Advice for 4th Edition

[Nohwl]

my group decided to try out 4th edition(i was outvoted) and i now have a level 5 elf cleric. i dont have the players handbook, so i havent had the chance to read over every option. is ritual magic worth it? i just grabbed a few that looked like they might be useful.

i tried making my character as SAD as possible, and based most powers off of wisdom (lance of faith, sacred flame, command, daunting light, turn undead, spiritual weapon, and cascade of light are the ones i chose) (the ones not based off of wisdom are divine fortune, healing word, corellon's grace, elven accuracy, and sanctuary).

the feats didn't look like they mattered nearly as much as they did in 3.5, so i just grabbed whatever i felt like(corellon's grace, ritual caster, weapon proficiency greatsword, and expert ritualist).

whats my role in a party? the party consists of two people playing fighters/tanks, a poorly played wizard/sorcerer, and the wizards friend is some divine thing (i think it was in players handbook 2, i think it started with an I ) and me.

what is better, lance of faith or sacred flame? what save is easiest to hit against?

[RebelRogue]

You don't need the Ritual Caster Feat as a cleric. All clerics can use rituals. But yes, Feats are less important in 4th than 3.5. They can still be useful, though.

As for defenced, AC will generally be a little highter than the other ones, but it varies a bit for different monsters.

[Shades of Gray]

what is better, lance of faith or sacred flame? what save is easiest to hit against?

Generally, Will is the easiest to hit, Fort is the hardest. Some exceptions exist, obviously, Orcus being one. I recall him having higher Will than AC.

[Nohwl]

You don't need the Ritual Caster Feat as a cleric. All clerics can use rituals. But yes, Feats are less important in 4th than 3.5. They can still be useful, though.

As for defenced, AC will generally be a little highter than the other ones, but it varies a bit for different monsters.

i wont remember ritual casting if its not on my feats list with my other feats. are there any feats that are worth taking? it looked like they were nothing more than +1 to this or that.

[Shades of Gray]

Feats generally don't make quite the difference that they do in 3.5. They don't give you many brand new options in combat (a la Power attack) but just generally increase your powers a bit in your existing abilities.

Some channel divinities are good, and multiclasses are always great.

[NPCMook]

Also Divine Power next month will bring back Domains, which will augment your at-wills depending on the Domain and who you worship

[Nohwl]

is there anything important that i should know in the elf description or the cleric class description, or are they similar to the ones in 3.5? i based my choice of class off of the name, and my choice of race off of the stat boosts, so i never really read (or looked at) either of them.

[Drakefall]

Since you seem to be interested mainly in build options then here's a glemax handbook linky for you: http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=16113348&postcount=5. I personally don't like handbooks myself as I like to build my own flawed characters (and in 4e flawed is hardly useless anyway:smallbiggrin:). That's actually an important fact I just brought up there: It's nigh impossible, short of purposely choosing completely horrible stats, to make your character useless in 4e so don't sweat to much over the small details.

To answer your question on role: As the phb says (yes I know you don't have it) you are a leader. That essentially means that you be awesome by making your friends be awesome and saving their butts. You keep the party together and make everyone do better at what they do. As a cleric your more focussed on healing and single stat buffs I believe. So when the tanks held back the wave of minions or the rogue backstabs the big bad make sure they know it was because you healed them and provided that necessary bonus.

[RebelRogue]

is there anything important that i should know in the elf description or the cleric class description, or are they similar to the ones in 3.5? i based my choice of class off of the name, and my choice of race off of the stat boosts, so i never really read (or looked at) either of them.
3.5 standard elves are pretty much 4e eladrins. 4e elves are more like 3.5 wood/wild elves.

[NPCMook]

Healer's Lore allows you to add your Wisdom modifier to your Healing Word's amount of HP restored

all the Cleric Paragon Paths are Wisdom Based...

The PHB doesn't have a lot of feats for a Wisdom Cleric, since you are in the back shootin' lasers, however Distant Advantage, Implement Expertise, Melee MasteryTraining and Coordinated Explosion are helpful.

Distant Advantage gives you combat advantage when two of your allies are flanking the enemy
Implement Expertise gives you a +1 to attack rolls with a chosen Implement(+2 at 15, +3 at 25)
Melee MasteryTraining lets you choose a stat other than Strength to use when making basic Melee attacks(Wisdom for instances)
Coordinated Explosion when using a power that requires an implement you gain a +1 to your attack rolls

Being an Elf, Wild Elf Luck(if your DM allows FRPG feats) and Elven Precision can give you a +6 on attack rolls when you use your Elven Accuracy racial power.

[NecroRebel]

Elves make decent-to-good Clerics, as they have a bonus to Wisdom. The Dex bonus isn't particularly helpful, since there are few-to-no Cleric powers that key off it, but it's certainly not bad to have, either.

Wis-based clerics tend strongly towards the role of primary healer and secondary buffer/debuffer. Basically, you're going to be playing more like a caster-type cleric from 3.5 than the traditional CZilla. Many of the powers you end up taking will probably heal your allies or give them temporary hit points in addition to their normal effects, while others will give bonuses to attacks and defenses, and a sizable subset will cause status effects on enemies.

Elves are more mobile than most races, and most of your powers will be ranged attacks, so you'll be fairly standoffish.

Of your at-will powers, Lance of Faith is a bit stronger than Sacred Flame, though you may well be using SF more. LoF does slightly more damage and grants an attack bonus against the target, and since attack bonuses are fairly hard to come by and quite useful it is nice to have, but at the same time the temp. HP from SF can be very good.



Of the feats you chose, WP Greatsword is not good. Pick something else; you probably don't have the Strength to actually hit anything reliably, and probably want to stay at range anyway. Improved Initiative and/or Quick Draw (usually not both, as the init. bonus doesn't stack) are always helpful, as are Toughness and Durable. Also, if it is allowed, Implement Expertise (holy symbol) is very, very good; it is in PHB2. Also, Expert Ritualist probably isn't worth it, as your ritual skill checks are usually very high due to your party Aid Anothering you. So, I'd replace it as well.

Actually, I'd say replace WP Greatsword with Implement Expertise (holy symbol) if it is allowed, or Improved Initiative if it isn't, and Expert Ritualist with Restful Healing (also PHB2), which can often save your party a healing surge while still bringing them to full HP.

[Douglas]

Melee Mastery lets you choose a stat other than Strength to use when making basic Melee attacks(Wisdom for instances)
Coordinated Explosion when using a power that requires an implement you gain a +1 to your attack rolls
It's Melee Training, and Coordinated Explosion only works on blasts and bursts and only when an ally is in the blast or burst.

All four of those feats are in the PHB2.

[NPCMook]

It's Melee Training, and Coordinated Explosion only works on blasts and bursts and only when an ally is in the blast or burst.

All four of those feats are in the PHB2.
Thank you for the correction on Melee Training

Coordinated Explosion is nice for powers like Daunting Light, unless the feat doesn't work with Area Burst

[Nohwl]

how would i make my character more like codzilla? is there anything, besides melee training, i should take?

[Oracle_Hunter]

An entertaining Elven Cleric build is the "Bow Cleric." Basically you keep pumping DEX and WIS, wear Hide Armor, and carry around a Longbow. Features:
(1) Longbows are great weapons - 20/40 range, and they do 1d10 damage. Since most Lazor Cleric powers are relatively short range (5-10), it can be nice to have something to do when you're far away.

(2) Excellent synergy with Ranger. There are some nice MC Options here, including taking Disruptive Strike (Interrupt an opponent's attack to impose a 5+WIS penalty on that attack roll) and some of the more controller-y Bow powers.

(3) Nice AC for free. Normally a Cleric needs to "buy" lots of proficiencies to make them tanky. This requires a STR 13 and using a lot of feat slots. If you stick with Hide and pump your DEX you can have Plate-equivalent AC by level 11, if not sooner.

Something to think about.

Also do not design this like a 3E character. It is a completely different system with different optimization requirements - and different focus points. Getting a +1 to hit is huge in 4E, for example. Read over one of the Cleric Guides (http://forums.gleemax.com/showpost.php?p=16113348&postcount=5) on CharOp to get a better feel for what you will be doing, and what you should pay attention to.

EDIT:
You cannot make a CoDzilla in 4E - it just doesn't work that way. If you want to make a serious damage dealer (and everything is fair game) this build (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1123009) looks like your best choice.

[NPCMook]

Since all the classes are very samey in 4e, you can't make a CoDzilla, mostly as a leader, your powers grant the other characters(or yourself) bonuses to hit, usually till the end of your next turn. 4e is a very balanced edition, no one really outshines anyone else.

[NecroRebel]

how would i make my character more like codzilla? is there anything, besides melee training, i should take?

You're not going to be as ludicrously powerful as CZilla was, but you can make a melee-based cleric like CZilla traditionally played as. In that case, though, you'd be building for Strength rather than Wisdom, taking heavier armor feats, and then wading into melee to fight rather than fighting from range.

Melee Training really won't correct the simple flaw in playing a Wis clerics as Str clerics, and that is that most Wis powers are ranged powers. Even with Wis-based melee basic attacks, your attacks are still basic attacks and thus very weak. So, basically, if you want to make your character more like CZilla you'll need to rebuild from scratch.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Yeah, I dunno about melee WIS clerics. If you want to be an "in your face" guy, you'll have to rebuild as a STR cleric (like NecroRebel said). In that case an Elven Cleric is still fine (the WIS bonus helps your Healer's Lore) but you'll probably want to pick up Light Shield Proficiency and Scale Proficiency as well as Bastard Sword proficiency - same damage as a Greatsword, but you can wield it in one hand.

DEX will help you qualify for Paragon feats, but don't put it higher than a 14. And use Righteous Brand a lot - it's awesome.

[NPCMook]

Melee Training helps in those times the DM throws you in a tiny cramped room, much like all the other feats, its situational

[Nohwl]

well, rebuilding isn't really an option, so what can i do to improve whatever direction i'm going in?

[NPCMook]

What are you current stats?

[Nohwl]

13 str
15 con
15 dex
13 int
21 wis
14 cha

i was told roll 4d6, reroll 1s, roll 7 times and pick the 6 you want.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Because I apparently have a lot of time on my hands, here are two Elven Cleric builds - Bow Cleric and Mixed Cleric

BOW CLERIC

Ability Scores
STR 8
DEX 14+2+1
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 14+2+1
CHA 14

Why the MAD scores? Because your three Non-AC Defenses (NADs) depend on STR/CON, DEX/INT, and WIS/CHA. You'll note that you have two 16's and one 14 to cover your NADs - a well rounded defense. CHA is the secondary stat for many of your WIS powers, so it should be at least a +2

If you want to turn this into a more Glass Cannon-y build, use this array:
STR 8
DEX 16+2+1
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 16+2+1
CHA 12

This maximizes to-hit with both DEX and WIS attacks, while also maximizing your AC (with Hide, it'll be Scale equivalent. By LV 8 it'll be Plate equivalent). The downside is that your Fortitude will suck.
Powers
At Will: Sacred Flame, Lance of Faith

Lance is nice if you have a Striker who needs a little help hitting someone, but Flame is definitely more versatile. Give an ally +CHA Temp HP (non-stacking) or give them a Saving Throw - one of those effects is almost always going to be helpful.

Encounter: Divine Glow, Command

Divine Glow: A handy blast power that can take out minions and buff your allies at the same time.

Command: If you have the CHA for it, a Slide 5 can do a whole lot for you. If you'd like more damage, Daunting Light is your choice.

Daily: Beacon of Hope, Consecrated Ground

Beacon of Hope: An excellent tide-turning power, it supercharges your Healing Powers - with a nice synergy with Consecrated Ground, if you're going to Nova. You can also have fun with Daunting Light here, since your Bow does sufficient damage that, with a Vulnerability 5, you're going to be doing a nice amount of damage. Later, combine with a Ranger multi-attack power for extra lulz :smallbiggrin:

Consecrated Ground: AKA The Party That Would Not Die. Keeps you guys healed while doing perpetual damage to enemies - extremely nice if you need to plow through a bunch of minions and your wizard is having problems.

Utility: Sanctuary OR Divine Aid

I'm a big fan of Encounter over Daily utility powers, and Sanctuary is great for when your squishy gets away from his meatshields. As another option, I'd go with Shield of Faith.
Feats
MC Ranger (for free Perception Training), Implement Expertise, Coordinated Explosion

Now, I don't have the PHB II in front of me, but as you can see, you have lots of Burst/Blasts that help your allies when they stand in them, and wound enemies. So that's good. As a WIS Elf your Passive Perception will be off the charts - great for detecting ambushes, traps, clues or what have you.

Mixed CLERIC

Ability Scores
STR 16 (9)
DEX 13+2 (3)
CON 13 (3)
INT 10 (2)
WIS 14+2 (5)
CHA 10 (0)

To be honest, I've always found the Mixed Cleric to be superior to a straight STR Cleric in melee - save for the STR Cleric that multiclasses Fighter early and often. With that WIS Bonus, it's plenty easy to do it as an Elf. The CON 13 is there to qualify for better armor.
Powers
At Will: Righteous Brand, Sacred Flame

Priest's Shield is terrible compared to Righteous Brand - if you're in melee, you are using Righteous Brand every turn. Sacred Flame is, as I said above, a nice flexible power - you won't be using it to grant Temp HP, but being able to grant Saves At-Will is not to be sniffed at.

Encounter: Healing Strike, Blazing Beacon

Healing Strike: Just nice. 2[W] and let someone pop a Healing Surge? Yes, please!

Blazing Beacon: Like Righteous Brand, but for ranged attacks. Your Wizard and Invoker will enjoy this power greatly.

Daily: Avenging Flame, Weapon of the Gods

Avenging Flame: A good damage power, and the caveat on the Save Ends makes it a nifty Defender-y power too!

Weapon of the Gods: You can always make it your Weapon, if you'd like :smallbiggrin:

Utility: Sanctuary OR Shield of Faith

Note that you mostly grant Power bonuses to hit, which makes Bless pretty worthless. Sanctuary is always nice for whoever needs a breath, but Shield of Faith will serve you well.
Feats Proficiency (Light Shield), Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Weapon Expertise

The shield gives you +1 AC and +1 Reflex. Plus, at LV 11 you can take Shield Specialization for an additional +1/+1. The Bastard Sword is one of the best one-handed weapons around (though check AV for cheesier weapons) and lets you do a nice bit of damage.

Now, I don't have the expansion books, so I'm sure these can be tweaked. But playing either of these will give you a solid character either for range (Bow) or melee (Mixed).

EDIT: Ah, you posted stats.

Listen, you will be seriously gimped as a melee WIS Cleric - there's no two ways about it. If you can re-spec your feats you should take Implement Expertise for sure, and if you don't want to use a bow, Light Shield Proficiency.

If you must be a melee WIS cleric, Martial Training is a must and probably Defensive Mobility (+2 AC vs. OAs) because you will be taking a lot of Opportunity Attacks.

That said, those are decent WIS Cleric stats. I'd skip the bow and just hold your implement in your main hand, and then pump WIS and CHA for your stat boosts.

[Nohwl]

laser cleric was mentioned in one of the threads i was linked to. what does it mean?

edit: i'm fine playing more of a casting cleric, and if melee combat will suck that much for me, i wont do it. its not my first choice, but thats alright.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Just a WIS Cleric - lots of ranged, radiant attacks. An early meme was that the Cleric was shooting lasers at everyone (or more accurately, lazors).

[Nohwl]

so what should i focus on for a ranged wis cleric?

[NecroRebel]

Wis. That's really all there is to it; just keep your Wisdom as high as you can, get a holy symbol with an enhancement bonus no lower than your level/5, and pick attack powers that run off Wisdom and not Strength. The vast majority of those are ranged or area attacks, with a few close blasts and bursts, so take advantage of the fact that you can fight well at range and fight at range.

Feats and equipment should go towards improving your own chance to hit as many powers have no effect if you miss, and other than that is mostly just gravy. There are some things that you'll look at and think, "wow, that's great," and if so go ahead and take it. It's very difficult to actually gimp your character in 4E as long as your primary attack stat is decent, which yours is.

[BobTheDog]

so what should i focus on for a ranged wis cleric?

Ranged attacks, and Wis. :smallbiggrin:

No, really. There's no real secret. You keep at medium range (to make sure you can use those "one ally/enemy within burst 5" powers), focus on powers/effects/feats that make good use of your Wisdom, and you're good to go.

Since you have decent Dex, you could get a little more "elf" out of your elf character, too... Longbow (as suggested above), elf feats that focus on mobility etc.

[Oracle_Hunter]

so what should i focus on for a ranged wis cleric?

Ditch the bow idea - your DEX just isn't going to cut it.

WIS should be your first boost. CHA is a secondary stat for a lot of WIS powers, so keep pumping that too.

Your feats should be: Light Shield Proficiency, Implement Expertise, and something else. Start retraining that way when you can.

Power-wise, you have two real choices: buff or control.

For a Buff Cleric, take powers that heal, improve defenses, and improve offense. In particular, look for Utilities that provide extra saving throws or Immediate Interrupts.

For a Control Cleric, take powers that force movement, provide debuffs or create zones. This is the more damage-oriented direction and requires more tactical awareness.

Any more specific questions?

[Nohwl]

Your feats should be: Light Shield Proficiency, Implement Expertise, and something else. Start retraining that way when you can.


what do you mean retraining? is there a mechanic for that in the rules?

[Oracle_Hunter]

what do you mean retraining? is there a mechanic for that in the rules?

Yes.

Every new level you can swap a power, feat, or skill choice you had earlier. You can only swap within a category, and you can never swap anything that is a prerequisite for something else you have. You can only retrain one thing per level.

So, you can change Command over to Daunting Lights since they're both 3rd level Encounters, but you couldn't swap Divine Glow (1st level Encounter) for Command.

Skill-wise, you can only switch among your class skills, and you can't retrain any mandatory skills (like Religion for Clerics).

Personally, I'd ask your DM to let you redo all over your feats, powers and equipment choices since you didn't know what you were doing at the time.

[Nohwl]

are there any powers i should change?

[herrhauptmann]

If you've been outvoted on playing 4e, your party should really be helping you make your character. Particularly giving you a phb to read.

Big changes from 3.5: Fort uses str or con. Ref and Dex uses int or dex. Will uses cha or wis. A single additional +1 to hit is huge, because those bonuses are very rare.

If you really really want to take a melee weapon, look into getting a weapon that is 'brutal'. Brutal 1 means your lowest damage on attack 2. Brutal 2 means your lowest damage on attack is 3.
Channel Divinity feats are neat. One out of the phb gives you regeneration I think. Tempus from Forgotten Realms gives you nice stuff if you're a melee cleric.
So why can you not rebuild your character? have you already started playing?

[Oracle_Hunter]

are there any powers i should change?

To start with, you can't have both Command and Daunting Light - they're both LV 3 Encounter powers. For your LV 1 Encounter power, I'd go with Divine Glow. Aside from that, your power selection will serve you fine. Still, if you want my personal preference, I would swap:
- Cascade of Light for Beacon of Hope
You probably won't be able to get too much out of the Vulnerability 5, while an Encounter's worth of +5 to Healing Powers will serve you well.

- Spiritual Weapon for Consecrated Ground
Since you don't have anyone in your party who needs CA, Spiritual Weapon is not so great. It eats up actions for 1d10+WIS damage - not too exciting. Consecrated Ground, on the other hand, makes a zone of minion death and healing for you and your Bloodied allies.
Again, just personal preference - you'll do fine with the powers you selected too. :smallsmile:

EDIT:
Actually, herrhauptmann brings up a good point - is this the character you want to play, or one you were forced into? Because everyone should get to play the character they want; if this one isn't, you can easily flip some stats around to make whatever you want - and your DM should let you.

[Nohwl]

yeah, we started playing yesterday. the dm is the only one who has really played 4e in the group (i played it once for a few hours, i was just given a character to use), so i had to share the phb with 4 other people, otherwise i would have spent more time picking feats.

i'm used to 3.5 and was thinking along the lines of codzilla when i was building, but apparently that doesn't work in 4.0. everything seems so much weaker.

i do want to try the cleric, but i would like to be effective at it.

[Oracle_Hunter]

yeah, we started playing yesterday. the dm is the only one who has really played 4e in the group (i played it once for a few hours, i was just given a character to use), so i had to share the phb with 4 other people, otherwise i would have spent more time picking feats.

i'm used to 3.5 and was thinking along the lines of codzilla when i was building, but apparently that doesn't work in 4.0. everything seems so much weaker.

i do want to try the cleric, but i would like to be effective at it.

Well sure, but what kind of cleric? We're not just talking about power anymore, we're talking about character.

At a basic level, are you happy with your race? Would you prefer melee or ranged? Do you want to control or buff?

It's too bad your stats are so SAD - it limits your options somewhat. But we can work with that.

[NecroRebel]

From what I can tell, your build is effective. You had to start with 20 Wis at level 1 to have 21 at 5, which is very good. Aside from choosing 2 level 3 encounter, which is impossible, your power choice is good, and your stat mix looks like it probably should with the array you were probably given. It's just your feat choices that are really questionable, as Weapon Prof. Greatsword and Expert Ritualist aren't really the sort of thing that are helpful.

[Nohwl]

Well sure, but what kind of cleric? We're not just talking about power anymore, we're talking about character.

At a basic level, are you happy with your race? Would you prefer melee or ranged? Do you want to control or buff?

It's too bad your stats are so SAD - it limits your options somewhat. But we can work with that.

i'm happy with my race, and i would prefer ranged combat. there should always be 3 or 4 things between me and whatever enemy i'm fighting ( two meatshields and the wizard because he feels the need to stay near the front line; i'm not sure about the other player, i haven't seen him play much.) i don't trust the wizard to do control too much, so i would prefer control.

feats were just sorta chosen. corellon's grace looked pretty useful, and i grabbed a few rituals with the gold i had, so i figured why not go with expert ritualist. i didn't know what to do with the last feat, so i went with a weapon i would like to use. and by use i mean when that rare situation comes up that i am in melee combat, i don't want to be armed with a dagger.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Excellent.

Well, your power selection should work towards that end; incidentally, take Command over Daunting Light then - and possibly Cause Fear for your 1st Level Encounter. Very controller-y.

Feat-wise, you will be perfectly OK with that selection - it's not optimal, but you won't be gimped. If you do want to be able to use some sword "in case of emergency" then you should definitely take Melee Training (it's in the PHB 2) and probably a different weapon than the Greatsword. It's not that, well, great in 4E (1d10 damage, Prof +3) and you'll probably want to get a shield at some point. The Bastard Sword would be a better choice, IMHO, since it can be wielded one-handed and has the same stats as the Greatsword.

You can keep either Corellon's Grace or Expert Ritualist, but you probably need to sacrifice one of them to have Melee Training. Otherwise you're going to be worthless with whatever sword you take.

Good luck! :smallsmile:

[Drakefall]

As far as weapons go you really shouldn't be spending two feats on a backup melee weapon. I would suggest just getting Melee Training (Wisdom) as a feat and then just using the already-proficient, good old fashion mace (+2 prof, 1d8 damage, 1 handed) or mornignstar (+2 prof, 1d10 damage, 2 handed) for when you absolutely must smack someone over the head.

[Nohwl]

the dm is letting me use the greatsword i have as my holy symbol, so i guess that's helpful if i need to have it out.

how useful are rituals? i grabbed arcane lock, hand of fate, knock, gentle repose, and comprehend language.

are there any ways to get more than one standard action or attack a round?

[Deme]

Yes, there are ways to get an extra action (of any sort) in a round: action points. You get 1 after each extended rest, and gain 1 for each milestone you pass (milestone = 2 encounters). You can spend 1 per encounter to gain an extra action, and they re-set when you take an extended rest.

[Nohwl]

is there a feat that gives standard actions like corellon's grace?

[NecroRebel]

is there a feat that gives standard actions like corellon's grace?

Not that I'm aware of. Action economy is one of the biggest balancing factors in 4E, particularly standard action economy, so there's very few ways to get it and if there was, everyone who wanted to optimize their characters would do everything in their power to pick it up.

You can spend an action point to get a standard action once per encounter. Some abilities let you go beyond this, but most of them are epic-tier. For instance, the Violet Solitaire from the Adventurer's Vault is a level 26 item that gives you an action point when you score a critical hit and specifically says that it doesn't count for an action point during that encounter. This item is also considered to be at the top of the top-tier powerwise, nearly or beyond the level of gamebreaking, because so much of the game is balanced on the 1 attack per round paradigm.

[Oracle_Hunter]

the dm is letting me use the greatsword i have as my holy symbol, so i guess that's helpful if i need to have it out.

how useful are rituals? i grabbed arcane lock, hand of fate, knock, gentle repose, and comprehend language.

That's a good selection. I'll warn you that you won't get much use out of them at level 1, but as you accumulate more wealth (or if the DM hands out lots of reagents as treasure) you can start using them more frequently. Basically, any Ritual your level is going to be too expensive to use except when absolutely necessary; lower level Rituals become much more attractive as you level up.

And that was nice of your DM to let you do that. Now you don't need to bother getting Magic Holy Symbols :smallbiggrin: