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Looking for some thoughts and feedback on a new/updated apocalypse mystery for oracles. The link goes to a better formatted version, but I have also copied it below.
https://1drv.ms/w/s!AmfoZvyK3gEphI0-wzalEU_koLFMNw?e=GsEKS3
APOCOLYPSE MYSTERTY
With the death of prophecy, nothing is certain anymore. Old gods have died, new gods have risen. Horrors from the past have come to call, death and fire have rained from the sky! Only a madman would be blind to the signs! The End is Nigh! You have seen it! The End of All Things! You may well revere gods who embody this end, like Groetus or Rovagug, or the Tian goddess Lady Nanbyo. Perhaps even from the outer god Azathoth. Or maybe it wells up from endless destructive power of the Maelstrom or Abyss.
Mystery Benefit Choose one of acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic damage. This is your apocalyptic energy.
Whenever you deal damage with a cantrip you may add chose to make half of that damage come from your apocalyptic energy. If you do, increase the damage by 1 point.
Trained Skill Intimidate
Granted Cantrip Telekinetic Projectile
Revelation Spells initial Doomsayer advanced Immolation greater Cataclysm
Related Domains Decay, Destruction
Curse of Ruination
The power of the end times constantly emanates from your body, destroying everything you touch. Weapons bend in your grasp, armor and clothing hangs in tatters, and small or fragile items break everywhere you go.
Minor Curse Any items you hold are damaged and warped by your destructive energy. For as long as you hold any item, and for one round thereafter, it considered to have the shoddy trait, which imposes a -2 penalty to all rolls to use them.
Moderate Curse Your worn items are wrecked and torn, gaining the shoddy trait for as long you wear them and one round thereafter, or until you refocus. Generally this means any item bonus to AC is reduced by 2, and the armor check penalty is increased by 2. The bonus damage on your cantrips improves to 1d4, and you may use the Shatter Arms reaction.
Shatter Arms <R>
Trigger A creature strikes you with a object
The object that struck you takes 2d8 damage, subject to a basic reflex save against your divine spell DC, made by the creature holding the item. If this breaks of destroys the object, apply that effect before damage is rolled.
Major Curse Whenever you use a held item make a DC 5 flat check, on a failure it breaks. The bonus damage on your cantrips improves to 1d6 points. Your shatter arms reaction increases to 3d8 damage. Also any creature that touches you, including a via touch spell, melee attack, unarmed strike, or natural attack, takes 1d6 damage from your apocalyptic energy.
Focus Spells
Doomsayer – Focus 1
[Uncommon, Cursebound, Curse, Emotion, Enchantment, Fear, Mental, Oracle]
Cast 2 actions [somatic, verbal]
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 living creature
Saving Throw Will
You pronounce a curse that the target will die by your vision of the apocalypse, striking it with fear and vulnerability. The effect is based on the targets will save.
Critical Success No effect
Success The target gains weakness 1 to your apocalyptic energy until the end of your next turn
Failure As success, but the duration is 1 minute, and the target is also frightened 1.
Critical Failure As failure, but the targets frightened condition cannot drop below 1 for the duration.
Heightened (+1) The weakness increases by 1
Immolation – Focus 3
[Uncommon, Cursebound, Evocation, Oracle]
Cast 1 action [verbal]
Duration 1 minute
You infuse yourself with devastating energy. You take 1d6 persistent damage from your apocalyptic energy each round while this spell is in effect. Anytime you inflict damage of your apocalyptic energy's type the target also begins to take 1d6 persistent damage of that type. Additionally any creature that is taking persistent damage of that type suffers a -1 status penalty to AC and saving throws against your effects with a matching energy trait. You may dismiss this spell.
Heightened (+2) The persistent damage you inflict to others, but not yourself, increases by +1d6
Cataclysm – Focus 6
[Uncommon, Cursebound, Evocation, Oracle]
Cast 2 actions [somatic, verbal]
Area 5-foot emanation, Target you
Duration 1 minute
Your apocalyptic energy rages around you. The area within the emanation becomes difficult terrain. Every creature in range when you cast this spell or that starts it's turn in the area takes 4d6 damage from your apocalyptic energy, subject to a basic reflex save. Once per turn, starting the turn after your cast cataclysm, you can use a single action, which has the concentrate trait, to increase the emanations radius by 5 feet. You are excluded from this spells effects.
Heightened (+2) Increase the initial emanation by 5 feet and the damage by +1d6
I REALLY like this. It looks very fun!
Small things:
1. Cataclysm is already a 10th (?) level spell. May wanna rename the Focus Spell.
2. Specify the spell dismissal on the second focus spell is a free action or whatever it is (with concentrate trait? who knows how you wanna set it up).
Thank you, I did miss that spell name. I suppose I didn't look as high as level 10.
Dismiss a spell is already a one action activity, but they spell must be called out as being able to dismiss.
Oh, okay. I didn't actually know that, thanks.
I like this a lot. I especially like the effects of the curse, very thematic.
I do have a concern about the mystery benefit. Counting telekinetic projectile, oracles only have four damaging cantrips: daze (which doesn't work int he mindless), chill touch (which doesn't work on the undead), and divine lance (which doesn't work on creatures opposed to your god's alignment). It just feels really limiting. Also converting half the damage to a different type feels like a slightly annoying amount of bookwork, but that could just be me.
This is also the only mystery benefit that requires you to be under the effects of your curse to get the full benefit. One bonus damage is fine at low levels, but it'd be really nice if it scaled naturally and was disconnected from the curse.
One final note: the damage on cataclysm (or whatever the spell winds up being named) feels low, and only gaining 1d6 every two levels is not a lot.
Thank you for all the feedback everyone. I will be trying to put together an update in a few days and will re-post then!
As for the reach weapons, you are probably right. I should most likely copy the wording from the Tempest mystery. So then it's a chance to break your weapon if you hit the oracle with it, or to hurt your hand otherwise.
-When it comes to cantrips know, I do realize the number of damagaing cantrips is low, but by adding telekinetic projectile I was hoping it might be enough. Plus future books could expand those options yet.
-As for their damage, in my original version it was just +1 damage from their energy. Which might be a simpler way to go about it admittedly. As for the damage, I was mostly having trouble deciding how to scale it. Pure +1 damage per spell level seemed to much for something that can be used all day every day. Perhaps improvements at expert, master, and legendary spell caster proficiency? (Levels 7, 15, 19).
Could be something like a flat +1 per increase, or stepping up die sizes. +1, +d4, +1d6, +1d8? Moderate curse could improve the die size one more (up to +1d10), and major could add a second die?
Would mean at level 11, when you receive the ability to take on your major curse, your cantrips would each get +2d6... Is that too much?
-I was very unsure as to cataclysm's (or as I am thinking of renaming it, calamity's) damage; that's a big part of the reason I was looking for feedback!
-As for consumables, I'm not sure. A broken item can be repaired with time and effort. But it seems a broken consumable is just GP down the drain.
Another thought I had myself (kind of just now) is permanently breaking the BBGs weapon when it hits you sounds fun, but might quickly ruin a big fight if that's all he's got? So maybe have shatter arms give the striking weapon the shoddy quality until the beginning of the targets next round; or to the end of their next round at major curse? And if the -2 would have made it miss, it misses. If they strike you with an already shoddy weapon, then it breaks.
Cantrip damage improved, as stated above.
Shatter Arms now makes items shoddy, or breaks shoddy items. No save.
Damage from Major curse now only applies vs actual touches, such as touch attacks and unarmed attacked.
Immolation grants you a status bonus, instead of inflicting a status penalty to the opponent.
Cataclysm renames to Calamity. Otherwise unchanged. Upon comparison to Acid Storm, it seems to fit the balance for a spell of one level higher, as it causes damage upon initial casting as well as the beginning of each creatures turn; plus has the difficult terrain effect and excludes oneself.
I'm fairly happy with it now, just debating changing or expanding the types of damage that you can choose at 1st level. Negative energy seems a shoe in. Maybe poison? Considered physical damage types, but might be too strong as weaknesses it creates could more easily be exploited by the whole party.
I have a slight issue with the Sonic damage type, while there aren't a lot of targets with inherent vulnerability to it, similarly it's way way less resisted than any of the other types of damage.
Since your focus power covers the vulnerability already, i think that it ends up as a straight up superior option compared to the other ones imo.
I had considered the same. TBH the only real reason I left it in was that the mad piping surrounding Azathoth seemed a decent excuse for a sonic apocalypse. But switching to bedside energy (with a note that this never heals undead) also seems appropriate. Pure death energy is certainly a thing in Golarion these days.