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I'm struggling with picking a proper curse for my latest character, a Flame Oracle, focusing on melee combat (I know, I know, battle is more appropriate, but flame is connected more with Sarenrae).
Here's his story:
Pelaios' parents were supposed to hate each other. His father was a scion of the noble house of Zenderholm, who joined a band of adventurers as his lowly position in the family meant little in the way of inheritance, and his mother was a Shoanti tribeswoman of the Sklar-Quah, exiled for some crime she refuses to speak of, joining the same band of adventurers to make a living the only way she knew how, fighting. But somehow, after adventuring together for a time, they fell in love and Pelaios was the result. His father ended up dying at some point before Pelaios was born, but not before expressing his wish that his son be accepted as a Zenderholm, bastard or no. Naturally, given the enmity between the Shoanti and Korvosa, the Zenderholms didn't give a crap about this, and Pelaios' mother was forced to raise him in the city slums, giving him the best life she could until Gaedren Lamm ambushed her in the street one night, killing her with a lucky shot and stealing the ring Pelaios' father had given her, a signet ring that could serves as proof of Pelaios' birthright.
After his mother's death, he was taken in by the church of Sarenrae. During this time, he began to manifest power over fire. He's not sure whether this power is a blessing from Sarenrae, or the manifestation of the spirits his mother worshiped, resulting in him becoming an Oracle.
What curse would make the most sense for Pelaios' oracle curse?
- Blackened is all about fire, and that ties in with Pelaios' powers, but it hampers wielding weapons, so it's not something that would be effective.
- Clouded Vision could imply that Pelaios was blinded by a holy flash of fire or from staring at the sun, but I've heard that it really hampers you.
- Haunted could imply that his ancestors really are influencing him, whether it's his mother's restless shade, or even older spirits. However, its drawbacks would be problematic if someone disarms him
- Legalistic is one that I really, REALLY like, as it could be reskinned as Pelaios taking his word very seriously and trying to be honorable in a city that seems determined not to be, but as it stands, it's an infernal-themed curse, and may be more appropriate if he were a tiefling, but that isn't the case here.
- Tongues is a relatively mild curse, so it's okay, but none of the languages offered really tie into the themes of Curse of the Crimson Throne that much. If it included mortal languages like Shoanti or something, it'd make more sense to his character.
Personally, I've always been partial to haunted, as it offers some pretty interesting RP potential and isn't too mechanically restricting, provided that you don't plan on retrieving or picking up objects in combat. As for being disarmed, you could always wear a weapon cord.
If you plan on taking the cinder dance revelation, Lame might not be a bad curse, either. They essentially cancel each other out and the fifth level benefit from the curse is pretty nice.
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I dunno, that seems kinda metagamey, doesn't it? I mean, I do start with Shoanti due to a trait (Child of Two Peoples from People of the North), but most of the other languages that fit Curse of the Crimson Throne are kinda mundane, like Varisian, Halfling or Dwarven...
Is there a good way to mitigate Haunted's stuff? I'm told it negates the advantage of the Handy Haversack, the most essential magic item in the game.