Powergamers Unite! Elf Cleric Archer

[ArcOfCorinth]

A couple of wands of cure wounds will fix that whole "not enough healing spells" dilemnia.

 

[eXodus]

is this all legal?

Base Attack Bonus: +6/+1 to hit
Dex Bonus: +5 to hit
Str Bonus: +2 to hit and damage
Bow: +2 to hit and damage
Bracers: +1 to hit/+0 to damage
Aid Spell: +1 to hit and damage (morale bonus)
Bless Spell: +1 to hit and damage (morale bonus)
Cat’s Grace Spell: +2 to hit
Divine Favor Spell: +3 to hit and damage (luck bonus)
Divine Power: +3 to hit
Greater Magic Weapon Spell: +3 to hit and damage
Prayer Spell: +1 to hit and damage (luck bonus)
Righteous Might Spell: -1 to hit damage increases to 2d6
True Strike Spell: +20 to hit (insight bonus)
Haste Spell: +1 to hit
Recitation Spell: +3 to hit (luck bonus)
Blessed Aim Spell: +2 to hit (morale bonus)
Rapid Shot Feat: -2 to hit to all attacks

Totals: +48/28/28/23 to hit 2d6+11 damage

trying to flex my puny and weak powergaming muscles i wanted to see how badass i could make this archer with spells. the italic text indicates things i was not sure if they would stack, so i did not add it into the totals. i just want to make sure i am not cheating, just breaking the game.

and this is all with the idea that arrows and bows do not stack. thus no +5 arrows as well. i need some help getting the damage up though.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

There's a nice bow in the Arms and Equipment book. Its called the Larethrian Protector, I believe. Its a must have for good-aligned elven clerics. You might have to get it slightly changed to fit your particular deity though. Good luck!

It only really fits for Corellite clerics because of its looks (it looks like Corellons holy symbol).

The problem (IMO) with the Cleric Archer is that he's so busy casting buffs on himself, that he doesn't have enough Cure Spells for the rest of the party at the end of the day!

I play an archer cleric ("disarmed") and even though I make heavy use of buffs, I always make sure that I have enough healing spells.

3.5 went a long way to fixing this class. The 3.5 PHB doesn't include Persistant Spell, there's still no core "Elf" domain

Both never were in the core books, so they haven't changed, and still come from accessories.

Base Attack Bonus: +6/+1 to hit
Dex Bonus: +5 to hit
Str Bonus: +2 to hit and damage
Bow: +2 to hit and damage
Bracers: +1 to hit/+0 to damage
Aid Spell: +1 to hit and damage (morale bonus)
Bless Spell: +1 to hit and damage (morale bonus)
Cat?s Grace Spell: +2 to hit
Divine Favor Spell: +3 to hit and damage (luck bonus)
Divine Power: +3 to hit
Greater Magic Weapon Spell: +3 to hit and damage
Prayer Spell: +1 to hit and damage (luck bonus)
Righteous Might Spell: -1 to hit damage increases to 2d6
True Strike Spell: +20 to hit (insight bonus)
Haste Spell: +1 to hit
Recitation Spell: +3 to hit (luck bonus)
Blessed Aim Spell: +2 to hit (morale bonus)
Rapid Shot Feat: -2 to hit to all attacks

Totals: +48/28/28/23 to hit 2d6+11 damage

You don't use both Str and Dex on the same time. Instead, you use only dex for attack and only dex for damage.

Magic Weapon won't give you +3 in addition to your +2 bow. It will just make it a +3 weapon (which doesn't stack with the +2 it already has).

Morale bonuses don't stack with each other. Luck bonuses don't stack with each other. Insight bonuses don't stack with each other.

True Strike works for a single attack, not the whole round.

Base Attack Bonus: +9/+4 to hit (with Divine Power)
Dex Bonus: +7 to hit (with Cat's Grace)
Str Bonus: +5 to damage (with Divine Power)
Bow: +3 to hit and damage (with GMW)
Bracers: +1 to hit
Bless Spell: +1 to damage (morale bonus)
Divine Favor Spell: +3 to hit and damage (luck bonus)
Righteous Might Spell: -1 to hit damage increases to 2d6
Haste Spell: +1 to hit
Blessed Aim Spell: +2 to hit (morale bonus)

Rapid Shot Feat: -2 to hit to all attacks

True Strike Spell: +20 to hit (insight bonus)

This would result in a row of
+23/+23/+23/+18 (with a single +20 on the first attack in a single round, due to True Strike)

With 2d6+12 Per Attack.

Not that you have to do a lot of casting beforehand, so you need several rounds preparation, and then you can only fight a couple of rounds with all spells up (as some will already fade again), and won't be able to do das all to often (per day).

I'd suggest some energy weapon instead of a pure +2 bow, since you're going to use GMW anyway (you might want to prepare it more than once. Twice should be nice) This adds 1d6 fire damage (or whatever you fancy) to the equation.

In Savage Species there's a spell (Weapon of Energy) that will let you have energy burst weapons for a short time, which gives you some extra effect (and always the right energy).

 

[krunchyfrogg]

The problem (IMO) with the Cleric Archer is that he's so busy casting buffs on himself, that he doesn't have enough Cure Spells for the rest of the party at the end of the day!

I play an archer cleric ("disarmed") and even though I make heavy use of buffs, I always make sure that I have enough healing spells.

Hmm, maybe it's just me witnessing it happen in a game. I think a Wand of CLW and some potions would go a long way to fixing the problem, and if the Cleric/Archer is such a powerhouse, the baddies won't have the time to do as much damage as they usually would have.

What do you mean "disarmed"?

3.5 went a long way to fixing this class. The 3.5 PHB doesn't include Persistant Spell, there's still no core "Elf" domain

Both never were in the core books, so they haven't changed, and still come from accessories.

True, but now they're not printed in any 3.5 books (yet). I really hope WOTC changes (or just doesn't print) Persistant Spell.



BTW, for the record, I like Cleric/Archers (just not the powerhouses), and I'm about to play in a 3.0 core books only game. I've decided to play a Cleric/Archer anyway, even though I know he won't be the powerhouse he's made out to be (without Elf domain or Persistant Spell). There's a possibility this game will be converted to 3.5 shortly (I'm actually a newcomer to the group, so I don't get a vote), but I still like the concept, and I think it will prove to be a fun character.

 

[Numion]

I have a Fighter 4/Rogue 3/OotBI 2 currently, and he does exactly the same damage as the fighter 9 - 1d8+7. *shrug*

A) Thats crappy damage for OotBI

B) Thats crappy damage for the fighter too

You should be doing something like 1d8 + 10 (4 STR + 2 Spec + 1 Point Blank + 3 weapon). Coupled with rapid shot you should be doing much more damage than the fighter. You also don't need to move during combat that much, so you'll get more attacks in.

My cleric archer gets 1d8 + 12 at 10th level. Arrows and bows not stacking.

 

[Numion]

A couple of wands of cure wounds will fix that whole "not enough healing spells" dilemnia.

Thats spirit! In our group each PC is responsible for his own healing. Clerics can fire their CLW wands for them, but clerics aren't required to use their spell slots on others any more than the barbarian uses his rage on other PCs.

So the PCs buy their own wands / bottles and thats it. Besides it's more useful in combat that I use a full attack maneuver for X damage than heal for X/5 hp.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Hmm, maybe it's just me witnessing it happen in a game. I think a Wand of CLW and some potions would go a long way to fixing the problem, and if the Cleric/Archer is such a powerhouse, the baddies won't have the time to do as much damage as they usually would have.

Damage will still be caused (you just have to run into a Balor ). Also, though the cleric has evolved beyond the role of party healer and can to other things now, he can still heal. I won't say that a cleric is to dedicate all his resources into healing, but a couple of spells won't hurt him at all.

What do you mean "disarmed"?

We used the 3.5 bow-and-arrow-not-stacking rule long before we had 3.5 (and long before they said that 3.5 would use these rules.), at my request (I didn't want to waste resources on ammunition only cause I couldn't hit the enemy otherwise, and I thought the stacking rules were to much.). I also hat persistant spell before, and dropped it later, for the character was to effective (he has taken quicken instead so he can buff himself up a little faster). I also try to take more spells the whole party can use.

 

[The Souljourner]

(in response to me saying I have a fighter4/rogue3/OotBI2 who does 1d8+7, same as the fighter of the party)

A) Thats crappy damage for OotBI

B) Thats crappy damage for the fighter too

You should be doing something like 1d8 + 10 (4 STR + 2 Spec + 1 Point Blank + 3 weapon). Coupled with rapid shot you should be doing much more damage than the fighter. You also don't need to move during combat that much, so you'll get more attacks in.

My cleric archer gets 1d8 + 12 at 10th level. Arrows and bows not stacking.

Well, I don't have 18 strength, I only have 15 (we don't have ridiculous stats in this game - I have 20 dex because I am an elf and put my two stat points into it). I could get bull's strength, for another couple damage, but I'd need to get a new bow, because mine is only mighty +3. And my bow is not +3 (GMW can only make it +2 in 3.5).

We're a little low on magic items, but even so, at 9th level you're only supposed to have 36,000gp, and a +3 bow is 18,000, which would be half of that.

So, I do +2(str) +2(specialization) +1 (PBS) +2 (bow).

If I made myself a mighty +4 bow, I could eke out another 2 points of damage if someone cast bull's strength on me, but now that it only lasts 1min/level, it's not automatic. I guess that's good, since it makes the +4 strength item a lot more desireable. Maybe that'll be next on my list to purchase.

1d8+7 is pretty decent, I think, given that I do 1d8+7 +3d6 when the opponent is flat footed, which with my +9 initiative modifier is fairly often.

-The Souljourner

 

[Kae'Yoss]

True, but now they're not printed in any 3.5 books (yet). I really hope WOTC changes (or just doesn't print) Persistant Spell.

Well, there are no 3.5 books as such. Only the Core rules (and the new Psionics Handbook). You still use the old FRCS and splatbooks and all. So Persistent Spell is still there.

 

[mooby]

what makes a cleric archer build so much more powerful than a melee cleric build?

i'd tend to think that a melee cleric using a big weapon with extended or persistant bulls strength would be just as powerful (if not more), especially since bows and arrows don't stack anymore in 3.5.