Still Not Done With PF1: Esoteric Class, a Prepared Psychic Spellcaster (Draft) (Patreon)

It's time for the weekly Pathfinder 1e content available to all members! This time it's the esoteric class, a Pathfinder 1st-edition class I built as a prepared psychic spellcaster. The concept is esoteric is to wizard as psychic is to sorcerer. Given that psychic magic is less common and more occult than arcane or divine, I knew from the get-go that I wanted esoteric information and lore to be part of the concept of the class.

When thinking about a prepared psychic, I found myself wondering what it would mean to prepare psychic spells. The idea of an ordered mind, where you could build mental patterns and visualizations to serve as "spells" appealed to me, and felt very similar to the method of loci mnemonic strategy. Pathfinder has already had some "mind palace" options, so loci mnemonics are in keeping with the existing tone and scope of the game system. I decided to make that the second leg of the esoteric's conceptual basis.

With those three things -- psychic magic, esoteric knowledge, and a mind palace I build a 9-level spellcasting class. Well, mostly. See, there's a HUGE cold snap in my part of the country, and it killed my HVAC, burst a pipe, and flooded my game room. We're still dealing with the fallout... and as a result I haven't had a chance to put any development, polish, or expanded options on the esoteric yet. You COULD play it as-is, especially at lower levels. But I need to both fill out some class features (20th level capstone included), and make a development/editing/p[oishing pass on the finished text... once it's finished.

But I thought some people might ENJOY seeing what a not-quite-done class build from me looked like, and I already had custom art from Jacob Blackmon, so here is the esoteric, as-it-currently-stands.

(A female gnome esoteric. I wanted someone who looked halfway between a sage and a mage, with a hint of secret society membership. Art by Jacob Blackmon!)

Role: Primary spellcaster

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d6

Starting Wealth: 4d6 × 10 gp (average 140 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

[H3]Class Skills

The esoteric’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Inft), Fly (Dex), Knowledge (all, each taken separately) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following are class features of the esoteric.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: An esoteric is proficient with simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, sap, shortbow, short sword, and sword cane. They are proficient in light armors, but not shields.

Spells: An esoteric casts psychic spells drawn from the occultist and psychic spell lists. If a spell appears on both the occultist and psychic spell lists, the esoteric uses the higher of the two spell levels listed for the spell. An esoteric must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time.

To learn, prepare, or cast a spell, the esoteric must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an esoteric's spell is 10 + the spell level + the esoteric's Wisdom modifier.

An esoteric can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Esoteric. In addition, they receive bonus spells per day if they have a high Wisdom score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells).

An esoteric may know a large number of spells, though the total number they may know at once is limited by the size of their memory palace (see the memory palace class feature). They must choose and prepare their spells ahead of time by getting 8 hours of sleep and spending 1 hour studying their memory palace. While studying, the esoteric decides which spells to prepare.

Esoteric Knowledge (Ex)

At 1st level, the esoteric selects any 4 additional skills to be class skills.

Memory Palace (Ex)

Rather than a spellbook or other external record of spells learned, an esoteric keeps all their spells in a memory palace -- a mental construct of some location (real or imaged) the esoteric has thoroughly memorized. This could be an actual palace or other building, a collection of stars and constellations, a map with all its markers and symbols, or even a table full of foods, drinks, plates, and cutlery. The esoteric associates specific memories and information with items or locations within the memory palace. To recall the knowledge, the esoteric visualizes moving through their memory palace, and the items placed at locations within it remind them of the associated memory of knowledge.

An esoteric begins play with a spellbook containing all 0-level esoteric spells plus a number of 1st-level esoteric spells of his choice equal to 3 + the esoteric's Wisdom bonus. At each new esoteric level, their memory palace gains two new esoteric spell of any spell levels that they can cast (based on their new esoteric level).

At any time, an esoteric can also add esoteric spells found on scrolls or in alchemist formula books or wizard spellbooks (as long as the spells are also on the esoteric spell list). This functions just like a wizard adding spells to a spellbook, except the relevant checks are Wisdom checks and the costs are for special mediative aids. An esoteric can have a maximum number of spells added to their memory palace this way equal to 100 levels of spells, plus the highest spell-level esoteric spell they can cast multipled by their esoteric class level. (Thus, a 7th-level esoteric, able to cast 4th-level spells, would have a total capacity of 128 spell levels.) If an esoteric wishes to add more additional spells known to their memory palace they can choose to erase current spells known (freeing up those spell levels of storage), or take the spellbook memory focus.

Additionally, your memory palace makes it difficult for others to affect your memories. You have Spell Resistance equal to 10 + your esoteric level plus your Wisdom bonus against any spell that would erase, alter, or add to your memories, such as memory lapse or modify memory. Once a specific spell from a specific source or caster fails to penetrate your SR, you are immune to that spell from that source or caster for 24 hours. Like normal SR, you may choose to lower your SR voluntarily. You also gain a circumstance bonus to all saving throws against effects that would erase, alter, or add to your memory equal to half your esoteric level (minimum +1).

Finally, your memory palace allows you to associate facts and information you gather in one field of study with those in a different area of information. Each time you take the first rank in a Knowledge skill, select another Knowledge skill to associate it with. For example, when you take your first rank in Knowledge (planes), you can associate that skill with Knowledge (nature). You can use the total bonus for the Knowledge skill you have ranks in for all checks in the associated skill.

Palace Focus

At 1st level, and every other level thereafter, you gain 1 palace focus of your choice selected from the choices below. Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. When you prepare your spells for the day, you may arrange one memory palace focus to be prominent within your memory palace, gaining the benefits listed for that focus. A few spell foci, such as spellbook, do not need to be arranged to grant their benefit, as noted in their descriptions.

At 8th level when you arrange (or re-arrange) your palace foci, you may have 2 foci arranged at the same time (gaining the benefits from both). At 16th level when you arrange (or re-arrange) your palace foci, you may have 3 foci arranged at the same time (gaining the benefits from all three).

Armor (Sp): Your memory palace has a suit of armor or other defensive item in it that you can arrange in a place of prominence. When arranged, this focus gives you a personal mage armor spell with a duration that lasts until you next arrange your foci. If the mage armor is dispelled, you can restore it on your move as a move action.

Chest (Sp): You have an excellently crafted chest within your mind palace, and when it is arranged you can manifest it in the material world, sending it back to your memory palace to store actual objects within it. This acts as secret chest, except you do not need a 5,000 gp chest or its replica, you can only have a single chest, any living creature in the chest is left behind when you send it back to your mind palace, there is no risk of losing the chest after 60 days, and you can only have a single secret chest at a time using this focus. Items in the chest are not lost if this focus is not arranged, but they cannot be accessed. You always know exactly what is in your secret chest while it is in your memory palace (as well as if you were looking at it and touching it, suffering the same consequences as actually looking at the item and touching it if any), even if this focus is not arranged. If the secret chest is manifested when you unarranged this focus, it and its contents are sent to your memory palace.

You must be at least a 9th-level esoteric to select this palace focus.

Game Piece (Ex): You focus on a specific piece of a specific game within your mind palace. This may be a piece for a tactical boardgame (such as a chess or go playing piece), playing card, die, board of piece for a word game, or even a piece of sporting equipment. Select one ability score. You gain a +3 bonus to all ability checks and skill checks based on this ability score, except Knowledge skills. This does not stack with any bonuses to those checks gained from feats (such as Endurance or Skill Focus). You select the ability score each time to arrange this focus.

This bonus increases to +4 at 4th level, +5 at 7th level, +6 at 10th level, +7 at 13th level, +8 at 16th level, +9 at 19th level, and +10 at 20th level.

Using this ability requires you to visualize yourself playing the game within your memory palace against a theoretical foe representing the task you are attempting to overcome. Each time you fail an ability or skill check for your selected ability score, your bonus to checks for that score is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of +0). When you next arrange your foci, the bonuses reset.

Icons (Ex): Your memory palace has a number of icons representing different aspects of physical capability or achievement. You can arrange one of the icons at the fore of this collection and gain one of the following bonus feats of your choice -- Agile Maneuvers, Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Defensive Combat Training, Diehard, Dodge, Endurance, Fleet, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Precise Shot, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Run, Toughness, or Weapon Finesse.

You retain the selected feat until you next arrange your foci. You do not need to meet the prerequisites for a feat you gain with this focus, but you also can't use these feats for prerequisites for other feats, prestige classes, or other options.

You can select this focus more than once. If you can arrange multiple foci at a time, you can arrange this focus a number of times equal to the number of times you have selected it (to a maximum of the number of foci you can have arranged simultaneously).

Library (Ex): You have a place of study, research, and learning within your memory palace. When this room is arranged, you may meditate for 10 minutes on a Recall Knowledge check you failed. During this time, you are doing research within your own memory palace, and may make a boosted reroll* for the failed Recall Knowledge check. You gain information you would have gained if the original Recall Knowledge result was equal to your new result. Once you have used this benefit once on a failed Recall Knowledge check, you cannot use it on the same check again until you have gained a esoteric class level.

Metamagic Pattern (Su): Your memory palace includes an area with complex patterns, such as a hedge maze, loom, needlepoint, or complex tapestry. Select one metamagic rod with a cost of 3,000 gp or less. When this focus is arranged, you gain the benefit of being able to adjust your esoteric spells cast as if you were holding that rod. Once you have used the benefit of this focus, you cannot re-arrange this focus until you next prepare spells. Each time you gain a new level of esoteric, you may change what metamagic rod this focus emulates. You must be at least 6th level to select this focus. If you are 12th level, you may select a metamagic rod with a cost of 11,000 gp or less. If you are 18th level, you may select a metamagic rod with a cost of 35,000 gp or less.

You can select this focus more than once. Each additional time you select it, you select another metamagic rod you can choose from when you arrange this focus. If you can arrange multiple foci at a time, you can arrange this focus a number of times equal to the number of times you have selected it (to a maximum of the number of foci you can have arranged simultaneously), selecting a different metamagic rod to emulate from those you have selected for each arranged focus.

Shield (Sp): Your memory palace has a shield, defensive wall, or other cover-granting object in it that you can arrange in a place of prominence. When arranged, this focus causes a shield spell to spring into existence whenever you take hit point damage. The shield is triggered after you take the damage, and does not prevent any of the damage that triggers it. The shield spell otherwise acts exactly as if you had cast it.

Spellbook (Ex): You have devoted a section of your memory palace to space to know additional spells from the esoteric class list. You increase the number of levels of spells you can know at one time that are learned from scrolls, formula books, or spellbooks by +100 spell levels. Additionally, when you gain this focus, you gain a bonus number of such spells known equal to your esoteric class level. These spells known must be on the esoteric spell list and either the alchemist or wizard spell list. Each time you gain a class level after taking this focus, you may select another such spell known and record it in your memory palace, as long as you have enough spell levels of capacity left.

You do not have to arrange this focus to gain its benefits.

Scriptorium: Your memory palace includes a writing room you use to memorize a piece of information and later recall it perfectly. Your scriptorium can hold roughly 10 pages of written information, including images and maps, or 10 minutes’ worth of speech or music. (Memorizing music doesn’t confer the ability to perform it properly.) The amount you can store increases by 5 pages and 5 minutes at 2nd level, and at every esoteric level thereafter. You can hold multiple pieces of information in your scriptorium, but each piece uses a minimum of 10 pages or 10 minutes of storage. You can replace old information when you add new information, to ensure you don't run out of storage. The information doesn’t go away when you recall it, but if you replace a piece of old information with new information, the old piece becomes as imperfect as any other memory. Memorizing magical writing (such as a scroll or a page from a spellbook) doesn’t confer the ability to borrow, duplicate, or retain any of the magic in the writing. You could reproduce the spell in writing to allow someone who prepares spells from a spellbook to prepare it, though this functions as using a borrowed spellbook for anyone other than you. If you’re in telepathic contact with another creature (through telepathic bond, for example), you can transfer the information directly into its mind as a free action. For this creature, the information functions like a normal memory, not one with perfect clarity.

You can attempt to sequester a written magical trap (such as explosive runes or sepia snake sigil) in your mnemonic cache and destroy it. Treat this as a Disable Device check to disarm a magical trap (as though you had the trapfinding class feature). Your bonus on this roll is equal to either your Disable Device modifier or 5 + your esoteric level + your Wisdom modifier, whichever is higher. If you succeed, instead of being disabled, the trap is erased and destroyed. This ability can’t destroy symbol traps; it functions only if written text is involved.

Esoteric Magic

 At each class level beyond 1st, the esoteric chooses a spell from any class’s spell list and thereafter treats that spell as if it were on the esoteric class spell list and a spell they have learned. If the spell is not a psychic spell, it is treated as 1 level higher than it is on the original class’s spell list. If it is only found on the class spell list of classes that never gain 7th or higher level spells, it is treated as 1 level higher than it is on the original class’s spell list. If the spell is found on only 1 class's spell list, it is treated as 1 level higher than it is on the original class’s spell list. These effects are cumulative--for example, if an esoteric selected bless weapon (a 1st-level spell, not a psychic spell, only found on the class list of a class that never gains 7th-level spells, only found on the paladin spell list) using esoteric magic, it becomes a 4th-level spell. The esoteric must be able to cast spells of the level they treat the selected spell as to select it.

The spell is cast by the esoteric as a psychic spell. If the esoteric creates a spell-trigger or spell-completion items of a non-esoteric spell gained through esoteric magic, it is only treated as being on the class list of other esoterics who have gained the spell though esoteric magic. Any other character must treat it as a psychic that isn't on their class list (requiring a Use Magic Device check to successfully use the spell-trigger or spell-completion item.

Gaining a spell does not grant the esoteric any other abilities or class features referenced by the spell that the esoteric does not already possess. For example, if an esoteric learned the 4th level bard spell virtuoso performance, the esoteric could cast the spell, but would not gain the bardic performance ability (most likely causing the spell to have no effect, unless the esoteric had gained bardic performance from some other source).

Esoteric Practice (Ex)

As they delve deeper and deeper into fringe and forgotten lore, the esoteric picks up unusual and different ways of performing sets of related tasks. At 4th level, and again at 10th, 14th, and 18th level, the esoteric selects one class skill that is not Wisdom-based. The esoteric may use their Wisdom bonus, rather than the skill’s normal ability modifier, to determine their skill bonus for the selected skill.

Refocus (Ex)

At 6th level, an esoteric can refocus on their memory palace to adjust their arrangement of palace foci. This requires 10 minutes of uninterrupted, quiet meditation. This requires the same level of focus and quiet as is required to prepare spells. At the end of this time, the esoteric can re-arrange their palace foci to change which focus or foci they gain benefits from. At 14th level, an esoteric can refocus as a standard action, however doing so requires them to expend a prepared esoteric spell of 6th level or higher. The spell is not cast, its psychic energy is simply expended to fuel the rapid re-arrangement of the esoteric’s palace foci.

Manifest Palace (Su)

At 12th level, you can magically manifest your memory palace in the form of an extradimensional library to house mental constructs representing the volumes of lore you’ve studied. This ability functions as mage’s magnificent mansion, with the following adjustments: the memory palace is limited in size to a number of 10-foot cubes equal to your esoteric level; your memory palace doesn’t contain any furniture other than bookcases and a few desks and sofas where you and your visitors can study; and there is no food within, though the memory palace does contain a number of unseen servants equal to 1/2 your esoteric level, which function solely as librarians. The library keeps the same layout each time you summon it, though you can alter its appearance each time you gain a level or by spending 15 minutes concentrating. You can reshape the memory palace in your mind, so it doesn’t need to currently be in effect for you to alter it. You can create your memory palace once per day.

Choose one type of Knowledge skill when you gain this ability. Consulting your memory palace gives anyone who studies within—including you—a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge checks of that type, and the memory palace counts as an extensive library for people attempting Knowledge checks of that type untrained. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus on checks with the chosen skill when you’re not consulting the palace (including when the palace isn’t in effect). At 14th level and at each additional level thereafter, choose another Knowledge skill to which your memory palace’s library bonuses apply. If you have the library palace focus, anyone within your manifested palace gains the benefit of that focus even if it is not arranged.

*Boosted Reroll: One a boosted reroll, if your d20 produces a result of 1-10 (the die itself shows a 1-10), you add +10 to the final value of your check.