3PP Release Complete Class Compendium Playtest has ended (Thank you! 🙏)

[DammitVictor]

Bloodweaver
Tzimisce. That one word encapsulates them well. Okay, so maybe they've got some Tremere in there, as well, but it's very much WoD style bloodmagic spellcasting and vampiric tendencies. Even if you don't use a Vampire-Like heritage for a character, they're going to feel like a vampire.

I am... really not a fan of "blood magic" and vampire stuff, but Tzimisce and Vicissitude are basically the #1 class I want to play in D&D. Healing and aspirational body horror.

 

[Mike Myler]

I am... really not a fan of "blood magic" and vampire stuff, but Tzimisce and Vicissitude are basically the #1 class I want to play in D&D. Healing and aspirational body horror.

Different folks different strokes. Some people are really averse to blood or anything related to self harm full stop, for others it is an outlet (I'm not sure I'd be alive making this post now otherwise) or just doesn't carry any weight at all. You could easily re-skin a lot of it as chi/ki or lifeforce, though for my coppers I think it's best sanguine.

And hey—we all got so much vampire stuff jammed down our throats with those teenie bopper movies I can get wanting a break.

BUT! Two of the archetypes (Bloodbinder and Crimson Witch) will be up your alley. Not surprised that Rippee drew from WoD while we made the Bloodweaver, he has a continent-sized soft spot for WoD.

 

[Corinnguard]

How does the Occultist and its' subclasses differ from the Blood Hunter in 5e?

 

[DammitVictor]

Different folks different strokes. Some people are really averse to blood or anything related to self harm full stop [...]

I'm not judging. I just don't have positive associations with the stuff; I don't like the way it smells or tastes, I don't like sticky things on my skin, and between poor health and poorer lifestyle, it's ruined a lot of my favorite clothing.

If the cyberpunk dystopia I live in weren't so much worse than the ones I grew up wishing I lived in, a lot of people would consider my desire for self-improvement... and customization... to be a form of self-harm. The D&D rules certainly consider the powers I want and the reasons I want them to be villainous.

 

[Mike Myler]

How does the Occultist and its' subclasses differ from the Blood Hunter in 5e?

The Order of the Lycan is similar to the Werecreature archetype, and the Order of the Profane Soul similar to the Horror and Nightmare (although in different ways; the former is like an alien detective/enchanter/scribe, the latter a kind of psychic).

That's where the comparisons break down I think (though I admit I am not super familiar with the Blood Hunter). The Abomination is a Frankenstein's monster deal, the Ooze and Vampires what they sound like.
Also of course these classes have gotten the Level Up treatment so the Occultist has strong foundations with the social and exploration pillars, and I don't think the Blood Hunter has any gameplay requirements; the Occultist requires Dark Sustenance that changes depending on your archetype (Vampires need blood, etc.) that is largely narrative until the end game (up near the top a defensive feature requires getting some DS to work).

 

[Mike Myler]

self-improvement... and customization...

Hmmmmm

There's a lot of stuff on the way in this book. I don't lightly throw down "Complete" in a title.

 

[Corinnguard]

Btw, Pathfinder has an Occultist class of its' own and it's a psychic class.

From d20PFSRD:

The occultist focuses on the world around him, grounded in the powers that flow throughout his environment. He studies the magic that infuses everything, from psychic resonances left in everyday items to powerful incantations that fuel the mightiest spells.

The occultist channels his psychic might through implements—items that allow him to focus his power and produce incredible effects. For him, implements are more than simple tools. They are a repository of history and a tie to the events of the past. The occultist uses these implements to influence and change the present, adding his legend to theirs. Though some of these implements might be magic items in their own right, most of them are merely of historical or personal significance to the occultist.

The description here sort of paints the PF Occultist as a psionic artificer. Hmm... Psionic Artificer, I could see @Steampunkette making such a subclass for A5e.