A Cleric Archer [Archive] - Wizards Community

A Cleric Archer [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Asciiman
03-30-06, 04:11 AM I need some help designing an elven Cleric Archer.

Thus far he is level five, with 3 levels of cleric and two of ranger. Archery is the chosen path from the ranger, but I need some recommendation of which direction to go. I know archery isn't optimial, but it is my chosen path.

Please keep in mind that I want as much spell casting as possible, with all archery cabability second. I have the groups healing job after all.

I have access to just about all books, but nothing from UA, BoED, BoVD or any of the new magic variants. Weapons of Legacy is not an opton either.
PhoenixInferno
03-30-06, 04:14 AM Read posting guidelines in my sig. Offhand, I'd say you'll want Seeker of the Misty Isle (Complete Divine).
ZeroEffect
03-30-06, 04:46 AM I need some help designing an elven Cleric Archer.

Thus far he is level five, with 3 levels of cleric and two of ranger. Archery is the chosen path from the ranger, but I need some recommendation of which direction to go. I know archery isn't optimial, but it is my chosen path.

Please keep in mind that I want as much spell casting as possible, with all archery cabability second. I have the groups healing job after all.

I have access to just about all books, but nothing from UA, BoED, BoVD or any of the new magic variants. Weapons of Legacy is not an opton either.

Archery is perfectly optimal, actually. Nothing wrong with a cleric archer. Don't take any more levels of ranger. You don't want to lose out on any more cleric casting progression.

PhoenixInferno's suggestion is a good one.

Also, with clerics... You can mix in any number of levels of prestige classes from the Complete Divine book. The requirements are easy to meet and they all give full cleric casting, in addition to some cool powers (extra domains and whatnot). Check them out.
nerf_ninja
03-30-06, 06:55 AM Since you want casting, dump the ranger levels. Go straight cleric, and choose your feats to match.

1: PBS
3: Precise shot
6: Rapid Shot

Best spell: Divine Favor. Clvl 5 is only a +1 (luck) right now, but that gets better at 6/9. Use Cat's Grace for the dex bonus and Bless for a morale bonus to hit. Spiritual Weapon is an easy way to add ranged attacks as well.

Being Elf gives you the right proficiencies. If you absolutely must be ranger, be a human ranger and get that extra feat. Better yet, be a human fighter for 2 levels. Both those classes give you martial weapons, so there's no need for an elf in the mix. Ranger requires light armor to benefit from his combat style, which totally mitigates medium and heavy armors of the cleric. But the regular Rapid Shot does not. Two levels of fighter, plus elf, is a decent compromise if you want the light, fluffy elven flavor.

But really, your best option is truly to go cleric all the way. Check the above link for some excellent advice. They really rock starting at 7th level, when they get Divine Power, which grants full BAB.

-NN
Lilt
03-30-06, 10:03 AM I agree with the suggestion of dropping the ranger levels. Be sure to choose the Elf domain (grants PBS) and your other two feats can be Precise Shot and Rapid Shot. If you buy a Strand of Prayer beads without the bead of smiting then at level 5 you can cast Divine Favour for +3 to attack and damage.

Seeker of the Misty Isle is a good choice. Cleric doesn't usually get survival as a class skill, cou could take the travel domain and get it anyway but that partially defeats the point of taking SotMI. If you're allowed Divine Disciple (PGtF) then it's noteable that it gets Survival as a class skill.

Some would suggest Time or War as your second domain (assuming elf as your first). Both are good, although the Improved Initiative feat and access to Haste and Timestop from the Time domain is IMHO better. With SotMI you get the Travel domain (gives teleportation amongst other things) and if you go Divine Disciple then you get another domain of your choice... The choice would probably depend on what options are available from your deity.
amalcon
03-30-06, 11:03 AM This guy sounds like he's already in the middle of playing a Ranger 2/Cleric 3, which means he probably can't just drop the ranger levels. Rather than getting rid of them, however, you can make them work for you -- PhoenixInferno's suggestion of Seeker of the Misty Isle could work very well in that regard, keeping the Ranger's big draw (skill points) up. That will also give plenty of casting, and certainly not HURT your archery.
Tantalus222
03-30-06, 11:05 AM Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread, but how do you deal with the fact that Divine Favor and Divine Power have short durations and each take a standard action to cast? Do you just sit out the first two rounds of combat to buff? Or do you quicken one or both? In the campaign I'm currently playing, I find combat often hits us by surprise and we certainly can't plan to within a few rounds (duration of Divine Power) or likely even a minute (Duration of Divine Favor). The other option seems to be to go for persistent, but that takes either a very high level spell slot or divine metamagic and a ton of feats.

Thanks,

Tantalus
DruidWannabe
03-30-06, 11:31 AM Our Dm doesn't allow Persistant spell, so I usually keep one quickened Divine Favor, and if I am high enough level a quickened Divine Power. (we also use divine metamagic for Quicken most of the time, though one of our group in another game uses it with highten)

And back to original thread, Seeker of Misty Isle sounds perfect for you. And cleric archers work really well.
Lilt
03-30-06, 11:46 AM This guy sounds like he's already in the middle of playing a Ranger 2/Cleric 3, which means he probably can't just drop the ranger levels. Rather than getting rid of them, however, you can make them work for you -- PhoenixInferno's suggestion of Seeker of the Misty Isle could work very well in that regard, keeping the Ranger's big draw (skill points) up. That will also give plenty of casting, and certainly not HURT your archery.Possibly, but he did say he was designing the character rather than playing it. If in doubt: I don't think it's a good idea not to mention mor optimal ways to make the character. If people have restrictions based on what's set and what's not allowed then they can apply them themselves.

@Tantalus222: I cast them. My cleric archer had divine power for 2 levels before he got divine metamagic (persistant), and although he was probably more powerful after he got it going persistant he was still one of the most powerful members in the party. Often you can afford a round to buff, perhaps you can afford a few if you get to choose when the combat starts (before bursting down the door, for example).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Asciiman 03-30-06, 04:11 AM	I need some help designing an elven Cleric Archer. Thus far he is level five, with 3 levels of cleric and two of ranger. Archery is the chosen path from the ranger, but I need some recommendation of which direction to go. I know archery isn't optimial, but it is my chosen path. Please keep in mind that I want as much spell casting as possible, with all archery cabability second. I have the groups healing job after all. I have access to just about all books, but nothing from UA, BoED, BoVD or any of the new magic variants. Weapons of Legacy is not an opton either.
PhoenixInferno 03-30-06, 04:14 AM	Read posting guidelines in my sig. Offhand, I'd say you'll want Seeker of the Misty Isle (Complete Divine).
ZeroEffect 03-30-06, 04:46 AM	I need some help designing an elven Cleric Archer. Thus far he is level five, with 3 levels of cleric and two of ranger. Archery is the chosen path from the ranger, but I need some recommendation of which direction to go. I know archery isn't optimial, but it is my chosen path. Please keep in mind that I want as much spell casting as possible, with all archery cabability second. I have the groups healing job after all. I have access to just about all books, but nothing from UA, BoED, BoVD or any of the new magic variants. Weapons of Legacy is not an opton either. Archery is perfectly optimal, actually. Nothing wrong with a cleric archer. Don't take any more levels of ranger. You don't want to lose out on any more cleric casting progression. PhoenixInferno's suggestion is a good one. Also, with clerics... You can mix in any number of levels of prestige classes from the Complete Divine book. The requirements are easy to meet and they all give full cleric casting, in addition to some cool powers (extra domains and whatnot). Check them out.
nerf_ninja 03-30-06, 06:55 AM	Since you want casting, dump the ranger levels. Go straight cleric, and choose your feats to match. 1: PBS 3: Precise shot 6: Rapid Shot Best spell: Divine Favor. Clvl 5 is only a +1 (luck) right now, but that gets better at 6/9. Use Cat's Grace for the dex bonus and Bless for a morale bonus to hit. Spiritual Weapon is an easy way to add ranged attacks as well. Being Elf gives you the right proficiencies. If you absolutely must be ranger, be a human ranger and get that extra feat. Better yet, be a human fighter for 2 levels. Both those classes give you martial weapons, so there's no need for an elf in the mix. Ranger requires light armor to benefit from his combat style, which totally mitigates medium and heavy armors of the cleric. But the regular Rapid Shot does not. Two levels of fighter, plus elf, is a decent compromise if you want the light, fluffy elven flavor. But really, your best option is truly to go cleric all the way. Check the above link for some excellent advice. They really rock starting at 7th level, when they get Divine Power, which grants full BAB. -NN
Lilt 03-30-06, 10:03 AM	I agree with the suggestion of dropping the ranger levels. Be sure to choose the Elf domain (grants PBS) and your other two feats can be Precise Shot and Rapid Shot. If you buy a Strand of Prayer beads without the bead of smiting then at level 5 you can cast Divine Favour for +3 to attack and damage. Seeker of the Misty Isle is a good choice. Cleric doesn't usually get survival as a class skill, cou could take the travel domain and get it anyway but that partially defeats the point of taking SotMI. If you're allowed Divine Disciple (PGtF) then it's noteable that it gets Survival as a class skill. Some would suggest Time or War as your second domain (assuming elf as your first). Both are good, although the Improved Initiative feat and access to Haste and Timestop from the Time domain is IMHO better. With SotMI you get the Travel domain (gives teleportation amongst other things) and if you go Divine Disciple then you get another domain of your choice... The choice would probably depend on what options are available from your deity.
amalcon 03-30-06, 11:03 AM	This guy sounds like he's already in the middle of playing a Ranger 2/Cleric 3, which means he probably can't just drop the ranger levels. Rather than getting rid of them, however, you can make them work for you -- PhoenixInferno's suggestion of Seeker of the Misty Isle could work very well in that regard, keeping the Ranger's big draw (skill points) up. That will also give plenty of casting, and certainly not HURT your archery.
Tantalus222 03-30-06, 11:05 AM	Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread, but how do you deal with the fact that Divine Favor and Divine Power have short durations and each take a standard action to cast? Do you just sit out the first two rounds of combat to buff? Or do you quicken one or both? In the campaign I'm currently playing, I find combat often hits us by surprise and we certainly can't plan to within a few rounds (duration of Divine Power) or likely even a minute (Duration of Divine Favor). The other option seems to be to go for persistent, but that takes either a very high level spell slot or divine metamagic and a ton of feats. Thanks, Tantalus
DruidWannabe 03-30-06, 11:31 AM	Our Dm doesn't allow Persistant spell, so I usually keep one quickened Divine Favor, and if I am high enough level a quickened Divine Power. (we also use divine metamagic for Quicken most of the time, though one of our group in another game uses it with highten) And back to original thread, Seeker of Misty Isle sounds perfect for you. And cleric archers work really well.
Lilt 03-30-06, 11:46 AM	This guy sounds like he's already in the middle of playing a Ranger 2/Cleric 3, which means he probably can't just drop the ranger levels. Rather than getting rid of them, however, you can make them work for you -- PhoenixInferno's suggestion of Seeker of the Misty Isle could work very well in that regard, keeping the Ranger's big draw (skill points) up. That will also give plenty of casting, and certainly not HURT your archery.Possibly, but he did say he was designing the character rather than playing it. If in doubt: I don't think it's a good idea not to mention mor optimal ways to make the character. If people have restrictions based on what's set and what's not allowed then they can apply them themselves. @Tantalus222: I cast them. My cleric archer had divine power for 2 levels before he got divine metamagic (persistant), and although he was probably more powerful after he got it going persistant he was still one of the most powerful members in the party. Often you can afford a round to buff, perhaps you can afford a few if you get to choose when the combat starts (before bursting down the door, for example).