Paladin/Cleric help

[RBolyar2]

I'm joining an Encounters group later this week and have been asked to create a healer or controller. I've normally only played martial/striking classes so somewhat confused about how the mechanic of implements work as well as which of the two would best suit me.

What I know so far:

• Character will be level 1
• Character will be human
• Character will be good

My preferences:

• Character to duel wield (or sword + board)
• To have NO dump stats (nothing below 10 to start)
• To train in perception
• To be a functional healer, as well as support striking

Possibilities I'm open to:

• Mutliclassing (though I've never done it before)
• Hybridding (though I've never done it before)
• Using an odd or exotic weapon (like something with reach)

What I'm not interested in:

• Just setting around being a fulltime medic

Any thought? suggestions?

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I would suggest a Paladin then, based on your 'list' and your stated choices between Cleric or Paladin in the thread title.

That said, a Paladin can make a decent secondary healer, but not so much a primary one, without multiclassing or hybridizing (and if you hybrid, you don't get Lay on Hands). Paladins can also do a decent job of off-Striking, IME.

I'll make comments in the quoted text, in brown.

What I know so far:

• Character will be level 1 Fine. You may need to make some early sacrifices to fulfill your role early on, but after the first several levels, it won't be noticed. If this is a short-term game, I would suggest another class, like Warlord.
• Character will be human This is a good thing. Great stat flexibility and the extra at-will and bonus feat don't hurt at all.
• Character will be good Entirely irrelevant.

My preferences:

• Character to duel wield (or sword + board) Dual-wielding as a paladin (or cleric, or any other leader, really) is not a very efficient option. If you want damage (i.e. to be a secondary striker) go for a big two-hander.
• To have NO dump stats (nothing below 10 to start) Shouldn't be hard to work around. As a Paladin, you'll probably put your 10s in Int and Dex. Your Reflex defence will suck, but that's how it goes. You will need your other stats too much to sacrifice them.
  
• To train in perception This is easily do-able with background.
• To be a functional healer, as well as support striking A paladin built for this isn't too hard. He will be a melee defender primarily, though he can still hit hard (high Wis + Holy Strike), and bring some heals to the table. If you mean that you want a full healer that can support striking through the other strikers, then go warlord.

Possibilities I'm open to:

• Mutliclassing (though I've never done it before) Multiclassing into shaman can give you a per-encounter multitarget heal. Combined with paladin Lay on Hands, you should be able to fill the role of healer almost as well as a full leader class. You can further enhance it as you level by adding powers that allow you to trigger other PCs to spend surges, dishing out massive amounts of THPs or by selecting some Heal or Religion skill powers.
• Hybridding (though I've never done it before) Hybrids can be messy, and although Paladin hybrids pretty well, the one thing they sacrifice is their Lay on Hands, so you probably don't want to do this, if you're hung up on playing a Paladin or Cleric. If you go Warlord though, your options are wide open. Warlord hybirds exceptionally well, too, and is the one class that can "buy back" the missing per-encounter heal (albeit at paragon tier).
• Using an odd or exotic weapon (like something with reach) Entirely up to you, of course. Crazy weapons aren't nearly as important for leaders as they are for, say strikers. As a leader, accuracy is more important than damage. Unless you're a warlord, because then, it won't even be you attacking most of the time.

What I'm not interested in:

• Just setting around being a fulltime medic Unless you make this the point of your character, this is generally not an issue in 4e. All leaders I've seen in play always have something else to do every round besides healing their friends.

 

[Riastlin]

If you are not necessarily committed to either paladin or cleric, then you may want to take a look at the Runepriest.

They are about the worst healers among the leaders but they get lots of little extra bits to even it out. Additionally, its pretty easy to explain grabbing a Mordenkrad (2d6 brutal 1) and as a human, you could get not only proficiency but also Expertise (for the extra +1 to hit).

The end result is that you can do a fair amount of damage, while constantly buffing the party and still hand out a couple of heals per encounter (with a little more available through encounter and daily power).

The downsides to the runepriest are a) not a whole lot of healing and b) a lot of fiddly bits that can easily be forgotten if you and your party are not paying attention.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

That's actually not a bad idea at all. For more fun/tricks, you could, depending on your DM, be a Mul (and so look basically human) but take Dwarf feat support, and snag Dwarven Weapon Training (training in all axes/hammers and +2 damage with them).

 

[OnlineDM]

How strict is this group about following the Encounters rules? I ask because the current season of D&D Encounters only allows characters from Heroes of the Fallen Lands, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. So, no runepriests, for instance. That would also rule out hybrids and, I'm pretty sure, multiclassing.

This would mean that your options for doing some healing would be Warpriest (Cleric), Sentinel (Druid), and sort of the Cavalier (Paladin), although the Cavalier isn't a great healer (Spirit of Sacrifice is all they get at 1st level from what I can see).

I'm gathering this isn't a strict group, though, so the options laid out by other commenters are good.

 

[RBolyar2]

How strict is this group about following the Encounters rules? I ask because the current season of D&D Encounters only allows characters from Heroes of the Fallen Lands, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and the Neverwinter Campaign Setting. So, no runepriests, for instance. That would also rule out hybrids and, I'm pretty sure, multiclassing.

This would mean that your options for doing some healing would be Warpriest (Cleric), Sentinel (Druid), and sort of the Cavalier (Paladin), although the Cavalier isn't a great healer (Spirit of Sacrifice is all they get at 1st level from what I can see).

I'm gathering this isn't a strict group, though, so the options laid out by other commenters are good.

I now have the answer to that question:

the party apparently already has a paladin, so the following classes were suggested to me:

Healers - Ardent, Bard, Cleric, Runepriest, Shaman, Warlord

Of those I think I would be interested in Ardent, Cleric, Runepriest, and possibly Warlord


So, thoughts on those classes as Runepriest and Warlord have already been mentioned...

 

[Mengu]

You could be a hybrid Ranger|Cleric. Grab a pair of swords, twin strike in melee, heal with cleric powers, and you're all set. Battle Cleric's Lore helps with good AC. You will get Perception through Ranger. Only attack stat you care about is strength, and you're not relying on another stat for AC, so feel free to spread your other stats around, however you want, if you absolutely don't want an 8. Maybe something like Str 18, Con 13, Dex 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.

 

[RBolyar2]

So I'm thinking Cleric right now...

again,

Human
Level 1

would prefer the added AC of a warpriest, but not sure I would be able to heal the party enough if I go that route...

thoughts?

 

[cpendlet]

The healing on a warpriest is fine (not that different from a normal cleric). You could use your bonus feat (for being human) to pick up a superior weapon Waraxe for more damage (also grab axe expertise to up the to hit). Still not striker level damage but the striker is not healing the party and throwing around extra saves like they are candy (Sun domain). The amount of healing my warpriest does through Blessing of Battle can be rather impressive (preventing damage is functionally equivalent to healing after all). The party's monk tends to go first a lot and ends up getting agro of most of the monsters and that 3 resist (only level 5) all I can give him has kept him from going down a few times.


FYI: The healing on a runepriest is poor (from personal experience playing a Runepriest and a war priest and seeing a laser cleric and a bard in action) compared to other healers.

 

[RBolyar2]

The healing on a warpriest is fine (not that different from a normal cleric). You could use your bonus feat (for being human) to pick up a superior weapon Waraxe for more damage (also grab axe expertise to up the to hit). Still not striker level damage but the striker is not healing the party and throwing around extra saves like they are candy (Sun domain). The amount of healing my warpriest does through Blessing of Battle can be rather impressive (preventing damage is functionally equivalent to healing after all). The party's monk tends to go first a lot and ends up getting agro of most of the monsters and that 3 resist (only level 5) all I can give him has kept him from going down a few times.


FYI: The healing on a runepriest is poor (from personal experience playing a Runepriest and a war priest and seeing a laser cleric and a bard in action) compared to other healers.

What that build's starting array look like?