While we are on this topic, perhaps we can start detailing how a cleric is expected to fare in combat from 1st to 20th lv?
Not every DM allows nightsticks or DMM: persist, so I think it may be better to examine how viable it really is under these "so-called more reasonable" circumstances.
1st lv: (Assuming 25-point buy)
Dwarf cleric1 (hp:11)
Str14, Dex11, Con16, Int10, Wis15, Cha6
Saves: Fort+5, Reflex+0, Will+4
Skills: max out concentration and knowledge: religion
Feats: not sure (quite a number of viable choices, lets settle on improved initiative for now), weapon focus(b)
Domains: strength (good spells), war (free weapon focus/prof with decent weapon).
AC: 16 (Base10, +4scalemail, +2heavy shield)
Damage: +3 (+2str, +1focus), 1d8+2
Spells prepared: enlarge person, bless, divine favour
Combat: Attack doesn't seem that great, so we will need to boost that with judicious uses of charging and flanking (ready your attack for when your ally flanks if need be). This can improve to +7, or +8 when you get a masterwork weapon/cast bless or divine favour, or +9 with both.
You don't get many spells, so use them sparingly (1/encounter). Bless is nifty for boosting the entire party, so maybe you can co-operate with the wizard to scribe multiple scrolls (and its duration of 1 minute is more than enough). Divine favour isn't really all that useful at this juncture, but it does stack with bless. Enlarge person perhaps offers the most benefit at this stage - you do get -2AC (woe if you charge), but get reach and more damage (+1 from str, plus your warhammer improves from 1d8 to 2d6) in return.
So with the tactical application of a buff spell, you should at least be on par with the party fighter. Only problem is that you can't support both out-of-combat healing and in-combat buffing, wands of CLW/vigor are out of reach, and your party may lack the resources/downtime to stock up on scrolls.
I can't quite recall off-hand what useful abilities I can swap turn undead out for. Any tips in this aspect are much appreciated.
- More may come later, if I am still in the mood for typing after my bath.
- Back from my bath. Here we go...
2nd - 4th lv: +1 to wis at 4th lv (were you expecting me to add it to dex?
)
You get +1bab every lv, so you aren't any worse off compared to a fighter. Focus on getting the heaviest armour you can find (might be problematic if you have to compete with the fighter, so maybe you will always be 1 step behind, in that you have to settle for the fighter's hand-me-downs). But anyways, get banded mail, half-plate, then fullplate ASAP. This improves your AC to 20. And have everyone chip in for a wand of CLW/vigor and hold on to it. This will take care of your party's healing needs for now.
Feats - Likely touch of healing for the utility it grants. One of your 2nd lv slots will probably be permanently dedicated to a CMW spell. If you have dungeonscape, contemplate losing the strength domain benefit for the ability to cast restorations spontaneously (these are some of those spells you won't always need, but will really appreciate being able to access them when the situation does pop up). Together with the ability to spontaneously cast healing spells, you should have the healing part covered in a pinch (remember that you are a melee combatant first, and a healer second, so your party should know better than to rely on you ultimately).
Spells - this is the most significant part. Bull's str is always welcome. Shield other is not too shabby (great to ward against focus fire). Alternatively, sound burst and hold person are great for debuffing the enemy (DC15 is still decent). Because at this juncture, foes can still deal sufficient damage to take you down in 1-2 rounds, your party can't afford to just charge headlong into combat, so it helps to play safe and disable them first. In this regard, the cleric is tactically superior to the fighter, who can only wait by the sidelines for the opportune moment to strike. But I believe the fighter will still be the key source of damage. Cleric is still more of a battlefield controller+backup fighter.
5th and 6th lv:
Not much difference. You lose another point of bab. 3rd lv spells are very useful. Prayer gives your party +1 on several rolls, while penalizing your foes by the same amount. Summon monster is nasty for the huge centipede it can bring in (grapple to disable a single enemy), magic circle is always useful against foes utilizing mind-affecting magic while dispel magic never grows stale. For feats, I suppose you could start with extend spell (or get a metamagic rod of extend).
