Cleric of Justice [Archive] - Wizards Community

Cleric of Justice [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Centauri
11-03-06, 11:31 PM I have a concept of a Lawful Neutral cleric who would channel negative energy. One of his domains would be Law.

My question is how well a negative energy cleric works in a party. He can still cast cure spells, but only if he prepares them. He can still deal with undead, but how useful is it to rebuke or control them? A paladin might not even allow them to hang around the group.

Controlled undead seem fairly useful, though, even more so than summoned animals since the cleric's inflict spells can repair them and they can stand watch all night without disappearing.

Any suggestions?
frasmage
11-03-06, 11:45 PM might I suggest positive energy for a good-intentioned party. That will A. keep you out of trouble with the law, because many societies view raising and toying with undead as evil and B. its jsut that much more useful to heal your allies. Inflict spells are fairly weak in comparison to the benefits of cure spells
Mitchell
11-04-06, 12:21 AM To answer your question directly, not as well as a positive energy channeling cleric.
To expound, I agree with Frasmage. The party will want/need healing. it is a lot easier to cover that when you can call upon what is required when it is required. Memorization requires a balancing act; too many memorized are wasted, while too few can be deadly. There is no way to know for sure.
Centauri
11-04-06, 08:18 AM might I suggest positive energy for a good-intentioned party. That will A. keep you out of trouble with the law, because many societies view raising and toying with undead as evil That's the beauty of him being a Cleric of Law. He realizes that sometime the law must resort to distasteful methods to accomplish its goals. Sometimes convicted criminals are used as slave labor to create great architectual works. And better that undead be brought under lawful sway than allowed to roam free.

and B. its jsut that much more useful to heal your allies. Inflict spells are fairly weak in comparison to the benefits of cure spells True, though he could always just prepare the cure spells and cast the inflict spells spontaneously if his undead laborers happened to be saving the party some hitpoints.

Yes, deciding how many cure spells to have available will be a balancing act, but the cleric is one of the most powerful classes. It should be perfectly playable, even if somewhat sub-optimized.

By the way, does anyone know the answers to the following questions?

-Do undead commanded with the Rebuke/Command Undead ability count toward the limit imposed by the Animate Dead family of spells?

-Does a creature's turning resistance help it resist being rebuked or commanded?

-Do bolstered undead fare better against rebuke/control attempts or just turn/destroy attempts?
Richmud
11-05-06, 04:14 PM The feat spontainious healer from complete divine allows nonevil caster to spontainously cast cure spells wis mod times per day
DreamerInsane
11-05-06, 05:08 PM -Do undead commanded with the Rebuke/Command Undead ability count toward the limit imposed by the Animate Dead family of spells?

-Does a creature's turning resistance help it resist being rebuked or commanded?

-Do bolstered undead fare better against rebuke/control attempts or just turn/destroy attempts?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm

Yes, turning=rebuking

I'd say against both.
Reversefigure4
11-05-06, 05:33 PM You might also consider stocking up on a wand of Cure Light Wounds or two (even get the party to chip in). You can use them effortlessly, and it cuts down on the amount of healing spells you need to prepare (you'll still want to take a few for emergencies, though).
StevenO
11-05-06, 06:45 PM If the party contains a Paladin then channelling negative energy may present real problems. Without those morale concerns then your only problem is the reduced healing capacity because you actually have to be prepared to heal.

One feat to consider can be found in the Libris Mortis (and the web preview for the book): Tomb-Tainted-Soul. It quite simply puts a touch of undeath in a character and allows negative energy to heal them which can be quite usefull.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Centauri 11-03-06, 11:31 PM	I have a concept of a Lawful Neutral cleric who would channel negative energy. One of his domains would be Law. My question is how well a negative energy cleric works in a party. He can still cast cure spells, but only if he prepares them. He can still deal with undead, but how useful is it to rebuke or control them? A paladin might not even allow them to hang around the group. Controlled undead seem fairly useful, though, even more so than summoned animals since the cleric's inflict spells can repair them and they can stand watch all night without disappearing. Any suggestions?
frasmage 11-03-06, 11:45 PM	might I suggest positive energy for a good-intentioned party. That will A. keep you out of trouble with the law, because many societies view raising and toying with undead as evil and B. its jsut that much more useful to heal your allies. Inflict spells are fairly weak in comparison to the benefits of cure spells
Mitchell 11-04-06, 12:21 AM	To answer your question directly, not as well as a positive energy channeling cleric. To expound, I agree with Frasmage. The party will want/need healing. it is a lot easier to cover that when you can call upon what is required when it is required. Memorization requires a balancing act; too many memorized are wasted, while too few can be deadly. There is no way to know for sure.
Centauri 11-04-06, 08:18 AM	might I suggest positive energy for a good-intentioned party. That will A. keep you out of trouble with the law, because many societies view raising and toying with undead as evil That's the beauty of him being a Cleric of Law. He realizes that sometime the law must resort to distasteful methods to accomplish its goals. Sometimes convicted criminals are used as slave labor to create great architectual works. And better that undead be brought under lawful sway than allowed to roam free. and B. its jsut that much more useful to heal your allies. Inflict spells are fairly weak in comparison to the benefits of cure spells True, though he could always just prepare the cure spells and cast the inflict spells spontaneously if his undead laborers happened to be saving the party some hitpoints. Yes, deciding how many cure spells to have available will be a balancing act, but the cleric is one of the most powerful classes. It should be perfectly playable, even if somewhat sub-optimized. By the way, does anyone know the answers to the following questions? -Do undead commanded with the Rebuke/Command Undead ability count toward the limit imposed by the Animate Dead family of spells? -Does a creature's turning resistance help it resist being rebuked or commanded? -Do bolstered undead fare better against rebuke/control attempts or just turn/destroy attempts?
Richmud 11-05-06, 04:14 PM	The feat spontainious healer from complete divine allows nonevil caster to spontainously cast cure spells wis mod times per day
DreamerInsane 11-05-06, 05:08 PM	-Do undead commanded with the Rebuke/Command Undead ability count toward the limit imposed by the Animate Dead family of spells? -Does a creature's turning resistance help it resist being rebuked or commanded? -Do bolstered undead fare better against rebuke/control attempts or just turn/destroy attempts? http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm Yes, turning=rebuking I'd say against both.
Reversefigure4 11-05-06, 05:33 PM	You might also consider stocking up on a wand of Cure Light Wounds or two (even get the party to chip in). You can use them effortlessly, and it cuts down on the amount of healing spells you need to prepare (you'll still want to take a few for emergencies, though).
StevenO 11-05-06, 06:45 PM	If the party contains a Paladin then channelling negative energy may present real problems. Without those morale concerns then your only problem is the reduced healing capacity because you actually have to be prepared to heal. One feat to consider can be found in the Libris Mortis (and the web preview for the book): Tomb-Tainted-Soul. It quite simply puts a touch of undeath in a character and allows negative energy to heal them which can be quite usefull.