A clerical challenge-Melee cleric build

[Obudo]

Hello everybody!

I'm facing the challenge of creating an as much optimized as possible cleric, under the heavy restrictions my DM imposed on the party's PGs; i dont know why, but he seems to have disliked the Reach Spell+Shivering Touch combo i used on the last dragon. Well, my wizard got chewed up, so I'm replacing him with a melee cleric, since i'm switching the role with the barbarian, who tried to defend me from the DM's rage, what a fool.

tl;dr: I need a cleric build with restrictions.

Here are the restrictions:

Max LA+1, and no kobolds
Max 3 classes/prestige classes
The only ambientation allowed is Faerun
No Alter Self/polymorph/shapechange
No Wraithstrike/Shivering Touch
No Craft Contingent Spell
No Gestalt
3 Nightsticks. Apparently some efreeti needed a bunch of those, and I can't find them anywhere. I know, my DM is a witch (replace the W in your head)
No Frostburn/Stormwrack/Sandstorm, Dragon Magazines, ToP, MoI

Other than those everything is allowed. We start at level 10; the role i need to fill is the frontline tank, since the others are a wizard, a ranged ranger and a rogue. The aim is to create a PG with high defences that can deal heavy melee damage, long enough to allow the rogue to flank and instakill the bbeg.

The first thought is a Lesser Aasimar Cleric 4/Ordained Champion 5/, but then I'm done, never played/optimized a cleric before :smallannoyed:

When the build is done, I'll reveal the creature that killed two lvl-10 PGs while they were still trying to cuddle it :smallbiggrin:

[CreganTur]

You could always just take Goliath as your race and use a Large sized greataxe. In PF that turns into 3d6 of weapon damage. Then use a cleric spell that increases your size and suddenly your Large weapon becomes a Huge weapon that does 4d6 base weapon damage. Throw on a good AC score and good buff/protection spells, and you're beating face in the name of your deity.

[Lord_Gareth]

Is this 3.5 or PF?

[ahenobarbi]

Well... if you want to get yourself kicked out of the group go Ruby Knight Win Dictator (PrC from ToB). Spend Turn/Rebuke attempt, get swift action, cast celerity, take standard action, repeat until you loose your gaming group :smallwink:.

If you want to keep playing check out Ordained Champion from Complete Champion:

Lesser Aasimar
Cleric 4/ Ordained Champion 5 / Whatever 1
Choose War as one of your cleric domains, put 7 ranks in Knowledge (religion) by level 4 and play with the rest however you want.

- Use wisdom (replaces strength) for to-hit and damage (so now you can dump strength)
- Cast spell as a move action and deliver it with your melee attack.
- Cast war domain spells as swift (instead of standard) or standard (instead or full-round) actions.

[Gavinfoxx]

Ruby Knight Vindicator is the actual name of the class, fyi.

Also, it's fairly easy to get a WHOLE LOT of Turn Undead attempts, even with only one Nightstick...


Here are some quotes, all from a single thread.

First quote:

"Human
Cloistered Cleric7/Sacred Exorcist 2/Death Delver 1
Swap knowledge domain for Knowledge Devotion
Swap CC's Turning for Destroy Undead (from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft; there are 2 or 3 other options in other sources that will do, but I like this one)
Take Undeath and Planning domains
Take 2 flaws
You get Extend Spell and one Extra Turning for free. You have to spend two feats on Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic (Persistent Spell). Let's take Power Attack too, just because. You get 4 feats from levels, 1 from race, 2 from flaws, for 7 total, leaving 4 you can spend on more Extra Turnings. With the free one, that's 5 copies of Extra Turning.
Get a Reliquary Holy Symbol and a Nightstick.
You have 3 + 20 (Extra Turning) + 2 (holy symbol) + 4 (Nightstick) + charisma, or 29 + charisma, uses of Turn Undead.
You have the same number of uses of Destroy Undead.
You also have the same number of uses of Rebuke Undead.
That's 87 plus triple charisma bonuses uses to fuel DMM with. Assuming a modest 14 charisma, that's enough for 13 spells."

And here's second quote:

"Human Cleric6(Rebuke Dragons ACF)/RadiantServant1/SacredExorcist1/RS X. I'm currently at level 8. Feats are Extend, Persistent, DMM(Persistent), Extra Turning.

Our group counts Radiant Servant's Greater Turning as a separate pool of turns. I have 1 Nightstick (we don't allow them to stack) and a Reliquary Holy Symbol - both refluffed to affect Rebuke Dragons instead of Turn Undead, as my cleric worships Tamara, but this isn't necessary for it to work! So with 14 Charisma base (18 with Eagle's Spleandor) I have:

17 Rebuke Dragon Attempts
11 Turn Undead Attempts
7 Greater Turnings"

Third quote:

"Reliquary Holy Symbol: +2 turns
Nightstick: +4 turns
Extra Turning: +4 turns
Any Charisma +2 item: +1 turn
Cast Eagle’s Splendor: +2 turns
Consider Extending the Persistent Spell for a 48 hour duration (8 turns). Then persist a few spells, then 2nd day persist a different set of spells. Effectivly doubles the # of persistent spells you have have active.
Use a Metamagic Rod, Extend instead of the extra turn.
Use Slow Spell to make it 6 turns instead of 7 turns. Although Extra Turning is likely a better choice.
Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su) is a single ability. Turn Undead and Rebuke Undead refer to the same ability and you have to pick one or the other, you can't double up here. The Cleric description roughly states that if your alignment changes so does your turn/rebuke ability to match.
Elemental turning such as that provided by the Cold Domain will NOT power divine feats.
Channel Incarnum (Azurin race), Destroy Undead and Rebuke Dragons will power divine feats. Sacred Exorcist gives you Turn Undead. So it may be possible to double (or more) the number of turns you get per day for use with DMM
Remember that Extra Turning adds 4 to ALL your turning pools.
Technically a touch is not a fixed or personal range. Your size dictates the range of a touch spell.
House rules could permit touch spells to be persisted if they are cast as-if personal (ie: yourself).
You could research an original spell with a range of personal that is practically identical to the spell with a range of touch.
Reach Spell turns a touch spell into a ray with a fixed range of 30ft, which can then be Persisted. However, that's a total +8 level adjustment. A cleric with Divine Metamagic for Persistent also could do it at a cost of +2 levels and 9 turnings. Seems a bit silly to force a "touch" spell into a "fixed ranged ray" only to cast it upon yourself, but technically it works!
Heirophant provides for Divine Reach which is the same as Reach Spell for free.
Technically medium is 100 ft + 10 ft. This is not a fixed range, it is a variable range depending on level.
v.3.5 Main D&D FAQ gives a specific example of Summon Monster NOT qualifying for Persistent Spell.
You could research an original spell with a fixed range (short = 10ft, medium = 20ft, long = 30ft). This original spell could be pratcially identical to the spell with a variable range.
Also look at the Spelldander Prc + Vagabond Sandals."


Personally, I prefer Destroy Undead and picking up a level of Sacred Exorcist. With a single Nightstick, a single Reliquary Holy Symbol, at least one Extra Turning, getting multiple turning pools that count will DRAMATICALLY improve things...

[Obudo]

Is this 3.5 or PF?
It's 3.5, I forgot to specify it ^^"

You guys were amazing, you gave me a bunch of good ideas. That's what I came up with:

Feral Human (Buy-off allowed)
2 Flaws (Shaky and Vulnerable)

Cleric 4/Ordained Champion 5/Bone Knight 1 ---> then Bone Knight 9/Cleric +1

Domains: Undeath, Divine Magician (+War due to Ordained Champ)
Feats:
Extend Spell, Persist Spell, Extra Turning (Due to Undeath), Power Attack, Divine Metamagic (Persist Spell), Knowledge Devotion, Extra Turning, Extra Turning.
Going around with a Nightstick, a Reliquary Holy Symbol, an Animated Heavy Shield, Full plate, a Big Greataxe and Strongarm Bracers. With 21+cha Turn attempts, more than 30 AC with spells on, and huge damage outputs, this should be enough to beat everything we could face, but it really falls behind with spells, since it's a lvl-7 caster in a lvl-10 pg. Do you think it's worth the trade?

[Andezzar]

Cleric 4/Ordained Champion 5/Bone Knight 1 ---> then Bone Knight 9/Cleric +1I thought only Forgotten Realms stuff was allowed? Bone Knght is from an Eberron book. Additionally the Ordained Champion needs to worship Hextor or Heironeous, both are Greyhawk deities.

[Curmudgeon]

Domains: Undeath, Divine Magician (+War due to Ordained Champ)
You can't get that combination with Forgotten Realms deities. Only Kiaransalee and Velsharoon have Undeath in their portfolios. Even if your DM allowed FR deities for Ordained Champion instead of Hextor or Heironeous, it would need to be a deity with War: Anhur, Arvoreen, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Deep Duerra, Gaerdal Ironhand, Garagos, Gorm Gulthyn, Haela Brightaxe, Ilneval, Red Knight, Selvetarm, Shevarash, Solonor Thelandira, Tempus, Tyr, or Uthgar. Of that list you couldn't worship Garagos, Shevarash, or Tempus because you couldn't be within 1 step of their alignment and still meet the Ordained Champion requirements; you could only worship Uthgar with restrictions on your totem.

[Anthrowhale]

Cleric/Spelldancer/Dweomer Keeper with Initiate of Mystra seems like a good choice.

You should work to enhance party members as first priority and hold back the good stuff until the worst situations or it will all end in tears. Chain spell and Reach or Ocular spell are helpful here.

At L20 you have full casting for cleric spells plus L5- arcane spells, mostly used out of combat for persistomancy. All the important abilities are online by L10.