Lore Oracle Spontaneous Symbology

[Hilfy]

Hi Everyone,

This revelation expects the spell slot that is burned to be a "prepared spell". It was my understanding that Oracles do not "prepare" spells, so can someone please explain that part of the revelation to me?

I'm looking forward to running a multiclass Cleric/Oracle as soon as I get to 9th level (which will probably be too late for this playtest, only 41000 right now).

I thought I would choose the Oracle spells based on those that I currently keep on scrolls - those that you don't need often, but when you need them, you really really need them!

Oracle looks like a really fun class, I like the creativity inherent in the revelations.

Thanks, Hilfy

[Ambrus]

My issue with this revelation is rather that there aren't any low level symbol spells; the first, Symbol of Pain, is 5th level. So this revelation is all but useless to oracles of less than 10th level. Unless the Advanced Player's Guide is going to introduce new low level symbols, the designers might as well make this revelation only available to oracles of 10th or higher level.

[Hilfy]

Ambrus wrote:

My issue with this revelation is rather that there aren't any low level symbol spells; the first, Symbol of Pain, is 5th level. So this revelation is all but useless to oracles of less than 10th level. Unless the Advanced Player's Guide is going to introduce new low level symbols, the designers might as well make this revelation only available to oracles of 10th or higher level.

Ambrus, as I interpret this revelation, all of your spells qualify as a "symbol" type spell if you take this revelation.

What this revelation allows is swapping out higher level spell slots for lower level spell slots once you are out of the lower level spell slots. Could be handy if you always run out of a certain spell slot too soon.

At first, I thought you had to wait till the next day to use the "symbol spells" and with that in mind, the revelation made little sense. But as I re-read it, I realized they did not specify anything about time, so I read that as "same day" use being allowed. Then it made more sense.

Hilfy

[hogarth]

Hilfy wrote:

What this revelation allows is swapping out higher level spell slots for lower level spell slots once you are out of the lower level spell slots. Could be handy if you always run out of a certain spell slot too soon.

You can always use higher-level slots to cast lower-level spells.

"Spell Slots: The various character class tables show how many spells of each level a character can cast per day. These openings for daily spells are called spell slots. A spellcaster always has the option to fill a higher-level spell slot with a lower-level spell."

I agree with the previous poster: the special ability "Spontaneous Symbology" doesn't make much sense for a spontaneous spellcaster.

[Erik Mona]

Ambrus wrote:

My issue with this revelation is rather that there aren't any low level symbol spells; the first, Symbol of Pain, is 5th level. So this revelation is all but useless to oracles of less than 10th level. Unless the Advanced Player's Guide is going to introduce new low level symbols, the designers might as well make this revelation only available to oracles of 10th or higher level.

The APG will have new low-level symbol spells.

[Shisumo]

Erik Mona wrote:

Ambrus wrote:

My issue with this revelation is rather that there aren't any low level symbol spells; the first, Symbol of Pain, is 5th level. So this revelation is all but useless to oracles of less than 10th level. Unless the Advanced Player's Guide is going to introduce new low level symbols, the designers might as well make this revelation only available to oracles of 10th or higher level.

The APG will have new low-level symbol spells.

While this is good news, I have to admit it makes some of the playtesting we're doing for these classes more problematic since we're using an incomplete play environment (see also the discussions about the elemental Oracle Mysteries). I rather wish we had the rest of the picture so we could more fully appreciate what it is we're dealing with...

[Hilfy]

Quote:

You can always use higher-level slots to cast lower-level spells.

With that in mind, I have to agree too. What's the use of this revelation? Now if you were able to carry over that spell energy to the next day without having to burn a current spell slot to use it, THAT would be useful! Of course, you'd have to limit how many.

Usually I'm too busy using those higher spell slots to cast the higher level spells. Now that you mention it, I do remember that rule. Thanks for the reminder, hogarth!

[hogarth]

Hilfy wrote:

Quote:

You can always use higher-level slots to cast lower-level spells.

With that in mind, I have to agree too. What's the use of this revelation?

The only thing I can think of is that a prepared spellcaster like a cleric or a wizard could take one level in oracle in order to convert prepared (cleric or wizard) spell slots into Symbol spells. But that seems like a stretch.

[lastknightleft]

It's been clarified that it lets you cast symbol spells even if you don't know them.

[Hilfy]

lastknightleft wrote:

It's been clarified that it lets you cast symbol spells even if you don't know them.

Could you provide a reference?

The revelation states "you can channel stored spell energy into symbol spells that you have not prepared ahead of time".

Somehow, I'm not getting that you can cast symbols spells that you don't know or you add all symbol spells to your spell list out of that statement.

Also, I don't know why they are using the word "prepared" in the text here, Oracles do not "prepare" spells in the first place.

[hogarth]

It's in this thread:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advancedPlayersGuidePlaytest/finalPlaytest/uPDATEAFewSimpleCorrections

The PDF should also be updated as well.

[Hilfy]

hogarth wrote:

It's in this thread:

http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderR PG/advancedPlayersGuidePlaytest/finalPlaytest/uPDATEAFewSimpleCorrections

The PDF should also be updated as well.

Thanks for the reference! Although I note that there will be a small wait on the updated pdf since Jason was stuck at home during that thread and there is a possibility that the file was not switched. I hope there's been some major changes to the wording.

Hilfy

[Erik Mona]

Shisumo wrote:

While this is good news, I have to admit it makes some of the playtesting we're doing for these classes more problematic since we're using an incomplete play environment (see also the discussions about the elemental Oracle Mysteries). I rather wish we had the rest of the picture so we could more fully appreciate what it is we're dealing with...

Yes, well, I agree, but we can't write the entire book at once, so we've got to do these things as time becomes available. Time hasn't become available to create new lower-level symbol spells yet, but it will. I suspect most of the playtesting of these spells will be internal.

[Shisumo]

Erik Mona wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

While this is good news, I have to admit it makes some of the playtesting we're doing for these classes more problematic since we're using an incomplete play environment (see also the discussions about the elemental Oracle Mysteries). I rather wish we had the rest of the picture so we could more fully appreciate what it is we're dealing with...

Yes, well, I agree, but we can't write the entire book at once, so we've got to do these things as time becomes available. Time hasn't become available to create new lower-level symbol spells yet, but it will. I suspect most of the playtesting of these spells will be internal.

And of course I don't really expect anything else. I just dislike the feeling that I'm playtesting with one hand tied behind my back, no matter that there really isn't another choice. (sigh)