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I am posting this here after being encouraged to do so by some fellow PFS members who are also aware of my development of custom creation guidelines for Clerics in a campaign I had run several years ago. During that campaign, the issue arose regarding different 'types' of Clerics representing various deities and my player's desire to try out something new.
I then put together a point-purchase system which would allow for the re-creation of the core Cleric class, but would also allow for the customization by players to obtain a specific feel for different ethos as presented in Gods & Magic. Perhaps this idea will work its way into Paizo or PFS at some level.
Each Divine Caster is built using 12 build points, which must be spent on the following abilities: Weapons/Armor, Spell Casting, Skills & Channeling.
Weapons/Armor (One option must be selected):
0 points= light armor proficiency and weapon proficiency in dagger, dart, club, light mace, staff and sling only. Generally associated with less combat orientated deities such as Desna, Nethys & Phasmara.
2 points= light, medium armor proficiency, shield proficiency*, simple weapon proficiency & proficiency in deities favored weapon. Associated with most deities. (As per core rulebook).
4 points= as above, but includes heavy armor and martial weapons. Commonly among deities with war as part of their portfolio, such as; Iomedae, Gorum & Rovagug.
*- does not include tower shields.
Spell Casting (One option must be selected):
2 points= Reduced spell casting. May select one domain from deities portfolio and receives one less spell per level than normal. Still receives domain spells & bonus spells per wisdom as normal.
4 points= Normal spell casting. As per core class description.
6 points= Advanced spell casting. As above, but may add a third bonus domain, Knowledge. Knowledge domain must also be part of the deities listed domains in order to select this ability, as must the other 2 domains chosen. In addition once per day, the Cleric may spontaneous cast one domain spell whether or not it was memorized, selected or was previously cast. This is a bonus spell and does not effect the normally selected spell allowance available to the Cleric.
Skill Points** (One option must be selected):
2 Points= 2 skill points per level.
4 Points= 4 skill points per level.
6 Points= 6 skill points per level.
**- may be modified by intelligence score.
Class skills are listed in the core rulebook & may be modified by domain and/or by traits.
Channeling (One option must be selected):
2 points= reduced channeling. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. Feats which modify the number of channels per day, such as extra channel, only grants half the indicated number of bonus channels per day.
4 points= standard channeling as per description in core rulebook.
This is the rough framework I utilized in my campaign. It was tested by numerous players and adopted by some in their own campaigns and in this incarnation appeared to be balanced in normal game play. It may be useful for some of you out there and in my experience does allow for a well rounded character concept to be realized by the aspiring player(s).
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I appreciate your feedback. I would actually disagree regarding your comment regarding min-maxing, in my experience, there is several archetypes and power-deity builds in use among PFS with very little customization or variation outside of that rather narrow range.
A point buy system does allow a player to pick and choose their character's strength and weaknesses which can encourage good role-playing and enforcing a character concept. Additionally, a point buy system, does not allow for the addition of an archetype in most cases and in general is somewhat weaker, albeit more tailored, than a typical class-archetype build.