Cleric help

[Xman146]

Was creating a new character for a campaign I'm in (previous character having been killed by wights), and was considering making a cleric. Was hoping to get some help/ideas/thoughts on what I had running thru my mind.

There's already a priest in the group so I don't need to worry about everyone asking me for heals all the time. One of the main reasons I'm leaning towards cleric is because they have both magical abilities and can handle melee (previous character was a rogue, so I wanted a bit of a change of pace).

The character will be coming in at 8th level. DM restriction on race is that the character must be able to pass as human. 30-point system for ability scores. Pathfinder books only.

Here's what I was thinking.

Suli Cleric
Str 16
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 16
Cha 16

Domains: Travel, and either Protection (subdomain Defense) or Plant (subdomain Growth)

Can't decide if I want to go either Protection or Plant (I probably won't be adhering to a particular deity but have my own philosophy), but am mostly dead set on him having the travel domain (i like the spells and granted powers it gives me. Plus it feels right personality wise for the character.

Kind of figuring him as a wonderer. Maybe helping people out along the way but not necessarily looking for trouble.

Was also curious for any prestige class ideas. Went thru both the core rulebook and APG and none of the prestige classes there felt right for the character (hoping the next book has something interesting). Maybe there's something in a module of Player Companion that someone knows about that I'm not aware of?

So if anyone has any thoughts on this character I'd appreciate it (or maybe a cool character idea that you dont mind me playing? currently in the game there's 2 wizards, a generalist and a necromancer, a priest, a fighter and a cavalier/ranger [both fighter and cavalier/ranger have been missing games lately due to outside forces])

thanks in advance!

[james maissen]

Xman146 wrote:

So if anyone has any thoughts on this character I'd appreciate it (or maybe a cool character idea that you dont mind me playing? currently in the game there's 2 wizards, a generalist and a necromancer, a priest, a fighter and a cavalier/ranger [both fighter and cavalier/ranger have been missing games lately due to outside forces])

thanks in advance!

It sounds like you have two melee PCs already as well as a priest, so I'd suggest a different take. You are leaving the party without a way to find traps, and that might not be so great for them.

So I would look at some degree of rogue again. (If mostly rogue is not palatable at all, skip the first build towards the second as its far less rogue-like).

Human Rogue (trapsmith variant) 5/ShadowDancer3

STR 14 (5pts)
INT 12 (2pts)
WIS 14 (5pts)
DEX 22 (17pts, 18base+2racial+2bumps)
CON 14 (5pts)
CHA 07 (-4pts)

Favored Class: Rogue (into extra talent)

Traits: Heirloom weapon (flying talon), danger sense +2 init
Feats/Talents: Dodge, Combat Reflexes, Finesse Rogue (Weapon finesse), Mobility, Trap Spotter, Skill Focus: Stealth, Hellcat stealth, Fast Stealth (next level is rogue6 for 2 talents- EWP: Flying talon & Slow reflexes & a level feat: combat patrol)

If this is not palatable, then perhaps a Zen archer monk that dabbles in rogue (for trapfinding)

Dwarf Monk (zen archer) 6/Rogue 2

STR 14 (5pts)
INT 12 (2pts)
WIS 22 (17pts)
DEX 14 (5pts)
CON 16 (5pts)
CHA 05 (-4pts)

Favored Class: Monk (into 3 hps & 3skills)
Racial Variant: Lorekeeper (vs Greed)

Traits: Heirloom weapon(longbow) & wisdom of the flesh (stealth)

Feats: Skill Focus: Stealth, Deadly Aim, Extra Rogue talent, Hellcat stealth
Bonus Feats: PBS, Precise Shot, WF: longbow, WSpec: longbow, improved precise shot
Talents: Trap Spotter, Fast Stealth

Skills: Stealth, Perception, Disable Device, Acrobatics, Sense Motive and 11 dips: climb, swim, heal, survival, profession (bounty hunter), ride, UMD, sleight of hand, knowledge: local, dungeoneering, & religion

This PC is a decent archer, can still find/remove traps for the party and is a decent/awesome scout.

Subsequent levels would be in Monk.

-James

[blope]

A few ideas for you:
archer, clerics make decent archers with the right feats

melee: take negative channeling and selective feat(to exclude allies) and blast the enemy, and/or a 2 handed weapon

ranger- urban variant- get trapfinding, and most ranger goodies inc spells

domains- I like liberation and luck more than protection or plant, travel is awesome

what is the other priest doing? Is he tanking? It could be interesting to also make a tank and fight side-by-side with him, buffing and healing as needed, it would be tough for enemies o get throught that, esp with 2 wizards in the back lobbing spells.

[Umbral Reaver]

Often I see a high point buy offered to negate the lure of min-maxing to the gills. Offering 'advice' like dumping charisma as far down as it can go (you'd dump it to 1 if you could) isn't likely to fly.

[calagnar]

Your stats are spread out to thin. By this level you need a 20 in your primary stat. For ether your damage or your spell DC. You want to be a melee so you need a 20 to 22 Str at this level.

Oracle > Cleric. Oracle is much better, by a large amount for making a melee divine caster.

Suli
Oracle 6 (Battle) Rogue 2 or ( Oracle 8 and drop the rogue ability's.)
BAB 5 ( Total to hit melee +10 main weapon +11)
Skill Points: 56
Initiative +5 (Rolling two Dice)
Trap finding +1
Sneak Attack 1D6
Rogue Talent: Follow Clues
Oracle’s Curse: Haunted
Spells Known: 0(7)1(4)2(2)3(1)plus mage hand, ghost sound, levitate, minor image, enlarge person, fog cloud, magic vestment
Revelations: War Sight, Skill at Arms,
Feats: Extra Revelation: Weapon Mastery, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Cleave.
Str 21 (both level 4 and 8 points.)
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 16

[james maissen]

Umbral Reaver wrote:

Often I see a high point buy offered to negate the lure of min-maxing to the gills. Offering 'advice' like dumping charisma as far down as it can go (you'd dump it to 1 if you could) isn't likely to fly.

People do have knee-jerk reactions to lowering stats, even unreasonably so at times.

It might not fly with his DM, heck it might not fly with him. But if he's asking me for advice as to a character I'll give my advice on a character.. not what I think that he might want to hear, but rather what I feel I want to say if that makes any sense.

If the 5 CHA on a DWF is unacceptable (and frankly I enjoy the idea of playing such an unlikeable dwarf bountyhunter myself) then you could lower INT & STR to raise it to a 'normal dwarven 8' without much trouble. But I'll present him the way that I see him, and that's with all the personality and lovable qualities of that slime that you're wiping off your shoe.

If the idea of a high point buy is to disallow certain things, then honestly you're not offering a point buy at all, but rather choices of stat arrays. I tend to find the DMs that get too bent out of shape here, also tend to get bent out of shape when I choose actions that they wouldn't choose for me. Seeing how it's my choice for my character and not theirs, I take offense to that if this makes any sense.

-James