I'm more or less new to the Pathfinder type of RPG, and I have finally found a gm who is not only fair but also fun after 3some really horrible experiences. The game is set in Ravenloft and we have encountered some undead, some trapped demons, and many humans/humanoids who are either scheming against us or trying to kill and eat us.
Some stats on the character:
Dristanya Yondervist
Just made lvl 5, Half-Vistani Neutral Good Oracle with Life mystery and Haunted curse.
Str 10 (14)
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 16
Wis 16
Cha 19
Presently wears a masterworked Breastplate, and weapon of choice is a +2 longsword that grants +4 to str, immune to fear, heal 1/day, ego 11 and don't run from a fight or she gets dealt 3D10 damage, no save. She uses a light wooden shield, and has back up masterwork shortsword and masterwork morningstar. For range weaponry it's a sling, and she's got normal and cold iron bullets for it.
Life Mystery:
Channel Positive energy like a cleric
Safe Curing: provoke no attacks of opportunities when casting spells with cure in the descriptor while in combat.
Feats:
Ethereal Empathy: Sense emotions and see images play out on the near-Ethereal, wis based dc.
Selective Channeling: Select who I heal and don't heal with positive energy OR which undead I do and don't harm (she's yet to come across mummies who would get healed by her channeling).
Spells:
Lvl 0: Light, Mending, Read Magic, Detect Magic, Purify Food and Water, Ghost Sounds, Create Water
Lvl 1: Cure Light Wounds, Bless, Detect Undead, Hide from Undead, Burning Disarm, Mage Hand, Shield of Faith (or Cultural Adaptation as my character is also the diplomat of the group)
Lvl 2: Lesser Restoration, Cure Moderate Wounds, Whispering Lore, Shield Other, Levitate, Minor Image
The rest of my party includes a dwarven fighter, a human wizard, and a human witch who will eventually be taking fighter levels. I plan on continuing to be anti-undead/healer, but I am stuck on what feat to take for lvl 5.
Turn undead doesn't really interest me, as my character is more wanting to put the restless dead to final rest, one way or another than having to chase them down later. I was looking at alertness for its bonus to perception and initiative, while also looking at spell penetration or spell focus (Cure Moderate Wounds) since I keep on slapping undead with high DRs with a healing spell.
Our wizard is focusing on getting the item creation feats, and we can work together with making stuffs. So aside from what I listed and I'm not sure if they will work well with getting my character to be the best healer/undead slayer she can be. Any suggestions?
Fey Foundling at level 1 is the way to go. I play a life oracle in PFS and I took Fey Foundling at 1 and put Selective Channeling off until 3. Fey Foundling is THAT good.
I took Ethereal Empathy at lvl 1 because it was a good flavour for being Ravenloft and my character being a Half-Vistani (Vistani are humans of unique subtype who have interesting abilities while also being outcasts in the domains that make up the Realms of Dread).
I guess that I should have said that my focus with my character is to keep my party alive. The wizard is shaping up to be tower of destruction and the fighter is a wonderful killing machine, as is the witch.
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How have you been doing in melee? That longsword is pretty awesome, but your physical stats seem lacking - switching up Int or Wis with Strength would make you much, much, much better in combat. (Between the witch and wizard, all of the knowledges should be covered; unless you really, really need a few extra skill ranks per level, the strength is much more important.)
As for feats, Toughness is always good. It sounds like you're a front-liner as well as the party healer, which means that hp are vital - if you go down first, who heals the rest of the party? Improved Initiative is also good for any caster.
Alternately, Channel Smite may be up your alley, or look at some of the other channeling feats. Don't worry about Spell Penetration - you shouldn't be seeing creatures with SR with any regularity for a long time, and even then you can simply opt to buff your comrades instead of trying to penetrate the SR. Spell Focus applies to an entire school of spells (e.g., Conjuration), not a particular spell; but you're better off tricking out your channel than making your cure spells 5% harder to resist.
IMO, it looks like your party needs more melee support, and you're it. I would petition the GM to switch up Int with Strength and drop Wisdom a bit to boost Con for extra hit points and possibly Dex for extra AC and initiative. My first character was a Rogue with a stat array similar to yours (low physical/high mental), and I regretted it throughout the whole campaign; it's fun to have lots of skills and make your will saves, but pathfinder is typically a combat-oriented system, and when your party is counting on you to deal damage and soak up hits, your ability scores better be up to snuff.
Make no mistake - even with channels and cure spells, at level 5 most of the damage you deal will probably come from hitting stuff with your sword, and the difference between 14 and 20 strength is night and day. In fact, I'd advocate ditching the shield and using two hands + power attack. 14 Str, 1-handed longsword: +5 to hit, 1d8 + 2 damage. 20 Str, 2-handed longsword power attack: +7 to hit, 1d8 + 10 damage. Remember, killing things before they do damage is the best kind of healing!
The original concept of this character was a social outcast who really desired to be respected by the normal people. Given that she's half-vistani (half gypsy) it gave that automatic status of social outcast, miscreant without her even needing to do anything. She's heavily focused in healing others and learning all that she can about the world around her, which sadly led her to needing to deal with a nasty Night Hag (eventually).
Started off being horrible in combat, but I keep her between the baddies and the wizard and protect him while the dwarf and witch fight in melee. The witch is tricked out to do all sorts of combat damage with her hair and loves using hold person. So, technically we have 3 melee combatants and the wizard. The witch also has cure spells but I'm more tricked out at healing the party. We sat down during a session and made a whole bunch of potions with the wizard and I just got a wand of cure moderate wounds that I cast into it and the wizard made. So if necessary, the witch can take it off of my character and use it on her if I drop in combat.
Every gm I have had for Pathfinder seems to think of it as the new form of hack and slash. The one who's gming Ravenloft has heavy emphasis on perception and knowledge checks, so between the Wizard and I we've got the knowledges covered.
I really like the idea of channel smite. If I can get the wizard to make me an item to boost my strength, con and dex, things will work out. :) Thank you