Close Combat and the Nonviolent Oracle

[Palanan]

There's nothing like the sight of an ogre bearing down on your undefended oracle, while the rest of the party is fighting three other ogres, to make you reconsider your character's ethically driven approach to pacifism.

We had several combat encounters in our session last night, and in each of them I found myself wishing my oracle could contribute a little more to the situation. Now, he was designed to be a loremaster first and foremost, with pacifist leanings and no melee skill whatsoever, and his spell selection reflects this. That decision's been made, and I have no plans to change it.

That leaves playing him smarter during encounters, which is what I need advice on. So far he's been able to make decent tactical use of Silence, Obscuring Mist, and his go-to spell for desperate moments, Forbid Action. But that latter spell, vital as it is, tends to pin him down, rooted to the spot and re-casting each round. How can he be more effective with this?

Also, can anyone recommend a few clever items, preferably ranged, that would be both nonviolent and cost-effective? The local market is limited--we're operating out of Sandpoint, which has very little in the way of magic or alchemical resources--but we do have the option of mail-order from Magnimar, and my oracle has 3000 gp to work with.

[Secret Wizard]

Ray of Sickening is nonviolent.

Another option is picking up a trip/disarm weapon and going to town with it.

[Psyren]

Now, he was designed to be a loremaster first and foremost, with pacifist leanings and no melee skill whatsoever, and his spell selection reflects this.

What spells would those be? This could help us suggest tactics. And what level are you, what mystery/revelations do you have, what race are you, what feats and gear do you currently have etc.?

[Palanan]

So, this is a dwarven oracle, Bard 1/Oracle 6, with the Heavens mystery and two revelations, Coat of Many Stars and Lure of the Heavens. Feats include Noble Scion, Breadth of Experience, Divine Protection and Merciful Spell.


First-level spells: Color Spray, Cure Light Wounds, Forbid Action, Liberating Command, Obscuring Mist, Shield of Faith

Second-level spells: Burst of Radiance, Cure Moderate Wounds, Hypnotic Pattern, Silence

Third-level spells: Cure Serious Wounds, Daylight, Protection from Energy

My two first-level bard spells are Comprehend Languages and Grease, and so far the only spell I'm regretting is &%#$@!! Grease, since it's been virtually useless compared with Forbid Action, which so far has been great.

Now that I have Merciful Spell, I'm thinking of leading with Burst of Radiance from as far away as possible. I couldn't use it with the ogres last night because the party slashers charged in ahead of me, and I didn't want to risk blinding them while they were in a tight melee.

Beyond that, my tactical thinking is blank, so constructive advice is welcome.

[Secret Wizard]

You could build towards the Aid Another action.

[atemu1234]

You could build towards the Aid Another action.

Or become a healer.

[Geddy2112]

Bard 1
My two first-level bard spells are Comprehend Languages and Grease, and so far the only spell I'm regretting is &%#$@!! Grease, since it's been virtually useless compared with Forbid Action, which so far has been great.

.
A pacifist build is fine and viable- your job in the party is not to do damage.

I find it hard to believe that you regret grease and it has been useless, considering how stupidly good it is. Certainly it is less good as you have liberating command, which is often better than grease at breaking a grapple. Grease does provide a resistance to grappling in case you go up against anything grabby, a handy buff. It can be used on an enemy's weapon to disarm them, or on the ground to force a save or fall.

Also, since your a bard grab a whip(should be easy to find and is cheap)-disarm and trip enemies from range, and it can't hurt anything wearing armor or with a +3 natural armor(effectively every enemy and monster you will face except arcane casters). You also now have intimidate as a class skill and you are CHA based, consider dazzling display? It would require weapon focus on the whip, but it would give you another way to be very effective in combat.

Between intimidating, disarming, tripping, spellcasting and bardic performance to buff, your oracle bard is far from useless in combat.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Geddy2112
I find it hard to believe that you regret grease and it has been useless….

That's been my experience so far. Grease has failed more often than not, Forbid Action succeeded more often than not.

Part of this may be that the things we've run across usually have better Dexterity than Will saves. Ogres are probably a case in point.


Originally Posted by Geddy2112
Between intimidating, disarming, tripping, spellcasting and bardic performance to buff, your oracle bard is far from useless in combat.

I should also mention his BAB is terrible and his Strength and Dex bonuses are even worse, so mixing it up in person isn't likely to go his way.

That said, if there's a way that Grease would interact with a trip attempt, one of the other players is thinking about going the tripping route, and that might make for a nice bit of teamwork tactics. His character is a ninja, who's usually either scouting invisibly in front or hanging back with my oracle behind the frontline guys.

[Geddy2112]

Grease is still a good spell, you have just not gone up against enemies that fail it easily. GM might give a circumstance bonus to the trip if they are on grease. Whips have a 15 ft range, so while you will be "close" you are still not point blank. At your level with a strength of 10 your still going to get a +7 bonus to trip or disarm with a whip, which is not terrible. It is certainly a last ditch effort, but since it costs little and is something your proficient in why not have it as an option?