Good move or bad move?

[Krugg]

Hey I know this may seem simple to some of you, but I'm just making sure that what I did was intelligent.
In a campaign I've been playing, my 2nd level Half Orc Barbarian just reached 3rd level, and I've decided on taking levels in cleric for a few levels, as i originally had 14 Wis, which has now been boosted to 16 from a Periapt of Wisdom, and i have newfound faith in Tyr (I'm neutral-good). Was the cleric stuff a good idea or should I have stuck with straight Barbarian? Oh and also, would it be overpowered if I wanted to eventually go a new rage mage that applies to divine casters? All i want is your honest opinion. Thanks =D

[MrNexx]

To me, it sounds like a great direction to take your character. It might not be optimal, but it works in-character and could be really cool.

[squishycube]

Mechanically, the classes don't mesh very well: Cleric usually has low dex and lots of armour. Barbarian is pretty much the opposite. But RP is what the game is about, so have fun!

[Wolf53226]

Well, depending how many levels of Barbarian you ultimately take, you might be gimping yourself on the level of spells you can cast, and after all, full casters eventually win. But as a melee monster, you might be better than a full cleric for a level or two, untill that full cleric gets divine power, I don't remember the level of the spell right now. You have put off getting that bit of cheese till a higher level.

This certainly isn't the most uber build, but it isn't going to gimp you to much either, really most of the time you are just going to be trailing what a straight cleric can do with his spell and be able to wade into battle with fewer buffs than the straight cleric.

Edit: Although the fluff around the character is good, so I say "go for it!"

[tarbrush]

No, take a level of cleric! You get two domain powers, cure light wounds 1/day and turn undead! It's awesome!

[Person_Man]

Mechanically, its a horrible idea. Full caster classes should not multi-class. They should often go into a Prestige Class with full caster progression, but that's different.

The optimal Barbarian build is usually Barbarian 2/Fighter 4/Prestige Class X.

Barbarian 2/Half-Orc Paragon 3/Prestige Class X also works well.

In general, my advice is that you can roleplay whatever you want to roleplay, but to build your class to be effective. You don't need to be a Cleric of Tyr to have faith in Tyr and roleplay your beliefs.

[Darrin]

Mechanically, its a horrible idea. Full caster classes should not multi-class. They should often go into a Prestige Class with full caster progression, but that's different.

I disagree. Dipping a few levels into Cleric can be good for a barbarian. Going full caster after starting in Barbarian would be a bad idea, but consider the following:

1) Strength domain gives you Enlarge Person. What Barbarian doesn't like being larger? Travel domain can also be a good pick, for the "Get Out of Entanglement Free Card" and Longstrider for those 100' charges.

2) Being able to CLW yourself (via potion or wand) just before you drop out of rage could mean the difference between unconciousness and a permanent dirt nap.

3) A three-level dip into Cleric gets you Lesser Restoration, which eliminates fatigue. Pick up Create Wondrous Item and make your own "anti-fatigue pills", buff items, and a Pearl of Power factory.

[MrNexx]

I agree with Darrin. If he sees himself as a Barbarian who went full caster, it's a problem. A barbarian who dips cleric, however, can get a lot of benefits.

[Red Sky Knight]

Except barbarians can't do anything that requires concentration before dropping out of a rage, casting CLW included.

[pestilenceawaits]

I played a barbarian cleric once it was awesome. Get the strength domain. self buffs are great and healing once your rage ends is nice as well.

[kensai]

As the song goes, don't count your HP while you're fighting at the melee; there'll be time enough for healing, when the fight is done.

Barbarian-turned-cleric sounds intriguing. I would not go so far into it that spellcasting becomes impossible should the benefits from the Periapt ever be lost, but C 1 sounds both feasible and interesting. Especially with the the Strength domain.

[Darrin]

Except barbarians can't do anything that requires concentration before dropping out of a rage, casting CLW included.

Whoops, forgot about that. However, using a potion or wand of CLW would work.

Whoops, forgot I could edit the original post. Ok, fixed.

[MrNexx]

Hmmm... do spell trigger items require concentration?

[Person_Man]

I disagree. Dipping a few levels into Cleric can be good for a barbarian. Going full caster after starting in Barbarian would be a bad idea, but consider the following:

1) Strength domain gives you Enlarge Person. What Barbarian doesn't like being larger? Travel domain can also be a good pick, for the "Get Out of Entanglement Free Card" and Longstrider for those 100' charges.

2) Being able to CLW yourself just before you drop out of rage could mean the difference between unconciousness and a permanent dirt nap.

3) A three-level dip into Cleric gets you Lesser Restoration, which eliminates fatigue. Pick up Create Wondrous Item and make your own "anti-fatigue pills", buff items, and a Pearl of Power factory.

First, Tyr's domains are Good, Knowledge, Retribution, Law, and War. So no Strength unless his DM wants to make a house rule, and no Travel domain unless he has completely given up on the fluff. Furthermore, if he wants Enlarge Person, he should just ask the Wizard in the group to cast Enlarge Person on him. Heck, Scrolls of Enlarge Person only cost 25 gp each, and a Wand of Enlarge Person with 50 charges only costs 750 gp. So even a Bard or Rogue with UMD could use it on him pretty often for cheap.

Second, you can't cast spells while you Rage. So he can't heal himself before you drop out of Rage. If he needs healing after Rage, the party healer should do it. If the party doesn't have a healer, they should chip in for a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, because a Barbarian with a few levels of Cleric won't have much effect healing an entire party.

Third, Fatigue is a pretty minor penalty, and only lasts until the end of the encounter. And in most cases, his Rage should last the entire encounter. If for some reason his DM loves marathon combat, he can just take the Extended Rage feat.

Fourth, first level Cleric spells are nifty at low levels. But once he hits levels 6+, they're moderately useless. The useful ones can be duplicated by cheap magic items (see above). And if he continues as a Cleric (rather then going back into Barbarian), he'll be perpetually behind and underpowered compared to the other casters in his group (unless his group also makes poor multi-classes decisions).

Fifth, most good melee Prestige Classes have a BAB requirement. By multi-classing into Cleric, he's delaying entry into a superior prestige class by one level. If the Prestige Class has a heavy feat chain requirement, he's potentially delaying himself much longer (assuming he goes the Barbarian/Fighter route). Prestige Classes are generally much more powerful then base melee classes, and so he should strive to get into a good one as soon as possible.

Having said that, I fully admit that he might want to go into it for fluff reasons. And that's fine. I won't argue with that. But unless his campaign is endind at level 5, taking levels in Cleric will kill his build.

[Ikkitosen]

A cleric with two lost casting levels is still significantly better than a non-caster. Accepting that you start from Barb 2, going into a cassting class in which you have a half decent casting stat looks like the way to make this character most powerful. He can't undo his Bbn levels, so talk of being underpowered is rubbish; a Bbn/Ftr/PrC will be weaker than a primary caster -2 levels.