Rogue-like Cleric

[MrGone]

I know this is rather different but I am looking into making a different kind of cleric.
He would have a high Dex and high Charisma and a high Int. So I guess I am looking for ideas on how I could sculpt him. He is a worshipper of Urbanus from the Races of Destiny and one of his Domains is City which gives him Knowledge Local and Gather Info as class skills. Obviously the campaign takes place in an urban environment.

I am looking for your creative ideas on feats for him as well as planning for the future. The obvious would be to take a level of Rogue... but what if he stayed pure cleric?

Anyway I am looking forward to responses.
Thanks alot.

 

[rowport]

This is a really cool idea. Personally, I would do it via multiclassing, but I suppose you could make it work singleclassed cleric. The biggest problem that you will have IMO is lack of skill points. You are fine with high DEX- most clerics bump up STR, so just keep STR low and put those points into DEX instead. To get the right rogue "feel" you really need those skills; so, you will have to have a high INT. As a cleric, though, you cannot really afford to dump WIS, so you will have an unusual ability score mix of DEX, INT, and WIS. Your CON might have to be dangerously low, but at least you have d8 HD instead of a rogue's d6.

Skills are really the key. Since you will rely on INT points, I would suggest fewer skills than a rogue would normally take, maxed out. Since you have a high DEX also, those are better as 'sneaky' skills (Hide, MS, etc.) than 'social' skills based on CHA. You could also focus on Listen and Spot to take advantage of your high WIS to be a useful scout. Able Learner from Races of Destiny will help avoid cross-class point buy. (Of course, some of this makes me wonder if your concept might be easier with a Druid than Cleric- but...)

With regular cleric abilities he will be fine in combat anyway so I would not worry about lack of sneak attack, but just use flanking DEX attacks instead. You should consider your fighting style- archery is likely your best bet. That will keep you at range for your spellcasting, and out of melee range with your low CON.

You might consider one of the (very few) rogue/cleric Prestige Classes to help the flavor along. There are two in FR, but both escape me at the moment!

 

[Thanee]

Human with Able Learner and high Int would be a good idea. Starting out with one level of Rogue would be even better.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Nifft]

Check out the Cloistered Cleric variant in Unearthed Arcana. More skill points & class skills, and you get an extra Domain (Knowlege), but you pay for it with fewer HP, worse BAB and (I think) only Light armor proficency. Very rogue-ish.

-- N

 

[Ranger Rick]

Start his 1st & 2nd levels as a rogue. Assume he has a "religous experience" and than turn him into a cleric. By doing the 1st few levels as rogue, you can get the 5 ranks per skill & therefore get synergy bonus.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

Choosing the right Domains will help
my suggestion:

A cleric who chooses the Trickery domain adds Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), and Hide (Dex) to their class skills.
gets
Disguise Self L1 spell
Invisibility L2 spell


A cleric who chooses the Knowlege domain adds Knowlege (Int) to their class skills.
gets
Detect Secret Doors L1 spell
Detect Thoughts L2 spell

What race are you considering?

 

[yennico]

Choosing the right Domains will help
my suggestion:

A cleric who chooses the Trickery domain adds Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), and Hide (Dex) to their class skills.
gets
Disguise Self L1 spell
Invisibility L2 spell

Choosing the right domain is important. Trickery is a good choice for a single class non-human cleric, but you also need a high int to have skill points to invest into bluff, hide and disguise.

A cleric who chooses the Knowlege domain adds Knowlege (Int) to their class skills.
gets
Detect Secret Doors L1 spell
Detect Thoughts L2 spell

You also get +1 caster level on all divination spells. Divination spells are good for information gathering.
Skills as benefit from choosing a domain are only good if the cleric has enough skill points to put in these skills.

Also a good domain choices are luck (rerolls) or travel (for escapes).