Blessed, cursed or both? the Pathfinder Oracle is a powerful balancing act of a character for players who aren’t afraid of a challenge.
Adventurers who seek to uncover sacred truths and great mysteries may wish to play a Pathfinder Oracle. Oracles explore one of the great mysteries of the world and draw upon its power to cast miraculous spells. But this power comes at a price, as a curse grows more as this power is drawn upon it. Whether this tradeoff allows the Oracle to act as an instrument of the divine, or is a punishment from the gods is entirely up to the player, however.
The Pathfinder Oracle Basics
Oracles are a Charisma-based class, taking a boost to that attribute at character creation. They also start with expert-level training in their Will saving throw. Additionally, they begin their adventure with training in Perception, Fortitude, Reflex, Religion, Simple Weapons, Unarmed Attack, Light Armor, Unarmored Defense, a number of skills determined by their Mystery, and another handful of skills equal to their Intelligence modifier plus three.
In combat, the Oracle will draw upon their Mystery to empower themselves and balance their power against the demands that their curse has on their physical body and divine abilities. They will cast spells to aid their allies or strike down their foes. Depending on their chosen Mystery, some Oracles may take a more or less offensive role in their party or even opt to enter combat alone instead of in a support position.
In non-combat situations an Oracle will rely upon and draw insights from their Mystery. They may leverage their curse in order to intimidate others or attempt to hide their curse altogether. Their abilities will make them more aware of the supernatural forces around them and may even give them the power to peek into the future for some additional insight.
Oracular Curse
Being a Pathfinder Oracle is a balancing act at its core. As an oracle, players can tap into pure and unmitigated divine power in order to access specialized and powerful magic and special abilities. But the more abilities they use, the worse their curse gets. This curse is experienced as a condition that only affects oracles.
After the first time an Oracle uses a cursebound ability, they become ‘cursebound 1.’ This designation will increase and worsen as they use more cursebound abilities. Their curse may conceal creatures from them, make it easier for spells to wound them, give them status penalties to saving throws, or a number of other curses depending on the Oracle’s Mystery.
Oracles can only go up to ‘cursebound 4’ level before they are saturated with divine power and can’t absorb anymore. The effects of these abilities only end when the character has an opportunity to refocus and remove their cursebound conditions.
Mysteries
Divine Mysteries are what fuel the Oracle’s power. They may represent the deities they are devoted to, an ideal they hold dear, or just their conduit to divine energy. But whatever the origin of the Oracle’s Mystery, it helps determine the spells they can cast and the oracular curses that they suffer. Mysteries will give them access to special benefits and abilities, a cantrip, and specialized divine knowledge.
Ancestors: With this Mystery, the voices of past generations speak to you as clearly as the living. You may revere their insight or resent the constant interruption, but you learn from their memories and experience. This Mystery has the ‘Curse of Ancestral Meddling.’
Battle: Oracles who chose this Mystery are filled with physical might and tactical knowledge by unseen warlike forces. You will uphold their glory in combat, but carry the ‘Curse of the Mortal Warrior.’
Bones: This Mystery imparts an understanding of death and the undead to the Oracle who chooses it. In fact, they may have had a brush with near-death themself. Now they have the ‘Curse of Living Death.’
Cosmos: With this Mystery, celestial bodies exert massive influence and power on you. This power may be a divine blessing or a responsibility to carry. It comes with the ‘Curse of the Sky’s Call.’
Flames: This Mystery tells you that fire is the center of the world, the universe, and all civilization. You revere and respect its elemental power, but carry the ‘Curse of the Engulfing Flames.’
Life: With this Mystery, the never-ending flow of life within the beings around you is palpable. You may uphold the sanctity of life, or try to undermine it. But you’ll always draw your power from the collective lifeforce of all living creatures. This Mystery comes with the ‘Curse of Outpouring Life.’
Lore: Knowledge and information come easily to Oracles who choose this Mystery. You’ll use it to gain power and understand the divine mysteries of the multiverse. But you’ll also have the ‘Curse of Torrential Knowledge.’
Tempest: Oracles who choose this Mystery become conduits to the elemental planes of Air and Water. They carry the ‘Curse of Inclement Headwinds.’
Multiclassing a Pathfinder Oracle
An adventurer who has already chosen another path, but finds themself granted divine magic (and a curse) by divine magic, will multiclass as an Oracle. Spellcasters who choose this path will have access to a bigger and more diverse pool of magic. While martial classes will have access to a powerful collection of spells and abilities that would otherwise be impossible.
Characters who multiclass as an Oracle will gain access to the feats Oracle Dedication, Basic and Advanced Mysteries, Basic, Expert, and Master Oracle Spellcasting, First Revelation, and Mysterious Breadth.
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How to Play a Pathfinder Oracle
The most important and most unique part of the Oracle is their chosen Mystery. This will not only inform who they are as a character and what skills and spells they have, but will also determine their curse. Choosing your Mystery carefully is important. But possibly more so is understanding the curse you’ll be taking on.
Not many classes or jobs will openly saddle your character with negative effects right from the get-go. These may be more than worth it for the Oracle’s abilities and power. But it will be important to understand what these are as gameplay progresses. Especially as battles get more difficult and stakes get higher.
Eventually, this will turn into a perfectly tuned balancing act. With time and a little creativity, you’ll learn to mange your curse and use your abilities to their fullest potential. And maybe eventually find creative ways of making even the challenges work in your favor.
Happy adventuring!
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