Favored soul feat suggestions?

[Alikat]

So almost every cool cleric feat requires the ability to turn undead as a prereq - I need some ideas on how to build up my character, preferably without homebrewing.

I'm taking my FS the low-wis high-cha route as a buffer/healer/smack thing with a bastard sword when not buffing and healing kinda FS.

Is there any way to get turning so I can use stuff like divine metamagic - without multiclassing?

Also grabbed the flaws Chivalrous Courtesy and Weapon Bound. I found them on a list of flaws that looked official but wasn't sure they were legit or not. (lose proficiency with all weapons cept my dieties favored, and -4 on attack rolls against the opposite gender.)

I took weapon focus, force of personality(will be putting all points in cha) and versatile spell caster.

I plan on extend at 6 and melee weapon mastery at 12.

So I need 2 level 3 feats(one as a focus weapon replacement) and a level 9. I was thinking maybe quicken spell at 9, but without divine metamagic I dunno how to mitigate the 4 spell lvl cost increase.

Here's the character sheet so far:
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=848856

Thanks for any help or suggestions!
Alikat

[Raezeman]

No multiclass, but is prestige class ok? If yes, then:
There are probably better ways, but the master of radiance (libris mortis) gives turning. It requires an alignment of non-evil, be able to cast the daylight spell (3th level spell) and 8 ranks in knowledge nature and 5 ranks in knowledge religion.
Now, both these skills are cross class skills, so that complicates things, but you can take knowledge devotion at level 3 and add knowledge nature to your class skills, and then you can fulfil these requirements at level 7, going master of radiance at level 8.

Daylight as a level 3 spell for favored soul can be aquired at level 6, meaning if you can find a way to get the skill ranks faster, you can enter master of radiance a level earlier, but i don't know a good way for that. Depending on how many levels of master of radiance you take (max 5, get turning at first), it delays when you get weapon specialisation and thus mastery.

Other suggestions for feats:
law devotion
combat casting

[GilesTheCleric]

So almost every cool cleric feat requires the ability to turn undead as a prereq - I need some ideas on how to build up my character, preferably without homebrewing.
[snip]
Also grabbed the flaws Chivalrous Courtesy and Weapon Bound. I found them on a list of flaws that looked official but wasn't sure they were legit or not. (lose proficiency with all weapons cept my dieties favored, and -4 on attack rolls against the opposite gender.)

Nightsticks are the gp-based solution to turning (LM), and since you've already started your build and are pretty constrained, might be the most efficient. If PrCs are allowed, then you have additional options. Radiant Servant of (Pelor) is always a favourite, and grabbing a dip in anything that grants extra domains or different types of turning (spiders, oozes, outsiders, etc) is another way to grab another 3+cha turns. Contemplative is pretty easy to get in to.

Those flaws are not official. The only official flaws are in UA 91. If you found those on dandwiki, I would note that that site is a poor resource, and should not be trusted. If your DM is okay with it though, then everything is hunky-dory.

Edit: If you're going the battle-cleric route, then grabbing a metamagic rod of persist/extend might be a good solution over feats. Use those on whatever favourite buffs you've got, and then spend your feats on a particular melee style (or ranged, if you want Zen Archery). Going for things like improved bullrush or sunder or trip are better uses of your feats than flat +x bonuses. Anything that gives you the ability to do something you couldn't before.

Be sure to keep spells in reserve to deal with things that trip up regular fighters (flight, incorporeality, invisibility, high AC, etc).

[BrokenChord]

Nightsticks are the gp-based solution to turning (LM), and since you've already started your build and are pretty constrained, might be the most efficient. If PrCs are allowed, then you have additional options. Radiant Servant of (Pelor) is always a favourite, and grabbing a dip in anything that grants extra domains or different types of turning (spiders, oozes, outsiders, etc) is another way to grab another 3+cha turns. Contemplative is pretty easy to get in to.

Those flaws are not official. The only official flaws are in UA 91. If you found those on dandwiki, I would note that that site is a poor resource, and should not be trusted. If your DM is okay with it though, then everything is hunky-dory.

Edit: If you're going the battle-cleric route, then grabbing a metamagic rod of persist/extend might be a good solution over feats. Use those on whatever favourite buffs you've got, and then spend your feats on a particular melee style (or ranged, if you want Zen Archery). Going for things like improved bullrush or sunder or trip are better uses of your feats than flat +x bonuses. Anything that gives you the ability to do something you couldn't before.

Be sure to keep spells in reserve to deal with things that trip up regular fighters (flight, incorporeality, invisibility, high AC, etc).

Just as a note, they are in fact semi-official. They aren't in a sanctioned splat; rather, they're Dragon Magazine flaws.

[GilesTheCleric]

Just as a note, they are in fact semi-official. They aren't in a sanctioned splat; rather, they're Dragon Magazine flaws.

Ah, good to know. I don't have any dragon issues, so I couldn't check.

[hymer]

Nightsticks are the gp-based solution to turning (LM)

Well, you have to have Turn or Rebuke Undead first. Nightsticks only grant you additional uses, they don't give the abilities to those who don't have them already.

[GilesTheCleric]

Well, you have to have Turn or Rebuke Undead first. Nightsticks only grant you additional uses, they don't give the abilities to those who don't have them already.

You're right. I forgot we were dealing with a favoured soul here. Unfortunately, the first two things I think of to solve this problem -- Ephod of Authority and Prefect's Vestments -- don't work. Unless I can dig up an item that grants the ability, grabbing it through a domain (domain draught, if you're unable through levels) might be the only way, save PrCs.

If you can re-roll as a proper cleric or cloistered cleric, you can achieve all of the same abilities as the favoured soul has, but with the benefit of getting turns as a class feature. There's also the spontaneous divine caster variant in UA if spontaneous casting is your jam.

I'll keep looking to see if I can find a solution with the extant build, however.

[Alikat]

Edit: If you're going the battle-cleric route, then grabbing a metamagic rod of persist/extend might be a good solution over feats. Use those on whatever favourite buffs you've got, and then spend your feats on a particular melee style (or ranged, if you want Zen Archery). Going for things like improved bullrush or sunder or trip are better uses of your feats than flat +x bonuses. Anything that gives you the ability to do something you couldn't before.

I'm liking this solution best so far. Rod's of metamagic don't use up higher spell slots right?

Also in regards to the flaws, I know dandwiki is hit or miss, I found these in a pdf spreadsheet of flaws, was several pages long and it looked official enough and balanced enough to givem a try. :) I believe it's against the rules to link to it on this site though cause of copyright things?

This mean's I need some melee focused feats for 3-9. *starts researching* I don't know how charge builds work at all but I'll read up. Are power attack/greater cleave builds generally considered worthwhile?

Thanks for all the replies!
Alikat

[dextercorvia]

For Turn Undead, you want a 1 level dip in Sacred Exorcist (CDiv)

For Favored Soul Feats, I recommend Mother Cyst (LM) and Apprentice Spellcaster (DMGII). Enjoy your 11 delicious new spells known.

[Alikat]

If I'm reading apprentice spellcaster correctly, for a favored soul, that's 1 additional spell known per spell level?

[dextercorvia]

Apprentice Spellcaster get's you one extra 1st level spell known, and the ability to swap out a known spell every time you gain a FS level. Mother Cyst gives you 10 spells known (one of each level, and an additional 2nd level spell). So, if you take both at 1st level, then at 2nd you can swap out one of the 1st level cyst spells for something more usable. Rinse and repeat at each level until you have the 11 spells known you wanted.

[Shining Wrath]

Draconic Aura (Vigor) helpful for a FS, as it gives you a perpetual fast healing 1 / round aura. Saves tons of castings of heal spells, auto-stabilizes.

[GilesTheCleric]

I'm liking this solution best so far. Rod's of metamagic don't use up higher spell slots right?

Also in regards to the flaws, I know dandwiki is hit or miss, I found these in a pdf spreadsheet of flaws, was several pages long and it looked official enough and balanced enough to givem a try. :) I believe it's against the rules to link to it on this site though cause of copyright things?

This mean's I need some melee focused feats for 3-9. *starts researching* I don't know how charge builds work at all but I'll read up. Are power attack/greater cleave builds generally considered worthwhile?

Thanks for all the replies!
Alikat
Metamagic rods don't use up any spell levels at all, but they are restricted to 3/day use, and the cost goes up as they are able to apply to higher-level spells. Iirc, it's 3k for a 3rd-level extend rod, which covers a large chunk of your buffs anyway.

Ah, okay. If your DM allows drag mag material, it's probably fine, then. Yes, linking is against the rules. I would like to give you props for actually reading the forum guidelines. Here, it's actually important to do that.

Tripping and charging are probably the two most efficient melee builds, although there's other things you can do such as a karmic strike build (attack your opponent with AoOs) or a grapple build (I don't recommend this).

In terms of charging, it's best to figure out how much damage you want to be dealing per round, and then work backwards from there. A basic charging build makes use of power attack, and shock trooper (heedless charge). Pounce is an important component as well, but that's not relevant until you have iteratives.

After those feats, you can add damage buffs (feats, items, spells) to taste. Personally, I recommend not grabbing too many damage buffs. If you're in a party, they'll be contributing damage as well, which means you can spend those feats you would have used for more damage on other interesting things. Eg. the feats dexter mentioned.

As a cleric, your source of strength is your hair your spells, so don't forget that you always have those to rely on. Picking good spells will save your life when the sword isn't appropriate or might not be enough. Here's a list (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?284509-What-spells-saved-your-clerical-bacon) I've got of some good ones, although you'll have to be more discerning since you only know so many. I listed many situational spells that you wouldn't ordinarily prep in that list, since clerics can divine and then swap out for them ahead of time. If you want a more specific list, let me know and I'll give you some pointers.


For Turn Undead, you want a 1 level dip in Sacred Exorcist (CDiv)

For Favored Soul Feats, I recommend Mother Cyst (LM) and Apprentice Spellcaster (DMGII). Enjoy your 11 delicious new spells known.

Seconded. Sacred Exorcist is one of my favourite dips, with good flavour for the exorcism ability (if the HoH method isn't allowed). Plus it's dead-easy (pun intended) to get in to.

[Alikat]

If you want a more specific list, let me know and I'll give you some pointers.


I'd appreciate help on that greatly. This is my first divine caster (unless you count bards) Tracking down all the possible spells across the billion source books is an intimidating task. I had planned to take just heals, buffs, and non dc based spells like wind wall. But if theres essential utility I need to have I'm all ears!

[GilesTheCleric]

I'd appreciate help on that greatly. This is my first divine caster (unless you count bards) Tracking down all the possible spells across the billion source books is an intimidating task. I had planned to take just heals, buffs, and non dc based spells like wind wall. But if theres essential utility I need to have I'm all ears!

Before going into spells in depth, what's your party? Their abilities can save you from having to cast many spells. Second, what books are available? Your sheet indicates you're only using CD, FRCS, and core, but it sounds like you might have all books open to you.

[Alikat]

Before going into spells in depth, what's your party? Their abilities can save you from having to cast many spells. Second, what books are available? Your sheet indicates you're only using CD, FRCS, and core, but it sounds like you might have all books open to you.

I can go far and wide, I use dndtools and d20 quite a bit.

One of our usual players is DM'ing for the first time and wanted to do a Robin Hood style story. So right now we have a Bow Ranger (robin), an extremely fat monk (friar tuck), a half orc barbarian(little john), a fencer(homebrew will scarlet), and me (Morgan Freeman? ;p). Our Maid Marion hasn't been introduced yet, but I don't believe she wanted to play a caster. So I believe Im the only full caster as of now.

[NoACWarrior]

alternatively if you didn't want to pickup draconic aura you could get healing touch reserve feat - it lets you heal people up until half like DAura vigor but at a faster rate, all while not using your spells.

[GilesTheCleric]

I can go far and wide, I use dndtools and d20 quite a bit.

One of our usual players is DM'ing for the first time and wanted to do a Robin Hood style story. So right now we have a Bow Ranger (robin), an extremely fat monk (friar tuck), a half orc barbarian(little john), a fencer(homebrew will scarlet), and me (Morgan Freeman? ;p). Our Maid Marion hasn't been introduced yet, but I don't believe she wanted to play a caster. So I believe Im the only full caster as of now.

Hah, that's a great party. I'm envious. But getting down to tacks, you are definitely the only proper caster. If you plan on sticking to the theme with your spells, I'll be sure to recommend some you might enjoy. Don't forget that you can change small parts of the manifestations of your spells to fit with your concept, as well. Your Ice Slick spell needn't be ice -- it could be lard.

Since you know where to look for spells, I'll skip on citing all of their sources. If there's anything you can't find, let me know.

Overview

If you're familiar with spellcasting in 3.5 in general, then the same concepts apply to clerics. Spells that change the battle in your favour, either by providing your allies with benefits, changing the terms/terrain of the encounter, or debuffing your foes are typically best. Also, spells that help shore up you+your parties' weaknesses are vital. And finally, knowledge is incredibly powerful -- knowing more about your foe, in advance if possible, makes your side of the encounter much less stressful.

Clerics are the best at buffing and divinations, moderately good at debuffing, but are the weakest of the big three (wiz, drd, clr) in battlefield control (esp. at low levels). Luckily, even this weakness in BFC can be made up for with other spells.

Buffing/debuffing

This is your bread and butter. When the numbers on your side are bigger than those on your opponents', you're gonna have a good time. That said, as in all things, moderation is key. If you spend all your spells buffing or debuffing, then you leave yourself little room if something unexpected comes up (and it will). I personally devote 1-2 slots per level to buffing, and never more than 3.

Since you mentioned you have a low wis, you probably want to prioritize buffs over debuffs. At high levels, it will be important to look at the bonus type each spell grants rather than the bonuses themselves, so that you can stack many smaller numbers from low-level slots you wouldn't use for anything else.

As to who to cast different buffs on... that's mostly up to you. It will probably vary depending on your situation regardless. I recommend buffing anyone in the party that isn't doing quite as well -- having everyone be able to contribute mostly consistently is better than only one or two people always contributing.

Divination

This is a cleric's jam. There's not many spells that do it, but they're all good. Learn them, use them, love them. Just don't overdo it, or your DM might get a bit displeased. As a spontaneous caster, many of the benefits of divination seem less impressive, but there's nothing like knowing you need scrolls of water breathing before you actually need them. Your party will thank you. Some of these give DCs, like scrying, but there's ways listed in the spell to improve your chances, so it's not a big deal.

Other types of divination are less obvious, like Know Opponent, but are equally as useful, since they are essentially an auto-pass on a knowledge check. Oh, and if you don't have those yet, you can always just give yourself really good knowledge checks.

BFC

Rather than controlling the field directly with entangling roots or grease, you can control your interactions with the battlefield. Enemy has energy damage? Resistance. They're a construct or undead? Gravestrike, Humanoid Essence. They're using ranged weapons? Wall of wind. Almost anything an enemy can do, the cleric has an answer to. Use your divinations to find out what you'll need, and come prepared to counter their every move.

With a little creative thinking, it can work in most situations even at low levels. Different forms of vision + concealment, ambushes from meld with stone, pretending to be a baddie... there's many methods.

Special Topic: Healing

Clerics can do this, yeah. But it doesn't mean you should. Think of it this way: You have four people on your team, and you can only cast one spell per round. If each of them takes damage every round, you would have to rotate through them all battle long, hoping that nobody gets really unlucky. And that costs a lot of spells, and a lot of movement and AoOs to deliver those touch spells. Who heals the healer?

Your best solution is wands, and doing most of your healing out of combat. With a good team and a good strategy, you can keep everyone standing till the end of a fight without any cures, then heal back up to full afterwards with wand power.

Now, don't be stingy. Sometimes you gotta drop a heal. Saving one spell isn't going to be worth it if one of your party members is at risk of dying. If one goes down, everything just gets harder for those still standing, and that means even more spells you need to use to keep them going.

Spells

And now, onto the crunchy bit.

Some good picks:
0: Guidance: if you're playing PF cantrips, spam this before encounters.
Resistance: ditto

1: blessed aim: this benefits the whole party, since all of you should have bows in your theme.
conviction: scaling morale to saves, and a great duration. Good against non-mook encounters.
detect fire: the sleeper detection spell.
ebon eyes: negating miss chance and sneaking around? Great value.
faith healing: get a partially-charged wand of this (20/50 maybe) for in-combat healing.
ice slick: this is the best BFC you'll get for a while.
protection from evil: staple spell, and good, too. Cast before going into battle with a scary foe.
ray of hope: morale to a bunch of stuff, but single-target and low duration. Doesn't scale.
resurgence: a life-saver. Rolled a 1? Nope, no you didn't.
shield of faith: scaling def to AC.
shivering touch, lesser: this is one debuff that's worth it, esp if you find yourself with a single tough foe.
sign: the importance of going first cannot be overestimated.
spell flower: best at later levels. Swap into it later down the line.
vigor, lesser: get a wand of this.

2: augury: if you're clever, this is divination, but two levels lower.
bull's strength: I'm bearish about this, but it's better if you're using power attack.
bear's endurance: some may bash this spell, but I'm a fan. HP never hurt anyone, and it saves on item cost.
close wounds: talk with your DM about how this works. Even if he or she uses a less-powerful interpretation, it's still a swift action.
divine insight: need a rogue? Not anymore. An excellent spell.
elation: in a pinch, that +5' can make a huge difference, plus it affects all allies. Stacks with bull's/cat's.
find traps: depends on whether your DM uses these.
freedom of breath: best at higher levels.
healing lorecall: best at higher levels, but good at all. Great way to remove dazing.
insight of good fortune: rerolls are great.
insignia of alarm: grab one scroll for everyone, and make them.
iron silence: better than silence in many situations.
lore of the gods: rerolls are great.
obscuring snow: combine with the ranger's snowsight. I think you see where this is going (pun intended).
owl's wisdom: increase your DCs.
restoration, lesser: best as a scroll.
share talents: effectively a reroll. And we know how good those are.
shield other: the best healing is the healing you don't have to do.
silence: still good.
soul ward/body ward: best on a scroll.
sound burst: as bad as it is, it's your best hard-BFC.
spider legs: like fly, but a level earlier. Endless uses.
substitute domain: this can be very good, or useless.
stay the hand: a poor man's counterspell. Can't argue with imm actions, though. With low wis, this is worse.
suppress magic: the BBEG-killer. Good range, duration, but suffers with low wis.
turn anathema: you should be able to make a lot of use of this.
tyche's touch: one of the best save buffs.
undetectable alignment: can save your life. Best on a scroll.

3: alter fortune: reroll.
battlemagic perception: just so good. Dispel magic is one of the best spells in the game, and this lets you use it as a free action.
bestow curse: worse with low wis, but -6 to a stat is pretty good. Without other casters, I recommend con, dex, or primary casting stat.
blindsight: see the unseen.
burrow: dungeon corridors and traps? Nevermore. Castle keep? Easy.
chain of eyes: improves on your ranger's empathic link.
circle dance: Robin hood never loses his prey.
conviction, mass: scaling bonus, good duration. It's another morale bonus, though.
dark way: bridge of sound, darkness edition (TM).
deeper darkness: get a scroll. Great duration, but otherwise not a very good spell. Obscuring snow is better.
dispel magic: one of the best spells in the game.
footsteps of the divine: the cleric's fly.
girallon's blessing: this is a fun spell. It's possible to make a build around it, but it's also just cool to use.
guardian spirit: get a scroll. Immediate actions are always good, and it's got a good duration.
ice axe: scaling touch attacks. Opens up a lot of possibilities, but is better for non-melee clerics.
invisibility purge: grab a scroll.
invoke the cerulean sign: grab a scroll.
knight's move: this is great for you, and a good spell in general.
know bloodline: because you might accidentally kill an entire family of black dragons.
know opponent: ditto.
know vulnerabilities: ditto.
locate object: no save!
magic circle against evil: never ceases to be a staple.
meld into ice/stone: good duration, but unfortunately it's personal. Combine with other rogue-spells.
misrepresent alignment: saves lives. Grab a scroll.
obscure object: best at higher levels.
redirect spell: risky, since you're the only caster. But you have rerolls, remember? For best effectiveness, use it on an ally with a bad will save.
remove curse/disease: grab scrolls.
resurgence, mass: you get a reroll! And you get a reroll! And YOU get a reroll! Bees for everyone!
rockburst: for when there's a wall rock you just really need to vent your anger on.
safety: saves lives. Grab a scroll.
serpent arrow: if this doesn't say flavour, I don't know what does.
shield of warding: scaling sacred bonus to AC and your worst save.
shivering touch: gift your DM a dragon-shaped doll for christmas. It's a good touch, I promise.
skull watch: grab a scroll, permanency. No more Alarm.
sonorous hum: best at higher levels.
soul of the waste: versatile, but don't bother with a scroll until you plan to use it.
speak with dead: admit that you always wanted to be Ender Wiggins.
summon monster 3: iirc, this is the level it starts to be useful. Get a second source on that, though.
vigor, mass lesser: grab a couple scrolls, or maybe a partially-filled wand (10/50, maybe).
wind wall: I'm torn on this one.

4: assay spell resistance: not as useful for you, but it's a good spell.
blindsight, greater: become the demon hunter.
contingent energy resistance: best at high levels, esp. extended.
death ward: saves... deaths?
delay death: delays deaths. Hopefully you don't need this one.
dimensional anchor: my favourite spell in the game.
divination: one of the best spells in the game.
divine power: dívineal: because you're worth it.
freedom of movement: also one of the best spells. This is mandatory.
imbue with spell ability: helps put those good personal spells on others.
magic weapon, greater: never purchase a weapon with more than a +1 bonus. Apply greater magic make-up.
panacea: grab a scroll or two.
recitation: luck bonus, for all allies. Poor duration.
resistance, greater: great duration. Extend? Yes, please.
restoration: grab a scroll.
spell immunity: doesn't work against SR:no (eg. dispel magic, dimensional anchor), but combined with divination is still very useful.
spell vulnerability: excellent.
stars of selûne: at the level you get it, it's great, but replace it later.
stop heart: if you're evil, SoD at 4 is pretty good.
wall of water: against tough foes, this can be a way to get around their defenses. Make sure your DM doesn't follow drowning by RAW.

5: boreal wind: big BFC, finally.
break enchantment: grab a scroll or two.
commune: free looks at the plot script.
divine agility: boost that reflex save. Your armor caps the effectiveness of this, though.
earth reaver: mixed damage types in an aoe. If you're going to grab a pure damage spell, this is it.
energetic healing: grab some scrolls if divination says you need them.
etherealness, swift: wizards do it better, but it's good at any level.
meteoric strike: this is good for your build.
necrotic skull bomb: this can burn through your spells/day quick, but can do real work when you need it.
plane shift: another amazing spell. This is mandatory.
revivify: grab a scroll.
righteous might: for the meleeing.
righteous wrath of the faithful: the cleric's haste.
scry location: it's like divination, but you get to watch it on the telly.
scrying: ditto.
slay living: easily blocked, and suffers from low wis, but you can't argue with the results.
spell resistance: great spell, but make sure you don't need spells cast on you afterwards. SR goes both ways.
stalwart pact: grab a scroll.
streamers: broken at any level. At 5 it's ludicrous-speed.
surge of fortune: reroll, high-level version.
true seeing: excellent. This is mandatory.
vulnerability: grab a scroll if divination says you need one.
wall of dispel magic: a bit flashy, but clerics don't get many flashy spells. Revel in it.
wall of magma: another personal favourite of mine.
wall of ooze: make sure your DM knows how this works.
wall of stone: incredibly versatile.
zone of respite: grab a scroll.
zone of revelation: grab a scroll.

6: bear's endurance, mass: it never gets old, but soon you'll have enough money that it's no longer very good.
chasing perfection: very affordable.
dispel magic, greater: arguably the best spell in the game.
glimpse of the prophecy: it's a toss-up whether this is scroll or list material.
heal: as much as I don't like it, it's a good spell.
heroes' feast: an excellent spell.
ice rift: BFC and damage all in one.
mummify: less resisted than slay living.
visage of the deity: become an avatar!
word of recall: grab a scroll.
zealot pact: grab a scroll.

7+: most spells at this point are just whatever you want to grab. There's only a few that are really important:
plane shift, greater: this is mandatory.
destruction: very difficult to resist.
holy transformation: you count as an archon, which opens up other good spells.
scrying, greater: I am the eye in the sky, looking at you; I can read your mind.
chain dispel: I hope you never need to use this.
death ward, mass
discern location
spell immunity, greater: again, doesn't stop SR:no, but is still useful.
astral projection: this is mandatory.
gate: don't do this to your DM. He'll wish there was a doll for it.
implosion: girls just wanna have fun.
miracle: git'r'done.

Edit: sorry this took so long to post. I wanted to make a new list for you, rather than just re-posting my old one. Without the descriptions, it's not always obvious why some spells are good to grab.

I might have missed one or two good spells, but generally if they're not here, something that is on this list is probably a more flexible pick. Ask if there's anything you think would be good to grab, but that I didn't recommend.

[Alikat]

Wow Giles you went all out. I appreciate the help greatly. I'll start reading up your spell list. Might take me a while. Just wanted to say thank you!

[GilesTheCleric]

You're welcome. It seemed worth it, since you're enterprising, aggressive, outgoing, young, bold, vicious. You'll do. enterprising, polite, and positively engaged in the community.

The feats everyone has mentioned are all very good. If you are able to grab domains and turns, then there's a few other feats that might be useful: holy warrior, knowledge/law/animal devotion, spontaneous domains, and sacred vitality.

See also: celestial summoning specialist, elder giant magic, mobile spellcasting, and craft contingent spell. Many of the reserve feats are good.

[Mizr]

Complete Champion has some good feats. Death Devotion is one of my favorites (gain the ability to bestow negative levels with your weapon.) The Reserve feats are also particularly useful.

[Alikat]

So I've built a good spell list now using your suggestions as a guide Mr. Giles. And oddly I'm actually going to end up un-optimizing a lot of what I use. Every other character in the group is tier 4 or lower and I'm a tier 2. By level 9 I'd do all their jobs better than them. And I worked out a way in my head to be able to stand toe to toe with a lot of god level monsters if I ever needed to duel one by around lvl 14-15.. Sooo yeah, I'm going to be a buff bot, only offering divine intervention when necessary. Added a rough spell list to the character sheet, back in the OP. ^^

Thanks everyone! First time I've ever built a character more OP than a tier 3, has been a learning experience!

Alikat

[thethird]

How much cheese do you want?

Get a way to count yourself as an arcane spellcaster:
Magical Training + Precocious apprentice and a level in exalted arcanist
drink from a dragon's blood pool

Take the PHB II ACF for healing whenever you cast a spell.

Jump into war weaver and spell guard of silverymoon and share those tasty personal spells with your friends.

[Cloud]

Feat wise aside from metamagic and divine metamagic once you have access to turning (extend, quicken, twin, and persist are of note, heightened too if your DCs won't be terrible), improved initiative is bland but good, maybe less important for a favoured soul then say a wizard that wants to drop some battle field control though. Versatile spellcaster is pretty nice for all spontaneous casters. Power attack if you decide to buff yourself and kill things in melee is pretty obvious. If you PrC dip and lose a caster level (don't do that mostly), you'll wanted practiced caster. If you pick up some domains, some of the devotion feats are pretty nice as well.

[Curmudgeon]

Those flaws are not official. The only official flaws are in UA 91.

Just as a note, they are in fact semi-official. They aren't in a sanctioned splat; rather, they're Dragon Magazine flaws.
Chivalrous Courtesy is from Dragon # 324.

http://img148.imagevenue.com/loc454/th_876025780_Dragon324_122_454lo.jpg (http://img148.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=876025780_Dragon324_122_454lo.jpg)
Weapon Bound is from Dragon # 326.

http://img175.imagevenue.com/loc55/th_876028576_Dragon326_122_55lo.jpg (http://img175.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=876028576_Dragon326_122_55lo.jpg)

Each of these issues has "100% OFFICIAL CONTENT" and the official D&D logo

http://true20.wdfiles.com/local--files/d-d-conversion/dnd_logo-1.jpg
on the cover. According to Wizards of the Coast, these flaws are just as official as everything in Player's Handbook.


I took weapon focus, force of personality(will be putting all points in cha) and versatile spell caster.

I plan on extend at 6 and melee weapon mastery at 12.
You'll get Weapon Focus granted as a class feature at FS level 3, so there's no reason for you to take it as a regular feat — unless you've chosen the wrong weapon/wrong deity. My recommendation for deity is Kossuth (if you're in Forgotten Realms) or Zoser (from Sandstorm; not tied to any setting). Both of these have the spiked chain as their favored weapon, so you'll essentially get
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) for free at level 1, and Weapon Focus (spiked chain) at level 3.

Versatile Spellcaster (cannibalize multiple lower-level spells to cast a higher-level spell) isn't one I'd recommend for a Favored Soul. FSs always have at least 3 spell slots (more with bonus spells) of their highest-available spell level. Extend Spell is a decent choice, but it's probably better at level 3 so you'll have it available when your CL (which determines the duration of spells) means your 1 round/level spells won't last through an encounter.

Feats that extend your reach work very well with a spiked chain. You might consider the following:

Aberration Blood (Lords of Madness, page 178) can grant flexible limbs to a Humanoid [1st level only].
Mourning Mutate [Aberrant] (Dragon # 359, page 110) can substitute for Aberration Blood for prerequisites (works if you're not a Humanoid, or just as a stylistic preference); you'll want the "Unnaturally Flexible" option [1st level only].
Extended Reach (Savage Species, page 34) works if you have flexible body parts, granting +5' to reach.
Inhuman Reach (Lords of Madness, page 180) can extend reach by a further +5', but at a cost of -1 to all melee attack rolls.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Minor note: You can't take Weapon Focus at level 1-- the feat requires a BAB of +1, and the Favored Soul only has a medium BAB.

[GilesTheCleric]

So I've built a good spell list now using your suggestions as a guide Mr. Giles. And oddly I'm actually going to end up un-optimizing a lot of what I use. Every other character in the group is tier 4 or lower and I'm a tier 2. By level 9 I'd do all their jobs better than them. And I worked out a way in my head to be able to stand toe to toe with a lot of god level monsters if I ever needed to duel one by around lvl 14-15.. Sooo yeah, I'm going to be a buff bot, only offering divine intervention when necessary. Added a rough spell list to the character sheet, back in the OP. ^^

Thanks everyone! First time I've ever built a character more OP than a tier 3, has been a learning experience!

Alikat
I'm flattered; glad to hear it helped, Mr. Alikat. It's certainly difficult to be a caster among non-casters. I find that most of the time I do the same -- hold back on my most powerful spells, and spend most rounds just swinging my mace for 1d8+0 rather than really doing anything. Spending the first x rounds just casting Dimensional Anchor/Lower Spell Resistance/Vulnerability on everything is another way I contribute without doing much.

Your spell list looks like it has a good variety of stuff. Hopefully you get to use Wall of Water often. The wall spells are so much fun.


[snip]
Each of these issues has "100% OFFICIAL CONTENT" and the official D&D logo
[snip]
on the cover. According to Wizards of the Coast, these flaws are just as official as everything in Player's Handbook.[snip]

But if I accept that's it's as official as any other splat, then that means I have to suddenly start caring about it :/ I really don't want to have to go out and start buying back copies, just for a few new mechanics per issue.

Besides, stuff like the Kamalar setting has the logo, but is only licensed by WotC -- it isn't first-party. As I recall, Dragon was published by Paizo, not WotC.

[nyjastul69]

I'm flattered; glad to hear it helped, Mr. Alikat. It's certainly difficult to be a caster among non-casters. I find that most of the time I do the same -- hold back on my most powerful spells, and spend most rounds just swinging my mace for 1d8+0 rather than really doing anything. Spending the first x rounds just casting Dimensional Anchor/Lower Spell Resistance/Vulnerability on everything is another way I contribute without doing much.

Your spell list looks like it has a good variety of stuff. Hopefully you get to use Wall of Water often. The wall spells are so much fun.



But if I accept that's it's as official as any other splat, then that means I have to suddenly start caring about it :/ I really don't want to have to go out and start buying back copies, just for a few new mechanics per issue.

Besides, stuff like the Kamalar setting has the logo, but is only licensed by WotC -- it isn't first-party. As I recall, Dragon was published by Paizo, not WotC.

TSR/WotC originally published Dragon Magazine. They licensed the publishing rights to Paizo from 2002-2007. That does include all of the 3.5 run IIRC. The 'Paizo' Dragons are 100% official content if the title claims so. WotC approved that or it wouldn't have been allowed.

[atemu1234]

I'm flattered; glad to hear it helped, Mr. Alikat. It's certainly difficult to be a caster among non-casters. I find that most of the time I do the same -- hold back on my most powerful spells, and spend most rounds just swinging my mace for 1d8+0 rather than really doing anything. Spending the first x rounds just casting Dimensional Anchor/Lower Spell Resistance/Vulnerability on everything is another way I contribute without doing much.

Your spell list looks like it has a good variety of stuff. Hopefully you get to use Wall of Water often. The wall spells are so much fun.



But if I accept that's it's as official as any other splat, then that means I have to suddenly start caring about it :/ I really don't want to have to go out and start buying back copies, just for a few new mechanics per issue.

Besides, stuff like the Kamalar setting has the logo, but is only licensed by WotC -- it isn't first-party. As I recall, Dragon was published by Paizo, not WotC.

That means Kalamar, because of the logo, is official. Not that Drag Mag isn't.