Help with a cleric power build
- Thread starter Shazman
- Start date
Infiniti2000
First Post
Point buy or rolled stat method? Sources allowed? PrC's allowed? Any variants?
There are some dwarven cleric of Moradin racial subsitution levels that might be interesting.
There are some dwarven cleric of Moradin racial subsitution levels that might be interesting.
Extra turning, extend spell, persistent spell, divine metamagic (persistent spell)...Shazman said:
a high CHR...
He'll be walking around with divine power and divine favour up all day... assuming he has 14 turn attempts a day.
When he gets 5th level spells... he can add righteous might and righteous wrath of the failthful to his persistent spells.... if he's found/bought some nightsticks...
Mike
Kurashu
First Post
Four Words: Radiant Servant of Pelor. That is if you need a ueber healer. If not: Contemplative. But he'd been level 11 in that case.
If he multiclasses into something that would increase his casting fully, Practiced Spellcaster. Empower Healing, Reach Spell, Extra Turning, and Sacred Healing. Maybe Domain Sponaneity if he's got good domain spells. Maybe Divine Spellpower if he's got a good Turn Modifier.
All of that is from Complete Divine. Except Extra Turning.
Also, I'd consider mitigating that Cha penalty dwarves by playing a subrace. Maybe Dream Dwarves (Races of Stone) or Sheild Dwarves (FRCS). I believe both have a Dex penalty though.
This is of course, alternate from the broken Cleric above.
If he multiclasses into something that would increase his casting fully, Practiced Spellcaster. Empower Healing, Reach Spell, Extra Turning, and Sacred Healing. Maybe Domain Sponaneity if he's got good domain spells. Maybe Divine Spellpower if he's got a good Turn Modifier.
All of that is from Complete Divine. Except Extra Turning.
Also, I'd consider mitigating that Cha penalty dwarves by playing a subrace. Maybe Dream Dwarves (Races of Stone) or Sheild Dwarves (FRCS). I believe both have a Dex penalty though.
This is of course, alternate from the broken Cleric above.
thegreatbuddha
First Post
Cleric 6 / Radiant Servant of Pelor 1
Cha 14+
Feats: Extra Turning, Extend Spell, Persist Spell
You'll be mediocre (if that's possible for a cleric) until 9th level,when you pick up Divine Metamagic - Persist. It's an incredibly cheesy route to go, but it packs a whallop. With a Charisma of 14 and a Cloak of Charisma+2, you'll be able to persist 2 spells per day. I would suggest Divine Power and Righteous Might.
You'll be a melee monstrosity, with +14 strength, +3hp per level, and large size with all the associated benefits. Oh, and it makes you a better healer too.
For added cheese, if there's a druid in the party, wield a greatclub and get him to cast Brambles on it for another +10 damage.
Itemwise, get a nice set of Full-plate+1 (You can GMW the enhancement bonus up later) with as many special abillities as you can afford, an Animated Shield+1, and a Strand of Prayer Beads with a Karma Bead.
Cha 14+
Feats: Extra Turning, Extend Spell, Persist Spell
You'll be mediocre (if that's possible for a cleric) until 9th level,when you pick up Divine Metamagic - Persist. It's an incredibly cheesy route to go, but it packs a whallop. With a Charisma of 14 and a Cloak of Charisma+2, you'll be able to persist 2 spells per day. I would suggest Divine Power and Righteous Might.
You'll be a melee monstrosity, with +14 strength, +3hp per level, and large size with all the associated benefits. Oh, and it makes you a better healer too.
For added cheese, if there's a druid in the party, wield a greatclub and get him to cast Brambles on it for another +10 damage.
Itemwise, get a nice set of Full-plate+1 (You can GMW the enhancement bonus up later) with as many special abillities as you can afford, an Animated Shield+1, and a Strand of Prayer Beads with a Karma Bead.
Prism
Explorer
Inexperienced player - stay straight cleric and i'd avoid the divine metamagic route for the time being since it takes up all your feats and doesn't really come into its own until 9th as a dwarf. I would only consider a focused build like that after playing a cleric a few times first
For feats I would take scribe scroll unless your party has easy access to purchase any such things. Create scrolls of neut poison, lesser restoration, remove blindness, remove paralysis etc and the party will soon appreciate the new cleric. Reach spell can be a nice way of remote healing or casting touch attack spells. Divine spell power can be a good way for occasional caster level boosts to deal extra damage
Can't recommend domains really unless we know which gods you use
Equipment - full plate and light shield (heavy shields are a pain with casters as you can't hold your weapon in the same hand while casting)
Spells - magic vestment, greater magic weapon if you choose divine spell power, spikes, prayer.... depends on the adventure really
If he eventually wants a PrC then I'd aim for sacred exorcist which has no feat requirments, improves turning and is great against outsiders and undead. I'd take it over radiant servant of pelor any day
For feats I would take scribe scroll unless your party has easy access to purchase any such things. Create scrolls of neut poison, lesser restoration, remove blindness, remove paralysis etc and the party will soon appreciate the new cleric. Reach spell can be a nice way of remote healing or casting touch attack spells. Divine spell power can be a good way for occasional caster level boosts to deal extra damage
Can't recommend domains really unless we know which gods you use
Equipment - full plate and light shield (heavy shields are a pain with casters as you can't hold your weapon in the same hand while casting)
Spells - magic vestment, greater magic weapon if you choose divine spell power, spikes, prayer.... depends on the adventure really
If he eventually wants a PrC then I'd aim for sacred exorcist which has no feat requirments, improves turning and is great against outsiders and undead. I'd take it over radiant servant of pelor any day
moritheil
First Post
Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell) is pretty standard. If you want to be absurdly powerful, get nightsticks (from LM, adding to your turns/day) and use Divine Spell Power in conjunction with spells that depend heavily on caster level (for example, animate dead, greater magic weapon, and spell resistance.) GMW in particular benefits your whole party and is available at fairly low levels; your melee types can have +5 weapons for most fights long before most adventures expect it. Be prepared to roll a lot of d20s each time you cast a spell that matters, though.
(Some people continually assert that only one turning may be spent per spell with divine spell power, but an examination of the rules text reveals that using divine spell power is a free action. Thus, get a good charisma and rack up those boosts to caster level!)
(Some people continually assert that only one turning may be spent per spell with divine spell power, but an examination of the rules text reveals that using divine spell power is a free action. Thus, get a good charisma and rack up those boosts to caster level!)
Prism
Explorer
moritheil said:FWIW, Prism, RSP is better than even exorcist against outsiders and undead, provided that your DM allows celestial brilliance.
I just don't like the way that empower healing, maximize healing and supreme healing, three of the major class abilities are only usable in the one domain slot per spell level. So to get any use of them at all you need to prepare your domain spells from the healing domain and therefore aren't getting much at all from the sun domain or the extra domain you get at 5th.
Greater turning over standard turning doesn't make much difference in most combats in my experience.
There's not much else left to the class really - better than standard cleric, even with the pre reqs taken - but i would say on a par with certain other cleric PrC's
Now with the alternate cleric in PHBII which can cast domain spells all day long - then that would be a different story
Magesmiley
Explorer
One thing to keep in mind is that the player is inexperienced. The cleric is (IMHO) not a good class choice for an inexperienced player due to the fairly large spell list they have. But, since it sounds like this decision has already been made, I'd probably opt for keeping some of the choices simple rather than going for the most powerful combinations one can find (which often adds complexity which confuses inexperienced players).
To that end: I'd skip metamagic feats completely. Likewise skip over the divine feats as well. Yes, this is a suboptimal build power-wise, but for an inexperienced player, he/she will do better.
Full plate and a light shield. Maybe spend a feat for a nastier weapon (such as the dwarven waraxe). For a newer player this may allow him/her to kick butt more easily. Make them magic, with simple pluses and avoid the flaming/shocking/other special ability stuff. Straightforward = good.
Feats: Combat casting (make absolutely sure you explain what it means to cast on the defensive). Clerics tend to cast on the defensive more than most other characters that I've seen. If you're going to explain one more complex subject, this is the one to do.
Pick some other simple feats. Extra Turning, Improved Turning, Weapon Focus, Lightning Reflexes all come to mind. If you happen to have Races of Stone, consider the heavy armor optimization feats, the dwarven armor proficiency feat (upgrade the armor to battle plate in this case). The shield feats in PHBII might be good choices as well (forgetting the name, but one increases the bonus for the shield).
If you've got any leftover cash for gear, go for ability boost items or sutff that increases AC. Again, straightforward.
Skip any prestige classes and just go straight cleric.
Spells are another issue entirely. I've seen the cleric spell list overwhelm experienced players taking the cleric up for the first time, much less an inexperienced one. I suggest giving the player a list with some good picks initially. And have him/her swap spells typically taken after playing it a few times.
To that end: I'd skip metamagic feats completely. Likewise skip over the divine feats as well. Yes, this is a suboptimal build power-wise, but for an inexperienced player, he/she will do better.
Full plate and a light shield. Maybe spend a feat for a nastier weapon (such as the dwarven waraxe). For a newer player this may allow him/her to kick butt more easily. Make them magic, with simple pluses and avoid the flaming/shocking/other special ability stuff. Straightforward = good.
Feats: Combat casting (make absolutely sure you explain what it means to cast on the defensive). Clerics tend to cast on the defensive more than most other characters that I've seen. If you're going to explain one more complex subject, this is the one to do.
Pick some other simple feats. Extra Turning, Improved Turning, Weapon Focus, Lightning Reflexes all come to mind. If you happen to have Races of Stone, consider the heavy armor optimization feats, the dwarven armor proficiency feat (upgrade the armor to battle plate in this case). The shield feats in PHBII might be good choices as well (forgetting the name, but one increases the bonus for the shield).
If you've got any leftover cash for gear, go for ability boost items or sutff that increases AC. Again, straightforward.
Skip any prestige classes and just go straight cleric.
Spells are another issue entirely. I've seen the cleric spell list overwhelm experienced players taking the cleric up for the first time, much less an inexperienced one. I suggest giving the player a list with some good picks initially. And have him/her swap spells typically taken after playing it a few times.
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