I've played a number of Summoners of various sorts, but only one Cleric in my history - a very non-traditional one who took the Madness Domain. Recently I discovered that Planeshift was a 5th level spell for Clerics (don't know how that got past me before) and I got to thinking of the feats necessary for a Summoning Cleric (Spell Focus: Conjuration as a pre-req to Augment and Superior Summoning) as well as the thematic synergy between a character who summons creatures to fight for him and one who banishes foes to the nether realms. The idea has really grown on me, but I'm struggling to make to work as well as I'd like.
Part of the problem of course is the arbitrary nature of the Summon Monster lists (those things REALLY need to be reworked) and the nature of Sacred Summons. Now if I were making a Lawful Evil or even a Chaotic Evil character I'd be fine, but the limited number of Lawful Good type creatures makes Summon Good Monster a requirement which bites into an already feat-starved build.
Another issue I'm facing is what kind of Cleric to run. My initial thought is to make the character an Evangelist and to take the Heroism subdomain, giving me both Inspire Courage and Aura of Heroism to buff my summoned creatures - but then, I also like the save-dropping ability from Visions of Madness to compliment Planeshift (along with many, many other uses).
I feel like due to the lack of feats to work with, selecting a Human is a necessity, and here's what I've come up with so far. I'd appreciate any ideas anyone might have on how to improve the build...
Human 20th level Evangelist (Glory)
Favored class option for Clerics levels 6-15, extra HP levels 1-5, 16-20
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 10
DEX - 14
CON - 12
INT - 12
WIS - 16 (+2 racial modifier, +1 @ 8th, 12th, 16th & 20th)
CHA - 11 (+1 @ 4th level)
Traits:
Magical Lineage (Plane Shift counts as one level lower when applying meta-magic feats)
Reactionary (+2 Initiative)
Feats:
1st - Spell Focus: Conjuration
1st - Augment Summoning
3rd - Summon Good Monster
5th - Sacred Summons
7th - Superior Summoning
9th - Reach Spell
11th - Quicken Spell
13th - Persistent Spell
15th - Spell Perfection: Plane Shift
17th - Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration
19th - Divine Interference
Skills:
Intimidate* (1-20)
Knowledge - Planes* (even levels)
Knowledge - Religion* (odd levels)
Perform: Oratory (1-20)
Spellcraft (1-15)
Fly (16-20)
The one problem I have with a build like this is the required foci: Tuning forks, which are only mentioned in the spell description. Unfortunately, one cannot use Eschew Material Components. Maybe take Improvisational Equipment to have the excuse of using other objects (bells, wine glasses, the clang of steel on metal) as alternate foci (instead of reactionary)
That's a legitimate book-keeping issue I'll have to keep in mind.
What do you think about the build itself? The character all but gives up on healing which is fine, but can a Cleric cast enough Summons of an effective level to be of use once those buffs are out? Is there a better Domain out there or Archetype (assuming we don't already have Bardic Performance covered)?
I like the idea of opening a combat with something like:
Standard action: Cast Protection vs. Evil (Communal) or Summon a LG creature
Move action: Begin Inspire Courage
Swift action: Activate Aura of Heroism
That's the theory, anyway, and then when I get to a high enough level to use Planeshift as the ultimate save or suck against particularly dangerous brutes. Beyond that I'm not sure what my best option is. I've got some nice between-combat buffs but beyond that...
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Looks pretty solid. Like all summoning builds, its effectiveness will depend on how strong your team is in comparison to the stock Summon Monster list. Heroism is, of course, an awesome domain for someone who likes to put out lots of minions, and your teammates will love you for it, too.
Remember that Evangelist gets to spontaneously cast some pretty sweet enchantment spells, so you may want to look at good ways to abuse that. You already have an excellent Wis, so it shouldn't be too hard.
I would also consider putting a few more points into Charisma, perhaps from Strength. It gives a little bump to your channeling, which is nice, as your teammates will expect you to heal them regardless of whether you're good at it or not (trust me on this one). You're also pretty well set up to be the party face, which it would help with - talk with your GM about using Perform (Oratory) instead of Diplomacy in certain circumstances.
Not too many changes for the rest of the build. I'd probably switch Quicken Spell and Persistent Spell, since you'll really need all of your high-level slots for summons and Plane Shifts. (Another weakness of summoning builds: only your highest and second highest level spells are generally worth summoning for combat.)
Good luck!
One of the things I like about Planeshift is that even though it targets Will it's NOT a mind-affecting effect.
Sacred Summmons should work on any creature your summoning that has an * at the end of it's name. All such creatures have YOUR alignment when summoned no matter their base alignment, according to the summon monster spell.
When you use a summoning spell to summon a creature with an alignment or elemental subtype, it is a spell of that type. Creatures on Table: Summon Monster marked with an "*" are summoned with the celestial template, if you are good, and the fiendish template, if you are evil. If you are neutral, you may choose which template to apply to the creature. Creatures marked with an "*" always have an alignment that matches yours, regardless of their usual alignment. Summoning these creatures makes the summoning spell's type match your alignment.
watchout for SR with your Planeshift...i don't see any spell penetration in that build...maybe take the human cleric fav. class bonus?
Sacred Summmons should work on any creature your summoning that has an * at the end of it's name. All such creatures have YOUR alignment when summoned no matter their base alignment, according to the summon monster spell.
When you use a summoning spell to summon a creature with an alignment or elemental subtype, it is a spell of that type. Creatures on Table: Summon Monster marked with an "*" are summoned with the celestial template, if you are good, and the fiendish template, if you are evil. If you are neutral, you may choose which template to apply to the creature. Creatures marked with an "*" always have an alignment that matches yours, regardless of their usual alignment. Summoning these creatures makes the summoning spell's type match your alignment.
This is the first I've heard of this interpretation - it was my understanding that they had to be of that 'type' (i.e. Lawful subtype AND Good subtype for a Lawful Good character)... is that not the case? Is there any ruling I can point to to defend that to a GM?
watchout for SR with your Planeshift...i don't see any spell penetration in that build...maybe take the human cleric fav. class bonus?
Yes, that's problematic in a build so tight on feats. I took the favored class bonus for levels 6-15 (just below the header), but that only works against outsiders.
In our game we've actually done away with Spell Resistance as it is and replaced it with a version that serves as a Monster ability and grants +4 saves vs. spells and spell-like abilities, but I want to make the build without taking home-brew into consideration.
I would also consider putting a few more points into Charisma, perhaps from Strength. It gives a little bump to your channeling, which is nice, as your teammates will expect you to heal them regardless of whether you're good at it or not (trust me on this one). You're also pretty well set up to be the party face, which it would help with - talk with your GM about using Perform (Oratory) instead of Diplomacy in certain circumstances.
Good luck!
That Intimidate skill is left over from an earlier version of the character who took Omen - it should read Diplomacy instead. And I probably don't need that many ranks in Perform, do I?
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This is the first I've heard of this interpretation - it was my understanding that they had to be of that 'type' (i.e. Lawful subtype AND Good subtype for a Lawful Good character)... is that not the case? Is there any ruling I can point to to defend that to a GM?Sacred Summmons should work on any creature your summoning that has an * at the end of it's name. All such creatures have YOUR alignment when summoned no matter their base alignment, according to the summon monster spell.
When you use a summoning spell to summon a creature with an alignment or elemental subtype, it is a spell of that type. Creatures on Table: Summon Monster marked with an "*" are summoned with the celestial template, if you are good, and the fiendish template, if you are evil. If you are neutral, you may choose which template to apply to the creature. Creatures marked with an "*" always have an alignment that matches yours, regardless of their usual alignment. Summoning these creatures makes the summoning spell's type match your alignment.
It doesn't work, you are right Wiggz. The summoned creature's subtype must match you alignment, not just it's alignment.
loose stuff, not if you planeshift hem to your created dimi plane. than go take care of them at your time. Oh, Im having ideas here.
Sure would be nice to tag-team it with a Feeblemind spell...
Also bear in mind that the Theologian cleric can add bouncing spell for free in any domain spell, and the freedom domain has it as a domain spell.
I think I like the evagelist with the glory domain more though.
I prefer Evangelist for the obvious reasons as well... but I wonder if a vanilla Cleric might not be a better option. The buffs will benefit the entire team (or at least the martials) as well as the summoned creatures, but I'm giving up a second Domain, the ability to spontaneously heal AND some of my channeling potency.
What if I went straight Cleric and took the Healing-Restoration Subdomain as well? Or the Madness Domain (Visions of Madness if the bomb and would help with Planeshift)? The first would serve as an idealistic champion of good while the other could be played like a zealot all but crazed for glorious victory over evil.
I suppose if there was a teammate who had Bardic Performance it would be a no-brainer but building in a vacuum I'm just not sure which way to go...
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I like the idea of opening a combat with something like:Standard action: Cast Protection vs. Evil (Communal) or Summon a LG creature
Move action: Begin Inspire Courage
Swift action: Activate Aura of HeroismThat's the theory, anyway, and ...
Wiggz, here's a variation on this theme for an Evangelist Cleric who frequently summons.