I am wordy, I have a hard time summarizing, I apologize if this is an issue.
My RPG experience is limited, most of the games I've played never make it past the first session (None except for a 4 month Savage worlds campaign have made it past 2). So, kinda feeling lost, and I want to make sure my character can pull its weight, and pick up any slack that comes up. So, any advice, or help would be greatly appreciated! :D My first session is in two days, so I hope to be ready by then.
I'm playing a Cleric, it was a Glitterfane from the Rhune setting, but some interpersonal drama (Always the drama...) shot that game, so now it's a Fey, of some sort, using the Glitterfane racials in a more basic Pathfinder game (New GM is very nice). We get an extra Feat to start, just cause (Previous GM's rule). My DM was nice, and let me roll up stats separate from him (He can Veto them, if they're too high or low), and after throwing out several that were hilariously low, and several that were heartbreaking awesomely high, I got (Racial bonuses marked in): STR(12) Dex(12+2) Con(14-2) Int(14) Wis(16+2) Cha(18)
Question 1) Is this a good set-up? I read the guides, but I'm not real sure I understand some of the reasoning (So didn't obey them yet), I'm open to switching them around, but I can't fudge the numbers. I'm going for a buffing support cleric (That heals (Duh), apparently heals are desperately needed in this group).
Domains are something I have NO experience with, and we're not using the basic gods apparently, I have no information on the ones we are using. I am (Due to the original back story, and talks with the new GM) using Animal, with the subdomain of Feather as one of them (If it matters, I did get Handle Animals as a free learned skill using some sort of backstory thing/option, as well as Knowledge (nature) from the same source). This cannot be changed at this point. My other domain however, has not been selected. And, I have some leeway in it (Implied by GM) since I don't have the Gods information too work with.
Question 2)From the looks of it, I should be aiming for Glory or Healing... could have sworn there was a third... (Though Trickery looked nice too...). I'm looking for buffs, healing, or utlity. But I'm not really sure what I'm doing here yet. Suggestions?
Almost done! Two questions left! As a Glitterfane/Fey thing, I get Fly as a skill, and a flight speed of 15. I'm getting a feat called "Expanded flight" (Suggested by previous GM, okayed by current GM, and apparently no where on the internet) that increases my flight speed by 20. I love maneuverability/flying in games, took it immediately.
Question 3)However, are there more ways to increase flight speed? If it matters, I get fly as a learned skill from my racial, and a rank in it from the Feather Sub-domain (I think). Would putting more ranks into it increase my speed?
Last question!
Question 4) I was originally planning on getting selective Healing/Channeling (Can't remember exact wording) as my second feat (The non-free one). Channel energy looks pretty awesome. Would this be wise? Should I be looking elsewhere?
Thank you for reading, sorry for length! XD
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Well im not familiar with Glitterfane but those stats are nice especialy for a cleric.
1) Decent set up from what i can see. I dont read guides but i have a lot of extensive knowledge and from what i see so far its a good show.
2) If u are going for healing then ur best bet of course is the Healing Domain with the Sub-domain Restoration to get rid of status conditions and increase ur healing output with out needing meta magic feats/items.
3) The Fly skill is used to keep in air and to use as an opposed check against wind conditions to stay up in the air. In concerns to increasing flight speed i know of none excluding 3.5 so sorry on that front.
4) Selective Channel is a must have feat that needs to be obtained as soon as possible. Channel Energy effects all targets including enemis. If u have the feat it allows u to exclude X amount of targets when channeling so u dont end up healing the bad guys.
Some tips for going healer / buffer.
-All the spells u memorize should be buff and condition removal spells since u can cast a cure spell when ever u so chose with any prepared spell slot.
-With ur cash u will want to buy the heaviest armor u can fit into and a large shield. Total Defense will be ur friend so read up on it. U wont be of use in combat other than as a meet shield for the arcane casters but that is pretty much ur job with the stats u have.
-Rest of ur money should be invested in wands of Cure Light Wounds to use for out of combat healing.
-It will be boring for u but ur pet is gonna at least pick up ur slack in the martial area. The pet u will be controlling and placing feats in so u will be technically playing 2 characters. I suggest a Wolf or Big Cat of some sort since they are well rounded and do decent damage.
-Feats to consider are Reach spell Meta Magic feat to extend range on heal spells, Selective channel so u dont heal the enemy, and Fey Foundling for the extra +2 health u gain per HD u get healed by magic effects.
You are forthright, adept at presentation, and fully capable separation of thoughts. Please post at will!
That was meant for the original poster (OP).
That was meant for the original poster (OP).Still "?"
He was needlessly apologizing for his post.
Remember: you will not use channel energy or cure spells infight much (is at all) after a few levels as they become ineffective pretty fast. I therefore cannot recommand channel feats and the like, clerics can prevent damage a lot easier than heal it. Look at the "sacred summon" feat - its more than awesome, also consider some of the cleric archtyped. With your charisma I would take a look at evangelist. He gets bardic performances like inspire courage what is just hell of kick ass. But on the other side it makes you a more wizard like clerc (what I think is totally fine) who can buff insanely good. Add sacred summons and you will give your party a lot more than just healing. Maybe even consider augment summoning, even though its a tough investment. For more ideas - just look at those guides you already found, they give a nice overview of the options you have.
And still I have to mention that these housrules and homebrew feats sound a little weird, I hope your DM knows what he's doung there....
First of all, welcome to PF! It is a fun game and the people at Paizo did a fantastic job. I have never actually played a Cleric, but your ability scores look great. I probably would try to raise Con and lower Int. Hit points over-rule a skill point with a Cleric build in my opinion. Selective channel is a must have and the Healing domain along with it. Our group allows 2 traits, 1 occupation and 1 drawback (Tome of Secrets) at character creation, which allows for more flexibility and background. We use the point buy system for abilities so everyone has the same chance at decent stats. I am not familiar with your race selection, although I mainly play core races. Fly skill is only needed if you attempt to be fancy or weather conditions come into play. It does not enhance speed. Other than that have fun and enjoy.
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@rangerjeff
So far no u r the 1st. I am use to texting and using abbreviation for words that can easily b understood by a single letter or 2. So i apologize but its just how i type when i am not making a professional document for work. U should see all the spelling mistakes i make b4 i spell check my documents and the lack of periods to end sentences that i add at the end lol.
@Ciaran Barnes
O sorry i just, for some reason unknown to me, could not rap my head around ur comment. But ya that is much clearer to me now lol.
As a cleric, you'll find yourself eating up buff spells out of battle. Try to prevent that by picking up a wand of cure light wounds and casting from that instead. This will allow you to keep your spells, heal during battle for emergencies, and still heal out of battle.
Wands of cure light wounds are the most economical money-for-healing tools around. (There's one that's actually a little better, but the spell is evil. Literally.) Plenty of parties find that they don't even need a full time healer by using wands of CLW. A lot of characters (including your cleric) can use them freely, while anyone else with the skill 'Use Magic Device' can use them with only a little trouble. They're like the band-aids of Pathfinder.
Since you're reading guides, let me swing two your way that you probably haven't checked out. The first is Treantmonk's God Wizard Guide, which does an excellent job of explaining the different fields that a caster can focus on. It also explains why Summon Monster spells are worth using, which is a bonus since they're on your spell list. Treantmonk doesn't talk much about buffing, which is why I also recommend this handy Guide on team tactics. It's a very traditional approach, but for a new player traditional is GOOD. You have to learn the rules before you can play the exceptions. ^_^
Oh wow, lotsa replies :D
@Psion Thank you, definitely writing down Fey Foundling for consideration, but I'm likely going with Selective channeling. If the game lasts long enough for me to regret that decision, I'll be too happy from actually have a game last that long in the first place.
@rangerjeff I can, just have a mental black "Stats do not go beyond 18" that I apparently didn't notice. I'll check with the DM to confirm that having a stat above 18 isn't an issue first. I just can't take stats from one number, and add it to another. The Dex suggestion is a good one, coupled with the suggestion later on for the missile defenses, thanks :)
@Rory From what I can tell we have no Barbarians, so the healing Domain is likely what I'll be getting. Thank you for the defensive feat suggestions!
@Wasum He was a good friend of the original DM, and is only letting us keep the various things because of it, otherwise we wouldn't be using any of housrules or homebrew feats (Assuming that's the expanded flight one, couldn't find it on the internet, assumed that's what it was), he doesn't like them.
@Dorian 'Grey' Yeah, tried to get the DM to allow point buy, but he insisted on rolling. Well, the Dice bag app on my phone at least makes it fast XD
@Mystically Inclined You and several others suggested getting scrolls, wands and other items, something I hadn't considered. I do have a fair amount of starting gold, definitely investing in those! I'm considering bringing the Guide on team tactics to the attention of the DM, and a few of the more experienced players (Who can then coach the less experienced). I've played enough online games to know how powerful buffs/debuffs and crowd control can be. And so far, I don't think we have any CC. We do have a Bard, but the person playing him... well, acts like a stereotypical bard himself. No idea how that will turn out.
Thanks all, using this information to finish the creation. Hope to post back about how well it worked (Or how much I screwed it up, whichever proves more accurate). :)
Before you go sinking a resource like a domain into healing, consider that you will already be a great healer without it. Take another look at your choice of domains. I recommend picking one that will be more fun to play, such as a special ability or new class skills.
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Before you go sinking a resource like a domain into healing, consider that you will already be a great healer without it. Take another look at your choice of domains. I recommend picking one that will be more fun to play, such as a special ability or new class skills.
The problem though i have with not getting the healing domain is that u will have to get the Empower Spell Meta-MAGIC feat in order to keep up with the healing the domain would of given. That means 1 less feat u could of picked up and the meta feat will increase the level of spell slot needed to expend to increase the healing that u would have gotten for free with out needing to increase the spell slot needed because of the domain power. On top of that u get 3+wis uses to get rid of conditions which u might not have prepared a spell for or ran out of spells to perform the status removal. In all its not a good trade for a healer to give up the healing domain.
Empowering cure spells? This sounds like we're not playing the same game somehow:P
Before you go sinking a resource like a domain into healing, consider that you will already be a great healer without it. Take another look at your choice of domains. I recommend picking one that will be more fun to play, such as a special ability or new class skills.The problem though i have with not getting the healing domain is that u will have to get the Empower Spell Meta-MAGIC feat in order to keep up with the healing the domain would of given. That means 1 less feat u could of picked up and the meta feat will increase the level of spell slot needed to expend to increase the healing that u would have gotten for free with out needing to increase the spell slot needed because of the domain power. On top of that u get 3+wis uses to get rid of conditions which u might not have prepared a spell for or ran out of spells to perform the status removal. In all its not a good trade for a healer to give up the healing domain.
In the end, it's a moot point sadly XD Talked to the DM about the various gods in this campaign, and their domains, and I'm kind of locked into Healing. Kind of disappointing, but what can you do? I was hoping for a more Buff heavy possibility, or a tons of fun random one. I choose Healing originally because it was a solid choice and so I could at least finish creating my character (And maybe change it later before the first game session, when I found out the domains), but I really only get Healing, and several really BAD domains as non-choices.
As a positive note, DM doesn't care if I put my 18 into Wisdom, so I get to start with a 20 wisdom, which is nice. :D
I can't think of any god with less than three domains to pick from. Being forcefed domains kid of sucks the fun out of it. Just out of curiosity, how are you locked into it?
I can't think of any god with less than three domains to pick from. Being forcefed domains kid of sucks the fun out of it. Just out of curiosity, how are you locked into it?
I have the ability to choose between Healing, Magic, Animal and/or two others I forgot but I recognized them from Tarks guide as being described as "Bad, very bad". I only remember Magic, because I hadn't looked it up before, and hadn't realized that it was a Domain.
Another poster commented on "Homebrewn" aspects of this campaign, this is part of it apparently.
(Scroll-scroll-scroll up, and it was Wasum)
I don't mind too much, it's not optimal (Wouldn't empower spell (The feat) also affect my non-healing spells?), but it's not bad either. Glory really looked nice though...
Edit: For spelling, and below
Was going through to make sure I didn't miss anything, and I spotted this in the cleric description:
"While the vast majority of clerics revere a specific deity, a small number dedicate themselves to a divine concept worthy of devotion—such as battle, death, justice, or knowledge—free of a deific abstraction. (Work with your GM if you prefer this path to selecting a specific deity.)"
Would this require me to choose one specific domain, or would it still be two? Because while he's a stickler for rules (The game's, or his own), he grants a fair amount of leeway inside of the rules. And I could then choose a different domain possibly.
Edit 2: What happens when you read further...
"If a cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, she still selects two domains to represent her spiritual inclinations and abilities (subject to GM approval). The restriction on alignment domains still applies."
Psion's post below was made BEFORE this edit.
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From personal experience i would say 1 since u would have to have such a strong belief in the mater were ur belief alone is ur power. Example i believe that all things should die so strongly that i get the death domain as the cleric and i go out of my way to bring death to all. Since i believe so strongly in death i wont bring things back, i dont care if there good/evil/lawful/chaotic deserving or not. I have no affinity with nature or its aspects just the belief that all should die and i shall bring it upon myself to do it. So that automatically locks me out of the healing domains, the elemental domains, the good/evil/law/chaotic domains, glory, ext since all my faith is in is death.