Occult Investigator (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Occult investigators use means like psychic powers like reading and occultist spells to glean the occult secrets they seek .

Class Information

This is an investigator archetype that replaces alchemy with occultist spells.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Features

The occult investigator has all the standard investigator’s class features, except as noted below.

Spells

Table: Occult Investigator
Spells Known

Level	Spells Known
	Zero	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1	4	2	—	—	—	—	—
2	5	3	—	—	—	—	—
3	6	4	—	—	—	—	—
4	6	4	2	—	—	—	—
5	6	4	3	—	—	—	—
6	6	4	3	—	—	—	—
7	6	5	4	2	—	—	—
8	6	5	4	3	—	—	—
9	6	5	4	4	—	—	—
10	6	5	4	4	2	—	—
11	6	6	4	4	3	—	—
12	6	6	4	4	4	—	—
13	6	6	4	5	4	2	—
14	6	6	4	5	4	3	—
15	6	6	4	5	4	4	—
16	6	6	4	5	5	4	2
17	6	6	5	6	5	4	3
18	6	6	5	6	5	4	4
19	6	6	5	6	5	5	4
20	6	6	5	5	5	5	5

An occult investigator casts psychic spells drawn from the occultist spell list. The occult investigator can choose any occultist spells, ignoring implements. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.

To learn or cast a spell, a occult investigator must have a Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a occult investigator’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the occult investigator’ Intelligence modifier. A occult investigator can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level each day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Investigator. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells).

A occult investigator’ selection of spells is extremely limited. A occult investigator begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of the occult investigator’ choice. At each new occult investigator level, he gains one or more new spells as indicated on Table: Occult investigator Spells Known. Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a occult investigator knows is not affected by his Intelligence score. The numbers on Table: Occult investigator Spells are fixed.

Knacks: Occult investigators learn a number of knacks, or 0-level spells, as noted on Table: Occult Investigator Spells Known. These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume any slots and may be used again.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every third occult investigator level thereafter (7th, 10th, and so on), a occult investigator can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the occult investigator “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. A occult investigator may swap out 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 the level.

This replaces alchemy and swift alchemy.

Investigator Talents

An occult investigator cannot take the alchemist discovery talent or any investigator talent that affects alchemy. The occult investigator can select from the following additional talents.

Aura Sight

Prerequisite(s): Occult investigator 5th level

The occult investigator adds aura sight to his spell list and list of known spells as a second level spell.

Magic Item Skill (Ex)

The occult investigator'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 occult investigator level.

Object Reading (Su)

The occult investigator 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 investigator 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 investigator's class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occult investigator 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 investigator's class level, the occult investigator 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.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Spells
• Alchemy
• Swift Alchemy

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