Wrath of the Righteous: Cleric of Asmodeus help

[terrymcginnis]

Hello everyone! I am coming to you today because I have just joined a group who will be running the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure path and I was hoping to get some help with my character.

https://41.media.tumblr.com/bc23d55a60821af5a191284f5f63636c/tumblr_n85qshENpo1tq8132o5_500.jpg

Ok so here is the basics of what you need to know.

1. Pathfinder Only no Third party stuff.
2. Starting Stats: 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13 place as wanted.
3. Starting Gold: 150
4. 2 Traits at creation

Ok now that we got that part out of the way lets get to the meat and potatoes of this thread. I decided I wanted to play a Cleric of Asmodeus in this game. Why? Because being good aligned character would have been too obvious plus Devil's and Demon's don't exactly get along so I can say I am doing it for the sake of Law and Order (only half the truth).

I had a couple of idea's on how I could go about this the first is straight cleric with a focus on Channeling and Channel Smite which could be good but I also had the idea of using the Theologian Archetype (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/archetypes/paizo---cleric-archetypes/theologian) and focusing on the Fire Domain (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/domains/paizo---domains/fire-domain) or Ash Domain (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/domains/paizo---domains/fire-domain/ash) and maximizing my spellcasting to burn the demon's around me to ash! I also considered taking the Damnation Feats (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/damnation-feats)for flavor.

I am also having another problem and that is determining what Mythic Path (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/mythic#TOC-Mythic-Path) I should take. So I thought I would get some suggestions and input to see what other people recommend. Thus I want your opinion on the following.

Race: I was considering the Devil Blooded Tiefling Variant but Human is also an option but I am also open to other suggestions.

Stats: Where should I put my stats Wisdom & Charisma being the obvious focuses but where I should put my other stats is something I can't 100% decide on.

Mythic Path: What Mythic Path do you think I should use.

Path Abilities: What path abilities I should take are greatly recommended.

Class: I want to be a type of Cleric but should I go straight Cleric or Theologian of some kind of Prestige class at a later level.
Feats: Feat recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Other: Anything else you think would be good advice is greatly appreciated.

Note I would like to plan out from level 1 to 18 and also plan on my mythic tiers from 1 to 9 so I have a pretty good idea of what I am gonna do with my character in game.

And with all that said and done I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say thanks again for the help! :D

[Ssalarn]

Just as an FYI, playing an evil character in Wrath of the Righteous is a REALLY BAD idea. There are (slight spoiler here) numerous story awards that key off of how closely the party aligns themselves with certain capital G Good powers, and not getting those story awards can really screw the group over since they're assumed in the party's APL for the later encounters, particularly the ultimate boss fight.

Wrath of the Righteous is basically the Paladin's campaign, and it expects the group to be the kind of people who would hang out with paladins in their free time, when they're not helping little old ladies across the street.

[terrymcginnis]

Really? Well that sucks!

[Kol Korran]

Hi, I am DMing the Wrath of The Righteous campaign for some time now. Some things to consider:
1) As mentioned, the campaign is heavily a cliche "Valorous good against wicked evil!" kind of campaign. It expects righteous goody heroes and so on. A fair deal of it involves the gods of the crusade, such as Iomedae, Sarenrae, Desna, Shellyn and Torag... Not exactly freinds to Asmodeus. You CAN take this route, but it will be very, very hard to justify, and it may demand the DM to redesign quite a few things... So talk with him/ her before you go this route, and make sure they are game. The game can take neutral characters and deities more easily, but evil one far far less.

I suggest to also speak to your party about this- party expectations are an important thing here. You might be able to find a motive and a way to work with the party, which might be ok.

2) About Mythic Path- you are a Divine caster, so there is really one good choice- Hierophant. At the start you get Inspired Spell which basically lets you spend a mythic point to cast any spell on your spell list spontaneously up to the level of spells you can normally cast. It has a lot of other goodies for Divine casters. You get the mythic rank not right at he start though, only near the very end of the first module (level 5/6 or so) So you have time to think on paths and party mix.

3) Fire is so so...All demons have at least Resistance fire 10, a lot of them have SR, and quite a few have higher resistence or outright immunity. My group had real trouble using energy attacks on demons, and ended up with spells mostly focusing on battlefield control and self buffing. On that note: ALWAYS pack some protection from evil, either as the first level spell or the circle spell. That line of spells saved the party's bacon a lot of times!

4) Feats wise, some things my party cleric quite liked:
- Selective channeling (It's kind of a must, a feat tax really, if you want to heal your party well)
- Heavy armor proficiency: Path finder gives clerics only medium armor. and full plate gives you +9 to AC, while the best medium armor is +6. That's a net +3 to AC, and opens up better armor for you.
- My player made some good use with Combat casting, but this really depends on how tactful your DM plays, and whether he tries to dispel casters with readied actions or not.
- Later on the player took "Demon hunter". Which is quite nice for this campaign (In which 85% of all enemies are demons). Requires 6 ranks in know (planes), but that skill is quite handy in this campaign.
- Later on (10th level or so) he also took "Divine intervention". Quite nice and flavorful.

5) Stats: Depends on how you want to play your character. I suggest something decent (14 or so) to strength if you wish to go melee, and if your DM tracks encumbrance. (And if you go heavy armor). I suggest to put some in Int because you are skill starved, and the campaign has plenty of uses for skills (Mainly knowledge ones and social skills). My player has only int 10 and he really lacks in skills, extremely focused.

6) General advice: In my sig there is a link to the campaign, which deals with a lot of DMing issues with the campaign- design, changes, adjustment to PCs and so on. I suggest to show this to the DM, it may save him some trouble, or at least alert him to potential problems. This campaign has.... it's issues. Also show him this thread (MAJOR SPOILERS! Don't read it yourself) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?396097-Wrath-of-the-Righteous-What-changes-have-you-made-to-the-adventure-path-Spoilers!&highlight=wrath+of+the+righteous+campaign)

[Feint's End]

Don't have much time now so just gonna leave suggestion for stat distribution.
str 16 dex 14 con 15 int 13 wis 18 cha 17 (before modifications of course -> +2 to wis... With Tiefling arrange accordingly)

[Beowulf DW]

According to the fluff, at least one Hellknight Order was involved in the Worldwound Crusades, and they have close ties to Cheliax, and thus Asmodeus. In fact, the Order of the God Claw worships aspects of five lawful deities including Iomedae and Asmodeus. Additionally, it is possible to worship Asmodeus as a cleric while being lawful neutral. Those are my recommendations for "Ways to not give your DM a headache in this campaign."

On an optimization note, I wouldn't bother with a feat on Heavy Armor. AC becomes less and less important as campaigns go on, then your HP and your spells will become your primary means of defense. That said, taking the Hellknight Signifier (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/e-h/hellknight-signifer) prestige class will net you Heavy Armor Proficiency, as well as proficiency in that Order's favored weapon (Order of the Coil gets greataxes, btw). Additionally, Warrior Priest (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/warrior-priest) is an excellent feat for combat-focused clerics.

Additionally, there are (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/archetypes/paizo---cleric-archetypes/mendevian-priest) archetypes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/archetypes/paizo---cleric-archetypes/crusader) that will give you HAP without having to drop a feat on it, if you have your heart set on it, that is.

You might also wish to take a look at Warpriest if you like hitting things better than casting.

[hoverfrog]

There's an ongoing theme of redemption in the adventure path. I'm about to start DMing this myself and I'd allow a former cleric of Asmodeus as a PC but not a current one unless the player was planning on switching religions and working to become a good character. That would involve a total loss of power on your part though and probably wouldn't fit with your character concept at all. I just don't see how someone who is not only evil but who is a priest to an evil deity can engage with the redemptive arc of the Adventure Path. If one of the NPCs surrenders, expresses remorse, and begs for help in redeeming themselves how would your PC react? Run him through? Try to convert him to Asmodeus? Ignore his request or assume it was a pitiful plea for mercy from a weakling? Such reactions would be expected from your PC and fit the concept that you have in mind but they just don't fit the AP.

What does your DM think of the concept? Before doing anything more on character building I'd run the idea past him or her. They may just veto the idea. If you've spend a lot of time and effort building a character that can be disheartening.

Now, running this character through Way of the Wicked, that would work really well.

[Eox]

I disagree with the general consensus here, play an Asmodean cleric to a T until mythic rank 3. Then take Divine Source and become a cleric of yourself, because after all you've just seen you're gonna be absolutely certain Good is gonna win here.

[Ssalarn]

I disagree with the general consensus here, play an Asmodean cleric to a T until mythic rank 3. Then take Divine Source and become a cleric of yourself, because after all you've just seen you're gonna be absolutely certain Good is gonna win here.

Are you actually familiar with the AP? Even getting some of the Mythic ranks is reliant on your party's adherence to the principles of certain goodly deities, as is access to various boons that are necessary for your group to actually be the effective APL the adventure assumes. Making Asmodean choices in Book 1 can permanently handicap your ability to finish Book 6. It's just not an AP for evil characters; even neutral characters can have issues at certain key junctures (we had an Iroran monk who refused to assist an NPC because he believed they needed to overcome a particular obstacle on their own, which ultimately screwed us out of a boon, made a later encounter much more difficult, and cost us the aid of both that NPC and another).

The game's final encounter is against

A CR 29 demon lord, 4 CR 21 advanced balors, and 8 CR 14 Apocalypse locusts, this after fighting a CR 27 half-succubus witch/demoniac/archmage with 4 advanced vrolikais and a CR 20 unique nightwalker followed by a CR 29 demon lord and every enemy NPC the party hasn't gotten to, all without an opportunity to rest.
So you really need every boon, rank, and favor you can get.

[Eox]

I am familiar with it, and while you might miss out on a few of the earlier boons every LE character I've played has somehow been more agreeable to NPCs than the party paladin. Most of the dedication to the gods of good I can remember is just making the right knowledge: religion checks.

Also, considering he's a cleric I don't think he has much to worry about missing out on a feat here or 5hp there. When he hits L20/R10 you can pretty much say jump and the game will ask how high.

[Ssalarn]

I am familiar with it, and while you might miss out on a few of the earlier boons every LE character I've played has somehow been more agreeable to NPCs than the party paladin. Most of the dedication to the gods of good I can remember is just making the right knowledge: religion checks.

Also, considering he's a cleric I don't think he has much to worry about missing out on a feat here or 5hp there. When he hits L20/R10 you can pretty much say jump and the game will ask how high.




The devotion awards in the first book offer you-

+2 to a skill of your choice

+5 permanent hit points

a bonus feat

+2 to an ability score of your choice



The last two are incredibly difficult for a party including an evil character to get, and are a huge benefit to miss out on. I wouldn't underestimate the feat either, since clerics are more likely to want/need feats than most other full casters, especially at low levels.

The other thing is that devotion points are rewarded to the whole party, so while he might be willing to forgo a feat or a stat bump, the rest of his party is missing out as well, and they might want those things.

[hoverfrog]

I'd be interested in what you decide on for your character in the end.

I'd recommend the following feats for a cleric in WotR more or less in order: Heavy Armour Proficiency, Selective Channelling, Toughness (in Pathfinder this is actually a good feat), Combat Casting, Demon Hunter, Alignment Channel (so you can channel and hurt demons), Protective Channel (gives Protection from Evil on everyone you heal up but you have to worship a good deity). You can get Heavy Armour Proficiency by dipping one level of Fighter and you'll gain an extra fighter feat but I don't recommend this.

I'd also recommend armour expert as your second trait.