Creating a very morbid cleric....

[The Succubus]

Howdy,

I'm taking another stab at a PbP game with a cleric. This time, rather than go with my crossbow-gunslinger, I'm taking a very different direction. I'm thinking of a cleric that has had a near death experience and has had his life shaped around what happened to him.

The deity: I'm looking for a Neutral deity with the Death domain but unfortunately the d20srd does have a list of deities on it. I'd also like the second domain to have a fairly neutral/utility flavour to it, say Protection or Travel.

A suitable weapon: I would go with a scythe but that would be quite a horrible cliche and then I might as well START TALKING IN CAPITALS. So I'd like my cleric to use one of the more unusual weapons rather than a sword/axe/mace. Perhaps a chain of some sort?

The tricky bit: I've never had dealings with flaws before. My understanding is that by taking one, it opens up a feat for you to use but I could be dead wrong. If it works the way I think it does, would it be possible to have a flaw that prevents my cleric from speaking (as a result of an injury or curse) but then take the Silent spell feat so I can still cast?

Thanks in advance.....

[Riverdance]

Some weapons ideas (all of which I imagine being jet black):
-flail (somewhat cliche for a cleric but cool and fitting for a death-oriented character)
-dire flail (less cliche, more cool, involves two-weapon fighting feats)
-sickle(s)
-kukri(s)
-hand crossbow (as a secondary, possibly with poison)
-ebony quarterstaff

[Telonius]

Are Forgotten Realms deities fair game? Kelemvor is Lawful Neutral, and has both Death and Travel in his domains. His favored weapon is the Bastard Sword. You can wield it two-handed without special training as a martial weapon; but unfortunately the Cleric doesn't get access to martial weapons. To get it, you'd either need to spend a feat on proficiency (and have +1 BAB and a strength of 13 as a prereq - so no sword proficiency until level 3 at the earliest), or you'd need to take the War domain in order to gain proficiency. That would really restrict the gods you have to choose from even further.

If you're a Halfling, Urogalan (also Forgotten Realms) is also a neutral god of death.

Flaws do indeed give you a feat, but I'm not aware of any whose drawback is "not being able to speak." The effects of that would be a little harsh even for a flaw. Most flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) are something significant, but not devastating. -3 to a save, -4 to two skills, that sort of thing. But this would severely restrict your character's ability to do his job. Even if you use the free feat to take Silent Spell, what this would do is require you to use spell slots one level higher on every single spell you'll ever cast. Pretty much all of the Cleric spells have verbal components.

[The Succubus]

Are Forgotten Realms deities fair game? Kelemvor is Lawful Neutral, and has both Death and Travel in his domains. His favored weapon is the Bastard Sword. You can wield it two-handed without special training as a martial weapon; but unfortunately the Cleric doesn't get access to martial weapons. To get it, you'd either need to spend a feat on proficiency (and have +1 BAB and a strength of 13 as a prereq - so no sword proficiency until level 3 at the earliest), or you'd need to take the War domain in order to gain proficiency. That would really restrict the gods you have to choose from even further.

If you're a Halfling, Urogalan (also Forgotten Realms) is also a neutral god of death.

Flaws do indeed give you a feat, but I'm not aware of any whose drawback is "not being able to speak." The effects of that would be a little harsh even for a flaw. Most flaws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm) are something significant, but not devastating. -3 to a save, -4 to two skills, that sort of thing. But this would severely restrict your character's ability to do his job. Even if you use the free feat to take Silent Spell, what this would do is require you to use spell slots one level higher on every single spell you'll ever cast. Pretty much all of the Cleric spells have verbal components.

Hmmm, it's just I'm interested in RPing a character that has to rely on other ways of conveying their intent and feelings rather than by just speaking. It would make for an interesting experience. I didn't know that Silent spell caused everything to need a +1 spell level bump though. That's kind of thrown a wrench in the works. =/

RE: Weapons - my rolls were pretty dire, ability score wise - 16, 15, 11, 9, 9, 8. My current thinking is:

Str 8
Dex 9
Con 15
Int 11
Wis 16
Cha 9

Now, I know people will suggest swapping the Cha and Int scores around for more effective turning but I really don't want to have to RP my cleric as an idiot. A low Cha score does make sense if he's unable to speak and a few ranks in Knowledge (Religion) will help with the turning.

Coming back to the weapon, perhaps a quarterstaff with a lantern on the end would give the kind of feel I'm looking for - a sort of "shepherd across the grey mists of death" kind of thing.

[Kaeso]

Wee Jas is a standard setting goddess, is lawful neutral and has access to the Death, Domination, Inquisition, Law, Magic, Mind and Repose domains. Her favoured weapon is the dagger, so I'm not sure wether or not that fits your idea. It is a simple weapon though, so any cleric can pick it up and use it without spending any feats on it, but it is the weakest weapon around.

[umbergod]

Wee Jas is a standard setting goddess, is lawful good and has access to the Death, Domination, Inquisition, Law, Magic, Mind and Repose domains. Her favoured weapon is the dagger, so I'm not sure wether or not that fits your idea. It is a simple weapon though, so any cleric can pick it up and use it without spending any feats on it, but it is the weakest weapon around.

bolded for emphasis, she isnt lawful good. she is lawful neutral though

[Kaeso]

bolded for emphasis, she isnt lawful good. she is lawful neutral though

Ack, that's what I meant. Let me edit that.
Sorry, I think faster than I type, so I sometimes type nonsense.

[Telonius]

Hmmm, it's just I'm interested in RPing a character that has to rely on other ways of conveying their intent and feelings rather than by just speaking. It would make for an interesting experience. I didn't know that Silent spell caused everything to need a +1 spell level bump though. That's kind of thrown a wrench in the works. =/

RE: Weapons - my rolls were pretty dire, ability score wise - 16, 15, 11, 9, 9, 8. My current thinking is:

Str 8
Dex 9
Con 15
Int 11
Wis 16
Cha 9

Now, I know people will suggest swapping the Cha and Int scores around for more effective turning but I really don't want to have to RP my cleric as an idiot. A low Cha score does make sense if he's unable to speak and a few ranks in Knowledge (Religion) will help with the turning.

Coming back to the weapon, perhaps a quarterstaff with a lantern on the end would give the kind of feel I'm looking for - a sort of "shepherd across the grey mists of death" kind of thing.

You're not kidding on the stats. Net +2 bonus is just barely above a reroll. Have your considered (or will the DM allow) you to start as middle-aged? You could arrange the stats like:

STR 11 -> 10
DEX 9 -> 8
CON 15 -> 14
INT 9 -> 10
WIS 16 -> 17
CHA 8-> 9

None of your modifiers would be any worse, and strength would be better.

If the "other means of communication" thing is just fluff, I'd roleplay it as having taken a vow of silence that applies except when you're saying your prayers or casting a spell in the service of your deity's interests. "I vow to be silent as the grave, until (deity) claims me." Something like that. If you weren't so hard-up for skill points I'd suggest a little fun with Perform (pantomime), Bluff (deliver secret message), or even spending a skill point or two on Speak Language (sign language). I would absolutely allow that - and maybe even give some kind of an RP bonus - if I were the DM.

I like the quarterstaff idea.

[umbergod]

Ack, that's what I meant. Let me edit that.
Sorry, I think faster than I type, so I sometimes type nonsense.

glad to know I'm not alone in that respect. I think faster than I can type and often my fingers try to keep up and I type gibberish.

on topic: those rolls are pretty yikes worthy, have you talked to your DM about rerolling them or simply using a point buy system?

[The Succubus]

I'll poke him in the direction of this thread and hopefully get some input from him. The help so far has been really enlightening. :smallsmile:

[Feralventas]

I don't know if it would fit the flavor of deity you're looking for, but there's a True Neutral deity in Libris Mortis called the Evening Glory. Her listed domains are Chaos, Good and Charm, but considering that her main shtick is Love persisting after death, I don't think it would be odd to toss the Death domain on the list (Libris mortis is the book of the undead, so EG's kinda weird in that respect >.>; )