Cleric multiclass pros and cons

[ogre]

Hello Enworlders,

I'm going back and forth trying to decide what multiclass to take for my STR based lv4 cleric. Basically an 18 str, 16 wis build, Spiked chain, human.
The Warlord seems like an excellent choice, powers like Hammer and Anvil work nicely with Righteous Brand for instance, but the triple Healing Word and other powers seem to overlap the clerics (as they should as leaders). One thing that doesn't quite work is the Warlords reliance on the path choice (tactical or inspriring) which makes the powers seem meek.
The Ranger also seems like a good choice, powers like Evasive Strike are nice to get in and out of melee for a Righteous Brand attack. The power choices are very limited w/o 2 weapons or a ranged attack (I'm using Lance and sacred flame)
The Fighter is also decent, but the class feature is pretty weak. The powers are nice, especially Rain of Blows.
The paladin was my first choice, using combat challenge each encounter just seemed like a nice addition to a battle cleric. However, the powers don't work at all, and there only being 2 viable (str) choices.

All in all, I'm actually finding it hard for any of the multiclass powers to replace Healing Strike (encounter1) or command (encounter3).

Anyone have any foresight or experience you'd like to share?

 

[Solodan]

I really can't say enough about Disruptive Strike as a cleric grab. Sure, most of the ranger powers won't work, but ranger multiclass gives you a great skill choice (perception) and the utilities are really good too, getting huge bonuses form your higher wisdom.

If its in flavor for how you play your cleric, I'd go ranger.

 

[knightofround]

Clerics have a great range of powers, with both strong melee and ranged options, and fantastic utilities. So I doubt you'll want to do much power-swapping. The stuff that Clerics miss out on are good class features (which you can't get from multiclassing) and skills. So I would say go with whatever skill you want the most. Ranger for perception is the powergaming choice, but Rogue for Thievery is another good option. Try to imagine the cleric who while treating a noble patient palms his signet ring, or a cleric who purposely botches a surgery to kill their patient in a way that nobody else could tell from an autopsy. Healers tend to be good with their hands, if not their bodies, so it makes sense they would be better-than-normal at picking locks and disabling traps.

 

[ogre]

solodan- yeah flavor is a big part of it. I'd take athletics over perception for instance. I'd agree about Disruptive Strike, it is tempting. Plus as you said, the Wis synergy with a ranger is golden. Thanks for the feedback.

knightofround- ahh nice call there with Thievery. I'd go for it if another player wasn't playing a rogue in this campaign. I hate stepping on other players toes. Anyway, thanks for reaffirming my discovery, that cleric powers are just that good, that swapping them out is tough to rationalize. Right now I'm leaning on Warlord for Hammer and Anvil, but Ranger Fox's cunning or even Evasive Strike are both good.