MageHunter’s Guide to the Rage Prophet

Does this look like a guy you want to mess with? I thought so…

Ah yes, the Rage Prophet. One of the most neglected classes due to being a Paizo Prestige Class, and replicated by Oracle/Barbarians. I hope to help out with the builds and to emphasize the natural strengths and abilities of the Rage Prophet in this guide. At the very least, you can roleplay voices telling you to kill people...  

Introduction:

The Rage Prophet is an often neglected class, but I feel it’s a diamond in the rough. It’s commonly attacked for having too low a caster level, weird features, etc. Most people would just make a Barbarian 1/Oracle X and call it a day. However Rage Prophets are exceptional at casting offensive (and competitive) spells and their access to unique rage powers really puts them ahead of the curve. You can be THE monster Gish, and if you can’t reach, you just use an ultra-powered spell to destroy someone. I’ll detail why it can do all of this later, and I’ll also compare to the aforementioned Barbarian/Oracle. However, remember, this has strength. This definitely pulls it weight, and on top of that, has amazing flavor.

Rating System:

We did *not* steal this from all the other guides…

Who doesn’t use this system? I’m sure you’re all quite familiar. I have no idea how to make the color Pink on word, so purple will have to do…

Red- This will rarely if ever see use, or is just incredibly weak.

Yellow- It’s ok. Either not that powerful, or situationally powerful.

Green- This is a good option. You’d be pretty safe in taking it.

Blue- This is a great option. Quite strong and you won’t regret it.

Purple- You probably should take this.

Class Run Through:

I see a severe ass-kicking in your near future!

Alignment: Technically nonlawful but there are some other entry tricks that could bypass this. I don’t really think Alignment can be judged from an optimization standpoint.

Hit Die: d10. Standard for melee classes and I’d say the Oracle and Barbarian HD should balance out.

REQUIREMENTS:

Base Attack Bonus: +5 necessary. This makes the earliest you can fit in 6th level. You need at least 2 levels of Barbarian, max 5. I recommend 2 and putting as much into Oracle as possible.

Special: Oracle’s curse class feature and moment of clarity rage power. These work pretty well. My favorite trick is the Lame curse to end up getting rage cycling. Moment of Clarity is good if you want to boost your spells at later levels.

Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 5 ranks. This is doable. Skills aren’t really too important for our purposes.

Spells: Able to cast 1st-level divine spells. It’s pretty straightforward.

Class Skills: Funnily enough you don’t actually gain any class skills since all this is covered by Barbarian and Oracle. Plus, you’re not really a skill monkey.

Spells per Day: It’s okay. That it’s not complete is the major criticism. It could be worse though. You later get some stuff to help out a bit. Oddly enough you can add spellcasting levels to other divine spellcasting classes, but that rarely seems doable…

Savage Seer: Your class level stacks with Barbarian for Rage Powers and with Oracle for revelations and Curse. Good, and helps make certain things more viable. Sadly you don’t get increased rounds of rage.

Spirit Guide: This is good. It’s not really amazing until later, but early levels when you can get rage-cycling going it can see use.

Rage-Prophet Mystery: Helps out with losing on Oracle levels. Pretty good spells too.

Raging Healer: I’m sure you can find spiels about in-combat healing elsewhere. I don’t really think this could ever be a practical use of an action.

Indomitable Caster: It’s helpful, but Concentration checks can get pretty hard. If you need it sure, but if threatened I’d just hit the guy. It’s situational.

Rage Caster: Now we’re talking. This can boost your caster level so you start having a reason to use Moment of Clarity. Later Save DC gets boosted even more too which can make offensive spells viable. The DC does get pretty high too with Charisma and Constitution.

Spirit Guardian: It’s a small bonus but can be pretty handy. If you rage-cycle this is pretty much perpetual. I don’t know how much you’ll face fey, but Outsiders and Undead are quite common. And if you’re stuck against ghosts you can get ghost touch.

Enduring Rage: You can extend your rage by sacrificing spell slots. Since you are pressed on rage rounds and are more melee focused I could see this being handy; especially if you’re on the frontlines.  It can be pretty situational though as combats are normally short.

Raging Spellstrength: If you’re not going for the rage-cycling route this is probably better for you. But if you need to keep your defenses for a round I could see using this.

Spirit Warrior: Yes please! You’ll destroy Outsiders and Undead with this. Good for emergency as well if a ghost ambushes you or something.

Greater Rage: Helps keep you on par with Barbarians; boosts essential stats.

Alternate Entries:

I believe that while there are multiple ways to enter, only one is really optimal. An Oracle 4/Barbarian 2 can enter Rage Prophet quickly, and preserves spellcasting the most. I can’t really say the other methods are particularly good, but they exist. All of them need at least one Oracle level. For this guide I’ll assume you go Oracle 4/Barbarian 2.

Barbarian Focused: If you want more HP and BAB you could try Barbarian focused. I don’t like it because it makes spellcasting worse and negates some of the Rage Prophet strengths. It can make you slightly better at melee though. The real steal here is if you like Rage Powers a lot, in which case you can qualify for some rage powers better. Eventually Ragecaster helps out but you lose out on actual spells known.

Bloodrager: If you really want to be Lawful. You would have to be a Primalist to get the rage power, which occurs at the soonest 4th level. See above for more. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure with how the rules work you wouldn’t add your Bloodrager level with Ragecaster, which sadly weakens this option quite a bit.

Unchained Barbarian: Pretty strong option. Simplifies the math (as intended) and later the fatigued for a minute won’t matter with the lame curse active. As pointed out to me by Paizo user Markov Spiked Chain you can actually use life link from the life oracle mystery, and use the temporary HP as healing. Your wrath makes people feel better. Love it! Other than that it’s not too different.

Ranger: Yes, the Wild Stalker archetype gets you rage but I doubt you’d want this. It puts you a level behind of the Barbarian Focused and Bloodrager options.

Cleric/Druid: This is one of those weirder ideas… Rage Domain is a Subdomain of Destruction, and Boar Shaman Druids get access to it. It gives you rage and a couple rage powers. This means that the soonest you could start taking levels would be 14th level… However these are martially inclined classes so they’d get some goodies, and could probably use the tricks like casting while raging. The playstyle would be totally different.

Stats:

Rage Prophets are surprisingly quite stat friendly. They need Charisma for spells and special abilities. They need Constitution for basic survivability and Rage, and then they need Strength to be excellent at hitting stuff. Other than that, you’re good.

Strength: You need this. It makes you good at smacking things and as an approximately 3/4 BAB class it becomes especially important. However don’t neglect the other stuff for this. I’d put all the remaining points here.

Dexterity: Eh, not really too important. You can get Medium Armor so it isn’t really that much of a priority and certain Mysteries get Charisma to AC. If you’re one of those you can safely dump it, but otherwise I’d leave it at a 10.

Constitution: Yeah, you need this. Even with the Extra Rage feat you lose out on rounds, and eventually you can add this to Spell DC’s. Plus, what melee character doesn’t need Constitution?

Intelligence: I feel a bit guilty about this one… I really like Intelligence because I love those skill points. But you probably don’t need skills that much, and still have 4 a level. *Sigh* Dump it.

Wisdom: I wouldn’t dump this too hard, but your saves are normally pretty good without it. I say an 8 or 9 works.  

Charisma: Yes, you aren’t as spellcasting focused as a pure Oracle. Yet it’s pretty important still. You use it for all spells and thanks to Raging Spellcaster can remain competitive with those spells. Not to mention you need it for all of your Oracle abilities, and other class features. This should be pretty high.

Sample Stats (Before Racial Modifiers):

15 Point Buy- 14/10/14/7/9/16

20 Point Buy- 14/10/16/7/9/16

25 Point Buy- 16/10/16/7/9/16

You do still end up with 9th level casting. For this reason I would probably put your level increases into Charisma. Strength is also a good candidate since it makes you better at fighting. If you want a belt for Constitution, and then a Headband for Charisma, then that seems safe.

Races:  

Orcs can be religious too! We just need violent religions…

Every Barbarian tribe of every race has a need for Rage Prophets! Some are just, better than others…

Core Races

Dwarves: Pretty underwhelming. Charisma penalty hurts; Constitution bonus helps. The Wisdom bonus isn’t really that useful but I suppose could help you dump Wisdom if you value Intelligence. Stonesinger is pretty neat. Not too much going for it though.

Elves: This is pretty bad. Penalty to Constitution, and two bonuses we don’t really care about. Elves are just not meant to be in the business I guess.

Gnomes: This one is odd. The bonuses are in the right places but the Strength penalty hurts, as well as the damage dice. They do get some flexible bonuses to Spell DC’s which helps them out. For more spell-focused builds.  

Half-Elves: Pretty solid. Flexible bonus I would put in Charisma or Constitution. Some good saving throw bonuses.

Half-Orcs: Pretty solid. Flexible bonus I would put in Charisma or Constitution. Like Half-Elf but the racial traits are a lot martially inclined. Strong option! Some pretty nice racial feats and the FCB for Barbarians help out with rage.

Halflings: Like Gnomes, but worse.

Humans: *Sigh* what can’t humans do? Take your rating!

Featured Races

Aasimar: Agathion or Angel Blooded are the better versions here. Great stats and actually puts you a leg up on Humans. Some alternate traits are pretty neat against Evil, which makes you even more solid against Outsiders.

Catfolk: Eh. They’ve got a Charisma bonus and that’s about it. They’re not terrible but unless you want to spend the feats for charging with claws they aren’t too good either. It’s only good if you want to be a cat. I’ll give all the thematic points though.

Dhampir: Not excellent. Their stats balance out somewhat, and the Favored Class Bonus for Oracles can give a handy, if somewhat small bonus to offensive spells. The racial feats don’t really seem to match.

Drow: Constitution penalty hurts but for more spell focused the racial feats and abilities can be more worthwhile. I would probably focus on summoning demons alongside you but it is certainly doable. If you are allowed to be a drow noble then… I would stare at your GM and be really paranoid…

Fetchling: This one’s pretty good. Stats aren’t too bad. Excellent defensive boosts if you can get into darkness, which your spells could easily do. Also allows a boost to Illusion (Shadow) which will stack with Spell Focus and everything.

Goblin: Heh-heh, no. Small sized is pretty bad which is excusable only if they get a spellcasting boost, which this doesn’t. Crazy enough I guess, but not helpful. Oversized goblins are yellow.  

Hobgoblin: As much as I love Hobgoblins they don’t really bring anything special to the table. Maybe if you want to set up an intimidate build with the Fearsome alternate trait. The lack of a Charisma bonus hurts, but Constitution helps out.

Ifrit: Stats aren’t amazing but are a good start. You can become big and get some boosts with fire. Sounds fun.

Kobold: Do I have to explain this one? Cute though.

Orc: Pretty strong in melee obviously; maybe for a more Barbarian focused route. Strong melee boosts and the weaknesses can be overcome somewhat with further progression. It’d take some planning though.

Oread: You get a couple tricks. The stats hurt with the Charisma penalty. Nothing really shines out in the racial features.

Ratfolk: Hard pass here. The stats are awful and the traits don’t really contribute anything. Maybe if you’re an all Ratfolk party that wants to flank a lot. I can’t see this ever being good.

Sylph: See Elf.

Tengu: Wow, these later races get pretty bad. There are no bonuses that we want in stats and while the Oracle FCB is nice, it doesn’t make up for the lack of useful bonuses.

Tiefling: Kyton-Spawn gives great stats, and others are good too. Some racial traits have some things going for them. Tails can be used to hold wands and whatnot and you can easily get flight spells for Vestigial Wings.  

Undine: This stuff is underwhelming. It turns yellow for underwater campaigns. There just isn’t really anything handy. Maybe the breath attack has some use.

Uncommon Races

Changeling: Mixed stats and some okay traits. Nothing really stands out except the Oracle FCB.

Duergar: The Charisma penalty is far too steep. Passable if you really don’t care about spells, but then what’s the point?

Gillmen: Great stats! Shame about the whole water dependency but there are alternate traits there.

Grippli: Small race, no bonuses we want, and a penalty we certainly don’t want. Nothing stands out in the racial traits.

Kitsune: A bit like gnomes, but have it easier as medium creatures. Good boosts to enchantment spells if you like that; nothing to sneeze at.

Merfolk: Good stats and a nice natural armor bonus. Potential bonus to a very specific set of spells, but other than that not too much. With the alternate speed and Barbarian’s fast movement you’ll barely even notice the lack of feet!

Nagaji: Yes! This has perfect stats and great bonuses. Except for the whole handle animal thing but that can get switched out for charisma based character level ability. Love it!

Samsaran: If you don’t like dying… It’s almost red but Mystic Past Life can nick you some goodies. Not terribly impressive however.

Strix: Penalty to Charisma ain’t great, and flying isn’t always good for melee. But it’s great for evasive foes, and overall the rest of the traits balance out. Plus the Barbarian FCB is pretty nice, even if it’ll be pretty small.

Suli: Some more of those perfect stats and a great damage boost with energy. Save it up for the boss fight!

Vanaras: Doesn’t really have anything to offer. I personally think this should be something with a charisma bonus, but I guess there were too many CHA races.

Vishkanya: Stats look good and poison is Constitution based which works for me. This is a strong choice.  

Wayang: Doesn’t really hurt you aside from being small and there are great illusion spell bonuses. They’re a bit like gnomes.

It’s pretty clear the way of the Rage Prophet isn’t for everyone. There are a handful of powerful races though.

Rage-Cycling:

One thing I think works out excellently for the Rage Prophet is Rage-Cycling. Rages can be started and stopped as a free action, which enables you to start a new rage each turn. You can use feats to get good powers for this, but it’s amazing with Spirit Warrior. It can end up as a perpetual +10 bonus vs. some pretty common enemies. You can also save rounds of rage by stopping rages to cast spells. Of course later casting while raging gives you huge buffs. The downside is that it makes you fatigued, but the lame curse will make you immune to fatigue at 6th level so you don’t need to worry about that. I recommend Rage-Cycling for optimization but will still consider other points.

Feats:

Rage Prophets are competent melee combatants. Their mix and magic and rage give them a lot of cool options. Here’s just a couple with my input.

Extra Rage: This is a big one. You don’t get a lot of rounds since sadly Rage Prophet doesn’t advance that. As a rule of thumb, you can expect on average to have four combats a day, each lasting three rounds. So if you have 12 rounds of rage, you’re safe. This can change so it might be worth taking twice if you don’t have anything else to nab. You get so much from rage this is a necessity.

Extra Rage Power: This is why you’re a Rage Prophet. The ability to get rage powers is just amazing. There are tons of great ones out there which I’ll detail later. Note, your effective Barbarian level will pretty much be your character level minus your oracle levels. Also, you’ll effectively be either a 2nd or 4th level barbarian for the purpose of what Rage Power you can pick. This can slow down some options but I still think it’s worth it.

Furious Spellcaster: This practically seems made for you. You can cast a spell while raging and get a damage boost. However once you get Ragecaster this feat becomes a little bit obsolete, and I would probably retrain it if you can.

Mad Magic: This is an interesting feat. I’d say if you don’t want the Lame Curse and rage-cycling this is a good feat to have. It lets you cast while raging. The price is a lot cheaper for Bloodragers, so I recommend it for them. Don’t worry though, Moment of Clarity isn’t wasted. If you really want to stick an offensive spell you’ll still use it. Barbarians also can find some use; it’ll just cost an extra feat.

Power Attack: Hmm… You are ¾ BAB which can make this hurt. Your attack bonus can end up ridiculous however and you can get plenty of buffs. Safe option to take, just remain cautious about overusing it.

Prestigious Spellcaster: Interesting. This lets you boost your spellcasting level. However only once per selection, and it requires Favored Prestige Class on top of that. It seems a bit feat hungry. If you really want higher level spells then this is for you, but between Ragecaster, Magical Knack, and Spell Focus, your caster level and spell DC’s should be high enough.

Spell Focus: Pretty safe investment. Despite all the casting penalties Rage Prophets seem to have, they actually have a couple tricks. Ragecaster significantly boosts your CL, add on later Constitution to DC’s and Magical Knack and you’d be surprised. I’d pick your spells around one school for offensive use because of this. You’re quite capable. Greater Spell Focus and Varisian Tattoo earn points for the same reasons.

Rage Powers:

This is a primary advantage of the Rage Prophet. You can still get Rage Powers, even the level-dependent ones. This is a HUGE benefit. Keep in mind; you have to subtract your Oracle levels from your effective character level for the Rage Power Requirements. Unfortunately, you don’t get to add Rage Prophet Levels to qualify for Rage Powers. There are still plenty of good ones out there however.  

Moment of Clarity: It is required… Pretty safe bet. Before the Lame Curse gets you that sweet fatigue immunity, this makes spellcasting a bit more viable. Further down the road when you get casting buffs while raging… This is nice.

Perfect Clarity: Hmm… Your will save seems like it’ll be safe and I don’t know how often illusions come up. I’m not really wowed by this, but if your GM likes illusions it has use; pretty situational.

Elemental Rage: Oh this is great. You get huge boosts to damage which is further complemented by rage-cycling. Would be better if you can nab it sooner, but for you Barbarian-Focused prophets out there, this is a viable option.

Reckless Abandon: This feels a bit wrong… You take a penalty to AC in order to get an attack roll bonus. Things is, since you’re rage-cycling you don’t take the penalty when it isn’t your turn. So this is essentially free attack bonus with no cost. (Except for AoO’s.)

Superstition: Excellent. Boost against spells, which is much appreciated. Helps you survive the trip to the enemy squishies.

Oracle Mysteries:

For here I’m just going to refer you to Oracle guides for now. Your revelations will remain mostly viable since Rage Prophet Levels stack with it, and every mystery pretty much has good offensive/defensive options. The first that calls out to me is Lore/Nature/Lunar for Charisma to AC if you want to dump Dexterity. Plenty of great options however and it’s hard to do wrong.

Archetypes:

With a few levels in Oracle and Barbarian there are some handy archetypes. Remember, you need a rage power, and oracle’s curse, but everything else can be given up.  

Mounted Fury (Barbarian): This archetype gives a speed boost to any mounts you have. Nature Oracle can get a mount animal companion. This essentially helps with wasting the personal movement speed boost. Not too shabby.

Scarred Rager: If you don’t want the lame curse, this is a potential alternative. Tolerance lets you halve the duration of the fatigue from rage, which essentially allows you to be fatigued in between your turns.

Spirit Guide: This archetype gives you the wandering spirit ability of the Shaman. While there aren’t that many good hexes for you (from decreased level) you do add spells known from the wandering spirit which can be switched each day.

Warsighted (Oracle): This archetype basically gives you Martial Flexibility in exchange for the revelations. It’s a neat ability that is versatile and quite strong.

After Rage Prophet:

After taking Rage Prophet Levels I recommend just going straight for Oracle to preserve the spellcasting. Not too much should change as it’d just be another four levels of it.

Equipment:

Spells:

To be done later. This is pretty thick and heavy to do. But for the gist of it buff spells are safe, and with specialization a couple offensive spells also work. I’d pick one school to work with to blend well with feats. Necromancy is pretty neat. (Since the people most vulnerable are normally out of melee range due to FORT saves.)

To-Do List:

-          Finish Archetypes Section

-          Finish Feats Section

-          Run through all Rage Powers

-          Review Spell List

-          Make Equipment Section

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