Playable from level 1 - 40 ..PvM Build

Kreon grunted as he forced the sacrificial dagger through the thick pectoral muscle of the ensorcelled unicorn. As the blade pierced its heart, he could feel the final spasms of its life magnified as vibrations through the length of the blade. With a jerk he pulled the dagger free, watching as a torrent of blood issued forth from the gaping wound into a silver ewer he had carefully positioned. He wiped the blade of the bejewelled dagger on the mane of the magically held beast and checked his finely embroidered black robes for blood. Satisfied that he had evaded most of the splatter, he stepped back to regard his handiwork.

The unicorn stood motionless, like some strange macabre fountain as its blood filled the ewer, it was not the unsteady spurting flow one would expect, but a continuous stream that would drain all the blood from its body. Already it’s once ivory skin was beginning to appear ashen as it tightened over the muscular frame. Soon the magical wound of the dagger would desiccate the body of the beast, and the Necromancer could continue his work. A few feet infront of this spectacle, a raven haired young woman in a flowing white gown knelt with her back to a tree. Kreon grabbed her jaw and jerked her head upwards, carefully gazing into her vacant eyes. Confident that she was still under his power, he let her head slip back down. She was a comely lass, and perhaps he would have some fun before he ended her life as well. Smiling at the thought, he turned back to the now emaciated corpse of the unicorn and called for his skeletal attendants to bring him his tools.

The flow of blood had ceased, as Kreon began to rub a deeply spiced black oil into it’s now smooth leathery hide. With some of the pliability restored to the skin, the necromancer began wrapping its body with rune covered bandages. As the last rays of light began to fade and the shadows of the trees lengthened and merged into a carpet of darkness, Kreon began to cast his final spell. As his chant began to rise, the shadows began to pulse to the rise and fall of his voice. As the spell reached its climax, the darkness swelled and coursed into the body of the unicorn, bringing the mummified unicorn to life.

For a moment there was silence except for the Necromancer’s panting as he sought to recover his strength, then another voice broke the silence. Before Kreon could react, the darkness was pierced by a blinding light. Shielding his blinded eyes and deafened by his own screams, Kreon didn’t see his undead minions burst into flame, or hear the unearthly scream of his new born stead as it was rushed to a second death. Mumbling a spell to restore his senses, he struggled to his feet. As blur before his eyes cleared to reveal the flaming remains of his servants, the enraged necromancer turned to face the interloper that had ruined months of planning. That was what he planned on doing anyway, Kreon’s feet couldn’t move. As the necromancer looked down he could see the earth itself drawing itself over his limbs and hardening into stone. Moving swiftly, Kreon tore a talisman from his neck and flung it to the ground before him. As it struck the ground, it exploded in a cloud of brimstone, which cleared to reveal the massive muscular form of a Balor, a flaming whip clutched in its clawed left hand. Kreon smiled at the thought of the massive beast demolishing his assailant.

Kreon’s smile soon turned to an expression of horror as several arrows, fired from behind him, smashed into the back of the demon striking between its batlike wings as it stumbled forward. Smashed was the only word to describe the effect of the arrows, for the arrows exploded in a burst of holy light, which dissolved the Balor’s flesh as they struck their target. The demon screamed, the flames that wreathed its skull like head intensified and to match its ire as it turned to face its attacker and the unrelenting stream of arrows. As the demon stepped forward, an arrow smashed into its knee, forcing it to the ground. A few more arrows to the neck, and the demon exploded in a rush of flame.

Protected from the fire by his robe, Kreon didn’t feel fortunate. He was still encased in stone with an unseen opponent behind him. Kreon cringed at the thought of those deadly arrows piercing his body. “No arrows will send you to your grave, defiler. You wounded nature and now nature will wound you.” whispered a deep raspy male voice that sent a chill down his spine. Kreon, heard another chant from behind him. Kreon heard a strange sound, like a combination of scratching and chittering. “I’ll be leaving now,” spoke the voice, “but before I go.” A final arrow, this one enchanted with a light spell, struck the ground before him. Kreon understood the sound now; the ground was carpeted with a sea of ants, spiders and scorpions that rushed towards him. Kreon was frozen with fear as the insect army scaled the stone that held him in place. As the first insect bit into his flesh he screamed.

This is a build designed for low or no magic worlds. It is a caster cleric/druid that focuses primarily on spells, resorting to the bow or scimitar as a last resort. Between the cleric and druid levels the build has access to several offensive spells as well as melee buffs and curative magics, making it an excellent support character in a party setting. There are a few other druid/clerics but most of them focus on dragon shape and ignore the other strengths of this character combination.

Advantages

-Level 9 Cleric and Druid spells. He has a ton of spells that he can cast. While Druid and Cleric spells may not be as offensive as wizard or sorcerer spells, they typically have hard to resist damage types. Or like harm, require no saving throws whatsoever.
-Good Spell DCs. Unbuffed he has a DC of 20+spell level (26+spell level for conjuration). He can easily increase his wisdom by 12 with spells to gain a DC of 26 (32 for conjuration) + spell level. The conjuration focus was chosen for spells like stone hold and creeping doom. It could be changed for evocation if that focus would be more useful.
-Good AB with a bow. He might not be a match for an arcane archer, but he can add divine and magical damage to his attacks, which can get past most DR

Disadvantages

-Low Caster Level- Against opponents with a high SR he can't rely on his spells for offense. However he's pretty good at combat so it's not that big of a problem.
-Low Reflex Save- He'll get hammered by mage evocation spells. His healing spells will help a bit, as will spells like word of faith that can temporarily shut down an enemy caster.
-Mediocre Fortitude Save- It's pretty good against spells, but it's not good enough to deal with devastating critical
-Low Melee AB and no melee feats like knockdown- In a no or low magic world, his buffs should be sufficient to increase to a competent level if the need arises.

Sylvan Justice

Race Human

Alignment True Neutral

Base Attributes
STR 14
DEX 8
CON 14
WIS 16
INT 10
CHA 14

Attribute Bonuses
All 10 go to WIS

Clerical Domains Trickery, Travel

Leveling Guide
Levels 1-8 Druid
Levels 9-16 Cleric
Levels 17-20 Champion of Torm
Levels 21-29 Druid
Level 30 Champion of Torm
Levels 31-39 Cleric
Level 40 Champion of Torm

Final Level Distribution
Champion of Torm 6
Cleric 17
Druid 17

Feats
Level 1: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Extend Spell
Level 3: Power Attack
Level 6: Zen Archery
Level 9: Weapon Focus (Scimitar)
Level 12: Divine Might
Level 15: Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Level 18: Weapon Focus (Longbow), Maximize Spell
Level 20: Improved Critical (Scimitar)
Level 21: Epic Weapon Focus (Longbow)
Level 24: Epic Weapon Focus (Scimitar)
Level 27: Epic Prowess
Level 30: Epic Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Level 33: Great Wisdom I
Level 36: Great Wisdom II
Level 39: Great Wisdom III
Level 40: Great Wisdom IV

Final Attributes
STR 14
DEX 8
CON 14
WIS 30
INT 10
CHA 14

Final Saves (base/sacred defense/vs. spells)
Fortitude 28/31/39
Reflexes 17/20/28
Will 33/36/44

AB and Damage
(no buffs, normal compsite longbow)
40/35/30/35 2+1D8 (20 X3)

(no buffs, normal scimitar)
32/27/22/17 2+1D6 (15-20 x2)

(+12 to CHA, +12 to WIS, +2 to STR, Bless, Haste, Divine Power, Divine Favor, Prayer, Battletide, Divine Wrath, +5 Composite Longbow, Divine Might)
66/61/56/51/66 5+1D8 (+11 Divine, +7 Magic, +1 Slashing) (20 X3)

(+12 to CHA, +12 to STR, Bless, Haste, Divine Power, Divine Favor, Prayer, Battletide, Divine Wrath, Darkfire, Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Scimitar, Divine Might)
58/53/48/43/58 14+1D6 (+11 Divine, +7 Magic, +5+1D6 Fire) (12-20 x3)

AC
21 (no buffs, full plate)
24 (no buffs, full plate and tower shield)
48 (+4 to DEX, Vestment's of Faith, Armor of Faith, Undeath's Eternal Foe, Haste, fullplate and tower shield)

Hitpoints 412 (max. every level, no buffs)

Skillpoints 169
Concentration 42
Discipline 43
Spellcraft 40
Taunt 2
Tumble 20

Skillpoint Distribution
Level 1: Concentration 4, Spellcraft 4, Taunt 2, Tumble 2, Save 4
Level 2: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 7
Level 3: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 8
Level 4: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 11
Level 5: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 12
Level 6: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 15
Level 7: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 16
Level 8: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 19
Level 9: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 18
Level 10: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 19
Level 11: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 18
Level 12: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 19
Level 13: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 18
Level 14: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 19
Level 15: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 18
Level 16: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 19
Level 17: Discipline 20, Tumble 1
Level 18: Discipline 1, Save 2
Level 19: Discipline 1, Tumble 1, Save 2
Level 20: Discipline 1, Save 4
Level 21: Concentration 4, Spellcraft 3, Tumble 1
Level 22: Concentration 2, Spellcraft 3
Level 23: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 1
Level 24: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 4
Level 25: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 5
Level 26: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 8
Level 27: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 9
Level 28: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 12
Level 29: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 13
Level 30: Discipline 10, Save 6
Level 31: Concentration 2, Spellcraft 2, Tumble 1, Save 3
Level 32: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 4
Level 33: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 3
Level 34: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 4
Level 35: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 3
Level 36: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Save 4
Level 37: Concentration 1, Spellcraft 1, Tumble 1, Save 3
Level 38: Concentration 1, Save 5
Level 39: Concentration 1, Save 7
Level 40: Discipline 10
_________________
Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.

Edited By griphook on 05/19/05 19:11

I like the text:)

For the build :

I think you will have difficulty with spellresisting monsters and then your only resort is melee (at which every level 15+ cleric is quite reasonable) and creeping doom.

You might wanna consider fitting in dragon shape. But roleplay-wise this might be a no-go not a bad concept, but very watered down, you have niether a spell caster, nor a divine warrios.

for a divine warrior i would do more CoT and much more charisma. your divine might is all but useless, it will last at most 8 rounds, and thats IF you have the items to boost charisma by +12, 2 with out the items. if you have items that HAVE to boost a stat in order for it to be useful, then your loosing on some other item properties.

I would take at least 8 CoT lvls pre epic, and ditch the druid for bard or paladin, and put more stuff into charisma.

also, why conjugation? maybe its just me, but a lot of people seem to want a conjurgation specialist cleric, and i just don't see it. I would go with evocation any day of the week, especially if you pair him up with a druid.
Hammer of Gods, Word of faith, Sunbeam-burts, Blade Barrier and the mother of all spells, Implosion, which has the best DC of them all. (it has the DC of 11 i think, thats +2 better than any other lvl 9 spell)

As it stands, all your spells are useless cause they will beat an SR of 27 only 50% of the time, and thats a hight failure rate.

heres a caster build that I did.

its 23(22) cleric/ 16(17) druid/ 1 monk
The reason for 16 or 17 lvls of druid is really to give your the druid lvl 9 spells should you need them. but this is a choice you can make almost at the end of the build, depending on where you play. If you need extra mass heals, then maybe lvl 17 of druid is needed, or if you need empowered Firestorm or elemental swarm...

heres one for cleric lvl 22/ druid 17/ monk 1
01: spell focus evocation, Combat Casting
03: Extend
06: Zen archery
09: Empower
12: Greater Spell Focus
15: Spell Penetration
18: Greater Spell Penetration

By lvl 20
Cleric lvls 20 straight, makes your build very easy to play, just stand back and hurl stones or darts and support the team.

21: Epic Spell Focus
24: Imp Combat Casting; now you can really cast!
27: Epic Spell Penetration
30: Greater Wis I
33: Greater Wis II
36: Greater Wis III
39: Dragon Shape* (for that extra kick)
40: take monk

And thats that
if you feel like getting cleric lvl 23, then thats a bonus feat and you can wind up with an AC and AB of +1 each, and wis of 32 by lvl 40 if you take Greater wis IV, or you can take Hellball
Quote: Posted 05/19/05 03:31:26 (GMT) -- aluka

not a bad concept, but very watered down, you have niether a spell caster, nor a divine warrios.

The concept was a support archer with access to healing magic. Both the druid and cleric spells are adequate at the selected level and have good DCs for most purposes. The character has an unbuffed AB with a longbow of 40, which with cleric buffs is more than adequate for an archer in a low or mid magic world. Hence it fills that roll.

Quote: 
for a divine warrior i would do more CoT and much more charisma. your divine might is all but useless, it will last at most 8 rounds, and thats IF you have the items to boost charisma by +12, 2 with out the items. if you have items that HAVE to boost a stat in order for it to be useful, then your loosing on some other item properties.

The character can cast Eagle's Splendor (look it up, it's a level 2 cleric spell), maximized it's good for a +5 to charisma, meaning he only needs +7 to get the max, (that's a potion of Eagle's Splendor and a Nymph's Cloak.)
Even in a no magic world, it will last for 4 rounds and add 4 points of divine damage to each attack.

Quote: 
I would take at least 8 CoT lvls pre epic, and ditch the druid for bard or paladin, and put more stuff into charisma.

I've already done a divine warrior (cleric/paladin/CoT), the point of this character is support, which this character does far better than the character you suggested above.

Quote: 
also, why conjugation?

I always felt grammar was important for a cleric

Quote: 
maybe its just me, but a lot of people seem to want a conjurgation specialist cleric, and i just don't see it. I would go with evocation any day of the week, especially if you pair him up with a druid.
Hammer of Gods, Word of faith, Sunbeam-burts, Blade Barrier and the mother of all spells, Implosion, which has the best DC of them all. (it has the DC of 11 i think, thats +2 better than any other lvl 9 spell)
Quote: 

He can cast Implosion with a 37 DC, which isn't bad, implosion also kills every thing in the area of effect (not a good idea in a party setting). He can also cast vine-mine (entangle) with a 37 DC, stone hold with a 38 DC, creeping doom with a 39 DC and bombardment with a 40 DC. All of these spells only affect hostile opponents, and the former two will hold opponents in place, which is very useful in a party setting. Most evocation spells will still have some effect if the save is made, so I felt that they didn't need the DC boost as much as the conjurations did. I did suggest that evocation could be used instead, but it would depend on the user and situation.

Quote: 
As it stands, all your spells are useless cause they will beat an SR of 27 only 50% of the time, and thats a hight failure rate.

Ever heard of Nature's Balance? This spell, will lower an opponents SR by 3D4 (no save, no SR), so 7.5 on average. The highest item SR is 32, which would be lowered to 24.5 giving him a 37.5% failure rate after the spell is cast, which isn't bad. Enemies tend to be divided into 3 categories, enemies with no SR, enemies with item or skin SR or monks. He'll do fine against the first two groups, and only a pure caster with the spell penetration feats will stand a chance against a pure monk. So your hyperbole is unwarranted and puerile.

Quote: 
heres a caster build that I did.

its 23(22) cleric/ 16(17) druid/ 1 monk
The reason for 16 or 17 lvls of druid is really to give your the druid lvl 9 spells should you need them. but this is a choice you can make almost at the end of the build, depending on where you play. If you need extra mass heals, then maybe lvl 17 of druid is needed, or if you need empowered Firestorm or elemental swarm...

This isn't a much better caster, than the build you've been berating. Though, with the spell penetration feats you have no (5%? does autofail on a 1 factor in with SR?) chance of failure as a cleric and 17.5% chance of failure after casting nature's balance against a creature with item SR.

Quote: 
heres one for cleric lvl 22/ druid 17/ monk 1
01: spell focus evocation, Combat Casting
03: Extend
06: Zen archery
09: Empower
12: Greater Spell Focus
15: Spell Penetration
18: Greater Spell Penetration

By lvl 20
Cleric lvls 20 straight, makes your build very easy to play, just stand back and hurl stones or darts and support the team.

You also lose out on AB, saving throws and skill points compared to my build.

Quote: 
21: Epic Spell Focus
24: Imp Combat Casting; now you can really cast!

Only if you're stupid enough to cast spells while someone is attacking you. Considering all your DR spells are useless against +5 weapons and aura vs. alignment is your only damage shield spell.

Quote: 
27: Epic Spell Penetration
30: Greater Wis I
33: Greater Wis II
36: Greater Wis III

(quote)
39: Dragon Shape* (for that extra kick)

I purposefully avoided Dragon Shape. If I wanted to play a Dragon cleric, I would go for CDAulepp's Puff variant. You can't cast while in dragon shape, so if you are in a party setting and you need to heal you allies, you would have to unshift.

(quote)
40: take monk

And thats that
if you feel like getting cleric lvl 23, then thats a bonus feat and you can wind up with an AC and AB of +1 each, and wis of 32 by lvl 40 if you take Greater wis IV, or you can take Hellball

My build has at least a 3 point higher ranged AB (If you go for the 32 wisdom). For the 32 wisdom, you spent 16 attribute points for an 18 base wisdom, so unshifted you are far weaker than this build. You have much lower saves than this build as well. Because of the dragon shape your build may have the edge in a one on one setting, although my build may be able to take out your dragon with spells, and if there is a doorway he should win. However, my build is a far superior support archer than yours.
_________________
Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do.

Edited By Mithdradates on 05/19/05 07:41

Quote: Posted 05/19/05 07:39:58 (GMT) -- Mithdradates
Quote: 
also, why conjugation?
I always felt grammar was important for a cleric
Quote: Posted 05/19/05 11:19:45 (GMT) -- Anglashell

Quote: Posted 05/19/05 07:39:58 (GMT) -- Mithdradates
Quote: 
also, why conjugation?
I always felt grammar was important for a cleric


true.. but pelase keep in mind the time when it was posted, work does leave one exhausted.


anywasy, I do appologise if you feel that im berating your build, but i am pointing out a few flaws that you should test first.

it will take you a full round (unhastened) to use one of the divine feats that will last only a few rounds... so those are out, i can just go invisible or go sanctuary.

you ab is only better but my AC is better
and as I said, your high AB will only last for a few rounds.

I need to look up my DC of Implosion but i think its 49-50... far cry from 39. (not sure, will look up later) and i can stun my enemies better with Word of Faith, higher DC.

and VERY important, 2 points really, i can cast greater dispell on you, and strip you in a second, you will have a harder time doing that with me.
and Natures Balance does have a save, a will save, now tell me, do you think that a cleric/druid like me or you will fail on a will save?

gotta run for now

Edited By aluka on 05/19/05 11:41

Might have it slightly off here, but at best guess:
With epic focus and wis of 32; your final implosion dc:
10 + 11 + 6 + 9 [+3] = 36 [= 39 with the +3]
base + modifier + feats + spell level [+ implosion bonus]

The bonus of +3 seems to get applied to implosion on 1.65; might get removed on 1.66 with the immunity fix for death magic spells.

Edited By Khandahr on 05/19/05 12:01

Quote: Posted 05/19/05 11:37:42 (GMT) -- aluka
and VERY important, 2 points really, i can cast greater dispell on you, and strip you in a second, you will have a harder time doing that with me.

Actually, your greater dispelling would only work against him about 40% of the time, so it would on average only remove less than half of his buffs. But the biggest point is that your builds are simply meant for different purposes and have different focuses. Comparing them in PvP against each other is really not that relevant.

Also, a minor problem with your build. The prerequisites for Dragon Shape include either having Greater Wildshape IV (which only shifters get) or Wildshape 6x/day (which druids get at level 18). Unless those prereqs are wrong (taken from the Grimoire), a character with only 17 levels of druid and no shifter can't get Dragon Shape.

Steve you are right of course, i apologies for comparing these builds in PvP,it was not my original intention, i see what the build is for, but i just believe that 17 lvls of druid are a waist for you... would not more cleric lvls and better cleric domain powers and more cleric spells be better? for me, its one thing, i need more spells, but for you, i dont see any reason other than really premonition. or put more points into charisma to get more out of it

oh, and my implosion DC is 45 with a wis of 44, thats 32 + 12 which both of us can get, +8 from owls insight and the 4 from owls wisdom (or empowered)
thats better than most Dev crits

another benefit of wis 44 (if you can get it from items) is an extra lvl 9 spells

Quote:  Actually, your greater dispelling would only work against him about 40% of the time, so it would on average only remove less than half of his buffs. But the biggest point is that your builds are simply meant for different purposes and have different focuses. Comparing them in PvP against each other is really not that relevant.

yep different build for different final objectives, you are right. and 40% dispell sounds about right.but your are wrong on the dragon part.

I would highly recommend this to everyone, get a copy of NeverWinter Grimoire (its better than the manual by more than 40%) and get +Novice to Epic+ mod by Dawnwalker, if your build can survive against 3 fighters 3 rogues and 3 clerics all lvl 40... at the same time! well, then its pretty good then try that many undead and Dracoliches

Edited By aluka on 05/20/05 00:12

Quote: Posted 05/19/05 21:22:17 (GMT) -- Stravinsky00

Also, a minor problem with your build. The prerequisites for Dragon Shape include either having Greater Wildshape IV (which only shifters get) or Wildshape 6x/day (which druids get at level 18). Unless those prereqs are wrong (taken from the Grimoire), a character with only 17 levels of druid and no shifter can't get Dragon Shape.

Steve
Unconfirmed, but I've heard this requirement was actually 4x wildshape; though I cannot seem to find the post I read on it. Will try test it later on if I get a chance.
Quote: Posted 05/20/05 00:10:12 (GMT) -- aluka
I would highly recommend this to everyone, get a copy of NeverWinter Grimoire (its better than the manual by more than 40%)

As I mentioned, the Grimoire was the one that told me you couldn't take Dragon Shape, so that's at least one problem it still has, lol.

Steve
Quote: Posted 05/19/05 11:37:42 (GMT) -- aluka

anywasy, I do appologise if you feel that im berating your build, but i am pointing out a few flaws that you should test first.

No harm, no foul.

Quote: 
i can stun my enemies better with Word of Faith, higher DC.

Word of faith doesn't have any saves (which is why it's so powerful), so an evocation focus doesn't help. The effects are:
1) Kill any summoned monsters
2) Blind all opponents
3) Stun opponents with less than 12 hitdice
4) Confuse opponents with less than 8 hitdice
5) Kill any opponents with less than 4 hitdice.
_________________
Two wrongs don't make a right but three lefts do. Dragon shape can be taken with only 14 druid levels, provided that the wisdom requirement is met.