Help! Entering a new group.....

[Nifft]

See, now this is what I was talkin' about: the board is way smarter than I am....err, wait. Okay, Nifft is waaaay smarter than I am. Thanks. Thanks to the rest of you too!

Unfortunately, neither I nor th' DM have FRCS, so th' elf domain is out. (And I've got no idea what it does.)

Why Feather Fall for the DD?

I'm thinking of spells which will work in armor. True Strike is Verbal only, and Feather Fall is an auto-cast when you're falling. Why would a DD need Feather Fall? Well, for all those levels before he gets his wings, it could come in handy

It could even come in handy afterwards, if he should become paralyzed while flying.

Elf Domain: gives you free Point-Blank Shot, and some decent Domain spells. Free WF: Bows (from War Domain) and PBShot at 1st level, though -- wow! You'd be as accurate as a heavily tweaked Fighter for quite some time -- up to 5th level or so.

Anyway, since you're not going that route -- Human Bard archers kick butt, too. Human for the extra skill points and Feat -- Bards live on skill points, and don't get nearly enough Feats.

A Human Bard 3 can cast 2 1st level spells per day, and knows 3 -- I'd suggest Cure Light Wounds, Message and Charm Person. That way you can scout (with Move Silently and Hide skill), warn your friends, make a new friend, and patch your friends up later.

At 4th level, the Bard gets some of the most awesome 2nd level spells on any list: Suggestion and Detect Thoughts. Cure Moderate Wounds is there, too.

The Arcane Archer is a Prestige Class in the DMG -- it's one of the "original" PrCs, from before they were power-house munchkin-fests of doom.

However, it seems you've decided to be a Cleric. That's still cool. Clerics can be very, very flexible -- they get enough of a HP and BAB buffer to be capable combatants, and their spells allow them to buff themselves into excellent combatants.

For Domains -- pick interesting, not powerful. You'll get the powerful effects from spells and items anyway. Clerics are very flexible, and Domains are your first way to customize your Cleric.

Don't bother with Scribe Scroll -- you can spontaneously convert spells into Cure spells, and that's more than enough flexibility for your first 10 levels. CWI is a great, awesome, wonderful Feat, but you won't be able to put it to much use until you have a lot of dosh lying around -- probably not until 6th level at least.

PBShot and Rapid Shot are great, if you're going to be an Elven Archer archtype -- and that's a great role to play, as it puts you near combat but not likely to be the first one knocked unconscious.

Here's what I'd do with your stats:
Str: 14
Dex: 14 (+2 = 16)
Con: 16 (-2 = 14)
Int: 12
Wis: 17
Cha: 14

Now, go out and get yourself a Masterwork Mighty +2 Composite Longbow and start laying the smack down on evildoers!

-- Nifft

 

[Nail]

(BTW Nifft, your sig is great. Does this Nintendo rep understand what she's said? Doubt it.)


Wow, both Nifft and Airwolf picked bards. Are y'all serious? They're one of the last classes I would've least expected as a kick-arse class......but you've almost got me convinced.....

(Since I was playing an NPC last time, I've got a bit of wiggle room on the PC yet...things can change.)

Re: Archer cleric choices

Okay, I'm ditching the scribe scroll and craft wondrous items. The first because, hey, I won't need many of those scrolls at this level (crosses fingers) and the second because of the "not enough spare cash" arguement. Moreover, it seems as if this DM might be more willing than most to hand out extra "toys". We'll see.

Elf Domain: gives you free Point-Blank Shot, and some decent Domain spells. Free WF: Bows (from War Domain) and PBShot at 1st level, though -- wow! You'd be as accurate as a heavily tweaked Fighter for quite some time -- up to 5th level or so.

Yowsa. And my first level feat would be Rapid Shot, and my 3rd level feat would be Precise Shot, for the total Cleric Archer machine.

The only problem here is that I'll peak at 6th level.....and I won't have that Persistant Divine Might I was so coveting.....

More over the Luck and Sun domains are real scalable...they're useful all the way up. I'm suspecting my combat effectiveness will wane in the higher levels.....then again perhaps I'm planning too far ahead.

At 4th level, the Bard gets some of the most awesome 2nd level spells on any list: Suggestion and Detect Thoughts. Cure Moderate Wounds is there, too.

They get Suggestion as a 2nd level spell? I hadn't noticed that. Boy do I love that spell.....

"These are not the droids you're looking for......"

 

[Nifft]

Wow, both Nifft and Airwolf picked bards. Are y'all serious? They're one of the last classes I would've least expected as a kick-arse class......but you've almost got me convinced.....

[...]

More over the Luck and Sun domains are real scalable...they're useful all the way up. I'm suspecting my combat effectiveness will wane in the higher levels.....then again perhaps I'm planning too far ahead.

Some classes are fine with only one or two high ability scores. Other classes need many high ability scores. In the former group are Fighters, Rogues and Wizards. In the latter are Clerics, Paladins and Bards. With your very good ability rolls, I think you are perefectly qualified to play a Cleric or a Bard.

In the end, of course, play what you want to play. Luck and Sun are great Domains -- so are Travel, Trickery, Healing and Knowlege.

They get Suggestion as a 2nd level spell? I hadn't noticed that. Boy do I love that spell.....

"These are not the droids you're looking for......"

Bards have a very good spell list. It's heavily slanted towards enchantment and deception, but very good nonetheless. They have exclusive access to the spell Modify Memory.

-- Nifft

 

[Nail]

Some classes are fine with only one or two high ability scores. Other classes need many high ability scores. In the former group are Fighters, Rogues and Wizards. In the latter are Clerics, Paladins and Bards. With your very good ability rolls, I think you are perefectly qualified to play a Cleric or a Bard.

italics are my emphasis

I'm sure y'all have heard this before when seeing a list of "really good stats", but: I did roll these using the 4d6 method, unloaded dice, with 2 players and one DM cheering me on. Only one "try" too; no "practice rolls". They're real, folks.

...then again, it could be a dog typing this reply out, couldn't it? Or monkeys. Monkeys are a possibility too.

....Aaaaaanyway:

Given the group, I'm thinking subtlety (can you believe that's spelled right?) is right out, so no bard. With all of Nifft's encouragement, that was a hard decision. Time for the straight up cleric....with the Luck and Sun domain, and a focus on bow...eventually leading me to Sacred Exorcist. One of the best cleric spell casting PrCs out there. Barring Hospitaler. But hey, even I have my limits!

BTW, does Weapon Focus: Bow and Point Blank Shot stack? My books! Where are my books!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Try not to argue with people. Make sure you do not monopolize the conversation. Bring a snack assortment...

Well, at least ol' Wulf brought snacks to his first game with the new group... Man, that was two years ago or more...

Now searching for a useful comment for Nail... Hmmm... Got it:

You play a bard, don't bother showin' yer face in my story hour ever again.

If you do go with elf... will you be using any supplemental rules?

Personally I have always been fond of WAR and MAGIC for elven clerics. I love the granted power of the magic domain, and it might help a bit with the extra arcane support you think the group needs. Just make sure you convince the half-breed that you're taking your pick of the arcane magic items to boost the group's firepower and not just to keep them out of his dirty mud-blood hands...

Wulf

 

[Nail]

Now searching for a useful comment for Nail... Hmmm... Got it:

You play a bard, don't bother showin' yer face in my story hour ever again.

Now there's th' Wulf we all know and love!

No worries,.....It's cleric time! And what was that comment about supplemental rules? You mean there's a well-written, balanced, and insightful supplement out there just for elves? Wow.....maybe I should get that....

....err, rather: Maybe I should get that, sir!

 

[Nifft]

Hi Nail!

I think Wulf's suggestion of Magic Domain is an excellent one -- it really will enable you to act like an Arcane caster every now and then, and will thus make you more "Bard-like" in that regard. I still think that Luck is a more fun Domain than War, but that's a matter of taste.

Just so you know, I'm not distrustful of your rolls -- but I think they are very good, and I know that some classes really benefit from very good rolls. Fortunately, Clerics are among those!

What are you naming your Elfling Cleric?

-- Nifft

 

[Knuckels the VI]

But will a straight wizard survive? Do people even play those any more?

by nail
i have ot say that im am a big pro wizard and almost always play them, however i do drft to arcane archer and rog/ftr soemtimes. right now in my brothers campaign, i have out lived my brothers Paladin, another person's Druid(twice) and saved the party more than ive gone down (however i have been petrified once and right now have had my skin turned slimy by an aboleth or something, so i have to cast polimorph self on my self 2-3 times a day to continue the adventure nd i pissed off the only cleric who could cas heal or the oher spell on me by desicrating his temple on accident).
if you do go straight wizard i highly suggest that you go Gray elf who get +2 to dex and int but -2 to str and con. plus get a wand of magic missle, probably the most helpful wand in the world. and try and get wings/boots of flying for maneuverability. and dont forget te usefullness of a wizard. see invisibility, bullstrength, haste, fireball, and a flying familiar is useful incase you and your party get detained or captured and you need someone to try and go get help.