Advice on Gorum Cleric / Babarian or Cleric / Holy Vindicator Build


Advice


Hello,

I am currently playing a Gorum Cleric in a Kingmaker Campaign and I am thinking about how I can develop the character further during the Campaign. The DM allows all published 3.0 and 3.5 material with the right to Veto as well as all Pathfinder Material. He also allows to retrain feats (i.e. exchange one feat for another with sufficient time and effort). I want him to be more Tank than Healbot / Buffbot. The party has one Warblade, one Sniper/Scout Rogue, a Sorcerer and a halfling Druid. I think two tanks are necessary, as Kingmaker has quite some hard combats.

The following choices have been made.

Abilities:

Str. 18
Dex 8 (Taget here was 1-2 Fighter levels and Spiked Plate Armor)
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 16
Cha 14 (Cha 12 and Con 14 maybe would have been better, but I wanted to be able to take selective channeling)

He can channel negative energy. He is CN. He has taken 3 Cleric Levels, Cleric is his Favored Class.

Domains: Destruction and Strength (Rage Subdomain)

Feats selected so far:

Level 1: Channel Smite
Spontaneous Healer (allows to spontaneuously exchange spells
into cure spells Wis Bonus times a day, quite necessary with
negative channel)
Level 3: Power Attack

I also received 3 Traits from the GM for my Background Story: Resiliant, Suspicious and Veteran of Battle (Gorum).

Background: The Charakter is a displaced Kellid from the Worldwound area. He and his tribe have been looking for a new home to settle.
His ability to channel negative energy may be a taint from the world wound, but he has learned to channel the energy into his weapon to avoid damaging his allies. During this time of displacement, he has learned not to trust easily and has a high regard for true hospitality. During the long trek and frequent displacements he has seen the weak and the meek dying and has turned to Gorum as God of Strength to channel his rage and taint into usefulness for his tribe.

Skills:

Perception (CC): 1 Rank (useful)
Survival (CC): 1 Rank (due to back ground)
Sense Motive: 1 Rank (due to background)
Heal: 1 Rank (quite useful)
Knowledge Religion: 1 Rank (prerequisite spon. healer)
Ride (CC): 2 Ranks (everbody in kingmaker rides constantly)
Acrobatics (CC): 1 Rank (preparation leap attack)
Craft (Weaponsmith): 1 Rank (religious reasons)

Originally I wanted to take 2 levels of Fighter for extra combat feats, heavy armor proficiency and martial weapon proficiency (required for Gorums preferred armor spikes for instance).

Know I am considering 1 level of Babarian, as this would make, perception, survival , ride and acrobatics class skills, as well as giving me rage which stacks with bull's strength and enlarge person and works well with channel smite as it is a free action. However I gain no heavy armor proficiency or extra feats.

I am planning to take leap attack as my 5th level feat and to take raging leaper as rage power if I should decide to take a second Babarian level, but I would not take more babarian levels than that and even the second level looks iffy.

An alternative would be going for holy vindicator, however a Gorumite does not use a shield (perhaps ok if the DM would allow to channel into my armor instead).

What do you guys think?


If you are looking to go the holy vindicator route I found the holy warrior varient in the pathfinder campaign setting to be the best to get into holy vindicator. This gives up your domains but provides you with full BAB, a martial wepon, and heavy armor. This allows you to get into holy vindicator by 6th level. Also if your looking to fill a tank role you could also help out with battlefield control by using the duel wielding shields option in feats. This allows you a bunch of attacks, good AC, free bullrush's with every attack, your able to use your defensive shield enhancements as offensive so it saves you money, and it eliminates ALL power attack and two wepon fighting penalties. And with holy vindicator you will still be able to reach 9th level spells, have good channeling, and a slew of awesome abilities.

Just a thought. As you can see I recently went threw this build myself and im playing it now and its amazing. You have so much versitility and you never have to give up any healing ability. If anything your better since you can now channel in a 30 ft cone or a 120 ft line. Ohh and another note on this build. if its spiked and has the bashing enhancement your heavy shields (I say shields cause you wont have a penalty for duel wielding one handed wepons) will be doing 2d6 plus str. each. not too shabby if I say so myself


zomblisham wrote:

If you are looking to go the holy vindicator route I found the holy warrior varient in the pathfinder campaign setting to be the best to get into holy vindicator. This gives up your domains but provides you with full BAB, a martial wepon, and heavy armor. This allows you to get into holy vindicator by 6th level. Also if your looking to fill a tank role you could also help out with battlefield control by using the duel wielding shields option in feats. This allows you a bunch of attacks, good AC, free bullrush's with every attack, your able to use your defensive shield enhancements as offensive so it saves you money, and it eliminates ALL power attack and two wepon fighting penalties. And with holy vindicator you will still be able to reach 9th level spells, have good channeling, and a slew of awesome abilities.

Just a thought. As you can see I recently went threw this build myself and im playing it now and its amazing. You have so much versitility and you never have to give up any healing ability. If anything your better since you can now channel in a 30 ft cone or a 120 ft line. Ohh and another note on this build. if its spiked and has the bashing enhancement your heavy shields (I say shields cause you wont have a penalty for duel wielding one handed wepons) will be doing 2d6 plus str. each. not too shabby if I say so myself

Versatile Channel class ability would be the reason for me to go the Holy Vindicator route.

There is also the feat from Ultimate Magic confusingly called versatile channeler, which allows you to channel the other type of energy at -2 Levels.

However I dislike that I have to take alignment or elemental channel as prerequisite and that I lose 3 levels of spellcasting over the 10 levels of holy vindicator.

As you have played the class, do the stigmata work or is the constant hp drain to much? How did you deal with it, if you used it regularly, did you cast lesser vigor to counter it or did you have a high Con?


I have a decent enough con that it hasnt been too much an issue, plus with the upgraded hit die from holy warrior and holy vindicator I have more hit points than everyone else other than the barb in the party. As far as alignment channel goes having it towards evil will help tremendously later levels. And as far as losing 3 levels of spell casting, yes it does suck but it still keeps 9th level spells in sight. And keep in mind that you will still be a almost full caster with max BAB, heavy armor, shield, and class abilities to boost your AC. So not getting hit will help you retain your HP for stigmata and since your channeling all the time to heal your allies you will be healing yourself as well, thus being a very nasty opponent. How do you kill a party with a healer who has stupid high hit points for a caster, has better AC than most fighters, and can still rain down doom and destruction?

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