I'm working on what I hope will be an epic adventure arc based on the music of Ronnie James Dio, centered around the song "Sacred Heart". The idea I have is character from "Man On The Silver Mountain" is an oracle, whose curse is that his powers are tied to an item called, well, yes, the Sacred Heart. So would this be a decent curse for an oracle? One in which he needs an item for his powers to work?
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Definitely - and the upside could easily be that the Sacred Heart functions as an increasingly powerful magic item in its own right (or maybe you could make it operate similarly to an Occultist Implement).
I'd suggest that the Oracle's link to the item enable them to sense where it is even when they've lost it.
I was hoping for that! Thanks!
I'm going to make him a Flame Oracle (based on the line from the song
"Come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Someone's screaming my name
Come and make me holy again"
On one hand I'd say you'd have to make the item unwiedly or cumbersome or weighty or some combination of the three to be on par with other curses. Otherwise it's just a cleric's divine focus.
On the other hand what would happen if the character loses the Sacred Heart? Do they lose all of their Oracle abilities? A cleric just loses their spells and can get another holy symbol. If the Sacred Heart is one of a kind then if it gets lost then the character becomes useless.
That's the idea, he loses his abilities, or at least much of them.
In that case I guess it works. It's potentially far worse than any other curse. What benefits do you think the character would get from the curse?
It could be a sort of item that, if lost, needs to be summoned/crafted/etc over the course of a week in which the oracle had to focus on meditation in private.
What could be more interesting is if the oracle had a more dire bond to the heart. The heart could contain his soul. He would have a link to the sacred heart and know where it is at all times, but would die if the heart was destroyed. The final stage of the curse, however, would allow the oracle to restore his dead body back to perfect condition over the course of a week if he died. In essence, the body would be a sort of puppet controlled by the master heart.
Just an idea!
In that case I guess it works. It's potentially far worse than any other curse. What benefits do you think the character would get from the curse?
I see him getting most, if not all of his mysteries from the power of the Sacred Heart. I know it doesn't really follow the rules for Oracles, but I think for the sake of the adventure it'll work. And no one in my group plays an Oracle or has any interest in doing so so they won't know the difference, really.
It could be a sort of item that, if lost, needs to be summoned/crafted/etc over the course of a week in which the oracle had to focus on meditation in private.
What could be more interesting is if the oracle had a more dire bond to the heart. The heart could contain his soul. He would have a link to the sacred heart and know where it is at all times, but would die if the heart was destroyed. The final stage of the curse, however, would allow the oracle to restore his dead body back to perfect condition over the course of a week if he died. In essence, the body would be a sort of puppet controlled by the master heart.
Just an idea!
It's a helluva an idea, though! I like it!
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It doesn't seem like much of a curse in standard play. The average Wizards loses all power without his spellbook, component pouch, and bonded object - that's three objects to keep track of. Generally those things don't happen unless a GM is going out of his way to mess with you.
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Yeah, curses need to be something you feel on a regular basis. If the only drawback is losing your powers if it's taken from you, well.. you will not feel any weight of the curse most of gametime.
If you have to hold it in your hand all the time, for any oracle powers to work, then it limits your ability quite a bit. Your other hand will likely be doing somatic gestures, so it means very limited combat ability.
Then you can give the item magical properties or lich-like restoration ability at later levels, etc, for the bonus perks.
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Had the idea of maybe the item has to be connected to the heart by a pierced needle stabbed through the chest of the person giving a -1 to Fort checks.