Lure of the Heavens activation

[Thadius Stargazer]

Here's a question. If you have lure of the Heavens active all of the time (which it seems like you should be able to, based on the description) do you still have to take a standard to start flying or do you just start flying as part of your movement?

[Are]

The trackless and levitation abilities are "always on", but I think it would still be a standard action to start flying.

[Thadius Stargazer]

But its all one ability. So if you activate it initially then why would you have to activate again. I wish they were more clear their descriptions.

[Are]

The flying ability is the only one that has a measured duration. The others don't (you can use those 24/7). That's what makes the flying part different the way I see it.

[Axl]

I agree with Are's interpretation, although the feature could have been better worded. It is odd that the feature explicitly seems to emulate a spell, yet is supernatural, not spell-like.

I suspect that if the feature as a whole included just the flight, it would been made spell-like.

Mantle of Moonlight is another funny one. It makes sense that the first part of the feature is supernatural. However forcing people into a rage, "as per the spell", probably should be spell-like.

[Thadius Stargazer]

Do you think its over powered if you allow it to star as part of movement and immediately begin its duration then?

[Axl]

Per the Fly spell, you would have to use a standard action to start the Lure of the Heavens flight. As the duration can be extended after each minute, I would allow the oracle to choose to extend the duration at the end of each minute as a free action.

With your houserule, you are effectively allowing the oracle to cast Fly as a "free" action - arguably better than a quickened spell. If I was the GM, I wouldn't allow it.

The meta-question is: would it be overpowered to give Fly a casting time of a swift action (i.e. like a quickened spell)? Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean that there should be a houserule to change the spell in that way.

[Thadius Stargazer]

I see your point. I just find it obnoxious that you have to activate a supernatural ability twice that's all.

[Are]

You don't activate it twice. The non-flying abilities don't require an activation at all; they simply always work.

As to your other question: No, it probably wouldn't be overpowered to allow the flight to start off movement without using a standard action.