3.5 Cleric Build Help Please

[Apollishar]

In a campaign that my group is getting ready to start, I want to play a cleric who is a "Wrath of God" type. In battle, he goes for overwhelming force, lots of evocation and abjuration spells. But the cleric spell selection and equipment selection dont seem to support this. We are starting out 5th level, with 10,000 gp to buy equipment. What can I do to make this happen?

[Morbis Meh]

Divine Metamagic: Maximize (Get maximize spell then DMM max)? You could also have pick the spell domain to get anyspell so you can cast some evoc spells, or pick other domains to get some evoc spells.

[Apollishar]

Right now, the build is
Human Cleric 5

Str:14
Dex:13
Con:16
Int:13
Wis:19
Cha:16

Feats
Maximize Spell
Profane Lifeleech
Energy Substitution

Gear
Light Mace
Chainmail+1
Hellcat Guantlets
Stormfire Ring

I want him to have a combination of fluff and optimization, fluff being more important

[navar100]

Can you use Spell Compendium? There are some blasty spells there.

[Apollishar]

All 3.5 books are available for use. The spell list im not so much worried about. i can change that daily. its more of the build. gear, feats, etc.

[Cyrion]

Not the most optimized weapon for a cleric, but I've always liked the image of the warmace. It's a two-handed mace that deals 1d12 damage, and as I recall you can wield it one handed as an exotic weapon. Combine it with buff spells like divine power and run around the battlefield playing Whack-a-Mole. Depending on how lenient your DM is you may have to pay a feat tax for it (which I think is stupid, but them's the rules).

[only1doug]

Consider where you will be going next...

L6 is the start of Prestige classing so pick your PRC now and have all the pre-requistes lined up.

Radiant servant of Pelor might be a suitable PRC, double radius of light based evocation spells.

Which Domains have you picked?

Sun might be a good choice as it has some evocation at higher level (and can make undead go "Pop")

Fire domain gives some access to evocations that aren't usually available to clerics.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spellLists/clericDomains.htm


I'd probably build toward Radiant servant and add a fiery burst reserve feat as soon as you can qualify for it. (fiery burst will allow you a mini-fireball every round).

Well, the 2nd level cleric spell sound burst with elemental substitution: fire could be argued as a fire spell... so you try to run that by your GM and see if he'll allow it.

Quite feat intensive to acheive though.

Edit: sound burst shenanigans

[dextercorvia]

Hammer of Righteousness: 3rd level spell from the BoED. Uncapped CLX1d6(8 for evil) damage. Fort for Half means evasion doesn't help, and most things with low HP have cruddy Fort saves. I think the damage is Force damage, too. The sacrifice is d3 Str damage, but I'm sure you can find a way around that.

Smiting Spell and Spell Storing Weapons are pretty fun for the Wrath of God thing. I hit you with my mace and now you are blind and mute... or whatever.

Edit: Light of Lunia, etc aren't great by themselves, but if you can get a Familiar, or something to share spells with, they get better.

[Cartigan]

In a campaign that my group is getting ready to start, I want to play a cleric who is a "Wrath of God" type. In battle, he goes for overwhelming force, lots of evocation and abjuration spells. But the cleric spell selection and equipment selection dont seem to support this. We are starting out 5th level, with 10,000 gp to buy equipment. What can I do to make this happen?
Go Radiant Servant of Pelor, use all the laser light show spells. Light of Venya series is crazy against undead and evil outsiders (but they are in like 3 books and different in each)

[Curmudgeon]

Right now, the build is
Human Cleric 5

Str:14
Dex:13
Con:16
Int:13
Wis:19
Cha:16

Feats
Maximize Spell
Profane Lifeleech
Energy Substitution

Gear
Light Mace
Chainmail+1
Hellcat Guantlets
Stormfire Ring
All Cleric builds need to begin with setting, alignment, deity, and domains. What's your starting point?

[only1doug]

a few problems with the feats in your build:


Feats
Maximize Spell: Useless at your level, casts at +3 spell levels higher.
Profane Lifeleech: don't recognise this one.
Energy Substitution: requires another metamagic feat as a prerequisite.



Sacred spell would be barely viable (+2 spell levels higher) but fluff wise is appropriate (makes half the damage divine instead of elemental)

Subdual spell is an interesting choice but may not fit your character concept, all damage delt by spell is non-lethal casts at normal spell level.

Reach spell could work, your touch spells can become rays, (eg cure spells healing allies and hurting undead) but again has the heavy cost of +2 spell levels.

[Apollishar]

Setting is a custom campaign. Chatoic Neutral. The diety is a custom primal elemental god. Domains are Fire and Weather.

Profane Lifeleech - Libris Mortis. As a standard action, use 2 rebuke attempts to deal d6 points of damage in a 30 ft burst to all living creatures. You heal an amount of damage equal to the total of hit points that you drain.

Technically a negative energy effect, but DM houseruled that, fluff wise, I can treat it as taking away the energy that theyve been blessed with. ( life energy is a balance of elements in this campaign.)

I chose maximize spell because I was going to use it when I could, and I needed a metamagic prerequisite for energy substitution, which i figured would make sense, fluff wise

[GodGoblin]

If you can take flaws grab DMM: Maximise and Extra turning.

Will allow you to maximise your spells a lot more often, without DMM you wont be doing it at all at this level

[Gavinfoxx]

A quick reference check -- have you read the Cleric Handbook, all the way through?

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=420.0

[Cartigan]

Setting is a custom campaign. Chatoic Neutral. The diety is a custom primal elemental god. Domains are Fire and Weather.
This really doesn't match the "Wrath of God" thing you are going for.
At your end it looks like it, sort of, but it doesn't on the back end.
Now "Raining Destruction and Fire Upon Puny Mortals Because I am the Almighty God of Primal Matter" maybe.


Profane Lifeleech - Libris Mortis. As a standard action, use 2 rebuke attempts to deal d6 points of damage in a 30 ft burst to all living creatures. You heal an amount of damage equal to the total of hit points that you drain.
Nor that.

[only1doug]

With fire domain you could use your L3 feat slot to grab the fiery burst reserve feat and be able to smite the unbelievers all day with mini-fireballs thus pleasing your god.

you still need to consider what PRC you will be wanting, Radiant servant won't cut it unless you can convince your GM to re-fluff it to your deity (and possibly re-configure the pre-requisites).

Reserve feats generally aren't as good as the wizard spells they are keeping you from using, as a cleric your evocations have more suck and less win so the reserve feats are actually stronger than they would normally be.

[Cartigan]

Maybe Stormlord would be a more applicable PrC though I don't recall what it gives other than lightning bolts.

[Apollishar]

My diety is tired of mortals destroying creation. His long term goal is to basically throw everything into an ice age.

The lifeleech is fluff for taking the primal elements away from those who are undeserving.

As far as PrC, right now im looking at Elemental Archon, or a refluffed Stormlord, both from Faiths and Pantheons.

[fractal_uk]

Right now, the build is...

Chainmail+1


No one else seems to have picked up this one, so let me just point out, you do not want chainmail armour. You might as well have the heaviest armour available - Full Plate. Even basic Full Plate is superior in every way to +1 Chainmail.

DMM Maximise is okay but Cleric spells aren't great for blasting. "Wrath of God" style overwhelming melee destruction is a whole lot easier to pull off. Saying that, once you advance a few levels, Comet Fall is a pretty decent candidate for metamagic enhancement.

Also, as a general blasting point: You're probably better off with Empower than Maximise.

[Apollishar]

Can you explain what makes it better than maximize?