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Few years back, our group set upon the task of besting the Rise of the Runelords campaign. No one wanted to build a tank, so I decided to give the Rage Prophet a go, and see how that worked.
I started with barb, added in oracle, threw in some rage prophet. Ended up just dipping into rage prophet and going mostly oracle, I think for the better in this campaign setting.
Now at level 16, I have to say...nothing comes close!
This guy is a beast!
Build breakdown:
Human NG
Oracle/Rage Prophet/Barb
10/4/2
HP: 198
Stats (rolled): current/(base)
STR: 24 (19)
DEX: 16 (15)
CON: 22 (17)
INT: 13 (12)
WIS: 12 (11)
CHA: 22 (16)
BAB: 12/7/2
Feats: PA, Totem Spirit (extra human feat) - Tamir Quah (+5 speed, +2 jump), WF(revelation) - Earthbreaker, Intimidating Prowess, Dazzling Display, Quicken Spell (house rules = 3/day), Improved Crit (revelation) - Earthbreaker, Craft Magical Arms and Armor, GWF(revelation) - Earthbreaker, Shatter Defenses, Deadly Stroke
Skills: Intim-32
Weapon: +3 Furious Earthbreaker of Giant Bane (LG size)=3d6 base/4d6 when enlarged.
Unbuffed, he's not that great, but...those buffs though.
With just 3 spells, this Oracle of Battle becomes an unparalleled beast!
Divine Power=+4/+4, Righteous Might=+4 str/con 5/evil, Eaglesoul=+4 str, +2 AC, +5 intim, fast healing 2.
Then add rage. Str = 36, intim = 47, HP: 274 (I've been to the 360's)
4 attacks/round @ +38/+34/+29/+24 +40 dam/hit (+4d6 weapon dam roll)
Let that sink in....that's with only 3 buffs...
And, I can cast heal, and "cure" spells on myself while raging.
Got mobs? Deadly Juggernaut.
Seriously, the funnest melee build I've ever played.
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I wouldn't be surprised if a Human Battle Spirit Shaman with a little multiclassing could top it. Similar stuff, but the Enemies' Bane ability.... Either way, cleric/oracle tend to get seriously underrated as combatants; the idea of 'weaker than full BAB' is hard to shake unless you start to do the math on buffs like Divine Power.
I wouldn't be too surprised if a decent Warpriest could at least keep up. I had the chance to play one last year/earlier this year and went with a Dagger using Pharasman. I felt kind bad for our GM when I, to quote myself, "went nova" and buffed up before and during a fight.
Divine magic is awesome for buffing.
Oracles of Battle have some of the coolest revelations though. Three of them give you feats(a total of six at levels one through 12), another lets you disrupt charges or move and full attack(Surprising Charge), another lets reroll saves with a bonus, and it just keeps going!
Exactly!
Surprising Charge, War Sight (3d20 for initiative)...
Honestly, almost every single revelation, under battle at least, is fantastic.
I've played pure clerics, rogues, barbs, palys...nothing has come close.
The Mysteries that replace DEX with CHA for AC are also very potent, especially if one wants to build a hybrid caster/melee character.
My favorite Oracle Archetype is Ancient Lorekeeper, which can be taken on a Kindred-Raised Half Elf with double ability bonuses. Pick your own bonus spells from the Wizard list. Consider a high-STR and high-CHA Oracle who specializes in Persistent Heightened Dazzling Blade.
I've seen the bad side of the Cha for Dex revelations, so a bit of caution towards using them. Of course, when a 10 Dex is all some one has and they take Burned I'm sure that doesn't help.
Yeah, there are so many flavors of oracle.
I simply chose battle, as my guy is the tank of our group of 7, of which only 1 cannot cast spells, the rogue.
Four of us have managed to make it from 1-16 without dying...well, there was that one res...but not for me :)
It would be fun sometime to play a different role, but we are now at the end of Rise of the Runelords (epic btw) and a new incarnation will soon arise.
Well, if going Oracle again or something similar, consider the hybrid character route. There are some really cool ways to blend aggressive spellcasting and combat.
See if you can use Words of Power too. It cuts down on what you get to do, but what you can is pretty cool.
Dude.... that's a 46-point-buy-equivalent character. Of course you're going to crush face.
Dude.... that's a 46-point-buy-equivalent character. Of course you're going to crush face.
The build clearly states "rolled" stats.
With witnesses (6 of them).
We all know the dice have their days. Guess I should have bought a lotto ticket that day.