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This is the additional effect of Nudge the Scales:

In addition, you can mediate during your daily preparations

to place yourself on one side of the scales. Choose life or death.
If you align yourself with life, you are healed by vitality healing
effects, as normal for most living creatures; if you align yourself
with death, you gain the void healing ability, causing you to be
healed by void effects that restore Hit Points and any other
effects that restore Hit Points to undead creatures.

I might be overthinking how this works so I could use some confirmation how far off I am.

On a regular living creature, if you choose death, you remain living but gain void healing. You now heal and get targeted like how a Dhampir would. Easy.

On a Dhampir, a living creature with void healing, if you choose life, you remain living and you ignore your void healing ability. I know it doesn't say "remove" your void healing directly, but I'm sure it's meant to override it with the life alignment effect. You now heal and get targeted like every other full living creature would. Also easy.

On an undead, like a Skeleton or any Undead archetype, if you choose life, you remain undead but ignore void healing. You are undead but you ignore void healing, which I have no examples for.

Since most vitality healing effects requiring living targets, this really doesn't do much for the still undead PCs. Unless of course, does the line "If you align yourself with life, you are healed by vitality healing effects, as normal for most living creatures" qualify enough as 'specific overrides general' to allow the targeting and healing of an Undead PC with vitality healing effects?

I've played several Imperial Sorcerers, but I've never got the chance to pick up Extend Spell. I'm considering taking it this time around. What are some good or cool spells to use with it?

The most obvious one is 4th level Invisibility. Otherwise, I guess it's good for pre-buffing with spells you usually can't pre-buff with, but if we're talking combat, just having Arcane Countermeasures locked and loaded has always served me well already.

The passive benefit on the Silent Whisper's Message allows you to not need a straight line of effect when casting it. That doesn't also apply to the reaction/free action the target can take to respond, does it?

At 3rd level, Message heightens to 500ft range. Is it fair to assume the Psychic passive benefit applies with that 500ft range or is that benefit limited to 120ft range?

I promised myself to take a break on Oracles. With Dark Archive's arrival, I knew the Time mystery was going to make that promise tough to keep. Thankfully, the Psychic has surprisingly tickled my soul enough as an effective distraction. But still, it can't hurt to obsess about it a little on the sidelines.

Here are my first impressions:

I know how crazy perceptions change on the mysteries going from no experience to actually playing it. I had to learn this several times. But I know it'll be a while until I get to play a Time Oracle so talking about it is the best I got.

For anyone who gets to play one, feel free to tell me how much I'm missing out. No rush. The book just came out, but come back anytime!

Undead Eidolons I thought worked just like Dhampirs. They have negative healing, but they’re still alive. However, I completely forgot that Undead Eidolons, unlike Dhampirs, still have the Undead trait. Doesn’t that cause major targeting issues?

Negative Essence even has a line that says it has a bonus against “non-damaging effects that target only undead” showing they can be targeted as undead. Negative Essence is also the same ability that labels them as living. I need some help processing this.

I'm the resident Oracle apologist in our playgroups. I'm pretty much the only one who plays since everybody else is either afraid of its complexity or considers it weak. I've exclusively played the class, for the most part, since their release and have only recently taken a break to mostly dabble with the Summoner. Other than Ancestors and Flames, I've played every Oracle subclass and have done so multiple times.

There is that one game I GMd a full Oracle party campaign, played with close friends coaxed with food. It was a success in that a some of them have now tried out the class in several games without my friendly coercion. Since then, they've reminded me how I can tone down my persistent and biased shilling for the Oracle. And that really got me thinking how I should do an honest reflection on the class after playing so much of it for so long.

I'm a huge fan of the whole Oracle package, from the roleplay flavor to the curse mechanics. Coming from 5e just looking for some Sorcerous fun, this was the last thing I expected to happen. But now, no longer a full-shill for the class, I want share a few Oracle aspects that I reflected upon, not-so-flawless aspects I honestly think could be better.

Divine Access as a level 4 class feat

So Divine Access is one of the best aspects of the class imo. Being able to swipe spells from outside of the limited divine spell list is a great boon. And you can do it multiple times! It's a great feat for customization that doesn't feel forced for most builds. The glaring exceptions being Flames and Tempest, both of which have effects that bolster certain elemental spells accessible as early as level 1. But due to the nature of the divine spell list, elemental spells are naturally limited and even more absent early on. Divine Access is meant to alleviate that, albeit through a feat tax. It's one of the earliest and still common concern for players new to the class looking to do some blasting. Understandably, the focus is on the feat tax for the two elemental mysteries, but I think it wouldn't be as egregious if Divine Access was accessible even earlier, say as a level 2 feat.

For perspective, Divine Access's early iteration in the APG playtest was a feat named Divine Element. Exclusive to Flames, it granted three fire spells. Like a limited Divine Access with no deity choice and the spells chosen for you. It's a level 1 feat which shows there was a sense of urgency getting synergistic and thematic spells for certain mysteries that sadly didn't make it to the final product. Certainly not fully comparable with Divine Access as it is now. Still, I didn't realize how being a level 4 feat was such a huge limitation on certain builds and mysteries until I played Tempest a few times and watched Flames and Tempest players struggle with disappointment before 4th level.

After the full Oracle party campaign and a few other games, we also realized just how empty early level Oracle feat choices were. At level 2, the class feat of choice was always just Reach Spell. It is one of only six level class feat choices at that level, the smallest pool out of any class, and by quite a noticeable margin last I checked. Now imagine Divine access as a level 2 feat. Even if it became the universal feat choice, the nature of the feat creates diverse options players can choose from each different game for each different mystery early on. It helps both the limited class feat choice at level 2 and the Flames and Tempest issue. I'm trying this out for our next full Oracle party campaign and, if it goes well, highly considering it for every future game.

Unless I'm misreading, you can only create a custom weakness if the creature lacks an existing weakness equal to at least 2 + half your level.

It's probably better to always set an existing weakness higher when you can than a custom weakness that only you can exploit. But the whole flavor of the custom weakness is so fun, I'd like to be able to apply it even if it's a suboptimal choice because there's a thematic choice in jeopardy.

Any thoughts on making the custom weakness an option even if there is a weakness you can set?

Looking at the Horned Archon's Touch of Charity and how it interacts with the Life mystery's minor curse RAW.

A horned archon can touch another creature to take on that creature’s wounds, transferring up to 30 of the horned archon’s HP to the touched creature. The horned archon can’t transfer more HP than it currently has.

Effects that restore Hit Points to you take a status penalty equal to half your level (minimum 1) to the number of HP you recover.

I don't know. It's a Mystery :D

Cloudkill deals "damage to each breathing creature that starts its turn in the spell's area."

Holding your breath is written in context of aquatic combat and it doesn't require an action. Should you be able to just hold your breath to avoid Cloudkill damage for free?

I know Cloudkill isn't an alchemical poison and doesn't have the Inhaled trait, but there's an interesting interaction under method of exposure. The Inhaled trait has a line that allows any creature entering a poison cloud to "use a single action to hold its breath and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to the saving throw for 1 round."

Maybe Cloudkill just means it deals damage to creatures that need to breathe? Not necessarily requiring it to be breathing?

I don't really know since I've never looked into the spell this much before. I'm considering it for a character build for the first time. Thanks in advance!

Is it currently impossible to get the status bonus from Touch of Corruption as a PC?

We have no undead ancestries at the moment. The closest we get is with negative healing but that only deals with healing and damage. It's relevant with homebrew through undead ancestries or undead champion NPCs but without homebrew, will it ever come up?

"You can't mitigate, reduce, or remove the effects of your oracular curse by any means other than Refocusing and resting for 8 hours."

It looks like you can't ignore/mitigate all effects of your curse, not just the harmful effects. That's pretty neat since it means the beneficial effects of your curse are just as impossible to counter. Does that sound right?

If it does work this way, I have an Ancestors mystery question. Can you use a skill with Assurance and still get the status bonus to skill checks while under the skillful ancestral influence? Does Assurance count as ignoring your curse effects, which the curse won't allow, in this context?

Dread Secret has a listed duration that says "until the start of your next turn" but for which effect is it?

The resistance loss is stated to last "until the end of your next turn" and the only other lingering effect is frightened, which has its own duration rules.

Today I learned not every caster gets Effortless Concentration. For some reason, I thought it's one of those generic caster feats every caster, even the playtest ones, just has. Apparently, the two exclusively divine casters, Cleric and Oracle, don't have it.

I find it amusing the implication here is that being solely divine is rough on your focus with those pesky deities being constant stressors.

The thread about non-cleric divine casters and deities has been a fascinating read. It even made me do my own digging, just for fun.

I did run into something that I never fully paid attention to. The divine spell, Divine Aura.

Divine Aura is interesting in that out of all the deity/alignment reliant spells that I'm aware of, it actually has an effect that doesn't rely on a deity/alignment. It gives +1 AC/saving throw bonus with no strings attached. The only reason it can't be used by a caster with no deity or a neutral deity is because of this line:

You can't cast this spell if you don't have a deity or your deity is true neutral.

It's intriguing to think Divine Aura was even closer to being a functional spell for no deity/true neutral deity casters than Spiritual Weapon was before the errata. Just by removing that one line, the spell functions for all divine casters. A divine caster with a non-true neutral deity still comes out on top by having access to a fully functional spell, but at least it gives the no deity/true neutral caster the option to use it as well. Sure it's a limited version, but it works.

I truly hope future divine spells that are deity/alignment reliant become more mindful to this aspect in some way. Instead of completely locking out no deity/true neutral casters from a divine spell, allow the spell to have a functional effect for all casters but reward non-true neutral deity casters with additional alignment effects as normal.

Although, I also wouldn't mind seeing "flipped" versions of these deity/alignment spells. A divine spell only usable by no deity/true neutral casters instead would be wild. It screams wishful thinking but it would be fascinating to see.

1. The cosmos mystery curse makes you enfeebled. If I use assurance with athletics, does the enfeebled penalty still go through because of the oracular curse rule? "You can't mitigate, reduce, or remove the effects of your oracular curse by any means other than Refocusing and resting for 8 hours."

2. Does the oracular curse rule allow me to get opposing bonuses to the penalties the cosmos curse imposes? In this case, getting bonuses toward the rolls that enfeebled penalizes and the "–2 penalty to saves and DCs against Grapple, Shove, and other forms of forced movement."

3. The moderate curse grants a "+2 status bonus against Trip attempts." Does Trip, which causes you to "fall and land prone," count as forced movement and thereby also subject to the curse's penalties? Forced movement says this: "When an effect forces you to move, or if you start falling..."

I was considering going fruit Leshy for our upcoming all-Leshy party campaign, but just realized their whole gimmick might not even work in this scenario. Leshies probably can't derive sustenance from fruit, so they'd be unable to heal from it, right?

Your body continually produces small fruits imbued with primal magic. At dawn each day, a new fruit ripens. You or an ally can remove this fruit as an Interact action. If a living creature that can derive sustenance from fruit consumes it as an Interact action within the next hour, they regain 1d8 Hit Points, plus an additional 1d8 Hit Points for every 2 of your levels beyond 1st. This effect has the healing, necromancy, and positive traits.

With the Cloud Jump feat, High Jump uses the regular calculation for Long Jump (no triple distance). High Jump uses the vertical Leap which has a vertical and horizontal distance. Does the new calculation through Cloud Jump only apply to High Jump's vertical distance?

Also, with High Jump using the new calculation through Cloud Jump, how does High Jump's regular critical success entry interact with this, if at all?

I'm playing in a high level campaign soon and would really like to take advantage of Divine Inspiration with the Oracle's naturally beefy focus pool and recovery.

Unfortunately, while I can top off my focus pool mid-combat, it can't reset the curse. So I'm gonna need something else other than a revelation spell when the curse is at its limit.

Any efficient ways to get regular focus spells, other than lay on hands from Blessed One? Blessed One is great; one feat for instant access to a good focus spell. It's my back up, but I'm wondering if there are similar options but more offense-oriented.

Splash
Splash Trait

"If an attack with a splash weapon fails, succeeds, or critically succeeds, all creatures within 5 feet of the target (including the target) take the listed splash damage."

We always assumed it meant "within 5 feet of the target square" but as written, doesn't it technically scale with the target's size?

How do you read this Leshy feat?

If you rest outdoors for 10 minutes during the day, you regain Hit Points equal to your Constitution modifier × half your level. You gain this benefit in addition to any healing from Treat Wounds. Leshies whose plant nourishment does not rely on photosynthesis require a similarly suitable environment. For example, fungus leshies need dark, damp environments and a pile of decaying plant matter.

Assuming appropriate conditions for the Leshy, do you get the heal as long as you rested for 10 minutes or is the heal an exclusive bonus to Treat Wounds?

Effects that targets something concealed from you is subject to the DC 5 flat check to determine if it affects the target at all. However, area effects aren’t subject to this flat check.

How does this interaction work out if an area effect also has targeting involved?

Rebuke Death, for example, is an emanation area effect but also prompts the user to choose specific targets.

Heal and Harm's 3-action versions are emanation but "targets all living and undead creatures in the burst/area." Does the lack of choice for targets make a difference here?

Glitterdust is a purely ranged area effect spell. It only uses the word target to indicate the variable effects on affected creatures. This, in particular, made me think it's implied all affected creatures or whatever by area effects are all technically targets of that effect. But I think specific over general is what makes this work out because area effects are specifically not subject to the flat check.

Or is its omission meaningful?

If it is meaningful, help me understand the difference between Scare to Death and Demoralize. Unlike Scare to Death, Demoralize does have the auditory trait. However, they have the exact same penalties in "the target can’t hear you or doesn’t understand the language you are speaking." Demoralize has an extra one in "you’re not speaking a language" which I think is addressing the option to Demoralize without comprehensible words. Without the auditory trait, I'm unsure what the penalties are referring to with Scare to Death.

Assuming no auditory trait for Scare to Death is intended, is it fair to read this as Scare to Death needing the user to speak something intelligible to the target in order to avoid the penalties? But unlike Demoralize, Scare to Death has the option to be used without speaking and deliberately take those penalties if you so please?

Or does lacking auditory trait mean the is user unable to attempt to speak anything appropriate in the first place so those penalties are always applied?

I'm sure I'm just missing something simple and making this more complicated than it has to be.

I just read the Tempest Oracle's Tempest Form for the first time.

Your body becomes fluid to better suit your surroundings. When you Cast this Spell, choose whether to become air, water, or mist. The spell gains the air trait if you choose air or mist, and the water trait if you choose water or mist. You become amorphous, as does your armor. You lose any item bonus to AC and use your proficiency bonus for unarmored defense to determine your AC. You also gain resistance 10 to physical damage and become immune to precision damage. You can slip through tiny cracks and don't need to breathe. You can't cast spells, activate items, or use actions that have the attack or manipulate trait. You also gain the following effects based on your form.

Air You gain a fly Speed of 20 feet and become invisible while you are in the air. You can create the effects of a gust of wind from your space as a 2-action activity, which has the manipulate trait.
Mist You gain a fly Speed of 20 feet, and it becomes hard to see through you. Any creature on one side of your space who is targeted by a creature on the opposite side is concealed to the targeting creature.
Water You gain a swim Speed of 20 feet and become invisible while you are in the water. You can electrically charge yourself by taking a single action, which has the manipulate trait. If you do, you are no longer invisible in the water due to electricity indicating your location, but any creature that makes a melee attack against you takes 1d6 electricity damage; if it touches you, this is cumulative with the damage from your major curse.

If you can't use actions with the manipulate trait, you shouldn't be able to use those unique actions while in the form, right? I would assume they're exempt from the limitation, but I think I'm missing the part that points that out. Or something else entirely.

Intimidating Glare swapping out Demoralize's auditory trait for the visual trait is pretty straightforward. But since it also calls out ignoring the language penalty separately, does that mean the other two penalty qualifiers for Demoralize, you cannot be heard or you aren't speaking a language, still present?

Or does losing the auditory trait imply those are also ignored? If this is the case, why was the language penalty called out separately in the first place? Wouldn't it fall under the auditory trait as well, in context of Demoralize?