Pathfinder Cleric Class Analysis 

Hot take: healing should be expected for post-combat, not mid-combat. Party’s responsibility is to avoid taking damage as much as possible, not jumping in, face tanking, and screaming for heals.

I recently picked Cleric in my first ever Pathfinder game. Spells, melee, support. It’s so much fun.

you make better class analysis videos than the actual manual describes.

My first ever pathfinder game, and i was tasked with playing a cleric thats a necromancer. Im struggling to learn what i should be doing through out the sessions and its aggravating some of the other players. This video is a godsend.

so you're saying moses is a cleric...? you're not wrong lol

Strangely enough, every time I play anything with access to any sort of healing spells I'm expected to basically just sit back and heal. I've even been yelled at by the DM for getting up in the front lines and then he had all the monsters attack me, which, my cleric had the highest AC, best saves, and a ton of health, so most of those attacks literally just bounced off of my armor and I made a complete ass out of everyone for doubting my "healer's" ability to also tank as well as his ability to dish out more damage than the fighter in some cases. Channel Smite with Channel Negative Energy and Guided Hand on a spell storing weapon holding inflict serious wounds. Come at me, bro. Then there's the Theologian archetype, where all you do is grab the Fire domain, spell focus and greater spell focus, elemental spell, and maybe some weapon stuff to swing your channel later on if you can play either neutral or evil. Plus a level dip into sorcerer, grab the crossblooded archetype and choose primal elemental fire and draconic (Gold or Red) for your bloodlines. 5th level permanent Intensified Spell from Theologian your Burning Hands, and at 10th level drop that on your Fireball and before you know it you're dropping a 10d4+20 burning hands and a 15d6+30 fireball. Makes it better if your DM allows Surtur, because Fire domain and favored weapon greatsword so when you're out of spells you wade in, greatsword in hand to drop channel smite on the big bad. Elemental Spell is great for those fights where you know you're going up against stuff that's either resistant to or immune to fire. I pick Acid when I select the feat.

When I first started playing Pathfinder (organized play at an FLGS), my initial character was a Cleric of Cayden Cailean, the Drunken Hero. I thought, "Yeah, I'm sure everyone and their brother has one of these, but it seems like a blast to play RP-wise, so slightly-drunken healer it is." Turns out, I'm the only cleric of ol' CC that I've seen in almost 6 years of organized play, not sure why no one else has rolled one up, but go figure....

there is Something you forgot to mention : variant channelling : you can chose to alter your channeling, dealing half heal or damage, but add another effect to it depending on your domain (of cours the effect is generally different if you heal or harm, but some domains have only one or the other option). And the fact a cleric can take 15 minutes for prepare 1 spell slots left open a the start of the day. Same as the wizards (did you precise it in your video about wizard ? I don't remember)

made a cleric that is of artifice and knowledge....... so far a very fun and interesting build with a lot of potential

Pathfinder seems like such an awesome game. I've already planned out destruction/war cleric of Gorum out but nobody seems to be playing this game. It's impossible to find even an online group, been trying for like 3 months now

0:37 okay but Corvo is definetly a Witch though... he even has a familiar in the shape of his love's soul bound to her mechanically reanimated heart, because the Outsider is wacky like that.

I tend to play tank clerics usually taking spells like Bless, magic weapon, aid, bull's strength and what have you, sure I only have a d8 HD but you can skip the shield for shield of faith or a ring and take a 2 handed weapon or 2 hand a 1 handed weapon like the bastard sword. Clerics are the Kings and Queens of all trades masters of all roles they wish to play. While I may not primarily function as a healer, spontaneous casting allows me to be one in an emergency. The Selective Channeling feat is a godsend (pun intended) allowing you to ignore up to your charisma modifier of people when channeling. I.E. You are a cleric of Gorum (CN god of war) and you choose channel negative energy and you have a cha mod of +4, you can keep at least 4 of your fellow soldiers safe from your power if you channel it to harm living. I normally use positive energy but I can see how using negative energy could really work out if you wanted to be a damage cleric.

Thanks for the video, I'm dming for my group that has never fully done a pathfinder campaign. I am sending them to your videos to get some guidance.

Looking to play a Half-Elf cleric in my next Pathfinder game! Seems like it’ll fit perfectly. 😁👍.

Thank you, been waiting for this video, so many questions of clerics I have lol.

Sacred conduit trait let's you stabilize with a touch, no check. Not saying abandon heal but it's something. I'm thinking half orc with sacred tattoo, fate's favored trait, and protection domain for +3 to saves. Then going paladin for cha to all saves.

Sadly most parties will view clerics as just heal bots and will expect them to do nothing but heal every battle.

You can create your own God with the dm. In dnd We when to the place called the Midlands and they believe in the creater and the keeper. My clerics believes in the creater and we made 5 domains for her

Great video, thank you. I'm curious if you've ever encountered a reach cleric. I'm making one for an upcoming adventure path and am intrigued by the approach. Lots of strength, a reach weapon and combat reflexes giving you 3+ attacks of opportunity - then hunker down and keep your wizard close!

So funny you mentioned Fire domain for Fireball. That's not the only great spell you get from that domain but it's certainly one of the most useful (and fun). OH and what's even better is as you gain more and more caster levels you can actually later on even prepare _more_ Fireballs (you have to give up a higher level slot which isn't always gonna be worth it) but yeah, for dealing with the lower level mobs in dungeons and stuff like Gnolls for instance, there's no better way than to start combat by dropping a literall ball of fire on them. When used effectively you can clear out half the room, especially if you make a point of choosing the weaker characters in the room. It's area of effect is pretty massive as well. At the next caster level for the same domain you can actually opt to have a Wall of Fire instead, which I mean to be honest usually you are gonna probably wanna take a 2nd Fireball instead for the day but the one time I did prepare Wall of Fire it was unbelievably effective, the DM couldn't have organized the enemy army in a better way to be affected by my _Wall_ of Fire. I am sure you can visualize more or less what I am talking about.

Every time I take test on what class you are I always get cleric....still haven't played one....oughta do it

u should do a vid about the gods

Me: i'm bored i'm going to find a way to randomly generate my character from race, to class and alignment. Rng Jesus: Human Cleric Chaotic evil. Also me: Trickery Domain, definitely going Norgober and act like a rogue. Actually that would be an interesting multiclass since Norgorber is a god of murderers and thieves. The party sees a questionnaire rogue and never asks where he goes to on sundays.

Heal your party or Harm the Undead... this is why we have House Rules /laugh

also just a build that i do is a gorum cleric, max st first then wis con then cha, get versitile channel, selective channel, and channel smite, uses a greatsword gain rage spell and lead blades as 3rd lvl spells, use the war subdomain blood, and destruction subdomain rage, get heavy armor prof from feat or dualclass into fighter. buff self to rediculous power and go murder things lol.

I plan on playing the Deathrite Shaman from mtg and I'm thinking of doing undead lord cleric archetype as an elf.

great vid! do oracle plz!!!

channel would be pretty powerful if you could heal the party and kill the skeletons. probably why it was limited. the only downside is it heals All living creatures so, enemies too :(

Would you consider doing a legend of Zelda link type build. Maybe not for optimization but for fun. I always thought he'd be a ranger/rogue/fighter

A non good or evil character who worships a non good or evil deity can take the Versatile Channeler feat and channel the opposite alignment that they chose at first level, albeit not as well as their original choice. (pathfinder ultimate magic.)

You should take a look at the bloodrager class. I'd love your take on it

No mention of knowledge(religion)? Being the premier faith-based, undead-killer class?

d10 here I favor the divine classes in my play style, n cleric I'd what I usually go for if I'm not experimenting with the warpriest. not to say arcane and martial are no fun.

The prisoner that receives a mark, is it a game?

Alright can i know the music at the start

I’ve never seen that clip of the outsider and that prisoner before, was that from a DLC?

Do you have a video for Oracle?

why does it say to pick two domains on d20PFSRD?

Is this 1e? just starting the vid

AZ-mo-DEUS. im sorry. i know im being a prick but for some reason that bugs the hell out of me

Cleric, the anti swarm specialist

How about the WarPriest?

Dump str and go for cha and others. Give up on using weapons except maybe for AoO's. With the number of spells and channels you get per day its hard to use them up. Occasionally spell use will incur an AoO but channel doesn't. Weapon use isn't worth it without good str and you're better off with con, dex, or int for skills. Every +1 from con is like a higher HD; keeping healers up is vital. Think of the times you've been down to a few hp and came back from it, referring to healers. Get a handy haversack to lower encumbrance. Str isn't worth it. Also why use range weapons if you still have debuff spells with a strong dc. Maybe it's just me but clerics as a combat class is more about HD and armor selection. I'm not accounting for specialty builds and some cleric abilities are self-only combat buffs.

Hey, d6, looking for another contributor?

You call this an analysis? ....you barely talked about the plusses/minuses of the various domains and their impact on game play...scandalous!!

When you doing Bard ;)

Warpriest opinion?

"Watch out for traps and such" what about your olden Dwarven Fighter trying to cut off your toe because you were arguing too much with the tiefling?

Conpetitive tabletop? That actually exists?

When I was running a campaign no one wanted to play a cleric, not because of combat but because of role playing. They always imagined them as goody to shoe holly and a buzzkill. One day one of them wanted to run a game so I played the priest. I made him a fat drunken lecherous piece of shit but with a big hart. Now I have limit one cleric per party when running games.

aasimar cleric=gg