multi-classing into swordsage.

[krupintupple]

how wise (unwise) would it be for a 7th level cleric to pick up a single level in swordsage for her next level? her wisdom is 18 and her dex is 16, and the player has reasoned that it'd be a nice boost in defenses and mobility, which she's lacking in - she feels the 2 level dip to get the Wis to AC might be worthwhile. her strength is a mere 10, her constitution is 12 - she's a more 'mystical' type cleric, and less 'full plate of the crusades' type.

the 2 level hit on caster level might be hard (she's the only healer, but the warlock can UMD the heck out of wands and scrolls), but wouldn't the benefits easily outweigh the downsides? she was thinking crusader, but doesn't want to wade into melee anytime soon.

 

[Animal]

i think that for a non-combat primary healer cleric losing a spellcasting level is very very bad. and a swordsage level definetly won't make up for this loss.

 

[Runestar]

In the very least, you will want to wait until cleric8 at least before taking your 1st lv of swordsage. Then, you get IL5, which is just enough to let you select up to 3rd lv maneuvers. Cleric7/SS1 only nets you IL4, limiting you to only 2nd lv maneuvers.

Though I agree that it wouldn't be entirely optimal (because spells > class features). You will always be 1 spell level behind.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Crusader is a better choice, I'd say. The fact you recover maneuvers as a non-action is a big boon to a spell caster. She doesn't need to melee to play a Crusader (I think they're the only ToB base class to get martial ranged weapons, in fact). She could focus mostly on White Raven and try to get boost type abilities. WR Tactics is obviously good, Shield Block (Devoted Spirit) protects others. Lion's Roar doesn't specify melee, so you can use it to boost allies after a ranged attack. She'll have to take some melee strike maneuvers, but she can always just use the non-strikes until maneuvers refresh. Both WR level 1 stances are useful to allies, and the SD stance is a decent defensive boost. And even if she is averse to melee, having things like Revitalizing Strike and Mountain/Foe Hammer is just plain useful.

Whichever class she chooses, definitely wait to enter at level 9 so you can get level 3 maneuvers.

EDIT: But yeah, I agree with others. With her stats and play style, she's probably much better off not dipping into ToB. And wis to AC is only worth it if her wisdom is REALLY high. You are limited to light armor and no shields, so assuming some optimization, that's a 3 point difference from mithral full plate to mithral breastplate and a heavy shield is 2 points, fully upgraded is +7 AC. Of course, without upgrading a shield, she has more money to buy things like a ring of force shield (+2 AC). And even if she ends up with lower AC, it applies to touch, so...maybe.