Thoughts on a Melee Oracle for PFS?


Advice

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

Hello folks. I'd like to start by saying thank you to everyone who has helped me in the past and continue to help me now, while bearing with my multitude of questions.

My question is everyones thoughts on the Melee Oracle. This is for Pathfinder society so my tables are sometimes unsettled but i mostly play with the same select group of folks. This will be a character rebuild whom i've yet to play at 2nd level.

What i was playing was a Toppling Evocation(admixture) Wizard. Being that i'm already playing a Wizard in RotRL i wanted to try something different. My current PFS PC's are a 2H Paladin of Iomedae(Andoran) and Bard who will MC into Swashbuckler(Taldor) and this PC.

Keepers
1. Human(i'm really fond of this race).
2. Melee Combat (Ranged on the side for versatility).
3. Tankish (i like to be well defended and be able to do work on the frontlines).
4. Not be so Paladinish ( so i don't know if but am open to Warpriest or Crusader Cleric.
5. Garundi and Osirion Faction so sort of Egyptian feeling.

Wants
1. Would like to make the Melee Oracle work.
2. Well number one is pretty much it.

My top three choices are Metal, Battle and Lore.
I'm going to work up a rough build for commentary.

Rough Build:

Nizam al'Latif
Male Human (Garundi) Oracle 2
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +5
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 19 (2d8+6)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
Weakness oracle's curses (lame)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 15 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +4 (1d3+3 nonlethal)
Ranged sling +3 (1d4+3)
Oracle Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +4):
1st (5/day)—bless, cure light wounds, divine favor, lead blades
0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, enhanced diplomacy, purify food and drink (DC 12), read magic
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats Extra Revelation
Traits fate's favored, tomb raider
Skills Bluff +7, Diplomacy +7, Knowledge (planes) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +5, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +5
Languages Common, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient
SQ mysteries (mystery [metal]), revelations (dance of the blades, skill at arms)
Combat Gear cold iron sling bullets (50), oil of magic weapon (4), wand of cure light wounds; Other Gear masterwork breastplate, sling, cloak of resistance +1, sleeves of many garments, traveler's any-tool, wayfinder, adventurer's sash, backpack, masterwork, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, grooming kit, gold holy symbol (Nethys), ink, black, inkpen, mess kit, parchment (4), scroll case, sealing wax, signet ring, spell component pouch (2), torch (3), trail rations (3), waterproof bag, waterskin, weapon cord, wrist sheath, spring loaded, wrist sheath, spring loaded, 1,440 gp, 2 sp, 8 cp
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
Cold Iron sling bullets - 0/50
Light (At will) - 0/0
Oil of magic weapon - 0/4
Torch - 0/3
Trail rations - 0/3
Wand of cure light wounds - 0/50
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Dance of the Blades (Ex) +10 Speed while wielding a metal weapon.
Fate's Favored Increase luck bonuses by 1.
Lame One of your legs is permanently wounded, reducing your base land speed by 10 feet if your base speed is 30 feet or more. If your base speed is less than 30 feet, your speed is reduced by 5 feet. Your speed is never reduced due to encumbrance. At 5th
Sleeves of many garments Transform current clothes into any non-magical new form.
Traveler's any-tool Acts as masterwork tools for most Craft or Profession skills.
Wayfinder (empty) A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of the Azlanti, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself (see Seeker of Secrets page 51).

Note: This item costs only 250 gp for members of the Pathfinder Society

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, light; Cost 250 gp
Weapon cord Attached weapon can be recovered as a swift action.

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

there was a blog post recently with potentially relevant gods.

personally, i prefer clerics for melee... sekhmet (destruction[rage] and war[tactics] for domains, battle axe for favored weapon) or sobek (strength[ferocity] and war[tactics], falchion for favored weapon) could both be good options... and both can chose to channel negative energy (and thus make good use of channel smite).

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

nate lange wrote:

there was a blog post recently with potentially relevant gods.

personally, i prefer clerics for melee... sekhmet (destruction[rage] and war[tactics] for domains, battle axe for favored weapon) or sobek (strength[ferocity] and war[tactics], falchion for favored weapon) could both be good options... and both can chose to channel negative energy (and thus make good use of channel smite).

I was thinking of a cleric but we have had some Clerics in Rotation at our store as well as Inquisitors and Paladins so i wanted to try something a tad different. As to those Gods, what book are they from? I've not seen them so they might be in a book i don't own. I will keep this advice in my back pocket though.

Shadow Lodge

Here are my first impressions about this:

Some of the best things in Metal are Dance of Blades, Skill at Arms, and Metal Weapon. The first [which you already took] negates a curse and provides bonuses if you have to move later on, the second lets you wield most of the really good weapons, and the last gives you some awesome versatility [and I have seen weapon type come into play. Summoning a Cestus in a grapple or a Glaive against an opponent too far up/away can be great, in addition to the upside of having different damage types].

Your spells look pretty good, and your stats are fitting, but it seems you took Extra Revelation without selecting a revelation and have a free feat. For that free feat, depending on what you want to go for, Improved Initiative, Toughness, and Combat Reflexes are all excellent.

If you want to go for a different mystery, any of the ones that give CHA to AC are great when used in conjunction with Noble Scion[War] in the Inner Sea World Guide to give you CHA in place of DEX for most combat purposes functionally.

Hope that it helps!

Scarab Sages

I have a Barbarian 1/Oracle of Battle 3 currently. All future levels will be applied as oracle.

Buff party before combat, hit things in combat, heal afterwards.

Fun character: I enjoy War Sight and Surprising Charge.

I went with a 40' move while wearing mithral mountain pattern armor, so I'm not as tanky as I could be.

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

ArmouredMonk13 wrote:

Here are my first impressions about this:

Some of the best things in Metal are Dance of Blades, Skill at Arms, and Metal Weapon. The first [which you already took] negates a curse and provides bonuses if you have to move later on, the second lets you wield most of the really good weapons, and the last gives you some awesome versatility [and I have seen weapon type come into play. Summoning a Cestus in a grapple or a Glaive against an opponent too far up/away can be great, in addition to the upside of having different damage types].

Your spells look pretty good, and your stats are fitting, but it seems you took Extra Revelation without selecting a revelation and have a free feat. For that free feat, depending on what you want to go for, Improved Initiative, Toughness, and Combat Reflexes are all excellent.

If you want to go for a different mystery, any of the ones that give CHA to AC are great when used in conjunction with Noble Scion[War] in the Inner Sea World Guide to give you CHA in place of DEX for most combat purposes functionally.

Hope that it helps!

I agree about Dance of Blades and Skill at arms. Metal weapon is versatile but for my next revelation i was looking at either Iron Skin or Armor Mastery. It just looks like the Iron Weapon would save some money but i'd be better off spending gold on upgrading my weapon, but in a jam that option could be useful. As far as my other feat i was undecided on the avenue to take. Toughness, Imp. Init. and CR just seemed so blah. Useful as all get out but still blah. I was thinking of being completely sub-optimal and taking Exotic weapon Prof. Khopesh.

My first go round with this guy started as an Oracle of Lore with Side Step and Noble Scion. Dumped my DEX and was thinking of a good MC dip for some versatility when i decided to go this route.

Loreacle Version:

Nizam al'Latif
Male Human (Garundi) Oracle 2
NG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +7
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+6 armor, +2 shield, +3 Dex)
hp 19 (2d8+6)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +5
Weakness oracle's curses (haunted)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee heavy shield bash +0 (1d4+3) and
. . cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+3/19-20) and
. . masterwork cold iron morningstar +5 (1d8+3) and
. . unarmed strike +4 (1d3+3 nonlethal)
Ranged sling -1 (1d4+3)
Oracle Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +5):
1st (5/day)—bless, cure light wounds, divine favor, identify
0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, enhanced diplomacy, ghost sound (DC 13), mage hand, purify food and drink (DC 13), read magic
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 7, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 16
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 12
Feats Extra Revelation, Noble Scion of War
Traits fate's favored, tomb raider
Skills Diplomacy +8, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +7, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +7, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +6; Racial Modifiers revelations (lore keeper, sidestep secret)
Languages Common, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient
SQ mysteries (mystery [lore])
Combat Gear cold iron sling bullets (50), oil of magic weapon (4), wand of cure light wounds; Other Gear masterwork breastplate, masterwork heavy steel shield, cold iron dagger, masterwork cold iron morningstar, sling, cloak of resistance +1, sleeves of many garments, traveler's any-tool, wayfinder, adventurer's sash, backpack, masterwork, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, grooming kit, gold holy symbol (Nethys), ink, black, inkpen, mess kit, parchment (4), scroll case, sealing wax, signet ring, spell component pouch (2), torch (3), trail rations (3), waterproof bag, waterskin, weapon cord, wrist sheath, spring loaded, wrist sheath, spring loaded, 950 gp, 2 sp, 8 cp
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
Cold Iron dagger - 0/1
Cold Iron sling bullets - 0/50
Light (At will) - 0/0
Oil of magic weapon - 0/4
Torch - 0/3
Trail rations - 0/3
Wand of cure light wounds - 0/50
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Fate's Favored Increase luck bonuses by 1.
Haunted Retrieving stored gear is a Standard action or worse, dropped items land 10' away.
Lore Keeper (Ex) Knowledge Skills become CHA-based.
Sleeves of many garments Transform current clothes into any non-magical new form.
Traveler's any-tool Acts as masterwork tools for most Craft or Profession skills.
Wayfinder (empty) A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of the Azlanti, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself (see Seeker of Secrets page 51).

Note: This item costs only 250 gp for members of the Pathfinder Society

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, light; Cost 250 gp
Weapon cord Attached weapon can be recovered as a swift action.

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.


Was thinking of a Sorcerer Dip(Arcane), just too kinda keep to the roots of the original, or the ever cheesy 2 levels of Paladin.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

the gods i mentioned are from the paizo blog, which thinking about now i have no idea if its PFS legal or not... either way, the link doesn't appear to be working so here's another (hopefully better) link to it. you might have to scroll up to see the actual gods...

Horus grants free khopesh proficiency, and his clerics can chose to channel negative energy, but he doesn't have the best domains for melee (though he does have the animal domain which, combined with boon companion, can be really good for your total damage output...)

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

nate lange wrote:

the gods i mentioned are from the paizo blog, which thinking about now i have no idea if its PFS legal or not... either way, the link doesn't appear to be working so here's another (hopefully better) link to it. you might have to scroll up to see the actual gods...

Horus grants free khopesh proficiency, and his clerics can chose to channel negative energy, but he doesn't have the best domains for melee (though he does have the animal domain which, combined with boon companion, can be really good for your total damage output...)

So it would appear, from the additional resources page, that the Gods are available via Mummy's Mask Adventure Path #80: "Empty Graves". Maybe i'll give the Melee Cleric a looksie. I just feel like everything i build on the melee front kinda sorta feels like a Paladin. Lack of skills is a killer to.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

lack of skills will be an issue, yes.

all the gods i suggested are neutral so your attitude/outlook can be much different than a paladins. and if you choose to channel negative energy the mechanics will be a lot different too...

a LN human cleric of horus with the animal and air domains who channels negative energy could start with channel smite and guided hand and pick up boon companion at 5th... he'd be waaaaay different than a pally. your attack bonus would be Wis based and you'll have channel smite for damage so you wouldn't need a ton of Str (14 is probably plenty), and you'll do decent damage even when 1handing your khopesh. your lion or crocodile companion will add some melee goodness even in rounds when you're casting (since you are a full caster). and with spells like obscuring mist and gaseous form you'll have some more options for subtlety than most pallies.

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

nate lange wrote:

lack of skills will be an issue, yes.

all the gods i suggested are neutral so your attitude/outlook can be much different than a paladins. and if you choose to channel negative energy the mechanics will be a lot different too...

a LN human cleric of horus with the animal and air domains who channels negative energy could start with channel smite and guided hand and pick up boon companion at 5th... he'd be waaaaay different than a pally. your attack bonus would be Wis based and you'll have channel smite for damage so you wouldn't need a ton of Str (14 is probably plenty), and you'll do decent damage even when 1handing your khopesh. your lion or crocodile companion will add some melee goodness even in rounds when you're casting (since you are a full caster). and with spells like obscuring mist and gaseous form you'll have some more options for subtlety than most pallies.

I unfortunately don't have that book and won't be able to get it for a little while. So that specific combo is out. I decided to go with a Crusader Cleric of Nethys with the Defense Domain. Channel Negative and Channel Smite. I can Two-Hand my Morningstar(i like the look of this for some odd reason) and cast Shield(domain spell) for some extra Defense. If it is allowable i'll grab a Wand of shield or Shield of Faith to keep my defense up while two handing my weapon. I think my next level will be a dip into Lore Warden Fighter for the extra 2 Int skill points and bonus feat. I'll grab Power Attack and for my 3rd level feat i'll either grab Furious Focus or Extra Channel to keep putting out some damage. The channel smite lends itself well to the destructive side of Nethys while i try to balance that with some knowledge skills for the more enlightened side. At 4th i'll raise my CON for some extra HP's and look to boost my STR and WIS through items.

Build:

Nizam
Male Human (Garundi) Cleric (Crusader) of Nethys 2
LN Medium humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +7
Aura deflection aura (2 ft.)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 20 (2d8+7)
Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +6
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+3/19-20) and
. . masterwork cold iron morningstar +6 (1d8+3) and
. . unarmed strike +4 (1d3+3 nonlethal)
Ranged sling +2 (1d4+3)
Special Attacks channel negative energy 5/day (DC 13, 1d6)
Cleric (Crusader) Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4):
1st—bless, divine favor, shield [D]
0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, stabilize
[D] Domain spell; Domains Defense, Protection
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 16, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Channel Smite, Toughness, Weapon Focus (morningstar)
Traits fate's favored, tomb raider
Skills Diplomacy +6, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, Linguistics +4, Perception +7, Sense Motive +6
Languages Common, Osiriani, Osiriani, Ancient
SQ aura, domains (defense)
Combat Gear cold iron sling bullets (50), oil of magic weapon (4), potion of ant haul (2), wand of cure light wounds, wand of shield of faith (50 charges); Other Gear masterwork breastplate, cold iron dagger, masterwork cold iron morningstar, sling, cloak of resistance +1, sleeves of many garments, traveler's any-tool, wayfinder, adventurer's sash, backpack, masterwork, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, grooming kit, gold holy symbol (Nethys), ink, black, inkpen, mess kit, parchment (4), scroll case, sealing wax, signet ring, spell component pouch (2), torch (3), trail rations (3), waterproof bag, waterskin, weapon cord, wrist sheath, spring loaded, wrist sheath, spring loaded, 1,020 gp, 2 sp, 8 cp
--------------------
TRACKED RESOURCES
--------------------
Cleric Channel Negative Energy 1d6 (5/day) (DC 13) (Su) - 0/5
Cold Iron dagger - 0/1
Cold Iron sling bullets - 0/50
Deflection Aura (2 rounds) (1/day) (Su) - 0/1
Light (At will) - 0/0
Oil of magic weapon - 0/4
Potion of ant haul (2) - 0/1
Torch - 0/3
Trail rations - 0/3
Wand of cure light wounds - 0/50
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Aura (Ex) The Cleric has an aura corresponding to his deity's alignment.
Channel Smite Channel energy can be delivered through a Smite attack.
Cleric (Crusader) Domain (Defense) Associated Domain: Protection
Cleric Channel Negative Energy 1d6 (5/day) (DC 13) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect.
Deflection Aura (2 rounds) (1/day) (Su) 20'r aura grants +2 AC and +2 CMD
Fate's Favored Increase luck bonuses by 1.
Potion of ant haul (2) Add this item to create a potion of a chosen spell.
Sleeves of many garments Transform current clothes into any non-magical new form.
Traveler's any-tool Acts as masterwork tools for most Craft or Profession skills.
Wayfinder (empty) A small magical device patterned off ancient relics of the Azlanti, a wayfinder is typically made from silver and bears gold accents. With a command word, you can use a wayfinder to shine (as the light spell). The wayfinder also acts as a nonmagical (magnetic) compass, granting you a +2 circumstance bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost. All wayfinders include a small indentation designed to hold a single ioun stone. An ioun stone slotted in this manner grants you its normal benefits (as if it were orbiting your head), but frequently reveals entirely new powers due to the magic of the wayfinder itself (see Seeker of Secrets page 51).

Note: This item costs only 250 gp for members of the Pathfinder Society

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, light; Cost 250 gp
Weapon cord Attached weapon can be recovered as a swift action.

Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.


I know this guy could be more optimized but for PFS i just don't think it's really needed. Plus i'm not overly fond of dumping especially on a MAD class like the Cleric. I have a bunch of gold left but don't really know what else to purchase at this point so i may just save it for my next big splurge. I'm playing a Module tonight which will get me to third so i can play part 3 of the Destiny of the Sands Trilogy. I hope i can buy Mythic Adventure before then because then i can make this guy Mythic for that scenario.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

oh man... i don't want to muddy the waters any more for you, but if you're planning to go mythic you might want to consider dropping some Str and really focusing on Wis- mythic guided hand and mythic channel smite are awesome for melee clerics!

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

1 person marked this as a favorite.
nate lange wrote:
oh man... i don't want to muddy the waters any more for you, but if you're planning to go mythic you might want to consider dropping some Str and really focusing on Wis- mythic guided hand and mythic channel smite are awesome for melee clerics!

First- Thanks for the help and advice Nate.

Second- I think i'm drifting too far from some of my initial thoughts/ideas for this guy, which i probably didn't state in my initial post.

Third- I'm not gonna be able to use Guided Hand for the Khopesh since i don't have access to those dieties. I went with Nethys(my original God) but i'm not using the Quaterstaff.

Fourth- It's Mythic for one scenario so making those changes won't benefit me for my whole PFS career.

Fifth- The longer i've thought about it the more i liked the overall Lore Oracle build that i had. Just seemed to fit the idea i had in my head for the character. It may not be optimal but it doesn't always have to be in PFS. I might still dip for some versatility but IDK.

Grand Lodge

Quote:
I was thinking of a cleric but we have had some Clerics in Rotation at our store as well as Inquisitors and Paladins so i wanted to try something a tad different.

You have the definition of "tad" different choosing a Battle Oracle. Because your not far off from the Cleric, Paladin, Inquisitor choosing Oracle. Your still doing what they are doing offering nothing better then what they are already doing.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

if you like the lore oracle run with it, you certainly don't always need to be optimized and a lore oracle is seldom dead weight. if you're willing to deviate slightly from your human preference, half-elfs make great loracles (IMO). they're naturally suited for eldritch heritage feats and paragon surge is an insane spell.

having reread your initial post in light of Fruian's comment i couldn't help but notice that divine casting isn't even on the list of priorities for this guy... if you want a tankish melee guy who's not at all paladiny (or cleric/inquisitor-esque) maybe we all should have stopped thinking about divine casters, lol. it sounds like you're sort of settled on the loracle but if you want to think about other non-divine options say so and i'll toss out a couple ideas.

Grand Lodge

Quote:
maybe we all should have stopped thinking about divine casters, lol

Hard to pick up on sarcasm. But basically what I was saying is Divine might not be needed here since the normal shop has plenty of Paladins, Clerics, and Inquisitors. Perhaps so Arcane or pure Melee type.

A swashbuckler with a decent CHA and UMD would do well for himself.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

@fruian- i wasn't being sarcastic... after reading your comment and rereading the OPs actual list of wants i really do think that (unless he's decided to go back to his loracle idea) its worth looking at non-divine options (like a fighter or barb, or maybe some kind of early entry EK...)

Owner - October Country Comics, LLC.

nate lange wrote:
@fruian- i wasn't being sarcastic... after reading your comment and rereading the OPs actual list of wants i really do think that (unless he's decided to go back to his loracle idea) its worth looking at non-divine options (like a fighter or barb, or maybe some kind of early entry EK...)

Sorry for the lack of comments. I played tonight and went back and forth round and round and decided to go for a super cheesy and probably over done to death Dervish Bard/Kensai Magus. He was pretty fun and useful. Nothing spectacular with combat but as i level that should go up some. Nice set of skills/knowledges and all around versatility. Over all i was very satisfied with this choice and look forward to learning the ins and outs of the Magus class.

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