I'm currently playing a Chaotic Good Oracle of Metal with a focus on battle and combat feats. We're playing a Kingmaker game, and Anya is the High Priestess, working toward building a following of Gorumites and Caidenites into a workable standing army/priesthood.
I'm a long time 3.5 player, but our DM has specifically limited us to Pathfinder titles, which I havent really had the funds to really invest in yet (as much as I would like to) so I'm a bit behind on what has changed, what is new and good etc.
Revelations thus far are
Skill at Arms
Armor Mastery
Dance of Blades
For feats I have
Tougness
Weapon Focus: Greatsword
Power Attack
Along with an assortment of pretty basic cleric combat buffs, divine favor, bless, bull's strength, as well as the Metal mystery spells leaden blades and keen edge.
Leaden Blades + Enlarge (from the party witch, or UMD) makes Vital Strike seem fairly solid, but it's only available at 6+ BAB, and scales poorly with multiple attacks. I understand it's also been errata'd to not work on a charge, which is a bit disappointing.
Cleave seems MUCH better in Pathfinder than it used to be, but swarms of minions doesnt really seem to be a huge part of our game yet (but it might be if we're ever in a pitched battle)
Furious Focus seems good, especially with 3/4 base, but isnt super exciting.
I notice a lot of the old charge shenanigans have been done away with, but Metal seems very inclined to favor that sort of build. I really enjoy the mobility of Armor Mastery and Dance of Blades, and would very much like to capitalize on that. I've also been putting points (cross class) in Acrobatics, to eventually make some use of my super-light armor. Anything that emphasizes the jumpy aspect is awesome. : )
I'd had my eye on Rage Prophet, as most of the later Metal revelations arent very exciting, and trading them for better combat stats seemed good, but the whole thing seemed a bit... iffy. Feel free to try to sell me on the class, I've not ruled it out, but a lot of the effects didnt really jump out at me.
I really had wanted to make use of something similar to the battle drop (I think) feat from one of the old FR books, lets you do some bonus damage and a free trip attempt if you fall on an enemy from at least 10 feet up. Any other charge effects are also quite welcome.
Make good use of both the PFSRD and the Archives of Nethys. Those two should together have all the OGL Pathfinder material. Ultimate Combat also comes out in two days, and there are quite a few things in there that might interest you.
Mmm. Death From Above out of Ultimate Combat looks pretty slick. : )
Janni Rush is very much what I'm looking for, though obviously Unarmed Combat is not really the thing for a greatsword wielder, and mechanically it's really not any better than Vital Strike, for vastly more feats.
Revelations thus far are
Skill at Arms
Armor Mastery
Dance of BladesFor feats I have
Tougness
Weapon Focus: Greatsword
Power AttackAlong with an assortment of pretty basic cleric combat buffs, divine favor, bless, bull's strength, as well as the Metal mystery spells leaden blades and keen edge.
I notice a lot of the old charge shenanigans have been done away with, but Metal seems very inclined to favor that sort of build. I really enjoy the mobility of Armor Mastery and Dance of Blades, and would very much like to capitalize on that. I've also been putting points (cross class) in Acrobatics, to eventually make some use of my super-light armor. Anything that emphasizes the jumpy aspect is awesome. : )
I have a character with almost the exact same build. Different feat choices, and I'm dipping into Fighter so I don't need Skill at Arms, and to pick up & utilize the bonus Fighter feat.
#1: I too agree with you that Vital Strike seems a viable choice for your character when he/she reaches the proper BAB. We're talking 8d6 on a single strike at full BAB. What's not to like? The downside here would be that you will be right next to your foe on its next turn: your AC is hopefully good. ;) But 8d6 + Str + other modifiers in damage seems nice.
#2: I don't know if you want to invest your feats this way, but look at the feats that are tied to speed. The Dance of Blades revelation BAB bonus only kicks in when you move 10 feet in a round. To me, this seemed like a reason to invest in Spring Attack, so that's how I'm going. But there are other feats that trigger based on you moving X feet -- Wind Stance & Lightning Stance come to mind. They're more defensive than offensive, but that may be something you want to add to the mix.
#3: Furious Focus may not seem all that sexy, but when you eventually get to make a single attack -- whether or not it's a Vital Strike -- with +9 damage at full BAB. I don't know if it's a feat you have to rush to get ... it gets MUCH more useful the higher your Power Attack penalty goes.
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The Rage Prophet is an odd duck, and at first brush I appraised it as mostly fluff for people with really specific character ideas.
However, it is important to note that they eventually get to add their Con modifier to spell save DC's (something I somehow missed on my first pass of the class) and that can be pretty slick, as ways to enhance your save DC's are somewhat few and far between.
I don't know if it appeals to what you're going for, but this dovetails nicely into an intimidate-focused build as you have a nice bump to your save DC's as well as an easy way to slap a save penalty onto your opponents. Most of your spells are going to be combat buffs, but this means you can mix things up with a Hold Person or a Greater Command that actually has a fair chance of sticking.
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Make good use of both the PFSRD and the Archives of Nethys. Those two should together have all the OGL Pathfinder material. Ultimate Combat also comes out in two days, and there are quite a few things in there that might interest you.
The Archives of Nethys is in the process of getting a nice overhaul, not sure when it'll be done but I'm pretty sure it'll be soon.
Anyway, I've wanted to make this character for awhile. Never did a full build though. If you've taken Dance of Blades, there's NO reason not to take Vital Strike and later Improved Vital Strike. You already have to move to get the bonus from DoB, might as well add a bunch of damage onto the movement while you're at it. I'd also recommend taking Iron Weapon as one of your next revelations. Being able to make any weapon you need is just plane nice.
Iron Weapon seems to scale pretty poorly, and with versatile weapon on the mystery spell list, I dont know that you really need it to round out your golfbag.
I sat down with my DM for awhile last night and ended up convincing him that Strange Revelation from Visions of the Oracle was acceptable, so we reworked the character pretty hard. Here's what I've got and the current plan.
Weapon Focus: Halberd
Power Attack
Extra Revelation
Strange Revelation
Revelations -
Skill at Arms
Armor Mastery
Dance of Blades
Maneuver Mastery - Improved trip
The plan is to pick up Steel Scarf at 11 and be able to trip with it at range.
I do have a couple rules clarifications you guys may be able to help with - I understand you can use weapon focus and weapon enhancements to add to your CMB check, can you also apply other to-hit bonuses, such as from spells, charging, etc? Death From Above seems like a quite entertaining as a trip-enhancer.
It looks like they removed the free attack from Imp trip, but you get to pick it back up at 11 with Greater trip, so that's solid.
Felling Smash looks amazing, if I can convince my DM that I can skip Combat Expertise, as it's only included because it's a requisite for imp trip.
Could you elaborate on the Oracle of Metal and its Revelations?
I´m also playing in the Kingmaker Campaign, a Half-Orc Ranger, thats dipping into Oracle because of a helping or rather releasing hand when paralyzed by big ol´ V. I doubt that i will change from Mystery of Battle, but i´m intruiged, would Iomedea be a "Patron" of Metal?
My char has a greatsword for close-work, Vital-strike and Leaden-blades, will get enlarge person next level and will propably top the Paladins damage on evil creatures.
With a halberd or bardiche you´d be at... Nasty? Add Furious focus and it will not matter that you have only one attack.
Thats more Gorum that Cayden, but don´t forget the Iomedeans- their maybe prudes, but they can fight and the East-Sellen is one the routes to the Worldwound ;).
Have you considered nimble moves or step up are good feets that help with mobility and can help getting attacks off.
Iron Weapon seems to scale pretty poorly, and with versatile weapon on the mystery spell list, I dont know that you really need it to round out your golfbag.
I like the flavor of it. I am also fully anticipating the party at some point losing their equipment (or at least their weapons), and me being one of the only characters with a weapon at that point. Also, prevents me from really having to care about disarm/sunder attempts.
I do have a couple rules clarifications you guys may be able to help with - I understand you can use weapon focus and weapon enhancements to add to your CMB check, can you also apply other to-hit bonuses, such as from spells, charging, etc?
You take all relevant bonuses AND penalties (for instance, damage taken when you provoke an AoO in order to perform a combat maneuver is applied as a penalty to your CMB roll).
Page 199, CRB:
"When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver. ... Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll."
As for charging, I believe the only combat maneuver you can perform on a charge is bull rush, and the book specifically says you receive a +2 bonus to the bull rush attempt (page 198, "Attacking on a Charge").
Could you elaborate on the Oracle of Metal and its Revelations?
I´m also playing in the Kingmaker Campaign, a Half-Orc Ranger, thats dipping into Oracle because of a helping or rather releasing hand when paralyzed by big ol´ V. I doubt that i will change from Mystery of Battle, but i´m intruiged, would Iomedea be a "Patron" of Metal?
My char has a greatsword for close-work, Vital-strike and Leaden-blades, will get enlarge person next level and will propably top the Paladins damage on evil creatures.
With a halberd or bardiche you´d be at... Nasty? Add Furious focus and it will not matter that you have only one attack.
Thats more Gorum that Cayden, but don´t forget the Iomedeans- their maybe prudes, but they can fight and the East-Sellen is one the routes to the Worldwound ;).
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle/mysteries/
Here you go. : )
Battle is probably the stronger Mystery, but I'm hugely partial to mobility monkey fighter types.
With acknowledgment that you do indeed get your attack bonus on CMB checks. (Thanks Pally!) I think the next step is probably Death From Above (+5 on attack when charging from higher ground) and then... Fury's Fall (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/fury-s-fall-combat)
Capitalizing on the prone condition is a good direction to go from there. I'll get Greater Trip at 11 that lets me make an attack. There doesnt appear to be any variation on the Headsman's Chop feat from 4th (sad, one of the few cool feats in that edition.)
Thanks- great resource.
but I'm hugely partial to mobility monkey fighter types.
Then this guy will be hell on wheels.
I ended up taking Death From Above for a net +5 to hit on a jumping charge. Applying this to the trip attempts makes for awesome trips. : )
Vital strike not working on a charge is crummy. What can you do on a charge anymore?
Obviously not lances, as I'm not mounted. ~_~ Same for Spirited Charge.