Psionics, Telekinetics, Spirits Galore : Occult Adventures Playtest
A week ago, Paizo annouced the start of the Occult Adventures Playtest! As your friendly VOs were stuck in little islands off the mainland (one for pleasure, and one for the pain), we didn't have time to bring to you what's new with this play test.
Occult Adventures is slated for release next year, and playtest period is only open till the 25 November 2014. This means that you have until the 25th to create and play one of these new classes. Do also note that there is a chronicle sheet available here, that will allow you to continue playing your Occult Adventures after the 25th and up to the launch.
*Note: For the chronicle sheet, you need to actually PLAY the character in a game and get your GM to sign off on the line by 25 Nov to be eligible for the extra boons. You can use GM credit to level up your characters to the appropriate tier to access the higher level game requirements, but you cannot sign off on the line unless you PLAY that character in a scenario / module.
Occult Adventures opens up 6 new classes in the psionic fields, something that was vastly popular back in 3.5. We'll give you a quick low-down on what's what in this quick guide, and how the playtest works.
Occult Adventures is slated for release next year, and playtest period is only open till the 25 November 2014. This means that you have until the 25th to create and play one of these new classes. Do also note that there is a chronicle sheet available here, that will allow you to continue playing your Occult Adventures after the 25th and up to the launch.
*Note: For the chronicle sheet, you need to actually PLAY the character in a game and get your GM to sign off on the line by 25 Nov to be eligible for the extra boons. You can use GM credit to level up your characters to the appropriate tier to access the higher level game requirements, but you cannot sign off on the line unless you PLAY that character in a scenario / module.
Occult Adventures opens up 6 new classes in the psionic fields, something that was vastly popular back in 3.5. We'll give you a quick low-down on what's what in this quick guide, and how the playtest works.
Kineticist (Ranged Spell-like abilities)
Think of the benders from Nickolodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender, or warlocks from 3.5ed. Kineticists use one of the four elements (fire, earth, water, air) and an additional "untyped" element aether, in order to rain punishment from afar. They can alter their blasts by using infusions (we think this needs to be renamed as it sounds like the alchemist's abilities) which can do various things from extending the range of the blasts to changing it into a healing touch. They can also alter their kinetic blast ability into a blade and use it for close combat, but then you might as well play a fighter or rogue if you go down that route.
Medium (Semi-spellcaster)
Similar to binders from 3.5ed, or 3rd party Radiance House's Occultist class, spirit mediums conduct seances that allow spirits to possess their bodies, granting them extra powers. I personally tried out Radiance House's Occultist class, and it was really fun experience, but the way Paizo does it is a bit different. Instead of a brand new set of abilities when bound to a spirit, you are instead granted some stat and ability improvements to augment your base abilities. You also have access to the spirit's spells, similar to how domain spells work for clerics, but mediums cannot cast spells outside of their bound spirit's jurisdiction.
Mesmerist (Controller)
The Mesmerist uses illusions and guile to conceal, confuse and hinder her opponents. With access to up to level 6 spells and a plethora of spell-like abilities that can snatch arrows out of the air or create illusionary doubles to confound enemies, the Mesmerists can definitely turn the tide in any combat situation, or talk, lie and cheat their way out of any diplomatic one.
Occultist (Focus based Support, Semi-spellcaster)
The Occultist is very interesting. Instead of casting spells, similar to a alchemist he instead infuses his implements with power. Implements can range from anything from an amulet to a pair of boots or a weapon. The type of bonuses depends very much on the implements that are used as a focus. These implements can also be shared among party members, giving them bonuses to their abilities. In addition, occultists gain selected spells based on what implements they use.
Psychic (Spellcaster)
Psychics are your psions, and a full caster class. Similar to clerics, they have a "discipline" which works like a cleric domain to access additional spells. They also posses a phrenic pool that works like the magus' arcana points that can be use to augment and change their spells. One interesting thing to note is that for psionic spells, you have the ability to "downgrade" your spells. Meaning that if you learn Ego Whip 3, you can automatically downgrade it to cast Ego Whip 2 or Ego Whip 1 using the same 3rd level spell slot without needed to necessarily learn the previous incarnations of the spell.
Spiritualist (Summoner, Semi-spellcaster)
Similar to a summoner, the spiritualist has access to a phantom which either resides in the ethereal plane (dead), semi-manifested (exists in the mind) or fully manifested (essentially an eidolon, but you are not allowed to have both a eidolon and phantom out). When "unsummoned" but not dead, the phantom bestows additional benefits to the spiritualist that augments his skills and abilities. The drawback for this, is you only access up to level 6 spells maximum.
