Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 PhyrexianKitsune Dec 13, 2014 20:14:09	As the title asks. I want to make a character who can field both a strong magical offense while also being a powerful support character that buff and heal party members. I also want this character to be hich-cha and don't like any of the deities that offer the light domain that are AL legal, so single classes light cleric is out of the question. For RP reasons, I have decided my "offensive" side will be sorcerer, and this is non-negotable. However, for my "support" side, I am torn between bard and cleric. Cleric/Sorc is far more versatile in terms of spells and has the ability to remove status effects and ressurect party members while also being an extremely strong healer. It however suffers from quite a bit of MAD. Bard/Sorc, meanwhile, has cha-SADness, class features and spells that make it a powerful buffer and more out-of-combat utility then the Cleric/Sorc, but loses quite a bit of spellcasting versatility and also can't really cut it as a "healer" due to lacking significant status removal effects and ressurection spells. So, seeing this, I am torn on which route I should go. If anybody has advice for me on this, I would be grateful!
#2 sigfile Dec 14, 2014 8:46:11	On the Bardic side, go Lore. At the sixth Bard level you'll get the ability to pick any two spells you like from any spell list.  You'll get two more at tenth if you progress that far in Bard. That ought to cover potent buffing / healing / utility nicely. That being said...   Cleric - you'll still get to choose a domain if you go this route. It sounds like the diety choice is important to you. Who were you thinking? Have you considered Our Lord and Destroyer, Talos? A Tempest Cleric / Sorcerer that focuses on lighting and thunder attacks can be a real force of nature (rimshot). Once or twice per rest you'll be able to maximize lightining or thunder damage.  As a bonus you'll get heavy armor proficiency, so you won't need to invest in DEX if you don't want to.
#3 Ashrym Dec 14, 2014 11:56:55	PhyrexianKitsune wrote:
#4 Sorxores Dec 15, 2014 6:53:46	Bard does receive lesser/greater RESTORATION just like the Cleric. The only thing the cleric get that the bard doesn't prayer of healing(spell lvl 2, 10minute casting time mass healing spell) but gain song of rest instead that DO NOT USE SPELL per day and revivify (spell lvl 3 combat rez) at level 5, but at level 6 you could learn it using additional secret and learn any spell from any spell list (and later replace revivify with ressurection if you wish)   Bard will also allow you to learn contagion, great melee attack spell to shut down any creature (even legendary creature with legendary save)
#5 wmdw45 Dec 15, 2014 15:06:40	It must be admitted that Bless, Aid, and Death Ward on the cleric list are also pretty good. All are good candidates for Magical Secrets.
#6 mellored Dec 15, 2014 15:09:41	Tempest or light cleric can do some blasting. And they can easily pick up Cha skills as well.
#7 PhyrexianKitsune Dec 16, 2014 7:49:56	Ehh...I don't like any of the deities that provide the light domain and a tempest cleric needs str and con and wis far more then cha, meaning that I won't have anything past 12 in the cha department and for RP reasons I want AT LEAST 14 cha on this character, so a pure class cleric is sadly out here since the only domain that can afford dumped strength and bleh(like 12) con is light, which has no deities I like that are Adventures league legal. Also, I did not know that bards get restoration. After looking at the spell list it's pretty clear that bard can heal on par with a cleric now, and even gets both ressurection and raise dead to boot, which IMO is very nice though totally unexpected.  I am more used to the 3.x/PF bards who can't really remove status effects without a high UMD skill and restoration wands and only get a res effect as a level 20 capstone and only if they take a specific archtype.   Anyway, with that in mind, I like the idea of the lore bard/sorcerer but I am not sure how I should space out the levels or how much I should take of each class....if anybody has ideas on this I'd be grateful. Straight bard, IMO, is tempting me right now, but I really do want the sorc levels for three reasons, though admitedly most of them are fluff-based. The reasons are 1) I like the draconic flavor of the sorcerer, I think it would be neat to play a character with an intrest in draconic lore and a close connection to dragons in some shape or form 2)I like the idea of a cloth-wearing support/healer character I.E. a "white mage" type, and the light amor of a pure bard ruins that image and 3) I like the idea of mixing offensive casting with support/healing power, to further play up that "white mage" style of play.   However, 3), which is the only mechanical reason not to go full bard can be partly mitigated by picking up a few offensive spells via Lore college and 1) can be done largely by playing a dragonborn, .but that dosen't get rid of the annoying problem of light armor ruining my character image and even further I was thinking of this character as being more of a non-dragonic being with an intrest and connection to dragons rather then a anthro-dragon/lizardman. If anybody has suggestions on how I can achievce what I want RP-wise with a pure bard I'd be grateful since thats, mechanically, probally the best route for this character.   EDIT: I figured out a way to do largely what I want in terms of imagery/fluff with a pure bard. The Bonus feat vairent human is, in fact, adventures league legal. This means that I can take magic initiate as my first level feat, choosing sorc as my magic class to gain acssess to both a "blast-y" cantrip and the spell mage armor, the latter of which allows me to run around in robes and not have to worry about light armor ruining the "imagery" I want. Between lore college getting me extra magical secrects and the standard magical secrects, I should be able to pick up enough "offensive casting" to get everything I want with a straight bard. Yeah, using vairent human feels kind of cheap, but here, it works, and works well.