Melee / Support Cleric of Sarenrae

[Zerbe]

Hello,

One of our group members died during our last RotRL session and now he has to make a new character for the weekend.

He wants to make a cleric of Sarenrae with the Heroism/Good domains, his role would be offtank (next to my pala), "offDD" and some buffs.

We are using a reroll table for new characters , the best rolls were:
18,14,14,13,11,11 or 16,15,15,15,12,11

2 things are set in stone , human and cleric of Sarenrae.

So here are 2 build ideas, which is the better path to go ?

Build 1:

Stats:

-Str:13
-Dex:16
-Con:14
-Int:11
-Wis:18
-Cha:11

Feats:
-1st Weapon Finesse
-1st Imp. Ini
-3rd Dervish Dance
-5th Power Attack
-7th Craft Wondrous Items

Build 2:

Stats:

-Str:14
-Dex:11
-Con:14
-Int:11
-Wis:20
-Cha:13

Feats:
-1st Channel Smite
-1st Guided Hand
-3rd Power Attack
-5th Craft Wondrous Items
-7th ???

He will join us at level 7 with a WBL of level 6.
Which build do you prefer?
How would you continue the builds?
And which items can you recommend?

We used his Money for a +1 weapon/armor,Ring of Protection+1,Amulet of Natural Armor +1 and a Handy Haversack

Thanks in advance

[sunbeam]

Hmmm Sarenrae is neutral good right?

I ask because my personal choice for a cleric now is the reach cleric (you can find it in the class guides). I think it is the most powerful and most useful approach to take.

A good bit of that guide is aimed at using summon monster spells, using Sacred Summons. That will eat up feats in a hurry, and you alignment also affect how useful it is.

But assuming your alignment gives one of the more useful sets of outsiders to summon, you can't beat that build for utility. Plus it doesn't stop you from being a buffer.

One problem with that though is that I don't think Neutral Good gets a particularly good set of outsiders to summon.

Also, not sure about Domains. Heroism is excellent, but think I'd go Restoration or something instead of Good. Just my choice though.

[XMorsX]

Reach cleric is the superior choice, but dervish dance can also be effective. How improtant is Dervish Dance for the build?

Guided Hand is really more interestign for monks that dip cleric than for the clerics themselves. Not that it is a bad feat to use though, it is just that if you use save or suck spells you do not have time for melee, and if you primary buff and going melee you do not need have time for save or suck spells, So in any case, Guided Hand goes kind of wasted.

[Zerbe]

First , thanks for mentioning the reach cleric.
But he doesn't like it at all (me neither tbh).

Dervish Dance isn't important , but I thought it would help and also suits such a character (maybe even the Flame of Dawn trait on top).

It should be a cleric with a scimitar (Sarenrae) who can go melee to do some damage and take some hits , and of course have some buffs or other useful spells as well.

[XMorsX]

My initial thoughts:

- Good domain choice, Restoration is just as useful as the good domain is IMO. Heroism is the big star.

- There is no great reason to go with Dervish Dance, but as a mainly martial and buffer bard I do not see why you will want to take guided hand either. However, if you are allowed to use the Guided weapon property that adds Wisdom to damage too, then definately do it and dump Str.

- How do you feel about a quickdraw shield? Some players do find it iffy, but is is a great way to:

- Use two-handed attacks on your turn.
- Enjoy shield bonus to AC when it is not your turn.
- Have one hand free for casting and still be able to go sword and board.

If you are into quickdraw shields, a standard Str build is probably the best choice.

If you are not, Dervish Dance will do.

Consider a Wis build only if you have access to the guided weapon special ability.

Also, for this kind of build, Holy Vindicator is a great choice. Enter at 9th lvl and enjoy the benefits. The fact that you have an acceptable Charisma sweetens the deal, so that you can use quick channel effectively without losing on weapon attacks. The heroism 1st lvl ability will also let you have decent channel DC with just a 13 in Charisma.