Good Spell Selection: The cleric spell list is packed with lifesaving spells such as slow poison, neutralize poison, remove disease, and the ever-popular cure spells. Few other classes can match a cleric's saving throw bonuses. Furthermore, the high Wisdom score that a cleric needs for his spellcasting also gives his Will save a hefty boost. This natural mental and physical strength helps him resist most effects that fool his mind, assault his spirit, or attack his body - including charms, compulsions, illusions, fear, polymorphing, poisons, and even disintegration. Good Fortitude and Will Saves: A cleric uses the best save progression in the game for Fortitude and Will saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Comprehensive Guide to Turning is a good resource to improve your turning ability. A neutral cleric gets to choose between these effects - but once that choice is made, he can't change his mind. Power over the Undead: A good cleric can drive off or destroy undead creatures, and an evil cleric can make them stop in their tracks, or even obey his orders. Below are several assets you have going for you when you play a cleric. When you chose a cleric, you gain access to the all-important healing spells, but the class offers other potent spells and some useful powers as well. As such, clerics can play many roles in an adventuring group. The cleric has a bit of everything - decent combat skills, a wide range of spells, the ability to wear armor, and a few special powers. Always remember that you are a representative of your power at all times and are a servant to that power. A well-constructed Cleric, played with fervor and understanding is not only an asset to the party, but an immensely satisfying character as well.ĭivine magic that the Cleric wields is tied to his spiritual link to the power he has dedicated himself to, whether that be a specific deity, a pantheon of deities, or a philosophy. First impressions often prove false, however, and dismissing the Cleric as the character someone has to play is a big mistake. Thus we were thinking of what a party REALLY needs from a Cleric.Īt first glance, the Cleric may seem a bit lackluster - a mere healing machine whose medicinal spells provide vital party support, but not much excitement. Generally, the party looks to the Cleric.not as a source of combat strength, but for healing, restoration, neutralizing poision, turning undead, etc. Only in some builds does DMM affect levels earlier than 7th lvl. However when you start at 1st level, the reality is quite different. When making an optimized cleric, many think of simply using Divine Metamagic and creating a combat MONSTER. We would also ask that you not post questions about a particular Cleric build - we would like to limit discussion to how the handbook itself can be improved.ġ: Introduction and Basic Overview of Clerics and Divine Magic Welcome to the Cleric Handbook! As you can tell, this is a work in progress, but we will be trying to fill it up as best as we can. Introduction, Table of Contents, Overview of Clerics and Clerical Magic