Cleric/Barbarian Build?

[spitfirek]

Ive seen a lot of clerics running around with 2handed weapons blowing up mobs like they were nothing at all and having a side order of healing/buffing on top of that... pretty much a 1 man army. So I am trying to come up with a good build for this. I tried cleric/fighter and cleric/paladin but both were lacking the RAWR I was looking for. So I thought, barbarians like to use 2h weapons and dwarfs like 2h axes... and dwarfs also get cleric enhancements. So, I made this cleric/barbarian build.

I haven't tested it yet so I don't know how well it will actually work, but it looks good as far as I can tell. If Im missing something or if anyone has experience with this type of build could you please reply with your thoughts? Thanks.


Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.10
DDO Character Planner Home Page (http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO)

Level 20 Neutral Good Dwarf Male
(3 Barbarian \ 17 Cleric)
Hit Points: 232
Spell Points: 1430
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 15
Reflex: 5
Will: 16

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Stats Modified Stats
Abilities (Level 1) (Level 20)
Strength 18 22
Dexterity 8 8
Constitution 12 14
Intelligence 8 8
Wisdom 16 20
Charisma 6 6

Starting Feat/Enhancement
Base Skills Modified Skills
Skills (Level 1) (Level 20)
Balance -1 3
Bluff -2 -2
Concentration 5 25
Diplomacy -2 -2
Disable Device n/a n/a
Haggle -2 -2
Heal 3 5
Hide -1 -1
Intimidate -2 -2
Jump 4 9
Listen 3 5
Move Silently -1 -1
Open Lock n/a n/a
Perform n/a n/a
Repair -1 -1
Search -1 1
Spot 3 5
Swim 4 6
Tumble n/a n/a
Use Magic Device n/a n/a

Level 1 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Two Handed Fighting
Feat: (Automatic) Attack
Feat: (Automatic) Dwarven Stability
Feat: (Automatic) Dwarven Stonecutting
Feat: (Automatic) Giant Evasion
Feat: (Automatic) Heavy Armor Proficiency
Feat: (Automatic) Heroic Durability
Feat: (Automatic) Light Armor Proficiency
Feat: (Automatic) Magical Training
Feat: (Automatic) Medium Armor Proficiency
Feat: (Automatic) Orc and Goblin Bonus
Feat: (Automatic) Poison Save Bonus
Feat: (Automatic) Shield Proficiency (General)
Feat: (Automatic) Simple Weapon Proficiency
Feat: (Automatic) Sneak
Feat: (Automatic) Spell Save Bonus
Feat: (Automatic) Turn Undead
Enhancement: Dwarven Faith I
Enhancement: Dwarven Spell Defense I
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic I
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot I


Level 2 (Barbarian)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Feat: (Automatic) Defensive Fighting
Feat: (Automatic) Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Dwarven Waraxe
Feat: (Automatic) Fast Movement
Feat: (Automatic) Martial Weapon Proficiency (ALL)
Feat: (Automatic) Rage
Feat: (Automatic) Sunder
Feat: (Automatic) Trip
Enhancement: Barbarian Sprint Boost I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage I


Level 3 (Barbarian)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Feat: (Automatic) Damage Reduction
Feat: (Automatic) Uncanny Dodge
Enhancement: Barbarian Extend Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Extra Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Attack I
Enhancement: Dwarven Constitution I


Level 4 (Barbarian)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Feat: (Automatic) Trap Sense
Enhancement: Barbarian Improved Damage Reduction I
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack I


Level 5 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Dwarven Faith II
Enhancement: Barbarian Constitution I


Level 6 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom I
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Healing I


Level 7 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Barbarian Hardy Rage I
Enhancement: Barbarian Power Rage I
Enhancement: Dwarven Spell Defense II


Level 8 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Damage II


Level 9 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom II


Level 10 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot II
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Healing II


Level 11 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Dwarven Spell Defense III


Level 12 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Mental Toughness
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot III


Level 13 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Dwarven Faith III


Level 14 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Dwarven Axe Attack II
Enhancement: Cleric Divine Healing III


Level 15 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Dwarven Faith IV


Level 16 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV


Level 17 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Life I
Enhancement: Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life I


Level 18 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Cleric Wisdom III


Level 19 (Cleric)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic II
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic III


Level 20 (Cleric)
Ability Raise: STR
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Enhancement: Cleric Life Magic IV

[HeavenlyCloud]

Bad idea IMO, can't cast spells while raged and you won't have enough rages to increase your dps. Also bad stats too, go with 17 str and get some more con, going with max str is for more specialized classes.

The biggest advantage about the battle cleric is survivability and being able to heal the party while fighting.

All this is in my opinion.

[hydra_ex]

Go fighter instead for sure. You cannot cast spells while raged.

Dwarf is a good idea. You have a few options, though.


18 Cleric/2 Fighter. Can fight well, and be the primary healer.
14 Cleric/6 Fighter. More DPS than above, but less spell points. More of a secondary healer.
12 Cleric/6 Fighter/ 2 Monk. Same DPS as option 2, but less spell points yet again. Pros are potentially great AC, and evasion (lots of grinding for AC, though).


As far as starting stats go, for a 28 pt:

STR 16 (10 pts)
DEX 8
CON 15 (5 pts)
WIS 17 (13 pts)
INT 8
CHA 6

You could also drop WIS by 1, and raise CON by 1. Its a bit of 12 of one, half a dozen of the other, although I lean towards the higher WIS.

If you're going the monk route, change it up a little:
STR 16 (8 pts)
DEX 11 (2 pts)
CON 14 (4 pts)
WIS 16 (10 pts)
INT 8
CHA 6

Take the first tier of kensei if you have the 6 fighter lvls. Remember to also not wear armor if you take the monk lvls.

[spitfirek]

Oh wow... I didn't know you couldn't cast while raged... BOO!

Ya, I think fighter will have to be it then, I don't think the fast movement and little bit of DR from barb would make up for the extra feats from fighter w/o the rage.

One thing though with fighter, I usually find myself with extra feats because I don't have the proper BAB to get the ones I would have if I went straight fighter when I have 1 or more cleric levels thrown in. What are some good "extra" feats to get when this happens?

[HeavenlyCloud]

Take either THF/TWF, Power Attack with the fighter levels then on your normal levels get some metamagics/toughness/whatever you want :O.

[hydra_ex]

Oh wow... I didn't know you couldn't cast while raged... BOO!

Ya, I think fighter will have to be it then, I don't think the fast movement and little bit of DR from barb would make up for the extra feats from fighter w/o the rage.

One thing though with fighter, I usually find myself with extra feats because I don't have the proper BAB to get the ones I would have if I went straight fighter when I have 1 or more cleric levels thrown in. What are some good "extra" feats to get when this happens?

Hearkening back to the options I presented above, your feats should look like this (in no particular order):

Option 1: THF, ITHF, GTHF, Empower Healing, Maximize, PA, IC: Slash, Toughness, Quicken.

Option 2: Same as above, but include WF: Slash, and WS: Slash to qualify for Kensai.

Option 3: Same as above, but take Mental Toughness and Improved Mental Toughness as well.

[Gunga]

Only need 1 level of Barb to get the most out of the splash:

Barb Sprint Boost 1

[Lehrman]

Only need 1 level of Barb to get the most out of the splash:

Barb Sprint Boost 1

You forgot the 10% movement speed bonus, but yeah, totally agree.

[Zippo]

Ive seen a lot of clerics running around with 2handed weapons blowing up mobs like they were nothing at all and having a side order of healing/buffing on top of that... pretty much a 1 man army. So I am trying to come up with a good build for this. I tried cleric/fighter and cleric/paladin but both were lacking the RAWR I was looking for. So I thought, barbarians like to use 2h weapons and dwarfs like 2h axes... and dwarfs also get cleric enhancements. So, I made this cleric/barbarian build.

I haven't tested it yet so I don't know how well it will actually work, but it looks good as far as I can tell. If Im missing something or if anyone has experience with this type of build could you please reply with your thoughts? Thanks.




Actually cleric/fighter is quite viable and depending on the build can be even more desirable then cleric/barb. The extra feat for one and if your going for intim ac build the tower shields come in handy just off of 1 lvl of fighter and as was mentioned before you can't cast while raged. Check out sirgog's cleric builds. He has some of the most comprehensive builds and you too can be that 2 handed wielding 1 man army. I've got one and he's a blast to run.

[spitfirek]

What should the level progression look like? cleric->fighterx6->cleric? or alternate or a couple levels at a time?

I seem to keep running into the problem where I have too many feats for the requirements.

[Quintun]

What should the level progression look like? cleric->fighterx6->cleric? or alternate or a couple levels at a time?

I seem to keep running into the problem where I have too many feats for the requirements.

I would say as few fighter levels as possible. As you get higher you are going to realize that clerics are powerful spell casters but not great fighters. If you take 6 or more fighter levels you will not be a good healer at high level, you will not be a good offensive caster and you will not be as good a fighter as you could be.

Basicly there is a good chance you will be unhappy with the final product.