Trait Question

[poundpuppy30]

Can someone explain to me how this trait can be used for instance with an oracle? I'm having a problem understanding what kind of things this will affect because the trait says you get a +2 trait bonus to your caster level as long as it doesn't raise your caster level above your current hit dice.

Magical Knack: You were raised, either wholly or in part,
by a magical creature, either after it found you abandoned
in the woods or because your parents often left you in
the care of a magical minion. This constant exposure to
magic has made its mysteries easy for you to understand,
even when you turn your mind to other devotions and
tasks. Pick a class when you gain this trait—your caster
level in that class gains a +2 trait bonus as long as this
bonus doesn’t raise your caster level above your current
Hit Dice.

[Starglim]

If you plan to put all your levels in oracle and/or in full-caster-level prestige classes, this trait does nothing for you and you shouldn't take it.

If you're multiclassed and you pick oracle for Magical Knack, the effects of your spells, your concentration checks, your spell penetration checks and your ability to use cleric or oracle scrolls are calculated as if you had taken up to 2 more levels in oracle, to a maximum of full progression. You qualify for any prerequisite that specifies caster level as if you were 2 oracle levels higher. You don't gain extra spells per day, spells known, revelations or the final revelation. Your current revelations don't improve. Your curse doesn't progress.

[poundpuppy30]

Ah I get it now, thanks. I was hoping it would help my channeling to be stronger but no luck.

[Starglim]

poundpuppy30 wrote:

Ah I get it now, thanks. I was hoping it would help my channeling to be stronger but no luck.

Afraid not. Magical Knack wouldn't help a cleric's channelling and doesn't help a life oracle either.

[Father Sebastian 42992-3]

I want to build a Cleric Tank. I want to dip 1 or 2 levels in Fighter or Paladin. (I have looked at the archtypes and don't care for them)
I plan to wear Mytheral silver agile plate armor (some day).
A fighter would give me Heavy Armor use and extra Feats.
How will magical Knack effect my clseic ability. If I take 2 levels in a fighter, then become a Cleric? My first level spells would be as casted by a 3rd level cleric and that is it?

[BretI]

Assuming a two level dip in Fighter or Paladin, with Magical Knack set for Cleric at third level you would be casting 1st level Cleric spells at a caster level of 3. All the durations, dispel checks, etc would be as a 3rd level caster.

Cleric and Paladin don't work so well, since one needs Wisdom to cast with and the other uses Charisma. People find a combination of Paladin and Oracle work well though.

[Magda Luckbender]

A character who dips two levels of Fighter then becomes a Level 1 Cleric would benefit from Magical Knack as you said. You would cast your first level cleric spells as if you were third level. So your Cure Light Wounds would heal 1d8+3 instead of 1d8+1, and your Bless spell would last for 3 minutes instead of 1 minute. Not much, but still pretty good for a trait.

This trait is much more useful for offensive arcane spellcasters than anyone else. For example, an Eldritch Knight is typically down two caster levels. So a 7th level character who is Fighter-1/Divination Wizard-1/Eldritch Knight-5 has just got third level spells. Magical Knack takes this character's Fireballs from 5d6 to 7d6, which is a 40% power boost.

Note that a Cleric makes a fine tank without dipping any other class. The Fighter or Paladin dip will help tankiness at low levels, but by mid levels will become a hindrance. Magda didn't dip any levels, and is a solid all-cleric tank.

The jury is still out on whether a tank is better off with heavy armor or more mobility. Both are obviously desirable, but if one must choose then it comes down to your preferred fighting still. If your fighting style will cause you to often take full attacks then you are probably best in heavy armor. If you have a way to mostly avoid taking full attacks then you probably don't need as much armor.

Do you plan to do your tanking via shield & weapon, or via reach?

[Father Sebastian 42992-3]

I made a lot of mistakes on my first PFS Cleric. having a low Chr did hurt a little with Channeling and not being able to take selective channeling feat. I will be at low levels only.( I can only play at Game Cons 8 game in a weekend. My 2 year old cleric is 8th level and it is getting Scarry. Only 2 survivors in the last adventure.)
I have a Archer/Buff cleric level 1, ready for the season. There is a trade off with Dex and heavy armor, I did not see. I want to try Armor and Shield/ Morning star. My old cleric finds himself in melee combat even when I try to avoid it.

[Rodinia]

Father, has your cleric ever tried using a longspear? It's a very effective way to tank.

[Father Sebastian 42992-3]

Reach clerics look good at first. They need Feat:Combat Expert. Req Int of 13 and the # of attacks is Dex based.
Clerica are So MAD. Wis based. Chr is the amount of Channel heals. SFeat: Selective channel min chr is 13. If they use a melee weapon, you want a good Str or one that Bull Str will be useful.

[Rodinia]

I think you confused Combat Reflexes and Combat Expertise. Reach clerics don't need, or want, Combat Expertise.

Furthermore, a reach cleric doesn't need Combat Reflexes or high dex. It's a perfectly viable concept with only 1 AoO: you still get to sometimes cast and attack in the same round. In fact, most combat rounds 1 AoO is all you will get. It's a combat tactic that almost anyone can do, and one humans have used since pre-history until the father of Alexander the Great formalized it as a war tactic. Reach tactics are viable for any character with proficiency in Simple Weapons. In practice, it's also best to have at least 14 Strength.

For example, take level 1 Kyra the Iconic Cleric. She doesn't have Combat Reflexes, and has DEX 10. Get her a longspear & play her through several adventures using reach tactics. You will find that her average damage output roughly doubles at the same time she takes less incoming damage. This is a math thing: 40% damage boost per hit from longspear, combined with extra attacks, result in a near doubling of damage output. She'll take less damage because reach tactics encourage one to avoid taking full attacks whenever possible, so less incoming damage.

I'm just suggesting you check it out as an option. Just pick up a normal longspear, use it for a few scenarios, and see how it works for you. You may discover quite a bit about both your GM and your fellow players. It costs only 5 gp to try. You always have the option to drop it and draw your normal weapons, if you need to for some reason. Whether it works for you, or not, your tactical acumen is guaranteed to increase.

Selective channel is certainly an option for support-style clerics, but is not required by any means. Some groups don't expect there to be an in-combat healing specialist, which is what Selective Channel makes you. I've found that, in those situations when only channel healing will do, it's usually fine to just heal everyone, friend and foe alike. Channel healing is so weak it's practically a rounding error, compared to the damage output from a full attacking martial PC. When the front liners hit for 25 HP per shot it's really not a problem to occasionally heal a foe 10 HP, if it saves an ally from death. My first couple Pathfinder clerics were very careful to get Selective Channel, but I gradually realized that Selectivity didn't really matter very much.

Remember that a cleric needs a free hand to cast spells. This means it doesn't work very well to wield a Heavy Shield and a one handed weapon. A light shield works, but not a heavy shield. A two handed weapon, like a longspear, works perfectly.