Good PHB Feats for Clerics

[Crothian]

Level 14. Also, probably should have stated that it's a Dungeon Crawl. I was looking through the list of Feats, and what do people think of Spell Focus (abjuration) for the protection cleric?

There are very few abjuration spells he'll cast that have a saving throw. If the adventure includes creatures with SR take Spell Penetration.

 

[Voadam]

Level 14. Also, probably should have stated that it's a Dungeon Crawl. I was looking through the list of Feats, and what do people think of Spell Focus (abjuration) for the protection cleric?

Limited usefulness, not many abjurations have saves.

It would apply to Forbiddance, Glyphs, Banishments, Dispel Evil, etc.

So if you make traps and banish things then it is useful, but most abjurations are of the defensively protect method rather than affecting enemies.

 

[orcmonk220]

Just out of curiosity, if you're statting the characters, what's one with, say, one splatbook feat per character. There are a couple of divine feats that would go particularly well with the two guys.

I actually really like that idea. Cheers

Thanks to guys for quickly shooing me away from Spell Focus.

 

[orcmonk220]

Looking at this, I'm thinking characters either pack a Prestige Class, or a Splat Feat. That would allow me to keep my Fighter 8/Dwarven Defender as he is (I'm quite proud of him), and also allow me some fun with other, straight-up classes

 

[Mistwell]

Law domain is pretty weak, so assume most domain spells will come from the second domain. In fact, I think fo the Law domain, only 2. Calm Emotions, 6. Hold Monster, and 9. Summon Monster IX will even be considered for choices, since all the rest depend on chaotic cratures, and you never know when something is chaotic. And even the domain power is weak, as +1 level to law spells again means you are casting spells that depend on opponents being chaotic. Fortunately both Protection and War have a good mix of spells, so it won't be a big deal.

I do think your protector cleric should have the Reach Spell feat (whcih is in the SRD).

REACH SPELL [METAMAGIC]
Benefit: You may cast a spell that normally has a range of touch at any distance up to 30 feet. The spell effectively becomes a ray, so you must succeed at a ranged touch attack to bestow the spell upon the recipient. A reach spell uses up a spell slot two levels higher than the spell’s actual level.

That lets them cast healing spells at range. I would probably also make that cleric the ranged attacker in general, giving them point blank shot and precise shot. That way, their healing spells will hit even if the ally is in melee, and their offensive spells like Searing Light will hit, and they will be not too shabby with a ranged weapon. The next question is WHICH ranged weapon - do they burn a feat to get proficiency with a composite longbow, or do they stick with a crossbow or javelins and the problems that come with each? That determination will influence your other feats (as you will probably want another ranged feat that gets you another attack).

 

[orcmonk220]

Thanks for that feat. I'm trying to have each character play, in a way, two roles (except the tank, who really is the front-line fighter and a slight ranged attacker). For instance, one of the Rogues has a high UMD modifier, and can take 10 even when stressed, etc.

Just out of interest, can anyone suggest a decent feat for this rogue? I mean, one not in the PHB. If not, I'll simply take Magical Aptitude lol

 

[pedr]

Instead of Reach Spell, if you have a few turn attempts have a look at Divine Ward (PH2). You 'ward' one ally (and additional ones at the cost of a turn attempt) and then, by spending a turn attempt, can cast a 'touch' spell on a warded ally as a Range: Close spell. So slightly more limited application as you can only do one or two warded creatures, but 1) no bump to the level of the spell, 2) no need to hit with a ray and 3) no need to prepare in advance, or spend a full round action metamagicing a converted cure spell.

Of course if you can use Divine Metamagic and/or Divine Spellpower, take those. Anything banned in Living Greyhawk is on the overpowered side of things! (I don't agree that DSP is that overpowered, but it has the advantage of getting through SR more easily. DMM can be very very powerful. Even one free quicken of your highest level spell a day can make an enormous difference, and it's a cheap way of getting it compared with Sudden Quicken.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

Iron Will and Great Fortitude. You need every save boost you can get -- if the *cleric* fails a Fort or Will save at that level, the party is likely to die.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Thanks for that feat. I'm trying to have each character play, in a way, two roles (except the tank, who really is the front-line fighter and a slight ranged attacker). For instance, one of the Rogues has a high UMD modifier, and can take 10 even when stressed, etc.

Just out of interest, can anyone suggest a decent feat for this rogue? I mean, one not in the PHB. If not, I'll simply take Magical Aptitude lol

There's not a whole lot that keys off of high UMD that isn't designed for artificers and other casters. Telling Blow is a fun feat for rogues, though -- it lets them get automatic sneak atttack damage on a critical. If the rogue happens to be using a rapier and has Improved Crit, they can have a lot of fun.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Instead of Reach Spell, if you have a few turn attempts have a look at Divine Ward (PH2). You 'ward' one ally (and additional ones at the cost of a turn attempt) and then, by spending a turn attempt, can cast a 'touch' spell on a warded ally as a Range: Close spell. So slightly more limited application as you can only do one or two warded creatures, but 1) no bump to the level of the spell, 2) no need to hit with a ray and 3) no need to prepare in advance, or spend a full round action metamagicing a converted cure spell.

Of course if you can use Divine Metamagic and/or Divine Spellpower, take those. Anything banned in Living Greyhawk is on the overpowered side of things! (I don't agree that DSP is that overpowered, but it has the advantage of getting through SR more easily. DMM can be very very powerful. Even one free quicken of your highest level spell a day can make an enormous difference, and it's a cheap way of getting it compared with Sudden Quicken.

Pedr is right -- if you want each character to have only one splatbook feat(a good idea, esp. for a con game), Divine Ward is a perfect choice for the Protection guy.

Mistwell is also correct about the Law domain not being anything special, I'm afraid. The "fun" domain for Cuthbert is the Destruction domain, which grants a powerful smite ability, and Heironeous's Good domain is always a solid choice.