Reply To: The Stormbringer (Druid 19 – Cleric 20 – Monk 1)

#928
Maximillian Kane

    Hey Squid!

     

    Since I was the one who made the statement that instigated your curiosity, allow me to explain, and then I’d also like to make a small commentary about the build itself.

     

    The reason I said that Cleric / Druid / Monk would potentially be the most powerful dual-caster Spellsword was because both Druids and Clerics cast with Wisdom, and Monk adds Wisdom to AC, so there’s a lot of synergy stat-wise, that revolves around Wisdom.

    Spell DCs will be high for both Cleric and Druid spells, and Spell Focus (Conjuration) will apply to Druid’s and Cleric’s SoVs, so you’d be able to perma-stun your non-immune opponents, and Cleric buffs + Dragon Shape doesn’t need any explaining. It does have all the vulnerabilities you describe, mainly to dispel, but if you bait the dispels proficiently (which is something I know you can do, having played the Wood Witch to 40 on WoG), it’s just a powerhouse.

    Now, about the build, but also taking into account what I mentioned above, you didn’t take advantage of the best part of the combo, which is the synergy in the casting stat, by not taking any Spell Focus. Instead, you decided to invest your feats into being a proficient archer, but you didn’t take Called Shot (which for me is almost mandatory in any archer build), and in doing divine damage with a capped CHA modifier of 8 and Divine Might. Although I do appreciate the effort, I don’t think it’s the best way to build this class combo. If I were going to do it, I’d take only Zen Archery at level 6, then Extend and Empower spell, Knockdown and Spell Focus / Greater Spell Focus. Then in Epics, you do have a bit of a dilemma, because you need to get Wisdom 30 for Dragon Shape before level 40, which means you need to end your Wisdom in at least 32. Again, I’d swap around the EWF in the bow for ESF: Conjuration to better explore the synergy in casting. With Cleric buffs, you’ll still be able to hit VERY OFTEN even without any Weapon Feats. And finally, I’d go with the split in the Order of Jormungandr (20/18/2) for Deflect Arrows. When in DS, you’ll have both hands free, which means you’re sure to avoid the first missile that would hit you each turn. Since not much will hit you, that means you’ll ignore pretty much all the ranged damage you would take. Not to mention 1 Tumble Dump at level 22 would make your leveling process SO MUCH easier!

     

    And finally, I know you said you were trying to avoid XP penalty with this build, which only happens because you went with Elf. If you had chosen Human, you could freely go with Cleric 16 / Druid 4 pre-epic, or even Druid 16 Cleric 4, both of which would be easier to level, and you’d have 40 more skill points and an extra feat to show for, both of which are extremely desirable, given how starved this build is in these areas. I’d say going Elf doesn’t add much to this class combo, except being able to take the archery feats, which isn’t what makes it “OP”. So, again, I appreciate the effort and originality, but you have to agree with me that this class combo might not be the best “trying grounds” for this type of concept. Perhaps a Druid / Monk / CoT could be, if you used the bonus feats from CoT to get the archery stuff. Then you’d still be able to include all the other necessry stuff like KD, Blind Fight and potentially, but not necessarily, even Spell Focus feats. But then you wouldn’t have 2 caster classes that would benefit from these feats, so it wouldn’t be such a big loss.

     

    Anyway, that’s just my 2 cents! I hope it helps!