Hello everyone. This is my first post here, as I'm really flat footed. Recently, my cleric, for story reasons, switched from the domains of Trickery and Madness to others due to a change of deity. This was not accounted by my side, however, I didn't mind: in fact, I like the idea storywise. My new available domains are Glory, Protection, good,law, nobility, strength, healing. My previous build was Bobo's, the bad touch cleric. I'd like to play a melee buffer cleric.
My current stats (which cannot be changed) are: 14 Strength, 14 Constitution, 12 Dexterity, 8 Intelligence, 8 Charisma, and 22 Wisdom. The character is a level 7 human. The feats I was thinking about (can be changed) for the new build so far are heavy armour proficiency, guided hand, channel smite, heighten spell and preferred spell
As for weapons, I use a bastard sword as my new deity's favored weapon and a shield. The other players are playing an Inquisitor, a Swashbuckler, a Wizard, and a Psionic.
There's a lot of damage dealt by both melee and ranged characters, however they lack protection, healing, debuffs and buffs. I would really need your help building a character that can keep up with more experienced players. Thanks in advance.
Ouch this is going to be fairly difficult to pull off. Clerics are an incredibly versatile class and can be built to do almost anything, but they cannot do everything. That is one reason that makes the class difficult for a beginner. In all honesty I normally recommend beginners avoid clerics. As a divine prepared caster they have access to every spell on their list they are high enough level to cast. Their spell list also has a lot of very situational spells. Those spells tend to be either incredibly useful or completely worthless depending on the situation. That means the player has to be familiar with all his spells which most beginners are not. But you are playing a cleric so the only thing to do is to make the best of it. I would recommend spending a lot of time going over all your spells especially the more obscure ones.
The most important thing when building a cleric is to figure out what you want the character to do and focus on that. If you try to do everything you end up doing nothing well. The role of a melee cleric can be done, but honestly a warpriest is much better at this than the cleric. You also focused mostly on WIS so that is going to make it even more difficult. With the constraints of your stats, I am not sure that is a wise choice. Guided Hand requires two feats and will boost your chance to hit but does nothing for your damage.
If you are going to go with a melee cleric you need to be able to do damage when you hit. Since your stats are already fixed, we need to look at other ways to get your damage up. Ditch Heightened Spell and Preferred spell and take power attack. Ditch the shield and use the sword two handed for the extra damage.
Since you are focusing on melee combat that means you will often be on the front line when casting spells. Casting spells provokes AoO unless you cast defensively which requires a concentration check. As it stands your chance of casting defensively will very low. You have a 15% chance to fail casting defensively when you cast a 1st level spell that goes up to a 45% chance for your 4th level spells. Take Combat Casting to reduce this so your character can actually cast spells on the front line. With Combat Casting you have no chance of failing on a 1st level spell, and only a 25% chance of failing on a 4th level spell. If you are using traits and they can be changed you can take a trait like focused mind to give you an additional +2 on your concentration to reduce those numbers by 10%. At that point you no chance of failure on a 1st or 2nd level spells, a 5% on a 3rd level spell and a 15% on a 4th level spell.
With your stats and the constraints on what you can change you might want to focus less on melee and more on casting. Even with this build you are probably going to fall behind the inquisitor and swashbuckler. That would require completely different feats, and your combat ability would be much less.
If your GM would allow you to swap to a warpriest we could do a lot better.
I have posted some examples;
→ Cleric-Varisian Pilgrim with Pal 2 Minette female human Pal 2 Clr-VPlgrm(Desna) 3.
→ Bard with Clr 1 Giselle Anisia Mariinsky Celje Povlova female human Cleric(Clr)1 (Reymenda CG) Bard(Brd)4 where you could go mostly cleric rather than bard.
→ Wizard-Diviner w Clr-VPlgrm 1 Thalevoh male human Clr-VPlgrm(Chaldira NG Dom: Luck, Trickery; Wpn: sht sword) 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 & Rouillé Hasarderth male aasimar Clr-VPlgrm 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 (with Bastard sword!). Again, you can go Cleric and limit Wiz to Lvl 1 -or- just use them as samples.
=== now to your case ===
You have a human with Ability scores [14, 12, 14, 8, 22, 8] at 7th level {hint-never a good idea to have scores below 10}. I will assume there's a +1 at 4th on Wis. Domains(Glory, Protection, Good, Law, Nobility, Strength, Healing), FvdWpn:Bastard sword (extc & mrtl prfc).
Pathfinder is very front loaded so many optimal decisions have to be planned for at the start.
hmmm... options are; Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk(unarmored), Shaman, Warpriest. For buffing it is hard to beat Cleric-Varisian Priest but you have to watch your Domains and your listed domains don't match, and the archetype is not worth losing a domain! *dang*. With Cleric as the main class only Fighter and Monk(unarmored) remain as others are duplicative. The low Int & Cha limit your choices.
With your ability scores I'm going to suggest Monk-Flowing 2 then Cleric-Ecclesitheurge X Dom:(healing, {whatever}). It means you will have to give up armor & shield but gain saves, AC, domain flexibility.
Otherwise Cleric, or Ftr 2 Cleric X.
→ Cleric-Varisian Pilgrim with Pal 2 Minette female human Pal 2 Clr-VPlgrm(Desna) 3.
→ Bard with Clr 1 Giselle Anisia Mariinsky Celje Povlova female human Cleric(Clr)1 (Reymenda CG) Bard(Brd)4 where you could go mostly cleric rather than bard.
→ Wizard-Diviner w Clr-VPlgrm 1 Thalevoh male human Clr-VPlgrm(Chaldira NG Dom: Luck, Trickery; Wpn: sht sword) 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 & Rouillé Hasarderth male aasimar Clr-VPlgrm 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 (with Bastard sword!). Again, you can go Cleric and limit Wiz to Lvl 1 -or- just use them as samples.
=== now to your case ===
You have a human with Ability scores [14, 12, 14, 8, 22, 8] at 7th level {hint-never a good idea to have scores below 10}. I will assume there's a +1 at 4th on Wis. Domains(Glory, Protection, Good, Law, Nobility, Strength, Healing), FvdWpn:Bastard sword (extc & mrtl prfc).
Pathfinder is very front loaded so many optimal decisions have to be planned for at the start.
hmmm... options are; Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk(unarmored), Shaman, Warpriest. For buffing it is hard to beat Cleric-Varisian Priest but you have to watch your Domains and your listed domains don't match, and the archetype is not worth losing a domain! *dang*. With Cleric as the main class only Fighter and Monk(unarmored) remain as others are duplicative. The low Int & Cha limit your choices.
With your ability scores I'm going to suggest Monk-Flowing 2 then Cleric-Ecclesitheurge X Dom:(healing, {whatever}). It means you will have to give up armor & shield but gain saves, AC, domain flexibility.
Otherwise Cleric, or Ftr 2 Cleric X.
Thanks again for your response. Say I could switch to a warpriest (which is actually viable storywise). What would you suggest?
Unfortunately, due to plot reasons, I cannot ditch the shield (for now), and by next session I shall come with a new build.
Traits
Exemplar-Curator of Mystic Secrets:Spon cast w metamagic at no time increase [2+trait(Mag)/d]
Magical Lineage(Mag) ummm... cure mod wounds:C2(for the spell option below as Undead will get saves and your channeling is in the toilet) or shackle:C2.
Feats
Weapon Focus (Gnrl; Wpn Prfc, BAB +1) Bstrd swd.
Power Attack(Gnrl; Str 13, BAB +1)
range opt: Precise & Point Blank shot. Weapon Focus Bow {now they're sacred!}.
spell opt: Spell Focus Conj +1 DC & Varisian Tattoo (Gnl; SplFcs) Conj +1CL, acid splash 0@Lvl [3/d]. Reach Spl MM(MM) (+1 to +3 for Rng[Tch, Cls, Med, Lng]) for ranged cures. Also Augment Summoning is an option.
overall - you've pumped A LOT into Wisdom and that means spellcasting. Warpriest plays down that investment. Ftr2 Clr 5 might be a better path to use that investment. Fighter nets you 2 feats but yes - it thunks spellcasting.
Cleric 7: BAB+5, F+5 R+2 W+5, ChnlEnrg 4d6, Spellcasting(Clr list, SA:Wis) 0:4, 1:4+1, 2:3+1, 4:2+1, 5:1+1 and wisdom will only increase those.
Fighter 2: BAB+2, F+3 R+0 W+0, Bns Feat, Bns Feat.
Cleric 5: BAB+3, F+4 R+1 W+4, ChnlEnrg 3d6, Spellcasting(Clr list, SA:Wis) 0:4, 1:3+1, 2:2+1, 4:1+1 and wisdom will only increase those.
You lose Fifth level spells and 1 Reflex (Will is a don't care due to Wisdom) but pick up weapons(*pfft*) and 2 feats.
Spellcasting is powerful, the divine list not so much but it's better than swinging a sword. So for me Clr-Eccl really plays on Wisdom and Monk added the defense. Clr7 is better than Ftr2+Clr5. But the Ftr/Clr has better spell growth than the WarPrst7. They're all decent and playable builds and each of the four has their strengths.
Monk-Flow 2 Clr-Eccl 5 build:
Classes
Monk - Flowing Monk arch 2: BAB+1, F+3 R+3 W+3, FoB +0/0, UnDmg 1d6, AC+0+5, FstMov+0; BnsF:Impvd Reposition +2 CM Repstn no AoO & +2 vs CM Repstn, FoB(Ex), Redirct(Ex) immd actn CM {+2 PwrAtk, +2 Chrg} repostn/trip then Rflx16 else sick 1r, F:UnStrk, UnblncCntr(Ex) w AoO Rflx16 else flat footed until Monks turn, Evasion(Ex). Prfc: club, crssbws, dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, qtrstaff, sai, shtspear, sht swd, shuriken, siangham, sling, spear.
Cleric - Ecclesitheurge 5 Dom:Healing, Nobility, Fvd Wpn: Bstrd swd. Bond Obj: amulet. BAB+3, F+4 R+1 W+4, ChnlEnrg 2d6, Aura(Ex), ChnlEnrg(Pos) Will 11 [2/d], Dom: Healing, Nobility, Spon Cast "cure" for prp'd SplLvl, Vow:no armr/shld else lose BoF, Dom pwrs, BoF: std actn ally in Cls Rng +2 sacrd Atks, Skl chks, Abil chks, or Saves, or AC until Eclth next turn + expended ChnlEnrg(dice) rnds, Dom Mstry, Cast Clr spls, Bond Holy Symbol(amulet), Spls(Divn Clr List, SA:Wis):4, 3+1, 2+1, 1+1. Prfc: no changes, plus Bastard sword(extc & mrtl).
Trait
Exemplar-Curator of Mystic Secrets:Spon cast w metamagic at no time increase [2+trait(Mag)/d]
Magical Knack(Mag)
Feats
H: Spell Focus(Gnrl) Evok +1 DC.
1: Varisian Tattoo (Gnl; SplFcs) Evok +1CL, dancing lights 0@Lvl [3/d].
3: Weapon Focus (Gnrl; Wpn Prfc, BAB +1) Bstrd swd.
5: Power Attack(Gnrl; Str 13, BAB +1)
7: Reach Spl MM(MM) (+1 to +3 for Rng[Tch, Cls, Med, Lng])
Persistent Spl MM(MM) (+2) targets must make 2 sv.
=== end ===
(I'm a heavy editor - so you might want to delete some of your posts or condense them into 1 post)
→ Cleric-Varisian Pilgrim with Pal 2 Minette female human Pal 2 Clr-VPlgrm(Desna) 3.
→ Bard with Clr 1 Giselle Anisia Mariinsky Celje Povlova female human Cleric(Clr)1 (Reymenda CG) Bard(Brd)4 where you could go mostly cleric rather than bard.
→ Wizard-Diviner w Clr-VPlgrm 1 Thalevoh male human Clr-VPlgrm(Chaldira NG Dom: Luck, Trickery; Wpn: sht sword) 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 & Rouillé Hasarderth male aasimar Clr-VPlgrm 1 Wiz-Divnr 4 (with Bastard sword!). Again, you can go Cleric and limit Wiz to Lvl 1 -or- just use them as samples.
=== now to your case ===
You have a human with Ability scores [14, 12, 14, 8, 22, 8] at 7th level {hint-never a good idea to have scores below 10}. I will assume there's a +1 at 4th on Wis. Domains(Glory, Protection, Good, Law, Nobility, Strength, Healing), FvdWpn:Bastard sword (extc & mrtl prfc).
Pathfinder is very front loaded so many optimal decisions have to be planned for at the start.
hmmm... options are; Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk(unarmored), Shaman, Warpriest. For buffing it is hard to beat Cleric-Varisian Priest but you have to watch your Domains and your listed domains don't match, and the archetype is not worth losing a domain! *dang*. With Cleric as the main class only Fighter and Monk(unarmored) remain as others are duplicative. The low Int & Cha limit your choices.
With your ability scores I'm going to suggest Monk-Flowing 2 then Cleric-Ecclesitheurge X Dom:(healing, {whatever}). It means you will have to give up armor & shield but gain saves, AC, domain flexibility.
Otherwise
...
I gave a quick look at the guide. Intreesting. However my stats are the main constraint. I'd like to have more details about the build you were suggesting, if you'd be so kind.
Traits
Exemplar-Curator of Mystic Secrets:Spon cast w metamagic at no time increase [2+trait(Mag)/d]
Magical Lineage(Mag) ummm... cure mod wounds:C2(for the spell option below as Undead will get saves and your channeling is in the toilet) or shackle:C2.
Feats
Weapon Focus (Gnrl; Wpn Prfc, BAB +1) Bstrd swd.
Power Attack(Gnrl; Str 13, BAB +1)
range opt: Precise & Point Blank shot. Weapon Focus Bow {now they're sacred!}.
spell opt: Spell Focus Conj +1 DC & Varisian Tattoo (Gnl; SplFcs) Conj +1CL, acid splash 0@Lvl [3/d]. Reach Spl MM(MM) (+1 to +3 for Rng[Tch, Cls, Med, Lng]) for ranged cures. Also Augment Summoning is an option.
done. you can go Ranged, more Martial(not detailed), or spellcasting.
Monk-Flow 2 Clr-Eccl 5: 5 feats +1&1 monk feats
the spoiler above. Note the focus on Combat Maneuvers.
Clr 7: 5 feats
pretty much 2 martial feats(Wpn Fcs, Pwr Atk) and 3 Spell option feats(Spl Fcs, Var Tatt, Range MM). Low CHA means avoid channeling feats.
Clr 5/ Ftr 2: 5 feats + 2 combat feats
pretty much the same as the warpriest.
the trick is most of your feats have to boltser spellcasting or combat. You can do 2 combat feats but more than that eats into spellcasting feats. Your CHA means channeling is not that important. IMO you want to be a martial PC but your ability scores say caster. So you can be a caster with some martial ability. Cleric and Warpriest classes are martial spellcasters. Clr/Ftr & warpriest are on the more martial side. Clr-Eccl/Monk is in the middle. Clr7 is a caster.
Within those 4 it's really a matter of taste.
Warpriest would work even with the WIS focus. Normally I would not recommend guided hand, but it can work on this build. Your high WIS gives you enough bonus to hit you can afford the penalty for power attack even if you are using it one handed it still boost your damage. That and the extra feats warpriest gets make for a better melee focused character. Make sure to pick up weapon specialization and latter get greater weapon focus and weapon specialization. If you are human, the FCB of warpriest will give you and extra feat ever 6 levels.
WIS also gives you more uses of Fervor and that allows more uses of channel energy More Fervor also allows you to cast self-buffs on yourself as a swift action. This reduces the need for combat casting.
Take Fates Favored and load up on divine favor. Being able to get a +4 to hit and damage as a swift action is really good. This might even be worth taking heightened spell and preferred spell for.
If your GM will let you take Fey Foundling as one of your 1st level feats. It works really well with Fervor when healing yourself. Your GM might not go for it, but it does not hurt to ask. The fact you are not starting at 1st level means you can don’t have to sit through waiting for your build to become functional.
Warpriest would work even with the WIS focus. Normally I would not recommend guided hand, but it can work on this build. Your high WIS gives you enough bonus to hit you can afford the penalty for power attack even if you are using it one handed it still boost your damage. That and the extra feats warpriest gets make for a better melee focused character. Make sure to pick up weapon specialization and latter get greater weapon focus and weapon specialization. If you are human, the FCB of warpriest will give you and extra feat ever 6 levels.
WIS also gives you more uses of Fervor and that allows more uses of channel energy More Fervor also allows you to cast self-buffs on yourself as a swift action. This reduces the need for combat casting.
Take Fates Favored and load up on divine favor. Being able to get a +4 to hit and damage as a swift action is really good. This might even be worth taking heightened spell and preferred spell for.
If your GM will let you take Fey Foundling as one of your 1st level feats. It works really well with Fervor when healing yourself. Your GM might not go for it, but it does not hurt to ask. The fact you are not starting at 1st level means you can don’t have to sit through waiting for your build to become functional.
DO NOT MULTICLASS.
Hmm...I think I'll go warpriest (my GM says I can). Any last advice, especially for the upcoming levels? (Thank you anyways, I really appreciate your guidance)
Excuse me, but I really recommend staying as a Cleric. Your party is not lacking for combatants and the Cleric class really isn't bad at fighting either. You mentioned earlier that "there's a lot of damage dealt by both melee and ranged characters, however they lack protection, healing, debuffs and buffs." In this kind of circumstance, especially with your ability scores (22 wis), staying as a Cleric is the better option, since it is much, much better at addressing these deficiencies.
I would recommend the Mendevian Priest archetype and the Defense subdomain of the Protection domain and that you use an Icon of Aspects to gain the domain powers from the Ferocity subdomain of Strength if you can (you have a great Wis score so this will help you do a lot of damage where it matters). You can prepare domain spells, like the Barkskin spell, in higher-level domain slots too (including with metamagics like Extend Spell), so I'd honestly just fill the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th domain spell slots all with Barkskin so you can cast it on the party.
I would recommend the Reactionary and Fate's Favored traits. If you pick a Drawback for a 3rd trait, I recommend Seeker. None of these spells are too fancy, but they are all handy.
When it comes to buffing the party, you can cast Prayer as a 3rd level spell or Blessing of Fervor as a 4th level spell, but with a Wizard in the party you should already have someone casting spells like Haste and Heroism, so Blessing of Fervor is probably unneeded.
With the Mendevian Priest archetype you get to save on a Heavy Armor Proficiency feat and you get free teamwork feats which get quite a lot better when you share them with your party members using your Shared Training spell.
The most important thing is to be familiar with your spells and abilities. Assuming your GM is allowing all the material from the various expansion books you have a huge spell list. There are around 150 1st level cleric spells (warpreists use the cleric spell list). Warpriest also allows you to add enchantments to your weapons and armor. Become familiar with those as well.
If possible, I would switch to using the bastard sword two handed. I am not sure why your character cannot do so.
Fervor is your most important ability. Not only does it let you heal yourself in combat as a swift action, it also allows you to cast buff spells on yourself as a swift action. It also allows you to ignore somatic components, does not require a free hand and does not provoke AoO. But those spells only affect your character even if they would normally affect others. This means you may not be able to buff the whole party quickly but can boost your own abilities and still get be able to attack in the same round. If you know you are about to encounter something, consider casting some of the party wide buffs before combat starts and use fervor for personal buffs.
One spell I would really recommend for buffing the whole party is Blessing of Fervor. It has a list of benefits that each target can choose from, and the benefit can be changed from round to round.
As I mentioned take greater weapon focus and greater weapon specialization as you level up. Boosting your bonus to hit and damage keeps you closer to a full martial character.
since you are going Warpriest, in future;
stop adding to Wis and focus on Str.
Armor... with a belt adding +4 Str +4 Dex you need Max +4 Dex {+3 before mwk or +2 before mithral}... that's mithral O-yoroi(+2), Tatami-do(+3), Mountain pattern, steel lamellar, mithral 4-mirror, mithral chainmail, (agile) breastplate.
Get a quick draw shield for when you need better AC, you'll be using the bastard sword 1hnd or tonfa.
Weapon... bastard sword(adamantine, elysian bronze), compound long bow with cold iron ammo and weapon blanches, cold iron morningstar, tonfa.
Items That Can Save You thread
Ageis of Recovery, Cloak of Rst, Belt +4 Str & Dex, Headband +2 Int & Cha, 4 wands and 2 spring-loaded wrist sheaths, Handy Haversack, couple scrolls like B Endurance, Delay Poison, Consecrate (with statue), Make Whole, Lsr Restoration, Resist Energy, Sure Casting.
While Guided Hand is nice, +5(+2) with the FvdWpn only vs +2(+2). With the belt it is +5(+2) vs +4(+4) and the damage is affected by 2hnd wielding(used often), Power Attack(used often), and other martial feats. You could put the resources into Wis for +7(+2) with the FvdWpn. So it's a special build with guided hand or a meat-n-potatoes build.
I would disagree with the recommendation of focusing on strength instead of wisdom when you are using the Guided Hand feat, as the increase in strength will no longer improve your attack rolls. By the way, does the GM let you get the Guided property on your weapon? If he does, you really don't have a use for strength and you won't even need the Channel Smite and Guided Hand feats.
Normally I would agree with Azothath about STR, but in this case the character has already invested heavily in WIS, so it is a little late now. As far as the guided property I doubt the character can replace his equipment right away. Relying solely on an enchantment for a combat focused characters combat ability can be dangerous. If he loses the weapon or it is otherwise rendered non-magical it makes the character worthless. Using feats may seem wasteful, but the character has lots of feats. If he is human, he gets a bonus feat at 1st level and can use his favored class bonus to gain an extra feat every 6 levels. This is in addition to the bonus feats of the warpriest. At 7th level the character has 7 feats.
What the character should do is to continue to advance WIS but also advance STR with magic items. Focus more on WIS to increase his chance to hit and gain more uses of fervor as well as some extra spells.
If the character could be completely rewritten, I would be giving different advice, but given the constraints of what can be done I think the advice I am giving is the best way to rebuild the character.
Given the investment in his wis score, putting a belt into strength and dex like this seems like a very big expense for very little gain, especially when you can more easily invest into a headband of wisdom and belt of constitution. The mithral armor bit should also wait, as this character is better off with full plate armor which is the best armor for his 12 dex at the moment. Purchasing mithral armor and a dexterity belt is an expensive proposition for a few more points of AC, reflex, and initiative. It's a decent option at the high levels when you are rich enough to throw around that kind of money, but right now that is bad spending.
As for losing his sword, Guided Hand will only work with a bastard sword anyway, and he is already at a level where he can cast Ancestral Gift to summon a +1 guided bastard sword (or another weapon) for 10 minutes per level, which he could even enhance further with other spells (like Greater Magic Weapon once his caster level reaches 8 or higher and Rags to Riches), since the bastard sword counts as a martial weapon too. Of course, if he has Guided Hand he could just get a +1 bane bastard sword for whatever he is fighting instead. This is assuming he stays a Cleric, however, as otherwise he would have to wait until 10th level to be able to cast Ancestral Gift.
I do not really see the value in transitioning to a Warpriest either. You have the same spell list and BAB either way, and you should have enough feats to cover your needs either way, except the Cleric has much better spellcasting when your party will really want the healing and support spells and even you yourself can put those spells to better use. With a wisdom as high as he has, he is in a very good position to make the best of the Cleric's spellcasting too. I do not think the Warpriest's Fervor and Blessings make up for the Cleric's superior spellcasting, domain, and channel energy dice. And the Sacred Weapon damage dice are meaningless since the bastard sword already does equal or better damage until level 15 where you would really much rather be a Cleric than a Warpriest.
As a human cleric the character gets 9 feats, as a warpriest he gets 15. Don’t forget that a warpriest gets proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons. The human FCB as a cleric is a bonus to overcome spell resistance of an outsider, as a warpriest it is 1/6 of a combat feat. As a cleric he gets 2 channel energy per day, as a warpriest he gets 4. By 12th level the cleric will have 11 feats, the warpriest will have 20 feats. The cleric will still have 2 channel energies, compared to the 6 of the warpriest. The warpriest will also have sacred armor and sacred weapon so can add enchantments to his armor and weapons. The warpriest also gets access to fighter only feats.
With the build I am suggesting the character can get divine favor up as a swift action in every combat and that gives him a +4 to hit and damage. While this does not increase his BAB it does put his attack bonus on par with a full BAB class and gives him and extra +4 to damage.
The player is also a new player so probably does not have a lot of system mastery and is probably unfamiliar with a lot of the more obscure cleric spells. Playing a full caster-based cleric takes a lot of knowledge and I do not recommend that for a new player. So, in this instance the cleric may have on paper a higher potential, but in play is probably not going to be realized.
The extra feats take less system mastery because you only need to understand how the feats you have work. With spells you have to understand how all of them work and have enough information to choose appropriate spells. The spells the warpriest will be using will for the most part be self-buff spells, that makes it easier to focus on a smaller portion of the spell list. But since he still has access to the full list it gives him the opportunity to learn them for the next character he plays.
My advice is based on what the OP said he wanted. He expressed interest in playing a melee focused character and a warpriest can do that better than a cleric.
That would be 12 HP OR 12 skill ranks for 2 feats. To get both requires a feat which would put the warpriest up by 3 feats. If I really want those skill points and HP I can simply take toughness and cunning. So, trading 12 HP or 12 skill ranks for 2 feats basically breaks even. If the character manages to get to 18th level he will get a 3rd feat.
The amounts of feats does not matter all that much if you have more than enough feats to cover what your build needs anyway. Feats like Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization are widely agreed to be very weak feats you only really take if you have to in order to fulfill a prerequisite or when you have such an excess of feats that you might as well collect those small bonuses. In addition, I was suggesting casting Prayer for a +2 to attack and damage while giving the rest of his party a +1 to attack and damage and enemies a -1 to attack and damage (fulfilling the parts where you buff the party, buff yourself, and debuff your enemies), and Divine Favor won't bestow a +4 bonus to attack and damage (with Fate's Favored) until level 9. Not to mention it is fully possible to enter combat with Divine Favor (or Prayer, except you can't debuff enemies this way) already active, given that it will last 7 minutes at level 7 (and 9 minutes at level 9) even before any Extend Spell. You don't have to wait until the first round of combat to cast it. You can cast these spells with durations lasting in the minutes much sooner if you expect to run into combat in the next few minutes, or just end up carrying the buffs from one fight into the next before they expire.
For the most part, the difference in damage between the Warpriest and Cleric as a melee-focused character is probably going to be very small, especially with the Cleric using Ferocious Strike through the Icon of Aspects to boost his melee damage in a pinch, but the difference in the ability to cast spells for his own and the party's benefit is going to be big. The Mendevian Priest archetype also means the Cleric gets free heavy armor proficiency and free teamwork feats that he can share with the party by casting Shared Training, which is also very good for the party. I doubt martial weapon proficiency will make a difference when you will be using a bastard sword anyway, but Ancestral Gift bestows automatic proficiency with any simple, martial, or dwarven weapon you choose to summon anyway if you really want that backup martial weapon while also giving it the Guided or Bane property.
Casting self-buffs as swift actions with Fervor is handy but at the lower levels you'll be fine either way and at the higher levels the Cleric is much better off with its superior spellcasting and should be buying lesser (and perhaps normal) metamagic rods of quicken spell anyway, which means Fervor loses most of its advantage.
And comparing the system mastery required to cast properly as a Cleric vs the system mastery required to cast properly as a Warpriest is a bit silly. They are prepared divine spellcasters with the exact same spell list so there's no real difference in the system mastery and learning required. You can cast all the same basic buff spells you would as a Warpriest as a Cleric too (many do), except you can cast them earlier and more frequently as a Cleric, and SilSyphus does not need to cast all the best spells in an ideal way either just because he is a Cleric. He just needs to be an asset to the team and have access to the spells they would need or appreciate in a pinch. Being able to cast Restoration at level 7 (Cleric) vs level 10 (Warpriest) and Raise Dead at level 9 (Cleric) vs level 13 (Warpriest) makes a world of difference in terms of healing capability, for instance, and there are a host of buffing spells that he has an easier time casting as a Cleric.
This has been a lot of words to say I'm honestly confused at these claims that the Warpriest is so much better or easier than a Cleric for a melee focused character when they really do the same stuff in the same way except the Warpriest has more feats than this build needs and is much worse at fulfilling the party's needs for a support spellcaster.
By 7th level of warpriest I can have the following feats, Channel Smite, Cleave, Great Cleave, Guided Hand, Heightened spell, Power Attack, Preferred Spell, Weapon Focus, and Weapon Specialization. This allows me to cast Divine Favor as a swift action and still attack. When I attack with a bastard sword, I will have a +14 to hit and be doing 1d10+15 damage. I also did not have to spend a feat to get proficiency in heavy armor.
The 7th level cleric takes the following feats, Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Channel Smite, Combat Casting, Guided Hand, and power attack. That gives him a +9 to hit and doing 1d10+9 for damage. He cannot spontaneously cast Divine Favor so has to memorize it using 1 spell slot for each use he plans on using. That means he will probably not have it available for every combat.
On round 1 the warpriest uses fervor to cast divine favor as a swift action and uses great cleave. When attacking a creature with an AC of 22 (15 + his level) he has a DPR of 12.3 without factoring in cleave. The cleric attacking the same target has a DPR of 5.075. If the cleric casts Divine Favor or any other spell for that matter they do not get to attack on the first round and his DPR goes to 10.175 on the second round but does not have the ability to attack more than a single target.
This also means the cleric is not using his feats to boost his spell casting. A spell focused cleric should be using his feats for things like spell focus, spell penetration, and maybe some metamagic feats instead of combat feats.
As the warpriest levels up there are still a lot more feats he can take to improve his combat ability. By 12th level the warpriest will have picked up greater weapon focus, greater weapon specialization, Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike and Weapon Trick (two handed). This would allow him to be doing 3d10+20 when using cleave and greater cleave. This is without figuring in sacred weapon or other magic items.
The most important thing is to be familiar with your spells and abilities. Assuming your GM is allowing all the material from the various expansion books you have a huge spell list. There are around 150 1st level cleric spells (warpreists use the cleric spell list). Warpriest also allows you to add enchantments to your weapons and armor. Become familiar with those as well.
If possible, I would switch to using the bastard sword two handed. I am not sure why your character cannot do so.
Fervor is your most important ability. Not only does it let you heal yourself in combat as a swift action, it also allows you to cast buff spells on yourself as a swift action. It also allows you to ignore somatic components, does not require a free hand and does not provoke AoO. But those spells only affect your character even if they would normally affect others. This means you may not be able to buff the whole party quickly but can boost your own abilities and still get be able to attack in the same round. If you know you are about to encounter something, consider casting some of the party wide buffs before combat starts and use fervor for personal buffs.
One spell I would really recommend for buffing the whole party is Blessing of Fervor. It has a list of benefits that each target can choose from, and the benefit can be changed from round to round.
As I mentioned take greater weapon focus and greater weapon specialization as you level up. Boosting your bonus to hit and damage keeps you closer to a full martial character.
I have switched to warpriest, given also the fact that the inquisitor changed his character to a magus. I will take my time reading all your comments: it's really hard for me to keep up with so many different opinions. I thank you all for your time and comments.
... The other players are playing an InquisitorMagus, a Swashbuckler, a Wizard, and a Psionic. ...
and a Warpriest. That party has 3 front liners and 2 spellcasters. In a 2 column file the Warpriest will be in row 2 or 3. You might need a reach or ranged weapon.
Basically you've got 2 going with a specialized build centered around Guided Hand and me with a more general build.
By 7th level of warpriest I can have the following feats, Channel Smite, Cleave, Great Cleave, Guided Hand, Heightened spell, Power Attack, Preferred Spell, Weapon Focus, and Weapon Specialization. This allows me to cast Divine Favor as a swift action and still attack. When I attack with a bastard sword, I will have a +14 to hit and be doing 1d10+15 damage. I also did not have to spend a feat to get proficiency in heavy armor.
The 7th level cleric takes the following feats, Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Channel Smite, Combat Casting, Guided Hand, and power attack. That gives him a +9 to hit and doing 1d10+9 for damage.
The Mendevian Priest Cleric, again, does not need the Heavy Armor Proficiency feat, because his archetype already gives him automatic proficiency with heavy armor. Combat Casting is also not really needed, since his wisdom score is good and any enemy within melee range of the Cleric is in a position to receive a full attack with Haste, which the Wizard, etc. should be casting, but he could take that feat if he wants. If he has the Guided weapon property, he does not need the Channel Smite or Guided Hand feats either. A simple Power Attack feat would be the only feat his build needs so far, but let's assume that's not an option and we're stuck with Guided Hand. So the Cleric could easily take Cleave and Mighty Cleave just by replacing your Heavy Armor Proficiency (which the Mendevian Priest already has) and Combat Casting.
As for your damage calculations, you seem to be assuming he would be two-handing the sword (he will not, because this is a sword & shield build, which is what bastard swords are used for) and you seem to be assuming that Divine Favor gives +4 attack and damage, but this character is still only caster level 7, so with Fate's Favored he is still only getting a +3 attack and damage bonus (it's not a +4 until level 9). So your Warpriest with Divine Favor, Weapon Focus, and Weapon Specialization has +13 to attack and does 1d10+11 (2 from strength, 4 from power attack, 2 from weapon specialization, and 3 from divine favor) damage, assuming his weapon is not a masterwork and has no enhancement bonus and there is no Haste buff which the Wizard should really be casting. He does 9.075 DPR.
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He cannot spontaneously cast Divine Favor so has to memorize it using 1 spell slot for each use he plans on using. That means he will probably not have it available for every combat.
Neither does the Warpriest? Are you suggesting the Warpriest should spontaneously convert spells into Divine Favor with Preferred Spell? You could, to be sure, but that seems needlessly wasteful when you can just prepare Divine Favor multiple times (people do this all the time - you could easily make all 6 of your 1st-level slots into castings of Divine Favor if you want), and since you will not be casting Divine Favor more than once per combat, you can already afford a couple of 1st-level pearls of power to reuse a single slot of Divine Favor if you prefer. Whether you're a Warpriest or Cleric makes absolutely no difference here. Spending two whole feats on casting Divine Favor spontaneously seems like such a waste if you ask me.
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On round 1 the warpriest uses fervor to cast divine favor as a swift action and uses great cleave. When attacking a creature with an AC of 22 (15 + his level) he has a DPR of 12.3 without factoring in cleave. The cleric attacking the same target has a DPR of 5.075. If the cleric casts Divine Favor or any other spell for that matter they do not get to attack on the first round and his DPR goes to 10.175 on the second round but does not have the ability to attack more than a single target.
Let's say the Warpriest uses Divine Favor and neither of them used it before combat starts. The Warpriest has a +13 bonus and does 1d10+11 damage. The Cleric will spend his first turn of combat casting Prayer instead so that he benefits the party while debuffing the enemies and obtains a +2 bonus to attack and damage instead. The first round (assuming there is no surprise round), the Cleric does no damage, and the warpriest might hit two people.
The Cleric now does 6.075 DPR, but he also raised the Magus and Swashbuckler's DPR by 2 or more since they both can attack two times per round before Haste. Realistically, if the Wizard isn't casting Haste for whatever reason the Cleric should be casting Blessing of Fervor, which would raise everyone's DPR enormously, but we'll ignore that for now.
Since the Cleric is out to do more damage, we will assume he casts Ancestral Gift and we will even assume he doesn't have a specific enemy type to use Bane against and that he took a +1 shocking (or similar property he knows enemies won't resist) bastard sword instead for the next 70 minutes. Now he averages 9 DPR too. If he uses Rags to Riches, his weapon obtains an additional +1 enhancement bonus, raising his DPR to 10.45. If it's an important enemy he really wants this dead, he will use Ferocious Strike on his attacks, raising his DPR to 12.1. The Cleric does more damage than your Warpriest. Without Prayer or Divine Favor or Ferocious Strike, the Cleric still does 7.65 DPR, but with Divine Favor he does 12 DPR without Ferocious Strike and 13.8 with Ferocious Strike. Already, the Cleric is pulling ahead in damage. If he uses a +1 bane weapon with Rags to Riches and no Divine Favor or Prayer, he gets 12.375 DPR. If he uses Divine Favor and Ferocious Strike, he does 19.95 DPR. If he's hasted, he does 42.75 DPR now whereas your Warpriest would've been doing 19.8 DPR.
Just having spells enormously raises how much damage the Cleric can do over what a Warpriest could do. Now if we are both using +1 guided bastard swords the Cleric cannot make much use of Ancestral Gift, but he could use Rags to Riches, Greater Magic Weapon (at level 8 or higher) and other spells to raise his bonuses.
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This also means the cleric is not using his feats to boost his spell casting. A spell focused cleric should be using his feats for things like spell focus, spell penetration, and maybe some metamagic feats instead of combat feats.
A Cleric can largely focus on spellcasting and still be an effective melee combatant by only spending a few feats. A Cleric can also focus more heavily on a melee build and put out comparable or superior performance to the Warpriest, just because of his domains and better spellcasting.
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As the warpriest levels up there are still a lot more feats he can take to improve his combat ability. By 12th level the warpriest will have picked up greater weapon focus, greater weapon specialization, Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike and Weapon Trick (two handed). This would allow him to be doing 3d10+20 when using cleave and greater cleave. This is without figuring in sacred weapon or other magic items.
To be perfectly honest, I think Vital Strike is generally bad and you should just be full attacking instead. And when you cannot full attack, you should just be casting a spell. Also, this is not supposed to be a two-handed build, so the Weapon Trick doesn't work. And at 12th level, the Cleric's Ferocious Strike also does +6 damage instead of +3 (and he has more daily uses, courtesy of his higher wisdom score) and he now has 3 teamwork feats (and he can bestow all 3 with Shared Training at level 13), which could easily give people Outflank, Improved Outflank, and Precise Strike (or Paired Opportunists) at this point (which the Warpriest could also get as bonus combat feats instead of your choices). He is also capable of casting 6th level spells while the Warpriest is still casting 4th level spells, so he could further improve his attacks with spells like Dimensional Blade if he wants.
