PvM Cleric Build - Bard 20 / Cleric 20

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Yunim
Duke
Duke
Posts: 225
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2018 5:49 pm

PvM Cleric Build - Bard 20 / Cleric 20

Post by Yunim »

This is a specialised support build that is built for one specific high end boss run, although it can also be used as a secondary healer in one other specific high end area. In every other area a generic cleric build such as a Cleric 38 / Monk 1 / Wizard 1 or Cleric 38 / Monk 1 / Rogue 1 is better, and with the right party they will be fine in that specific boss run too. The only reason to choose this over a generic cleric build is for the -5 AC curse song, if your party is properly prepared you can manage perfectly well with a generic cleric healer.

I have been on plenty of high end runs where people bring bard builds, but once they sing they tend to stand around doing nothing for the rest of the run. The motivation for this build is to be useful after the initial song, since it can cover both healing and singing. Although it is able to heal almost as well as a generic cleric, think of this as a bard replacement rather than a cleric replacement. There is a high end area where it could be used as a secondary healer, but even then your party should have a generic cleric as a main healer in addition to this build.

The bard levels allow the use of arcane banners to restore spells and UMD allows the usage of all scrolls and wands. While Bard 16 is enough to get a -5 AC curse song, Bard 20 is required to pick up Lasting Inspiration. Cleric 20 is enough to maximize the cleric spell slots, but unfortunately means that it can't pick up Mummy Dust. This will make levelling harder, but Harm/Heal/Implosion should be enough to get to 40.

There are multiple ways to customise this build while keeping the same level layout.

Due to the overlap with bard spells, Healing is the only essential domain for this build. Animal gives level 3 True Seeing, Magic gives Ice Storm, Strength gives level 3 Divine Power, Trickery gives Invisibility spells and Divine Trickery. However True Seeing and Invisibility are both covered by bard spells, and level 20 Ice Storms are pretty weak. Strength domain is a decent second domain, but I prefer the +11 skill bonus from Divine Trickery over level 3 Divine Power.
The best races for the build are Human and Gnome, I chose Gnome since the extra feat and skill points aren't really needed. A Human has extra carry capacity, since you can drop INT to 10 and raise STR to 12 while keeping the same number of skill points.
The ending WIS for the build should be 32, since 34 WIS only adds one level 6 cleric slot. I chose to start with 16 WIS and use 6 Great Wisdom feats, but starting with 18 WIS can free up two epic feats at the cost of 120 HP. Since Mummy Dust is not available with this level spread, I would suggest Epic Skill Focus: Concentration and Epic Spell Focus: Evocation.
There are only 4 essential feats for this build: Curse Song, Great Wisdom, Lasting Inspiration, and Silent Spell. For pre-epic feats I chose GSF: Evocation to boost the Implosion DC to help with levelling and quests. Empower Spell and Maximize Spell are worth considering, but since your damage spells are fairly weak I suggest dropping them.
The skills for the build are made assuming it will have +12 CON/WIS/CHA gear, but after singing you can get by with just +12CON/WIS gear. UMD in particular will need either CHA gear or bard song to hit the 33 ranks needed to use all scrolls consistently. You can drop Tumble in order to increase Spellcraft or UMD, but make sure to keep at least 20 Tumble ranks to avoid AoO's while moving around.
The Perform skill points are timed so that you don't need any CHA/Perform gear for bard song until level 38. At level 40 it has enough Perform to use a level 19 song without any CHA/Perform gear, and +10 CHA / +5 Perform unlocks the level 20 song. Since the only reason for curse song is to lower AC you don't need to use CHA gear, although you will miss out on bard slots without it.

With +12 WIS gear you will have 42 level 5 - 9 cleric slots. For level 5 cleric slots, your caster level is too low to use Spell Resistance, and both True Seeing and Improved Invisibility can be replaced with Bard spells. Therefore all of your level 5 - 9 cleric slots should be healing spells, with the possible exception of Greater Sanctuary. For high end runs I recommend carrying multiple stacks of Greater Restoration, Greater Sanctuary, and Resurrection scrolls.

While levelling, your main offensive spells are Harm, Heal, and Implosion (43 Fortitude). Combining Curse Song and Prayer gives you an effective Implosion DC of 46 Fortitude, enough to solo most quests. However due to your low caster levels you might need Mord scrolls to defeat high spell resistance mobs.

Recommended Bard Spells
Level 1: Amplify. Balagarn's Iron Horn. Grease. Lesser Dispel. Mage Armor.
Level 2: Clarity. Darkness. Ghostly Visage. Invisibility. See Invisibility. Silence.
Level 3: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance. Dispel Magic. Greater Magic Weapon. Gust Of Wind. Keen Edge.
Level 4: Cure Critical Wounds. Improved Invisibility. Legend Lore. Neutralize Poison. War Cry.
Level 5: Ethereal Visage. Greater Dispelling. Healing Circle. Mind Fog. Summon Creature V.
Level 6: Dirge. Energy Buffer. Ice Storm. Mass Haste.

With +12 CON, +12 WIS, a +20 AB sling, and +6 AC items, it have the following:
AB: 25 (base) + 17 (WIS) + 20 (AB bonus) + 1 (size) = +63
AC: 10 (base) - 1 (DEX) + 8 (Tumble) + 2 (Large Shield) + 30 (AC bonus) + 4 (haste) + 1 (size) = 54
HP: 280 (base) + 360 (CON) + 40 (feats) = 680
Fortitude: 21 (base) + 9 (CON) = 30
Reflex: 19 (base) - 1 (DEX) = 18
Will: 24 (base) + 17 (WIS) = 41

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Bard(20), Cleric(20), Gnome

STR: 6
DEX: 8
CON: 16
WIS: 16 (32)
INT: 12
CHA: 16

Code: Select all

01: Bard(1): Toughness
02: Cleric(1): Domain Healing, Domain Trickery
03: Cleric(2): Extend Spell
04: Cleric(3): WIS+1, (WIS=17)
05: Cleric(4)
06: Cleric(5): Spell Focus: Evocation
07: Cleric(6)
08: Cleric(7): WIS+1, (WIS=18)
09: Cleric(8): Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
10: Cleric(9)
11: Cleric(10)
12: Cleric(11): WIS+1, Silent Spell, (WIS=19)
13: Cleric(12)
14: Cleric(13)
15: Cleric(14): Zen Archery
16: Cleric(15): WIS+1, (WIS=20)
17: Cleric(16)
18: Bard(2): Curse Song
19: Bard(3)
20: Bard(4): WIS+1, (WIS=21)
21: Cleric(17): Great Wisdom I, (WIS=22)
22: Cleric(18)
23: Cleric(19)
24: Bard(5): WIS+1, Great Wisdom II, (WIS=24)
25: Bard(6)
26: Bard(7)
27: Bard(8): Great Wisdom III, (WIS=25)
28: Bard(9): WIS+1, (WIS=26)
29: Bard(10)
30: Bard(11): Great Wisdom IV, (WIS=27)
31: Bard(12)
32: Bard(13): WIS+1, (WIS=28)
33: Bard(14): Great Wisdom V, (WIS=29)
34: Bard(15)
35: Bard(16)
36: Bard(17): WIS+1, Great Wisdom VI, (WIS=31)
37: Bard(18)
38: Bard(19)
39: Bard(20): Lasting Inspiration
40: Cleric(20): WIS+1, (WIS=32)

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Concentration 43(48), Disable Trap 1(2), Open Lock 1(0), Perform 42(45), Pick Pocket 1(0), Set Trap 1(0),
Spellcraft 17(18), Tumble 40(39), UMD 26(29)

Ba	01: Concentration(4), Disable Trap(1), Open Lock(1), Pick Pocket(1), Set Trap(1), Spellcraft(1), Tumble(4),
UMD(4), 
Cl	02: Concentration(1), Save(2), 
Cl	03: Concentration(1), Save(4), 
Cl	04: Concentration(1), Save(6), 
Cl	05: Concentration(1), Save(8), 
Cl	06: Concentration(1), Save(10), 
Cl	07: Concentration(1), Save(12), 
Cl	08: Concentration(1), Save(14), 
Cl	09: Concentration(1), Save(16), 
Cl	10: Concentration(1), Save(18), 
Cl	11: Concentration(1), Save(20), 
Cl	12: Concentration(1), Save(22), 
Cl	13: Concentration(1), Save(24), 
Cl	14: Concentration(1), Save(26), 
Cl	15: Concentration(1), Save(28), 
Cl	16: Concentration(1), Save(30), 
Cl	17: Concentration(1), Save(32), 
Ba	18: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Tumble(16), UMD(17), 
Ba	19: Concentration(1), Perform(3), UMD(1), 
Ba	20: Concentration(1), Spellcraft(3), UMD(1), 
Cl	21: Concentration(1), Spellcraft(2), 
Cl	22: Concentration(1), Save(2), 
Cl	23: Concentration(1), Save(4), 
Ba	24: Concentration(1), Tumble(5), UMD(3), 
Ba	25: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Spellcraft(1), 
Ba	26: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Tumble(1), 
Ba	27: Concentration(1), Tumble(4), 
Ba	28: Concentration(1), Spellcraft(4), 
Ba	29: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Spellcraft(1), 
Ba	30: Concentration(1), Perform(4), 
Ba	31: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Tumble(1), 
Ba	32: Concentration(1), Tumble(4), 
Ba	33: Concentration(1), Perform(4), 
Ba	34: Concentration(1), Perform(4), 
Ba	35: Concentration(1), Perform(4), 
Ba	36: Concentration(1), Perform(3), Tumble(1), 
Ba	37: Concentration(1), Tumble(4), 
Ba	38: Concentration(1), Perform(4), 
Ba	39: Concentration(1), Perform(1), Spellcraft(3), 
Cl	40: Concentration(1), Spellcraft(2), 
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