If it does not list any race as requirement, then I would assume anyone can take it.
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I think the problem some people have with it possibly being legal for non-tieflings is from this paragraph.
Darkness has at least as much power as light. The
following new oracle curses and inquisitions
are derived from a fundamental connection
with some facet of evil, regardless of the user’s actual
alignment. Though these features are particularly suitable
for tieflings, GMs can permit characters of other races
with appropriate backstories or worldviews to gain them
as well. Spells marked with an asterisk (*) can be found in
the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide.
If it does not list any race as requirement, then I would assume anyone can take it.And, that's all the proof you'll ever need.
"Is that legal in PFS?"
"It sure is! Some Random Dood on the message board said it was OK!"
;-)
That made me laugh. But seriously, if the additional resources page lists it as legal, and it has no race requirement, then I'd say anyone can take it.
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That made me laugh. But seriously, if the additional resources page lists it as legal, and it has no race requirement, then I'd say anyone can take it.If it does not list any race as requirement, then I would assume anyone can take it.And, that's all the proof you'll ever need.
"Is that legal in PFS?"
"It sure is! Some Random Dood on the message board said it was OK!"
;-)
The problem is some people might see the line "Though these features are particularly suitable for tieflings, GMs can permit characters of other races with appropriate backstories or worldviews to gain them as well." as the oracle curses requiring tiefling though none of the curses themselves outright say that they require tiefling, and the additional resources does not clarify.
Though beyond flavor I cannot see why being required to keep one's word or suffer consequences is even tied to darkness as the paragraph in my last post referred to. Personally for the character I am planning, they worship Sarenrae, who has honesty as part of her portfolio, and this curse simply requires one to be honest.
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Hmmm, wondering about this issue. Brock recently said this, which may apply here.
Any further thoughts?
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Most rulings are moving in the direction that Racial Feats, Archetypes, Spells, Class Features, Classes, and alternate abilities can only be taken by members of that race.
At the moment this only applies to the Advanced Race Guide,as per additional resources, but generally option 'GM can allow this' rules aren't permitted.
It is impossible for Mike to catch them all, but in time that is typically the ruling.
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Since PFS is world-wide Organised Play and there is not 1 single GM running things (actually Mike Brock is that GM, but he can't be everywhere - though we know he tries) so the PFS Guide serves as the campaign's GM.
If the Guide does not say other races can use it, and Additional Resources does not say other races can use it, and there are no messageboard clarifications that say other races can use it, then in effect the GM has not said other races can use it.
The post by Mike that Pirate Rob linked to above seems to indicate items allowed in Additional Resources from books before the ARG are open for all unless noted otherwise in Additional Resources.
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To my knowledge, it is legal.
I do know that since one cannot re-skin, the flavor text of this curse remains:
The shackles of Hell impose savage consequences should you violate a covenant, but also imbue you with remarkable guile.
So, if you plan on playing a Desna worshipping Oracle of Life or a Gorum worshipping Oracle of Battle, this curse may be a bit of a stretch.
luckily oracles do not worship deities for their powers, but ideals of their own choosing. they can tell individual deities to frag off if they want to :)
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Actually, check page 10 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play under the section labeled Religion. The last line reads: "Characters who do not receive powers from a divine source may choose to be atheists or to have no deity at all".
The Core Rulebook, in the Magic section under Divine Magic, reads: "Unlike arcane spells, divine spells draw power from a divine source."
So, this pretty much means that Clerics, Druids, Inquisitors, Oracles, Paladins, and Rangers (non-trappers) all must be affiliated with a deity of some sort, who powers their spells.
Oracles and inquisitors came out after the Core Rulebook did. Oracles explicitly say they do NOT draw power from a divine source, even though their spells are mostly the same list as clerics.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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1) The source of oracular power is godly, but unspecified. (Note that each mystery has a trio of deities affiliated with it.) The oracle doesn't have to worship the source of her powers, either. Some might outright dislike their aegis deities. That's getting off-topic.
2) The question is whether non-tieflings can take the Legalistic curse. Such a character is applying to playin my PbP "Severing Ties" event, and I'm wondering if that's okay.
Will's observation is probably true, but we're playing neither Champions nor a game where I can exercise individual judgement about the PCs at my table.
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While I think there's a lot of interesting things to say about legalistic, I'm hoping to not get too derailed. Without an answer soon, I will either do whatever Chris tells me, or play a different character who's legality isn't in question.
For those of you that are curious, here's the character. She's a Nagaji follower of Yaezhing (LN god of excessive punishment). Tian is her first language, so occasionally her common is a little off, leaving her to generally describe herself as a Paladin to her companions. Mechanically she's a dual cursed oracle with Lame (Speed 15 in armor) and Legalistic.
I suppose I could never tell anybody anything and thus avoid the curse, but where's the fun in that? I will also note that I think promising everything to everybody and spending the whole game sickened is almost as unfun.
After having played 3 adventures, I've been sickened once. After a bad guy killed one of my companions I promised to flay his skin from his bones before the hour was up. Unfortunately the real Paladin needed him alive for his faction mission and I ended up sickened by his mercy (which was especially appropriate, since Yaezhing is particularly anti-mercy).
On a parting note the flavor of Legalistic seems to suggest you shouldn't be making promises willy-nilly, but that you should carefully weave your words, twisting your meaning whenever possible, just like a devil.
Contributor
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This is just persona opinion, of course, but as a GM I would be alright with pretty much any character taking this curse. For Lawful characters, it really will come up on a regular basis - I have a Tiefling Paladin with a one level dip into Battle Oracle, and situations involving giving his word came up twice in the very first scenario I played him in following the dip, and the RP involved was pretty good in regards to it as well.
For non-Lawful characters, a creative GM can still use it as a curse - if a PC is being purposely evasive when committing to things, acknowledging that they'll do X or retrieve Y, or even avoiding understanding and intent to follow orders from a Venture-Captain, I'd have NPCs get Sense Motive checks to catch on that the character is being evasive on purpose (i.e. trying to avoid the curse by not making any promises). How well a PC could get away with that depends on their roleplaying skill and/or their Bluff/Diplomacy checks.
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I'm going to FAQ the original question so we can get Mike Brock in here to answer since people are thinking it's either legal because it's not stated that it isn't, illegal because it's not stated it isn't, or illegal because Mike Brock is leaning towards restricting things laid out for specific races.
Additionally, the character I was asking about in the OP is now 4th level, and I've been using Will Johnson's ruling to this point as before the appointment of Andi Brandt he was the closest VO to where I play, he was also the first GM the character in question played with. If the curse suddenly becomes non-kosher for the character, I will be forced to rebuild the character, and my understanding is I'd get to rebuild to the same XP changing anything else I want (for example, changing it into a Tiefling if I wanted to keep the curse) as the change would force me to change a class ability, not a feat or trait.
Um, not sure of any RAW ruling on the matter, but in my mind, the Haunted Curse trumps the Handy Haversack. Spirits are quicker than the hand, and once the haversack is open, in they go.
I'd probably let the haunting spirits break weapon cords, too. 'Cause I'm a bastard.
There is also a case to be made for the Powers of the Hells to curse someone who works for "the other side" -- particularly an effective servant of good. And a good deity might not act to remove the curse -- that whole "mysterious ways" thing is alive and well.
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I just wanted to point out that many tieflings have no relations to Hell. Some tieflings do, but not all.
At any rate, I have a tiefling oracle with this curse. It is a real curse for anyone who talks in character and I've been sickened by it for a good part of adventures. As Oracles have a high charisma, they should be talking in character.
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Venture-Captain, Ireland—Belfast
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I am pretty sure that one rule supersedes another. So Oracles are not bound by rules in the CRB that more recent books have expressly contradicted. My increasingly age addled memory tells me Oracles are not bound to a God. I am often wrong of course!
I can see the logic of Don's stance but I am not sure that something being "particularly suitable" for a race is a mechanical requirement, at least not without further clarification.
I can see the argument that it is being taken as a curse that can be spun as being no disadvantage but that leads to a discussion on it's appropriateness in PFS rather than if it has a racial requirement.
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Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator
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Hmmm, wondering about this issue. Brock recently said this, which may apply here.
Any further thoughts?
It still holds what I advised in the linked post. Racial spells found in Avanced Race Guide are for the specified race only. Any future books will also have the same restriction. Books that came out before Advanced Race Guide are open for all as outlined in Additional Resources.
Since both Blood of Angels and Blood of Fiends came out before ARG, as long as they are legal in the Additional Resources, they are legal choices by any race, though I would recommend trying to limit them to tieflings and Aasimars if at all possible. Also note, prerequisites still apply, so if an option requires you to be Aasiamr or tiefling, you can not ignore that prereq.
As for Blood of Night when it is released, will be restricted to those who have Dhampir boons.