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The Demented One
2007-09-22, 12:54 PM
Occult Hunter

http://www.donatoart.com/ftsy/darkmoon.jpg

Occult Hunters are scholar-warriors who use a combination of brute strength, divine magic, and secret knowledge to hunt down and slay the most dangerous of foes–unworldly aberrations, unholy demons, rotting undead, and more. Occult Hunters do not draw their divine magic from a god–rather, they follow the path of the Archivist, using an assortment of esoteric and occult lore to draw on divine powers. Perhaps the most dangerous weapon of the Occult Hunters is their dark knowledge, knowledge of their foes that lets them discern their weak points and overcome their strengths. There is no unified guild or group of Occult Hunters–most work as freelancers or mercenaries, although a few act as agents for churches or priesthoods that have need of there services.

d8 HD

Requirements
To qualify to become an Occult Hunter, you must fulfill all the following criteria.
BAB: +4
Skills: Knowledge (Arcana) 4 ranks, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 4 ranks, Knowledge (The Planes) 4 ranks
Spells: Must be capable of casting 2nd–level divine spells.
Special: Dark Knowledge class feature
Special: Must be proficient with all martial weapons.

The Occult Hunter’s class skills are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+2|Dark Knowledge, Occult Senses|


2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+3|Mystic Strike|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+3|Hunter’s Resilience +1|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+4|Breach Resistance|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+4|Hunter’s Resilience +2|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+5|Mettle|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+5|Greater Mystic Strike, Hunter’s Resilience +3|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+6|Suppressing Strike|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+6|Hunter’s Resilience +4|+1 level of existing spellcasting class

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+7|Occult Reaper|+1 level of existing spellcasting class [/table]

Class Features
All the following are class features of the Occult Hunter prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
You gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Spellcasting
Whenever you gain a new Occult Hunter level, except at 1st level, you gain new spells per day and spells known as if you had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class you belonged to before you added the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained.

Dark Knowledge
Your Occult Hunter levels stack with any Archivist levels you have for determining how many times per day you may use your dark knowledge class feature. However, you do not gain any new Archivist dark knowledge abilities.

Occult Senses (Ex)
At 1st level, you sense whenever an aberration, elemental, magical beast, outsider, or undead comes within 60 ft. of you, even in darkness or if the creature is separated from you by a barrier of some sort. However, you cannot pinpoint the creature’s location–merely confirm its presence.

Mystic Strike (Su)
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel your spells through your blade. As a standard action, you may cast any divine spell with a range of touch that you have prepared and deliver the spell through your weapon with a melee attack. The spell’s casting time must be 1 standard action or less. If the attack is successful, then the creature hit is affected by the spell as normal.

Hunter’s Resilience (Ex)
At 3rd level, you develop a resistance to the abilities of the creatures you hunt. You gain a +1 competence bonus on saves made against abilities of aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, and undead. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, to +3 at 7th level, and to +4 at 9th level.

Breach Resistance (Su)
At 4th level, you gain the ability to overcome a creature’s defenses with your knowledge of occult lore. Whenever you successfully damage a creature, you may, as a swift action, expend a use of dark knowledge and make a Knowledge check of the appropriate type. If the check is successful, you may choose to negate either the creature’s damage reduction, energy resistances (but not immunity), or spell resistance. It loses whichever resistance you choose to negate until the end of your next round. If you succeed on the check by 10 or more, you may choose to negate two resistances, and if you succeed on the check by 20 or more, you may negate all three resistances.

Mettle (Ex)
At 6th level, your mind and body have been hardened through training and testing. If you make a successful Fortitude or Will save against an effect that allows a save for half or partial effect, that effect is instead negated.

Greater Mystic Strike (Su)
At 7th level, you can channel spells through a full attack. Doing so requires a full-round action. All creatures hit as part of the full attack are affected by the spell as normal. If the spell has a duration longer than 1 round, it is still discharged at the end of the round. You cannot channel spells of 5th level or higher with this ability.

Suppressing Strike (Su)
At 8th level, your mastery of forbidden lore allows you to deny your prey the use of their special abilities. Whenever you successfully damage a creature, you may, as a swift action, expend two uses of dark knowledge and make a Knowledge check of the appropriate type. If the check is successful, then that creature cannot use any of its spell-like, supernatural, or psi-like abilities for1d3 rounds. If you succeed on the check by 10 or more, the duration is increased to 1d4 rounds, and if you succeed on the check by 20 or more, the duration is increased to 1d6 rounds.

Occult Reaper (Ex)
At 10th level, the depths of lore you have studied has taught you how to effortlessly dispatch your foes. Whenever you successfully damage a creature, you may, as a swift action, expend three uses of dark knowledge and make a Knowledge check of the appropriate type. If the check is successful, then that creature must make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + ½ your total Archivist and Occult Hunter levels + your Intelligence modifier, or die. If you succeed on the check by 10 or more, the DC is increased by one, and if you succeed on the check by 20 or more, the DC is increased by 2.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 03:13 PM
I dunno... this class seems like it's built just for one class... maybe diversify it a bit more...

Finerty
2007-09-22, 03:19 PM
That just means that people need to design more base classes with the dark knowledge class feature.

As a serious suggestion, though - if you have Complete Champion, check out the Knowledge Devotion feat - it offers an ability similar to Dark Knowledge, so you might make it "Dark Knowledge as a class feature or Knowledge Devotion".

The Demented One
2007-09-22, 05:25 PM
I dunno... this class seems like it's built just for one class... maybe diversify it a bit more...
The intent of it was to be an Archivist gish. Not much more to say here.



As a serious suggestion, though - if you have Complete Champion, check out the Knowledge Devotion feat - it offers an ability similar to Dark Knowledge, so you might make it "Dark Knowledge as a class feature or Knowledge Devotion".
Problem with that is that dark knowledge has daily uses, but Knowledge Devotion doesn't. Knowledge Devotion also lacks the limited range of applicable creatures dark knowledge has. However, it would make a good flavorful feat choice for an Occult Hunter.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 05:37 PM
Yeah I dislike prestige classes that are built to be multiclassed with a single class... why not just go an Epic Class or something... like... epic archivist. PrCs I have always felt are classes that are open to multiple things and are overall not as strong at one thing but strong at two or three things.

The Demented One
2007-09-22, 05:47 PM
Yeah I dislike prestige classes that are built to be multiclassed with a single class... why not just go an Epic Class or something... like... epic archivist. PrCs I have always felt are classes that are open to multiple things and are overall not as strong at one thing but strong at two or three things.
That was...nigh incomprehensible.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 05:56 PM
Heh... okay well I'll provide some comments:

Mettle seems overpowered if it's both Will and Fort saves... I suggest just one.


If you succeed on the check by 10 or more, the DC is increased by one, and if you succeed on the check by 20 or more, the DC is increased by 2.

Occult Reaper's last two lines are really wierd... if the creature dies, why would the DC increase? Or is it when the creature makes the save?

------------

Right, now that I've commented on yours, comment on mine! Check my sig under projects :smalltongue:

The Demented One
2007-09-22, 06:00 PM
Mettle seems overpowered if it's both Will and Fort saves... I suggest just one.
Not really. There are a couple of other classes that get it, and a lot earlier than this guy. I think the Hexblade base class gets it at level 3; the earliest you could get it through Occult Hunter would be at level 12.



Occult Reaper's last two lines are really wierd... if the creature dies, why would the DC increase? Or is it when the creature makes the save?
The latter. The better you do on your Knowledge check, the higher the DC is.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 06:03 PM
Shouldn't it be the worse you do your Knowledge check since you effectively know LESS about the creature/abomination/thing?

Or the DC should be lower the higher you roll on your check. I suggest just cleaning up the wording there.

The Demented One
2007-09-22, 06:12 PM
Shouldn't it be the worse you do your Knowledge check since you effectively know LESS about the creature/abomination/thing?

Or the DC should be lower the higher you roll on your check. I suggest just cleaning up the wording there.
Huh? The better you do on your check, the higher the DC of the save the monster has to make.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 06:20 PM
Okay, now I get it. Haha. Okay you might wanna make that clear. And I would also suggest that you change many things so that it doesn't seem so Archivist like. Yes I know it's a gish for the Archivist but it doesn't have to look or be as similar as one. my Bladewind Sentinel class was based off the Monk and the Swashbuckler and it clearly shows a lot of monk abilities but it's still inherently different.

Fax Celestis
2007-09-22, 06:41 PM
Duskblade 3/Archivist 5/Occult Hunter 2/Mystic Theurge 10 here I come.

In all serious, how does the Mystic Strike class feature interact with the Arcane Channeling class feature? They are essentially the same thing, but for Mystic Strike's "divine only" clause--Arcane Channeling carries no such distinction. Do levels in those classes stack?

The Demented One
2007-09-22, 06:51 PM
In all serious, how does the Mystic Strike class feature interact with the Arcane Channeling class feature? They are essentially the same thing, but for Mystic Strike's "divine only" clause--Arcane Channeling carries no such distinction. Do levels in those classes stack?
I don't think they would interact at all. You can use one or the other, but there's no overlap.

Neftren
2007-09-22, 07:07 PM
Yeah, I think it's an either/or type thing. Since one is "Arcane" and the other is Divine... doesn't make sense flavor-wise. Maybe an edit to reflect that? Unless a third person finds it obvious that they're different or something.


Bah! Why do everyone else's threads get looked at but mine >.< Ah well, fact of life. But I think it's just based on whether a thread has a lot of posts or not a lot of posts.

SurlySeraph
2007-09-22, 08:00 PM
I like Greater Mystic Strike a lot, but be warned that it could be very breakable. Combining, say, Harm, Whirlwind Attack, Short Haft, and a reach weapon would let you do 150 damage to everything within 10 feet.

The Demented One
2007-09-23, 08:02 AM
I like Greater Mystic Strike a lot, but be warned that it could be very breakable. Combining, say, Harm, Whirlwind Attack, Short Haft, and a reach weapon would let you do 150 damage to everything within 10 feet.
Good point. I think I'll put a spell level limit on there.