Assault Clerics, Cleric Shocktroopers

[DEFCON 1]

I think the reason people are bringing up the non-clerics is because in 4E the idea of the "Divine power source" has replaced the traditional concept of "cleric". In previous iterations, "cleric" became sort of the catch-all term for any religious character type. Whether it was the full-on warrior / paladin mirror... or the more monastic type... or the god's rank and file... the "cleric" represented all of them.

But nowadays... as the OP seems to be referring to a band of divine commandos, the singular class of "cleric" not only doesn't need to fulfill all the different members of said band, but also probably shouldn't. "Cleric" is now just the term for one facet of a religious organization, and a very small facet at that. So adding in paladins, avengers, and invokers to the mix to represent all sides and methodologies (i.e. "roles") of this commando squad is probably a good idea.

Sure, you could try and juryrig the cleric class to become defenders, strikers, and controllers (in addition to leaders)... but unless that is specifically the goal of this concept, there's no reason not to use the other three classes in the cleric's place. The cleric is no longer the universal term it once was.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Oh sure. That's very true, and I think the ideal organization would include all divine classes, and probably monks to boot since they're vaguely Psionic at most and you could just as easily call them Divine or Martial. Heck, you could manage Arcane or Primal without much worry, too. But several posts here have said things like "I think X class would be better for this than the cleric" not "You should also include X class to give better access to ability Y."

There's no need to exclude of any of them, IMO.

 

[ppaladin123]

Everyone on the A-team had a different specialty and skill set. Why not make the group of 4 out of a cleric, an avenger, a paladin, and an invoker?

Make the cleric a sun warpriest or a strength cleric so that he can get into melee and bash heads. The avenger is already going to do that. You can give the paladin "ardent vow" and a two-handed weapon to make him particularly aggressive. Invokers can wear chain, focus on punishment (covenant of wrath or malediction) and wade into melee with close burst powers and staff expertise.

Give at least one the "power of the sun" feat so that the party can cause and exploit radiant vulnerability. There are tons of items, powers, and paragon paths that further emphasize searing light.

The character optimization board over on the wizards site has a party build called, "the radiant mafia," that you might also want to take ideas from.

 

[Hasegawa Rayven]

These are all really great for my idea flow, guys, thanks a lot for everything so far.

For those that are wondering about me specifying clerics, I was just putting forward that that was my initial idea. To be truthful, I haven't played around with Invokers or Avengers yet, tending to stick to the base stuff that I know so far, IE: Paladins and Clerics. I have the 4e character builder, so I'll be playing around with the idea a bit more.

As for Special forces references, They would have that too, but the organization I was envisioning was more along the lines of a small army/military, rank and file, that sort of thing.

Leader concept I have right now is a Lvl 30 Vryloka Avenging Paladin/Astral Weapon/Indomitable Champion. I'll have to come up with backstory for her and the group I suppose.

Edit: Oh, and the Idea for the Staff Implement as rifle analog is brilliant IMO, for this concept.

 

[Ryujin]

Thematically, Avengers are essentially assassins for a religion or god. They're very good at cutting off one opponent, then beating the ever lovin' crap out of him. They're WIS/DEX builds so good with Acrobatics and Stealth, with the possibility of taking Thievery. As a Special Forces analog, they seem to fit rather well; get in quitely, hit fast, hit hard, then get out.

Strength based Clerics could easily be fluffed as rank-and-file soldier types, of course with the added bonus of healing.

Paladins would tend to work as heavily armoured and armed Elites; highly motivated and regimented, with excellent morale.

 

[Hasegawa Rayven]

Working on an avenger in the Wizard's Character Builder, Unfortunately, Avengers cannot use a staff as an Implement. (At least in builder...)

Astral Symbol seems to be the way to go, as far as holy symbols go...

 

[Ryujin]

You can go with a separate holy symbol and weapon, but at higher levels there are magic weapons that can also be used as holy symbols.