house.au
2012-10-02, 01:10 PM
TL;DR: Built a Cleric in a hurry for an SRD-only game, now Complete Arcane/Divine/Warrior etc is available and I'm looking for suggestions.
So when we started our campaign the DM made it pretty simple: SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/) only. As it was I was joining the campaign as a last-minute addition so was just handed a Point-Buy spread and told to assign each score to an ability, and the party wanted a Cleric.
So I've been doing my best to be the best Cleric I can be, without Heal-botting it up. Now that we're a way into the campaign the DM is feeling more comfortable, and he's opened up the Complete series (though of course he reserves the right to veto anything he doesn't approve of, just in case someone gets greedy) and I'm not sure what to do. I'm 37XP from Level 8 and wondering if I should stick with the "Just Keep Taking Cleric Levels" plan or grab a Prestige Class. I've certainly made some... interesting choices (That single rank of Handle Animal will sure come in useful!) but overall I do pretty well.
The Stats
Level: 7 (27963 XP)
Race: Human
Alignment: Neutral/Good
STR: 12
DEX: 8
CON: 14
INT: 11
WIS: 17 (so 19 accounting for my Periapht of wisdom +2)
CHA: 10
HP: 65
AC: 20 / Touch: 11 (Masterwork Full Plate, Buckler with Resist Fire/1, Item Familiar is a Ring Of Protection +2)
Domains: Luck & Magic (The goddess he follows takes an interest in Fate, Fortune & Art, DM's own pantheon)
Skills - I figure I'll just mention what he has ranks in.
CONCENTRATION 10
DIPLOMACY 2
HANDLE ANIMAL 1
KNOWLEDGE (RELIGION) 3
KNOWLEDGE (ARCANA) 1
KNOWLEDGE (HISTORY) 1
KNOWLEDGE (PLANES) 1
LISTEN 2*
SPELLCRAFT 10
SPOT 2*
*Item Familiar gives Alertness: +2 to Spot/Listen checks.
Feats
Extend Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#extendSpell)
Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm)
Craft Wondrous Item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#craftWondrousItem)
Regarding Mr Lucky (my magic ring Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm))
I've Invested Spell Slots and Life Energy in him, gaining me a little extra XP which I fluctuates as the point of that gain is to be able burn it on crafting Wondrous Items for the party without lagging far behind, though more often than not I'm slightly ahead on XP at any given time.
The Party - I figure you need to know the work environment.
All level 7, the party consists of:
Brannock - Dwarf Fighter. Pretty standard I guess? He's into Power Attacks and Cleave with his Dwarven Waraxe but he carries a Dire Flail, Longsword etc to ensure he has options regarding Damage Type.
Sero - Elf Bard/Rogue. Dex-based Melee fighter with Weapon Finesse he usually fights with a Rapier and sometimes an enchanted Whip, he tends to sing a lot to buff. His charisma is pretty high and he's taken Leadership, gaining a Kobold cohort. Closest thing to an offensive spells are Flare/Grease, his favourite 2nd level spell is Cat's Grace to buff his AC/Attack Bonus as Mirror Image/Blur haven't really helped in the past. Voted most likely to have to be killed by the rest of the party when he decides Chaotic Evil is the way to go.
Gerrant - Human Monk. The GM allowed him to take Improved Natural Attack from the Monster Feats (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm) list, I believe he's heading towards either Duelist or Drunken Master. Refers to himself as a Mobile Attack Bonus, mostly he tumbles around giving flanking bonuses to Brannock.
Ulfgar - Dwarf Sorcerer. Our Glass Cannon, he's only got 27HP at best but he loves his Scorching Ray and Fireball. Very much into roleplay, his Sorcerer abilities started manifesting all by themselves and he was sent to the Human capital to see if they could figure out what to do with him. I believe the player plans on Ulfgar embracing his Dorfiness at the expense of his spells. If I recall his Charisma is 19 (including a Cloak of Charisma +2).
Modus Operandi
Tyrus tends to buff if he can, but more often he's been spending that time using Summon Monster or Spiritual Weapon (getting a few Spiritual Weapons out ASAP during Owl's Wisdom has proven to be rather effective). Having comparable AC to the Fighter he's most likely to put himself in harm's way to avoid the squishier team members getting wailed on, but his high Concentration means he tends to cast successfully regardless. If it seems appropriate he will use his +1 Morningstar but there's almost always something magical he can be doing to help control the battlefield. Not great at Turning Undead but he'll give it a shot, and Spontaneous Cures are a last resort as the party usually heals between battles with a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, and both the Sorcerer and the Monk have Belts of Healing (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/therealm/items/belt-of-healing) which he crafted for them (GM okayed the item as it was outside the SRD).
As the Sorcerer and Bard are pretty limited in their spell selections, Tyrus is the Utility Magic User of the group, I try to cover as many bases as I can despite being a Divine caster. I'd love to be able to dip into some Arcane spells to service that role better but with that INT score I would have to invest a lot of cash into Ability boosts?
So, if anyone would care to make any interesting suggestions I'd be interested. It's not that I'm against continuing to take Cleric levels, in fact anything that delays the next set of spells is likely to cause me distress as I'm always drooling over the higher level spells, but if there's sufficient coolness to be found by dipping into a Prestige Class I guess I might have to be patient. It's not like my contributions are not solid compared to the others, in fact sometimes I try to hold back and let the other PCs take the spotlight, and I don't want to be a Min-Max Powergamer Munchkin, but if there's cool stuff out there that I haven't ruined for myself with my SRD-based build then I'd like to know.
Thanks!
OH! I can't believe I almost forgot, the whole Good/Evil thing hasn't been sitting too well with my DM, so though it still exists technically he's put a lot of focus on the Axiomatic/Chaotic side of things. As such he's made some changes to the Spell Lists, removing things like Hallow/Unhallow and Holy/Unholy word, as well as stripping out the Angely/Demony Summoned Monsters (though he's apparently planning on replacing them with similar creatures, just not Good and Evil - the exception being Lantern Archon's, as I've summoned them before and he figures he'll let them slide). I know, this might not be enough information, but figured I should point it out, besides I'm surprised if you've read this far!
So when we started our campaign the DM made it pretty simple: SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/) only. As it was I was joining the campaign as a last-minute addition so was just handed a Point-Buy spread and told to assign each score to an ability, and the party wanted a Cleric.
So I've been doing my best to be the best Cleric I can be, without Heal-botting it up. Now that we're a way into the campaign the DM is feeling more comfortable, and he's opened up the Complete series (though of course he reserves the right to veto anything he doesn't approve of, just in case someone gets greedy) and I'm not sure what to do. I'm 37XP from Level 8 and wondering if I should stick with the "Just Keep Taking Cleric Levels" plan or grab a Prestige Class. I've certainly made some... interesting choices (That single rank of Handle Animal will sure come in useful!) but overall I do pretty well.
The Stats
Level: 7 (27963 XP)
Race: Human
Alignment: Neutral/Good
STR: 12
DEX: 8
CON: 14
INT: 11
WIS: 17 (so 19 accounting for my Periapht of wisdom +2)
CHA: 10
HP: 65
AC: 20 / Touch: 11 (Masterwork Full Plate, Buckler with Resist Fire/1, Item Familiar is a Ring Of Protection +2)
Domains: Luck & Magic (The goddess he follows takes an interest in Fate, Fortune & Art, DM's own pantheon)
Skills - I figure I'll just mention what he has ranks in.
CONCENTRATION 10
DIPLOMACY 2
HANDLE ANIMAL 1
KNOWLEDGE (RELIGION) 3
KNOWLEDGE (ARCANA) 1
KNOWLEDGE (HISTORY) 1
KNOWLEDGE (PLANES) 1
LISTEN 2*
SPELLCRAFT 10
SPOT 2*
*Item Familiar gives Alertness: +2 to Spot/Listen checks.
Feats
Extend Spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#extendSpell)
Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm)
Craft Wondrous Item (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#craftWondrousItem)
Regarding Mr Lucky (my magic ring Item Familiar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/itemFamiliars.htm))
I've Invested Spell Slots and Life Energy in him, gaining me a little extra XP which I fluctuates as the point of that gain is to be able burn it on crafting Wondrous Items for the party without lagging far behind, though more often than not I'm slightly ahead on XP at any given time.
The Party - I figure you need to know the work environment.
All level 7, the party consists of:
Brannock - Dwarf Fighter. Pretty standard I guess? He's into Power Attacks and Cleave with his Dwarven Waraxe but he carries a Dire Flail, Longsword etc to ensure he has options regarding Damage Type.
Sero - Elf Bard/Rogue. Dex-based Melee fighter with Weapon Finesse he usually fights with a Rapier and sometimes an enchanted Whip, he tends to sing a lot to buff. His charisma is pretty high and he's taken Leadership, gaining a Kobold cohort. Closest thing to an offensive spells are Flare/Grease, his favourite 2nd level spell is Cat's Grace to buff his AC/Attack Bonus as Mirror Image/Blur haven't really helped in the past. Voted most likely to have to be killed by the rest of the party when he decides Chaotic Evil is the way to go.
Gerrant - Human Monk. The GM allowed him to take Improved Natural Attack from the Monster Feats (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm) list, I believe he's heading towards either Duelist or Drunken Master. Refers to himself as a Mobile Attack Bonus, mostly he tumbles around giving flanking bonuses to Brannock.
Ulfgar - Dwarf Sorcerer. Our Glass Cannon, he's only got 27HP at best but he loves his Scorching Ray and Fireball. Very much into roleplay, his Sorcerer abilities started manifesting all by themselves and he was sent to the Human capital to see if they could figure out what to do with him. I believe the player plans on Ulfgar embracing his Dorfiness at the expense of his spells. If I recall his Charisma is 19 (including a Cloak of Charisma +2).
Modus Operandi
Tyrus tends to buff if he can, but more often he's been spending that time using Summon Monster or Spiritual Weapon (getting a few Spiritual Weapons out ASAP during Owl's Wisdom has proven to be rather effective). Having comparable AC to the Fighter he's most likely to put himself in harm's way to avoid the squishier team members getting wailed on, but his high Concentration means he tends to cast successfully regardless. If it seems appropriate he will use his +1 Morningstar but there's almost always something magical he can be doing to help control the battlefield. Not great at Turning Undead but he'll give it a shot, and Spontaneous Cures are a last resort as the party usually heals between battles with a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, and both the Sorcerer and the Monk have Belts of Healing (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/therealm/items/belt-of-healing) which he crafted for them (GM okayed the item as it was outside the SRD).
As the Sorcerer and Bard are pretty limited in their spell selections, Tyrus is the Utility Magic User of the group, I try to cover as many bases as I can despite being a Divine caster. I'd love to be able to dip into some Arcane spells to service that role better but with that INT score I would have to invest a lot of cash into Ability boosts?
So, if anyone would care to make any interesting suggestions I'd be interested. It's not that I'm against continuing to take Cleric levels, in fact anything that delays the next set of spells is likely to cause me distress as I'm always drooling over the higher level spells, but if there's sufficient coolness to be found by dipping into a Prestige Class I guess I might have to be patient. It's not like my contributions are not solid compared to the others, in fact sometimes I try to hold back and let the other PCs take the spotlight, and I don't want to be a Min-Max Powergamer Munchkin, but if there's cool stuff out there that I haven't ruined for myself with my SRD-based build then I'd like to know.
Thanks!
OH! I can't believe I almost forgot, the whole Good/Evil thing hasn't been sitting too well with my DM, so though it still exists technically he's put a lot of focus on the Axiomatic/Chaotic side of things. As such he's made some changes to the Spell Lists, removing things like Hallow/Unhallow and Holy/Unholy word, as well as stripping out the Angely/Demony Summoned Monsters (though he's apparently planning on replacing them with similar creatures, just not Good and Evil - the exception being Lantern Archon's, as I've summoned them before and he figures he'll let them slide). I know, this might not be enough information, but figured I should point it out, besides I'm surprised if you've read this far!