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I'm considering allowing a nature oracle in an upcoming game I'm running choose spells from the druid spell list rather than the cleric list. Is there a huge power imbalance I'm overlooking?
I'm the one suggesting the change, and it seems to me they'll be giving up some healing/restorative spells and buffs (divine favor, shield of faith, bless) for a few more offensive spells and different buffs (shillelagh, barkskin).
I'm also thinking about allowing the character to pick up a couple of revelations from the Wood mystery, just because they're flavorful. Again, doesn't seem like a big problem but I'm curious if anyone else sees an opportunity for severe munchkinism.
Might be a bit weak due to the loss of the buffs. But... Try it and get back to us? It's been asked many times.
I guess my opinion isn't the common one, but I actually think the Druid spell list is better overall than the Cleric list.
Yes, you miss a couple buffs, but you get different ones, so I think it's kind of a wash.
As far as I can tell, you don't really lose any important healing spells--especially considering the Oracle gets all the Cure spells for free anyway. It's really just that Heal comes a level later.
In exchange, though, you get awesome control--Druids have a few spells any dedicated control wizard would love to have. Entangle is fantastic for 20 levels and Wall of Thorns is just unfair.
Awaken can get you a Colossal Tree ally (assuming you can find a Colossal Tree). Repel Wood and Repel Metal and Stone are nasty. You get Stone Shape either way, but only the Druid gets Wood Shape and Warp Wood. Greater Magic Fang will make any Monk friends eternally grateful. Spike Growth, Spike Stones, Wall of Lava, Elemental Swarm...
Oh, and you get actually decent blasts, too, if you like that sort of thing.
In other words, I think there's a damn good reason there's no Spontaneous caster with the Druid spell list.
I think it's pretty much a wash. I personally prefer the druid spell list over the cleric spell list, just because it suits my playing style better, but overall, I'd say they are about equal in power. They are designed to do different things, so they will play dramatically different, but neither is anywhere near as versatile as the arcane spell list, as both have large areas of spells that aren't covered, and both lack the overall punch needed to move a character out of a support role. The druid get's their strength from the combination of class features, of which the spell list is just one, and porting just the spell list to the oracle is not going to break the game.
I had personally planned on house ruling something like this myself once I get my campaign going. It simply makes more sense to have an elemental or nature based oracle to use a spell list that actually emphasizes that rather than using a spell list that is more concerned about undead, alignment, and looking out for your fellow man. This isn't to say the cleric spell list is entirely bad for what it was designed to do, just that trying to shoehorn every oracle mystery into the cleric role is akin to trying to force every sorcerer ever played to pick the same single school to specialize in, regardless of whether it fits the character or not.
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I think allowing a nature oriented oracle to swap out the cleric list for the druid list is a very interesting idea. I don't see any glaring problems with doing so.
Although not an oracle, you might also want to check out the upcoming Spring issue of Kobold Quarterly (issue #21) for the new Shaman class, a spontaneous caster who uses the druid spell list. It might work well for what you are looking for.
If I were playing an oracle (and I am), I'd prefer to pick off the druid spell list than the cleric spell list. Not because the cleric spell list is worse, per se. But because I think there's a greater variety of spells in the druid list. E.g. some offense + some healing + some defense + some miscellaneous rather than a little offense + lots of healing + lots of defense + a little miscellaneous.
I don't think it would be overpowered, though.