The Syncretist - Spell-Less Oracle Archetype PEACH

[Ethereal Gears]

So, this is an idea I've had bouncing around in my head for a while, but never quite managed to get to work the way I wanted. I wanted a sort of "pan- and/or poly-theist" divine spellcaster, who dabbles in many different divine realms, combining them as she sees fit. I also wanted to make it spell-less, focusing instead on revelations and domain powers, which I usually find a lot more interesting than spells.

I tried making this a unique base class, and then a bard/oracle hybrid class, but in the end, I think it worked out best as simply an oracle archetype, since fundamentally I think it shares a lot of flavor with the oracle. Google Drive link below, and any and all comments highly appreciated!

The Syncretist (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yL5-R3aTryIa-adbbQabRwaV-LIwgAv9)

Cheers,
- Gears

[continuumg]

I love the flavour
That is a LOT of domains :O
I don't know if I'd really want to play it, just because of the sheer number of options available. It also seems like it would be a lot to keep track of. Full casters don't really interest me, either, though, for similar reasons. I generally use nerfed versions of the higher-tier classes in my campaigns.

[Ethereal Gears]

Yeah, it is a lot of options to keep track of, but that was sort of part of the appeal for me. I've always loved domain powers and inquisition abilities, though I will admit keeping track of all the different uses/rounds/minutes per day might be a bit much. I would probably mostly focus on picking inquisitions and stuff that grant permanent bonuses or feats, rather than go all in on 3 + Wis (Cha) mod uses per day stuff.

I was considering creating a "point pool" for the class, so instead of different resource pools you'd just spend 1 point whenever you wanted to use a domain power or a revelation, but I just couldn't figure out how many points to put in it, and also spending points to gain 1-round or 1-minute increments of certain abilities seemed too fiddly. I could consider it though.

EDIT: I wonder, to make the archetype less overwhelming in terms of stuff to keep track off, might decreasing the number of domains to two at 1st level, and then one at every even-numbered class level thereafter, be more okay? Or would that decrease the power level of the archetype too much? You could basically give them more daily uses of Intercession to compensate, I suppose, if that's the case.

[continuumg]

This is how I would probably go for something like your idea. I know it only has one domain, but it's a lot more in line with something I might actually expect paizo to come up with, which is usually the feel I go for in my homebrew.

Domain
At 1st level, a syncretist chooses one domain, as a cleric of her oracle level. She uses her charisma modifier rather than her wisdom modifier for all purposes related to her domain.

Spellcasting
A syncretist has the same number of spells known and spells per day as a bard of her level.
A syncretist's highest level of spells is 6th. Oracle spells of 7th level and above are not on the syncretist's spell list, and a syncretist cannot use spell completion or spell trigger magic items (without making a successful Use Magic Device check) of cleric spells of 7th level or higher.
This alters spellcasting

Mysteries
A syncretist chooses two mysteries at 1st level, rather than one, and may choose revelations from either mystery. A Syncretist chooses either mystery's spell when gaining a new spell known. She gains her 1-level spell at 2nd level and 2-level spell at 4th level, as normal. She gains her 3-level spell at 7th level, 4-level at 10th level, 5-level at 13th level, and 6-level at 16th level.
This alters Mystery

Extra Revelations
A syncretist gains a revelation at 1st level and 3rd level as normal. She gains additional revelations at 6th level, and every three following levels, rather than at the usual levels.
This alters Revelations

[Ethereal Gears]

Your suggestion could certainly be workable, but I have to say that I rarely let "what would Paizo do" guide my homebrewing, as like 90% of the archetypes they create for their base classes is underpowered, unplayable garbage.

That being said though, while your idea would totally make a fun and playable archetype, it completely goes against my two main design goals: 1) no real spellcasting and 2) a focus on domains and domain powers. Anyway, I'm gonna leave my archetype as it is for now, saying that anyone who wants to try it but finds it a bit too overwhelming can either try your version or my idea of halving the number of domains and doubling the daily uses of intercession as a fix.

Also, for reference, here's the "hybrid class" version of the archetype I originally had, which focused more on revelations and only had domains as a side option; not sure about the balance of this, but if anyone's interested they can try it:

The Pilgrim Hybrid Class (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EQlTtLELwOjGsJaqDdt3L1XRfqtIqiYq)

[continuumg]

Well power-level is relative to the the power-level of everything else. My games, as I mentioned are on a lower power level than the norm, so that does bias my view somewhat.
Ooooooh! I love the flavor of the pilgrim as a bard/oracle hybrid. Gimme a sec while I read this!
Looks neat, though again it's jam-packed with a dizzying array of choices.
I do think I'm going to steal some of that :P

[Ethereal Gears]

heh. thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I don't hate the Pilgrim, I guess I just felt the concept was a little too narrow for a full hybrid class, but it's certainly workable.

Also, I've been thinking about the "dizzying array of choices" angle. I mean, for the Pilgrim for example, having 21 mysteries and 40 revelations at level 20 might seem a bit overwhelming, but, like, compared to the spell choices of a wizard of equivalent level, it's really not that bad.

The most problematic thing is arguably keeping track of all your different daily uses and durations, which again brings me back to that maybe the devotion pool should be expanded in size, and instead of each revelation gaining separate daily uses, you just spend 1 devotion point each time you wanna use a revelation, or each time you wanna gain 1 minute or hour or whatever of its duration, if it normally has duration increments. That's probably what I would advice anyone wanting to try out the pilgrim to do.

[continuumg]

Here's my take on "Pilgrim" as a hybrid class. Went with Monk, rather than Bard. This class gets revelations from two mysteries, most of a monk's flavour-y abilities, rather than the ones that it really depends on, replacing evasion with vigor. It uses Wisdom as its key stat, casting like a ranger from the (anti)paladin list, and can cast cure/inflict spontaneously. It also gets a new ability, which is basically just a reflavoured archaeologist's luck.

Pilgrim (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IBIa5O5FYGcBjZFbNVBMxevVWLWvgmGTLOTgB204M6M/edit?usp=sharing)