The Object Specialist
The way occultists learn their spells, despite the fact that they are psychic spellcasters, is decidedly arcane. For those not familiar, their spells come from learning an implement school—which correspond to arcane schools—and for each implement they learn, they learn one spell of that school per level. They can double up if they want, but that comes at the cost of accessing an entire other school of magic. It’s an interesting set up, which I think provides a refreshing change of pace from spellcasters with magic tools for every occasion, and it begs the question: what if they had even more restrictive choice of implements? It was from this that this week’s archetype came into being.
New Occultist Archetype
Object Specialist
All occultists understand the power that is hidden within seemingly ordinary objects, waiting to be unlocked. However, some occultists focus more closely on particular types of objects, devoting themselves to them and learning every facet of their being. These are object specialists, and when it comes to their chosen styles of magic—and their chosen objects—they have no peer.
Implement Specialty (Su): An object specialist is closely focused on only the two implement schools that he learns at 1st level. He does not learn to use any additional implement schools at later levels. However, at 2nd level and every 4 occultist levels thereafter, he may choose one additional spell of each spell level from among the two implement schools that he selected. He gains access to those spells, as though he had selected the same implement school multiple times, except that he only ever needs to have one implement of the appropriate school on hand in order to make use of those spells.
This ability modifies the implements class feature.
Implement Familiarity (Su): An object specialist is intimately familiar with the types of objects associated with his two implement schools. He gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his class level on all Appraise checks involving such objects, and whenever he uses the object reading class feature on such an object, he treats his class level as being 4 higher for the purposes of determining whether or not he learns if the object is cursed.
Locked Focus (Su): An object specialist has difficulty shifting his focus. At 4th level, he can only use his shift focus class feature once per day. At 12th level, he can use it twice per day, and at 20th level he can use it three times per day.
This ability modifies the shift focus class feature.
Implement Expertise (Su): Beginning at 5th level, an object specialist becomes an expert at handling the sort of magic associated with his two implement schools. Whenever he casts a spell belonging to one of those implement schools, if he has the corresponding implement, he can spend a move action before casting the spell to grant one of the following benefits: increase the spell’s caster level by +2, increase the spell’s saving throw DC by +1, or apply either the Intuitive Spell or Logical Spell metamagic feat to the spell, without increasing the level of the spell slot that it occupies. The object specialist can use this ability 3 times per day at 5th level. At 10th level and every 5 levels thereafter, he can use this ability one additional time per day.
This ability replaces the aura sight class feature.
Arcane Schools (Su): Beginning at 6th level, the object specialist unlocks some of the arcane secrets related to his two implement schools. He gains the benefits of the two arcane schools (as per the wizard class feature) that are associated to the implement schools that he has selected (for example, an object specialist with the abjuration implement school and the enchantment implement school would gain access to the abjuration and enchantment arcane schools). The object specialist’s effective wizard level for this purpose is equal to his class level minus 4.
Any abilities granted by the arcane schools that can normally be used a limited number of times per day can instead be used any number of times per day, but the object specialist must spend 1 point of focus from an implement of the appropriate school (or 2 points, if spending generic focus) each time he activates the ability.