Ranged Cleric review


Advice

Silver Crusade

So I am thinking about building a Ranged Cleric. My goal is to have a character which allows me to buff and heal the party while still having some fun with ranged attacks and a pet.

20 point build

Str 14
Dex 18 (+2 human bonus)
Con 10
Int 10
Wis 14
Cha 10

I will put my level 4 and level 8 bonuses into Wis. As a general rule I don't like to go below 10 on stats, but would listen to ideas about it.

Human Cleric
God: Erastil (composite longbow favored weapon)
Domain: Feather (great perception bonus, fly skill and fly spells, and a pet at level 4)
Archetype: Theologian (only 1 domain, but allows me to prepare domain spells in normal spell slots, and I want to be flying more than once a day. Also increases domain abilities by 2 levels)

Feats:
1st - Point-blank shot, precise shot
3rd - Rapid shot
5th - Boon Companion

Haven't planned out much after 5th, but at that point I see myself being a decent archer with a pet as strong as a druids.

Any advice for pets, or anything else?

Scarab Sages

You may want to go wisdom based, and dip a few levels into zen archer monk. You will have wis as your to hit, and a lot of bonus archery feats.


Air walk is a 4th level spell so I wouldn't give up a domain to get more fly spells one spell level earlier.

You will probably have to sink a trait into making handle animal a class skill.

Your pet is as strong as a Druids but without the buffs on the Druids spell list it likely won't be as effective.

Even on a ranged character I don't feel comfortable with a 10 con, and you'll probably be using a dex belt.

Your build is fine for what you want to do. What will you be playing with? You may want more healing capability if you are the sole provider of such a thing.


It looks like a good build to me. I definitely wouldn't go wis-based. The zen archer dip costs you precious caster levels, and low-level flurry of blows is worse than rapid shot + manyshot. Also, many good archery feats have significant dexterity prerequisites.

I wonder how boon companion and theologian combine. If they combine to give you an animal companion with an effective druid level that's 2 higher than your cleric level, that's great. If they don't I would drop either boon companion or theologian. The point about air walk is a solid one, and you could also just prepare fly in your 4th level domain slot as well.

I'm not sure I agree with the druid buffs thing. Druids may get strong jaw and animal growth, but you can cast all the battle cleric buffs on your companion thanks to share spells. Divine power is an incredible buff for a companion with lots of attacks, righteous might is excellent (although not anywhere near as good as animal growth), and frightful aspect is pretty awesome as well.

Silver Crusade

I did not consider the fact that my animal companion would be 2 levels higher with Theologian. Good point.

I was planning on using the level 3 fly spell granted by my domain for my flying. I was not aware that I could prepare it in a 4th level spot as well. Theologian is becoming less appealing. Think I may pick up the "good" domain and go ahead with boon companion.

I agree with you on the Wis based archery. It takes too much feat investment and my character would not be effective for many levels. I also don't want to multi-class at all so Dex seems to be the way to go.

Silver Crusade

This looks like a pretty reasonable archery Cleric. A strong pet will help immensely.

As an archer you may struggle with action economy. You will always have to choose between shooting arrows and casting a spell. At lower levels you will probably choose more archery, while at higher levels you will usually cast a spell and your martial skills may languish. Consider this in your build plan.

Another thing to consider is how you will penetrate DR. DR becomes very common around level 5 and up.

The CRB Cleric, with no archetypes, is probably your best bet for what you describe. Your PC will be very flexible. Not the best at anything, but a capable spell caster, healer, and martial combatant. Remember to leave open spell slots, so you can adjust your available spells to the day's travails.


Was there ever a ruling on whether you could take Quicken Spell-Like Ability for domain powers like Touch of Good? May help a bit with getting use out of it at later levels (it's like a level 11 or 13 feat or something)

Lantern Lodge

I'll be honest and say I think in general Cleric Archer builds usually lack power. Clerics are hard to pull off for ranged damage, due to the feat taxes. My suggestion is to consider dumping Theologian, and look into the typical Battle Cleric domains:

Growth (for free enlarge person as a swift action), Destruction, Demon and Ferocity come to mind. You might also consider the feat Deadly Aim. Regarding DR, I think this isn't as much of a concern for Clerics as previous posters have suggested. Eventually just drop an Align Weapon buff on yourself, and away you go.

Feats like PBS, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot and Deadly Aim will be your bread and butter. Consider buying an Efficient Quiver at later levels, and pack a variety of arrows (cold iron, silver, adamantine, etc.) Growth is nice since it also makes your bow grow, making a 1d8 to a 2d6 or a 1d10 to a 2d8. Some DMs will not allow Enlarge Person to affect arrows, since RAW it isn't supposed to...

Consider a 3 level dip into Zen Archer for monk. The wisdom stacks nicely, and it lets you dump DEX altogether if your starting level is high enough...

Scarab Sages

Growth is terrible for an archer. As soon as your arrow leaves the bow, it reverts back to normal size, so all enlarge person does for you is a to-hit debuff from your size and dex penalties.

Silver Crusade

Growth is terrific for a polearm fighter. Not so great for most other builds. Terrible for archery.

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