Hey folks. I'm going to be playing a Human Lore mystery Oracle in an upcoming campaign. I've chosen Haunted for my curse, and was looking for advice on spells/feats/Revelations/etc (although Sidestep secret seems like a no-brainer). Thanks in advance.
I'm playing an oracle of lore myself and have likewise taken Sidestep secret; you'll certainly never regret having too much AC or too high a Reflex save.
I'd also recommend taking the Focused Trance revelation and at least 1 rank in most knowledges. I've done it and am having a blast. By taking 10 I can automatically hit a DC of 34 on any knowledge as many times a day as my Charisma bonus. It's like having near encyclopedic knowledge at my fingertips all the time. Combine it with the Lore Keeper revelation for additional synergy if desired; though that's likely just overkill once you can hit DCs of 35+ without breaking a sweat.
If the Spell Compendium is an option, I'd suggest the 2nd level Divine Insight spell as a solid, everyday, oracle spell to further boost those crucial skill check rolls. Stack it with Focused Trance to nail Knowledge rolls in the DC 40-50 range for those truly obscure bits of lost lore. Know more about a monster than it knows about itself!
I have a character with this exact same build. Human Oracle of Lore with Haunted Curse.
I took sidestep secret first, then focused trance for my revelations. Both are awesome. At 7th I'll be taking the one that adds to Intelligence because more skill points are awesome. I'm thinking of taking the Extra Revelation feat to get the revelation that uses Cha instead of Int for knowledge skills; but I had just gotten a Circlet of Persuasion, so that would make for a huge boost to my knowledge checks.
The human oracle can take extra spells known with his favored class bonus instead of hit points or skill points; definitely do this. That combined with the haunted curse benefits gives you a lot of spells known.
Basically I play the guy as a primary spellcaster of course, and he also takes on the role as the party's face. From traits and the cosmopolitan feat I gave him Perception, Linguistics, and Use Magic Device as class skills. I keep perception, spellcraft, UMD, and sense motive maxed out. But I also have good ranks in Bluff, diplomacy, and at least one rank in all knowledges. So with his good charisma he can handle social interactions, and he is also the party's knowledge guy too. Its several roles for one guy to fill, but the oracle of lore can do it.
The high Cha plus UMD as a class skill makes that my guys best skill. This opens up access to arcane scrolls and wands and what not.
It will take a while for the spellcasting to ramp up. But once you start getting third level spells or so you will have a lot of options as far as spells. You can have a nice mix of defensive, buff, healing, and offensive spells. There won't be a lot of damage spells until higher levels, such as Flame strike, but spells like hold person can go a long way. Summoning would also be a decent route to take. At higher levels you will have access to some decent battlefield control spells too, such as some wall type spells. Eventually you will want to use your low level spells for just buffing and healing/removing status conditions, and your higher level spells for battlefield control and offense.
Feats would depend on spell selection for the most part. You probably want some metamagic feats. Extend is a great one to have. If you plan on doing a lot of spells with saving throws then Persistent can be really good. Reach spell could have a lot of nice uses too, from healing to offense.
One trick to consider would be Silent Spell feat with the silence spell. Since with that feat you can spontaneously cast spells without verbal components, you can safely drop silence spells all over; this can wreak havoc on enemy spellcasters.
Improved Initiative might be a good feat to take, since with sidestep secret you can pretty much dump dex, and Imp. Init. will help make up for the one area where you will miss having dex.
I wouldn't worry about toughness or dodge or anything else melee oriented. You shouldn't have any intentions of being in situations involving you getting hit. Especially once you get levitate at 5th level. Try to find a way to access invisibility too. And don't forget about sanctuary. You want to be able to cast spells without having enemies targeting you, so have several ways to accomplish that.
All in all, my advice would be to try to define the roles you will be playing in your party and tailor your character to fit those roles. With your good charisma, spellcasting, and nice skills you can handle multiple roles. But don't stray too much outside those roles; I wouldn't try to turn this guy into a meleer or anything. Choose feats to help with your spellcasting and skills. And use those to help your party members beat down the bad guys. Think 'God Wizard' type, except you are a spontaneous divine caster with a butt load of spells known and unmatchable knowledge checks.