Cleric Spells and Wisdom Modifier

[Kaiseresc]

I'm having a bit of trouble regarding Cleric spells.

only time I've played a magic character was a Bard, which functions as a Sorcerer, pretty much, with having X lvl 0 spells, X lvl 1 spells and so forth.

But the cleric has to CHOOSE which ones, since he has access to all of them.

a +2 modifier on a lvl 1 Cleric, how many divine spells does he get? and how many domain spells does he get?
also, what are some cool feats for a Cleric?

[Maginomicon]

The cleric has three 0-level spell slots (a.k.a. "orisons") and two 1st-level spell slots. The additional 2nd-level spell marked for a high modifier doesn't matter until he gains access to 2nd-level spells at cleric level 3.

The stumbling block you're having may be about the fundamental difference between spontaneous-type casters (like a bard) and prepared-type casters (like a cleric). The cleric specifically prays at a certain time each day and through that is granted by his deity the knowledge of how to cast the spells he wants to cast that day, but he must ask for a set limited number of castings of each spell. Each such casting "prepared" fills a spell slot utterly, and thus (by default) that slot cannot be used for anything else that day. You can think of the cleric as having a near-infinite number of effective "spells known", but he must choose how many castings of each desired spell he wants to be allowed to cast that day.

To put it another way, imagine that a cleric uses portable generators and a bard uses batteries. The cleric has to designate each portable generator to a particular spell, while the bard simply has to use up an appropriately-sized battery to power that spell.

As for the domain spells, the "+1" in the cleric's spell slot listings indicates the domain spell's slot. This is in addition to all other spell slots. The domain spell slot can only be filled by one of the spells from your domains of that spell level.

Further, a cleric has a limited degree of spontaneous casting ability. At any time, a good cleric can expend a spell that's prepared to spontaneously cast a cure spell. An evil cleric can likewise cast an inflict spell in the same way. A neutral cleric picks cure or inflict at his 1st cleric level permanently. It's essentially a choice between two sets of "spells known".

As for feats, it entirely depends on what kind of flavor you want for your cleric. The default cleric is a combat-beast. For a studious/secluded cleric, you'd want the "cloistered" cleric variant. There's a near-infinite number of ways to play a cleric, so it's entirely up to you how you want it done. For example, if you want your cleric to cast more like a bard, there's a "spontaneous" cleric variant.

[Kaiseresc]

so the Wisdom modifier grats EXTRA slots. With a +2 modifier, he can have an extra lvl 1 spell and an extra lvl 2 spell (when he reaches that). Am I thinking it correctly?
and for domain spells, he always gets one spell from both domains? the domain spells act like the sorcerer/bard spells, right? you know that one and can only do it once/day?

[AMFV]

so the Wisdom modifier grats EXTRA slots. With a +2 modifier, he can have an extra lvl 1 spell and an extra lvl 2 spell (when he reaches that). Am I thinking it correctly?
and for domain spells, he always gets one spell from both domains? the domain spells act like the sorcerer/bard spells, right? you know that one and can only do it once/day?

One spell from either domain per level. Also I would probably try to bump up the wisdom some since 14 is awfully low for a cleric. Not unplayably low as you'd have 19 at level 20, but very very close to unplayably low.

[Telonius]

One spell from either domain per level. Also I would probably try to bump up the wisdom some since 14 is awfully low for a cleric. Not unplayably low as you'd have 19 at level 20, but very very close to unplayably low.

That's another big difference between Cleric and Bard. With a 14 in Charisma at low levels, a Bard would be perfectly fine with his casting stat - he'll only need a minimum of 16 to cast his 6th-level spells. +2 is easy to get from either level-ups or Tomes of Leadership. But with a Cleric, you need to get to a minimum of 19 in order to cast your 9th-level spells. Starting from 14, that's significantly harder.

[Kaiseresc]

One spell from either domain per level. Also I would probably try to bump up the wisdom some since 14 is awfully low for a cleric. Not unplayably low as you'd have 19 at level 20, but very very close to unplayably low.

rolls were a bitch, unfortunately.

ok, I finally got the hang of it. Thanks to everyone.

[Isamu Dyson]

That's another big difference between Cleric and Bard. With a 14 in Charisma at low levels, a Bard would be perfectly fine with his casting stat - he'll only need a minimum of 16 to cast his 6th-level spells. +2 is easy to get from either level-ups or Tomes of Leadership. But with a Cleric, you need to get to a minimum of 19 in order to cast your 9th-level spells. Starting from 14, that's significantly harder.

Can you not secure magical tomes that increase Wisdom?

[AMFV]

That's another big difference between Cleric and Bard. With a 14 in Charisma at low levels, a Bard would be perfectly fine with his casting stat - he'll only need a minimum of 16 to cast his 6th-level spells. +2 is easy to get from either level-ups or Tomes of Leadership. But with a Cleric, you need to get to a minimum of 19 in order to cast your 9th-level spells. Starting from 14, that's significantly harder.

Also your bonus spells and save DCs will absolutely blow, which will make you less effective.


rolls were a bitch, unfortunately.

ok, I finally got the hang of it. Thanks to everyone.

Play as a Lesser Aasimar or a venerable Dragonwrought kobold... That would salvage the craptastic wisdom. That would be my recommendation.

[eggynack]

Can you not secure magical tomes that increase Wisdom?
You don't need to go nearly that far. Just from leveling, by the time you hit level 17, you'll already have a wisdom of 18, and you're one point away from 9th's. A +6 wisdom item would catapult you right from 14 to 20, without any fuss. I think that when I mathed it out, I found that you keep up at nearly all levels with a starting casting stat of 11. You definitely miss out on 2nd's at third level, but you catch up by 4th, and by 5th you can afford a +2 item. That keeps you running till level 9, but by that point you're at 15 wisdom from level, so you're safe until 11. At that point, you trivially pick up a +4 item, pumping you to 17, and keeping you safe till level 15. You get a bonus point at 12 though, so you're at 18 and fine, and then there's another point before level 17.

Thus, you're doing pretty much fine with an 11, and you're no further behind than a sorcerer, or to be more apt, a favored soul would be. Also, you can keep up at third level if you take craft wondrous and spend most of your money. It's not an impossible thing. Mostly, you want a high casting stat in order to get bonus spells and high save DC's. The things that I mentioned our noble cleric doing are things that a high wisdom cleric would probably be doing anyway, so it's not like I'm going too far out of my way on this one. Ultimately, starting wisdom doesn't matter all that much in determining the maximum level of spell you can cast. You can also just screw the whole thing and go anthropomorphic bat for a +6 in wisdom. A less wisdom boosting race would work too, but anthro bat is one of the best ones.

[Kaiseresc]

Also your bonus spells and save DCs will absolutely blow, which will make you less effective.



Play as a Lesser Aasimar or a venerable Dragonwrought kobold... That would salvage the craptastic wisdom. That would be my recommendation.

this is a player's first ever character in his first ever D&D campaign. So I'm using only core stuff so he doesnt get too confused.
so no templates available.

[Yuki Akuma]

this is a player's first ever character in his first ever D&D campaign. So I'm using only core stuff so he doesnt get too confused.
so no templates available.

Neither of those are templates.

[Kaiseresc]

Neither of those are templates.

templates, subtypes, whatever. I want the core things from the players handbook. tis simple.