The Occultist

The Occultist walks the narrow band of gray that sits between the light of day and the dark of night. They embrace the things of darkness to learn from them, to master them, and to ultimately control them. The Occultist doesn’t see destruction as the only course of action when dealing with the denizens of the dark. They aren't above making deals with lesser evils to overcome greater threats, and they have as much curiosity about monsters as they have desire to protect the world from them.

The Occultist plays a dangerous game, using the forces of evil to further their own ends. Ambitious, scholarly, and willing to walk the middle path, the Occultist uses magic to battle magic. If their tenuous control ever slips, however, the Occultist might not be able to command the forces they have placed a leash upon - and they might not be able to deal with the danger they pose to their body and mind.

Select this advanced class if you want your character to learn the hidden arts and discover the ancient lore of the unknown.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.

Shadow Sage

You pride yourself on your ability to research and root out the secrets of unknown creatures. Starting at 3rd level, you can spend an hour or more researching a type of creature. At the end of this time, you can make an Intelligence check against a DC of 8 + the creature’s challenge rating. On a success, the DM shows you statistics representing an typical example of that kind of creature. To conduct this research, you must have access to suitable research materials, either in the form of written material or internet access.

Unique Notation

You are largely self-taught when it comes to the mechanics of magic, and as such you have developed an independent style of writing your spells. Beginning when you take this advanced class at 3rd level, the time it takes for you to copy spells into your spellbook is doubled, and the cost of doing so is halved.

Additionally, anyone attempting to copy spells from your spellbook must spend twice as much time and money as they normally would.

Routine Ritualism

Your extensive research into ancient practices and rites affords you great insight into their execution. Starting at 7th level, you can add spells from any class' spell list to your spellbook if they have the ritual tag. You may only cast these spells as rituals.

Additionally, you can reduce the time required to cast a spell as a ritual is reduced to 1 minute, unless casting time of the spell is longer. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier and you regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Blank Scrolls

Beginning at 7th level, you have achieved enough practice at scribing spells that you can do so even in stressful situations. At the end of a short rest, you can leave up to half of your available spell scrolls blank. You can then magically scribe a spell on these blank scrolls using a bonus action.

Arcane Sense

At 10th level, you add the identify, detect magic, and detect evil and good spells to your spellbook. They are each wizard spells for you, and you can cast each of them once without using a spell scroll. When you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Magical Secrets

By 10th level, your breadth of research into the arcane arts has taught you some techniques from other magical disciplines. Choose two spells from any class' spell list, including the wizard spell list. A spell you choose must be of a level you can cast, as shown on the Occultist Spellcasting table, or a cantrip.

Add the chosen spells to your spellbook. The chosen spells count as wizard spells for you.

You learn two additional spells in this way at 18th level.

Use Magic Device

By 15th level, you have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

Additionally, you have achieved such skill at attuning to magic items that you can do so very quickly. You can attune to a magic item as an action. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again until you have finished a long rest.

Extradimensional Exile

At 15th level, your extensive research into extradimensional horrors has taught you the best methods of ridding yourself of them. You add the banishment spell to your spellbook if it is not there already. You can cast banishment once using this feature at 4th level without expending a spell slot. Once you do so, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Whenever you cast banishment, whether using this ability, your Careful Casting feature, or from some other ability, it has the following modifications:

• You have advantage on concentration saving throws to maintain the spell.
• If the target of the spell reappears, you can choose for it to do so within 60 feet of the space it left.
• If the target succeeds on its initial saving throw, it takes 4d10 force damage.

Chainmaster

You have such extensive knowledge of the workings of supernatural creatures that you can bind them into your service. Starting at 18th level, as an action, you can choose one aberration, celestial or fiend that you can see within 60 feet of you. That creature must make a Charisma saving throw against your spell save DC. If it succeeds, you can't use this feature on it again. If it fails, it becomes friendly to you and obeys your commands until you use this feature again.

If the target has an Intelligence of 8 or higher, it has advantage on the saving throw. If it fails the saving throw and has an Intelligence of 12 or higher, it can repeat the saving throw at the end of every hour until it succeeds and breaks free.

Credits

Document and contents by Dylan Richards (Reddit: u/Altavus , Tumblr: decision-paralysis, Blogger: Decision Paralysis)