improving a 4th level cleric of mystra.

[krupintupple]

heya all,

the newest member of our campaign also feels like he's the least useful, he's commented on the last few encounters the group's been in. his character was built as an intellectual, with stats favouring the more mental scores, and with a low strength and constitution, he isn't well suited for front-line melee.

the problem, i think is that the rest of the group is used to the stereotype of what a cleric 'ought' to be doing, vis a vis 2nd edition: full plate, heavy shield, +3 footman's mace, ect. so i have two requests:

1) how can i perhaps help this character out? his domains are 'spell' and 'magic' and i was thinking an assortment of wands and scrolls that would stretch his prayers out a shade longer than normal.

2) some of the players feel that 'spell' and 'magic' are weak domains - don't ask - so i was wondering how I'd build an NPC with the same build as this character that would really let them know that they should respect things even though they don't have a high strength, or are good in melee.

thanks for your help in advance!

 

[blargney the second]

Go with the wands and scrolls - turn him into Batman.
-blarg

 

[Simm]

What are the other caharacters in the party and how have they overshadowed him?

If your campaign is heavily combat oriented his character simply may not be well suited for the campaign he is in. It may be necessary to retaylor the character until his strengths are more in line with your game or shift the focus of your game to make the character more useful.

 

[krupintupple]

What are the other caharacters in the party and how have they overshadowed him?

that's the odd part - they haven't really overshadowed him.

the group is mostly old 2e players who feel that a cleric should essentially be akin to the 2e stereotype of heavy armour, competent in melee, wading around the battlefield to heal fallen allies - basically, a second tier fighter. a few have lamented that this character isn't that, and they'll have to 'waste' leadership or invite another friend over to play another fighter or barbarian or something.

i've tried explaining that the character is perfectly normal and they're not in desperate need of another front-liner as they seem to think (i run their encounters and NPCs - they're not), but they seem to be unable to divorce their minds that a 'good' group should just be two fighters, a mage and a warrior-cleric.

if anything, i've made the campaign balanced, with its fair share of something for everyone - wilderness encounters for the outdoors-oriented, traps to be sprung/disarmed, monsters that are easy for fighters, monsters that are easy for mages, undead to be turned, social encounters, ect. the current lineup is fighter, warlock, cleric and wizard, all 5th level. i tried explaining that they're missing a scout/rogue type, but they don't seem to mind.

short of being mean and running a few encounters where the melee-fighter types are completely useless to allow the arcane and divine types to shine, what could i do?

 

[Simm]

Hmm. I don't really know what to suggest. To some extent your players might just be being jerks about it. You may want to look at the cloistered cleric varient. It loses combat ability in favor of increased skills and bardic knowledge. Rebuilding the character with this could make it clear that for this character, acting as a front line combatant just isn't feasable.

 

[krupintupple]

Hmm. I don't really know what to suggest. To some extent your players might just be being jerks about it. You may want to look at the cloistered cleric varient. It loses combat ability in favor of increased skills and bardic knowledge. Rebuilding the character with this could make it clear that for this character, acting as a front line combatant just isn't feasable.

i second, third and fourth-guessed myself when i originally came to a similar conclusion a few weeks ago: it's not me, it's them. usually, when a DM says a statement like that, alarms should and did go off. the odd part is, they're happy with the campaign and like all of the variety, and several members protested me making it a more 'constant melee' flavoured campaign one of them seems to want.

i'll probably slide a few scrolls and wands his way and they'll realize they have someone who, although isn't anything close to a front-liner, is a powerful healer, and competent blaster/troubleshooter, given his domain choice.

 

[Creeping Death]

i second, third and fourth-guessed myself when i originally came to a similar conclusion a few weeks ago: it's not me, it's them. usually, when a DM says a statement like that, alarms should and did go off. the odd part is, they're happy with the campaign and like all of the variety, and several members protested me making it a more 'constant melee' flavoured campaign one of them seems to want.

i'll probably slide a few scrolls and wands his way and they'll realize they have someone who, although isn't anything close to a front-liner, is a powerful healer, and competent blaster/troubleshooter, given his domain choice.

He may be the newest in your campaign but how new is he to D&D? Maybe you could help him invent some new spells (he is a cleric of Mystra afterall) that will help him fill the role of a front line fighter better. Maybe a 2nd level spell that does 1d4 damage and stuns or pushes back the opponent a square or two. Something like that. Aside from that, wands, and scrolls; I don't know what else to do except try to help the other players realize that not all clerics are the same.