I am in mind to play an oracle in a campaign I am in. I have the opp. to change characters and have been looking at a life oracle for some time but would love some advice on building it. I ca build a character no issue but I am looking for some shared thoughts, unique aspects and such on how to make it interesting besides just a heal powerhouse.
Level 12
Core/APG/Bestiaries allowed
All standard races
Just looking for good race/feat/concepts combinations. I prefer overall functionality and roundness, may even consider battle Oracle, but kind of love channeling because of freeing up cures.
PS. Currently not a DM in need, but player in need :)
My concept for this Arena PBP is here under healbot.
I am pretty excited to try him out soon because he looks like he will be a good Archer, and with lifelink it is basically like giving your friends Fast Healing 5. With Paladin Lay on Hands you can top off without sacrificing a lot of actions. I like the idea of the positive energy elemental, but I think it may be kind of dangerous if it works like wildshaping (meaning your armor, weapons and other items are absorbed) severely limiting your options.
Thank you for the suggestion. Still hoping to hear others.
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Lately, I've come to appreciate Elves as Healer type characters. Either them, or Halfling.
Reasons:
Elf: The Con hit hurts, but it's liveable, while the weapon proficiencies mean you can stand back and launch arrows when not healing, then turn around and cast whatever you need next round. Divine Favor, Bless, Heroism, etc all make for great Archer buffs, and hey, you're still a full-caster class.
Low-light vision, keen senses, and +2 vs. SR is just icing on the cake, IMO.
Halfling: +2 Dex/Cha is awesome for a healer of any kind, but Oracle doubly so. Luck bonus to saves, again Keen Senses, not to mention the skill buffs. Str hit is something you can live with, and if you want to attack from ranged, Sling + Divine Favor + Magic Stone is decent from low through mid levels.
of course, Human is still awesome, as always.
As far as Mysteries/Curses go: I really like the Haunted Curse. Sure, retrieving items becomes a pain, and dropping stuff is an issue (watch out for cliffs & pits), but extra spells know = rock solid.
I like Life, for obvious reasons (channeling is very very nice), but Heavens, Battle, and Nature all have good selling points for me. Unless you're looking for Super-DC-Fireball goodness, I'd stay away from the elemental varieties.
With a Human, by 6th level, your looking at Evocation [Fire] spell DC's of Spell Level + Stat + 4. Anyone else can do so by 7th, if you are so inclined.
Alternatively, if you wanted to go "Healbot" style, Oracle of Life w/ Extra Channel, Selective Channeling, Reach Spell, and the Sacred Bond spell can't really be touched as far as healing capacity. You're more focused than a normal Cleric, but quite excellent at the job you've chosen.
I definitely was looking at the haunted halfling variation for a life oracle. Don't really want to be a healing blaster, not discounting it though.
The only reason I would look at human is primarily for extra feat, half-orc for better melee weapon to be in combat a bit with a better damage output.
Just kind of looking for advice on feat selection with a oracle....should I attempt to get into combat via weapons or stay back and cast.
I like to have a concept to work with on a character but am finding myself lacking a bit on this atm. That is why I am asking for build suggestions that might get me inspired to find a character concept.
Thanks again for your input.
Similar question to the OP.
I'm now making an Oracle and want to go Mystery of Life. I'm looking towards half-elf, what feat/talents/selections should I go with?
I really like Haunted, but Withered (while not as awesome in-game, IMHO) has a fun flavor to it.
any suggestions for feats, and is there a PrC that might make heal-and-buff-botting while firing arrows more attractive?
If you're allowed Beastiary races I strongly suggest Aasimar. They have a bonus to Charisma and Wisdom and so would make great healers. Either as a cleric or an oracle.
Core and APG, plus Traits available from Carrion Crown. We'll be following that adventure Path.
I'm pretty much looking at half-elf for story reasons, but could go elf or halfling.
Oh, and the GM has a hatred for gnomes, so none of them, which is a shame, because their alternate favored class is kinda fun...
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Well, as a Half-Elf, grab the Ancestral Arms alternate racial trait for Longbow (which includes the composite variety). It even makes sense.
In terms of Curse, grab Wasting only if the party has a social character who isn't you. If they do, then feel free if that's what you want to do thematically. It's benefits aren't spectacular, but if you're not the primary social guy, then it's flaw is nonexistent.
Personally, Feat-wise, I'd focus almost completely on the Archery Feats for such a character. You'll be an awesome healer without ever spending a Feat on it (well, maybe Selective Channeling, if you wind up doing that a lot while facing living foes...or Reach Spell, see below).
In terms of Revelations, grab Channel right off the bat, and grab Combat Healer next. Swift Action healing can actually be a good idea in combat. Reach Spell might actually be a good Feat for this, too (Feats comments above notwithstanding). The other revelations are all cool, but not really necessary.
Spell-wise, you'll want to grab Delay Poison as one of your 2nd level spells, and either have Remove Curse, Remove Disease, and Remove Blindness/Deafness among your 3rd level ones or at least readily available from scrolls/wands, and you might possibly want Raise Dead as a 5th level spell. You are otherwise completely free to pick the non-healing spells you want, since you get all the other healing stuff automatically.
You'll be an awesome healer without ever spending a Feat on it (well, maybe Selective Channeling, if you wind up doing that a lot while facing living foes...or Reach Spell, see below).
So, This comment struck me, so I pulled out my CR and checked...
CPE heals ALL living things in the burst. (yeah, to you all that's probably a DUH, but my players have pulled a fast one on me, and I'm new to Pathfinder, I assumed it to work on allies only.) This is going to change my Wednesday Night Pathfinder game significantly.
Good advice, but now I feel stupid. Oh, and I just outed myself as an idiot on your boards, so twice as dumb...
mmmm hadn't even considered deaf. That strikes me as a *very* serious drawback, for the benefit of a free slightly-better-than-normal feat.
I think I'm leaning towards half-elf, using the bow option, rather than the stealth option.
Thanks for the advice, now I just need to hammer out a spell list, and a feat tree!
mmmm hadn't even considered deaf. That strikes me as a *very* serious drawback, for the benefit of a free slightly-better-than-normal feat.Casting all of your spells as silent without increasing the casting time?
The penalty on initiative isn't that bad considering most of your actions will be reactive anyway.
As to the direct drawback, read lips. A later levels if you really wish, go with a level of diabolist and get a 'mouthpiece'. Could be fun.
-James
In my college years I worked with the deaf, and have no illusions about the seriousness of the condition. I could convincingly RP it, but my RL knowledge supports my belief that it is not appropriate for my character.
As a GM, I would never allow a player to simply "read lips" either. Reading lips requires adequate lighting, focus on the speaker, and clear diction from the speaker. A deaf person cannot read the entire parties lips at once, nor could they read with any accuracy monster lips - like kobold or dragon. The shapes a mouth shaped like that would make would be different. Players with helmets or masks, such as paladins or rogues, would likewise be unreadable. Beards, believe it or not, make it harder to read lips - I was asked by one girl to trim my moustache and goatee shorter because they obscured my lips. So Gandalfy wizards would be problematic. In combat, I'd never be able to understand the party, because I'd always be looking at my attacker, or if I was free from melee, I'd typically be looking at their backs as they formed a wall around their healbot. If they turned around to make their intent known to me, The GM should whack them with an AoO.
All that aside: Conceptually, the stealthy halfling oracle silent casting all the party buffs and heals from shadows is neat. I even looked at whether a level of Shadowdancer would benefit (it might, assuming you were ok sacrificing your highest tier of spell level. The concealment gifts of shadowdancer are nifty). I might even consider the silent casting feat eventually, and live with the increased casting time and level.
mmmm hadn't even considered deaf. That strikes me as a *very* serious drawback, for the benefit of a free slightly-better-than-normal feat.Casting all of your spells as silent without increasing the casting time?
The penalty on initiative isn't that bad considering most of your actions will be reactive anyway.
As to the direct drawback, read lips. A later levels if you really wish, go with a level of diabolist and get a 'mouthpiece'. Could be fun.
-James
In my college years I worked with the deaf, and have no illusions about the seriousness of the condition. I could convincingly RP it, but my RL knowledge supports my belief that it is not appropriate for my character.
As a GM, I would never allow a player to simply "read lips" either. Reading lips requires adequate lighting, focus on the speaker, and clear diction from the speaker. A deaf person cannot read the entire parties lips at once, nor could they read with any accuracy monster lips - like kobold or dragon. The shapes a mouth shaped like that would make would be different. Players with helmets or masks, such as paladins or rogues, would likewise be unreadable. Beards, believe it or not, make it harder to read lips - I was asked by one girl to trim my moustache and goatee shorter because they obscured my lips. So Gandalfy wizards would be problematic. In combat, I'd never be able to understand the party, because I'd always be looking at my attacker, or if I was free from melee, I'd typically be looking at their backs as they formed a wall around their healbot. If they turned around to make their intent known to me, The GM should whack them with an AoO.
All that aside: Conceptually, the stealthy halfling oracle silent casting all the party buffs and heals from shadows is neat. I even looked at whether a level of Shadowdancer would benefit (it might, assuming you were ok sacrificing your highest tier of spell level. The concealment gifts of shadowdancer are...
And now, after discussing this with my wife (We met in college and share the same experiences in the deaf community) she thinks that While I am accurate above, I'm being far too harsh. a 30 minute conversation later, I more-or-less have to play a deaf oracle now, to keep the peace in the house.
Life link plus channel is great at low to mid levels. Just remember to keep your constitution high so you can take some hits. Half orc is great for this, due to the ferocity trait.
I had actually been looking into a half-orc rage prophet with the life oracle for extra durability as well as combat effectiveness. "The half-orc gives life, and he takes it away." Remember the lame curse makes you immune to fatigue. Which is just plain awesome for the rage prophet. The barbarian levels bump your speed back to normal. My particular build would have gone with a reach weapon, either a long spear or something with heirloom weapon trait to place him in a more central position for channel effectiveness, and channel smite for extra fun.
I gave up the concept to play a paladin of shelyn instead, but the half-orc might make an appearance later on down the line.