So I keep looking at the cleric but the skills always killed it. But I found out about the sage familiar and that might be the solution. So the question is: How can a cleric gain a sage familiar for PFS?
Eldritch heritage arcane or Familiar bond
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So I keep looking at the cleric but the skills always killed it. But I found out about the sage familiar and that might be the solution. So the question is: How can a cleric gain a sage familiar for PFS?
1. Cunning is PFS legal.
2. Crocodile, Eagle, Frog, Monkey, Serpent, Vermin domains grant a familiar.
3. Familiar Bond.
4. Asmodean Advocate has a snake familiar, and it also has an ability to make Profession (barrister) count as Diplomacy and Bluff, which makes your skill ranks more efficient.
For other skill solutions, the Herald Caller Cleric has 4/ skills, and is pretty good otherwise. Or there's always just investing in more skills the old fashioned way; favored class, INT, feats, race. It can add up.
I wouldnt chose asmodeus, bcs you lose imp familiar, since imp familiars can't have archetypes.
@Letric Didn't know the imp couldn't get a archetype, good to know. Does that apply to all improved familiars?
@Badbird Yeah herald caller is up on the list, think the problem I have is how to balance everything else. A Skill cleric I'm finding is really rough to pull out..especially if you are trying to do a reach build...Need a high str for combat, a decent dex for AoO, decent con for being towards the front, a good wis since as you go up that takes priority, cant really tank cha so that leaves int...which you need for skills. Herald caller makes up for the skills but then you lose med armor and a domain which is a tad rough.
@Secret Wizard and Chromantic The familiar bond seems nice if I go human at level 1 I could pick it up right away Combat would take a hit until level 5 (combat reflexes and power attack)
@Grandlounge what is ap#55?
One idea I was sort of looking at is maybe take the one level dip into a steelblood bloodrager, gain the familiar, heavy armor and some rage and then go cleric. trying to go heroism and maybe travel (not sure a god matches it though)
There is a trait which can sub in for iron will as a pre requisite for familiar bond
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I think you're making the mistake of trying to do too much...
You dont have to have good everything...
If you see yourself as a scholarly cleric then fine.... Str 8, Con 10, Max Wis, a bit of Dex, Cha 8-10 and then the rest in Int. You already have good CON saves and D8 HD..... you dont NEED to invest in Con.
Most people from what I've seen who play clerics, dont realise that in order to be optimal you HAVE to specialise.
Part of the reason why clerics have a serious rep for being boring is that so many people do the whole 'jack of all trades' cleric... it just doesnt work.
Thing is, beside the spellcasting and domains the cleric is kinda slim. A wizard has spellcasting AND is really solid in his knowledge. I always found it kinda sad that a wizard is more knowledgeable of religion than a cleric. I'm not trying to do everything realistically I know that isn't possible. But isn't it worth trying to get more? The sage familiar is awesome in that regard.
There is a trait which can sub in for iron will as a pre requisite for familiar bond
Found it. It is the House of Green Mother's Pupil Trait. Thanks for mentioning this! I had never noticed it before.
Part of skull and shackles
?
For Cleric of besmara
@Badbird Yeah herald caller is up on the list, think the problem I have is how to balance everything else. A Skill cleric I'm finding is really rough to pull out..especially if you are trying to do a reach build...Need a high str for combat, a decent dex for AoO, decent con for being towards the front, a good wis since as you go up that takes priority, cant really tank cha so that leaves int...which you need for skills. Herald caller makes up for the skills but then you lose med armor and a domain which is a tad rough.
You can certainly drop CHA; if you want spellcasting, melee and skills, throw Channel under the bus. If uses/day matters to you, Extra Channel is like having +4CHA. For a reach build, 12DEX means 2/round, which is often plenty; and +2DEX from an item is fairly inexpensive overall. Guided Hand with a reach weapon deity can also help with stat compression quite a bit. Dual Talent Human can help with stacking two stats, even if you put in 12INT to make up for losing skills (10->12 is 2 point buy while 14->16 is 5 point buy, so overall it can still be a big win). Giving up a Domain is really not that big a deal typically; you still only get 1/level spell slots (which often just involve stacking the best Domain spells up levels anyhow). And of course, a single level dip can help quite a bit with overall combat ability while leaving Cleric spellcasting perfectly relevant. Bottom line, you can be good at a lot of things if you don't try to be really good at everything.
Edit: as far as Besmara goes, a Swordmaster's Flair: Blue Scarf can turn rapier into a reach weapon with Panache, and Fencing Grace is a major ability compressor. A Cleric of Besmara taking a single level of Swashbuckler and going Fencing Grace with a Swordmaster's Flair: Blue Scarf is a strong way to get Panache/reach/Grace with rapier - and it's incredibly fitting thematically. It also boosts skills.
I wouldnt chose asmodeus, bcs you lose imp familiar, since imp familiars can't have archetypes.I didn't know this either. Could you source it, please?
This FAQ says you should...
...treat Improved Familiar as if it was an archetype to see if it stacks with other familiar options: since the two things it alters from a regular familiar are that it removes the ability to speak with animals of its kind and it prevents changing the creature type for non-animals, you couldn’t make a familiar that changes the creature type of non-animals or alters or removes speak with animals of its kind an Improved Familiar.
Since most archetypes trade out Speak With Animals Of Its Kind, they would be incompatible with an Imp. I don't see any such problem with the Sage Archetype.
So thought atm is to go with the one level dip into the Steelblood bloodrager (not sure though it is heavy armor vs speed) Then a herald caller. The bloodrager would give me med/heavy armor, martial weapons, a +1 base at level one and then the sage familiar. At level 2 I sync the familiar to the cleric so it levels with the cleric. So I could end up with power attack and combat reflexes at level one along with my summoning feats handed out to me. So feats would be relatively open (sacred summons, perhaps extra rage?) Cunning would probably be on the list. Stats I went with 16str, 14 dex, 13 con, 14 wis and 10 cha. Traits atm are Fate favored and reactionary. Leaning towards the heroism domain... it would give me the ability to boost a cha skill by my level 5+ times a day for a hour or so I would also gain the heroism spell later on I could give a solid boost to the party. The one domain is rough and still a toss up, but thats my thought atm.
Didnt realize it looks like a sage cant actually give me advice until like level 5+. So maybe a talking familiar to start
To me a Wizard having a higher knowledge religion roll makes sense. The cleric is more than likely going to be focusing on his own deity and maybe the tradition adversaries of the religion. The wizard on the other had will be studying all religions not just a few. What I do in my campaigns is to lower the DC of the check when a cleric is dealing with his own religion, usually by about 5 and they are always considered common deities for their own worshipers.