Samsaran Goliath Druid - Divine Mystic Past Life Advice, Given and Taken

[kadance]

Planning a Samsaran Goliath Druid for an upcoming campaign. The group needs some healing and some melee.

I went through the various divine casting lists and these are the 6 spells I got from each. Now I just need to figure out which one to pick, or what spells I overlooked.

The Shaman spells offer a nice mix of healing and buffing

Shaman:

Blood Tentacles
Breath Of Life
Divine Power
Magic Vestment
Magic Weapon, Greater
Restoration

The Ranger list could work for a vital striker or gunslinging druid.

Ranger:

Abundant Ammunition
Bow Spirit
Lead Blades
Named Bullet
Reloading Hands
Zephyr's Fleetness

The Paladin spells are made for kicking butt and taking names... for the greater good.

Paladin:

Angelic Aspect, Greater
Archon's Trumpet
Blaze of Glory
Eaglesoul
Holy Sword
Paladin's Sacrifice

Inquisitor spells offer a solid buffing list

Inquisitor:

Battlemind Link
Divine Favor
Heroism
Magic Vestment
Magic Weapon, Greater
Shield Of Faith

The Oracle list has the very some of the best healing spells and the +20 Strength combo

Oracle:

Blessing Of Fervor
Blood Rage
Blood Tentacles
Breath Of Life
Miracle
Moment of Greatness

The Antipaladin spells are the most exotic available.

Antipaladin:

Blood Tentacles
Invisibility
Invisibility, Greater
Magic Weapon, Greater
Umbral Weapon
Vampiric Touch

So, what'd my blueman do in his last life?

[avr]

A far as the group is concerned, Blessing of Fervor (cleric/oracle) is the best spell you can have. They can and probably should take Restoration too as a former cleric/oracle; Lesser won't cut it eventually. Paladin or Anti- is best for you personally.

What level are you starting at?

[kadance]

Starting at level 1.

Large group. Classes so far are Rogue, Bloodrager, Ranger, Sorcerer, Wizard, and Witch (the only other healing).

[avr]

If you're starting at level 1 then spells above level ~4 probably aren't a good choice. They won't come up for ages even if the game lasts so long. Choosing Miracle is almost certainly a mistake - how many times in the game will you actually cast it?

With a large group (3 martial types + you + possibly an animal companion), a group buff is going to be miles more efficient than a personal buff.

[Ellioti]

I disagree on Blessing of Fervor. The sorcerer and wizard should have that covered with Haste.

Divine Favor with Fate's Favored, later quickened is the best self-buff imho. Since more than one round of buffing is unreasonable, you're covered there. I admit, in a long lasting campaign, Holy Sword is tempting.
Now the Inquisitor's Heroism lasts for the whole dungeon and is therefore one of the best long-lasting self-buffs. Get that one.
You want Breath Of Life for party emergencies. You want that definitely.
Out of combat Restoration is a must-have within any party.

That's what I would pick. Divine Favor and Heroism from the Inquisitor and Breath of Life and Restoration from the Cleric.

Edit: Of course, Greater Magic Weapon and Lead Blades means you are very flexible with whatever weapon you wan to use.

[Taenia]

Keep in mind that you can retrain Racial Traits using the rules in Ultimate Campaign. It isn't cheap and takes time but assuming the campaign will provide the time and resources eventually you might consider a pre and post retraining list. 7-8th is a good time to consider it and would let you plan for some initial goodies and then your long range plans.

[kadance]

@Ellioti: My understanding is that Mystic Past Life only allows you to add spells from "another spellcasting class," which is to say a singular class - no mixing and matching. But I broadly agree with your spell recommendations

@Taenia: I had not considered retraining, and it does make particularly good sense with this racial ability.

Restoration can be had on the oracle, inquisitor, paladin, or shaman (already there) lists. Which spell to drop? Miracle, Shield of Faith, or Paladin's Sacrifice?

If I have time, I'll look at making an early list and a retrained list as suggested.

Edit: Also need to drop Umbral Weapon from the Antipaladin list. That spell is not good.

[kadance]

Revised Antipaladin List:

4 Blood Tentacles
3 Deadly Juggernaut
2 Invisibility (Retrain to Greater?)
3 Litany of Sight
3 Magic Weapon, Greater
3 Vampiric Touch

Cleric Initial List:

3 Blood Rage
1 Divine Favor
2 Inheritor's Smite
2 Martyr's Bargain
1 Moment of Greatness
1 Shield Of Faith

Cleric Retrained List, level 7:

5 Blood Tentacles
3 Borrow Fortune
5 Breath Of Life
4 Divine Power
4 Restoration
4 Ward Shield

Cleric List Retrained at level 11+:

8 Angelic Aspect, Greater
8 Antimagic Field
5 Breath Of Life
6 Eaglesoul
4 Restoration
4 Ward Shield

I could see grabbing Miracle and Greater Create Demiplane at higher levels.

Inquisitor Initial List:

1 Divine Favor
2 Inheritor's Smite
2 Invisibility
2 See Invisibility
1 Shield Of Faith
1 True Strike

Inquisitor Retrained List, level 5:

4 Battlemind Link
4 Divine Power
3 Heroism
3 Magic Vestment
3 Magic Weapon, Greater
4 Ward Shield

Paladin Initial List:

1 Divine Favor
2 Inheritor's Smite
3 Litany of Sight
2 Martyr's Bargain
2 Paladin's Sacrifice
3 Prayer

Paladin Retrained at 7th:

4 Angelic Aspect, Greater
4 Archon's Trumpet (Keep Divine Favor?)
4 Blaze of Glory
4 Eaglesoul
4 Holy Sword
4 Restoration

The same Shaman List, could be retrained into at 5+:

5 Blood Tentacles
5 Breath Of Life
4 Divine Power
3 Magic Vestment
4 Magic Weapon, Greater
4 Restoration

So any retraining could jump from one list to a completely different list.

[kadance]

Based on the expectation of retraining, I believe inquisitor is the best starting list.

And the Paladin retrained list border on broken.