Help with a melee cleric build?

[Zweisteine]

Well, this is the first time I've started a thread, so please don't kill me if I do anything wrong.

First: The issue at hand is race and prestige classes. More details can be found at the end of the post, with my edits.


This part probably is important/relevant, but I put it here just in case:
Up until this point, nearly all of my D&D characters have been primary melee characters, and I haven't played an adventure from level 1 to anything higher than 5 (though I have skipped levels up to 9). This sums those characters up:
I have played as these: Fighter 5, Ranger 9, Fighter//Incarnate 1 (archer), Duskblade//Factotum 1, Warlock 1 (who screwed up horribly), Druid 1 (played for only one session).
I've also built many more characters, including a few NPC wizards and sorcerers for a game I'm running, and a twentieth level psion/thrallherd to accomplish my signature's goal, but those were never meant for multiple uses, and are built as such (evoker...), and the psion remains unused
Needless to say, I have little experience with primary casters.

I have recently been invited by a friend (who is my usual DM) to join an adventure/campaign starting at level one. I don't know if I'll know any of the other players, and if I do, it will probably be only one.
That said, I have no idea what type of character anyone else in the party will be. Thinking over what kinds of character I've played in the past, I came to the conclusion that I want to be a cleric this time (because I'd get bored as a Wizard, when I ran out of spells).

So far, I really only have three things fully thought out for character creation: class, some feats, and the character concept—not much at all.

Important information starts here.

I'd like to be a healer/buffer, and still be able to hold my own in melee, without too much cheese. I plan to be lawful (maybe neutral) good, and to roleplay as such as well.

The class, as I have mentioned above, is cleric. The feats I want to take are as follows:
Exotic armor proficiency* (RoS) – to get battle plate (heavy, +9 AC, +1 max dex, -7 check penalty)
Exotic shield proficiency* (RoS) – to get gauntlet shield (+2 AC, can cast while wearing it)
Combat Casting – prerequisite for shielded casting
Shielded Casting (RoS) – avoid attacks of opportunity for casting (sounds very good, is it?)
Extend spell – useful, and prerequisite for persistent spell
Persistent spell – prerequisite for divine metamagic
Divine Metamagic (persistent spell) – get permanent divine power, other buffs

*I think I can convince my DM to let me get exotic armor and/or shield proficiency in exchange for losing feats from the war domain.

Pretty much everything in here is repeated in my edit at the bottom of the post.
The first issue I ran into was race. I've been trying to find human race that is interesting, and gets a bonus feat (how I wish there was a lesser lesser aasimar that got ability adjustments and a feat...).
I've looked at base human, which I find a bit... boring. The Azurin (MoI) seems to be a waste, because I'd have to burn the feat on an incarnum feat for it to be useful. The Spellscale (RoD) seems cool, but I can't tell if it's actually any good. I also looked at the Asherati (Sand), which looked cool, but the only benefits I would receive are +1 AC and an awesome torch. Lesser aasimar has perfect ability adjustments, and has a lot of other minor benefits as well, but I kind of want that feat, and it wouldn’t serve roleplaying purposes as well.

Also, I want to look ahead, and see if there are any prestige classes I might want to go into later, and choose skills accordingly.
Skills: Concentration and spellcraft are the most important choices, I'd guess, but from there, it seems it's free choice. Knowledge (religion and history) seem good, at least for roleplaying.

Other things I need to work with: domain choice (war and one more), specific equipment beyond the basics, and spells.

DM rules/rulings: (edited)
Homebrew rules, and rulings on existing rules are as follows:

Knowledge (all) – At the cost of three points per rank, players may take ranks in all knowledge skills at once, if they have access to those skills.
Nightsticks do not stack (though they may stack with similar effects, such as a reliquary holy symbol)
No favored class, no xp penalty for multiclassing. After multiclassing, skills for any of your classes are always class skills.

I'm probably forgetting some other things that should go here.
Homebrew is accepted or rejected on a case-by-case basis.

For abilities, I rolled up 13, 14, 14, 14, 16, and 16.
I win. :smallcool:

Also, while I have access to many, many books, I'd like to avoid psionics and anything from Tome of Battle (at least for now), as I haven't read it yet.


I fell like I didn't write this post very well...
Also, it felt profoundly wrong to write that thread title...

Thanks ahead of time!

Edits: Since the issue of shielded casting was cleared up, I need some help choosing a good race and seeing if there are any good prestige classes for my build.
Race: I no longer have a particular need for a bonus feat, so I don't need to find something "extra human." The races I've looked at so far are the Lesser Aasimar, Azurin (MoI), Skarn (MoI), Spellscale (RoD), Asherati (Sand), Daelkyr Half-blood (RoE), and Dwarves.
I'm not sure if the Spellscale is actually any good.
The Azurin could be very useful, especially at lower levels, but unless I can retrain the feat, it will stop being useful rather quickly.
The Skarn has the benefit of allowing me to increase strength to 16, and I could switch intelligence and dexterity so my dexterity was 12 and my intelligence 13, giving me scores of 16, 12, 16, 13, 16, 14.
The Asherati is cool, but I doubt I'll be in a desert, which means the only benefits I'll get are +1 AC and a bright glow.
Lesser Aasimar has many benefits, like 18 wisdom and 16 charisma (or 16 strength and 14 charisma).
The Daelkyr Half-Blood sounds like it could be really cool to play, but I can't tell if it's actually any good.
I'm not sure if there are any dwarves that are particularly useful for this build, and they don't fit personality-wise.

Prestige classes: I feel that there's no good reason not to take one of these, except that I kind of want to Pool of Healing ACF at level 7. The Combat Medic (HoB) is pretty good flavor-wise, but it's a bit squishy for my tastes, and it loses attack bonus. Dwarven defender seemed even better, but lost casting, so it's completely out of the question. I also liked Radiant Servant of Pelor, but I have been planning to be Lawful, and not planning to worship Pelor.
I was also thinking about making my own prestige class, but I have no experience with such things.

I'm open to any suggestions and advice, always.

[ArcturusV]

Well, I'd cut down on Combat Casting and Shielded Casting.

The thing is, you can already "Cast Defensively", with the Concentration skill. And honestly by about, level 4 I think, without any other modifications to your Concentration skill, you can cast spells defensively without any chance of failure as you get them, presuming you put ranks into Concentration.

So you can drop two feats in return for one skill, Concentration. And that's the sort of trade I'd make.

In it's place, as you're looking for a warrior-priest sort of schtick, I'd look towards two feats, Power Attack, obviously. Combat Reflexes is also a good choice if you can meet it. If not, think about Craft: Wondrous Item. It's ALWAYS good to have.

[Zweisteine]

Hmmm...
I'm assuming I won't have an excess of xp, so it'll be harder to be a crafter.
As for the shield, you've got a good point. I think I'll drop that, and if I decide I need that ability, I can get steady concentration by level 5 to take care of that. Thy kind f completely deals with my feat issue, thanks! Maybe I'll just say less er aasimar and be done with race too! Or maybe dwarf...

Warrior-priest might be a bit inaccurate, though. My plan was more to stand in the middle of melee, provide a flank, and heal, or attack whenever I wasn't healing. More of a protector than a warrior. I'd take Dwarven defender if it didn't get in the way of casting...

[ArcturusV]

The XP costs are always overplayed by people who haven't actually played casters. There are ways around it. Agony, Ambrosia, Souls as Power, Jars that reduce the cost (I can't remember the name), and several other things. But even without, it's still not a huge cost.

I mean, consider level 10 and you want to make a Nightstick. The cost to make it is 1/25th it's Market Value in XP. 7,500 by 25 is 300 XP.

Wow that sounds like a lot, right?

But that is literally 3% of the XP you need to get to your next level. It's something that you're going to make up in a single fight. Now if you go INSANE with crafting, particularly consumables, it might EVENTUALLY add up. But even on consumables it won't. I mean the average scroll you're spending more like 10 XP on towards the high end. That's .1% of the next level you need.

It's just not something you should be afraid of. The only time you really end up a "level behind" is typically right when you're at the cusp of a level, and your teammate has something like 55,900 XP, and you have 54,700 XP. Down one level. But by the next encounter you can be nigh guaranteed to have closed the gap.

[Callin]

May I suggest another route. Since you only want to be a Flanker/Healer/Buffer.
This is if ya get a Decent Dex along with your other stats. If not then it wont be as worth it in the short run. Wood Elf for Race. +2 Str +2 Dex -2 int -2 con. You only want to flank so you shouldnt be in the brunt of the damage tanking field. So the lower Con wont hurt as much. Ditch the Exotic Armor. Go Chain shirt and get Chahar-Aina and Dastana's. With the Chain Shirt and those + a decent dex you get the same AC as that armor you wanted along with keeping your 30' speed to help with combat maneuverability and a less Armor Check Penalty that is very easy to get rid of once you masterwork/Enchant.

No Bonus to Wis so thats a Minus to this build but if you take Longer Duration spells you should be OK.

Thats just another route to take. Dont even need the Elf to do it really.

[Zweisteine]

That does sound like a good idea, and probably fits my style a bit better, but I kind of like the idea of a healing tank. On tryin for something different, even if it is "normal" for a cleric.

[Andion Isurand]

Another possibility would be to forget the armor altogether and go with a Monk's Belt, and just boost your Wisdom.

If doing this, I would also go with the Cloistered Cleric variant in UA. The loss of HP and BAB can be made up for with your magic.

If you're not wearing armor, then you can easily take the Divine Gestures flaw (Drag Mag 326 91) so that you incur a spell failure rate for your divine spells as if they were arcane spells.