Help me build a cloistered cleric under weird table rules

[Blue_frog]

Hello and happy new year !

I’m starting a new AP and want to play a cloistered cleric, but the table rules are a bit different: you get free archetype BUT you cannot choose dedicatiion feats with your class feats, only regular class feats.

It’s a pretty interesting take and forces us to delve deeper into the class instead of branching out… but it’s also a bit unbalanced between classes that have great feats and those that don’t. I’m afraid the cloistered cleric is the latter since 90% of the lower level feats seem tailored to warpriest.

Usually, I take a medic, sorcerer or oracle dedication with my lvl 2, 4 and 6 regular feats but now I can’t so I need some help.

I plan on a Classic cleric of Sarenrae, healing with some blasting, with a medic free dedication at levels 2/4/6 then an oracle one at further levels.

This leaves me with my regular class feats to take and nothing really stands out to me. Healing hands is ok I guess but it evens out to a 10% increase to heals. Then… what ? Domain initiate ? Cast down ?

Please help me out, this « no dedication feats with your regular feats » messed up all my builds ^^

[Bluemagetim]

Healing hands leads to magic hands at 6th if you also want the increase to treat wounds.

[Blue_frog]

Bluemagetim wrote:

Healing hands leads to magic hands at 6th if you also want the increase to treat wounds.

Sadly, it only affects treat wounds and not Battle Medicine, so it's pretty useless since OOC healing is trivial :/

[Blue_frog]

I was thinking something along the lines of:

Cloistered Cleric: Domain Initiate (Sun)
2: Healing Hands
4: Domain initiate (fire)
6: Cast Down
8: Restorative Channel
10: Heroic Recovery
12: Domain Focus
14: Ebb and Flow (if I take versatile font along the way) or fast channel
16: Eteneral Blessing
18: Echoing Channel
20: Maker of miracles or Spellshape Channel.

As for free archetype:
2: Medic dedication
4: Doctor's visitation
6: Treat Condition
8: Oracle dedication
10: Basic Mysteries (nudge fate)
12: Basic oracle spellcasting
14: Expert oracle spellcasting
16: Mysterious Breadth
18: Master oracle spellcasting

[NorrKnekten]

There is always Reach Spell, Domain initiate, Communal Healing and Rapid Response.
The latter works wonders with the medic dedication overall but the issue is that cleric is typically to good at keeping people alive.

Expanded domain initiate or Raise Symbol is my go to for 4.

Regardless on wether you are making a healing or damage focused Cleric you cannot go wrong with Selective Energy at 6.

[Blue_frog]

Reach spell is interesting, but are there so many good touch spells that warrant it ?

Communal Healing seemed like piddly healing for me, but it's actually 1 per spell level, same as healing hands, so why not.

Rapid Response looks a bit niche and I'll also have doctor's visitation for extra movement.

I don't know if I'll have the actions for Raise Symbol. The +2 to saves is good, but the true potential is more for a warpriest using emblazoned armament I think ?

As for selective energy, I'm kind of torn. I try to use 3-action heal as little as possible, considering how cost-effective the 2 action is. But yeah, I guess when three or more friends are hurt, it's mathematically better. It's just that I usually heal when someone is at low HP and a 3-action heal doesn't cut it. I'll have to test it out ^^

Anyway, thanks for these answers !

[NorrKnekten]

I will also add that being able to cast a 2-action Heal from 60ft is the main drive for Reach Spell.

My Experience with Heal is that even without Healing Hands you tend to overheal with the two action. It is piddly but it does help keep yourself or others out of the danger zone. Healing Hands is strictly better for 3-action heal though.

[pH unbalanced]

For a Cloistered Cleric, I would have taken one of Domain Initiate or Syncretism at level 1, and the other at 2, and then Expanded Domain Initiate at 4. I like having a variety of Focus spells.

There are several that depend on your deity/font. Divine Castigation, Sap Life, Versatile Font and Cast Down are in that mold.

Selective Energy is either great or useless depending on the campaign and your playstyle. By level 6 you should have a handle on whether you want it. Directed Channel at 4 can serve that same function.

[Tridus]

Blue_frog wrote:

Reach spell is interesting, but are there so many good touch spells that warrant it ?

Reach spell works on spells of any range. Increasing from 30' to 60' is a huge increase and well worth it.