Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Updates, $1,402,193 and Counting

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is currently sitting at $1,402,193 pledged on Kickstarter, and with 10 days to go, the campaign can still realistically reach an additional stretch goal or two. As such, we get a series of fresh updates. Update #24 announces a Reddit AMA with the developers that will be taking place on March 4, 2020. Update #25 shares an overview of the Oracle class. Update #26 goes into detail about the game’s complex event system. And update #27 announces a new stretch goal that will expand the game’s romance options.

Here’s what Pathfinder’s Oracles are all about:

Golarion is home to many servants and acolytes of divine entities who wield god-given powers as a way to spread their deity’s influence. Most famous are clerics, who gain access to their powers through prayer, obedience, and devotion to a deity. There are also inquisitors, who use the gifts bestowed upon them to enforce beliefs through guile, diplomacy, and strength, if needed. Now, thanks to you, our backers, we also have warpriests—divine warriors who champion their faith through violence. But all of these have something in common: they consciously choose to enter into the service of their deity and accept their divine power.

But there are those who don’t have this luxury—instead, they are chosen by an unknown entity and granted mystic abilities. Such an occurrence almost always leaves the chosen individual with a serious disability, but in return, they gain access to powers far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary mortal.

Such people are called oracles. They are spontaneous divine casters, who can dish out spells without needing to memorize them in advance. While oracles don’t boast a huge range of spells, they fully overcome this weakness with the sheer amount of magical power at their disposal, aiding their allies in combat with spells all day long.

Some oracles don’t even know which entity granted them their power. Nor do they know what prompted this entity to bestow such a gift: maybe it was the soon-to-be-oracle’s strength of personal conviction, their interesting philosophy, or their urge to change something in the world. No one knows, but in the end, the oracle’s mind and soul are opened to a mystery. Through deepening their understanding of this mystery, the oracle gains access to revelations—powerful abilities that are closely connected to the source of the mystery.

Battle revelations turn an oracle into an avatar of war, allowing them to inspire allies with battle cries, turn their skin into living iron, or gain incredible skill with their chosen weapon. Ancestor revelations let an oracle call upon the wisdom of their forebears to achieve their goals, or even summon their wrath to destroy enemies. Other mysteries can grant power over primal elements, forces of nature, life and death. This means that oracles vary greatly from one to the next, ranging from druid-like nature mages to warriors of great skill.

But with each mystery comes a curse, which can make some oracles outcasts from society. It can be a physical, mental, or even supernatural disability: an oracle can be permanently crippled, bound to Hell, or able to foresee their inevitable doom with no means of preventing it. Despite this, oracles learn to embrace their curse and turn it into a strength in itself. The higher an oracle’s level, the better they can use their curse to their advantage. Yes, you may be sickly and frail, but your experience with diseases makes your own magical diseases much more potent. Yes, your soul may be tainted with the evil of Hell, but that also means you can use it to gain the powers of devils.

Wield your divine powers in combat with honor and pride! To arms, crusaders!

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