Your experience with the unknown, as well as the tales you've exchanged with other thaumaturges, has taught you about strange phenomena of every kind. You become trained in Esoteric Lore, a special lore skill that can be used to Recall Knowledge regarding haunts, curses, and creatures of any type, but that can't be used to Recall Knowledge of other topics. Unlike a normal Lore skill, you use Charisma as your modifier on Esoteric Lore checks. You also gain the Dubious Knowledge skill feat.

At 3rd level, you become an expert in Esoteric Lore; at 7th level, you become a master in Esoteric Lore; and at 15th level, you become legendary in Esoteric Lore.

Your implement is a special object of symbolic importance: your badge as you treat with the supernatural and a powerful tool if things turn violent. Choose an implement from the options presented below:

• Amulet
• Bell
• Chalice
• Lantern
• Mirror
• Regalia
• Shield
• Tome
• Wand
• Weapon

You begin play with a mundane item of that type, and you gain the initiate benefit for that implement. While an implement is useful to you, it typically has no value if sold. If you acquire a new object of the same general implement type, you can switch your implement to the new object by spending 1 day of downtime with the new item. As you advance as a thaumaturge, you will collect up to three implements and unlock the hidden potential stored within each, so you can mix and match their benefits to suit your situation.

While your implements are your primary tools in your dealings with the supernatural, you know the value of always being prepared. You constantly collect and carry various smaller mystic objects, bits of materials with paranormal affinities, and items used in folk practices: your esoterica. These might include cold-iron nails, scraps of scrolls and scriptures, fragments of bones purportedly from a saint, and other similar objects. You keep your esoterica in easy-to-access places on your person and are well practiced in brandishing your implement and esoterica together, so you can draw and use esoterica with the same hand you're using to wield an implement.

Exploit Vulnerability

You know that every creature, no matter how obscure, has a weakness. By identifying and empowering the right object, you can strike down even the most resilient of monsters. You gain the Exploit Vulnerability action.

You can attempt to Exploit Vulnerabilities in one of two ways: either by invoking properties that repel that type of creature, or by attempting a more improvisational, ad-hoc method with your esoterica that can impose a custom weakness on any creature, albeit one that usually isn't as dire as a creature's existing weakness.

• Mortal Weakness After identifying a creature's weakness, you use a thematically resonant bit of esoterica to attune your attacks to your discovery. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes activate the highest weakness you discovered with Exploit Vulnerability, even though the damage type your weapon deals doesn't change. This damage affects the target of your Exploit Vulnerability, as well as any other creatures of the exact same type, but not other creatures with the same weakness. For example, when fighting a pack of werewolves, you might use silver shavings or crushed moonstone to deal damage that applies their weakness to silver to your attacks against any of the werewolves, but you wouldn't apply this damage to any other monsters with a weakness to silver.
• Personal Antithesis You improvise a custom weakness on a creature by forcefully presenting and empowering a piece of esoterica that repels it on an individual level; for instance, against a tyrant, you might procure a broken chain that once held a captive. This causes the target creature, and only the target creature, to gain a weakness against your unarmed and weapon Strikes equal to 2 + half your level.

The power of your implement can also be turned to the more common task of combat, its power adding to and amplifying the effects of runes and other magical empowerments. When you Strike, you can trace mystic patterns with an implement you're holding to empower the Strike, causing it to deal 2 additional Damage per weapon damage die. Channeling the power requires full use of your hands. You don't gain the benefit of implement's empowerment if you are holding anything in either hand other than a single one-handed weapon, other implements, or esoterica, and you must be holding at least one implement to gain the benefit.

You've added another implement of power to your toolkit. You choose a second implement, which must be a different type of implement than your first. You gain the initiate benefit of your new implement.

While you're holding an implement in one hand, you can quickly switch it with another implement you're wearing to use an action from the implement you're switching to. To do so, you can Interact as a free action immediately before executing the implement's action. This allows you to meet requirements of having an implement in hand to use its action. For example, if you had your lantern implement in one hand, a weapon in the other, and a chalice implement you were wearing, you could swap your lantern for your chalice to use its reaction.

You've learned the secret ways your weapons work most effectively. Your proficiency ranks for unarmed attacks, simple weapons, and martial weapons increase to expert.

You have deepened your connection to one of your implements, unlocking its adept power. Choose one of your implements and gain the adept benefit for that implement.

You've steeled your mind with resolve. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.

You've learned how to inflict greater injuries with the weapons you know best. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you are an expert. This damage increases to 3 if you're a master, and 4 if you're legendary.

You've learned to use your implement to further assault a creature whose vulnerabilities you're exploiting. You gain the intensify vulnerability benefit of all of your implements, as well as the Intensify Vulnerability action.

You've learned deeper secrets of the supernatural, and your abilities are harder to resist. Your proficiency rank for your thaumaturge class DC increases to expert.

You also gain an additional skill increase, which you can apply only to Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion.

You've learned to defend yourself better against attacks. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to expert.

You've improved your link to your second implement. You gain the adept benefit of your second implement.

Your unbelievable training grants you mental resiliency.

Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to legendary. When you roll a success at a Will save, you get a critical success. When you roll a critical failure at a Will save, you get a failure instead. When you roll a failure on a Will save against a damaging effect, you take half damage.

Your damage from weapon specialization increases to 4 with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you're an expert, 6 if you're a master, and 8 if you're legendary.

As you come closer to the culmination of your journey, you gain your final implement, completing your set of three. It must be a different type of implement than your first and second implements. You gain the initiate benefit and intensify vulnerability benefit of your new implement.

You have unlocked the last secrets of an implement. Choose one of your implements that already gained the adept benefit; you gain the paragon benefit for that implement.

You've become a master in paranormal phenomena, and your esoterica grow in power. Your proficiency rank for your thaumaturge class DC increases to master.

You also gain an additional skill increase, which you can apply only to Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion.

Your skill with light and medium armor improves, increasing your ability to avoid blows. Your proficiency ranks for light and medium armor, as well as for unarmored defense, increase to master.

Your understanding of your esoterica becomes so complete that you can access your mystic tools without even thinking. You can use Exploit Vulnerability or Intensify Vulnerability as a free action, rather than a single action, though still with a frequency of only once per round.