Gnome Oracle

[Gray Warden]

Gnome Dual Cursed Oracle 10:
-Curses: Blackened [main], Wrecker [secondary]
-Mystery: Winter

Racial traits:
-Eternal Hope [replaces Defensive Training and Hatred]
-Keen senses
-Fey Thoughts (Bluff, Stealth) [replaces Weapon Familiarity]
-Fey Magic (Cold) (Spells: see next) [replaces Obsessive]
-Pyromaniac [replaces Gnome Magic and Illusion Resistance]

Stats:
6, 16, 14, 10, 10, 18 (+1, +1)

Traits:
-Metamagic Master (Burning Hands)
-Magical Lineage (Flaming Sphere)
-Seeker
-Dependent [Drawback]

Feats:
1 Extra Revelation (Misfortune)
3 Elemental Spells
5 Dazing Spells
7 Leadership
9 Spell Focus (evocation) or Extra Revelation

Revelations:
1 Child of Winter
1+Misfortune
3 Freezing Spells
5 Icy Skin/Ice Shape/Snow Sight
7 Ice Armor

Skills [4 + 1(FCB) / level (almost, see next)]:
Ranks in: Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device (from Wrecked), Perception, Stealth.

Notes:
-By selecting 2 times the Gnome FCB I can get Flaming Sphere (Blackened) at 4th level instead of 5th [if master allows to take Wall of Fire (Blackened) as a 4th level spell (see this faq), Gnome FCB is selected 4 times]
-Fey Magic: 0th - Know Direction, Enhance Diplomacy, Enhance Diplomacy; 1th - see this thread
-Any held object becomes broken while hold. If restored while hold it returns broken one round later. Cast Mending on Tools and Wands out of combat (i.e. when not in danger) let me use them normally for 1 round / cast (10 minutes)

Tactics:
-Out of combat: Exploring, face, disabling non magical traps
-Levels 1-2: Use Produce Flame as main ranged weapon, Burning Hands and Burning Disarm as damage, Obscuring Mist as early battlefield control
-Level 3: Get Protection from Evil, use Burning Hands (cold+fire) to slow AoE creatures weak to fire, Burning Hands (cold) to slow cold resistant creatures; Misfortune and Ill Omen in case of crucial saving throws
-Levels 4-5: Use Flaming Sphere (cold+fire/cold, as above) to slow single creatures as move action (Extend Spell rod to use one cast per fight), Spiritual Weapon + Produce Flame to deal damage; Oracle's Burden to disable single martial foes (-6 to hit, -2 on damage)
-Levels 6-7: Dazing Burning Hands (fire) on heavily cold resistant foes (Intensified Spell rod to increase damage in case of successful saving throw or Lingering Spell rod to increase the bc potential), other battlefield control spells to be defined
-Levels 8-9: Dazing Flaming Sphere (fire) as move action on heavily cold resistant foes, other bc spells to be defined: Wall of Fire if GM allows it as a 4th level spell
-Level 10: Wall of Fire, tactics to be defined.

Any advice about skills, traits, feats, revelations, spells, tactics? Also: does Elemental Spell let me change damage type of ANY spell (i.e. Burst of Radiance)?

Elemental Spell:

Choose one energy type: acid, cold, electricity, or fire. You may replace a spell's normal damage with that energy type or split the spell's damage, so that half is of that energy type and half is of its normal type. An elemental spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level.

The build is pretty defined until level 5, but any advice is well accepted. This character is built for the Reign of Winter AP, and will play with a debuffer/controller (Intimidate, Rime Spell) Winter Witch (higher probability of failed ST), a melee Hunter+animal companion and an undefined Sorcerer.

Thank you in advance :)

[Gray Warden]

It's the first time I play a controller, so I have no idea of the order of magnitude of saving throws and effects. I mean, there is no place for Spell Focus (Greater SF, Elemental F) before level 9, is this a problem? Is a round of slowness per 1 creature/round (if it takes damage and fail the ST) an effectice way to control the battlefield? Is it too weak and/or too situational? In general, can this build work? Can this build work in Reign of Winter?

[Melkiador]

Wrecker is a pretty difficult curse. Note that you can't even use wands.

[Gray Warden]

As I wrote earlier, you can use wands, they are just broken, and spend 2 uses per cast instead of 1. Mending on a CLW wand out of combat makes me use it normally for 1 round / 10 minutes. In combat, I may use spontaneous cures (if really needed) or 2 charges for one use. It still costs exactly the same as a scroll, and the Hunter will have its own spellcasting (it's sufficient that CLW is on his class spell list to be able to use wands without penalty).

I don't plan to use weapons (Produce Flame SLA will be my usual ranged weapon) and a Darkwood Heavy Shield is enough for an early +1 bump for AC, for a total of 18.

Thanks for the input :)

[Hmm]

The advice that I've heard about Reign of Winter is that heat and fire-based builds are more effective for that AP than cold-based ones, because so many monsters are immune to cold.

The fact that you're adding fire damage to your repertoire is a good thing.
Hmm

[Gray Warden]

That Was my first thought too. But I don't want to go with a Flame Oracle because, while very strong on the offense side, it's also very weak on defenses. Winter Mystery give me immunity to cold-environmental effects, plus some other boons, with Child of Winter, and cold resistance and Ice Armor later.

So, if the undefined Sorcerer is not going to be a blaster, I was thinking about a more offensive build using fire spells given by the Blackened Curse, forgetting about Freezing Spells and proceeding with Dazing Spells later on as above.

Do you recommend any Metamagic Feat at 3rd to use with Burning Hands? Any particularly suggested tactic?

[Hmm]

I'm going to suggest eschewing dual-cursed for Spirit Guide for one reason only... Take a look at the fire vulnerability hex on flame shamans. At third level, you can make everything take 50% more damage from your fire.

[Gray Warden]

Actually I really like the Dual Curse Oracle and switching it to get a Fire Vulnerability for 1 round (until level 8) as a standard, once per day per creature, just doesn't seem worth to me. Also because I suppose that a lot of creatures will already be weak to fire.

Should I just take Spell Focus at third level and take another trait instead of Metamagic Master (Burning Hands)? Are there any combinations of spells + feats that fit the character resulting also quite effective?

Thanks for the contribution so far, please continue with the suggestions :)

[Paulicus]

Just be sure to call yourself a "Gnoracle."

[abbamouse]

Can gnomes take Blackened? I thought that one was race-specific. My GM allowed my human oracle to take it, but I figured that was a house ruling.

[Gray Warden]

I talked to my gm, he suggested me to not take Wrecked because it may be too tough, he didn't approve the Recharge Innate Magic - Produce Flame loophole (it's ok, I still prefere to have 2 uses of Produce Flame ready per day) and reminded me that this is a Paizo AP, so I must take a campaign trait.

I'm going to take Haunted as secondary curse, give away the Disable Device skill and take Restless Wayfarer, with +1 to Knowledge(Local) becoming class skill. Perception and Stealth via Fey Thoughts. Skills will be: Diplomacy, Knowl(Local), Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth.

I think I'll go with the Freezing Spell route because it gives me more versatility. The bad guys are not cold resistant? Cold damage and Freezing Spell. Cold resistant? Fire damage. If at some point anyone will be immune to cold I'll just retrain Elemental Spell and Freezing Spell.

Anyway, nobody said anything about DCs, so I guess it may be ok...?