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I think that oracles should be given a bonus to saves that tie into their chosen focus. Oracle of Battle could get a bonus on Fort Saves Oracles of Flame and Wind get a bonus on Ref Saves Etc. I kind of like the fact that oracles get Cleric BaB and HP because I see an oracle of battle side by side with the fighter if necesarry.
I am currently playtesting an Oracle of the Waves, and this is my complaint with it, that the cleric spell list has little to no spells that do cold damage. Only thing that so far seems to work with this is multiclassing into Sorcerer with the water elemental bloodline. Elemental bloodline if no one knows changes all energy based spells to match the element you chose, cold for water elemetnal. However this can lead to alot of power gaming which I am necessarily not a big fan of. Reason being is the wording of the Freezing Spells Revelation does not specify Oracle Spells, but all spells.
Just to clarify, I don't think that oracles should lose the curse part of the class, I just feel it comes off as a little tacked on. I see others disagree, so I'll say no more. I also want to clarify myself on this. I like the idea of curses, but I feel that some should be changed, or new ones come out as new focuses come out with the oracles.
I kind of took the liberty creating this oracle in all aspects with the advancement of the class. Oracle of Fortune (Luck, Travel, Trickery) Class Skills: Bluff, Disguise, Knowledge (Local), Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Survival. Bonus Spells:
Revelations: These are just some samples provided. Let's Try This Again - An oracle of fortune can reroll any d20 roll before the result of the roll determines success or failure. You can use this ability up to 1 + Charisma modifier per day. You must be 7th level before choosing this revelation. In addition at 11th level an oracle of fortune can instead grant this ability to an ally withing 30 feet as an immediate action by using 2 uses of the ability provided there is enough uses left. Luck of the Road - The effects of difficult terrain are improved by one step for an oracle of fortune, they always use the movement for difficult terrain that is one step higher than what the normal condition allows. (IE Trackless terrain in a swamp normally allows half movement at all times but an oracle of fortune instead uses the road or trail movement chart.) At 9th level an oracle of fortune ignores the effects of all difficult terrain, and can move at full speed. But still cannot run or charge over obstacles or down stairs.
I briefly touched on curses in the play testing portion of this forum. Curses I feel are a good edition to the class but at the same time could be redone to add more of a role play fluff, or even fix certain situations combat wise. Clouded Vision for instance could instead be complete blindness, but as later levels progress the oracle gains blindsight out to 5 or 10 feet/level in the class. As well as gaining uncanny dodge and improved uncanny dodge. Deaf curse I like that you gain silent spell as a bonus feat and it does not affect casting times at all or uses a higher level slot. Wasting could be switched for an entirely new one. Lame could be switched for an entirely new one. Tongues I say keep as it is, because that is funny in combat. Haunted could be reworded that instead of adding spells it adds some sort of bonus on knowledges. Or even at higher levels it allows some method of scrying, or dream travel.
Hm, a oracle/sorc/mystic theurge could actually be pretty terrifying with them focusing on just one casting stat. In fact I am playtesting that specific build right now. Sorcerer 4/Oracle 3 currently but at that level it seems pretty interesting. Sorcerer has the elemental water focus, and I am playing an Oracle of the waves. One thing I am slightly concerned with is the Oracle's Freezing Spells focus paired up with the sorcerer's water elemental bloodline ability. As most of us should already know the Sorcerers with the elemental bloodline have the bloodline arcana to change all their damage dealing spells to the type of what element they chose. IE Cold for water elemental bloodline. That paired up with Freezing Spells Focus from the Oracle: All damaging dealing spells that require a saving throw, and the target(s) fail, are automatically slowed for 1 round, 1d4 rounds at 11th level. Combat example:
I would say that maybe to balance this out it would be best to limit it only to oracle damage dealing spells with the cold subtype. However, since the oracle is only granted the cleric spell list, there is not that many spells that deal any cold damage. I would also say that redoing the spell list for the Oracle of the waves, in terms of focus spell progression would help out this limitation, by adding some spells that do more cold damage. Or even giving the player the choice on what kind of spells to choose, in my next example. To even add a role-play spin to it, water is the element of life according to many myths. Tian’s being asian themed would definitely use oracles as a class all their own. So I would say that adding a healing element to this class would be interesting in itself. Here’s a hypothetical spell list that gives players the choice between a destructive oracle of the waves, and an oracle of the waves that is based around the life sustaining nature of water. Bonus Spells:
This is primarily for the Oracle of the Waves, since this is what I play tested. I do like Devotions being switched for Foci. Curses I feel need to be adapted for a better role play fluff, and for combat situations. And should have a more consistent level progression for when they can get better, but also end up getting worse at the same time. For instance I'd prefer the Curse Clouded Vision, to be complete blindness. But as level progressions go you eventually gain a better version of blindsight and the curse has an added effect negatively. I'd also say to do away with Wasting and Lame curses. |
