Drow Cleric

[WanderinCourier]

Hey Guys I'm Jumping into a friends campaign tomorrow, and my character sheet went flying in the wind. So i'm making a last minute new one with all new class and everything cause i don't like building something twice.

So this character I'm making is named Alton Dyrr, He is going a Drow Cleric. Now I'm think I'm going to lean towards some Neutral if possible i Don't want to start out evil since only one person in their current campaign is evil, the rest are also neutral.

Now to be honest this will be my first time doing Pathfinder I'm much more comfortable with 3.5. And i usually play diplomatic at that, but they said for me to join i needed to be some sort of healer so I figured Cleric would be the easiest way to go for a beginner.

I understand most people don't like to play as a healbot, but to be honest that's what i'm aiming for, with a slight exception i also need to be able to heal undead (The evil character on the campaign is a damphier(However you spell that))

We have an 80 point buy in with a 1-1 Ratio so any and all advice you can gice/recommend would be awesome.

[Geddy2112]

Hm, if your going with core deities and you are a drow, I suggest Calistra. She has some pretty sexy domains like trickery and luck, and works well as a healer and diplomat. She is the chaotic neutral goddess of lust, trickery, vengeance, etc. Clerics are amazing healers as you can spontaneously lose spells to cast cure/inflict spells. I would prepare an inflict spell or two to heal your damphir friend, and channel positive energy/spontaneously cast cure spells. Take the feat seductive channel-it gives more healing to your allies, and allows you to channel energy outside of combat to make NPC's easier to charm.

If you want to be a healbot, carry a shield and medium armor so you can also tank. Calistria's favored weapon is a whip, so you can have fun with combat maneuvers if you want, otherwise stick with a simple weapon and spells. Remember, it is not just about healing damage, but preventing it by buffing and protecting your friends. Bless, prayer, blessings of fervor, protection against good/evil/law(you can't prepare pro chaos) etc are worth more than just healing HP. Never prepare a heal spell either, you can always cast spontaneously if you need it.

I figure with your point buy, you start with a 0 in all scores, and have to buy everything. Is there a minimum or maximum?

Assuming a min 7 max 18 and drow racial mods, I would go with

Str10
Dex12
Con12
Int14
Wis18
Cha14

That gives you no negatives, enough strength to wear medium armor and a shield(although you can have light at level 1 to save gold), okay hp, some extra skill points, max casting stat, and decent charisma for social skills and channel. You can go light armor and less stuff to carry by dumping strength for more dex or con. Your call.

[grarrrg]

but they said for me to join i needed to be some sort of healer so I figured Cleric would be the easiest way to go for a beginner.

I understand most people don't like to play as a healbot, but to be honest that's what i'm aiming for, with a slight exception i also need to be able to heal undead

Go peruse the Oradin guide, feel free to skip the "Paladin" parts.
Don't be a healbot, be an active character that can do things other than just heal. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?257365-PF-Oradin-Mini-Guide-Or-How-to-be-a-Healbot-minus-the-bot)
Drow have +2 CHA, make an Oracle with either the Life Mystery (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle), or Spirit Guide (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle/archetypes/paizo---oracle-archetypes/spirit-guide) Archetype with Life Spirit (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/shaman/spirits/life).
Either option gets you the Life Link ability, which will let you heal the Dhampir by healing yourself (and since you're an Oracle, feel free to grab an Inflict Spell for if/when he takes big hits).

Also, try to get your Dhampir friend an Amulet of Channeled Life (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/amulet-of-channeled-life). Instead of taking damage from positive energy he'll gain Temp HP instead.

[WanderinCourier]

I figure with your point buy, you start with a 0 in all scores, and have to buy everything. Is there a minimum or maximum?

Assuming a min 7 max 18 and drow racial mods, I would go with

He didn't say a minimum but he did say max 18 before racial, So this would work. I do enjoy the idea of Calistra though i do have some more questions.

In the advanced race guide it has some racial variants that I've thought about mainly the Surface Infiltrator that way i won't be blinded in daylight, Does that sound good?

Also What do you think of the Demonic Apostle Favored Class?

[grarrrg]

In the advanced race guide it has some racial variants that I've thought about mainly the Surface Infiltrator that way i won't be blinded in daylight, Does that sound good?

Surface Infiltrator is a fair enough trade.


Also What do you think of the Demonic Apostle Favored Class?

HORRIBLE choice for what you want to do, and overall a downgrade from normal Cleric.

You only get ONE Domain, from a very limited list (and none of the 3 options are all that awesome).
You lose Channel Energy and get "extremely limited variant Channel Energy", which if you are dead-set on "healbot" this will be the opposite of helpful.

Getting a Familiar is fine though.

[WanderinCourier]

Surface Infiltrator is a fair enough trade.



HORRIBLE choice for what you want to do, and overall a downgrade from normal Cleric.

You only get ONE Domain, from a very limited list (and none of the 3 options are all that awesome).
You lose Channel Energy and get "extremely limited variant Channel Energy", which if you are dead-set on "healbot" this will be the opposite of helpful.

Getting a Familiar is fine though.

I didn't Catch the part where I would lose a domain, I'm going to avoid it for now maybe a future campaign i'll take it but its not worth it for now.

Though for my domains I'm leaning towards Choas and Tickery. They seem to have some good potential, for a variety of different things.

And Combat Manuevers involving the Whip where mentioned earlier, can you tell me which book could locate them in or are they just in the Core?

[Geddy2112]

Chaos and trickery are great domains. I suggest revelry or whimsy as chaos subdomains, both are fitting to Calistria and very good. The trickery subdomains all suck because they get rid of your mirror image like ability. Both domains also give you some great bad touch debuff, giving you another role in combat.

Consider some of the variant channeling abilities-it adds a lot of oomph to your healing in and out of combat. Luck is part of Calistria's domain and very good for variant channeling.

Depending on your group, you might want ambitious schemer,if you plan on bluffing or using diplomacy a lot. Surface infiltrator vs darkvision and light sensitivity is a matter of choice-neither will matter greatly in the long run.

Whip is in the core book- it has disarm and trip as weapon features, making it good for both maneuvers. The improved and greater versions of disarm and trip might be worth looking into, although it will eat up your feats to specialize in both. If you plan on using a weapon a lot, stick with a buckler for your shield so you keep a free hand for spellcasting. Ask your DM if getting your deity's favored weapon will also cover the scorpion whip. If so, get the scorpion so you can do damage in a pinch.

[WanderinCourier]

So I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this CMB Works, Do i Roll a D3 and add it to the CMD +2 due to the Whips Bonus? Or am i completely off base?

[Geddy2112]

So I'm still trying to wrap my head around how this CMB Works, Do i Roll a D3 and add it to the CMD +2 due to the Whips Bonus? Or am i completely off base?

The weapon performs the CMB roll. You roll and add your CMB, then add +2 for a disarm or trip check, because the whip has those properties. You do not roll the damage dice. It is good to know that if you fail the trip check by enough where you would be tripped, you can drop the whip instead.

[Thealtruistorc]

(Please bear in mind that Drow are not my specialty. I am far more versed in the cultures of Orcs and Gnolls but will see what I can do here)

Okay, Drow are an interesting race because textbook evil is inherently part of their culture. They see themselves as better than everyone else, and will exploit the heck out of lesser folk because that is how they have learned to survive. Cooperation with demons is nothing new or unusual to them, and dark, destructive magics are the cornerstone of their fighting style.

Which begs the question as the why one would be tending to the wounds of a bunch of mongrel surface-dwellers.

Now, you could take the Drizz't "I am not like my kin" approach, but that road is trite and has been tread upon so often that it has become a ditch. What a drow like yourself sees in the world is opportunity, opportunity to gain more power by aiding the surface-dwellers rather than just gutting them on the spot.

By healing, you get people to trust you. By healing often, you get them to depend upon you. By getting them to depend upon you, they become yours to control, because once they get used to a healbot it will be hard for them to fight without one. Now, you're not evil (unless you want to be. I highly recommend it), so you won't be torturing them. Instead, you will be using your healing as a commodity, demanding favors in return for your curative services. This isn't cruelty, simply flexing what muscles you have. You have several powerful people wrapped around your pinky finger and can do what you wish with them (make sure to be subtle, though. Punks are far more complacent when they don't know they are doing your bidding), so get creative and try things you would otherwise be afraid to do. They can't afford to lose their endless supply of band-aids, so they will play along.

You will likely have enemies, so use your suckers to fight them, steer them towards combat with Elves or enemy gods and agree to reimburse them for any injuries they suffer. It's the classic drow way, given a completely new twist.