Advice for a Druid / Cleric build

[archer_polly]

GM assigned the party only core classes and races due to being a newer GM and having a couple brand new players. Been given the green light to tweak my character but welcome suggestions and advice.

Race: Half-Elf
Starting Class: Druid
1st LvL Feat: Shade of the Duskwood
Domain: Vulture

Potential Multiclass to

Class: Cleric
1st LvL Feat: War Blessing
Domains: Darkness & Trickery

Attempting to be a necro druid/cleric trickster whose back story is fuzzy because all he can remember is being in the swamps near a monastery and dealing with the pain of his companions dying and the priests unable to help.

Any advice on build is appreciated

[Mysterious Stranger]

The standard advice for multiclassing two full casters is not to do it. Your spell casting and other class features do not stack so you end up with an extremely weak character. You get tons of low-level spells, but your caster level is split so they are weaker than those cast by a dedicated caster. Let’s say you are casting a spell that does 1d6 damage per level, at 2nd level that is 2d6. If you multiclass instead of increasing your first class, the damage is only 1d6. Also, the DC of the saves is based on the level of the spell so low-level spells are usually not that big of a threat to higher level creatures.

[Lelomenia]

What Stranger said.

That said, there are lots of mechanics and options in the Pathfinder system to create whatever character you envision, just happens that ‘multiclass full caster’ is a really bad one.

Consider “variant multiclass” for example; you could be a fully-leveled Druid while obtaining some Cleric abilities and flavor, for example. Or vice-versa. Plenty of archetypes on both sides as well.

[archer_polly]

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

The standard advice for multiclassing two full casters is not to do it. Your spell casting and other class features do not stack so you end up with an extremely weak character. You get tons of low-level spells, but your caster level is split so they are weaker than those cast by a dedicated caster. Let’s say you are casting a spell that does 1d6 damage per level, at 2nd level that is 2d6. If you multiclass instead of increasing your first class, the damage is only 1d6. Also, the DC of the saves is based on the level of the spell so low-level spells are usually not that big of a threat to higher level creatures.

That makes sense. Ni point in weakening the character for no real benefit. Thank you for the advice.

[archer_polly]

Lelomenia wrote:

What Stranger said.

That said, there are lots of mechanics and options in the Pathfinder system to create whatever character you envision, just happens that ‘multiclass full caster’ is a really bad one.

Consider “variant multiclass” for example; you could be a fully-leveled Druid while obtaining some Cleric abilities and flavor, for example. Or vice-versa. Plenty of archetypes on both sides as well.

Yeah. Looks like I'll be doing some more research to figure out how to customize how I want. Thank you.

[Melkiador]

Only core classes, but are archetypes and other expanded options allowed?

[Northern Spotted Owl]

I looked at Shade of the Uskwood and I see:

Quote:

Prerequisites: Neutral evil, patron deity Zon-Kuthon.

That sounds like a complication I wouldn't throw at a first-time GM.

[archer_polly]

Melkiador wrote:

Only core classes, but are archetypes and other expanded options allowed?

Archetypes and other expansions are allowed.