This is a continuation of my Cleric of Cayden advice thread...
So the group has formed up and changed now that we had our first session (more like a learn-the-game-semi-dungeon-crawl). We have a wizard, rogue, and monk as our core players outside of me. The wizard is a savvy veteran RPGer and should be good to go. The rogue and monk are new and their builds will likely not have much continuity.
I created my cleric of cayden as a half-elf with Str: 13, Dex: 11, Con: 10, Int 10, Wis: 20, Cha: 16 including the racial add. Took Explore and Liberation domains, selective channeling, and half-elf skill focus on perception. My take was that he'd be anveraser for mistakes (selective channeling) which will likely be many given the inexperience, be the face of the party, and be a perception powerhouse.
Any advice on my role within the party given the others?
If you think the role is okay, do you have any advice on the build?
I'm open to changing literally everything from feat selection to class and race (though I'd like to follow cayden because I think the RP would be fun and appropriate for me).
Thanks for any help.
Swapping over to the Evangelist archtype would be a huge help to your party with both a monk and a rogue in it... and the bard-like inspire should fit Cayden cailean nicely.
Short of that, though, Cayden Cailean as a choice is more about RP and less about mechanics. The group comp should be fine, with the Monk having to fill the fighter roll. Hopefully the monk can fight up front decently and isn't a zen archer...
I am surprised that you took a 10 con... I have never done so, and I have to ask, why the high charisma? And what is your point buy? 30?
You have 18(+2),16,13,11,10,10 which is 31 points... so did you roll?
Because if not, that could be 17,14,14,14,12,10 which is a much better array for a cleric.
I would do Str: 14, Dex: 12, Con: 14, Int 10, Wis: 19, Cha: 14
With the rest of that group, I would have gone for more of a battle-cleric smash-face melee character rather than a heavy caster.
The reason I took the high charisma was for the bonus channeling and so I would have an easier time being the group face.
We rolled and my array was 18, 16, 13, 11, 10, 10 (using 2D6+6 system). So it's almost feast or famine in terms of my stats. Where would you slot those in?
I think the monk will end up being more melee and less range. He actually wanted to do a samurai at first because he wants to do an martial arts type character. So I assume he will gravitate towards the front line.
I'm going to look at the evangelist archetype now.
channeling, you may find, is not very important.
Being the face can be, but skill points outweigh stats there.
It is a bit rough having that stay array, but I would probably drop to a 11 charisma and put the 16 into con... it may seem antithetical, but death comes quickly for those without Con, and with a monk and a rogue, you may find that you need to get into the mix of combat yourself.
The affable trait, ease of faith, or the mediator/honeyed words trait should help to make up for the charisma deficit.
If I were to propose a comparable point buy to my DM, what would it be? Being of arguably equal "value" to the stats I rolled.
Well, it's at least a 30 point buy in pure stats, but with the flexibility of a 15 point buy or so. I'd settle for 25 points happily myself, as I value the freedom more than the "20 wisdom". In fact, I'd be just fine with 20 points, but that may leave you well off the powercurve compared to the rest of the party, depending on their rolls.
Consider going for a human instead of a half-elf. The Free 1 skill point per level is almost equal to a free +2 to Intelligence, and the bonus feat you could swap for Focused Study is you want SF: Perception.
Str 14 (5); Dex 12 (2); Con 14 (5); Int 12 (2); Wis 16 (10); Cha 11 (1)
That seems a pretty decent array. If you were to choose human, it would give you 5 skill points per level, counting your favourite class bonus, which is nice. And you could switch to putting them in hit points later, once the bard has figured out whether s/he wants to be a bit of party face as well. Consider a 1 level dip in fighter for heavy armour proficiency and a bonus feat.
Alternatively:
Str 13 (3); Dex 14 (5); Con 14 (5); Int 12 (2); Wis 14 (5); Cha 14 (5)
If you really want that channeling and the high charisma, this is probably your best bet. Pure cleric, no fighter dip, so a slightly higher dex to make sure your armour class isn't too bad. You'll be starved for feats, especially if you go with Selective Channeling (I would not do that, stick to out of combat channeling), but the option is there. Your melee prowess will be a little meh until you get to higher levels, mainly because your chance to hit will be low due to a low strength (or dex, in case of finesse). Look for an agile rapier, though! It's totally fitting for Cayden Cailean, and worth it for style alone.
I'll check in with my DM and see if he is okay with me changing it up like that. Thank you very much for that advice. I'd rather not multiclass at all. It's just my personal preference. But I am open to other classes if another might fit in better for the group.
After last night's mini-session, I'm not starting to see why people aren't overly keen on channeling.
If only I could be a Paladin of Cayden Cailean I think I'd be happy, haha.
And if I do the human, evangelist, exploration domain, what would be my best bet for feats and skills?
The array I have right now, including racial bonus, is 14, 12, 14, 12, 16, 12.