What are the best domains, spells, powers or combos for divine characters and why?
I'll start. In ours game currently we have an oracle of bones 1/ cleric X. He has the "if he does negative energy damage you bleed" power from his oracle level. Then he has the channel negative from his cleric levels. Low level minions fall in waves. We've nicknamed him the exterminator because any vermin in the area don't stand a chance. :-)
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If you absolutely, positively MUST kill every undead in the room, combine Sun and Glory domains. The net result is your Channels get +2 on the save DC, undead don't get their Channel Resistance on the save, and you add your level to the damage. Grab a 16 CHA, and by (say) 5th level you're channeling for 3d6+5 damage against undead, with a DC 17 will save for half, they get about half the save bonus they would normall get, and it's a 30ft radius.
Boom!
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Combos:
* Zealous Fanatic: Optimistic Gambler + Eldritch Heritage (Orc) + Rage Subdomain + Courageous weapon: This combo does a few things, outlined below.
- Optimistic Gambler (Campaign Trait - Second Darkness): When an effect that provides a morale bonus would end, it persists for 1d4 rounds instead, then ends.
- Eldritch Heritage (Orc) [Requires: Skill Focus (Survival), CHA 13]: Touch of Rage power, which provides 1/2 your Sorcerer level (Character Level -2) as a morale bonus to Attack, Damage and Will saves vs. Fear as a Standard action, for 1 round
- Rage Subdomain: In addition to providing access to spells not normally on the cleric/druid list (notably Disintegrate), it gives you Rage (as the class feature) for (effective) Cleric Level in rounds per day, and rage powers starting at 12 (so long as they don't have a barbarian level requirement).
- Courageous (+1) weapon: Adds 1/2 of the (effective) Enhancement bonus of the weapon as a morale bonus to will saves vs. fear, as well as an untyped bonus to any other morale bonus granted to the character (including the morale bonus to str/con from rage, the hit/damage bonus from touch of rage, the hit/save/skill bonus from heroism, etc...) while wielded. Combos well with a Furious/Bane weapon and a high natural enhancement bonus.
Domains:
* Heroism (Glory Subdomain): Long duration buff that is inexplicably not already on cleric spell lists, and a decent domain power
* Liberation for Freedom of Movement domain power
* Rage (Destruction Subdomain) for the titular power, permitting rage at 8th level (11th for Sacred Servant paladins - Ragathiel is your friend) - couple with Optimistic Gambler and a Courageous weapon for fun here
* Good (mainly for archers)/Azata sub - Holy on your weapon for rounds per day at 8th, plus the Azata subdomain gives you the ability to remove conditions that usually take a much higher level spell, and gives you a nice stacking bonus to saves and other goodies
* Plains - Pounce, haste at 3rd level
* Swamp - Channel Energy that works only on plants and animals, good for if you have an animal companion, or summon allies of nature
* Nobility (optionally w/ Martyr sub) - Primarily for non-clerics as it puts Magic Vestment and Divine Favor on your spell list. Great for Urban Druids and Paladins, the latter of which get great utility out of the Martyr power
* Trickery - This domain, and both of it's subs are awesome. Any divine character that can take them gets a whole pile of neat abilities that cannot be gotten any other way. Special mention to Deception subdomain for Mirror Image on the spell list.
Class Feature Combos:
* Dawnflower Dervish 1/Evangelist Cleric X: All of the powers of the Dawnflower Dervish with a (subjectively) better spell list/source. Lets you battledance your evangelism (works as bardic performance) for double the bonus. Given the lower channel pool, I would either not invest heavily in Charisma, or at the very least find an alternate use for channel attempts. Zealous fanatic likes that Inspire Courage gives a morale bonus to will saves vs. fear, so it will persist the effect letting you minimize rounds used - and it lends itself just as well to melee or ranged.
* Aasimar Oracle of Life: Take the FC (Favored Class) bonus that gives you +1/2 levels to channeling. Be neutral. Watch your GM weep as you, as early as 6th level are channeling for 5d6, 7d6 with a phylactery (and 1d6 less for harming). Combines very favorably with the Fanatic above, for an excellent melee character. It's one of the few spontaneous-casting builds that I don't recommend Human's FC feature (+1 spell known of highest level -1) for. Speaking of which...
* Human Inquisitor: With (functionally) +3 extra spells known per level, you become a spellcasting powerhouse. Makes a fantastic Fanatic
* (Halfling) Archer Paladin, Oath of Vengeance/Sacred Servant (Trickery, Good or Liberation are my favorites here though Heroism and Nobility get honorable mentions): Ends up being a very capable damage dealer while having a fauxhort (faux-cohort) in the form of a 1/week Lesser/Planar Ally/Greater Planar Ally. Halflings are just overall decent Paladins
* Dual-Cursed Oracle: It's fantastic. I usually suggest something that you can mitigate for the 2nd curse (tendencies towards legalistic as wasting REALLY hurts UMD and Ring of Revelation is superb), with the first curse being something you care about (casting non-fighting clerics can safely take blackened, whereas fighting clerics should look towards Haunted, Lame, or Clouded vision). I generally don't recommend Tongues or Deaf (especially not together) unless you have a way of communicating with the party (telepathic bond, or straight out telepathy). Reading lips by unofficial FAQ is a 1 point investment, and covers every language you know, but it's still much worse than the benefit you get.
Spells:
* Heroism (Heroism 3): Long duration, solid buff. 10 minutes/level should cover you enough to just cast it in the first fight and keep it the rest of the day.
* Blessing of Fervor (Cleric/Oracle 3, Oath of Vengenace 3, et al): It's divine haste with a few bonuses, and it's those bonuses that make it particularly useful - Free Extend on 1st and 2nd level spells make it a powerhouse for buffing for multiple fights. It basically replaces a lesser rod of extend spell in many cases. It's even better in conjunction with...
* Litany of [X] (1-4): My favorites are Righteousness (doubles damage from Good Aura sources if target is evil), Eloquence (fascinates target) and Sloth (Target cannot cast defensively or take attacks of opportunity). They are all no-save, allow spell resistance, are language-dependent, and last 1 round. This is why I am a big fan of Blessing of Fervor for Paladins. Being able to Righteousness for 2 rounds, or Eloquence a target to deny 2 rounds of actions while you pound on his buddies is amazing.
* Euphoric Tranquility (Cleric/Oracle 8): One of the best spells for a bad touch style cleric or oracle. It's no-save, just suck; makes the creature nonhostile, and even if you attack it, the save it gets ONLY SUPPRESSES THE EFFECT 1 ROUND. It doesn't even go away if you beat on the newly hippie-fied creature. Fantastic.
* Waves of Ecstasy (Cleric/Oracle 7): Multiple-target stun/stagger. Has an effect on a save that's decent. Awesome spell.
* Repulsion (Cleric/Oracle 7): Fantastic defensive spell - 10' per level (defined at casting if you want it to be smaller) which isn't a barrier, but prevents creatures from moving closer to you (Will negates). If you have this on, you want to be in the back of the line, as your allies are effected too. By the time you get it, it's already worth 130 feet of battlefield control.
* Magic Circle vs. Evil (Cleric/Oracle 3, et al): 10 minutes/level, deflection and resistance bonus, and hedges out evil summons. Also gives you the equivalent of a move-action dispel versus charm and dominate effects (walk over, force your ally to reroll at up to +4 more). Very nice.
* Death Ward: It's highly situational. That being said, the situations in which it *does* apply, it is a house. Prevents new negative energy damage (energy drain, enervation, channel negative...), gives you a save against death effects which negates the effect even if you normally wouldn't get one. What this means is, if you get Finger of Death'd, you get 2 saves. One is to not die and take 3d6+level, the other is to IGNORE WHATEVER HAPPENED FROM THE FIRST SAVE (with a bonus). Also, it suppresses any negative levels on the creature (permanent and temporary), which is a helpful boon against people who have eaten a Raise Dead or Resurrection
* Plane Shift (Cleric/Oracle 5): Very strong escape spell, always carry a fork for the Ethereal plane because it can move an entire party long before Teleport or Dimension Door can do the same.
* Holy Ice (Cleric/Oracle 5): Wall of ice for clerics, or 1/level ranged attacks. It's like a combination of Wall of Ice and Telekinesis. Very good, especially in conjunction with any ability that buffs damage rolls for weapons, as it can turn CLd6+CL into CLd6+CL*(Bonus+1) which is a huge force multiplier.
* Fickle Winds (Cleric/Oracle, Druid 5): 5th level is a great level for cleric spells. It's a one-sided Wind Wall (which is excellent) and depending on how your GM reads it makes you functionally immune to clouds and gases, so that's cool.
* Commune (Cleric/Oracle 5): Again, 5th level. This one is awesome, usually for tracking someone down to an area. Given that it's 1/level and you get a yes/no out of it, you can often play 20 questions with it and get whatever information you need very easily. With 9 questions, you can divide an area you're searching, for example by 2 to the 9th power or roughly 1/1000th of the area. I would generally try and get the amount of terrain you're looking at down to a region first, as a world map gets confusing. If you have to ask "Is BBEG in the Eastern Hemisphere" as your first question, you're probably using the wrong spell. (or maybe not!)
* Constricting Coils (Cleric/Oracle 5): Hold monster with a damage component. For clerics. Let me say that again. Hold monster (also 5th level) with a damage component. That's just stupid.
* Quickened Ill Omen (Dual-Cursed Oracle 5): This is an option that only dual-cursed oracles get. There's a reason for that. Being able to tell someone as a swift action that they have to roll twice against the spell you're about to inflict upon them isn't just rude, it's obscene. Depending on how your GM rules it, you may be able to get a swift, and an immediate on the same turn (with the immediate using up your next turn's swift). If so, you can safely force a single opponent to have to save 4 times against a single spell with Misfortune. Again, rude. Ill Omen is one of the few spells I would suggest for Spell Perfection that isn't 5th or 6th level, because being able to delay until before the big debuffer, and ill omen 2 bad guys out of the same 1st level spell slot is again, rude. (echoing ill omen, quickened ill omen)
* Curse of Magic Negation (Cleric/Oracle 5, Inquisitor 4): I generally hate this line of spells. However, because of how thoroughly it hoses a spellcaster, this one deserves special mention. Negated gives a spellcaster basically a caster level check with a DC of CL*2+9 (+10 if spontaneous) to cast spells. This may not seem like a lot, but believe me when a spellcaster has anything less than a 100% chance to cast, their day is not going well. Best comboed with a "you're going to fail" oracle (dual cursed, quickened ill omen, misfortune).
* Communal Air Walk (Cleric/Oracle 5): Are we seeing a theme yet? Communal Air Walk is better than (and earlier than) Mass fly. This is because quite simply, it lasts 10 minutes per level divided amongst the party, which will usually mean about 20 minutes each of walking on air. It allows you to run. It allows you to charge. It lasts multiple combats. Any questions?
* Greater Magic Weapon/Magic Vestment: The reason Clerics don't have to spend that much on gear. Lasts hours, puts you on par with the fighter who spends all his gold on items. Simple.
* Channel Vigor: Special mention for the ability to use it for multiple different effects, among them haste, and a big bonus to ranged attacks.
* Shield Other: Hours per level, lets you "double up" healing with channels by splitting hits between yourself and another party member, and it's always easier for the cleric to heal themselves than the rogue/wizard. (Let the fighter take the damage. He has more con than you. If he doesn't he deserves to die anyway. The glass cannon/god tend to have fewer hit points, so doubling them at the cost of your own tends to be a good trade.)
* Bestow Grace of the Champion (Cleric/Oracle 7, Paladin 4): This is the reason you want your fighter, Bard, Summoner or Sorcerer to be Lawful Good. It is one of the few round per level buffs that is this good. Basically the target (if LG) gets Paladin abilities as a Paladin of 1/2 your CL.
* Divine Vessel (Oracle 8): Another round per level buff, but this time it's a self buff. This is a powerful, multi-faceted buff, remniscent of 3.5's Righteous Might. Honestly, as cool as it is, by now you're 15th level. The only way this is worth it is if you're casting it in the morning, with the 56k GP ring from Ultimate Equipment that makes it last 24 hours.
* Infernal Healing: This one is last but not least. At any level, a wand of this is a superior option from a wand of cure light wounds, so long as you don't care too much about where your healing comes from. It gives you Fast Healing 1 for 1 minute, making a wand always worth 500 hit points. But, it has the Evil descriptor and makes you detect like an evil creature during that time. Tradeoffs, man.
I like the resurrection subdomain's granted power
Gift of Life (Su): At 8th level, you can touch a creature that has died within the past minute to grant it a few moments of life. The dead creature returns to life for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. Creatures returned to life in this way have a number of hit points equal to half your cleric level, and continue to be affected by any still-active spells, conditions, or afflictions present at the time of their death. At the end of this time, the creature dies again. The creature is free to act as it sees fit during this time. You are granted no control over it. You can use this power once per day at 8th level, plus one additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
And using it in conjunction with breath of life to get around the 'died within the last round casting' stipulation.
Crap, Unmitigated. I'm going to need a minute to get through that.
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* Moment of Greatness (Cleric 1): Doubles, yes doubles, existing morale bonuses for any one roll. Doesn't sound like much, but when opening combat with a Bard providing Inspiring Courage - or a Cleric (Evangelist Archetype) doing same - it can provide a meaningful first strike boost to the entire party. Especially after Inspire Courage becomes a move action at 7th level. 50 foot radius. Minute per level. Affects only allies. Just a 1st level spell.
Litany of Righteousness + Damage (say a Smite Evil and Radiant Charge)