Y'ello. Came here after realizing that WotC boards aren't what they used to be; everyone who's anyone moved here.
This concludes my introductory arse-kissing.Allright. In a month or so a new Faerun 3.5e campaign will be starting up and I'm about to take my first step into pure awesome, known as
playing a Cleric. His name is Orwell Novash. The short story is that he's a Neutral Evil cleric of
Oghma (Greater god of knowledge; Neutral). The long story is...[spoiler]Is the eldest of 4 siblings: 2 boys, 2 girls. Young Orwell worshiped his father, who was the hard-working descendant of a powerful and heroic warlord of Amn. Orwell was so fascinated by his glorious heritage that his parents even gave him the signet ring of his great great grandfather (the warlord). He never let that ring out of his sight, and was convinced that he was destined to be a great hero himself one day.
As a pre-teen, Orwell and his younger sister was kidnapped by a cult. Horrid things happened which he has never spoken about (and his sister was too young to remember), but later escaped with his sister. His father helped authorities turn in the kidnappers, and one year later was himself kidnapped by the same cult, and mailed back to the family in individual little pieces. Orwell was traumatized to the point where he later (from the stressor of defending the older sister against a gang) became a classic vigilante serial killer, complete with rituals reenacting his childhood traumas, and his victims of choice were anyone resembling his tormentors... those who willingly harmed or tainted society (violent people, corrupt people, etc.). This is effectively his evil alignment, and also the source for his self-loathing.
Despite this nasty little secret, he was accepted into Candlekeep, and became a Namer; a priest of
Oghma. These priests of knowledge found great use for Orwell's murderous ways by "aiming" him at the people who spread ignorance and misinformation. Orwell's brother, Alukar (played by my buddy) became a wizard and earned his place as an apprentice of K. Blackstaff. Orwell's self-hatred forced him to transfer his grand delusions of heroic destiny onto Alukar. Thus, Orwell explains away his evil aura as a side effect from doing Oghma's less palatable work, while murdering and manipulating every badguy he can, and pushing Alukar into the limelight of heroism and greatness; Orwell became the murderous, manipulative shadow behind his glorious (and untainted by evil) brother. These things define his life.[/spoiler]
As of now, I have a pretty basic build idea where he becomes a Loremaster as his 8th character level [spoiler]
FEATSHuman: Skill Focus - Knowledge (local, maybe) --> for Loremaster feat prerequisite
1HD: Scribe Scroll --> #1 of the 3 "craft or metamagic" for Loremaster feat prerequisite
3HD: Still Spell --> #2 of the 3 "craft or metamagic" for Loremaster feat prerequisite
6HD: Craft Wand --> #3 of the 3 "craft or metamagic" for Loremaster feat prerequisite
SKILLSCleric7: 10 ranks in Knowledge - Arcana --> #1 of the 2 "knowledge at 10 ranks" for Loremaster skill prerequisite
Cleric7: 10 ranks in Knowledge - Religion --> #2 of the 2 "knowledge at 10 ranks" for Loremaster skill prerequisite[/spoiler]
I tend to justify my choices in a humble and happy medium between concept and mechanics [spoiler]
DOMAINSKnowledge - Divination caster level boost and decent spell list. For finding victims and making informed choices.
Trickery - For keeping his nasty secrets, literally getting away with murder.
STATS (32 point buy)
Str12, Dex12, Con12, Int14, Wis14, Cha14
- The STR shows he's able to fight a bit, but he's ultimately going to be a spellcaster with skill monkey features.
- The DEX is for... okay, okay! I'll admit I can't stand having a character with flaws... geez, get off my back.
- That INT score is for taking advantage of all those skills provided by the domains.
- I know a WIS of 14 is sub-par on these boards, since at levels 16-19 his WIS will be stuck at 18 without a Wish or appropriate tome. PLUS there's the whole crappy-save-DC problem. But I can't help myself.
- CHA of 14 to reflect how he got away with his lies and murder in his youth. Plus it's nice for turn checks and social skills.
SKILLSMax ranks until level 7 will go into Bluff, Concentration, Know Arcana, Know Religion, and Spellcraft.
- Bluff, Know Arcana and Know Religion provide useful synergy bonuses and fit both theme and background.
- Concentration and Spellcraft are must-haves for any primary caster.
Once I hit Loremaster, my thought process on skill ranks goes like this:
- Synergy-via-Class skills is win; Local Knowledge for +2 Gather Info, Handle Animal for +2 Ride, Know Nature & Planar & Geography & Dungeoneering for assorted +2 Survival, Architecture for +2 conditional search checks, Nobility for +2 Diplomacy
- Orwell is a priest of Knowledge, and he is Oghma's bitch, right down to his very soul! Hoarding knowledge (Knowledge skill ranks) should make Orwell salivate and be a high priority.
- Bluff is always a class skill (thanks to Trickery domain), and needs to be maintained, so he can keep his secrets.
FEATSHuman: Skill Focus - Knowledge (local) --> As part of his "kill thy neighbor" youth, he learned alot about the local area, to hunt victims.
1HD: Scribe Scroll --> Every spell which is a "one day I'll need it" spell should be on a scroll.
Period.
3HD: Still Spell --> Casting in a grapple, or while bound, or while holding something in 2 hands. When I pick my metamagic, I pick it based on what spells I can use it on
today, as in level 0-1 spells (which become level 1-2 spells).
6HD: Craft Wand --> Every level 0-4 spell you'll want to spam, and don't need alot of caster levels to make useful, should be in a wand. Spells which you'll likely use between 10-50 times in a long time period should also be in a wand. Cure light wounds, Lesser Restoration, Endure Elements, Obscuring Mist, Remove Paralysis, Make Whole, Gentle Repose, etc.
9HD: Quickdraw --> For quick access to wands or scrolls, for full-attack throws (magic stone or javelins). Mixed with a quiver of elhonna and a fist full of wands, this feat explodes your low level spell options at any given time.
12HD: Quicken Spell --> Once again, the economy of actions is priority #1. With 6th level slots, can Quicken any level 0-2 spell... and there aren't many level 1 spells worth using Quicken on anyway, so I think this is good timing.
15HD: Silent Spell --> From ambush, or while in a self-inflicted Silence spell which I would use for stealth (or to screw over an enemy caster)
18HD: Eschew Materials --> This is mostly to complete the VSM disposal trinity, and add the "I'm deadly when I'm naked" concept. If you notice, there are actually a decent number of spells that
don't require a holy symbol (such as all Cure and Inflict spells, for a start).
LOREMASTER SECRETSLevel 8 (Clr7/Lrm1) = Instant Mastery (4 ranks in either Diplomacy or Hide) --> Depending on how the game flows (intrigue or dungeonCrawl)
Level 10 (Clr7/Lrm3) = Stamina (+2 Fort) --> Makes up somewhat for Losing Fortitude from the Loremaster class.
Level 12 (Clr7/Lrm5) = Avoidance (+2 Reflex) --> Helps soften the glaring weakness of both the Cleric and Loremaster class.
Level 14 (Clr7/Lrm7) = Applicable Knowledge (feat: Combat Expertise) --> Touch attacks are usually easy to make. Why not get +5 to AC while doing so?
Level 16 (Clr7/Lrm9) = More Newfound Arcana (level 2 slot) --> This needs no justification[/spoiler]
The following things are static, non-moving parts of this character:
Oh! One last note. The DM is giving a big hearty stamp of approval that, even though I'm playing an evil alignment, my spontaneous casting is still Cure spells (not Inflict spells). Groovy, no?
So, given what you now know (or cared to read), I'd like to prompt your brain with a few questions:
- Am I being a putz for trying a Cleric Loremaster build?
- What are your thoughts on Domain choices for this happy little fellow?
- If you were to rate this from 1 to 10, with a rating of 1 being pure unfiltered vomit and 10 being "h4x FTW", what would you rate my current idea?
- What tweaks would you do?
- How would you redefine this build if you had to play this role?
- If you were to squeeze Divine Metamagic in there, where would you fit it?
