Cleric ideas?

[Adindra]

So my girlfriend is relatively new to d&d and her first character is a cleric of Tyr from the Norse pantheon (she actually put in enough research into the god and enough work into a background that i included the pantheon in the available ones for my campaign), unfortunately clerics were never my forte so optimizing her has been a rough job for me while still working on my campaign.

So i ask you fine forum members any ideas on optimizing a level 8 Lg (or Ln) cleric of Tyr? As a side note the only book i don't allow is the tome of battle.

[Kefkafreak]

Did you check the Cleric Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=420.0)?

[Adindra]

I have it in my favorites but i'm having trouble finding any specific builds for her wizards i can get, dread necromancer builds i understand no problem but somthing about clerics just stumps me. :smallredface:

[gorfnab]

A simple Tyr themed Cleric build would be LG Human Cleric 5/ Ordained Champion (CC) 2 / Justiciar of Tyr (PGtf) 10/ Ordained Champion (CC) 3. Domains of War and Knowledge. Feats of note: Knowledge Devotion (CC), Holy Warrior (CC), and Initiate of Tyr (PGtF). Ordained Champion gives you an extra domain which can be swapped for a bonus Fighter feat that you meet the prereqs for (basically choose the Law Domain and then immediately swap it out for Improved Initiative or some other useful Fighter feat).

[Leon]

So i ask you fine forum members any ideas on optimizing a level 8 Lg (or Ln) cleric of Tyr?

Don't. Let Her create the PC to how she wants it to be.
The best cleric is the one that supports the group that it is with with the great array of Divine spells that are available.

Only really focus one being a Combat powerhouse if there is no-one else playing those archetypes as some classes only have that option where as the cleric can be very adaptable to what it does.

[Adindra]

Thank you guys for all the information! And ill show her all the stuff that you mentioned ill just have to go through it slowly so that she can wrap her head around it (shes already picking it up pretty easily when i explain something to her)

[HunterOfJello]

I would recommend looking up all the bad choices that a person playing a cleric can make and watch out for those more than trying to control her build for her. There are lots of trap feats in some of the books that look good to a new player but are terrible choices in the long run (Ex:Combat Casting, Augment Healing, and the Spring Attack line).

I also strongly suggest getting her to print out and fill out her character sheet on her own. It may seem kinda harsh, but filling out that first sheet with 0 prior experience really teaches a player a lot about the game. If she doesn't know what something is or means, it's more beneficial to her if she looks it up in the PHB, DMG or MM than to just have you explain it to her. This will give her the knowledge of where to look for the information next time, all the specifics on the concept, and a more complete explanation of how the game works.


Overall, ask her what kind of character concept she's going for mechanically in combat and out of combat so you can just make sure that she doesn't choose choices she'll regret later. Getting the DM to implement a retraining system after the second session or so can help with this a lot so that she can change decisions or correct mistakes later on.