D&D 4E Alt. Cleric: The Priest

[Elemental_Elf]

Maybe an encounter power that allows the Cleric to exalt his knowledge of (his) Religion. The Cleric makes Religion check that must beat the Will of an adjacent monster. If the power hits, the Cleric receives +2 AC and the enemy  is hit with 1d6 radiant damage.

[Xeviat]

That wouldn't help consistantly increase the cleric's AC. On the WotC boards, someone pointed out to me the Warlock's concealment from moving, which helps guide the Warlock to act in the way the designers want them to act (and helps make up for the fact that Int is a secondary score for them).

Thus, I am exploring my options for making an ability that encourages the Priest to act in the way they should act. I'm toying with ideas that give them defense bonuses when they heal others, but that's not constant enough.

[Nomadic]

What about a defense bonus after they cast a spell that aids an ally (fluff'd up as the holy light or unholy darkness or whatever else shrouding them for a short while after they cast). I dunno how balanced that might be (you might make it a random chance or only once every so many turns).

[Elemental_Elf]

What about a defense bonus after they cast a spell that aids an ally (fluff'd up as the holy light or unholy darkness or whatever else shrouding them for a short while after they cast). I dunno how balanced that might be (you might make it a random chance or only once every so many turns).

That too would probably be situational.


Maybe he has an At Will Power that sheathes him in a Divine Aura that grants him a +2 to AC but the power withers to a +1 after being hit. At 21st level, the power would increase to a +4 bonus and wither to a +3.

[Xeviat]

Nomadic's idea would definately make them act in a Priestly way. But I think it would also require their current powers that only do damage to be altered, otherwise they would be considerably weaker. And it seems like it might be difficult to adjucate.

One idea I had would be something to encourage them to stay close to their allies. But that would hurt the "lone cleric". Then again, the game isnt' meant to be played solo.

I've got a bunch of people thinking on it, including one non-designer. Divine Protection is a simple enough thing, it's just a matter of finding a way to balance it as well as make it cool.

I mean, I could simply give +2 AC in light armor (the Swordmage gives +1 AC always and +3 AC when their off-hand is free after all), but I'd like something more flavorful.

I think this might also be an opportunity to create differences between the two builds. The charisma based priest could have a shield that gives them Charisma to AC instead of Int and also deals damage to people who attack them. The Int one could possibly give others an attack bonus against those who attack the Cleric.

I'm just tossing out things that come to mind.

[Elemental_Elf]

Maybe give the Cleric a bonus to their AC when they Hold their God's Holy Symbol in their off hand? Its more flavorful than a Shield and feels really priest-y.

[Xeviat]

That's an interesting idea! That goes to the top of the list.

[Xeviat]

Okay, the framework is set. I will be using E_E's genius idea of giving AC while wielding their Holy Symbol rather than wearing it. This will help to aleviate the Priest's AC discrepency. Since +2 AC is worth 2 feats (though it's only worth one at the low end, since Leather Armor is one feat), this bonus will pay for the loss of their armor proficiency feats.

I've been wracking my brain studying the current Wisdom Cleric powers, and they're all over the board. Some of them fall more into the Controller role (Flame Strike), while others are more striker (Astral Blades of Death). So, I need to practically go back to the drawing board and establish what the two different Priest builds will focus on. Now, both builds will use Wisdom for their Attack stat, while one build will use Int for their secondary and the other will use Charisma for their secondary. But I'm not sure what their separate areas of expertise should be now (I was sure in the past, but now I'm less sure).

I want to start at the themes themselves. The Int Priest is going to be the Scholorly Priest. This is someone heavily schooled in religious lore, someone who will want to quest to retrieve holy relics. The Cha Priest is going to be the Evangelical Priest. These priests are preachers, advisors, and the face of the church.

At each level, there will be two powers that are neutral (using neither Int or Cha; neutral powers will have healing strikes, as these are important to all cleric concepts), one power that uses Int, and one power that uses Cha. This is the skeleton that all single attack stat classes utilize, and it is a simple one to follow.

But now I need some help brainstorming what each of the Priest paths should specialize in, based on the archetype I've attached to them.

Again, thank you for all your help.

[Elemental_Elf]

The Scholarly INT Priest could be the striker, relying on his knowledge of many things (he is learned after all) to take down single foes. His knowledge allows him to better direct his own hits but also his allies'.

The CHA Priest would be much more fiery, more 'DIVINE WRATH UNTO THE HEATHENS!' in my eyes. He'd be more of a Controller, reigning down Radiant Bursts of divine fury upon the godless pagans.

[Xeviat]

That's a good way of splitting it up. I'm still going to ensure that all of the Priests powers have leader qualities to them (I hate Astral Blades of Death), but that's a good explanation for why each would be the way they are. I think I'll have Cha have a good amount of close bursts and blasts, encourage them to get up close and personal.

Again E_E, thanks. I'll see if that guides me more.