Cleric, Druid, or Archivist

[Hario]

So one of my close friends asked me to be in her game next semester, I bearly know her friends but from what she's told me there is a bard/rogue/barb (MAD!), a fighter, a rogue, and a sorcerer, there was a cleric and a paladin but they are unlikely to come back. Judging by the DM I am going to be a whole lot more experienced in the game than they are, she is afraid because my last character with another DM was Clericzilla that I might try it again, which I won't (it was a way of sticking it to the min-maxing rules laywers in my group who never heard of the persistant metamagic cheese) I want to make a good Rping character and help the group without overstepping on the other character's feet.

So any suggestions? I'm thinking cleric, druid, or archivist may be the best in this group but clerics and druids are naturally overpowering, even in core (she wants to stay core + whatever you show to her ahead of time). Archivist seems weird to me though helpful, I like being useful myself and not just a heal-bot (my favorite characters are wizards and sorcerers). I could make another melee character but last time due to clericzilla I outdid the fighter/warforged juggernaut by alot (not to mention better BAB and strength). I played an artificer before and loved playing them but they are not amazing with healing and by the way it looks, we'll need a healer because some of the newbies are completely ridiculous when it comes to encounters.

Also any suggestions try to enclude builds if you'd like.

[Jasdoif]

Have you considered the cloistered cleric variant?

[Hario]

I have and I really don't like cloistered cleric too much :/

[The Glyphstone]

What level are you guys going to be? If you're planning on a passive behind-the-scenes healbot type, there's nothing that tops the Radiant Servant of Pelor, with the Healing domain and Domain Spontaneity.

[Hario]

I think we are starting at lvl 5, and as a note, healing isn't bad but I don't want to be a heal bot, though I know some of the PCs are chaotic and don't invest in any wisdom (IC and OOC)

[Lemur]

Well, you don't have to play a character at full power all the time, and if you're an experienced player you should know how to tone down the class so it doesn't dominate the scene all the time.

That said, if you (or your DM) are still concerned about class power, a spontaneous divine caster, like the spirit shaman or the favored soul might be a good option (Or the mystic from the Dragonlance Campaign setting, which I like the flavor and style for better than the favored soul).

[Vacerious]

Try making a cleric with a different approach. One of the favorite characters in my group was an ogre cleric named Krunk. Krunk was friends with the party Dwarven Wizard (me) and affectionately named him Snowball (the dwarf had white hair and a white beard.) Krunk usually acted like he had his mental stats all at 8 (most of them were actually at around 14), but would occasionally surprise everyone in the party with a brilliant moment of insight. It's fair to say that Krunk will be sorely missed.

My point is try to think of a unique approach for one of those classes. But don't boil yourself down to the support caster/healbot role. Play something unique and fun first.

Snoogans,
Vacerious

[JaronK]

Archivists are honestly one of the very few classes that's stronger than clerics and druids, so avoid that if you want to avoid cheese. I'd go cleric, and just avoid DMM. That said, the power of your character has nothing to do with your roleplay. Just make the cleric interesting in personality and go from there.

JaronK

[Weasel of Doom]

Archivists do get fairly broken if you find and buy scrolls for all the best domian spells and spells for other classes but if you stay with cleric and druid spells they are not too bad.

[Hario]

but I thought you could only cast domain spells if a cleric with the scribe scroll feat had it, not just arcane scrolls. Though if there was an artificer I could see where the cheese is.

[tarbrush]

but I thought you could only cast domain spells if a cleric with the scribe scroll feat had it, not just arcane scrolls. Though if there was an artificer I could see where the cheese is.

No, all you need is a cleric who can cast the spell. The archivist can make the scroll himself, as you don't need to know a spell to make a scroll of it, merely have someone on hand who can cast it.

[JaronK]

No, all you need is a cleric who can cast the spell. The archivist can make the scroll himself, as you don't need to know a spell to make a scroll of it, merely have someone on hand who can cast it.

Exactly. For all magic item creation, you can make the item if you don't have the spell, but someone else does and helps you. Use this with scrolls.

Now grab spells off powerful lists like Paladins and Rangers

JaronK

[Vuzzmop]

Cloistered cleric isn't that bad. They are more cleric-ey than normal clerics, and aren't quite so game breaking. In my game I don't allow normal clerics, they just don't make any sense.

[Illiterate Scribe]

If you don't go out of your way to find horrific spells, or use (shudder!) Alternative Source Spell, Archivist is very fun - it also has useful class features all the way through.