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I've been play-testing an oracle in Pathfinder Society, and I have the following thoughts.
1) The cleric gets d8 HD, medium BAB, good Fort saves, and decent armour proficiencies over the wizard because its spell list is geared more toward buffing and reacting and less toward blowing up, enchanting, debuffing, etc. The sorcerer and the wizard get all the same stats as one another because they share a highly offensive spell list with one another. Their saves, HD, BAB, and armour proficiencies are bad because their spells pick up the slack. The oracle on the other hand shares a spell list with the cleric and feels like it should follow the cleric stat-model much more closely. It has the d8 HD and medium BAB, but I really think it could benefit from the improved Fort saves and the increased armour proficiency. Right now the class is most effective wading into combat, and has a hard time doing so. In all the games I've played, I've felt incredibly useless on the sidelines, and felt the need to wade into melee. It could use the boost.
2) The cleric spell-list is very good at doing cleric things, which are usually utility-based, reactive, or preventative. The cleric, however, benefits from knowing all of its spells and getting to choose the right responsive tools for the job, each day. The sorcerer doesn't care that it knows so few spells because it isn't a responder, it's a blower of things up. The oracle on the other hand has a really reactive spell list and so few spells known, it will rarely have the right tools for the job. The foci help a lot, but the oracle still feels really impotent. I think it should probably receive more bonus spells known, or higher spells known in general, or have some ability to switch out a spell known on the fly or something. With its current limitations on spells known, it feels like there isn't a real role carved out for the oracle, and I imagine the intended role is "cleric for somebody who wants to take a different angle to their character, or for somebody new to the game for whom prepared casting might be overwhelming."
3) The sorcerer's arcane bloodline lets you pick up one of the wizard's iconic class features (the familiar), and I think it would be a really cool analogue to put together some sort of healing focus and give it access to Channel Energy. The flavour behind the oracle is so incredibly cool, it would be nice to have an option for playing one that would actually allow it to compete for the cleric's seat in a party. As it stands, it can't.
Beyond that, I love the class, and I think its foundation is really solid. I especially love the build-flexibility (choices within choices) and the whole notion of the curses, and how they range from minor penalty with mostly role-playing benefits to steep penalty with powerful benefits. I'd love to see this class powered up just a little more so it reaches its potential.
I have been thinking the exact same thing.
The only reason I have been thinking of playing an oracle was so I could take 1 level of it and then all the rest in cleric if I felt like giving up the caster level. I could boost my cleric stuff like getting the revelations bleeding wounds, so I could burst negative channel and make people in a 30 ft radius start bleeding from there eyes and stuff. the oracle channel energy doesn't do damage and the oracle revelations that do negative energy damage require touch attacks.
The only reason I have been thinking of playing an oracle was so I could take 1 level of it and then all the rest in cleric if I felt like giving up the caster level. I could boost my cleric stuff like getting the revelations bleeding wounds
I don't know - a caster level hit, and the full drawbacks of the curse without the higher level mitigations, all to deal one point of bleed damage a round on your channel energy?
I like the fluff of the foci, but they very way too wide in power. Some of them (well, one of them) actually almost makes up the difference of your poor spellcasting, the rest mostly don't. I'd rather see all the foci brought up to the level of Battle, or see the spell casting dramatically improved and battle possibly brought down just a notch.
And while I love the curse, it is a bit of an unneeded nerf to multiclassing on a full caster. Maybe if the penalties scaled along with the benefits? Or if the benefits were based on character level?
Right now I'd play an oracle in a low powered game with other fluff players for its fluff value. But in a regular game, I'd just play a cleric with the exact same fluff - maybe asking my DM if I could trade one of my two domains for the curse rules.
I haven't done any playtesting, but I also have been thinking the exact same thing.
I am not so sure that the better fortitude save and more bonus spells known would fix the lack of flexibility in spellcasting problem.
Maybe more potent revelations that affect all your spells, or require you to expend spell slots would be better.
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What do people think about a rotating spell slot? Imagine spells-per-day listed sort of like a cleric, so at 6th-level you'd have:
6+1 / 5+1 / 3+1
But instead of that +1 being a domain spell, it would be sort of a functional opposite of the cleric having spontaneous cure spells, and the oracle would instead get to prepare that spell slot each day from the entire cleric list, whereas all the rest of its spells would come from the pre-chosen spells known list. Prepared versatility rather than spontaneous cure.
Just a thought. I honestly think the class could probably stand to gain a spell known or two at each level and have some sort of mechanic like this.
What do people think about a rotating spell slot? Imagine spells-per-day listed sort of like a cleric, so at 6th-level you'd have:
6+1 / 5+1 / 3+1
But instead of that +1 being a domain spell, it would be sort of a functional opposite of the cleric having spontaneous cure spells, and the oracle would instead get to prepare that spell slot each day from the entire cleric list, whereas all the rest of its spells would come from the pre-chosen spells known list. Prepared versatility rather than spontaneous cure.
Just a thought. I honestly think the class could probably stand to gain a spell known or two at each level and have some sort of mechanic like this.
I see where you're coming from, and I think it is cool. Adding a channel energy ability to the oracle on top of that shifting spell slot would be excellent.
I think they didn't give the oracle channeling since they could be evil and use their negative energy channel with Selective Channeling to aoe nuke entire fights. There's obvious synergy there, and it would end up being a feat tax for good or evil oracles. Maybe just removing their ability to access the channeling feats would fix that if it's a problem?
Well I playtested a battle focus oracle, and I have to say I felt I was playing a Second edition Fighter/Cleric. He is a half orc and at first level I gave him Skill at arms granting me proficiency with all martial weapons and medium and heavy armor. I chose Shield of Faith and Cure Light wounds as my first two spells. Personal experience I didn't find myself on the sidelines. With the heavy armor and Shield of faith spell I could tank with the best of them and protected the party pretty well. I didnt feel a lack of power. The benefits of the haunted curse were an added boon as well. With the specific oracle focus I was quite pleased I didnt feel being useless at any point in time.
Im not sure how the other foci have worked out in gameplay since too me I feel there is something lacking.
Me and you played the same character. I agree, not much lacking with that focus or that revelation, but the rest of the focuses fall flat in comparison. And not just in comparison-- they fall flat completely, compared to any of the PF base classes.
An Oracle of Battle is a good choice for melee oriented PC's who want the ability to heal, but taking the role of a Cleric from a support character, I play tested an Oracle of Flames recently with the Deaf Curse.
One of my best tricks used was a Widened Silence spell on myself then with the revelation Wings of Fire, I flew over to an enemy caster negating his ability to effectively fight in the combat.
While I was still able to cast my spells without a problem because of the Benefit of the spell.
With spells like Prayer, Bless, Hold Person, and my bonus spell Fireball, I was fairly effective.
There's also a multiclass tactic I am using with an Oracle of Waves and a Water Specialist Sorcerer.
Using the Freezing Spells Revelation with some of my cold based spells has also helped hinder opponents for a round or two to allow fighters their full potential in tanking without the negative drawbacks of fighting opponents with multiple attacks.
Me and you played the same character. I agree, not much lacking with that focus or that revelation, but the rest of the focuses fall flat in comparison. And not just in comparison-- they fall flat completely, compared to any of the PF base classes.Well the bone focus isn't too bad either, if you can focus him on being a debuffer. I see it working kind of like a cleric/necromancer.
There's also the Waves focus that gives you a neat Baleful Polymorph ability at higher levels. But some of the focuses have pretty slim pickings -- a fireball-like ability usable once or twice per day is pretty dull, IMO, and likewise with a 1d6+lvl touch attack.
(NOTE: I'm currently playtesting a low-level battle oracle and a higher-level waves oracle.)
Me and you played the same character. I agree, not much lacking with that focus or that revelation, but the rest of the focuses fall flat in comparison. And not just in comparison-- they fall flat completely, compared to any of the PF base classes.Well the bone focus isn't too bad either, if you can focus him on being a debuffer. I see it working kind of like a cleric/necromancer.There's also the Waves focus that gives you a neat Baleful Polymorph ability at higher levels. But some of the focuses have pretty slim pickings -- a fireball-like ability usable once or twice per day is pretty dull, IMO, and likewise with a 1d6+lvl touch attack.
(NOTE: I'm currently playtesting a low-level battle oracle and a higher-level waves oracle.)
The Baleful Polymorph ability, while indeed neat, is rather odd in my opinion for being a revelation of an oracle of the waves.
Sure the concept needed a more combat focused revelation, but kind of breaks flow. (Pun intended)
This is just my thoughts on the ability, but I do want to say that an oracle of the Waves is by far the weakest Focus out of all of them in my opinion.
This is just my thoughts on the ability, but I do want to say that an oracle of the Waves is by far the weakest Focus out of all of them in my opinion.
Hmm. I would've said Flame or Stone is worse, even though flying and earth gliding is better than swimming/walking on water. I'm really not impressed by "do some damage, 1/day" abilities.