Oracle--what am I missing?

[StreamOfTheSky]

I like Murderou Command better than Command. It relies on having two or more foes and is only one option, granted. But it's a GOOD option. Instead of just wasting the foe's turn, he's wasting his turn and helping you finish the fight faster.

Moreoever, I note that it is verbal only, no somatic or material component. It would be very, very easy to make that Silent (I'd get a lesser rod rather than the feat) and be able to cast it without anyone realizing you had. Why would this be good? Get one enemy to attack his ally with a full attack all of a sudden, and his friend is likely to start trying to fight back. Before you know it, two foes are killing themselves for you while you sit back and watch from a safe distance. If you're confident you can get the target to fail his save (Persistent spell is an excellent metamagic feat...), you could even pull this off in a social setting undetected!

 

[Victim]

I was hoping to be the divine spellcaster equivalent of a Sorceror... but there just don't seem to be many ranged spells. Lots of melee touch.

You are - but the emphasis is on the Divine, instead of the sorcerer. Oracles still use the cleric list with a few added spells. They'll still do pretty much the same stuff as a cleric, just with spontaneous casting.

Low level clerics generally do some buffs, some healing, some Hold Person, and a fair bit of hitting people with their mace. Oracles aren't really that different.

 

[13Whitey]

My human oracle, too, is my first one, and I also put Clouded Vision down as my curse.

With stats of 13 16 13 11 11 16, I built my character into the role of the tank of the team to make the best of the lack of vision range whilst still being able to communicate to my teammates.

To fulfill this desired role I picked the Heavens mystery and picked up the Coat of Many Stars revelation. Combined with my armor and dodge feat, along with Shield of Faith, I get my Oracle up to 27 AC at max at level 1.

 

[Shisumo]

My human oracle, too, is my first one, and I also put Clouded Vision down as my curse.

With stats of 13 16 13 11 11 16, I built my character into the role of the tank of the team to make the best of the lack of vision range whilst still being able to communicate to my teammates.

To fulfill this desired role I picked the Heavens mystery and picked up the Coat of Many Stars revelation. Combined with my armor and dodge feat, along with Shield of Faith, I get my Oracle up to 27 AC at max at level 1.

It may interest you to know that this build is illegal. Coat of Many Stars gives an armor bonus, and so it does not stack with the armor bonus granted by worn armor. You get one or the other, not both.

 

[13Whitey]

It may interest you to know that this build is illegal. Coat of Many Stars gives an armor bonus, and so it does not stack with the armor bonus granted by worn armor. You get one or the other, not both.

I would think that the Advanced Player's Guide would specifically say that the armor bonus doesn't stack. My DM is playing under the assumption that it does
( not that I've ever had to use the coat yet, as I'm only lvl 2 at the moment), so for now I'll keep things as they are.

I do tend to be quite stingy with my "once per day" powers, so this shouldn't be much of a problem at all.

 

[wolff96]

I would think that the Advanced Player's Guide would specifically say that the armor bonus doesn't stack. My DM is playing under the assumption that it does ( not that I've ever had to use the coat yet, as I'm only lvl 2 at the moment), so for now I'll keep things as they are.

House rules are house rules, so enjoy.

But Shisumo is correct that they don't stack under the rules as written. Both your worn armor and the Coat of Many Stars give an armor bonus. Bonuses with the same name don't stack (except Dodge/unnamed) -- the only way they would stack is if the APG named it as a specific exception.

Regardless, I like the Oracle of the Heavens, just for the ridiculous things they can do with the Pattern spells.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

"Regardless, I like the Oracle of the Heavens, just for the ridiculous things they can do with the Pattern spells."

Shame they get so few of them. I'm not sure what they do after level 6 or 7 when color spray ceases to be a multiround win spell for them (it remains a one round win spell, but it does for everyone else as well).

I do wonder if they can treat a creature's HD as negative for things with a capped amount of HD affected total (allowing you to ensnare more creatures or a creature with HD higher than you could've otherwise gotten with your 2d4 or whatever). As written, it seems you can, and I'm not even sure that's particularly problematic, but you'd think they would have eratta'd it by now. Oh well.

 

[Thazar]

For the Oracle of Heavens the Awesome Display mystery lets Color Spray works on creatures much better as you subtract your CHA modifier from their HD. So by the time your are level six and have a CHA some where around 20~24 you you can affect things with HD any where from 1 HD to as much as 12 HD. You can also get a lot of things in your Hypnotic and Rainbow Pattern spells as well.

We read the rule that the HD can be knocked down to 0 but not to negatives. This lets you get a lot of things in the area like ogres, giants, classed NPC's etc... but you could not throw 10 rats into the pattern to let you get a 30 HD Dragon or something like that.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Yay bonus-stacking!

I would think that the Advanced Player's Guide would specifically say that the armor bonus doesn't stack. My DM is playing under the assumption that it does
( not that I've ever had to use the coat yet, as I'm only lvl 2 at the moment), so for now I'll keep things as they are.

As a general rule in 3e systems, same-named bonuses do not stack. Instead, you use the highest bonus of that same type. Like, a racial bonus, a skill bonus, and a luck bonus all stack.

Armor bonuses are not ones that stack. If you're looking for a reference, check PF Core book p. 149, lower right-hand corner.

So, if I have a +1 mithral chain shirt, that's a +5 armor bonus to AC. If I then get ridiculously lucky and find a pair of Bracers of Armor +8, which give a +8 armor bonus to AC, I don't add +13 to my AC, I add the highest, which is +8.

That doesn't necessarily mean your ability isn't useful, as it can presumably jack up your AC a bit more as needed, but you're not going to get AC 27 at level 1 legally.

Brad

 

[DumbPaladin]

Oracles tend to be more support, buff/debuff then actual blasters

I'd agree with this, because divine spells are always going to lag behind arcane spells in blasting ... but depending on the Oracle mystery you pick, you can be something else entirely.

I'm playing an Oracle of metal, and I just got to 2nd level, gaining my first mystery spell: lead blades. Normally, this is a ranger-only spell; can I just say how great a spell it is for almost every melee class?

Using a revelation to summon a 2d6 weapon to my hand -- usually an earth breaker cause they're fun, I'm not optimizer -- and enchanting it to deal 3d6+4 total damage has had me outpacing the fighter in damage so far. In addition, the unusual skillset choice has allowed me to Intimidate people and to assist the party rogue with trap disabling.

Oh, and I still heal people when needed, and buff with magic weapon.

Did I mention being able to do all of these things has been incredibly fun?