Race Choice?

[jdlawhorn]

I'm getting ready to start a cleric, and I don't know which race to go with. I planned for either human or dwarf and being a balanced caster (between healing/buffs and offensive)

I know humans get an extra feat, bonus skill points, and I can increase Wis and Cha through human enhancements, but I don't know if that would allow me more total SP than the Dwarven Faith enhancements.

Like I said, I'm wanting as much SP as I can get. I'll be using the Vet II status as well, so I'll be getting both Mental Toughness and Improved Mental Toughness.

Any clerics out there have advice?

[Habreno]

If you want a Cleric, Human is a good choice. You can increase the WIS which is your DC's. and your extra feat and such which is useful on a Cleric.

HElf with Dilly is not bad either for a more advanced build.

[jdlawhorn]

Thanks! That was a rather quick reply. Something I'm not used to xD

[fuzzywolf]

I get a lot of mileage out of a sorc dilly on my caster cleric. Haste, invis, stoneskin and icestorm make a nice complement to a cleric's natural abilities. Also I can use teleport scrolls without resorting to umd, which is a convenience to be sure, but playing a wizard spoiled me in that regard.

[unbongwah]

The nice thing about clerics is you almost have to go out of your way to come up with a bad build . . . which unfortunately a lot of people manage. Human is arguably the best of the F2P races (extra feat, healing amp, Adaptability) with dwarves as a close second (higher CON & HPs, bonus to saves vs spells & Balance, axe enhs if you decide to melee). But honestly as long as you know how to keep the party (and yourself) alive, any race can make a good cleric.

[Kinerd]

Human is very very strong. If you are very interested in offensive casting on a first lifer, the elf spell penetration enhancements can make a big difference.

[unbongwah]

Elven Arcanum requires lvls of wizard, so that's not a bonus for a cleric.

[Kinerd]

Oh... well go human then.

[Ginarrbrik]

humans are good, but i prefer dwarves myself. first bonus is obviously the CON and thus the higher HP (cause a dead cleric is not a good thing, right?) and the bonus to balance (cause a cleric sitting on his butt is not a good thing, right?) but you can also take the dwarven faith enhancements for more sp. and that's just to name a few. if you're wanting a charisma-heavy build, then you'd wanna go human, but other than that, dwarves are a really solid cleric race.

[Maxallu]

I like a GP style race. That way you get to see who was the best over a number of races.

[Theolin]

I like Helf start with fighter dilly (free weapons feat for low level smashing) and switch to either wiz or sorc (scroll use for buffing ) when your happy with your casting

[Brennie]

Don't forget, human also has healing amp. Even just using one tier will allow it's crazy stacking rules to help out if you can stick some healing amp in gear-wise. This is really handy with low-but-constant healing one might receive (like from, say, a healing aura ).

I know this wasn't asked, but I highly recommend you do not invest in mental toughness and improved mental toughness. If you want to be a balanced caster, getting toughness and then metas (heighten, quicken, empower, maximize) and spell focus evocation/greater spell focus evocation and perhaps even spell penetration feats will allow you to actually make your offensive spells meaningful, while also adding tactical ability to your other spells (Quicken mass heal is a must!).

[Fefnir_2011]

Human is a great choice as, unlike Wizards, you don't get bonus feats to boost your spells, nor do you get the raw destructive power of a Sorcerer. It will probably remain the de facto race for divine spellcasters unless something exceptional happens like faith enhancements for Dwarves or Aasimar as a playable race *hope hope*.

I've heard Half-elf is good for the fighter dilettante, and Horc makes for a very powerful THF battelclerik. Really can't go wrong as a cleric unless you go Warforged (penalties to two of your main stats as well as bad hamp). Although Halfling, Drow, and Elf aren't bad choices, they aren't the best unless you're going for a caster/melee hybrid clonk.