I really need some help with a cleric build.

[Ohnooze]

So I have 20 hours into this game and I still am barely past the part where you meet Oleg.

I just starting over and trying to find a decent build.

I really would like to make a cleric healer/tank but this type of game is a bit newer for me and I clearly have no idea how to get off to a good start.

I'm also kind of partial to dwarves.

Any help would be awesome.

[Kaytid]

I think cleric works more like a caster than a tank just cause Ecclesitheurge is so much stronger than any other cleric types and you can kinda play him like a mage/healer in one guy if you get a good primary domain. If you are interested i can post a build.

[Ohnooze]

That sounds good!

[Mork]

Cleric tank is extremely hard to do, offtank a lot easier. At least for difficulty hard and lower.

Lawful good 19 cleric / 1 traditional monk quarterstaff user. As the game progress he will be able to tank relatively easily and be a very descent physical damage dealer.

1 fighter / 19 cleric community/animal using a towershield or heavyshield. A very good offtank that can take on 95% of the monsters right away and bring some dps with his pet later.

20 crusader can be a good offtank if you are willing to sacrifice a domain and some spell/day.

[jsaving]

I would echo @Mork, clerics have subpar melee DPS and lack the defensive staying power to be great off-tanks either. Probably your best option would be to use a reach weapon and cast spells like archon's aura that would soften up foes for your actual tank and off-tank.

If you do want a reach-weapon cleric, you'd probably want an animal/community cleric or perhaps an animal-domain herald caller if you want to be able to spontaneously summon. However if you switch to back-line caster as suggested by @fkleef then a robe-wearing ecclesitheurge becomes a solid option.

[Ohnooze]

Originally posted by Fkleef:

I think cleric works more like a caster than a tank just cause Ecclesitheurge is so much stronger than any other cleric types and you can kinda play him like a mage/healer in one guy if you get a good primary domain. If you are interested i can post a build.

Ecclesitheurge sounds good to me. If you have a write up I'd love to see it.

[Kaytid]

Well im not really sure how well it goes since im not a pro at this game and just started playing this build (you should probably do what those other guys who posted instead) but i on my elf char i have

7 srt 16 dex 12 con? 14 int 18 wis 13 cha, human could work too, not sure about dwarf

Pharasma deity, neutral alignment, water primary domain(cuz of cool wiz spells you can memorize) knowledge secondary(cuz of strong granted powers), you can go other deities with strong domains like animal, luck, etc.(check their spells and powers)

For the feats: selective channeling, spell focus, metamagic and such, not sure

Idk, what else. Thats probably it.
Btw as Ecclesitheurge you can memorize your first domains spells into your normal spell slots, thats what makes it strong.

[[TGC] MadGod]

Cleric "fighters" live and die by their buffs. If you build around martial domains with buff spell domains, you can become virtually unstoppable until higher levels (13 + is the tipping point).

Unfortunately, as a cleric frontline you will either lean towards getting hard to kill or to do damage. And if you do not have the time to cast a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of spells beforehand, you are nothing at higher levels.

As Mork pointed out, you will never become a real tank, but not because you lack the power to stay in melee. You can do that just as good as any other tank, but you will have to spend a lot of feats and resources to get even close to the to-hit probability of full BAB classes. And if you don't do damage, you will not be focused. And if you waste spells on damage, you cannot buff. :)

That being said, cleric "barbarians"/"fighters" with Greatsword or Pole weapons can be very much fun to play, but do not expect them to wipe out all opposition.

Now to the point of dwarven clerics. They rock when combined with monk, getting exactly what you need, but you can also take barbarian or fighter levels, depending on the style (harder hitting/heavy armor) The monk combo makes them more defensively capable but imho rather boring.

[Ohnooze]

Thank you to everyone who replied