Weapon choice for Pure Cleric

[Ugumagre]

First of all, my cleric "works" as intended. With gear, 16 str, 12 dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 25 Wis, 14 Cha. Lvl 9, Radiant server and so. S&B, 39 AC fully buffed. 165 hit points fully buffed or so.
So, it could be better, but its OK.
It is just a bit boring to hack around with the sword/mace.
I was thinking something like dual box, master touch me and go around a bit with a THW. But dual boxing is kind of a hassle, so maybe the -4 is not so terrible after all?*
What do you do?
Splashing is out of question, taking a feat is uber out of question.
Thanks for the comments!
* Very low UMD, so buying scrolls is not so great...

[Cloista]

Quarterstaff Specifically, at that level, Souleater from Red Fens.

[jaegarnel]

Stick with the mace/sword combo imo.
There are better weapon types, true, but if you're a casting cleric you won't be swinging that weapon much anyway once you have access to blade barrier at level 11 (and you should probably dual-wield casting weapons by then, or using one of the nice named staves like the Staff of Fleshshaping).

With the -4 to-hit penalty from non proficiency, you probably won't hit much.
Master's touch is an option, but dual-boxing just for that would be a real hassle. Your best bet would be to get enough UMD to use scrolls of it, but clerics are skill-starved, so I'm not sure you can afford to put points in that.

I have two clerics, one of which is a pure caster one, it was a bit boring until lvl 11 (more than the melee-oriented one with the greataxe anyway), but after that it gets much better because you finally have access to good offensive spells.

[Jiirix]

I used greater banes at that level. Greater bane gives a +4 to hit, a +2 greater bane would habe a total of +6 to hit. +x holy of rightousness is nice too because it works on the same mobs (all evil ones) and has an extra +2 to hit. Also divine might is your freind

[NovaNZ]

Carnifex? Though approaching its end-uberness lvl.

[NaturalHazard]

I prefer to swing halflings myself..............

[Ugumagre]

Thanks for your answers, I see I have not so much choice for now.
I will stick to my sword and my mace... by the way...why do I only make sometimes the holy damage with my mace(2d6)?

I was crashing some skeletons in the sands, and I observed that some hits made simple damage with a little yellowish exlplosion like icon, and only every second, third hit, was with the holy damage (a little withe feather or something like that) ... do they have a damage reduction, I mean, besides the usual slashing damage reduction?

[erikbozelie]

power of cleric is asimulate other class features and abilities by multiclassing.
take 1+2 splash in 2 classes gives you any / most weapons avaiable.

i was like you once too, pure level 20 cleric was fun to play with an greataxe. but for optimizing reasons splash your cleric.

I prefer to swing halflings myself..............

strap one to your arm and use it as shield, hopefully it brought HHC with him.

[PNellesen]

Lit II Falchion is the weapon of choice for Pure Cleric...

(Or at least, for a Half-Elf with Fighter Dilettante )

[Ugumagre]

power of cleric is asimulate other class features and abilities by multiclassing.
take 1+2 splash in 2 classes gives you any / most weapons avaiable.

i was like you once too, pure level 20 cleric was fun to play with an greataxe. but for optimizing reasons splash your cleric.

strap one to your arm and use it as shield, hopefully it brought HHC with him.

I was thinking of splashing, but:
- I just want to "know it". I want to take a pure cleric to lvl 20 to check how it works.
- I level very slowly. So to postpone the BB to another level (that means for me maybe 2 weeks of playing) it is....hmm... not good. I want BB. Maybe after BB I think about it, or maybe I am so happy with BB that I forget about splashing.
- I stick to what I read in this forum: if you don´t plan it from the beginning, do not splash. I have a RL friend that has splashed fighter 17/cleric 2/ Ranger 1... just as he was advancing and thinking "hey, it would be nice if I could heal myself..." okay... he doesnt want to do any epics, so it has worked for him, but it is a bad choice if you don´t plan it from scratch.

* I am out of rep, will give later!!

[Sarisa]

When levelling my Cleric, long ago, I used Mace+Shield or Longsword+Shield. The Sovereign Host enhancement will give you Dol Dorn's Champion, which gives your target proficiency in Longswords. Not a terribly combination, but you will notice your potential go way down as you level. At level 11, however, you will get Blade Barrier and won't need weapons much any more.

A Quarterstaff is also a decent choice, as there are several good named ones available. The Souleater, Staff of the Shadow, Dreamspitter, and at higher levels Rahl's Might are all nice damage simple weapons with bonus effects.

Be sure to carry Divine Power and Divine Favor. These will greatly boost your to-hit, and do a small boost to your damage. The to-hit and damage bonus from Prayer and Recitation will not stack with Divine Favor for yourself, but will help party members.

[EvilI]

Thanks for your answers, I see I have not so much choice for now.
I will stick to my sword and my mace... by the way...why do I only make sometimes the holy damage with my mace(2d6)?

I was crashing some skeletons in the sands, and I observed that some hits made simple damage with a little yellowish exlplosion like icon, and only every second, third hit, was with the holy damage (a little withe feather or something like that) ... do they have a damage reduction, I mean, besides the usual slashing damage reduction?

Sounds like you are scoring grazing hits (I think it happens when you miss on a roll of 13+).

[SirValentine]

I was thinking something like dual box, master touch me and go around a bit with a THW. But dual boxing is kind of a hassle, so maybe the -4 is not so terrible after all?*
What do you do?

* Very low UMD, so buying scrolls is not so great...

On a Cleric not particularly focused on melee, that -4 will hurt. S&B is not a horrible option.

You can't UMD Master's Touch on yourself for a two-hander anyway, you're either holding the two-hander, or you're holding the scroll.

However, if you do carry a stack of Master's Touch scrolls, you pass them to any Wiz/Bard/Sorc you're partied with and ask them nicely to cast it on you.

[Ugumagre]

Sounds like you are scoring grazing hits (I think it happens when you miss on a roll of 13+).

Ooookay, that makes sense.

How much AC have those damned skeletons? Maybe I had not the divine power spell on me...
Sarisa, Divine Power and Divine Favor stack? I always have them, but I only use the divine power...

[Ugumagre]

On a Cleric not particularly focused on melee, that -4 will hurt. S&B is not a horrible option.

You can't UMD Master's Touch on yourself for a two-hander anyway, you're either holding the two-hander, or you're holding the scroll.

However, if you do carry a stack of Master's Touch scrolls, you pass them to any Wiz/Bard/Sorc you're partied with and ask them nicely to cast it on you.

Oh, didn´t thought about the problem with the scrolls and the hands...thats funny
Well, one point more for sticking with S&B (or M&B)

[Rusty_Can]

Divine Power and Divine Favor stack? I always have them, but I only use the divine power...

Divine Power improves your BAB (your BAB becomes equal to your character level).

Divine Favor (and Prayer and Recitation) provide luck bonuses.

Thus, yes, Divine Power and Divine Favor stack.

As for Divine Favor, Recitation and Prayer spells, casting them
- you will get +3 luck bonus to attack rolls and damage (Divine Favor), +2 luck bonus to AC and saves (Recitation), +1 luck bonus to skill checks (Prayer);
- your party will get: +2 luck bonus to attack rolls, AC and saves (Recitation), +1 luck bonus to skill checks and damage (Prayer);
- your foes will get -1 penalty to attack rolls, damage, saves and skill checks (Prayer).

As a side note, there are in game some items (e.g. Voice of the Master, Head of Good Fortune) which provide luck bonuses to saves and skill checks, which won't stack with the above-mentioned spells.

[Sarisa]

Ooookay, that makes sense.

How much AC have those damned skeletons? Maybe I had not the divine power spell on me...
Sarisa, Divine Power and Divine Favor stack? I always have them, but I only use the divine power...

Yes, they stack. Divine Favor provides a luck bonus to attack rolls and damage. Divine Power increases your base attack bonus to that of a fighter the same level.

At level 9, you have a BaB of +6, so Divine Power will turn that into a +9.

It also gives you +6 to strength (that doesn't stack with strength items), so if you are wearing a +4 strength item, you will gain another +1 to hit and damage from the added strength.

Divine Favor at level 9 is a +3 to hit and damage luck bonus, which stacks with Divine Power.

Together, if you are normally wearing a +4 strength item, that's a total of +7 more to hit and +4 more to damage. If you drink Rage potions, that's another +1 to hit and damage that stacks with all of the above. You're close to the point where AC won't matter anymore, so the AC penalty from Rage won't be any harm.

And yes, Skeleton Archers have extremely high AC. I don't know the exact numbers but they're high enough to notice a number of grazing hits.

[STROBE]

First of all, my cleric "works" as intended. With gear, 16 str, 12 dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 25 Wis, 14 Cha. Lvl 9, Radiant server and so. S&B, 39 AC fully buffed. 165 hit points fully buffed or so.
So, it could be better, but its OK.
It is just a bit boring to hack around with the sword/mace.
I was thinking something like dual box, master touch me and go around a bit with a THW. But dual boxing is kind of a hassle, so maybe the -4 is not so terrible after all?*
What do you do?
Splashing is out of question, taking a feat is uber out of question.
Thanks for the comments!
* Very low UMD, so buying scrolls is not so great...

There's a festival cake or cookie that will cast masters touch on your target - no umd check required. They were plentiful and cheap on Thelanis server for several months.

I personally go s & b, with the board being an upgraded Light and Darkness, and the sword typically the crystal cove dagger (either level 16 or 20).

I'm human and currently have improved shield bashing for spit and giggles. Its convenient for finishing off anything clinging to life (without using mana). My DR is passive 5 with the shield equipped and while actively blocking DR is about 20.

I situationally use throwing darts or daggers with shatter mantle, improved curse, wounders and other ability point drainers, if I want to lower the spell resistance or saves of an enemy. Think I got a paralyzer and a strength sapper too.

A paralyzer can be useful for keeping one or two out of a battle till the melee get caught up in a big battle, or with a small or weak group. Vorpal effect type weapons like disrupters, smiters, banishers, as well as an actual vorpal, I find are worth carrying.

Cleric is kind of a two trick pony at higher levels: kite around your blade barrier, with divine punishment for anything that's not kiting. When it comes to damage, everything else is mostly for funnzzies.

You can use greater command, comet fall, hold person, etc. for crowd control if you just want to watch while melee do their thing. That lets them feel needed, and 'that's a good thing', as Martha would say.

None of the above applies to raids or epic. You will pretty much be full-on healing, unless somebody in a position of authority tells you otherwise.

Just one guy's perspective.

[danlan]

Staff of petitioner when passing masses, scroll of heals when healing tanks

[Ugumagre]

Thank you all for your answers!