Character concept

[Quill_Quayuazue]

Again I come to You, the En world Community.

I need help with the concept for a Cleric of Bahamut set in a Greyhawk setting. I seem to be the sole cleric in the party that is mostly looking to multi calss later. We are starting at first level and could not seem to get my head wraped around how to play this type of cleric.

Human
STR- 13
DEX- 12
CON- 10
INT- 15
WIS- 15
CHR- 10

Staring gold 140 gp

thanx in advance for the help

Quill of the Glen

 

[The Shaman]

Lessee...strong and agile but average endurance. Sounds like someone used to laboring but not travelling long distances, at least not on foot.

Smart and wise, but no more personable than the next guy. Dedicated and educated but not a leader.

I picture a cleric who has spent most of his time spent in the service of Bahamut working around the temple, perhaps a bit cloistered, more interested in prayer and study than in working with the faithful. He's used to the labor required to keep up the temple - a Craft skill would be in order, something that requires both strength and dexterity, like carpentry or smithing - but has a bit of a paunch from spending little time out and about in the countryside.

Now suddenly this largely temple-bound academic is ordered into the field...there's your conflict to roleplay.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

First of all, I'd consider swapping Int and Con. A cleric with a con of 10 is going to be painfully fragile...

With regards to the RP, the key point, to me, is the fact that you're a human worshipping a dragon god. Once you figure out why a human is worshipping a dragon god--devout enough to actually join the dragon's clergy--you'll have a better handle on how to RP the character.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE smart PCs- but just from a game-math standpoint, I'd switch the stats to read

Human
STR- 13
DEX- 15
CON- 10
INT- 10
WIS- 15
CHA- 12

or

Human
STR- 13
DEX- 12
CON- 10
INT- 10
WIS- 15
CHA- 15

Why?

1) Your turning ability is based on Charisma. You really want SOME kind of bonus there.

2) AC, and thus Dex, is more important to character survivability than Con. Every point of bonus to your PC's AC represents a 5% shift in the number of hits he'll take. Your AC affects EVERY attack targeted at you. HP, and thus Con, only comes into play AFTER he gets hit (after an opponent defeats the target's AC), and then only once. Plus, a higher dex means a higher "Flat-Footed" AC.

So, IMHO, either the Dex or the Cha needs the 15, giving the other the 12.

 

[The Shaman]

Forgive me, but wasn't the point of the thread to figure out how to play the character as presented? I don't mean to be rude, but anyone can arrange the stats to fit their ideas - how about coming up with ideas that fit the given stats?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Forgive me, but wasn't the point of the thread to figure out how to play the character as presented? I don't mean to be rude, but anyone can arrange the stats to fit their ideas - how about coming up with ideas that fit the given stats?

*shrug* I'll post what I choose. If the OP finds it unhelpful, he is welcome to ignore it. For that matter, so are you.

 

[Jdvn1]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE smart PCs- but just from a game-math standpoint, I'd switch the stats to read

Yikes. I'd go with:

STR- 10
DEX- 12
CON- 15
INT- 10
WIS- 15
CHA- 12

Why?

Well, I'm glad you asked! I disagree with:

2) AC, and thus Dex, is more important to character survivability than Con. Every point of bonus to your PC's AC represents a 5% shift in the number of hits he'll take. Your AC affects EVERY attack targeted at you. HP, and thus Con, only comes into play AFTER he gets hit (after an opponent defeats the target's AC), and then only once. Plus, a higher dex means a higher "Flat-Footed" AC.

At medium and higher levels, your cleric should avoid being in too much combat. Your medium BAB, lack of feats, and lack of martial weapons really hurts. If you want AC, go for a heavy armor, but chances are that you're going to be getting hit if you get into melee combat regardless. At medium levels, I'd go with a full plate armor for AC, but that limits your speed a little. At higher levels, I'd go for a mithral medium armor and make sure you have a Dex-boosting spell up most of the time.

Your hit points really make a difference, though. 2 extra hp per level, plus whatever Con-boosting stuff you have is going to make the difference in most battles. Plus, a higher Con means a higher Fort save which means, although your Fort is already good, you have those extra 5% chances to avoid the save-or-die spells.

IMHO, STR and DEX could be swapped, but CON is a major stat for any character.

Forgive me, but wasn't the point of the thread to figure out how to play the character as presented? I don't mean to be rude, but anyone can arrange the stats to fit their ideas - how about coming up with ideas that fit the given stats?

He asked for help, we're giving help. Stat allocation looks like it needs help to me, so that gets rolled in. If the OP had his WIS at 10, wouldn't you think to say, "Y'know, that's not very good. You might want to cast every once in a while."

 

[Darmanicus]

Again I come to You, the En world Community.

I need help with the concept for a Cleric of Bahamut set in a Greyhawk setting. I seem to be the sole cleric in the party that is mostly looking to multi calss later. We are starting at first level and could not seem to get my head wraped around how to play this type of cleric.

Human
STR- 13
DEX- 12
CON- 10
INT- 15
WIS- 15
CHR- 10

Staring gold 140 gp

thanx in advance for the help

Quill of the Glen

I assume yer going for the PrC 'Vassal of Bahamut'? If you haven't heard of it check out 'Book of Exalted Deeds'.

 

[The Shaman]

He asked for help, we're giving help. Stat allocation looks like it needs help to me, so that gets rolled in. If the OP had his WIS at 10, wouldn't you think to say, "Y'know, that's not very good. You might want to cast every once in a while."

Yes, but that clearly wasn't the case here, so with all due respect, that's a rather empty argument.

The OP asked for a concept specifically - he presented abilities and a class, including a deity, not a bunch of rolls. I interpreted that to mean the OP was looking for a background with some roleplaying hints, not character optimization.

I think it's pretty funny actually that most everyone seems to be focused on mechanics in their suggestions: game-math, PrCs, et cetera.

My hat of 3e D+D grows daily.

 

[Jdvn1]

Yes, but that clearly wasn't the case here, so with all due respect, that's a rather empty argument.

The OP asked for a concept specifically - he presented abilities and a class, including a deity, not a bunch of rolls. I interpreted that to mean the OP was looking for a background with some roleplaying hints, not character optimization.

I'll leave suggestions for his character, and the OP can take them or leave them. Being the only cleric in his party, he needs to be a good caster and not die. If he was only concerned about roleplaying suggestions and not mechanical aspects as well, he wouldn't have listed stats or money. At least, that's how it seems to me. He could've said, "High Int and Wis, low Con and Cha." And why mention money at all? I get the impression he wants help with both optimization and also concept, due to the information given.