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The Pathfinder Occultist class is a class introduced in Occult Adventures that draws its magic from trinkets into which the character invest their "mental focus". One such trinket is known as an "implement" :

Implements (Su): At 1st level, an occultist learns to use two implement schools. At 2nd level and every 4 occultist levels thereafter, the occultist learns to use one additional implement school, to a maximum of seven schools at 18th level. Each implement school adds one spell per spell level of that school of magic to the occultist’s spell list. [...]

Each implement school is represented by a small list of objects. Every day, the occultist selects one item from that school’s list to be his implement for the day for each implement school he knows. The occultist needs only one such item to cast spells of the corresponding school, unless he selected that implement school multiple times, in which case he needs one item for each set of spells gained from that school.

This establishes the fact that one can, and in fact must, have one implement for each time they select an implement school.

A year later comes the Pathfinder Player Companion: Psychic Anthology which introduces the Panoply Savant occultist archetype, along with a new kind of "implement school" :

An occultist can select a panoply anytime he selects a new implement school. To do so, he must already have learned to use the implement school of each implement within the panoply at least once. As with any other implement school, when an occultist learns to use a panoply, he gains access to the resonant power and base focus power, and he becomes able to learn the panoply’s other focus powers. He also adds one spell of each spell level to his spell list, and these spells can be taken from any of the implement schools associated with the panoply.

So how many implements (as in actual trinkets) can/should a 2nd-level Panoply Savant with the Transmutation and Abjuration implement schools and the Trapping of the Warrior panoply ?

Example: if my character chooses Transmutation twice and Abjuration once, in order to cast their Transmutation spells without any concentration check, they would have to have two implements from the transmutation school implement list (e.g. a belt and a weapon), and one implement from the abjuration list (e.g. a holy symbol).

Now, if my character chooses Transmutation, Abjuration and the Trapping of the Warrior panoply, how many and what kind of implement must they have?

My guess would be three implements, with one being either from the Transmutation or the Abjuration list of possible implements, but it's not backed up by raw, as choosing a panoply doesn't exactly grants a "set of spells gained from that school." especially since I can choose a Transmutation spell for the 0-level spell, and an abjuration one for the 1st-level spell.

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You would have 2 implements and one panoply (a total of 4 items)

Choosing abjuration and transmutation at 1st level and Trapping of the Warrior panoply at 2nd level would cause you to use one implement from each of those schools of magic and your panoply, which consists of a weapon and a shield.

Implements: Shield (abjuration) and weapon (transmutation).

This would result in you knowing a abjuration knack and 1st level abjuration spell, transmutation knack and 1st level transmutation spell, an abjuration or transmutation knack, and 1st level abjuration or transmutation spell.

This is because Panoplies are a type of implement, only made up of separate parts (all 'counted' together for the purposes of Mental Focus points, including Resonant Powers and Focus Powers. They function exactly as other implements, except as described in the Panoplies section

As with any other implement school, when an occultist learns to use a panoply, he gains access to the resonant power and base focus power, and he becomes able to learn the panoply’s other focus powers. He also adds one spell of each spell level to his spell list, and these spells can be taken from any of the implement schools associated with the panoply.

To use a panoply’s resonant power or any of its focus powers, the occultist must select and invest mental focus into the associated implements that day. A single bearer must hold all the panoply’s associated implements to gain the panoply’s resonant power, and the occultist counts the total number of points of mental focus invested among all of the associated implements to determine the resonant power’s effect. The occultist can expend points of mental focus from any of the associated implements to use the panoply’s focus powers.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for your answer, but I'm interested in the number of actual items in which I can invest mental focus. I'll update my question with an example to clarify it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Trajan
    Nov 30, 2020 at 19:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Trajan Added some more details that hopefully clear up what you're looking for. I'm not sure I understand your confusion if this doesn't help. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ifusaso
    Nov 30, 2020 at 19:44
  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh, ok ! I assumed that mental focus invested in a weapon would count both toward the resonant power of the Transmutation school and the resonant power of the panoply, but I guess from your answer it doesn't work that way \$\endgroup\$
    – Trajan
    Nov 30, 2020 at 21:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think there's some wiggle room for a GM to say a single item can be both an implement and a piece of a panoply, but that's not how it's written. You still have 3 "places" to spend Mental Focus (technically 4 but 2 pool together for narrative reasons) and get their various benefits by spreading them around. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ifusaso
    Dec 1, 2020 at 2:15

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