min/max me a cleric

Timotheos

First Post
I am starting a new campain this on friday, and i am going to play a cleric, so if someone could give me examples of a min/maxed cleric capable of both fighting, casting spells and healing. it would be really great. Nothing is decided yet, except that we rolled the stats on saturdays session.

i got 18 17 16 16 14 10

this is the first time i am playing a cleric, so some tactics could be useful to

the party is going to consist of a cleric(me), a dwarwen fighter, a paladin and a rouge

btw: this dropping spells for a cure/inflict spell, how many actions does this take? and does it mean that i wont have to memorize any heling spells in the morning, just drop a spell when i need to heal?

ps: it got f***ed when i tried to posts this the first time, so i hope it wont become any multiple posts
 

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With your party make up I'd recommend specializing in spellcasting. Put the 18 in Wisdom for starters. Put good numbers into cha and int for skills. Put skill points into concentration, heal and knowledge (religion, arcana, etc). My suggestion: Str 10, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 14.

You can automatically drop a spell to convert it into a cure spell. It takes no time to do this. Don't memorize any heal spells. Unless you're a true neutral cleric you must choose to drop your spells for either cure or inflict. I'd also suggest the Sun domain.

As for tactics, buff the party with spells such as bull's strength, protection spells, prayer.
 


Clerics

Simple - do what I did.

Of course, I didn't set out to min/max a cleric, I just did it for the role-playing opportunity of it. I wanted to play a gnome. Turns out, my character has 3 more hit points than the fighter in our group, and we're 11th level. This is what I did:

Make a Gnome Cleric - use these stats:
18 17 16 16 14 10
Str 14
Con 18
Dex 14
Int 16
Wis 17
Cha 10

Now, Gnome's get a +2 to Con, and a -2 to Str, so Str becomes 12, and Con becomes 20. If you max hit points at first level, you've got 13.

Now, at first level, take a level of cleric. No big surprise there.

At second level, take a level of Illusionist. Bear with me here. Upon taking that second level of Illusionist, take a Toad for a familiar, bump his constitution up to 22. Con increases are retroactive, so you get +2 more hit points (one for each level).

By the time this character gets to level 10, he's got 60 hit points just from CON alone.

You could continue to increase him to a level 5 Illusionist if you want. Beyond that, you won't get bonus spells from Intelligence. At level 4, increase his wisdom to 18, which gives you bonus spells up to level 7. So, if you're clr7/ill5 that's 12th level. You'd get ability increases at 8 and 12. You could increase int both times so that you could take him to 7/7. Increasing Con to 24 would give you 12 more hit points at 12th level.

Really, the only disadvantage here is armor, but take Mage Armor for one of you first level spells, and you're all set. Lots of Transmutation type spells are good, too. My characters loves casting Blur and Mirror Image before going into battle. But then, I've stopped him at 3rd level illusionist.

Hope that helps.
 

If all you're after is utter munchkinny goodness, I'd do the following -

Firstly play a human cleric (for the extra feat and skill points) and make sure to take the war domain - that free martial weapon proficiency and weapon focus will come in handy if you're after more of a 'combat medic' character (which, from the sounds of things, you are). Magic weapon as a domain spell comes in handy if you're going to be tackling anything with DR aswell.

Make sure you're of good alignment so that you can
spontaneouly cast healing spells, ensuring that you can stock up on buffs and utility spells during your daily prayer.

Now your stats are extremely well-rolled, so you really shouldn't be lacking in too many areas. I'd give yourself the following -

Str - 18
Dex - 14
Con - 16
Int - 10
Wis - 17
Cha - 16

Your strength, dexterity and constitution should all be reasonably high if you're to fullfil the combat role that you were hoping for. Try to take your war-domain proficiency in a weapon that you can use double-handed, to further accentuate your high strength (you should be dealing +6 damage with a double-handed weapon). Coupled with your enormous strength, weapon focus will allow you to be on-par with pure melee fighters at low levels.

Many clerics wear reasonably heavy armour, so a high dexterity, although useful, may be negated somewhat by this. A 14 dex should see you through low levels where heavy armour may be prohibitively expensive, and will also provide you with a reasonable initiative bonus.

Your intelligence is a little lower than I'd usually advise, but your bonus skill points from being a human should offset this somewhat.

Most people would ridicule me for advising you to put a lower score in wisdom than in strength, but bare with me for a moment. By adding that one extra point to strength you're effectively dealing +2 damage at first level, which is quite a considerable bonus (especially against 'boss' monsters). You should see very little mechanical difference between a 17 and an 18 wisdom at low levels, however - just make sure you pump all of your stat increases into wisdom as you level-up.

Your charisma should be reasonably high, as you'll be the sole member of your party with the capability to turn undead at low levels, so you need to make sure that you can do the job effectively. This should also mean that you can help out the paladin with diplomacy and negotiations.

As for your feats, it depends exactly what you want your character to do. If you're after more of a melee character, go for power attack (+ cleave or sunder). If the campaign looks to be long-term I'd warn against this, however, as your melee skills will soon be outshone by the pure fighters. Item creation feats are useful - especially scribe scroll, which will allow you to create some low-level utility spells that would otherwise not be worth memorising (Comprehend Languages, Detect Undead, Sanctuary) all at a very reasonable cost.

You might also consider spell focus, some metamagic feats, lightning reflexes, extra turning, or any other feats that suit your character's concept.

In all, your character should be very useful in a variety of roles, especially at lower levels, where he may be required to fill a certain niche that the party is otherwise lacking in. Clerics are a very powerful and flexible class, so best of luck and (most importantly) have fun.

(And excuse my munchkin tendancies in this post - in my campaign I ask my players to use 30-point buy, so I view stats like that as a gift from the gods. :p)
 

I would say to be sure to get the Magic domain with that party mix. Then you end up getting all the treasure that would be destined for wizards or clerics, since you're the only one who can use them all.
 


James McMurray said:
I would say to be sure to get the Magic domain with that party mix. Then you end up getting all the treasure that would be destined for wizards or clerics, since you're the only one who can use them all.

The Rogue might consider keeping a high Use Magic Device, in which case he'll fight you for them. Don't worry, you'll win. ;)
 

Yeah, but when the party sees the rogue fail to use a wand every now and then, and you succeed every time without trouble, you'll be sure to get the lion's share of wizardly goods from then on out.
 

Cleric

I have to concur with Jalon. If you want an all around good adventuring cleric, go with a higher STR and less INT. With the War domain, you get a very good first level 'to hit' in your chosen weapon. Adventuring clerics dont have that many crucial skills, so the lack of extra points due to INT are a small sacrifice.
I have a cleric in a FR campaign that ended up being like this. As a human cleric of Tempus (War + Protection domains), I went with Ambidexterity and TWF to start. With a light mace in one hand, and the chosen weapon of Tempus (battleaxe), he puts out a lot of damage so far in the lower levels. Combine that with Endurace, Bull's Strength, and a level of barbarian for the rage, he's a powerhouse, even at below 5th level.
I dont know what domains are available to you or what deities, but go with one that has War. Magic is good, too, but there are almost no gods that allow you that combo. Besides that, Travel, Strength, and Destruction are good PHB domains for a cleric that needs an aggressive stance on battle.
--Just took another look at your party. Is there anyone planning on taking some arcane levels in the near future? I'd suggest the rogue if the PC has the INT for it, if not it may fall to you to be the primary spellcaster. In which case, you'll have to chose your spells more carefully to get the fighters on a level playing field with the mages that will come up. Using bane/bless combos, random action on enemy casters, and tactical use of silence and summon can give your party the extra time it needs to get the job done and keep you safe from harmful spells.
 
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