Cleric in need of help!

[twizty]

I'm a new entry into D&D and I'm learning 3.5E. Long story short, I'm running a L10 cleric. The campaign thus far, the group has done something it shouldn't have and released a nasty on the world. There's now a giant symbol in the sky the size of an astrological sign that is making all Conj and Div spells a DC20 spellcraft check.

Normally not a huge problem, however I never realized I would need to put many points into Spellcraft, so I only have 1 rank in it and am boned on healing now.

Any recommendations on how I could resolve this? The group has mentioned +x gloves of spellcraft to be made by a local shop, but I'd be dropping almost 30k GP to get it made and it won't help out enough in my opinion.

Any other thoughts?

Oh, and to boot. The PC is Illumian and the symbol in the sky has caused him a -4 on all saves.

 

[Dandu]

Psychic reformation

 

[twizty]

I believe I'd need to be psionic for that to work. Thanks though?

 

[Dandu]

Get someone to cast it on you.

 

[Grogg of the North]

Did the DM tell you that something like this may happen back when he was getting ready for the campaign? Or is this a sandboxy campaign and the group just happened upon it?

For overcoming the DC 20 spellcraft check, start putting ranks in at each level up. If you fail the check, does the spell fizzle? If so, and the party is having a hard time overcoming challenges, ask your DM if you can rebuild your character. Or argue that healing belongs in the necromancy school and not conjuration.

Custom magic items is one way to do it. Why are you dropping 30K on them? Are they +17 or something like that? The spells Guidance, Divine Insight, and Prayer all give minor bonuses to skill checks. Divine Insight would probably be your best bet. However Guidance and Divine Insight are divination and are subject to your spellcraft check.

You could grab Skill Focus (Spellcraft) but that's a hefty feat tax.

Does the check effect magic items? If not, load up on wands and potions. Or a shirt of the leech.

As for your -4 penalty on saves, I'd suggest getting the best Vest of Resistance you can afford. And a luck stone. Divine Agility (CD) will help you with your reflex save. Boosting your stats will help you, too. I don't know about your build but you could look at the feats that give bonuses to your saves (Iron Will, True Believer, Knight of the Stars, etc) but again, it's a bit of a feat tax and I don't know how you feel about that.

 

[N'raac]

Good thing you are not playing a Wizard specialized in conjurations, or a Sorcerer with mainly spells of those schools! Even with a +15 Spellcraft check. that's 20% of spells failing. The Cleric has a lot more choices.

So the Cleric can't effectively use Healing spells? I guess he'll just have to use all his spells for other purposes, and be an Awesome 3e Cleric. Assuming wands are not subject to the same issue, or that the group includes a character who can use a wand of CLW (or has ranks in UMD) and has better spellcraft, let your teammates who are so eager for you to buy a 30k custom item so you can heal them instead drop some of their own gold on wands of CLW that you, or that other party member, will use to heal their wounds.

Unless they are planning on being item crafters, I don't see clerics putting a lot of ranks in Spellcraft, so this was pretty predictable when the DM decided on this "blot on the sun". Assuming this is part of the current story arc, spending a bunch of character resources on this may turn out to be a waste, if the party will be dealing with the problem in reasonably short order. The DM has changed the game's ground rules (temporarily, long-term or permanently), so it seems to me it's more up to him than you to address the impact on the game. It might be fun to play a few sessions where wounds aren't just a temporary inconvenience, and combat isn't the go-to problem solver it is in a typical D&D game.

 

[Dandu]

So the Cleric can't effectively use Healing spells? I guess he'll just have to use all his spells for other purposes, and be an Awesome 3e Cleric.

If the OP means Conjuration and Divination spells are subject to the check, loading up on buffs and battlefield control spells is a good idea. Maybe even a bit of necromancy...

 

[ksbsnowowl]

This sounds a lot like an Elder Evil sign. I wouldn't expect this to go away any time soon. Don't go looking in the Elder Evils book, as if I'm right, you'll be spoiling your DM's plot. But, ask him to clarify if it is ALL Conjuration spells, or just Conjuration (calling, summoning, and teleportation) spells...*

Investing all your skill ranks into Spellcraft for the next three or four level-ups will be your best long-term option. Spellcraft is important; maybe you'll remember that next time you play a caster. There are many other instances of things like this occurring in D&D (Light and Fire spells are impeded on the Plane of Shadow; cure spells impeded on the negative energy plane; opposite-element spells are impeded on the elemental planes; summoning spells and planar travel spells are often impeded in Eberron, etc.)

If you have the Magic domain, a wand of Healing Touch (Sor/Wiz 3, Necromancy, SpC) would allow you and the party mage to heal some, and transfer the damage around.

* He very well could be doing his own thing, based off of Elder Evils, and has purposefully made it cover all of Conjuration (but also lowering the Spellcraft DC to a flat 20, rather than the 20 + spell level it is supposed to be). Or he might have mistakenly included Conjuration (Healing) in what he told you, not realizing his mistake, and how much of an effect it would have on game play.

Good luck, and put ranks in Spellcraft.

 

[delericho]

So the Cleric can't effectively use Healing spells? I guess he'll just have to use all his spells for other purposes, and be an Awesome 3e Cleric.

This is probably the best answer. If your party takes out the beasties more quickly, they'll suffer less damage and need less healing.

You might also consider having Fox's Cunning cast on you before healing up the party (since Spellcraft is keyed to Int). And buy up as many ranks in the skill as you can for the next few levels, plus investing in the feat-tax that is Skill Focus when you reach 12th level. (Not a feat I'd usually recommend, but when one skill suddenly becomes vital, it's probably the way to go.)

Somewhere or other there's also a spell that grants a circumstance bonus to a skill check - perhaps in one of the Eberron books? (The artificer in my last campaign used that spell extensively. Alas, I forget the name as it was 2 years ago now.)

 

[Grogg of the North]

[MENTION=6795539]twizty[/MENTION] can you let us know what your domains are? It may help us a bit more with your conundrum.