So, after teasing a friend in another game who plays the most copper-pinching greedy cleric of Sarenrae ever, I've decided to play that motif the way it *should* be played for my next PFS character.
I've never played a pathfinder cleric so I'd appreciate any tips.
I'm thinking a Cleric of Abadar.
I'm debating between Dwarf or Aasimar born into a dwarven family.
I like the Dwarven racial traits a lot, but the Aasimar boost to charisma and speed is hard to pass up.
I'm debating between the Defense, Earth(especially if dwarf), Protection, *Trade* (seems mandatory, fluff-wise), and Travel Domains. Advice?
Feats: Selective Channel, and...?
Traits: Faith Healer (if Aasimar)- Use Heal checks for Day Job. Aka charge people for healing them. Right up his alley.
Maybe Eyes and Ears of City?- Get Perception as class skill?
Weapons- Light Crossbow and some kind of bludgeoning thing.
Armor?
Stats, I was thinking (if Aasimar):
S 12
D 12
C 14
I 12
W 17
Ch 14
~~~
Style-wise I don't see him as a front-liner. Kind of a prissy coward, standing back and buffing friends to protect him, whining about it the whole time.
He'll also compulsively kvetch about having to heal other people, in a yiddish accent (i've got a little Semite in me so s'alright) "oh, you couldn't be bothered to buy a potion, this is my problem, how?" and going thru the motions of charging people for healing and buffing. It's PFS so he can't really. But he'll haggle as if.
Anyhoo, I'm clear on the fluff, but I'd love some help with building him to be useful, and worth putting up with.
bump
I vote Aasimar, with Travel Domain, no subdomain, and the Protection domain for a free cloak of resistance without having to use up your item slot (and it's free!).
They get bonuses to the stats that matter, as well as racial bonuses on Perception and Diplomacy. All very nice for clerics.
Taking Scion of Humanity will open up access to Fast Learner which can give you more skills per level without sacrificing HP, and you need all the skills you can get.
Somebody mentioned Caves... which is great, except Abadar isn't into Caves. Not CIVILIZED enough 8-P.
You could go for Metal which he does grant, for Wall of Iron in addition to Earth's Wall of Stone, and Iron Body.
The Wall spells go well with the 1st level Stone Shield spell (which negates AoOs), if you want to develop that thematic imagery.
Defense is nice for Shield Spell and Natural Armor, along with inherited Protection stuff.
Trade sounds right up his alley, so I'd get that no matter what.
thanks all for the good suggestions.
to respond to some questions--
Coward, whiner, and hates to get messy, so *not* battle cleric, more hang back and channel and buff kind of cleric. Crossbow when runs out of other options.
Re speed: I was only referring to aasimar being faster than dwarf. With the boost to charisma, and normal instead of slow speed, are there any great reasons to play a dwarf? Or any other PFS legal race besides aasimar?
Thanks Chris for the tip on Temple Vanity. I'd totally prefer to do it with prestige points rather than a trait. I can always get more prestige points.
It looks like Travel and Protection domains are the most popular out of the possible ones for Abadar. with some consideration of Caves and Nobility.
Feats for a buff and channel focused cleric?
Selective channel for 1st level? Others?
Abadar doesn't grant Caves Sub-Domain. Part 2.
Dwarves literally have greed as a racial trait... Just sayin'.
The trade subdomain isn't bad and would ceartinly be thematically appropriate. It doesn't really seem like any of the other domain choices fit in with your role playing concept. Have you considered The Evangelist archetype? That would make a great cowadly (but effective) lead from the rear type.
Gothcha Quandry. no caves. I posted before seeing your post.
If only there was a "Scion of Dwarvitude" then I could have the best of both.
Thanks again for suggestions, all.
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@OP
so *not* battle cleric, more hang back and channel and buff kind of cleric.
Since nearly all Clerics can do those things (channel and buff) you are in the ideal position of choosing what you want to be good at. Some 'good at' options include (in no particular order):
A. Melee combat (not your thing)
B. Missile combat (not very effective for a Cleric)
C. Channeling (great at low levels, does not scale well to high levels)
D. Spellcasting (weak at low levels, strong at high levels)
E. Summoning (Clerics make great summoners!)
F. Fielding a Cohort (e.g. Animal companion, undead horde, et cetera )
G. Winning Friends and Influencing Enemies (actually, supporting others to do so, as Clerics have few skills)
H. Buffing. Clerics are good at buffing by default, but can be magnificent.
You have the build resources to be quite good at one of those things or pretty good at two.
For example, say you want to be good at Buffing and at Social Skills. Great domains would be Trade (for improved social skills) and Law (Touch of Law to the Archer or the Barbarian, for the win ). You would sink your few skill points into social skills. A little CHA helps your social skills and helps you Channel better.
Remember to consider what you will do in unpleasant circumstances. For example, what is your plan if your Caravan is overrun by bandits? Two bandits are now in your face attacking you up close, no quarter given. Your allies are all busy and not able to help someone who can't help themselves. Melee combat is occurring, whether you want it to or not. What will you do? Better have a plan ...
A great way to buff your allies is to have lots of Hit Points and use Shield Other to protect an ally. You absorb damage from someone who tends to take a lot of punishment, thereby doubling the effectiveness of your channels. Don't neglect your CON. More HP is better.
As to race, just go with what you want. Each race is better at certain specialties, but they can all work.
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Take the Nobility domain and the alternate channeling variant. Start channeling and dazing your enemies to oblivion.
If only! Read the Variant Channeling rules more closely - it's not an option. In a home game it would work great, but it's not PFS legal. Variant Channeling (Rulership) is extremely effective, but also effectively forbidden.
First, Abadar has the Portfolio: Cities, Wealth, Merchants, & Law. Variant Channeling is based on Portfolios, not Domains. Rulership (which is what XMorseX meant) is not on that list. As it turns out, Variant Channeling (Cities) is pretty decent for some builds. For example, a reach weapon wielder can use it to deny the 5' step to foes, giving extra AoOs and a tactical advantage.
So, Abadar does have a decent Variant Channeling option (very few deities do), but it's not Rulership. Only a Cleric who channels negative energy and worships a deity whose Porfolio includes Rulership can choose Variant Channel (Rulership) to Harm. The only such deity that's PFS legal is the arch-devil Dispater. Yuck.
Given that while dwarves make good clerics, channelling is decidedly not their forte, I'd think about a trade domain inquisitor instead.
Wow! Thanks everyone for the additional input on Feats, Domains, and Variant channeling abilities. It's great to have several strong options.