Occultist - A Class for Adventurers of the Lost World

Sorcery is a definetly a important part of the DCC RPG and it should be present in the Adventurers of the Lost World setting. The atlanteans are masters of sorcery. They are alien beings without the mortal soul and mortal limitations that us humans have. Thus, sorcery was not meant for the mortal mind and body. DCC RPG already makes the use of magic a dangerous bargain, but I wanted to emphasize this hard bargain with a class that makes it clear that theses are forces no one in their right mind should be meddling with. So it's born the Occultist.

Occultist

You discovered that the reality that surrounds us is not really what it seems. The rigid laws of physics are not that rigid. They are malleable, like clay. Seeking occult knowledge, ancient tomes, forgotten entities with forbidden secrets, occultists are capable of transforming the universe around them using ancient formulas and sinister sorcery. The Lost World, to them, is a treasure trove of knowledge and power, ripe for the taking.

Occultists are spellcasters that study the old knowledge left by ancient civilizations and almost completely forgotten in Our World. The Atlanteans were the greatest of the sorcerers of old and many occultist seek their ruins in search for their secrets. Occultist are not capable combatants but they make it up with a vast array of spells and rituals capable of shaping the world to their whims. In an exploration of the Lost World, the presence of an occultist is a must have, since the ruins of the Atlanteans are fraught with sorcery and secrets only them can solve.

Hit points: Occultists receive 1d4 hit points per level.

Proficiencies: An occultist is proficient with all civilian weapons, but their training with this weaponry is minimal. Their true weapons lie in the ancient secrets they learn. They are not trained in the use of armor of any kind however.

Alignment: People of all temperaments and mind tendencies can unveil the mysteries of the universe. An occultist alignment, however, will dictate how the character view the role of sorcery and its use. Occultists of lawful alignment see the use of sorcery and it's secrets as a great resource for the betterment of the world and humanity. The supernatural should serve the natural in their view. Chaotic occultists, on the other hand, have no problems with supernatural entities ruling over mortal underlings, as long as they have privileges, of course. They will seek out power and knowledge not caring about the consequences. Finally, neutral occultists are not particular keen on helping and improving humankind anymore than himself. He will seek power and secrets but is aware that everything has its cost and some of them are too much to pay for.

Caster level: As with wizards from the DCC RPG core rulebook, the power level of the spells an occultist cast varies according to his level. A occultist caster level is equal to his level in this character class most of the time. However, when a spell refers to the caster level in one of it's results, the caster level of the occultist is equal to the result of his wild magic die.

Wild magic: The control of the arcane energies employed in the sorceries occultist practice isn't perfect. After all, they are just mortals. When casting a spell, occultists are meddling with powers far beyond the scope of any mortal mind, thus it's hard for them to fully control and comprehend their powers. On the other hand, the entities that control those energies haven't had dealings with sorcerers for hundreds of thousand of years, and the mortal souls they could have access through the occultists could enhance their own powers. In this way, they see the pact and dealing with these sorcerers as a way to access more souls for their dreadful dealings. This is reflected by the wild magic trait. Occultists do not get a fixed modifier for spell checks, receiving a wild magic die (similar to the deed die of a warrior) to cast their spells. This makes them potentially more powerful in some situations (when these entities favor them, because of their desire for souls), but most of the time they will have a average modifier lower than wizards. In addition, the result of the wild magic die can have further effects, depending on the result.

Additional corruption: If you action die and you wild magic die comes up as one, you roll twice to see what happens (misfire, corruption, patron taint) and apply both results at once.
Arcane inertia: When a occultist rolls a natural 20 on a spell check and also roll the highest result in his wild magic die, he gets to keep the wild magic die result for his next spell. This represent a sudden influx of arcane energy from the supernatural patrons.

Supernatural patrons: Just like wizards from the DCC core rulebook, occultists can form alliances and pacts with supernatural beings in order to gain favors and learn secrets they, otherwise, would not have access to. Using the Patron Bond spell, occultist can form pacts with those entities the same way wizards.

Superstitions: In order to apprehend the arcane secrets and the alien knowledge that make up sorcery, occultists have to establish superstitions. The mortal mind is incapable of fully grasping the whole truth behind sorcery. At least if it wants to remain sane. Because of that, each level, beginning in the 1st, a occultist develops a superstition that he must abide by or risk becoming incapable of appropriately manipulating the arcane energies he use in his spells. Whenever a occultist acts against his superstitions, his action dies gets a –1d modifier on the dice chain. The player can create their own superstitions (and the judge has to approve them) or roll on the following table once per level.

d24	Superstition
1	Must always wear a silver jewelry.
2	Must always dance for 4 hours naked under the fist full moon night of the month.
3	Must bathe in blood once per month to purify itself.
4	Must never look into a mirror.
5	Must never say its own name.
6	Must always dress the same color of clothes.
7	Must always wear a mask.
8	Must never let a hair grow in its body.
9	Must never clip their nails.
10	Must not bathe in water.
11	Must never touch gold.
12	Must drink a cup of blood everyday.
13	Must only eat raw meat.
14	Must fast for one week every month.
15	Must never cross running water.
16	Must purify himself once per month diving in freezing waters.
17	Must always walk backwards.
18	Must never touch another human being.
19	Must participate in a drugged orgy once each lunar cycle.
20	Must never step barefooted on the ground.
21	Must spend a week each month with his eyes closed.
22	Must never have a sexual relation again.
23	Must never sleep under the same roof twice.
24	Must offer a living sacrifice to his patron each level.

Corrupting power: The wild and chaotic energies occultists meddle with are not meant for mortal souls to handle. Their bodies and minds cannot properly deal with the corrupting power of sorvery. In game terms, each level gives the occultist a corruption automatically. On levels 1 through 3, they receive an minor corruption. Through levels 4 to 7, they receive a major corruption. Finally, on levels 8-10, they receive an automatic greater corruption.

Linguistics: In their live of work, occultists come in contact with hundreds of different languages and alphabets. This made them very familiar with almost every kind of language. This means that when an occultist comes in contact with a piece of writing or a spoken language, he can make a Linguistics check to gather a understanding from it and to be able to communicate in some degree.

Luck: Occultists develop close ties to their patrons and the spells they teach him. At first level, an occultist chooses one spell to add his Luck modifier on. This modifier does not change if his Luck score does.

Languages: As with wizards, occultist gain additional languages equal to their Int modifier (effectively doubling their number of additional languages).

Action dice: Occultists use their additional action dices to cast spells. The first action dice can be used for any action.

Table 3-9: Occultist

Level	Attack	Crit Die /Table	Action Die	Ref	Fort	Will	Wild Die	Spells Known*	Max Spell Level
1	+0	1d6/I	1d20	+1	+0	+1	1d3	3	1
2	+1	1d6/I	1d20	+1	+0	+1	1d4	4	1
3	+1	1d8/I	1d20	+1	+1	+2	1d5	5	2
4	+1	1d8/I	1d20	+2	+1	+2	1d6	6	2
5	+2	1d10/I	1d20+1d14	+2	+1	+3	1d7	7	3
6	+2	1d10/I	1d20+1d16	+2	+2	+4	1d8	8	3
7	+3	1d12/I	1d20+1d20	+3	+2	+4	1d10	9	4
8	+3	1d12/I	1d20+1d20	+3	+2	+5	1d12	10	4
9	+4	1d14/I	1d20+1d20	+3	+3	+5	1d14	12	5
10	+4	1d14/I	1d20+1d20+1d14	+4	+3	+6	1d16	14	5