Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Springmay 01-04-06, 09:06 PM	Hi everyone, I'm a new poster and a fairly new player. I've never played 3.5 before and I've never played a cleric. But the team really needs one. Are there any official or unoficial guides to makeing and playing one out there? I'd love to start with some ideas and tips. I already checked the COB and there is no cleric handbook in that library. Thanks!
Avalongod 01-04-06, 09:25 PM	Get your hands on Complete Divine. That is the closest thing to a "cleric's handbook" that there is.
a_psh 01-04-06, 09:54 PM	As said, Complte Divine might have some useful pointers for playing a cleric. (Most of it, however, is extra content - optional feats, spells, and prestige classes. A few bits of said extra stuff is quite broken, too.)
Endarire 01-04-06, 09:59 PM	Investigate the Optimization Library (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=213480), though note it is not entirely up-to-date. -EE
ressurrector 01-04-06, 10:02 PM	Best advice I can give you is this: pick some spells that you like, pick a deity and alignment that you like, and then think of how you can use them to best effect. Generally I like to play the combat cleric, they get some great combat abilities. As far as healing goes, buy or make a wand of cure light wounds, then you can use your spells for other things.
tsuyoshikentsu 01-05-06, 12:21 AM	Better advice: Get Persist Spell, Divine Metamagic, Extra Turning times a billion and as many nightsticks as you can get your hands on. Hand a wand of CLW to the nearest divine caster or UMDer. Tell the fighter/barb to step off. Persist divine might. You win.
Crunchy Frog 01-05-06, 12:55 PM	No need to buy an optional rulebook -- just check out the Cleric with Class (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20041125a) article on the D&D web site. While you're at it, check out the whole Characters with Class (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/cwc) archive. (The old familiar 11 classes from the Player's Handbook are at the bottom of the list; the higher up ones are from optional books.) The article stresses the importance of good spell selection. Here's a quick word of advice -- the cleric's strong point, as far as spells are concerned, consists of healing and helping out your allies (or yourself). Concentrate on that and leave the damage dealing to the wizards/sorcerers. There's no need to prepare cure spells in advance (use spontaneous casting for that). Here are some of the more useful spells to prepare: L1: Bless, Shield of Faith, Protection from Evil. L2: Hold Person, Silence, the six spells that give +4 bonuses to a specific ability scores (Bull's Strength in particular). Also Resist Energy and Remove Paralysis, if you're going up against enemies that use that kind of attack. L3: Magic Circle Against Evil (if your fighters tend to stay close together), Dispel Magic (especially useful), and sometimes Protection from Energy. The divination spells can be good, depending on what kind of adventure you're on. Also, the Summon Monster spells make a pretty good way to start off a long battle, but not for very low level characters. You need them to last more than one or two rounds. As others have mentioned, wands of cure light wounds are great for when you have a break between battles.
Morelen 01-06-06, 04:30 PM	The best book that I can recommend for a for a new player is "Defenders of the Faith". It isn't specifically for 3.0 or 3.5, but does give some excellent basic information and advice on dieties, cleric domains and spell preparation - very useful if you are new to p[laying a cleric. It also contains information on churches, orginizations and prestige classes which can be helpful later on.
Milo HoBo 01-07-06, 07:20 AM	Here is something to help you if you aren't rules savy. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050329a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050405a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050412a In addition, for casters in general I recommend these http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040727a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040803a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040810a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040817a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040824a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040831a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040907a as well as http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050419a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050426a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050503a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050510a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050524a http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050607a I hope that these help. And always remember that they can be printed out for later reference. I know it is alot of material, but spending the time to understand your new class is something that helps out the entire group. Not to mention you will enjoy playing more if you know what you can do.
Alisair Longreach II 01-07-06, 12:32 PM	In addition to the Complete Divine there are also a few third party rulebooks out there if you want to spend the money and track them down. Quintessential Cleric 1 & 2 Book of Hallowed Might 1 & 2