3.0 cleric build level 5

[yellowrocket]

Looking to build a level 5 cleric. Domains are knowledge and travel. It's for my dad who will be joining an existing adventure. He wanted to teleport and or see different places.

What's the best race for this? I'm inclined to human for extra skill points and for the simple fact that no races get a bonus to wisdom. But it is a dungeon crawl and will require light in sections, where the dwarf he's joining has meant not having to worry about visability because of darkvision.

On the other hand would a wizard make sense?

[GilesTheCleric]

Dwarf is good, as is Deep Dwarf from MM1. If you're allowing the officially licensed Dark Sun 3, I believe that's 3.0, and the Pterrans are a great race. SS is 3.0, so you could go with an anthro raven. MM2 is also 3.0, so Jermlaine is on the table.

Wizards get the great 3.0 Haste, but Clerics get the great 3.0 Bull's/ Bear's/ etc. I haven't done any analysis of 3.0 vs 3.5 Clerics, but my hunch is that once you've added all the 3.0 books, Wizards have the better spell list. Clerics just benefit so much from 3.5 books like Fb, BoED, SK, and SC.

Going with human is best for the bonus feat -- the extra skill points won't really make a difference unless there's a PrC he's got his eye on that he'll need to invest in a random skill to enter.

Do you have any 3.5 books allowed? PGtF, for example?

[yellowrocket]

I bought the core 3.0 books from a used book store out of curiosity. Kids ended up finding out what they were wanted to try it out. Now it's just my son with his one character and he wanted other people to join.

[GilesTheCleric]

In a core-only 3.0 game, Cleric is probably the better pick, paired with human or deep/ dwarf. Wizards are really squishy, and much easier to accidentally break the game with.

Is this a shared account? I'm a bit confused by the change in perspective from your posts.

[yellowrocket]

No, just me with half formed fatigued thoughts.

It's my dad looking to join my son. His grandson

[GilesTheCleric]

Ah, I see. Good on a grandfather to be interested in D&D. I don't think my grandfolks would have it in them to try something so foreign to them. I'll again suggest Cleric, since it's much more forgiving than a Wizard. There is a little more bookwork, of course, since Clerics know all their spells, but there's no need to constantly change them out or worry about searching the shops for the scroll you want to add to your spellbook.

[Eldariel]

3.0 PHB-only Clerics > 3.5 PHB-only Clerics. However, the differences are only moderate on this level: they grow towards higher levels.

On this level you have the hour/level buffs in Bull's Strength and Bear's Endurance, and they can be metamagicked for further effect (as they are 1d4+1 - you can Maximize 'em for 5 and Empower for +[2-7]).
However, the big advantages of 3.0 Cleric are getting eventual +6/+6 from Divine Favor, and Righteous Might granting +8 Strength, +4 Con (3.5 errata'd version grants +4 Str, +2 Con). Divine Power is a bit interesting in that 3.0 DP just makes your strength 18. This means your base strength doesn't actually matter that much except if you can make it high enough to get above Divine Power levels with Bull's Strength. Though given Bull's Strength functioning as it does, that generally works to your advantage.


In Core, Dwarf Cleric is fine. You don't really need that many feats as a Cleric particularly if you ignore Turning (there's little worthwhile to do with Turning without additional source books). Human Cleric is also good - Cleric as a class has ways to both, see in darkness and produce light. And the bonus feat is always great. Note that 3.0 Dwarves don't have the Heavy Armor acclimation ability in 3.0 meaning you'll be down to 15' movement if you wear medium or heavy armor.

And yes, a Wizard would be insane. 3.0 Haste is totally bonkers and you're level 5 so you have access to it already. Cast it, and profit. Everyone gets massive bonuses to everything and can cast two spells per turn. 3.0 Alter Self isn't that great (still decent - if a bit unclear in what it does) but the other usual spells you'd be looking at (Glitterdust, Web, Pyrotechnics, Grease, Slow, Stinking Cloud, etc.) are about the same. It's a matter of how much he likes to learn what the various spells do and all that - Wizard will inevitably entail more prep work than Cleric.

EDIT: Oh yeah and 3.0 Polymorph Self lasts hours/level while Polymorph Other is permanent. So...yeah, good bye physical stats; nobody needed you anyways. Those spells completely make your base form physicals irrelevant, particularly since in 3.0 you count your HP based on your altered Con.

EDIT#2: Oh yeah, and Grease is worse. It doesn't force the Balance-check to move at ½ rate like in 3.5/PF. It's also worth noting that Enlarge is, while not worse, different. It's caster level dependent and can be used on creatures as well as items. By RAW even the 50% increase didn't actually give you a size category though, just +2 Strength. It's a bit weird.

[yellowrocket]

So I used a random roller for the stats,16 plus each in int wis and con. Not so high in the others, but it fits the character ideal.

The first session went well, had him catch up to the rogue(my son) about halfway through the sunless citidel. We ended the session in the hall with 6 rooms on the lowest level if you know the module.

They had a good time, and he picked up the game quickly and they started to figure out how to communicate in game with each other a little as well.

Now that they're almost done, I don't know if they will want to play in a more free form setting or continue with the module style. But I'd like to have something prepared for them in case.

I was looking for forge of fury in a pdf format, but from what I've found there isn't a published version. Did wizards ever publish any of the 3.0/3.5 adventures in pdf? Or if not does anyone have any idea why they wouldn't have after this time gap between now and the original publishing date?

[GilesTheCleric]

So I used a random roller for the stats,16 plus each in int wis and con. Not so high in the others, but it fits the character ideal.

The first session went well, had him catch up to the rogue(my son) about halfway through the sunless citidel. We ended the session in the hall with 6 rooms on the lowest level if you know the module.

They had a good time, and he picked up the game quickly and they started to figure out how to communicate in game with each other a little as well.

Now that they're almost done, I don't know if they will want to play in a more free form setting or continue with the module style. But I'd like to have something prepared for them in case.

I was looking for forge of fury in a pdf format, but from what I've found there isn't a published version. Did wizards ever publish any of the 3.0/3.5 adventures in pdf? Or if not does anyone have any idea why they wouldn't have after this time gap between now and the original publishing date?

Congratulations! It's good to hear it all worked out well.

There is indeed a web store (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?keywords=forge+of+fury&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=). The longtime lack of its existence was indeed (and continues to be) the bane of many in countries with different copyright laws than the US and the WotC lawyers. This site didn't host D&D stuff until 2013, 6 full years after the end of 3e's print run.

[yellowrocket]

Thank you so much. I'll be ordering that later. And since they're dwarfs that will be level 7, I'll give them a little extra gear and they'll be on their way there shortly after they wrap up their current adventure on a great plot hook.