Character option

[Cosmichorror]

First in our GM's corner, is me. I'm possibly going to be joining a very small group here consisting of, currently, three people, one DM and two players. Understandably, this makes things a little dificult when determining character roles. (Note: this is a 3.5 game they are playing).

What they really need right now is a healer, but they could also use a front line tank as the two characters consist of an elf ranger/wizard (I wonder where that build is going...) and a Sorcerer. They're currently level 5.

I've been thinking about character options and I've come up with really two possibilities. A medium spellcasting/medium combat cleric who will be getting access to and casting Divine Power as soon as he's able to, or a druid using wild shapes to function ably in combat as well as having the healing spells necissary to patch up the party. The problem with the druid, is the lack of spontanious healing.

So there you have it. Comments on more specific builds or other options would be handy. Also the group is roughly neutral in alignment. They work for a black dragon, but do good through such work, so that balances out to neutral in the end.

[Edivad]

Kudos on creating this forum, good idea.


Combat Cleric: Quite viable, and from what I heard can be more effective in melee than a Fighter. Divine power is indeed very good, but you will have to wait until 7th level to cast it. Probably the safest choice - your allies don't sound like they will have many Hit Points(elven ranger/wizards and sorcerers aren't very sturdy), so being able to spontaneously heal them would help them greatly.


Druid : The shapeshifting could turn you into a dangerous fighter - not sure if better or worse than the Cleric - and you could gain special abilities such as water breathing, swim speed, flight and so on that give you some useful out-of-combat flexibility.
However not being able to spontaneously heal is bad, since it forces you to use your precious spell slots for healing. However, being able to spontaneously summon animals and have an animal companion might help with the party lack of Hit Points, since they will be able to take some of the damage from your enemies' attack.
Another issue: The Druid won't be able to turn undead - this might be a significant disadvantage if they're a regular foe in your campaign.
Last thing: If you are willing to give up the Animal Companion and spontaneous summoning, there's this
www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druidVariantDruidicAvenger

Penalties: No Animal Companion, no Spontaneous Summoning, -4 penalty to Wild empathy, Diplomacy is a cross-class skill
Advantages: Rage, Fast Movement, Intimidate is a class skill

Probably not a very good variant, but I thought you might be interested in it.



You didn't mention your character's race, so I assume he's going to be human? The extra feat and skill points can be quite good.

There might be more 'exotic' options for a combat/healer character, especially if you can use non core classes. The only one I can think of now is the...

Dragon Shaman: You can get an aura that heals people up to half their maximum HP and could fit quite well, RP-wise, with working for a Black Dragon. However I think the class is quite weak overall, and might work best in a large party - which yours obviously isn't. So not that good an idea I guess.

[Cosmichorror]

Right... had forgotten about the Dragon Shaman... but yah, like Marshalls and Bards, their abilities really shine in large groups. As for race, I'm leaning human, but if some other option comes up, I might take that.

About the Druid having to memorize healing spells, I could get away with a wand of CMW and only memorize CSW as needed... Also remember that without a feat, Druids can't cast spells in animal form.

Simple Pros/Cons:
Cleric Pros:
Simple
Can wear heavy armor and use more weapons
More straightforward spells
Spontanious curing
Turning of undead

Cleric Cons:
Not very versatile
A little boring to play
Tough on the ability scores (a combat cleric needs good str, con, wis and to a lesser extent, cha)

Druid Pros:
Very versatile
Potential to form armies of animals
Excelent wilderness specialist
Good teamwork spells (Snake's Swiftness, I'm looking at you)

Druid Cons:
Can't spontantiously cast cure
Seriously restricted armor and weapon list
Can't turn undead
No domains.

A pretty tough choice so far it seems...