Building up a Cleric / Barbarian of Gorum

[lonewolf23k]

Okay, I'm in a campaign where my character is a half-orc Cleric of Gorum, who's currently level 2 Cleric / 1 Barbarian. The closest thing our party has to a "main tank" is a ranger, and a druid's bear companion. In fact, my 2nd level of Barbarian was a suggestion by the GM, and I felt it fit my character perfectly.

What I want to do is build up my character as something like a "Holy Warrior" of sorts, balanced between healing/buffing his allies and being a secondary tank. I already have "Scribe Scroll" that I intend to use for non-essential spells, allowing me to Spontaneously Heal without losing a useful spell. I also have Selective Channel, and my Domains of choice are Destruction and Strength. I wanted to go with the Armored Hulk archetype, but my GM suggested I'd be better off keeping the default Barbarian's fast movement.

I'm looking for advice on how, in the future, to build up my character along the lines I've described. What are my best Feat/Spell options?

[Volkspanzer]

Well, flavor-wise, a barbarian is interesting, but keep in mind that you won't be able to cast spells while raging (as that requires concentration and/or patience).

Personally, I would continue to gain levels in cleric, with one level splashed into fighter for martial weapons and heavy armor, along with a bonus feat (a fighter can be just as much a follower of Gorum as any Barb or Cleric). Once your BAB is sufficient, consider going into the Holy Vindicator prestige class. It's class features make use of channel energy in unique ways that are oriented to dealing more damage. It also promotes the shedding of one's own blood to better shed the blood of your enemies (a prospect that would please Gorum, no doubt).

With this in mind, maximize your ability to channel energy by picking up Versatile Channeler (the feat, not the class feature that you'll be getting anyway). Hopefully you're a neutral cleric, otherwise you can't pick this up, which would blow this concept out of the water. You can then channel positive or negative energy on a attack alongside what divine/profane bonuses you apply to your attacks.

[darkwarriorkarg]

You should have opted for the Rage Domain. Eventually your barbarian ancleric levels stack for rage powers.

I would definitely recommend the "moment of clarity" rage power at some point for you.

The armoured Hulk would definitely have been in line with Gorum :-(.

Eventually, you do become relatively speedy in medium and heavy armour.

[lonewolf23k]

I forgot to point out that yes, I did take the Rage subdomain variant of Destruction, and I do plan on synergizing it with my Barbarian levels. I'll look into Moment of Clarity.

I hadn't considered Holy Vindicator, but it's definitely a good possibility. If I played an Oracle, I could've gone with Rage Prophet, but I ain't triple-classing.

Versatile Channelling also sounds like a good possibility. I'll look into it too.

[Bandavaar the Brave]

I'm thinking the Urban Barbarian Archetype may very well allow for you to cast spells while Raging if you so desired.

"Controlled Rage (Ex): When an urban barbarian rages, instead of making a normal rage she may apply a +4 morale bonus to her Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. This bonus increases to +6 when she gains greater rage and +8 when she gains mighty rage. She may apply the full bonus to one ability score or may split the bonus between several scores in increments of +2. When using a controlled rage, an urban barbarian gains no bonus on Will saves, takes no penalties to AC, and can still use Intelligence-, Dexterity-, and Charisma-based skills. This ability otherwise follows the normal rules for rage."

Sounds like you can to me. :)

[Crescents_edge]

I have this character, only a dwarf instead of a half-orc! I concur with the Holy Vindicator suggestion - it really melds the two classes well and you really beef up the healing spells you use on yourself (empower, then maximize later). This saves more heals for the rest of the party.
If you are going to tank it, the Raging Vitality feat is a great add-on: more CON, and you can rage while unconscious so you keep all that extra CON if disaster befalls. Hopefully the party likes you and heals you before the rage rounds time out.
For spells, I've got a lot of mileage from Weapon of Awe (2nd level, APG), and Deadly Juggernaut (3rd level, UC). Bear's Endurance and Bull's Strength are, of course, standards for combat buffing. These will serve you in good stead until you rage, then it is just fantastic. These are all minutes/level durations, so you can wade in with these up, cast any other spells that become needed (resist energy communal perhaps?), and fly into a rage for the rest of the mercilessly swift combat.