High level cleric tactics?

[AngelisBlack]

I'm trying to run a game with the PCs facing clerics of Hextor. The problem is that I have no idea how high level clerics usually operate. [I don't count cheese such as Divine Metamagic, Planar Ally and such.]. Each cleric would have a CR appropriate number of rogue and fighter underlings. The clerics would've had spells prepared as though they were invading a wizards tower or a wizarding school. Assume clerics are at levels 13, 15, and 17. Possible enemies are several high level spellcasters, a ton of low level wizards [int penalty for being children I suppose], and one Gish.

[Mongoose87]

They could all cast Gate.

EDIT: Just saw their levels. One could cast Gate.

[El Dorado]

They could all cast Gate.

EDIT: Just saw their levels. One could cast Gate.

At the very least, they could castigate. Seriously, I imagine they would send in the underlings, supporting and buffing them at a distance. One of them might try to melee with the young wizards under an antimagic field. That would certainly shock them.

[faceroll]

Judicious casting of Blasphemy & Dictum letting their minions mop up the disabled.

Blade Barrier is cool too.

[Claudius Maximus]

Assuming all of them are of the same alignment as well as of the same faith, there are many spells that will hurt their enemies while leaving their minions unscathed. They should all have one or more instances of Blasphemy and/or Dictum, which can murderize the weaker foes and banish the enemy wizards' summoned monsters.

Mass buff spells like Righteous Wrath of the Faithful could be used to great effect if they're going to be fighting with minions.

Speaking of minions, they should have many. All Clerics can prepare Summon Monster X, and they should have a horde of undead at their disposal. Include some undead created through spells and rebuked into obedience as well (e.g. Shadows could be used to spread out into the various rooms and kill everything in their path. Their numbers will grow the whole time too). There's a feat that makes undead explode when they're killed. Make the weaker ones rush the enemy and drop a Flame Strike on the whole mess.

They should have several dispels prepared, especially since they're fighting wizards here. Inquisition seems like a reasonable domain for a cleric of Hextor, and two of them can cast Chain Dispel, which is a decent spell that nobody ever seems to mention.

Enter the dorms with a Greater Consumptive Field up.

[Tinydwarfman]

Have each cleric specialize in something. Have one be a buffer, one (probably the lvl 17) summon more minions, and have one come in halfway through the fight fully fight and ready to kick ass.

[AngelisBlack]

Judicious casting of Blasphemy & Dictum letting their minions mop up the disabled.

Blade Barrier is cool too.

Blasphemy, I forgot they had that spell. That would really just murder most of the students if they ever got into range. But as for the summon monster series, don't they only work 1 round/level? That means less than 2 minutes for each. Undead would maybe fit and would be effective. I liked the idea of engaging one of the students in an antimagic field and that is definitely going in. But lets assume gish dude is coming in all heroic like and engages a cleric 1 on 1 (Most likely the LV17 one), then how would that play out?

[arguskos]

Blasphemy, I forgot they had that spell. That would really just murder most of the students if they ever got into range. But as for the summon monster series, don't they only work 1 round/level? That means less than 2 minutes for each. Undead would maybe fit and would be effective. I liked the idea of engaging one of the students in an antimagic field and that is definitely going in. But lets assume gish dude is coming in all heroic like and engages a cleric 1 on 1 (Most likely the LV17 one), then how would that play out?
Cleric casts Gate, get's something massively terrifying, has it engage the Gish for him while he nukes from a distance and giggles like a schoolgirl. In a more helpful manner, he actually casts some massive "save or suck" spell and THEN Gates in something to kill the now heavily weakened Gish. I mean, he doesn't have to stand there and fight this gish, he can get minions to do it for him.

[Cyrion]

How well is the Gish built? If the cleric is well armed and well buffed, there's every possibility that he can successfully go mano a mano with the Gish. Better to have minions to do it for him, but if the two meet all alone in the dorms...

[AngelisBlack]

How well is the Gish built? If the cleric is well armed and well buffed, there's every possibility that he can successfully go mano a mano with the Gish. Better to have minions to do it for him, but if the two meet all alone in the dorms...

Battle Sorcerer 15/Abjurant Champion 5, ECL 22, CL 20. Draconic Subtype. Has Draconic Vigor as a feat, and the most powerful directly offensive spells are Disintegrate, Greater Dispel Magic, and Wings of Flurry. If he decides to beat someone in the ground, main spells are Ferocity of Sanguine Rage, and Bite of the Weretiger.

[Runestar]

General spells to consider include harm, flamestrike (metamagicked if possible), greater dispel magic, summon monster.

17th lv cleric can use hunter of hades (spell compendium), implosion, using swift concentration to maintain it as a move or swift action. Or use miracle to do something funny such as mimicking irresistible dance (remember that it is also a bard6 spell) on some pesky PC. Maybe even mass heal if you have enough minions. Worse come to worse, energy drain.

15th lv cleric, maybe earthquake, blood to water, mass inflict critical wounds (can cast spontaneously),

13th lv cleric can consider disintegrate (is it a hextor domain spell?), blood to water.

[AngelisBlack]

General spells to consider include harm, flamestrike (metamagicked if possible), greater dispel magic, summon monster.

17th lv cleric can use hunter of hades (spell compendium), implosion, using swift concentration to maintain it as a move or swift action. Or use miracle to do something funny such as mimicking irresistible dance (remember that it is also a bard6 spell) on some pesky PC. Maybe even mass heal if you have enough minions. Worse come to worse, energy drain.

15th lv cleric, maybe earthquake, blood to water, mass inflict critical wounds (can cast spontaneously),

13th lv cleric can consider disintegrate (is it a hextor domain spell?), blood to water.

I just looked up blood to water, and its a very very effective spell. The one question I have is how are my PCs supposed to defend against that?

[Shas aia Toriia]

Ready for the end of the thread?
Give all the clerics Avasculate. Give the 15 and 17 Avascular Mass. Ranged touch attack for HP gone. No save.

[tyckspoon]

I just looked up blood to water, and its a very very effective spell. The one question I have is how are my PCs supposed to defend against that?

Good Fort saves + the Mettle ability (Evasion for Fort+Will effects, basically. Should be available in Ring form.) Immunity to ability damage. Silencing the caster. Counterspelling. Some means of rapid restoration of ability scores. The PCs should have enough options to protect themselves. The harder question would be how to make sure the children don't get nuked by errant AoE.

[CTLC]

have one cleric make himself as big and buffed as possible, give him a gargantuan adamantine warhammer and the war domain. Hit things.

[Claudius Maximus]

Ready for the end of the thread?
Give all the clerics Avasculate. Give the 15 and 17 Avascular Mass. Ranged touch attack for HP gone. No save.

I'm aware that there's at least one description of that spell that says it reduces HP to 0, but that was inaccurate and clarified in errata. Avasculate halves a creature's HP.

[Runestar]

I just looked up blood to water, and its a very very effective spell. The one question I have is how are my PCs supposed to defend against that?

Easiest answer is simply "They don't." It deals con damage, so it shouldn't be instantly fatal to the players, even on a failed save.

I am fairly sure there are spells which protect them against ability score damage, such as sheltered vitality from spell compendium.


have one cleric make himself as big and buffed as possible, give him a gargantuan adamantine warhammer and the war domain. Hit things.

Or even better, replicate giant size via miracle, grow to collossal and whack things even harder. :smallamused: