Even in the occult, actual communion with outer forces or the sources of occult magic is a rare occasion. There are some, however, who in their pursuits of forbidden knowledge have learned the nature of the flawed platonic archetypes of this reality. Among those that learn this and survive the dark revelation, you can find devotees of what most commoners would refer to as lesser dark gods.
at 9th occultist level, choose an Occult patron.
Each patron requires you to offer up a sacrifice as a ritual during rest, after which you gain the benefits associated with them.
The true father of undeath is not known, but a remnant of his remnant has been permanently etched into the threads of magic in almost all necromancy. It simply takes a keen eye to read them.
Ritual: Kill a sentient living creature.
Changes:
Command lesser undead - You can spend 1 rest dice to command any number of non-sentient undead around you within 40ft, commanding them perfectly.
Override undeath - You can spend 3 rest dice to command an undead sentient creature within 20ft, compelling it to make a wisdom save vs your spell DC. On a failure, they are now loyal to you permanently, or until uncursed.
Soul farming - When you slay a small or larger sentient creature, you gain a soul point. You can spend soul points interchangeable with rest dice, or 3 soul points for 1 spell point. Your maximum soul points is equal to your wisdom or charisma bonus, whichever is higher.
An unknown vast stillborn entity, sealed in a secret realm, who has been robbed of its soul. It lies in eternal coma, but it's form still dreams and reaches out to those who understand it.
Ritual: You must remove or be missing a body part.
Changes:
The shared pain - You gain regeneration 1 while below 1/3 health (rounded down)
Tainted blood - If you spend a HP on casting spells, the level of that spell is boosted by 1.
Sudden mutation - You can spend 1 rest dice as a bonus action to shift between any of the following benefits, losing 1d3 HP in the process:
+2 to an ability score.
+20 movement, burrow, fly, wall climb, jump distance, or swim speed.
fire resistance, cold resistance, or acid resistance.
It is speculated to be an elder god of entropy whose spirit was blinded in the deep past. The Devourer is poorly understood. It both loves its children and also feeds on them.
Ritual: You must consume the heart of a spellcaster.
Changes:
Soul-cannibal - You can spend 1 rest dice when consuming a creatures heart, either gaining their background feature, a +1 bonus to max HP up to a total maximum of +10, a mode of perception available to them, or gaining a +3 bonus to the skill which was the creatures best skill, or replacing a spell known with a spell the target knew that is of an appropriate level that you can cast (using your casting modifier.) Only one such bonus may take effect at a time. A creature whose heart you consume in such a fashion has disadvantage on checks made to raise them from the dead or reconjure their spirit.
Dark guts - You gain immunity to poison damage and resistance to acid damage. You are immune to adverse effects from consuming potions.
The hunger - You gain lifesight, you can perceive living creatures and lifeforce as a slightly colored aura.
In the in-between spaces that lie at the foundations of the archetypal realm exists an entity that gladly accepts the flame over and over again. Among it's sparse followers claim it is not native to creation itself.
Ritual: Burn a sacred text or book, 10 black pages or a black scroll, or an arcane spellbook with at least 10 spell levels worth of spells.
Changes:
Hear intent - You can understand all sentient languages. You cannot speak or read them.
Surrender self - You can surrender yourself to the moths, losing all but one of your rest dice, and dematerializing into a swarm of spectral moths. You rematerialize somewhere nearby within 1d10 miles after 12 hours, and your max HP is permanently reduced by 2.
Misaligned - You have a +2 bonus to saves vs teleportation or conjuration spells affecting you. When you critically succeed such an effect, you may redirect as though you were the caster of only that part of the spell/effect (Subject to GM.)
There is a "god" of justice that was not present for and is indifferent towards the lives of mortals, one who has been waging war against unseen things in the abyss since eons ago. The old elven seers divined his name to be "Nuald", only to be irrevocably cursed for their arrogance.
Ritual: You must sacrifice an eldritch, demonic, infernal, or fiendish creature, or you must consume a special potion that forces you to make 4 death saves in order to prove trustworthiness.
Changes:
The mark of Nuald - Your face and eye becomes marked. You gain a -2 penalty to disguise checks. When an effect checks how long you’ve been dead to determine if it can restore you (“dead no longer than X”), treat X as tripled for you.
Prove your worth - You may sacrifice a demonic, eldritch, infernal, fiendish, or aberration creature during a rest and beseech your patron, requesting a gift. You may or may not be rewarded with a spell known from any class of magic ( Offerings must only increase in quality. Subject to GM. )
The slayers call - Your spell DCs gain a +1 bonus and your attack rolls have their crit range extended by 1 so long as the target is an eldritch, fiendish, infernal, or demonic creature.
To those that are aware, it is clear that something immense sleeps beneath the depths of this world, but cannot mature or hatch, or perhaps awake. Its followers are split between three: those that seek to awaken it, and those that feed off its energies.
Ritual: You must drown or bury yourself during the ritual, dying in the process. You will be revived and gain a permanent -1 penalty to death saves.
Changes:
The deep power - Your spell point maximum is increased by 2.
Deep trance - You can choose to spend a rest dice to gain a +3 bonus to intelligence checks, as well as checks made to interact with magical or alchemical items. This lasts for as long as you maintain concentration. For the duration, your eyes go blank and you are hobbled. During this state, you have disadvantage on saves vs spells and abilities from abyssal and aberrant creatures (Subject to GM.)
Deep-source mutations - Choose one: waterbreathing, burrow speed of 10ft, 20ft swim speed, or tremmorsense 30ft.
Unnatural influence - Your rest dice maximum is increased by 1. Your natural lifespan is increased by half.
There was once a transcendental order, whose fragments now exist as beings of pure intellect and magic. The sages advise not to reach out, as one might become an unwitting servant of a rogue archon, whose morality is far too sophisticated for mortals.
Ritual: You must sacrifice an item enchanted with divination magic and accept an oath which forbids you from casting domination and compulsion effects. If you have domination or compulsion spells, you may swap them for oath spells of equivalent levels.
Changes:
Cosmic protection - you ignore the partial results suffered from successful saves of any kind so long as their source is an eldritch, undead, or demonic creature.
Intervention - You may spend 7 rest dice to beseech your patron for an intervention, stopping time for everyone except yourself and up to as many allies as your wisdom bonus (min 1.) granting all of you an additional 1d3 rounds. During this time, no interaction can be made with living things that are stopped and from the perspective of the creatures that can act, they are in stasis.
Ancient knowledge - You gain a +3 bonus to history and religion checks.
There still exist infernal ancestors whose influence reaches far and wide even while imprisoned in their hellish realm. Most official contract scrolls have been destroyed by holy orders, but there are ways...
Ritual: You must be able to speak and read infernal. You must sacrifice a black page, a scroll with a conjuration spell of at least 3rd level, the head of an animal that symbolizes fertility or innocence, and 1d10 HP worth of blood from yourself.
Changes:
You can no longer judge - You gain a -3 penalty to insight checks.
An evil gift - Choose one:
Life-taking - slaying a sentient small or larger creature restores 1 rest dice.
Great influence - Your compulsion and charm spell DCs are increased by 3.
Raw power - Your attacks, damage dealing abilities, and spell deal an extra 1d6 damage.
The fine print - When you die, you cannot be revived unless the creature making the revival ability psychically negotiates with your patron (subject to GM.)
The dragon cults great teachings do not concern themselves with the origin of the world, merely the origin of the draconic soul and how it pierced the world. The true form of what draconic creatures are is still said to be obscured.
Ritual: You must consume part of a draconic creature.
Changes:
Ascended form - You are now considered draconic by spells and abilities, choose one:
Wings - Gain wings and a fly speed of 30ft.
Breath - Your breath attacks deal 1d6 extra damage of your chosen kind(non-physical,) and you can spend 2 rest dice to breathe the chosen damage in a ray, dealing 3d6(+1d6) damage of the chosen kind to creatures that fail a DC 20 dexterity save.
Scales - You gain a +1 bonus to AC and intimidation checks.
Draconic casting - You may spend 1 rest dice when casting an evocation, abjuration, or transmutation spell, shouting its draconic verse as a verbal component and doing the following:
Increase its range by half if applicable.
Increase its duration by 1 unit size (rounds > minutes > hours > days)
Increase its DCs by 1, if applicable.
Increase its damage dealt by 1 dice, if applicable.
What is called the abyss is more comparable to the elephant graveyard of the archetypal realm that has collapsed in on itself. It is said that one can hear its whisper as they descend into it.
Ritual: You must sacrifice a human, half-orc, or elf. This must be done underground. Must be able to speak abyssal.
Changes:
Abyssal change - You gain a -1 penalty to charisma. You gain a +1 bonus to a different ability score of choice. Choose one:
Void power - You can spend 3 rest dice or a spell point as a free action to attempt to counter a spell that is targeting you, or a spells whose effect intersects any point within 15ft of you. Make an arcana check vs spell DC to negate it.
Abyssal fortitude - You gain an extra death save slot. If you are slain, you must roll a 1d4 chance dice. On a 2 or lower, you are returned to 8 HP and lose 2 rest dice.
Translatable form - You can spend 4 rest dice or take 1d6 damage to fatigue to blink to any point you can see. Gain a -1 penalty to saves vs conjuration and teleportation spells.
Dark power - You can spend 1 spell point, 2 rest dice, and take 1 damage to fatigue to immediately gain an extra turn after the current one. You can only do so once per round during your turn.
Marked one - You have a -1 penalty to saves vs divination and abjuration spells.
There is an old tradition of magic and ritual that can be found scattered throughout the entire world. It is fractured now and no longer has a true patron, favoring instead the aspects of black magic that remain.
Ritual: You must brew and consume a potion that includes 1d6 HP worth of your own blood and sacrifice a medium, small, or tiny animal.
Changes:
Choose one:
Witch Tongue - all spells with verbal components that you cast can now deal extra 1d6 necrotic damage. Curse spells you cast, which have verbal components, have their duration increased by 1 category size.
Familiar form - using 1 rest dice as an action, you can transform into a familiar form for up to 1 hour ( for 1d10 hours if done at midnight. Exiting the form follows wildshaper rules - druid 5 ) chosen the first time you transform:
feline - 4d6 HP, 18 AC, +10ft speed, +1 dex, +4 stealth.
raven - 2d6 HP, 18 AC, fly speed 50ft, +2 int.
owl - 3d6 HP, 16 AC, fly speed 60ft, +2 perception.
Cauldron use - during a rest, you can spend 1d4 HP or 1 rest dice to create 3 basic alchemist items (Alchemist 1.) Any consumable item you create that applies your intelligence modifier also applies your charisma modifier, and any healing or damage from alchemical items you create has their dice increased by 1 dice size category.
Hex tradition - Learn 4 hexes.
It is in fact the most common path, that one who truly delves into the secrets of arcana will encounter a disembodied arcane sentience that speaks across the threads. It is not known if they are truly what they say they are, but proficient occultists agree that it is possible to attune oneself to such information and even commune with them, but they seldom mention how to leave them.
Ritual: You must deal at least 16 psychic damage to yourself.
Changes:
Arcane handshake - Choose two cantrips you know, upgrade each once.
Repurpose magic - You can exchange your occult spells for arcane spells when using your dark ritual ability to swap occultist spells. You may use your occultist casting modifier when casting them.
Mana-adaptation - So long as you have consumed a mana potion within the last 2 days, you gain permanent aurasight at a range of 30ft, a +1 bonus to constitution, +1 to max rest dice, and a +4 bonus to arcana checks. But, So long as you have not consumed a mana potion in the past 2 days, you gain a -2 penalty to constitution.
Consume magic - You can spend 4 rest dice to attempt to dispell a spell, making an arcana check with advantage vs the DC. If the attempt is successful, you regain 2 rest dice.
At 10th occultist level, learn an extra occult cantrip from the list below
Type: occultist, devotee, conjuration, evocation, cantrip
Casting time: action
Components: somatic, verbal
Range: 20ft
Effect: As an action, conjure eldritch or arcane tendrils from your tile, pertaining in theme to your occult patronage. Has a 1d3 cooldown dice.
Conjure a number of tendrils equal to your charisma modifier(min 1.) to do one of the following, each:
2d10 + casting modifier bludgeoning damage, strength save to not be hooked, pushed, tripped, or disarmed.
Grapple a target to the ground, remaining conjured for as long as you maintain concentration.
Help a grapple check within range, granting it a +3 bonus.
At 11th level and 12th character level choose 1 upgrade:
+10ft reach. +5ft to hook and push distances. +1 to spell attacks.
+1d4 to number of tendrils. Repeatable.
+1d10 damage. Change damage type to any spell damage you can deal.
Type: occultist, devotee, transmutation, necromancy, cantrip
Casting time: action
Components: verbal, material, 1d6 worth of HP
Range: self
Effect: As an action, superinfuse your form with magical energies, sacrificing 1d6 points of HP, and gaining the following benefits for 1d3 + 1 rounds:
You have a -1 penalty to saves vs divination spells.
You regain 1 block at the start of your turn.
You have an extra attack.
You have an extra reaction.
At 11th level and 12th character level choose 1 upgrade:
Change casting time to 1 bonus action.
Also gain an extra bonus action.
Reduce HP cost by 1 dice size category. Repeatable.
Type: occultist, devotee, enchantment, illusion, cantrip
Casting time: action
Components: somatic, verbal
Duration: 1 minute.
Range: 15ft.
Effect: As an action, force an uninjured or resting sentient creature to make a wisdom save. On a failure, you may compel them to do one action, they are hobbled and distracted for the duration. If their actions cause them harm or shock, they may retry the save to break free.
At 11th level and 12th character level choose 1 upgrade:
Increase duration to 1d4 minutes.
Allow targeting creatures in a cone by also spending an extra bonus action to cast.
Can target allies to instead make a wisdom or charisma save in place of them.
Type: occultist, devotee, divination, abjuration, cantrip
Casting time: action
Components: verbal
Duration: 1 hour
Range: self
Effect: As an action, cause your body to enter a sleep state for 1 hour. For the duration of your sleep, you have a projected form(stats but no items) in a plane of choice: Ethereal, shadow, abyssal, or the Material but in ghostly form.
At 11th occultist level, choose one upgrade from the list below:
Cult leader - You may induct willing followers as an hour long process, gaining a +1 bonus to your max SP per size of your followers (max 6. smallest group is around 10 followers. Subject to GM.) Followers may undergo the ritual to gain 1 of the beneficial changes granted by your occult patronage (must always be the same.)
Enlightened one - You rest dice and spell point maximum is increased by 2. You are immune to charm and illusion effects. Either learn an extra occult providence cantrip or learn an extra occult spell.
Secretive order - You may create an order with up to as many creatures as your charisma bonus(min 1) granting all involved one spell point per rest(max equal to 1/2 the characters charisma bonus, rounded down, min 1.) and 1 occultist spell known of level 4 or lower. Creatures cast the spell either at the highest level they can cast, or 1/2 the highest level you can cast(rounded down, whichever is highest) and the spell can be unique to each creature. You can target all allies with spells that have a range of self or touch so long as they are within 50ft of you, but they are allowed a save if they oppose the spell.
At 12th occultist level, you learn the following spell:
Type: occultist 6, devotee, transmutation
Casting time: full round action
Components: somatic, verbal, material (1000 gold worth of gold dust, 5 mana potions, 1 gemstone worth 1000 gold.)
Duration: 1 minute.
Range: self
Effect: As an action, force yourself to make 5 death saves. If you survive, you gain a permanent transformation associated with your patron, and you become untargetable by the spell afterwards.
Choose 4 upgrades from the list below:
Your rest dice maximum is increased by 3.
You permanently lose 1 death save are now considered undead. You can ignore the HP cost of spells you cast.
You gain regeneration 2 and are now considered a moonkin.
You gain a levitation and flight speed of 40ft.
You gain perfect blindsight and simply see all space in an outward sphere from your head as though you had perfect 360 vision.
You gain a permanent extra attack.
You can resist anything that requires a save as a reaction, granting yourself a +5 bonus to the save.
You gain an extra reaction and a +5 bonus to initiative checks.
You learn 4 spells that are either arcane, mystic, or oath spells. You can now cast them as occult spells using SP.