Almost every Cleric I've ever actually seen at the table has been a healbot. Maybe this is an isolated event, but for all the complaining you hear about how playing the party band-aid is boring, other than the occasional luck or travel domain, most of the clerics I've seen at the table have been spec'ed for little other than healing.
Today I was playing around with a custom deity (animal, plant, community, trickery, and travel) and I came up with a bunch of fun clerics I'd love to see at the table:
Human Cleric
Trickery (thievery) Domain + Divine Strategist archetype
Skills: Sleight of Hand, Disable Device, Perception, Bluff, Disguise, Diplomacy, Stealth
Clerics don't get many skill points, but as Divine Strategist trades out Channel Energy for an Intelligence-based power, you can go ahead and take a 16 Int + 2 skill points + favored class + human bonus = 7 skill points per level, easily enough to fashion a decent skill monkey.
With The Find Traps spell (and Dispel Magic for the magical traps), you've created a trapfinding rogue who replaces sneak attack with 9 spell levels.
Trickery (Innuendo) Domain + Travel (Trade) Domain
I like this one because it's so simple: 1/2 level bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive, and the ability to re-make failed Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks makes this one an epic-level party face without even spending a feat, leaving you free to do whatever else you want with everything else.
Animal Domain + Community (Coordination) Domain
Teamwork Feats as desired.
This cleric, to me, invokes the idea of an old soldier; a captain used to leading a squad. By taking teamwork feats between himself and his animal companion, they'll already be a powerful team. With the Coordination sub-domain power, he can also give those feats to his friends. Makes him kind of a sub-par Cavalier, but a Cavalier who's also a full-caster which I personally like.
Halberd Favored Weapon + Plant (Growth) Domain + Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Greater trip, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack, Lunge.
This build has a lot of parts, but luckily it works as it gets bigger.
A reach-weapon user that can grow a size bigger at will (Growth Sub-Domain), becomes a guy who can use that reach to trip all over the battlefield, becomes a guy who can spring attack and trip, becomes a guy with 15 ft of threatened space that can trip every enemy around him.
These are just a few I came up with, and each one sounds like a whole to of fun to me.
What's the favorite Cleric you've either played or seen at the table?
Currently i'm playing a game as a Jojo-ish Cleric/Summoner/Mystic Theurge, and most of the healing i have to do is either actually for the eidolon or getting within channel energy range of someone below zero and selectively channeling for them to get back above zero. My guy has pretty good wisdom so most of the time i try to sling around as many spells as a can just willy nilly
To be fair though my group has a paladin in it and he usually takes the time to lay his hands on people.
I am also looking for fun clerics. This is a cleric that I have not se en played often:
Divine Tactician archetype. Lvl 8 int to hit on AoO/flanks, plus amazing initiative.
Fur (animal) domain. Gain a companion.
Relevant feats:
Outflank (teamwork, extra +2 attack bonus on flank)
Pack flanking (teamwork, adjacent counts as flanking)
Improved spell sharing (teamwork, divide spells on companion)
Posible feats:
Evolved companion (give evolution to pet, like reach)
Kirin style, Kirin strike (x2 int to dmg as a swift)
Warblessings (get minor blessings)
Legendary teamwork
Two weapon figting
Other:
Menacing weapon enchantment
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This gives a first action cleric that can move into position and gain amazing flank bonuses (int +2 flank + 2 outflank + 2 menacing. Crank int up a bit and you have +10-12 easy).
He is a buffer that when he self buffs he also targets his pet, doesnt need wisdom except for minimum casting.
Round 1 buff, move. As 2 you Will get AoO so you wont be wasting much time by buffing.
Stats
Strength, Int, wisdom con, dex, charisma. Int and str especially.
Posible advancement:
Cleric twf: amazing to hit makes twf viable. De have few feats though
Cleric reach: get a reach weapon and reach evolution.
Cleric tank: bolster con, give pet tanky feats, buff and go in first, making a good frontline of 2.
Multiclassing:
Still unsure what to do here...cleric casting is good.
Monk: flury of blows, Wis to ac (if you have good wis).
Magus: spellcombat, level 3 arcanas to either add int to hit or armour. Other int stuff.
Witch: prehensile hair uses int to hit/dmg! But 1 min/level and los base dmg
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Gosh, I've encountered far more 'non-traditonal' pathfinder clerics than I've encountered 'healbots'. I hardly ever see a healbot of any sort, although there are always PCs who can heal. This is in both local and online play, both homebrew & PFS. Interesting that our experiences are so different!
Good ideas on alternate cleric builds. Here are a few more.
Thanks for the ideas! Well clerics are versatile by nature. The ones i see do mot eapexialise much.
The HangOver cleric is also a fantastic cleric that plays alittle different.
Ps I meant Divine STRATEGIST in my previous post. Also the Feather subdomain thouhh fur is good if you have free actions.
I would like to see a Magus style cleric, but very limited to a couple spells or doing witha shield (ala skirnir). Think there is an archetype somewhere but it isnt a main bool.