What is the best type of "Leader" Or "Buffer" for a Military style campaign?

[JKTrickster]

I'm in this DnD 3.5 Military campaign and I was wondering what type of character would emulate the "Leader role" the most?

I am envisioning a character that could provide a large amount of benefits to the troops - both numerically and qualitatively. This could be through spells, maneuvers, psionics, etc. I'm extremely open minded.

At the same time, keep in mind that this is a military campaign. The PC's (there are only 3 of them) command an army of up to 500 - 1000 men at a time, and that's only the beginning. With promotions, etc. that number is likely to increase dramatically.

Obviously I can't provide buffs to a thousand men at once, but what can I use to get the most mileage out of so many troops?

[Medic!]

Marshal, from the Miniatures Handbook springs to mind.

Depending on flavor you could also go with some Bard levels, or even Dragon Shaman.

EDIT: The Purple Dragon Knight from Forgotten Realms could also add some flavor here.

[JKTrickster]

I thought about those classes, but this is intended to be an extremely hard campaign. With only 3 of us, we have to watch out for the whole army. Particularly since this is supposed to be "hard mode" and we're all on our own (no supply lines...no allies....the whole thing :smalltongue:)

Would a Bardsader or a Bardblade work?

Or is a spellcaster more appropriate?

[ThiagoMartell]

If you want a spellcaster, War Weaver is a good option when it comes to prestige classes.

[eggs]

If you're running around with a lot of low-HD mooks, Bard/Crusader/Warchanter can replace their BAs with that of the highest-BA creature in the area, as well as dropping Dragonfire Inspiration and Shock Trooper-type benefits (a level 20 Warchanter can easily be looking at a couple dozen L1 commoners with +40 attack/+7d6 damage after one action).

For smaller groups, War Weaver and DMM can fuel strong arcane and divine buffers respectively. And with third-party supplements, Worldthought Medic (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/worldthought-medic) does a very good job for psionics.

[Courier6]

I have 2 important questions;;
What power level are you playing at, are you teir 4?, 3, 2, 1, are you using infinite loops, how about StP Erudites with body fuel and strongheart vest?, would domain wizard be too powerful? This is extremely important.

Also, what is the make-up of the army, with a group that size you will probably want a very high level Cleric, after all divinations, mass buffs, disease cures, revives, healing, turn undead, and spells to root out spies like Zone of Truth and Detect Evil will be essential. Will you have underlings for this or will you have 500-1000 1st level warriors.

[Diovid]

Going something like Fighter 4 / Marshal 2 / Warrior Skald 1 / War Chanter 10 / x 3 could be nice.

Where x is either more levels of Warrior Skald, levels in Dawncaller (it's adaptation section mentions non-Goliath Dawncallers) or levels in Seeker of the Song.

Note that Warrior Skald is a 3.0 prc that has never been updated so you probably have to check with your DM about it's legality.

[JKTrickster]

For those who want to know: The army is roughly 1200 men in size. They are comprised mainly of level 1 NPC Warriors (or other NPC classes as appropriate) with varying levels of equipment. There are NO supplies left - supplies must be foraged or looted as we go along. There are:

-600 spearmen, lightly armed and almost no armor (9 miles/day, 16 miles/day forced)
-300 axemen, lightly armed and armored (8 miles/day, 15 miles/day forced)
-100 blunt melee, moderately armed and lightly armor (8 miles/day, 15 miles/day forced)
-100 bowmen, lightly armed and almost no armor (8 miles/day, 15 miles/day forced)
-20 scouts, no arms or armor and each possessing a drab horse (15 miles/day, 25 miles/day forced)
-80 unequipped troops, you are ordered to protect them until they can be equipped (they are trained for melee) (9 miles/day, 16 miles/day forced)
-small amounts of carts/horses to pull extra supplies



We are up against 3 enemies - one of which is a navy and the other has mages. And those aren't even the enemies that declared war on us. They're harassing while we're in a war and just looking for a moment of weakness to strike.


What should I build? I will be Level 6 with 4000 gp.


I was thinking Bard -> Warchanter for the ability to inspire large amount of troops and lead from the front.

Or should I become a spellcaster and lead from the back?

One of the other PCs are planning on going Focused Specialist Conjurer -> focusing on Summoning route.

What should I do?

[zlefin]

what terrain are you in? cuz those movement rates seem terribly low
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/movement.htm#overlandMovement


make sure someone gets access to draconic auras somehow;
the dragon shaman vigor aura will be helpful free healing for an army that size.

[Randomguy]

I suggest bard/warchanter, with Dragonfire Inspiration to add a bunch of damage to your troops.

You should probably get a Howling Helm as soon as you can. It costs 20 000 gp, but it amplifies your voice to the volume of 20 men shouting, letting everyone within 6 miles hear you. That lets you dragonfire inspiration for the entire army, I think.

War chanter is certainly strong, but all of the effects are short ranged, so straight bard might be better. You could consider going into Sublime Chord at higher levels as an alternative.

Think about taking the Touch of Healing reserve feat: It lets you keep your army at half health, although you might spend a while healing. Maybe a race that doesn't need to sleep would be best, to give you more spare time.

Have you considered Artificer? Make enough Create food and water traps and you don't need to forage, giving your army a huge advantage. An unlimited healing item would also be useful, and a scroll of teleportation circle can be a game changer.

[Gavinfoxx]

What level are you? Around level 9, characters can single-handedly eliminate large enemy militaries of low level characters.

[Randomguy]

What level are you? Around level 9, characters can single-handedly eliminate large enemy militaries of low level characters.

This reminds me of a bloodstorm blade build that used great cleave to take down an entire army in a round. Using great cleave basically lets you wipe out armies from level 9 rather than from level 15.

[eggs]

I'm away from my books, but if I recall correctly, there is a giant masterwork horn in Song and Silence that giants can use to confer the benefits of their music to all allies within a mile. It may make Bard a more compelling class option.

On Warchanter, the class is awesome at ECL 15+, but it's kind of rubbish until you get there. With a starting level of 6, you'll probably want to avoid it for a straight bard of some kind (probably straight bard or the Bard/Virtuoso/Sublime Chord combo; I've heard good things about mixing inspire courage with aura builds, but I'm not personally aware of anything that makes auras especially great).

[Gavinfoxx]

This reminds me of a bloodstorm blade build that used great cleave to take down an entire army in a round. Using great cleave basically lets you wipe out armies from level 9 rather than from level 15.

Eh, I was more thinking of a Druid that acts as a high altitude strategic stealth bomber, but whatever.

http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=54924

[Darius Kane]

What level are you? Around level 9, characters can single-handedly eliminate large enemy militaries of low level characters.
6th level.

[Gavinfoxx]

6th level.

You are already pretty close to obsoleting an army, if not individually, at least as a cohesive group... are you *sure* you want to focus on making your army better rather than just annihilating all enemy armies by yourselves? And the navies too.

[ericgrau]

6th level isn't that high. His army >> him.

Bard doesn't seem to have a limit on the number of allies he can inspire courage in as long as he can hear them. Though I wonder how the DM is tracking that bonus on 500 soldiers. Handwaving could ruin everything.

Duration is also a problem unless he spends all his actions on playing music for hours on end. He'd have to be undead or some such to not tire. If there's anything with a long range and unlimited duration then that would work better even at a +1.

[JKTrickster]

You are already pretty close to obsoleting an army, if not individually, at least as a cohesive group... are you *sure* you want to focus on making your army better rather than just annihilating all enemy armies by yourselves? And the navies too.

The other PCs are probably going to focus on that type of stuff. I am more interested in using the tools I have - namely 1200 warriors that have to follow me.

After all this is like a Free Leadership - why not?


6th level isn't that high. His army >> him.

Bard doesn't seem to have a limit on the number of allies he can inspire courage in as long as he can hear them. Though I wonder how the DM is tracking that bonus on 500 soldiers. Handwaving could ruin everything.

Duration is also a problem unless he spends all his actions on playing music for hours on end. He'd have to be undead or some such to not tire. If there's anything with a long range and unlimited duration then that would work better even at a +1.

Do you know anything that can provide so long range and long duration buffs? Even later on? :smallconfused:

[Courier6]

I would suggest Evangelist as a prestige class on a bard(page 39 Complete Divine.)

[LTwerewolf]

You are already pretty close to obsoleting an army, if not individually, at least as a cohesive group... are you *sure* you want to focus on making your army better rather than just annihilating all enemy armies by yourselves? And the navies too.

But what if they send wave after wave of their own men until their spells run out?!?

The masterwork instrument in question is the alphorn, from song and silence. It allows you to affect all allies within 1d10 miles (yep, miles) with your song(s).

[BowStreetRunner]

The commander doesn't stand around buffing others in the party - he has people to do that for him. What he does do is to direct the battle. For this he needs a couple of things:


Communication - when he gives orders they need to be heard. Spells like Message can help here, but a set of Rings of Communication can do the job as well.
Information - he needs to know what is going on so that he can make the right decisions. Good lines of communication from his troops is only half the picture. Things like clairvoyance/clairaudience can help here.
Influence - he needs to be able to get people to follow him without questioning his abilities or decisions. High Charisma helps, as do abilities like those of the Legendary Leader from Heroes of Battle.


When it comes time to do battle, he needs to be able to hold his own - he should expect to be targeted by the enemy. A good tank class could help his survivability in these instances. Knight or Crusader make good choices here.

[Wookie-ranger]

I am sorry, but i have too...
Wizard 20 :smallbiggrin:
or any Tier 1 caster, really.

You have knowledge on your skill list, take history (that includes wars) and tactics. Now you have a General.
A General does not fight, he does not help the troops pack their lunch, he does not interfere with the battle very much at all. He works on a strategic level, not tactical. He needs to decide where the fight takes place, decide who is doing the fighting (both friendly and enemy forces), and need to decide how both sides are getting reinforcements and supplies.
A good General can, with proper planing and intel, make those decisions.
You said yourself that buffing 500+ common soldiers is not an option, so why even try by taking a support class that is meant to support 5-15 already powerful characters?

Focus on Divination to know what the enemy is doing and plane accordingly.
As a very nice added bonus, take some spells for large scale battle field control, think along the lines of divide-and-conquer, block pathways of supplies, chose where the battle will take place, and how both sides will get there.
Make the terrain your friend; it is easier to fight an enemy that has been walking for miles though mud and thorns, didn't have a restful night in weeks, and is low on rations.

I mean think about it. You now know what the enemy is doing right now, and what he is planing. Now combine this with the ability to shape the battle field to be the most advantages for your side.
need high ground? done!
need to divert a rivet to block a path? done!
need to move troops fast? done!
need a diversion? done!

IRL the army that is better equipped, has more soldiers, and/or better soldiers does not always win. As a matter of fact, that is probably one of the least important factor.
If you know what someone is doing, where someone will be, and if you can plan accordingly; that wins battles.

Think Teutoburg Forest, 12,000 Germanic tribes men vs. 36,000 professionally trained Roman Legionnaires.
The tribes men knew the area, knew who was coming and had time to prepare, but were mostly made up of farmers that only fought when their tribe was in trouble; the Romans where trained and battle tested, they had the best weapons and armor of the time, but they knew nothing of the area, had no idea who they where fighting, and where on the move.
casualties on the Roman side: ca.20,000
casualties on the Germanic side: unknown (but they had enough left to keep going and clean out ALL Roman forts east of the Rhine)


On a last note, if you play "D&D" on this level of scale it is a completely different game, and the normal mechanics don't work very well. That being said, I have done it in the past and it is a lot of fun!

[Gavinfoxx]

You should maybe look at this...

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3065.0

But that doesn't really address 'army-wide buffs'.

Some other people will be able to talk about buffs that work for the entire front of an army!

[Saintheart]

(1) Take a bard
(2) Optimise Inspire Courage or Dragonfire Inspiration to taste
(3) Cast the second level bard spell Resounding Voice (http://dndtools.eu/spells/heroes-of-battle--69/resounding-voice--1419/) from Heroes of Battle, which basically extends it out 100 feet per caster level
(4) Negotiate that all troops are "allies" and therefore affected by bardic bonuses
(5) Profit!

Or, in simpler terms, if defending
(1) Take a druid
(2) Advance to level 12
(3) Cast Energy Resistance (Cold), Freedom of Movement, and Endure Elements
(4) Move about half a mile in front of enemy army
(5) Cast Blizzard from Frostburn
(6) Singlehandedly end invasion.

[Gavinfoxx]

Blizzard, Boreal Wind, Call Avalanche, Control Winds... LOTS of good Druid spells to destroy armies...

[JKTrickster]

It seems like there are two main methods: Bards, or a tier 1 caster.

Out of all the Tier 1 caster, which would be the most appropriate?

EDIT:

Just as a note, I would like to focus on the ability to LEAD an army, and not destroy one.

[Malroth]

Since you're not liking Bard you could Go Bard2/paladin of freedom x and take the Initiate Of Milli Feat to let your paladin and bard levels stack for the purposes of bardic music. You'll be less powerful than a straight bard and MUCH less powerful than an optimized Bard->Virtuoso->Sublime chord but you will look shiny with your fullBAB/platemail/aura of courage. Since Maintaining Performance is a Non-action in 3.5 in either case buffing your army won't interfere in the least with whatever melee or magical build you're following up with.

[Cespenar]

Even a simple Clairaudience (hear what the enemy commander is saying) and Message (relay your orders quickly and safely to your subordinates in the field) may prove very useful in a battle, strategically.

[Deth Muncher]

It seems like there are two main methods: Bards, or a tier 1 caster.

Out of all the Tier 1 caster, which would be the most appropriate?

EDIT:

Just as a note, I would like to focus on the ability to LEAD an army, and not destroy one.

It depends on what flavor of thing you want to do for the T1s.

Do you want to literally change the battlefield to help your troops? Consider Druid.

Do you want to spread buffs around to your allies, making them better? Consider the Cleric.

Do you want to lock down chunks of an opposing army? Try Wizard/Sorceror.

[Rubik]

I suggest bard/warchanter, with Dragonfire Inspiration to add a bunch of damage to your troops.

You should probably get a Howling Helm as soon as you can. It costs 20 000 gp, but it amplifies your voice to the volume of 20 men shouting, letting everyone within 6 miles hear you. That lets you dragonfire inspiration for the entire army, I think.Or you could buy a masterwork war drum (CScoundrel) for 1/1,000 the price and everyone could hear you from 20 miles away.

[LTwerewolf]

IRL the army that is better equipped, has more soldiers, and/or better soldiers does not always win. As a matter of fact, that is probably one of the least important factor.

Preparation>>>>knowledge>>training>morale>>>numbers>equipment

Training is kind of a big deal (the better soldiers part of your quote), but I agree that equipment and numbers are not necessarily a deciding factor. That in mind, if any one of these is way out of proportion (for example an army of 10,000 versus an army of 400,000,000, chances are the 10,000 are going to lose even if by pure exhaustion) then it can still overshadow the other factors.

[Wookie-ranger]

...if any one of these is way out of proportion (for example an army of 10,000 versus an army of 400,000,000, chances are the 10,000 are going to lose even if by pure exhaustion) then it can still overshadow the other factors.

sort of mostly agree. Training is important and numbers matter (well, until you hit level12 :smallwink:)
The thing is, that with enough preparation and info the numbers don't matter all that much. Sure in a direct battle that is a factor, but with guerrilla style warfare that is a different matter. Cutting off supply lines, small hit and run attacks where you don't take any losses, aiming for the leaders, those tactics require little man power and have low risk.
I would say that with enough knowledge and planing 1 person can defeat 400,000,000. Taking out the few that lead and the rest will fall. This is especially true if magic-stuff comes into play.


It seems like there are two main methods: Bards, or a tier 1 caster.
Out of all the Tier 1 caster, which would be the most appropriate?

EDIT:
Just as a note, I would like to focus on the ability to LEAD an army, and not destroy one.

For Tier 1 I would say Cleric of <insert random war/honor/discipline God>.
That would give enough fluff and a reasonable high CHA. The ability to cast spells and heal is an added bonus.

I don't know about you, but i have yet to see a courageous leader that sings his army to victory. Sure, this is D&D, but that is just not the image i have in my head.


BTW, read "the art of war". i know, i know, hyped up to high heavens, but there is a good reason for it.

[JKTrickster]

It depends on what flavor of thing you want to do for the T1s.

Do you want to literally change the battlefield to help your troops? Consider Druid.

Do you want to spread buffs around to your allies, making them better? Consider the Cleric.

Do you want to lock down chunks of an opposing army? Try Wizard/Sorceror.

The way I saw it was Diviner (focused specialist or no?) vs. Cloistered Cleric vs. Archivist.

Which would be ideal for the intelligent and wise general? Or is it possible to be intelligent, wise, AND charismatic? :smallbiggrin:


Since you're not liking Bard you could Go Bard2/paladin of freedom x and take the Initiate Of Milli Feat to let your paladin and bard levels stack for the purposes of bardic music. You'll be less powerful than a straight bard and MUCH less powerful than an optimized Bard->Virtuoso->Sublime chord but you will look shiny with your fullBAB/platemail/aura of courage. Since Maintaining Performance is a Non-action in 3.5 in either case buffing your army won't interfere in the least with whatever melee or magical build you're following up with.

Oh I am totally for bard. Why wouldn't I be?

On the other hand, how does the Sublime Chord compare to other casters in terms of strategic ability?




sort of mostly agree. Training is important and numbers matter (well, until you hit level12 :smallwink:)
The thing is, that with enough preparation and info the numbers don't matter all that much. Sure in a direct battle that is a factor, but with guerrilla style warfare that is a different matter. Cutting off supply lines, small hit and run attacks where you don't take any losses, aiming for the leaders, those tactics require little man power and have low risk.
I would say that with enough knowledge and planing 1 person can defeat 400,000,000. Taking out the few that lead and the rest will fall. This is especially true if magic-stuff comes into play.



For Tier 1 I would say Cleric of <insert random war/honor/discipline God>.
That would give enough fluff and a reasonable high CHA. The ability to cast spells and heal is an added bonus.

I don't know about you, but i have yet to see a courageous leader that sings his army to victory. Sure, this is D&D, but that is just not the image i have in my head.


BTW, read "the art of war". i know, i know, hyped up to high heavens, but there is a good reason for it.

True, most Bards aren't quite the leaders but a 5th member that acts as a force multiplier in fights.

Oh I've read it more than a few times. That's the only reason why I felt comfortable launching myself into a military campaign where a portion of my troops aren't even equipped to fight. :smallsigh:

[Wookie-ranger]

Which would be ideal for the intelligent and wise general? Or is it possible to be intelligent, wise, AND charismatic? :smallbiggrin:

There is the Cloistered Cleric.
you will have high Wis for spells and such, you will have 2nd highest Cha mainly for fluff and turn and you will get the knowledge skill on your list which includes history (war), tactics, ...
as an added bonus you get the knowledge domain, which has some nice (if redundant) deviations.

A Cloistered Cleric General of a war god would learn all about military strategy and tactics during his youth (explaining the knowledge). They would focus less on actual combat and more on leading people (explaining the high CHA and reduced hp), the war god in question would also grand them the bonus of not only fighting the battle, but also about knowing about past battles (explaining the domain and the "Lore").
as an added bonus they can help out the troops by healing, buffing making items. nothing makes a follower more loyal then saving his life, even if they where already dead.

[DarkEternal]

Wasn't Warpriest envisioned (on paper at least) exactly for these kinds of things?

[mcv]

If you have an army but no supply lines, you need a good way to feed all those people. You could have them forage for food, but that slows you down. The right spellcaster can probably work miracles in that department. I'm thinking Druid.

Also, Bards are easily skinned to non-musical roles. Give him Perform(Oratory), and you've got a commander who inspires confidence through great pre-battle speeches.

[Woodzyowl]

1. Take Dread Necro.
2. Reach level 8.
3. Zombify or skelefy the army.
4. ???
5. Profit.

[Wookie-ranger]

1. Take Dread Necro.
2. Reach level 8.
3. Zombify or skelefy the army.
4. ???
5. Profit.

i like your thinking :smallbiggrin:

[Cranthis]

One of your biggest resources is your ability to train your men for classes. Start turning them into fighters and other things as you go.

[Gavinfoxx]

Why would you want to turn them into fighters? You wanna give them breath weapons... seriously...

[Cranthis]

Fighters > Warriors. And thats only for base troops. There are a bunch of classes you can turn them into.

[JKTrickster]

There is the Cloistered Cleric.
you will have high Wis for spells and such, you will have 2nd highest Cha mainly for fluff and turn and you will get the knowledge skill on your list which includes history (war), tactics, ...
as an added bonus you get the knowledge domain, which has some nice (if redundant) deviations.


Ahh that makes sense. Cloistered Cleric is also good because Divine has the best Divination spells correct?

What domains could I focus on? What feats/build would you suggest? I'm not that experienced with Clerics (read: never played one before) so how would I go build one?

Would an Archivist be better or worst than a Cleric?


If you have an army but no supply lines, you need a good way to feed all those people. You could have them forage for food, but that slows you down. The right spellcaster can probably work miracles in that department. I'm thinking Druid.


Hmm that is true. Is a Druid that much better than a Cleric for this?


1. Take Dread Necro.
2. Reach level 8.
3. Zombify or skelefy the army.
4. ???
5. Profit.

Sadly this is out of the question. It IS a real nation, with their own concerns and morale, and raising fallen soldiers tends to drop morale quite quickly.


One of your biggest resources is your ability to train your men for classes. Start turning them into fighters and other things as you go.

I can do that? How? :smallconfused:

[Cranthis]

I can do that? How?
Simple. Tell your dm you start training some men into the class you want. He will tell you the time it takes (probably not long if it is just fighter), and other things.

[JKTrickster]

Simple. Tell your dm you start training some men into the class you want. He will tell you the time it takes (probably not long if it is just fighter), and other things.

Oh.....that's.....refreshingly direct.

Still.

I can do that? Without Fighter levels?

Wow.

[Cranthis]

Pretty much yeah. If you think about it, becoming a fighter is the easiest character class to become.

[Gavinfoxx]

Oh.....that's.....refreshingly direct.

Still.

I can do that? Without Fighter levels?

Wow.

remember, its commoner to expert to savant to factotum.
or commoner to warrior to fighter to warblade.

if we are thinking of class upgrade paths, what is directly better than what.

[Cranthis]

remember, its commoner to expert to savant to factotum.
or commoner to warrior to fighter to warblade.

if we are thinking of class upgrade paths, what is directly better than what.

I like that thought path. Really, the only classes you couldn't put people into are wizards and sorcerers. Any other magic classes wouldn't be too hard. Like warmage. Not an awesome class overall, but for what you are doing it would be pretty good.

[Urpriest]

Oh.....that's.....refreshingly direct.

Still.

I can do that? Without Fighter levels?

Wow.

Fighter levels don't really factor into it. However, RAW, training doesn't either: they have to gain XP like anyone else.

Anyway, the main issue here is equipment. You have cash, and the personal power to rustle up more, you just need a friendly port to buy unlimited supplies. That's why I'm going to suggest that rather than making a buffing build, you make a build that can access planar travel as early as possible. An Artificer will be able to do it with Lesser Planar Ally: Nightmare, while a Nomad can do it at somewhat more risk (but the potential of taking your army with you if you're allowed to customize them so they all have Hidden Talent: Astral Traveler) with Astral Caravan.

[JKTrickster]

Fighter levels don't really factor into it. However, RAW, training doesn't either: they have to gain XP like anyone else.

Anyway, the main issue here is equipment. You have cash, and the personal power to rustle up more, you just need a friendly port to buy unlimited supplies. That's why I'm going to suggest that rather than making a buffing build, you make a build that can access planar travel as early as possible. An Artificer will be able to do it with Lesser Planar Ally: Nightmare, while a Nomad can do it at somewhat more risk (but the potential of taking your army with you if you're allowed to customize them so they all have Hidden Talent: Astral Traveler) with Astral Caravan.

Ahh so basically wait for them to level up and see if I can influence how they level up. Okay, that's simple.


Hmm what do you mean? How do I get funds through planar travel?

[Urpriest]

Hmm what do you mean? How do I get funds through planar travel?

Planar travel won't help too much with funds, just with how to spend them (though the usual source of funds, killing things, is enhanced if you've got decent access to planar travel). I had the impression that in order to gear your army you needed to salvage equipment, you can't just buy it. If you can jaunt over to the City of Brass, you can buy anything you've got the cash for. But yes, you do still need the cash.

[dantiesilva]

There is also the Arbiter class. Its homebrew, but it sounds like what you are looking for. At level 6 one of its best abilities comes online to. Here is the link.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12154375#post12154375

At level 6 alone all enemies within like 50 feet or so can no longer role a natural 20 on attack rolls. Meaning no criticals from those 2handed weapons for massive damage. You also gain spells, both divine and arcane, and you can steal enemy bonuses. To top it all off all allies in your aura also gain a bonus to attck rolls, damage rolls, and AC while your enemies get a penalty = to your bonus. Throw in legendary commander latter on and you should be all set.

[JKTrickster]

Planar travel won't help too much with funds, just with how to spend them (though the usual source of funds, killing things, is enhanced if you've got decent access to planar travel). I had the impression that in order to gear your army you needed to salvage equipment, you can't just buy it. If you can jaunt over to the City of Brass, you can buy anything you've got the cash for. But yes, you do still need the cash.

Ahh okay that definitely makes sense.

[JKTrickster]

As a general rule, how should I build a Cloistered Cleric that is geared towards using Divinations to scry on enemy commanders?