LichPlease
2018-08-25, 05:23 PM
Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Mental Focus Points
Spell Slots per Spell Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
+2
Focus Powers (1), Implements (2), Mental Focus
5
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
+2
Aura Sight, Object Reading, Spellcasting
6
2
-
-
-
-
3rd
+2
Focus Powers (3)
7
3
-
-
-
-
4th
+2
Ability Score Increase
8
3
-
-
-
-
5th
+3
Extra Attack, Implements (3)
9
4
2
-
-
-
6th
+3
Focus Powers (5)
10
4
2
-
-
-
7th
+3
Shift Focus
10
4
2
-
-
-
8th
+3
Ability Score Increase
11
4
3
-
-
-
9th
+4
Magic Circles
11
4
3
2
-
-
10th
+4
Implements (4)
12
4
3
2
-
-
11th
+4
Outside Contact
12
4
3
3
-
-
12th
+4
Ability Score Increase
13
4
3
3
-
-
13th
+5
Focus Powers (7)
13
4
3
3
-
-
14th
+5
Magic Circles Improvement
13
4
3
3
1
-
15th
+5
Implements (5)
14
4
3
3
2
-
16th
+5
Ability Score Increase
14
4
3
3
2
1
17th
+6
Outside Contact Improvement
14
4
3
3
3
1
18th
+6
Focus Powers (9)
15
4
3
3
3
1
19th
+6
Ability Score Increase
15
4
3
3
3
2
20th
+6
Implement Mastery
15
4
3
3
3
2
This is my conversion of the Occultist class from Pathfinder to 5e. This is a work in progress. I’m looking for CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and suggestions.
This is a very complex class compared to the normal 5e stuff. The strength of this class is how customizable it can be and because of that, I may skip on ever converting any of its archetypes over as the base class alone can play in so many different ways. If I do translate the archetypes over, I will probably drop the Magic Circles, Outside Contact, Object Reading and Aura Sight abilities and use them for their own Archetype.
Enjoy.
Occultist
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per occultist level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per occultist level after 1st.
Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion, Religion and Slight of Hand
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
- Two implements belonging to your first two implement schools worth no more than 25 gp each
SPELLCASTING At 2nd-level, you learn to focus on the psychic resonance in the world to a greater extent to cast spells and you rely on your implements to channel your spells. See chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this guide for the occultist spell list.
SPELL SLOTS The Occultist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.
IMPLEMENT SPELLS OF 1ST LEVEL AND HIGHER At 2nd level, you learn one spell from each implement school for each spell level you can cast. These spells must be from the occultist spell list. You gain additional spells known when you gain access to higher level spell slots and additional implements. For instance, at 5th level, if you have an implement belonging to the necromancy and transmutation schools of magic, you could know the Inflict Wounds, Ray of Enfeeblement, Create or Destroy Water and Enlarge/Reduce spells.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the occultist spells you know and replace it with another spell, which also must be of the same spell level and implement school that the previous spell was.
SPELLCASTING ABILITY Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your occulist spells, since you manifest your spells through intense mental focus. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an occultist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
RITUAL CASTING You can cast an occultist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you know the spell.
SPELLCASTING FOCUS You must use an implement as an arcane focus to cast your occultist spells. The implement must belong to the same school as the spell cast. You do not need to hold the implement but it must be openly displayed on your person.
Focus Powers – At 1st level, an occultist learns the base focus power and resonant power from both of his two implement schools and can select one more focus power from the list of those available to him through those schools. Whenever the occultist learns a new implement school, he gains the base power of that school and its resonant power. In addition, at 3rd, 6th, 13th and 18th levels the occultist learns two new focus power selected from the options granted by all of the implement schools he knows. The occultist can use focus powers only by expending mental focus. Unless otherwise noted, the DC for any saving throw against a focus power is equal to his spell save DC. The occultist can’t select a focus power more than once. Some focus powers require him to reach a specific occultist level before he can choose them. If a focus power acts as particular spell, you treat it as that spell at its lowest level and it requires concentration if the original spell would as well. Using a focus power counts as casting a cantrip.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class you can choose one focus power you know and replace it with another focus power that you could choose at that level.
Implements – At 1st level, an occultist knows how to use two implement schools. At 5th, 10th and 15th level, the occultist learns to use one additional implement school. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occultist’s list of known spells. No spells from any other school are considered to be on the occultist’s spell list until he selects the associated implement school. An occultist 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 occultist selects one item from that school’s list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occultist 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 nonmagical implements don’t require attunement even if they’re worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occultist, 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 occultist 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 occultist lacks the corresponding implement, he can attempt to cast the spell, but must succeed DC 20 Intelligence check to do so. Spells cast by an occultist without the appropriate implement are always treated as if they were cast at the minimum spell level for the spell in question.
Each implement school also grants a base focus power. This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by the occultist. In addition, each implement school grants access to a number of other focus powers that the occultist can select from using his mental focus class feature.
Mental Focus – An occultist can invest a portion of his mental focus into his chosen implements for the day, allowing him to utilize a variety of abilities depending on the implements and the amount of mental focus invested in them. An occultist has a number of points of mental focus based on the Mental Focus Points column of the Occultist table; these points refresh at the end of a long rest. He can divide this mental focus between his implements in any way he desires. If an implement is lost or destroyed, the focus invested in it is lost as well, though the occultist still refreshes those points of focus normally.
Once mental focus is invested inside an implement, the implement gains the resonant power of its implement school, and the occultist can expend the mental focus stored in the implement to activate the associated focus powers he knows. If a resonant power grants a bonus that varies based on the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, the bonus is determined when the focus is invested, and is not reduced or altered by expending the mental focus invested in the item. Once all of the mental focus in an implement has been expended, it loses its resonant power until mental focus is once again invested in the implement.
The implement grants its resonant power to whoever possesses it; the occultist can lend the implement to an ally to assist that ally, but if he does so, he has difficulty casting that implement’s and can’t expend that implement’s focus on focus powers until he retrieves the implement or refreshes his focus.
The occultist refreshes his mental focus at the end of a long rest. After refreshing his mental focus, the occultist must spend 1 hour preparing his implements and investing them with this power. Mental focus that is not used before the next time the occultist refreshes his focus is lost.
The occultist can choose to save generic mental focus inside his own body instead of investing all of it, but expending this focus comes at a higher cost. Any focus power the occultist activates with generic focus costs twice as much mental focus to use (and to maintain, if applicable). The occultist can expend his generic focus through an appropriate implement on any focus power he knows, but an implement he didn’t invest any focus in at the start of the day grants no resonant power.
Aura Sight – At 2nd level, the occultist can expend 1 mental focus as a bonus action to read the auras of creatures around him. This functions as the Detect Good and Evil spell but with a duration of 1 round.
Object Reading - At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines. Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1-minute handling the item and expends 2 mental focus. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully identified the object using the Identify spell. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the DM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 week ago, the occultist 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 DM determines what information is gained in this way.
Extra Attack - At 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Shift Focus – At 7th level, an occultist gains the ability to shift his mental focus from one implement to another, though some of the focus is lost along the way. Shifting mental focus removes a number of points of mental focus from one implement and adds the same number -1 to another implement; this takes 1 minute of quiet contemplation while touching both implements. The occultist can shift his mental focus only from one implement to another implement; he can’t shift generic focus into an implement. Unlike expending focus normally, this shift can reduce the effect of a resonant power in the implement from which the mental focus was taken. It does not, however, add to the resonant power of the implement to which the focus is added.
Magic Circles – At 9th level, an occultist learns how to draw magic circles. To draw a circle, he must have chalk, salt, blood, powdered silver, or some other appropriate substance at hand (although he can press a magic circle into a softer surface such as dirt or clay). Drawing a circle takes 1 minute and requires the occultist to expend 1 point of mental focus (either generic focus or focus from any one of his implements). Once completed, this circle functions as a permanent magic circle against any type of creature of the occultist’s choosing. The circle remains until its form is physically broken (for example, if the lines are smeared or the salt is scattered). Only a living creature can break the circle; environmental effects can’t break it. An occultist can have only one circle created in this way at a time. If he creates a second circle, the first one loses all its magic powers. This type of magic circle can’t normally be focused inward to bind an outsider.
Outside Contact - At 11th level, the occultist learns the true name of one particular outsider, in the form of an aberration, celestial, fey or fiend. This outsider can have CR no higher than 3. Whenever the occultist creates a magic circle, he can expend 1 additional point of mental focus to focus the circle inward and lure that outsider to the circle (similar to using planar binding). The outsider is bound for up to 10 minutes. During this time, the occultist can bargain with the outsider for one piece of information. This requires a payment of at least 20 gp (or items of at least that value that are of interest to the outsider). The bargaining requires the occultist to attempt a Persuasion or Intimidate check opposed by the outsider’s Insight check. Succeeding at the check by 5 or more reduces this cost to 10 gp. Failure increases the price to 30 gp, whereas failure by 5 or more allows the outsider to escape without giving any information (or receiving payment). The information gained can be anything that might be learned through a divination spell. The information is always correct but is frequently cryptic. It typically takes the outsider 2 hours to gather the information, at which point it returns of its own accord to deliver the information as promised. The outsider always resents being used in this way, even if the occultist and the outsider share an alignment. After the occultist bargains with the outsider, the magic circle loses all power and the outsider is sent back to its home plane.
Magic Circle Improvement – At 14th level, the occultist can create a magic circle as an action and can make it invisible. A creature can make an Intelligence saving throw against the occultists spell save DC to detect the circle if it is invisible. Additionally, the occultist can now form the magic circle inward to bind a creature of the chosen type.
Outside Contact Improvement - At 17th, the occultist can ask the outside contact 2 additional questions per calling, all for the same bargaining price. The questions must be in some way related to one another. In lieu of asking questions, the occultist can demand that the outsider deliver a message to any one friendly creature that the occultist knows personally. The occultist can also task the outsider to deliver one object weighing no more than 1 pound. Either of these demands requires an opposed check as described above. Delivery typically takes 3 hours, but this period is reduced to 5 minutes if the recipient is within 1 mile of the occultist (or even less if the recipient is within sight). The occultist must be able to accurately describe the recipient in both name and appearance. This ability can’t be used to deliver anything to a location, or to enemies or creatures that are unfriendly to the occultist.
Implement Mastery - At 20th level, an occultist learns to master one of his implements. He selects one implement school. Whenever he uses a focus power from an implement of that school, targets have disadvantage on saving throws to resist any of the effects of that schools focus powers and the duration for effects are doubled. In addition, after each short or long rest, the occultist gains 5 extra points of mental focus, but these points must always be immediately invested in implements of the mastered school. He can’t save these points or expend them for any ability other than the focus powers of those implements. All extra points of mental focus granted by Implement Mastery by a previous short rest or long rest are lost on a subsequent short or long rest. Each of the occultist’s implements of the mastered school also cannot be destroyed or affected by any magic if the occultist chooses.
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Mental Focus Points
Spell Slots per Spell Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
1st
+2
Focus Powers (1), Implements (2), Mental Focus
5
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
+2
Aura Sight, Object Reading, Spellcasting
6
2
-
-
-
-
3rd
+2
Focus Powers (3)
7
3
-
-
-
-
4th
+2
Ability Score Increase
8
3
-
-
-
-
5th
+3
Extra Attack, Implements (3)
9
4
2
-
-
-
6th
+3
Focus Powers (5)
10
4
2
-
-
-
7th
+3
Shift Focus
10
4
2
-
-
-
8th
+3
Ability Score Increase
11
4
3
-
-
-
9th
+4
Magic Circles
11
4
3
2
-
-
10th
+4
Implements (4)
12
4
3
2
-
-
11th
+4
Outside Contact
12
4
3
3
-
-
12th
+4
Ability Score Increase
13
4
3
3
-
-
13th
+5
Focus Powers (7)
13
4
3
3
-
-
14th
+5
Magic Circles Improvement
13
4
3
3
1
-
15th
+5
Implements (5)
14
4
3
3
2
-
16th
+5
Ability Score Increase
14
4
3
3
2
1
17th
+6
Outside Contact Improvement
14
4
3
3
3
1
18th
+6
Focus Powers (9)
15
4
3
3
3
1
19th
+6
Ability Score Increase
15
4
3
3
3
2
20th
+6
Implement Mastery
15
4
3
3
3
2
This is my conversion of the Occultist class from Pathfinder to 5e. This is a work in progress. I’m looking for CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and suggestions.
This is a very complex class compared to the normal 5e stuff. The strength of this class is how customizable it can be and because of that, I may skip on ever converting any of its archetypes over as the base class alone can play in so many different ways. If I do translate the archetypes over, I will probably drop the Magic Circles, Outside Contact, Object Reading and Aura Sight abilities and use them for their own Archetype.
Enjoy.
Occultist
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per occultist level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per occultist level after 1st.
Proficiencies:
Armor: Light Armor, medium armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion, Religion and Slight of Hand
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) a scholar's pack or (b) a dungeoneer's pack
- Two implements belonging to your first two implement schools worth no more than 25 gp each
SPELLCASTING At 2nd-level, you learn to focus on the psychic resonance in the world to a greater extent to cast spells and you rely on your implements to channel your spells. See chapter 10 of the PHB for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this guide for the occultist spell list.
SPELL SLOTS The Occultist table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell burning hands and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast burning hands using either slot.
IMPLEMENT SPELLS OF 1ST LEVEL AND HIGHER At 2nd level, you learn one spell from each implement school for each spell level you can cast. These spells must be from the occultist spell list. You gain additional spells known when you gain access to higher level spell slots and additional implements. For instance, at 5th level, if you have an implement belonging to the necromancy and transmutation schools of magic, you could know the Inflict Wounds, Ray of Enfeeblement, Create or Destroy Water and Enlarge/Reduce spells.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the occultist spells you know and replace it with another spell, which also must be of the same spell level and implement school that the previous spell was.
SPELLCASTING ABILITY Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your occulist spells, since you manifest your spells through intense mental focus. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an occultist spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
RITUAL CASTING You can cast an occultist spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you know the spell.
SPELLCASTING FOCUS You must use an implement as an arcane focus to cast your occultist spells. The implement must belong to the same school as the spell cast. You do not need to hold the implement but it must be openly displayed on your person.
Focus Powers – At 1st level, an occultist learns the base focus power and resonant power from both of his two implement schools and can select one more focus power from the list of those available to him through those schools. Whenever the occultist learns a new implement school, he gains the base power of that school and its resonant power. In addition, at 3rd, 6th, 13th and 18th levels the occultist learns two new focus power selected from the options granted by all of the implement schools he knows. The occultist can use focus powers only by expending mental focus. Unless otherwise noted, the DC for any saving throw against a focus power is equal to his spell save DC. The occultist can’t select a focus power more than once. Some focus powers require him to reach a specific occultist level before he can choose them. If a focus power acts as particular spell, you treat it as that spell at its lowest level and it requires concentration if the original spell would as well. Using a focus power counts as casting a cantrip.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class you can choose one focus power you know and replace it with another focus power that you could choose at that level.
Implements – At 1st level, an occultist knows how to use two implement schools. At 5th, 10th and 15th level, the occultist learns to use one additional implement school. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occultist’s list of known spells. No spells from any other school are considered to be on the occultist’s spell list until he selects the associated implement school. An occultist 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 occultist selects one item from that school’s list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occultist 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 nonmagical implements don’t require attunement even if they’re worn. Implements that are not magic items are often of some historical value or of personal significance to the occultist, 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 occultist 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 occultist lacks the corresponding implement, he can attempt to cast the spell, but must succeed DC 20 Intelligence check to do so. Spells cast by an occultist without the appropriate implement are always treated as if they were cast at the minimum spell level for the spell in question.
Each implement school also grants a base focus power. This power is added to the list of focus powers possessed by the occultist. In addition, each implement school grants access to a number of other focus powers that the occultist can select from using his mental focus class feature.
Mental Focus – An occultist can invest a portion of his mental focus into his chosen implements for the day, allowing him to utilize a variety of abilities depending on the implements and the amount of mental focus invested in them. An occultist has a number of points of mental focus based on the Mental Focus Points column of the Occultist table; these points refresh at the end of a long rest. He can divide this mental focus between his implements in any way he desires. If an implement is lost or destroyed, the focus invested in it is lost as well, though the occultist still refreshes those points of focus normally.
Once mental focus is invested inside an implement, the implement gains the resonant power of its implement school, and the occultist can expend the mental focus stored in the implement to activate the associated focus powers he knows. If a resonant power grants a bonus that varies based on the amount of mental focus invested in the implement, the bonus is determined when the focus is invested, and is not reduced or altered by expending the mental focus invested in the item. Once all of the mental focus in an implement has been expended, it loses its resonant power until mental focus is once again invested in the implement.
The implement grants its resonant power to whoever possesses it; the occultist can lend the implement to an ally to assist that ally, but if he does so, he has difficulty casting that implement’s and can’t expend that implement’s focus on focus powers until he retrieves the implement or refreshes his focus.
The occultist refreshes his mental focus at the end of a long rest. After refreshing his mental focus, the occultist must spend 1 hour preparing his implements and investing them with this power. Mental focus that is not used before the next time the occultist refreshes his focus is lost.
The occultist can choose to save generic mental focus inside his own body instead of investing all of it, but expending this focus comes at a higher cost. Any focus power the occultist activates with generic focus costs twice as much mental focus to use (and to maintain, if applicable). The occultist can expend his generic focus through an appropriate implement on any focus power he knows, but an implement he didn’t invest any focus in at the start of the day grants no resonant power.
Aura Sight – At 2nd level, the occultist can expend 1 mental focus as a bonus action to read the auras of creatures around him. This functions as the Detect Good and Evil spell but with a duration of 1 round.
Object Reading - At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines. Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1-minute handling the item and expends 2 mental focus. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully identified the object using the Identify spell. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the DM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 week ago, the occultist 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 DM determines what information is gained in this way.
Extra Attack - At 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Shift Focus – At 7th level, an occultist gains the ability to shift his mental focus from one implement to another, though some of the focus is lost along the way. Shifting mental focus removes a number of points of mental focus from one implement and adds the same number -1 to another implement; this takes 1 minute of quiet contemplation while touching both implements. The occultist can shift his mental focus only from one implement to another implement; he can’t shift generic focus into an implement. Unlike expending focus normally, this shift can reduce the effect of a resonant power in the implement from which the mental focus was taken. It does not, however, add to the resonant power of the implement to which the focus is added.
Magic Circles – At 9th level, an occultist learns how to draw magic circles. To draw a circle, he must have chalk, salt, blood, powdered silver, or some other appropriate substance at hand (although he can press a magic circle into a softer surface such as dirt or clay). Drawing a circle takes 1 minute and requires the occultist to expend 1 point of mental focus (either generic focus or focus from any one of his implements). Once completed, this circle functions as a permanent magic circle against any type of creature of the occultist’s choosing. The circle remains until its form is physically broken (for example, if the lines are smeared or the salt is scattered). Only a living creature can break the circle; environmental effects can’t break it. An occultist can have only one circle created in this way at a time. If he creates a second circle, the first one loses all its magic powers. This type of magic circle can’t normally be focused inward to bind an outsider.
Outside Contact - At 11th level, the occultist learns the true name of one particular outsider, in the form of an aberration, celestial, fey or fiend. This outsider can have CR no higher than 3. Whenever the occultist creates a magic circle, he can expend 1 additional point of mental focus to focus the circle inward and lure that outsider to the circle (similar to using planar binding). The outsider is bound for up to 10 minutes. During this time, the occultist can bargain with the outsider for one piece of information. This requires a payment of at least 20 gp (or items of at least that value that are of interest to the outsider). The bargaining requires the occultist to attempt a Persuasion or Intimidate check opposed by the outsider’s Insight check. Succeeding at the check by 5 or more reduces this cost to 10 gp. Failure increases the price to 30 gp, whereas failure by 5 or more allows the outsider to escape without giving any information (or receiving payment). The information gained can be anything that might be learned through a divination spell. The information is always correct but is frequently cryptic. It typically takes the outsider 2 hours to gather the information, at which point it returns of its own accord to deliver the information as promised. The outsider always resents being used in this way, even if the occultist and the outsider share an alignment. After the occultist bargains with the outsider, the magic circle loses all power and the outsider is sent back to its home plane.
Magic Circle Improvement – At 14th level, the occultist can create a magic circle as an action and can make it invisible. A creature can make an Intelligence saving throw against the occultists spell save DC to detect the circle if it is invisible. Additionally, the occultist can now form the magic circle inward to bind a creature of the chosen type.
Outside Contact Improvement - At 17th, the occultist can ask the outside contact 2 additional questions per calling, all for the same bargaining price. The questions must be in some way related to one another. In lieu of asking questions, the occultist can demand that the outsider deliver a message to any one friendly creature that the occultist knows personally. The occultist can also task the outsider to deliver one object weighing no more than 1 pound. Either of these demands requires an opposed check as described above. Delivery typically takes 3 hours, but this period is reduced to 5 minutes if the recipient is within 1 mile of the occultist (or even less if the recipient is within sight). The occultist must be able to accurately describe the recipient in both name and appearance. This ability can’t be used to deliver anything to a location, or to enemies or creatures that are unfriendly to the occultist.
Implement Mastery - At 20th level, an occultist learns to master one of his implements. He selects one implement school. Whenever he uses a focus power from an implement of that school, targets have disadvantage on saving throws to resist any of the effects of that schools focus powers and the duration for effects are doubled. In addition, after each short or long rest, the occultist gains 5 extra points of mental focus, but these points must always be immediately invested in implements of the mastered school. He can’t save these points or expend them for any ability other than the focus powers of those implements. All extra points of mental focus granted by Implement Mastery by a previous short rest or long rest are lost on a subsequent short or long rest. Each of the occultist’s implements of the mastered school also cannot be destroyed or affected by any magic if the occultist chooses.