I haven’t played Pathfinder and this is my first character concept to have a full build. So please bear with me.
So, I’ve been watching Doug Walker’s Ten Commandments vs. Prince of Egypt video and his Prince of Egypt video for DreamWorks-uary. While I was watching the videos, I was doing some Pathfinder work. I eventually came up with this idea for a character. Now I have the idea and the concept. It’s the build that I’m stuck with. If you can help me with some suggestions, that would be great.
Here is the character concept:
The concept is based off of Moses from Prince of Egypt. My interpretation of this character is that the son of farmers is chosen by a deity to spread their word, imbuing him with a small portion of their power. Now here is a breakdown of what I was thinking in terms of race, class, etc. For the most part, I’m dead-set on these choices. However, if you can explain the changes you suggest, then I may make the changes. My goal is to create a character who is close to the concept and can be played without having third party sources. I am not in a game right now, but if I join a game, I don’t want there to be any problems with getting my GM to agree to a homebrew.
Background: The character (who we will refer as “Bob” until an actual name is chosen) is the only son a pair of farmers and had a grandfather who was a warrior (until the grandfather was injured and was forced to retire and married the daughter of a farmer). In Bob’s life, he didn’t worship any gods. Bob has an ability to ripen fruit through touch, which is considered a blessing. One night, Bob heard a soft voice calling out to him. So he followed the voice to a nearby hill with a lone oak tree. From there, it is like the Burning Bush scene from Prince of Egypt. The entity claims to be the Dead God of Humanity, Aroden. He tells Bob of his return and that he needs a messenger to gather followers so that when he returns, he has a religious footing. Aroden gives Bob a small portion of his power to complete his mission. However, the god did not explain how Bob’s powers work or why he chose Bob. So, Bob sets out to do his job.
Race: Originally, I was thinking human. But I then thought about being an aasimar. I do have a story. Bob was raised as a farmer. So I was thinking the ability of ripening fruit with a touch would be a good cosmetic touch. However, for a bit of RP flavor, Bob doesn’t know he’s an aasimar. He believes that he’s human with a special ability that sets him apart from other humans. But, he doesn’t mind.
Personality: The character’s personality is humble, meek, and unsure of himself. He is confused on why Aroden chose him to do this task. He’s not an adventurer and has never left the farm, so everything he encounters is a new experience to him and doesn’t know how to react.
Class: For this, I am pretty much dead-set on being an oracle. I think that an oracle would be a good class for the background of being chosen as a messenger/herald/prophet. If you can convince me to change this, then I might consider it.
Deity: I was thinking of Aroden. The idea of Aroden choosing this common man to be his herald to deliver the message of Aroden’s return with Aroden giving the character a portion of his power in order to cast divine spells (because the character is just a farmer) is (IMO) a very interesting concept (though it might be cliched).
Curse: I was thinking Haunted or Legalistic. But otherwise, I’m lost on this. Please help me on this one.
Mystery: In regards to the concept and the god of choice, I’m leaning towards the Heavens mystery. But I’m open to other suggestions.
Alignment: I’m thinking Neutral Good. But, with Aroden’s alignment being Lawful Neutral, this is one of my concerns. I’m just thinking about why Aroden would choose a Neutral Good individual to be the herald of his return.
Default Weapon: Either a scythe or a quarterstaff, due to his humble background.
That’s pretty much it. For skills, I know I want to pick Profession (Farmer). Otherwise, I’m just lost.
So if you guys can suggest different builds to make this work, I would appreciate it.
Just a few thoughts
On the alignment, Aroden was around before and things didn't work out so well I take it, so perhaps he thinks shifting to NG would help him in the long run. He's watched how people have changed, maybe decided the way he was doing things before wouldn't really work. Doesn't have to be an immediate shift, probably a pretty good character arc, PC goes around as a prophet, and after enough people believe/convert, the god becomes NG though the faith of his followers. Of course this all depends on how you run deities, I run them as immortal beings yes, but most of their "god" power comes from the faith of their followers.
On mystery, I would agree, Heaven is pretty good both mechanically and story-wise. Get the Awesome Display revelation, that with a few other tricks can be pretty handy, and lends itself to humbling/showing others the power of Aroden. Any other mystery I think would have to depend on what Aroden's domains are.
On curses, Lame could also be decent, there are a number of precedents for people who get "divine power" giving up some form of physical power, its kind of symbolic (also supports use of the staff, see below). Or Haunted could work, fluff it as the PC being so full of divine grace and power that his cup/mortal body runneth a bit over.
On weapons, staff would work. If you go Heavens you will probably be more of a caster, so melee fighting shouldn't be a worry, and lets face it, the whole prophet with a staff is pretty iconic.
On skills, Heal would come in handy and could be learned on a farm, as could Perception and Survival gained from taking the Heavens mystery. Knowledge (religion) and Spellcraft could be skills granted by Aroden, or perhaps since leaving the farm the PC has made a point of searching out old texts and manuscripts pertaining to Aroden, could also reflect skill raising, as he adventures he gets more access to more things improving his knowledge base.
Wow, that was more than I thought I would have come up with when I started this post.
Did not a response that quickly. Thanks for the help. I haven't thought about the Lame curse. I just have an Oracle guide link saved and it suggested that Haunted was the best. I also thought of Legalistic curse due to Aroden's LN alignment (thinking that Aroden would be the honest type).
Be careful with the heavens mystery, specifically awesome display. I had character focused on color spray that bumped charisma as high as it could go, and, while very powerful, wasn't all that fun to play. Fights ended in an instant, making them very underwhelming and making everyone else seem almost unneeded and the GM very frustrated. And in fights with stuff immune to color spray all the feat investment went to waste and I lost almost all of my effectiveness. That being said I love the heavens mystery roll play and gameplay wise. Floating is a pretty effective conversion tool for your average townsfolk. Just don't break the character like I did and it sounds like a fun character to play.
Be careful with the heavens mystery, specifically awesome display. I had character focused on color spray that bumped charisma as high as it could go, and, while very powerful, wasn't all that fun to play. Fights ended in an instant, making them very underwhelming and making everyone else seem almost unneeded and the GM very frustrated. And in fights with stuff immune to color spray all the feat investment went to waste and I lost almost all of my effectiveness. That being said I love the heavens mystery roll play and gameplay wise. Floating is a pretty effective conversion tool for your average townsfolk. Just don't break the character like I did and it sounds like a fun character to play.
Well Mr. Ninja, thank you for the input. So what kinds of feats and abilities did you take to hyper-specialize in color spray? Just so I have an idea.
By the way, just because Bearlock brought this up, Aroden's domains are Glory, Knowledge, Law, and Protection.
Knowledge and Law domains eh? Lore mystery could also work, you adventure to solve mysteries, shine light on shadowy conspiracies etc, thus bringing Aroden's Truth to the masses, I would like Legalistic as a curse for this one. Was the PC unusually well read for being raised on a farm?
I would say that he is educated, but in areas such as Geography and Nature. He might possibly have a little knowledge in Local. But otherwise, not educated in Nobility, Religion, Arcana, and the others because he's never dealt with anything of the like.
Well Mr. Ninja, thank you for the input. So what kinds of feats and abilities did you take to hyper-specialize in color spray? Just so I have an idea.
Just the normal DC enhancing stuff. Spell focus, greater spell focus, heighten, huge charisma, and a rod of widen for extra shenanigans. I even took lingering for clouds of color spray. Lots of fun if no one in your party likes fighting and you're really in to roll play. But if you party likes combat and actually feeling useful in that part of the game then I would use other ways of being effective.
For the Assimar you might want to take the ancient heritage trait...I think I got the name wrong. Anyways its the one where you can pass for a human without using the diguise skill. Perfect for an Assimar that thinks they are human.
Yes that's it!!! Thanks.
You do realize Legalistic is from Blood of Fiends and was added as a Devil based curse right? I can easily see it as an Archon-blooded Aasimar curse but unless you're playing a lawful based character with a good excuse it says nothing about it being open to other races.
You do realize Legalistic is from Blood of Fiends and was added as a Devil based curse right? I can easily see it as an Archon-blooded Aasimar curse but unless you're playing a lawful based character with a good excuse it says nothing about it being open to other races.
Oh. I didn't realize it was Devil only. Well, I chose the Lame curse.
Anyway, I'm working on the build and I need to know how many spells I have at level one.
My ability scores are:
STR: 13 (+1)
DEX: 14 (+2)
CON: 13 (+1)
INT: 13 (+1)
WIS: 15 (+2)
CHA: 18 (+4)
You could have a heavens oracle with either the haunted or blackened curse. Blackened would add some blasting, which can be good.
Then look at the peacemaker feat. +2 DC for sanctuary, calm emotions and other stuff, which gives your party time to buff or escape possibilities.
I would build it more versatile anyway, am trying the same with mine.
Have some buffs, something versus undead and construct stuff.
Color spray is nice, but maybe don´t use it all the time.
Just cause the bush said it was Aroden, doesn't mean it actually was, neh?
It could just as easily be some other entity (nefarious or otherwise) with a long term plan that involves gathering up a following for a god that doesn't exist anymore.
So I wouldn't get too caught up trying to match things to Aroden.If playing the unknowing aasimaar, you have to figure out how to explain the darkvision and elemental resistances... though those could easily just be more of the 'blessings' that go with the fruit stuff.
Heavens really doesn't seem like the right feel to be honest. Lore works... perhaps Nature or Time?
Curse-wise... if he actually interacted with the 'burning bush' in a physical sense, you could easily work in the blackened curse. Very thematic to the backstory. Tongues of course would be very real-world appropriate.
I guess the resistances and darkvision could be considered 'blessings' or just his unknowing of how actual humans are (probably didn't talk to his parents).
Second, there was no actual 'burning bush', per say. When I was coming up with the outline of the background, I pictured it as the oracle on the hill with mysterious wisps of glowing energy floating around.
Third, the Lore mystery I get. But why Nature or Time?
Also, I have decided to build this for Wrath of the Righteous AP. So any further advice would be appreciated.
Even more updates:
I went with Heavens mystery and Lame curse. For feats, here's what I have planned:
Feats:
1st level: Extra Revelation (Coat of Many Stars)
3rd Level: Angelic Blood
7th Level: Spell Focus (illusion)
9th Level: Angelic Flesh (Brazen)
11th Level: Angel Wings
13th Level: Greater Spell Focus (illusion)
15th Level: Heavenly Radiance (Sunbeam)
17th Level: Toughness
19th Level: Extra Revelation
Kind of going with the idea that as he gains more powerful, his celestial heritage evolves (bolstered by Aroden).
As for traits, Devotee of a Dead God and Touched by Divinity.
All right, working on the final build right now. I just need to know something. I see there's an aasimar oracle archetype: Purifier. I'm looking at it and I'm thinking that it would be a good archetype for Wrath of the Righteous. What do you guys think?
Also, do you guys think I should change the idea to an Evangelist Cleric?
I usually prefer Wandering Star Motes as the spell choice for Heavenly Radiance, especially if you're thinking that the way your god revealed himself to your character was via swirling wisps of glowing energy. Targets could be dazed as the power of Aroden reveals itself to them.
Okay. I just thought that I should have some offense (since I would only be wielding a quarterstaff for a while). Logically speaking, Wandering Star Motes should be affected by Awesome Display, right?
I'd let it, since spell-like abilities function as spells as far as I know, but someone might have a RAW reason why it doesn't.
Just looking at it, I really like the character concept, I think you're fine as an oracle, changing to a cleric is fairly unnecessary, especially when you have so much (literal) awesome flavour tied up directly with the class.
Race abilites I've always liked Deathless Spirit in place of celestial resistance, would also explain why you never noticed that you could resist cold etc before.
My feat list would be a bit different, I think. I'd probably forget the angelic blood/flesh/wings feat line since you have access to a revelation that lets you fly. If you want role-play feats then Revered Guidance (humans) could be a flavourful 1st level feat choice. Though a simple skill focus would be mechanically better and could be flavoured similarly, a divine boon or calling.
As said I love Wandering Star Motes, so 7th level feat would be that. Spell Focus (Illusion) at 3rd, and 5th would be... maybe another Heavenly Radiance for Searing Light for some anti-undead spells? You could also pick it as a spell known though. I know that metamagic feats can drastically increase the options available to spontaneous casters, but I don't know what ones particularly benefit the divine spell list for a caster focus.
Another thing to look into is the eldritch heritage feat line as an alternative to the angelic feats to tap into your heritage. A couple of bloodlines suit your concept really, but you can never go wrong with arcane.
Arcane coupled with Improved Familiar feat would get you a celestial pet to aid you in your calling (whether you go with the plagues or the holy spirit, there can be some nice flavour found here), and further investment in the line gives a few arcane spells added to your repertoire and yet more pluses to your illusion DC, for example. This is higher level stuff though.Knowing what level you'll be playing to and how many revelations you'll get compared to how...
I will choose Deathless Spirit. I also want to explain why I'm choosing angelic blood/flesh/wings. These feats are for gameplay and roleplay purposes. In a RP sense, as the oracle levels up, his celestial blood (bolstered by Aroden) evolves and takes shape.
Angelic Blood - You gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against effects with the evil descriptor and on Constitution checks to stabilize when you are reduced to negative hit points (but not dead). Furthermore, each time you take bleed or blood drain damage, each undead creature or creature with the evil subtype that is currently adjacent to you also takes 1 point of damage. Considering the fact that WotR deals with demons (evil outsiders), it could be beneficial to get protection against evil spells and effects, as well as fortify my chances of survival since oracles are "squishy".
Angelic Flesh (Brazen) - You take a –2 penalty on Disguise and Stealth checks but gain one of the following benefits, depending on the metallic affinity of your flesh. You gain fire resistance 5 and a +2 bonus on saves against fire effects. Since I'll be fighting demons (demons use fire, right?) at the Worldwound, fire might be an important aspect to the AP. So protection against fire might be good. Also, the penalty to Disguise and Stealth checks, it shouldn't matter at this point, considering that the skills shouldn't be important in this AP and the fact that the oracle is proving to be more than he seems.
Angelic Wings - I think you're right on this matter. Looking at the Lure of the Heavens revelation, it's better than Angelic Wings.
I'm also thinking about the Purifier archetype. What do you think?
Here's my feat breakdown (this is if I go with Purifier):
1st Level: Extra Revelation (Coat of Many Stars)
3rd Level: Angelic Blood
5th Level: Spell Focus (illusion)
7th Level: Greater Spell Focus (illusion)
9th Level: Angelic Flesh (Brazen)
11th Level: Extra Revelation (Lure of the Heavens)
13th Level: Heavenly Radiance (Wandering Star Motes)
15th Level: Heavenly Radiance (Sunbeam)
17th Level: Toughness
19th Level: Extra Revelation
Also, if I were to change the angelic feats to the eldritch line, could I still pull off the concept and be effective in the AP?
I'd let it, since spell-like abilities function as spells as far as I know, but someone might have a RAW reason why it doesn't.
Just looking at it, I really like the character concept, I think you're fine as an oracle, changing to a cleric is fairly unnecessary, especially when you have so much (literal) awesome flavour tied up directly with the class.
Race abilites I've always liked Deathless Spirit in place of celestial resistance, would also explain why you never noticed that you could resist cold etc before.
My feat list would be a bit different, I think. I'd probably forget the angelic blood/flesh/wings feat line since you have access to a revelation that lets you fly. If you want role-play feats then Revered Guidance (humans) could be a flavourful 1st level feat choice. Though a simple skill focus would be mechanically better and could be flavoured similarly, a divine boon or calling.
As said I love Wandering Star Motes, so 7th level feat would be that. Spell Focus (Illusion) at 3rd, and 5th would be... maybe another Heavenly Radiance for Searing Light for some anti-undead spells? You could also pick it as a spell known though. I know that metamagic feats can drastically increase the options available to spontaneous casters, but I don't know what ones particularly benefit the divine spell list for a caster focus.
Another thing to look into is the eldritch heritage feat line as an alternative to the angelic feats to tap into your heritage. A couple of bloodlines suit your concept really, but you can never go wrong with arcane.
Arcane coupled with Improved Familiar feat would get you a celestial pet to aid you in your calling (whether you go with the plagues or the holy spirit, there can be some nice flavour found here), and further investment in the line gives a few arcane spells added to your repertoire and yet more pluses to your illusion DC, for example. This is higher level stuff though.Knowing what level you'll be playing to and how many revelations you'll get compared to how...
Sorry to bother you again Rashagar, but I'm curious to see what your feat breakdown list would be like. Also, you mentioned the Arcane bloodline, but other bloodlines would work? I decided to ditch the Purifier archetype so I need to plan out feats again. Also, if you can suggest revelations, which ones would you recommend?