Occultist
Pathfinder Occultists are basically Harry Dresden, the class. Rather than using a single focus to channel magic like other Spellcasters, Occultists use the power imbedded within storied antiques.
They're built on the same chassis as the Magus- that is, 3/4ths BAB, 6-level (spontaneous) spellcasting, and good Fortitude and Reflex saves. However, they differ greatly in use.
First, the Occultist gets access to Implements, which are objects that he casts his spells through. Every few levels, he gains another implement, and gains one spell known of every spell level he can cast that belongs to that implement's school of magic. Second, they get Focus Powers and Resonant Powers based off of their implements. At first level, you get two implements, their resonant powers (passive abilities that typically buff you in some way), and the basic focus powers (which are generally useful abilities, like summoning a monster or shooting a laser). These powers are fueled through your "Mental Focus" pool, which is equal to your level plus your intelligence modifier.
Uniquely, at the start of each day, when you refresh your spells, you get to allocate your Mental Focus through your implements. The more mental focus you have invested in an implement, the stronger its resonant power will be, and the more you can use its focus powers. You CAN opt to use a focus power without investing focus in the implement, but it costs twice as much.
Occultists also get a hodge-podge of abilities as they level up, ranging from always-on detect magic and aura sight, to being able to draw magic circles a la-Fullmetal Alchemist that allow him to use Protection from [Alignment] spells, and later on, bind outsiders. At 20th level, you supercharge one of your implements.
The Occultist solidly rests at Tier 3. It's nowhere near as powerful as a full 9-level spellcaster, but it gets the job done. It also has a lot of staying power, because it doesn't need to cast buffs using its limited spell slots. They also have a great deal of versatility- they gain a large number of spells known all throughout their career, and because their focus powers allow them to have the most useful spells as powers, they can afford to invest in other spells. With Psychic Anthology they gained one interesting trick: The Panoply Trappings of the Warrior can make Occultist the only (Except Relic Hunter Inquisitor, which steals this trick but is terrible) full BAB class in the game with 6th level spells.
The class has a few notable archetypes. The first is the Tome Eater archetype, which allows you to eat books to regain mental focus and manages to be pretty good for a class based around destroying expensive things. The second is Silksworn, which gets power from outrageous/fancy clothes. While this costs them their gish ability, it improves their casting enough to make it usable. It has a bit of fame not for any ability in the class itself, but because of oddities in Society (organized play) rules that meant it was the first way characters of any class could legally purchase fancy accessories of arbitrary description with no mechanical effect (If you think this is stupid, now you know why organized play is shit).
The Occultist would exist in a sense in Pathfinder Second Edition, but it would be renamed as the Thaumaturge and generally be stripped of any innate spellcasting ability outside of some powers provided by the implements.
13th Age[edit]
The Occultist that appears in 13th Age is...a very unusual case, with the most blatant one being the fact that the book itself set up a rather arbitrary rule that forces there to be only ONE Occultist in any game.
While they're considered casters, their way of casting is very unusual when compared to more traditional classes. Not only did they require spell slots, but they also need to spend an action each turn in order to gather Focus required to cast. While a lot of these spells are triggered as interrupts that are triggered by actions taken by the rest of the battle, there is a single spell that is given to any Occultist that lets them deal some damage on their turn, though it's only about as good as any other attack.
| The Classes of Pathfinder 1st Edition | |
|---|---|
| Core Classes: | Barbarian - Bard - Cleric - Druid - Fighter - Monk Paladin - Ranger - Rogue - Sorcerer - Wizard |
| Advanced Player's Guide: |
Alchemist - Antipaladin - Cavalier Inquisitor - Oracle - Summoner - Witch |
| Advanced Class Guide: |
Arcanist - Bloodrager - Brawler - Hunter - Investigator Shaman - Skald - Slayer - Swashbuckler - Warpriest |
| Occult Adventures: |
Kineticist - Medium - Mesmerist Occultist - Psychic - Spiritualist |
| Ultimate X: | Gunslinger - Magus - Ninja - Samurai - Shifter - Vigilante |