Help: Building AoE Caster Cleric for Pathfinder

[QuackParker]

Hello,

I am running a campaign where our party cleric has been filling a tank role that has become somewhat superfluous. Our party's bladebound magus deals such massive damage to singular targets, the cleric as a solo fighter doesnt seem like the right choice. We have a druid that buffs and an archer that does good consistent damage, but no one does AoE.

This campaign is very heavy in undead though, so could a cleric fill that AoE caster role in a fun, effective way?

All ideas appreciated. I am open to 3rd party material and non-core as long as it is for Pathfinder.

[holywhippet]

AoE attacks aren't a clerics forte generally. Against undead you already have the ability to turn undead and various feats and items that can boost it. If you get in close, mass cure X wounds can do a fair chunk of damage and heals nearby allies at the same time.

[QuackParker]

AoE attacks aren't a clerics forte generally. Against undead you already have the ability to turn undead and various feats and items that can boost it. If you get in close, mass cure X wounds can do a fair chunk of damage and heals nearby allies at the same time.

Thanks for the help

Any one else have some ideas?

[Divide by Zero]

If you can find enough AoE spells worth using, I suppose you could have some fun with DMM Empower. Only problem is that clerics just don't get very many blasty spells in general.

[gr8artist]

Protip: Consecrate Spell and Purify Spell are a lot of fun. One of them makes half of the damage divine, bypassing resistances. The other makes spells deal no damage to the good-aligned, and half to neutrals while dealing extra to evil outsiders.
Throw flame strike into the midst of a team fight. When your magus tells you not to do that where he's standing, you simply retort that your flames only burn the wicked; if he doesn't like it he should repent and dedicate himself.
Definitely one of my favorite feats.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The elemental domains with spontaneous domain casting (PH2) can be decent. Generally you want to use area-effect and multiple-target crowd controls, then focus down the opponents one at a time, instead of trying to do area effect damage. For this, I'd prefer the Cold and/or Slime domains.

Druids are actually quite good at that, with Wall of Smoke, Kelpstrand, Sleet/Ice Storm, Wall of Thorns, and Call Avalanche. You should have the Cleric be the one who buffs and the Druid the one who casts spells at opponents.

For an undead heavy campaign, get the Sun domain and go into Radiant Servant of Pelor. Get an Ephod of Authority and a Rod of Defiance asap, then work on a Scepter of the Netherworld, Night Sticks, Reliquary Holy Symbol, Phylactery of Undead Turning, Talisman of Undead Mastery, and a (face slot) Circlet of Persuasion. Pick up the Glory domain from Radiant Servant, and a single Greater Turning is almost guaranteed to take out any undead within your party's CR range.

[khachaturian]

you should probably specify pathfinder in the thread title.

i have been having fun with a variant channel dazing cleric with travel, leadership domains

H. scribe scroll
1. selective channel
3. improved channel
5. quick channel

with lots of undead, you can do command undead as a feat earlier on

[CyberThread]

Ill stick with low level, under level 3 type spells


Circle spells are good, glyph spells are good.

Besides that you have brier web, Consecrate ,down draft, holy storm, rockburst, sound burst.

The real boost, which I will let you use google for as so many, in this range are all the aura spells, and prayer like combos which give good warding.


As is often said...

Often better to enhance your teamates, then to debuff the enemy.

[QuackParker]

Any particular archetype suited for the task?

list of Paizo and 3rd P archetypes here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric

[Psyren]

Any particular archetype suited for the task?

list of Paizo and 3rd P archetypes here: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric

Yes - Theologian is the go-to for a caster cleric as it lets you prepare domain spells in non-domain slots, as well as permanently modify domain spells with metamagic. This broadens your selection of blasting and control spells considerably (especially at lower levels) even though you only get one domain.

[StreamOfTheSky]

The same solution works whenever you want spells that particular caster really doesn't provide: Samsaran race w/ Mystic Past Life. :smallsmile:

But yeah, cleric spell list is generally better at buffing, debuffing, single target save or lose, healing, and self-buffing for combat pwning. Everything but AoEs / BFC.

[QuackParker]

Ok, how about this. The PC has wings due to certain fey abilities. The campaign is heavy in undead so maybe this would be effective

A new archetype from Rite came out called unarmored cleric where you lose armor proficiency, gain AC bonus equal to Char, but lose it if you equip armor.

Then, we also take Theologian. Take the Sun domain.

Build Wisdom, Dex, and Charisma to have effective blasts and channels.

Cleric rains divine death from the sky.

Thoughts?

[Psyren]

If you're okay with 3rd-party, why not use Adamant's Priest (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/adamant-entertainment/priest) as a 'caster cleric?' They get three domains (Knowledge + 2 others) and can spontaneously cast from all of them, as well as spontaneous cure/inflicts + bardic knowledge + channel energy, and in exchange give up their armor and weapon proficiencies.

[QuackParker]

If you're okay with 3rd-party, why not use Adamant's Priest (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/adamant-entertainment/priest) as a 'caster cleric?' They get three domains (Knowledge + 2 others) and can spontaneously cast from all of them, as well as spontaneous cure/inflicts + bardic knowledge + channel energy, and in exchange give up their armor and weapon proficiencies.

Wow, that adds a good number of spells. Could take Sun and Fire and do pretty well. And it couples the channeling and casting well.