I've only seen one Oracle and that was a healer, debuffer, caster- a very effective character but quite the opposite of this query. That was some time ago, and what with my limited imagination and all the stuff published I'm curious to see if this concept is possible in a campaign with a fairly tough G.M.
To clarify, I'm seeking Oracle builds that can sustain being on the front line, can deal out respectable damage, have decent A.C. and/or ways of dealing with damage from opponents. To put it in un-PC terms, a Big Stupid Fighter.
Given: -20 point buy
-Starting at level 1 and going to about 14th
-Any and all Pathfinder published material ok. Third party stuff considered on a case by case basis by G.M.
-Two starting traits, wealth by level tends to be sorta stingy (think about 20% or so less than 'normal'), and fairly tough fights but usually not a ton per day, i.e. a typical day = one biggie and several easier ones.
-Races: Anything from Aasimar down ok for race.
The more specific the better, but even general ideas are welcome.
Cant remember exact details but I had a nagaji oracle of battle, with a scythe, that did serpents skull. Tripped his way to glory
Sure. Oracle with the Battle mystery. Get the revelation that gives you weapon proficiency with martial weapons and heavy armor and there you go.
If you use a two-handed weapon you can still hold the weapon with one hand and use the other hand to cast spells. Then you just do the whole weapon heavy armor thing and smack shit while having a high enough strength.
There are a variety of ways of approaching this, but I like an oracle, metal mystery, either clouded vision or tongues for the curse, wielding a morningstar. For the race, anything medium race with a Charisma bonus and no Constitution penalty is good, preferably with a bonus to Dex. Vishkanya is one option, aasimar is fine, or human.
I like the morningstar because it can be wielded one or two-handed, defeats two kinds of DR, is a simple weapon, and is metal. It's also cheap, which is good at very low levels, and at higher levels, means you can carry a cold iron one as a backup.
Oracles can fill pretty much any role with various mysteries and archetypes. A very versatile class. A party of all oracles could easily function quite well, barring some kind of hilarity with curses. :P
Some quick thoughts:
Race: Human should be a good choice, both start feats could be spent on Extra Revelation for a headstart (usual Power Attack & Cleave route is not available due to BAB 0)
Stats: Not too much Charisma at level 1, there are items for that; Dexterity doesn't have to be high either, thanks to heavy armor
Curse: Clouded Vision curse is restrictive first, but you get really nice bonuses later
Mystery: Battle offers a bunch of combat related tricks early on, probably start with Skill at Arms, Weapon Mastery and Surprising Charge (same profiencies and attack bonus as fighter, plus fast movement to save someone 1/day); Maneuver Mastery, War Sight and Iron Skin look like good later choices
Equipment: Get greatsword, longsword and shield - or something similiar, if the classical weaponary is too boring for you; heavy armor will protect you
Spells: Tough one - you want to buff yourself and help the others, but usually you will be busy fighting, so Quicken Spell seems like a good choice at level 10+ (spell level 5 to quicken level 1 spells)
If you are more concerned with keep others safe than doing damage, then I would look into the Hunger curse. You eventually gain a grab attack.
Be a Human. Get Noble Scion and Mark of the Devoted at 1st level. Probably Lore, Lunar, or Nature mystery.
Die.
Come back as a Juju zombie with CHA to HP, AC, initiative, Fort and Ref saves, and casting DC. You'll also be rocking a +3 natural armor bonus, and have +4 STR over what you would otherwise have. Oh, and Improved Initiative and Toughness. DR 5/- magic and slashing, and some fun immunities.
Well, technically it's Pathfinder published but the the obscure and tough prereq's mean I'll have to run it by the GM. That's a brilliant suggestion in any case.
Battle Oracle will work well. So will the Metal mystery, but I prefer Battle.
I prefer the 2H weapon route with Power Attack/Furious Focus/Vital Strike, since in so many battles its all about movement and not getting in many full-round attacks.
I prefer humans for the extra feat, but pick whatever catches your fancy, as long as its not small :) Halfgiant from the psionics handbook might be of interest for the ability to wield oversized weapons, btw.
Get Combat Casting and the trait that grants +2 to concentration checks and you are good to cast defensively at the frontline, which will happen all the time, if you are tanking.
The oracle shares the same problem with all other non-martial classes: without the buffs it's a mediocre fighter. And that is often the case, since you often don't have the time to prepare your buffs or don't have any left. I usually make do with one spell and join the fray...divine favor, ray of hope, bull strength, prayer, blessing of fervor, divine power or righteous might...if I only had the time (and spell slots) to buff them all together all the time (as far as they stack) :)
Angelkin Aasimar. Str 16+2, Dex 14, Con 12, int 10, wis 8, Cha 14+2.
Feat: combat Reflexes.
Use a Longspear. The Dex is for Combat reflexes, so don't bother with Dex-to-AC revelations.
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There's really no such thing as a tank in Pathfinder, so... no.
You could try answering the actual question...
To clarify, I'm seeking Oracle builds that can sustain being on the front line, can deal out respectable damage, have decent A.C. and/or ways of dealing with damage from opponents.
...which is absolutely something the Oracle class can do.
Life Oracle 7, Holy Vindicator 7. Get Heavy Armor at level 1 and retrain it as soon as you go Vindicator. As the others have said, you won't do much damage without buffs anyway, and many of those don't care for your type of weapon (one-handed or two-handed), so you might as well use a shield with a huge bonus. Or you could get the quickdraw feat and abuse a quickdraw shield.
Check with your GM if he allows channel smite to work with alignment channel (evil), which I consider the overall best channel feat to access HV.
The biggest weakness of the oracle are the low saves. Your only good one is will, but wisdom is usually a dump-ish stat for most oracles. So make sure to get as many save-boosts as you can.
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Life Oracle 7, Holy Vindicator 7. Get Heavy Armor at level 1 and retrain it as soon as you go Vindicator. As the others have said, you won't do much damage without buffs anyway, and many of those don't care for your type of weapon (one-handed or two-handed), so you might as well use a shield with a huge bonus. Or you could get the quickdraw feat and abuse a quickdraw shield.
Or use a buckler and two-hand your weapon when you need damage. Vindicator's Shield still functions even if you lose the bucklers bonus.