Thoughts on an unusual grave cleric build

[Camman1984]

Hi, this is Sevijecho (sevi) to his friends. his is a svirfneblin cleric of the raven queen and he wants your advice on his training. he has long been a warden over the human burial barrows, making sure the tribes people do not stray from veneration of the dead into necromancy. His natural abilities against mental magic favoured by the undead, and his ability to avoid scrying have kept him safe in this role. His keen eyes, adjusted to the dark means even the deepest catacombs are not beyond his protection. He knows he will never be the most powerful cleric in the world, the thickness of the earth above their heads means his race is less linked to the gods. But through study of religion and the arcane he has become a valued servant of she that is death. before he straps on his shield and ceremonial dagger and laces up his chainmail he would like to show you his skills.

svirfneblin cleric of the grave grave

starting stats
str8
dex13(14)
con15
int12(14)
wis15
cha8

build is level 4 so +1 in con and wis planned

skills
religion, arcana, history, insight

cantrips
improved spare the dying (grave cleric)
toll the dead
guidance

racial spells
non-detection at will
blur, disguise self, blind/deaf once per day

1st level domain spells adjusted to
false life
summon familiar (raven only) instead of bane

equipment
shield, medium armour, dagger

Even though he is sub optimal I think he will be great fun and full of character. would you make any tweaks?

[jaappleton]

First and foremost, when designing a character, it needs to be fun to play.

If this is fun, then you did a good job.

The only change I would make is to relax a little bit on the Necrotic emphasis. And you may think, "He's a Grave Cleric, it's all about the dead and necrotic!" And in my opinion, you'd be right... Partially.

He's a Cleric of the Raven Queen, and death is a very serious thing with her. Its not some joke, and Undead make a mockery of her designs. And remember, she is a God. She is Divine.

With that said, I'd increase your ability to deal Radiant damage. I highly suggest swapping Toll the Dead for Sacred Flame or Word of Radiance (if you plan to get close enough). If you think you're going to be going up against lots of Undead foes, this is a wise plan.

[nickl_2000]

Well, at level 4 you should have a total of 5 cantrips. 4 from the base Cleric class and 1 bonus from Grave (Spare the Dying).

So add in word of radiance (for area damage) and thaumaturgy (for RP purposes). Other than that I see no issues with the character :)

[Camman1984]

Well, at level 4 you should have a total of 5 cantrips. 4 from the base Cleric class and 1 bonus from Grave (Spare the Dying).

So add in word of radiance (for area damage) and thaumaturgy (for RP purposes). Other than that I see no issues with the character :)

I was writing this post between calls at work in chunks so forgot to finish my cantrip list. word of radiance should have been on there but I forgot the extra 4th level one so maybe sacred flame or thurmaturgy is the way to go.

more radiant damage is definately a good idea. to deal with errant undead from the barrows. we are already aware in game that the human guardians of the barrows are fairly over confident and complacent in their ability to keep watch. so this sect of the raven queens clerics have been tasked with keeping an eye on them to make sure the dead stay where they are meant to be :)

[Aett_Thorn]

Just out of curiosity, how are you gaining the racial spells from the Svirfneblin at this level without taking the feat? Is your DM just letting you have them for free?

[Camman1984]

Just out of curiosity, how are you gaining the racial spells from the Svirfneblin at this level without taking the feat? Is your DM just letting you have them for free?

I completely missed that it was a feat, both me and my DM assumed it was a free part of the race like drow magic etc. will have to discuss that with him but as we both already assumed it was built in as part of the race he will probably just wave it though, he is very flexible about giving us fun custom builds over following the rules precisely. thanks for the note though.