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I'm looking for recommendations for known spells for my nagaji battle oracle, who just jumped from level 2 to 4 (skipped level 3 altogether, due to GM credits). This is for Pathfinder Society, so RAW only. I need to pick a level 1 and 2 spell immediately, but I'd like to plan out some other spells for him for the future, while I'm thinking about it.
He's an armored tank, who generally casts a buff in the first round, then wades into melee. Strength is his top stat, so he doesn't have the charisma to focus on spells that have saving throws. So I pretty much just do buff and heal spells with him, though I'm open to other suggestions.
While I want his spell choices to be effective, I will make occasional sub-optimal decisions that go with his personality. He had to learn to survive on his own from an early age, so he's distrustful of others and not really a team player yet, though I expect to role play that changing over time. That's why I went with Divine Favor instead of Bless at level 1, to self buff with extra damage instead of buffing the whole team's attack rolls. He also has Protection from Evil, though I'll probably want Shield of Faith eventually, too, since that gets better with level.
For second level spells, I considered Grace, but I think I have high enough AC not to care that much about AoOs, at least for now. I'm likely to pick that up later, but not as his first level 2 spell. Aid looked like an option for the temp HPs, and to do the same stuff that Bless does, since I don't have Bless anyway. There's also Resist Energy and Lesser Restoration, but those seem situational enough to buy scrolls instead, at least until I can get a few more spells known.
I was also looking at the lesser known Inheritor's Smite. I like the idea of swift action melee buffs, and I was thinking of picking up Power Attack as my level 3 feat (though I may put it off until level 5 to get something else first), so that will help overcome the penalty to hit from PA, along with the 3/4 BAB. So I'm leaning towards this as my first choice of 2nd level spell at level 4.
Looking at the cleric spell lists, I'm having an easy time coming up with level 1-2 buff spells that would work for this guy. It's the higher levels where I'm not sure what types of spells would work best for this guy. I guess Prayer as a level 3 spell and Blessing of Fervor as a level 4 are obvious choices. I just need to go through and look through the spell lists in more detail and see what seems appropriate for this guy.
Get furious focus as feat.
snag a few nice healing spells at upper levels, like Heal, Raise Dead, Breath of Life, Cure Mod/Severe, PLANE SHIFT (i dont care how low your save dc is, 1 always fails and this spell is TOTALLY worth a slot for that 1 in 20 chance it succeeds xD)
Bulls strength is a great level 2 spell especially if you have a two hander. My battle oracle is 9 and rocks so talk to me on monday if you wish
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Well, I use a one handed weapon, so Furious Focus won't help. Like I said, I intentionally designed him to be an armored tank, so he has a shield.
I might consider Bull Strength. He's already at 20 str naturally (started at 19, boosted at level 4), so I'm at 1d8+5 damage with a long sword, with a possible +2 from Power Attack. And enlarged, that goes up to 2d6+6. I never intended him to be the heaviest hitter, but he can do some damage. He'll probably be able to afford a str belt by level 5 or so, which reduces the need for Bull Strength. So maybe I could pick up Bull Strength at level 4 and trade it out later.
At low levels, I'm more concerned with actually hitting than how much damage I do per shot, especially with that 3/4 BAB. That's why I was looking at Inheritor's Smite. I'm also a big fan of swift action spells for weapon fighting casters, since they don't take up your standard action that you want to be using taking a swing at something.
But there's some question as to whether this PC qualifies for the religious requirement to take that spell, which requires worship of Iomedae. She's the source of his divine power, but he doesn't know it or actively worship her yet. I'm planning for him to figure it out as part of his eventual character development, which will have to be "off screen" due to the nature of PFS.
Are you using a heavy shield or light shield? I only ask due to the somatic component issue.
Buckler. Pretty much have to in order to cast with that hand while holding a sword.
My battle oracle just umd's the shield spell. This allows a two handed weapon and also be a tank.
Inheritor's smite is a nice spell. However, oracles get so many buffs that their attack is equal to full bab classes by level 4 or so. At level 9, a divine favor puts you at +3 to hit and damage, which by itself lets you equal a ranger. Add in airwalk and bless, and you're matching a level 9 fighter.
If you figure out something about the alignment please let me know.