Originally Posted by
Therigar
I cannot believe that you have been getting such bad advice.
Drow are competative with every other race, better at some things and worse at others. Their biggest advantage is that, even tho they only get 28 build points, they are equivalent to a 32 point or higher build.
When people talk about Drow being squishy it is generally a reference to the low CON. Note, however, that elves have the same low CON but that does not stop people from playing them. The message here is that people who prefer other races will talk bad about Drow but you should dismiss them as ignorant.
Drow are good choices for characters that will not be in the front lines. This makes them good choices for rogues, clerics, favored soul, wizards and sorcerers. Their naturally high DEX and INT is a bonus to multiclassed wizard/rogues. Their naturally high CHA is a bonus to a healing focused favored soul and makes them a good choice for a sorcerer.
While cleric is not usually a front line character class (this in spite of my personally using one in such a role) it is important to note that there is nothing that makes Drow a better choice for this class than any other race. In fact, dwarf, halfling and human all are more natural choices.
So, let's limit ourselves to the three builds that Drow are well suited for: favored soul, wizard/rogue multiclass and sorcerer. Each has its appeal.
Favored Soul -- the flavor of the moment so you'll fit right in. More spell points than a standard cleric. With a healing focus the potential to be more powerful and effective than a cleric. The downside: you have to buy them from the DDO store or have a zillion favor points. I'm going to assume that this isn't the choice but, if you were to stick to a strictly non-combat role you could get by with 16 CON and 18 CHA putting the last 2 build points into any other stat (probably STR or DEX). Avoidance would be the build's main defensive tool.
Wizard/Rogue -- a wizard 18/ rogue 2 is a very versatile build. It can disable most traps and will have evasion (a plus) while still being a formidable arcane caster able to tailor its spell selection to the quest. The downside: you need to focus on 3 stats to be effective, INT, CON and DEX. Stats might be DEX 17, CON 14, INT 18 with the rest left at their starting values.
Sorcerer -- these are the true powerhouses in the game. Once you've determined the direction you want to go there really isn't anything else that compares to them in terms of raw power. Sorcerers really only need to focus on CHA and CON so they don't have many challenges during character creation in deciding where to put their build points. The downside: it takes a while for all that potential to come out so it helps to have a group around to do the heavy lifting for the first few levels. Stats could be something like STR 10, CON 14, CHA 20 while leaving the other stats alone.
Note that STR 10, CON 16, CHA 18 or STR 10, CON 14, CHA 20 would work for either favored soul or sorcerer. I've simply shown a couple of different options.
My personal take on your original post is that you are tired of the rogue life. I also have the idea that favored soul isn't an option for you. That is alright because my recommendation to you would be to play a sorcerer in any case.
My own advice would be to build a fire/ice specialized sorcerer that also focuses on the instant kill spells like Phantasmal Killer or Finger of Death. By taking some personal defense spells like Acid Fog, Blur, Fire Shield and Displacement you can become a formidable killing machine without ever using a weapon.