Warrior Oracle Build: Attribute and Mystery Advice.

[Lemmy]

Okay, guys, here's the deal:

A friend of mine is starting a new characters, he told me he's interested in playing a divine full caster, so either an Oracle or a Cleric.

He really likes the combat part of the game more than roleplaying. And he rolled really, really well.

His stats are 18; 16; 14, 12, 11 and 8. (Without racial bonuses!)

He asked me for advice, as he's not very experienced in char building. So my question for you guys is: How would you distribute these scores?

For an Oracle, I'm torn between:

Str 18 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 18 (more punchy)
or
Str 16 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 20 (more casty)

And would you suggest Mystery of Battle or Mystery of Metal (or, if another Mystery, which one? And why?)
Also, would you rather increase Str or Cha as the Oracle levels up?

I'm leaning towards Oracle of Metal with the "punchy" attribute set,increasing Str at 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th level, and increasing Cha at 16th (to be able to cast 9th level spells even if something happens to his headbanbd), but I'd like to hear your opinions about it first.

What do you guys think?

[666bender]

i'd say balance :
Str 18 Dex 12 Con 14 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 18 (more punchy)

with battle and focus on boosting / aiding spells / summoning.
i'd consider taking:
power attack + furious focus (1 attack) + vital strike
the focus manuver shall be wither trip or dirty trick.

[Lemmy]

That's a good idea. I'm not sure how he feels about Combat Maneuvers, but I think he'll like trip.

I had a similar Oracle of Battle build, that used reach weapons and focused on Trip and Intimidate.

Ah, I frogot to ask (Gotta edit the OP for that)

Would you increase your Str or Cha as the Oracle levels up?

I'm thinking about increasing Str, then at 6th level, increase Cha by 1 (so he can cast 9th levle spells even if he loses his headband), and Str again at 20th.

[minoritarian]

Oracle of Battle, strength focused (as in starting with equal strength and charisma at 18 but increasing strength as you go)tripper.

For me: Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 8, Cha 18

Go with Half-Elf for Ancestral Arms: Fauchard at level one (Humans get a bonus feat but can't get exotic weapon proficiency because of the silly +1BAB req).

Skill at Arms won't be necessary as your primary weapon would be the fauchard and as a tripper you'll want to have a decent dexterity bonus (through items and spells) for more attacks of opportunity which would be wasted in heavy armour.

1: EWP: Fauchard (Racial), Combat Reflexes, (Revelation: Manoeuvre Mastery)
3: Power Attack (Revelation: Weapon Mastery)
5: ?? (All the good feats require Improve Trip which you don't get until seventh level. I'd consider Extra Revelation: War Sight)
7: Improved Trip (Bonus), Fury's Fall/Furious Focus
8: Improved Crit (Bonus)

for a starter. Hope that was useful?

[Facade]

I would rate my attributes a bit different. Since I prefer hitting really hard over tripping stuff. I've found that tripping builds become worse and worse as a campaign goes on.

1. Str - For a smashing good time.
2. Con - Hps and Fort save. Very important on the front line.
3. Cha - Spells! Make sure it's high enough you can cast all your spells.
4. Dex - Reflex saves and possibly an AC boost.
5. Int/Wis - Make a choice here between 1 skill and +1 will save.
6. Int/Wis

I think Mystery of Battle is not only strictly better than Mystery of Metal. It's probably better for your friends play style. Mystery of Metal seems like it would be better suited for someone who really enjoys the role playing aspects of the game.

[Lemmy]

Many good points and nice ideas here.

I was thinking about the trip maneuver to give him some in-combat variety, but now that I think about it, spells could do that. I'll see what he thinks.

Personally, I love combat maneuvers, and wish they were more useful, but I'm not sure if he'll like them. I'll check.

@Minoritan: Even for a trip build, I don't think Fauchards are worth a feat. If he decides he likes the idea of Trip, IMHO, the best way to go is getting Skill at Arms and buiyng a Bardiche. It's worse than Fauchards, but requires no feat. I think Maneuver Mastery (Trip) should wait 'til 7th levle, so he doesn't provoke AoO.

@Facade: You may be right about Oracle mysteries. My own Oracle build was an Oracle of Battle, but Metal does have some cool things. Among them, the abilit to simply overcome the Lame curse. Also, I don't think he's willing to dump Int at all. So I guess the 8 goes to Wis.

[proftobe]

For a slightly different take go oracle of ancestor.

Ancestral Weapon (Su): You can summon a simple or martial weapon from your family’s history that is appropriate for your current size. You are considered proficient with this weapon. At 3rd level, the weapon is considered masterwork. At 7th level, 15th level, and 19th level, the weapon gains a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus. At 11th level, the weapon gains the ghost touch weapon property. You can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to your oracle level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be used in 1-minute increments. The weapon disappears after 1 round if it leaves your grasp.

Nothing in the description says its the same weapon every time. I don't remember where i read it, but the reasoning is I come from a long line of warriors who all used different weapons. Never costs any money to enhance and can be changed to ANY non exotic weapon. Plus they have a lot of self buff to add into it. I'd also use Str 18 Dex 12 Con 18 Int 11 Wis 8 Cha 14. Since he's going to be more melee focused there's no reason to try and push DC on what are probably going to be mainly buff/utility spells. If it game is going into "high" level just put your +1 every level into CHA + a headband and you have every spell level you need.

[Bigtuna]

He like the combat - so battle oracle. All stats increase to str.

Unless your master tends to take away items from players - 19 in cha isn't needed.

Battle mystery + trip + Dueling -PG (trip) Fauchard + weapon cord +combat reflexes

power attack + furious focus ok - change Vital strike to Felling Smash.

add eldrich heritage orc or abyssal...

He'll trip like a king - and do okay dam (not anything broken - but will do a fair amount)...

[Venshad]

As FACADE told, attributes should be STR > CON > CHR > DEX > WIS > INT.

I'm currently playing an Oracle with Battle Mystery and I can garantee: it hits really hard!

I have a 20 in STR and a 14 in CHA. My spells are just to self-buff (Enlarge, Defending Bone and Protection from X) and Heal.

I usualy start dungeoneering with defending bone, which is a lvl 2 spell that grants DR5/bludgeoning for CL/hours!

At the start of a battle, I cast Enlarge on myself and start hitting things with a +10 to attack and 3d6+10 dmg (I use an Earth Breaker). This at level 4.

[Erikkerik]

Venshad wrote:

I usualy start dungeoneering with defending bone, which is a lvl 2 spell that grants DR5/bludgeoning for CL/hours!

You know it's for worshippers of pharasma only?

I picked it for my battle oracle as well, was pretty awesome for a few levels, until I realized the above.

+1 on battle oracles being awesome though.

[Lemmy]

I see. Thanks for the advice, guys.

I'll make him a Oracle of Battle with the "punchy" attribute set and tell him to increase Str.

@proftobe: Ancestors is a cool mystery, but I feel it's kinda meh for warrior Oracles.

@Bigtuna: You're probably right. I'm not sure how much my DM likes to remove items, it's the 1st time he's gming for us and we just hit 4th level, so we didn't have a lot of things for him to take away. And thanks for reminding me of Eldritch Heritage. That stuff is awesome for Oracles!

@Venshad: I hadn't thought about increasing Con. But it's something to consider... Maybe I could add the racial bonus to Con, so he gets:

Str 18 Con 16 Dex 12 Int 11 Wis 8 and Cha 16? What do you think?

[L. A. Paladin]

I actually played an Oracle of Metal for 9 levels, and lead blades (level 2 mystery spell) + enlarge person from an ally makes him a serious contender for actually getting use out of Vital Strike, or just go to town with multiple attacks for 4d6+strength per day. ;) Versatile Weapon is also an excellent spell for a melee person to have.

By the time I was Oracle 7, I was relied upon to be the guy who could dispel magic multiple times per day, and there's a large number of useful buffs a fighting cleric can give himself. I also decided to save myself some money on a weapon and just use Iron Weapon ... you can pick up scrying for numerous rounds per day at level 7, and faster movement & lowered ACP.

I was a multithreat. ;) It was good times.

[Facade]

"Str 18 Con 16 Dex 12 Int 11 Wis 8 and Cha 16? What do you think?"

I would probably do.

Str 20 Con 16 Dex 12 Int 11* Wis 8* Cha 14

Depending on the DM. I would rely on either items or ability score
raises to keep my Charisma high enough for full spell access.