus powers that the occult researcher can select from as Investigator Talents. Occult researchers may use their investigator level in place of occultist level prerequisites for learning focus powers as investigator talents.
See Implement Schools (under the occultist class) for a complete list of implements associated with each school and their focus powers.
Knacks: An occult researcher learns one knack, or 0-level psychic spell, each time he selects an implement school (including when he again selects a school that he has already learned to use). These spells are cast like any other spell, but they can be cast any number of times per day. Knacks cast using any other spell slots because of metamagic feats applied to them, for example, consume spell slots as normal.
These abilities replace Alchemy.
Inspired Focus
The occult researcher's inspiration points may be used the way an occultist would use focus points with his implements. Inspiration points invested in an implement can be used as normal or to activate focus powers of that implement, but cannot be accessed for any purpose while that implement is not in the occult researcher's possession. (So they cannot be used even for generic inspiration purposes while the occult researcher does not have them.) For all purposes relating to using focus powers, resonant abilities, or focus points, the occult researcher's effective occultist level is equal to his investigator level.
This ability expands Inspiration.
Object Reading (Su)
At 2nd level, an occult researcher learns how to read information from items he examines.
Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occult researcher learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occult researcher's class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occult researcher learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occult researcher's class level, the occult researcher learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature's appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock, but doesn't require a skill check and can be used at will.
This ability replaces Swift Alchemy.
Magic Item Skill
At 2nd level, an occult researcher's knowledge of magic items grants him a bonus when attempting to use them. He gains a bonus on all Use Magic Device checks equal to 1/2 his investigator level.
This ability replaces poison lore, poison resistance, and poison immunity.
The short version of it is that this replaces Alchemy with the Occultist's spellcasting and implements, allows Inspiration to be used as Focus Points with the implements he knows as well as for its normal purpose, and grabs the magic item-related powers (Object Reading and Magic Item Skill) in place of the poison stuff and swift alchemy. It can also take Focus Powers from implements as if they were Investigator Talents.
A more formal write-up is in the spoiler block.
As with anything I build for my own use, I fear I may be giving up too little and taking too much, making it overpowered, but I am unsure if it really is so or not. So I come to you, O Homebrewers, for your expert analysis. Please help me judge if this is balanced as an archetype, and help me improve on it or find any flaws that might lie in it.
Thanks!
Occult Researcher (Investigator Archetype)
Spell Casting
An occult researcher casts psychic spells drawn from the occultist spell list, limited by the implement groups he knows. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. Every occult researcher spell has an implement component (see Implements). To learn or cast a spell, an occult researcher must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an occult researcher's spell equals 10 + the spell level + the occult researcher's Intelligence modifier.
An occult researcher can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is the same as an occultist of his investigator level. In addition, he gains bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score.
The occult researcher's selection of spells is limited. For each implement school he learns to use, he can add one spell of each level he can cast to his list of spells known, chosen from that school's spell list. If he selects the same implement school multiple times, he adds one spell of each level from that school's list for each time he has selected that school.
When the occult researcher learns to cast a new level of spells, he immediately adds one spell of that level to his list of spells known from each implement school he knows (plus any extra spells from schools he has selected multiple times).
At 5th level and every 3 occult researcher levels thereafter (8th, 11th, and so on), an occult researcher can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the occult researcher loses the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least one level lower than the highest-level occult researcher spell the occult researcher can cast. The spell learned must come from the same list of spells provided by the implement school of the spell lost. An occult researcher can swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for that level.
An occult researcher need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell's level.
Implements
At 1st level, an occult researcher learns to use two implement schools. At 2nd level and every 4 occult researcher levels thereafter, the occult researcher learns to use one additional implement school, to a maximum of seven schools at 18th level. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occult researcher's spell list. No spells from any other school are considered to be on the occult researcher's spell list until he selects the associated implement school. He can't use spell trigger or spell completion magic items from unknown schools without succeeding at the appropriate Use Magic Device check. An occult researcher can select an implement school more than once in order to learn additional spells from the associated school.
Each implement school is represented by a small list of objects. Every day, the occult researcher selects one item from that school's list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occult researcher needs only one such item to cast spells of the corresponding school, unless he selected that implement school multiple times, in which case he needs one item for each set of spells gained from that school. Implements don't need to be magic items, and non-magical implements don't take up a magic item slot even if they're worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occult researcher, such as the finger bone of a saint, the broken scepter of a long-dead king, the skull of a mentor's familiar, or the glass eye of an uncanny ancestor.
Whenever an occult researcher casts a spell, he must have the corresponding implement in his possession and present the implement to the target or toward the area of effect.
This act is part of casting the spell and doesn't require any additional action. If the occult researcher lacks the corresponding implement, he cannot cast the spell. To the researcher, his spells are functions of the implements being used properly, not inborn psychic powers of his own.
Each implement school also grants a base focus power. This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by the occult researcher (see Inspired Focus below). In addition, each implement school grants access to a number of other focus powers that the occult researcher can select from as Investigator Talents. Occult researchers may use their investigator level in place of occultist level prerequisites for learning focus powers as investigator talents.
See Implement Schools (under the occultist class) for a complete list of implements associated with each school and their focus powers.
Knacks: An occult researcher learns one knack, or 0-level psychic spell, each time he selects an implement school (including when he again selects a school that he has already learned to use). These spells are cast like any other spell, but they can be cast any number of times per day. Knacks cast using any other spell slots because of metamagic feats applied to them, for example, consume spell slots as normal.
These abilities replace Alchemy.
Inspired Focus
The occult researcher's inspiration points may be used the way an occultist would use focus points with his implements. Inspiration points invested in an implement can be used as normal or to activate focus powers of that implement, but cannot be accessed for any purpose while that implement is not in the occult researcher's possession. (So they cannot be used even for generic inspiration purposes while the occult researcher does not have them.) For all purposes relating to using focus powers, resonant abilities, or focus points, the occult researcher's effective occultist level is equal to his investigator level.
This ability expands Inspiration.
Object Reading (Su)
At 2nd level, an occult researcher learns how to read information from items he examines.
Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occult researcher learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occult researcher's class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occult researcher learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occult researcher's class level, the occult researcher learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature's appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock, but doesn't require a skill check and can be used at will.
This ability replaces Swift Alchemy.
Magic Item Skill
At 2nd level, an occult researcher's knowledge of magic items grants him a bonus when attempting to use them. He gains a bonus on all Use Magic Device checks equal to 1/2 his investigator level.
This ability replaces poison lore, poison resistance, and poison immunity.