Introduction
The Cleric is Pathfinder 2e Remastered's divine problem solver: healer, font battery, condition cleaner, undead answer, doctrine specialist, religious authority, and occasional holy wrecking ball. The mistake is treating it as "the healer." That is like calling a castle "a wall with hobbies."
This guide uses Player Core for Cleric rules, Player Core 2 for archetypes and expanded character options, GM Core for campaign expectations and treasure context, and Monster Core for matchup advice. It summarizes and evaluates options instead of reprinting rules text.
Disclaimer
This is a ranking and build guide, not a replacement for Player Core. It summarizes Cleric choices without reproducing full class tables, deity entries, feat text, domain spell text, prepared spell text, or item rules.
Ratings assume a mixed campaign with combat, exploration, social scenes, hazards, treasure progression, and GM Core encounter variety. Cleric advice is especially table-dependent because deity edicts, anathema, sanctification, undead frequency, condition pressure, and divine politics can change what "best" means faster than a party can say "we have a healer, right?"
Class Snapshot
| Feature | Cleric |
|---|---|
| Source | Player Core |
| Key attribute | Wisdom |
| Hit Points | 8 plus Constitution modifier |
| Complexity | Moderate |
| Spell tradition | Divine |
| Skills | Religion, one deity skill, plus 2 plus Intelligence modifier |
| Defenses | Cloistered starts unarmored; Warpriest gains light armor, medium armor, stronger Fortitude, and shield support |
| Weapons | Simple weapons, unarmed attacks, and deity-favored weapon training; Warpriest later expands weapon access |
| Signature engine | Deity, divine spellcasting, divine font, doctrine, domains, sanctification, heal or harm |
| Best party job | Divine support, emergency recovery, condition answers, holy or unholy pressure, Religion expertise, and faith-driven utility |
Ratings Legend
- ● Excellent: best-in-class, broadly useful, or build-defining.
- ● Strong: recommended for many Clerics.
- ● Situational: good in the right build, table, or campaign.
- ● Weak: too narrow, redundant, or costly for the payoff.
Why Cleric Is Strong
Cleric has one of the best safety nets in the game: extra highest-rank heal or harm slots from divine font. That means a healing Cleric can prepare actual divine spells instead of panic-packing every slot with recovery. The font is not a personality. It is permission to have one.
The class also has a rare amount of build identity packed into first level. Your deity changes your skill, weapon, font, sanctification, domains, added spells, and table behavior. Your doctrine decides whether you are a high-DC divine caster with domain focus or an armored divine battle-priest with shields and weapons. Your spell list decides whether the day is about recovery, cleansing, spiritual damage, defensive buffs, divinations, or "this room contains too many undead and I brought paperwork."
The Cleric is strongest when it has a plan for all three modes of play: combat, exploration, and campaign identity. A Cleric with no deity expectations, no spell preparation plan, no Medicine backup, and no gear discipline is still useful. A Cleric with those things is a table pillar.
Class Feature Ratings
| Feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Deity ● | Your deity grants your skill, favored weapon access, font, sanctification options, domains, added spells, edicts, and anathema. This is the first real build choice. |
| Cleric spellcasting ● | Prepared divine spellcasting gives healing, protection, condition removal, divinations, spiritual offense, and utility. Wisdom drives the numbers. |
| Divine font ● | Extra highest-rank heal or harm spells are enormous. Healing font in particular lets the Cleric save lives without spending every normal spell slot on healing. |
| Doctrine ● | Cloistered and Warpriest play differently enough that doctrine is effectively the Cleric's subclass. Pick based on table role, not costume. |
| Sanctification ● | Holy and unholy traits matter heavily in campaigns with fiends, celestials, undead, divine factions, and enemy weaknesses. It can be Blue in the right adventure. |
| Domains ● | Domain Initiate and advanced domains create focus spell identity. A good domain gives repeatable power that does not compete with prepared slots. |
| Religion training ● | Religion covers divine Recall Knowledge, rituals, faith institutions, planar context, and many campaign mysteries. You are not just the party's hit point accountant. |
| Favored weapon ● | Excellent for Warpriest and some deity builds. Less important for pure Cloistered Clerics unless the weapon adds useful backup or flavor. |
| Resolute Faith ● | Will resilience matters because divine casters get targeted by mental control, fear, and magical pressure. |
| Divine defense ● | Better defenses arrive later, but every durability increase matters on a class that enemies notice. |
| Miraculous spell ● | A 10th-rank cleric slot is a high-level divine event, not a casual Tuesday. Build your late-game preparation around the campaign's biggest problems. |
Doctrine Rankings
PF2e Remastered Cleric has two doctrines. They are not small flavor toggles.
| Doctrine | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cloistered Cleric ● | Pure divine casters, high spell DCs, domain users, back-line support | Cloistered gets Domain Initiate immediately, improves Fortitude early, and reaches stronger spell attack and spell DC progression than Warpriest. If your plan is "my spells decide the encounter," this is the default. |
| Warpriest ● | Shield Clerics, armored support, favored weapon builds, divine front-liners | Warpriest starts with armor, better Fortitude, Shield Block, and stronger weapon access. It later improves weapon proficiency and can reach master with the deity favored weapon, spell attack, and spell DC at 19th. It trades casting ceiling for armor and battle presence. |
Cloistered Cleric
Cloistered Cleric is the best doctrine when the character's main contribution is prepared divine magic. The free Domain Initiate matters because focus spells are renewable power, and the spell proficiency path is better for save-based spells, divine debuffs, spirit damage, and high-rank control.
Prioritize Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity, Religion, Medicine, and spell category coverage. You do not need to cosplay as a lamp in the back row. You need enough defense to avoid folding when the map stops being polite.
Warpriest
Warpriest is the battle doctrine, but it is not a Fighter wearing a sermon. It gains armor, Shield Block, martial weapon training, deity weapon scaling, and stronger Fortitude. That makes it excellent for shield support, divine weapon turns, Channel Smite builds, and standing near allies who would prefer not to be eaten.
The tradeoff is spell accuracy. Warpriest can still cast very well, especially with buffs, healing, utility, and spells that do not rely on enemy saves. If your whole plan is landing offensive save spells at peak DC, choose Cloistered. If your plan is "heal, shield, strike, block, and make the hallway sacred," Warpriest is doing the job.
Deity Selection
Your deity is the Cleric build before the feats arrive. Do not choose one only because the name looks cool on the character sheet.
| Deity element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Divine font ● | Determines whether your extra highest-rank slots are heal, harm, or a deity-permitted choice. For most parties, this is the biggest practical effect. |
| Domains ● | Domains decide your focus spell access. Pick domains for usable focus spells, not just theme words. |
| Added spells ● | Deity spells can patch divine list gaps. This is one of the best reasons to care about deity mechanics beyond font. |
| Sanctification ● | Holy or unholy access changes how your divine tools interact with certain enemies and abilities. |
| Favored weapon ● | Very important for Warpriests and Channel Smite builds. Less central for pure casters, but still useful as a backup. |
| Deity skill ● | The granted skill can shape your exploration and social role. Religion is automatic, so the deity skill broadens your real sheet. |
| Edicts and anathema ● | These are table-facing constraints. They should create character direction, not gotcha moments. Discuss them before play. |
Deity Questions to Ask
- Does this deity give heal, harm, or a choice?
- Do the domains provide focus spells I will actually cast?
- Does the favored weapon fit my doctrine?
- Do the added spells patch a gap in the divine list?
- Will the edicts and anathema be fun in this campaign?
- Does sanctification matter for the enemies the GM expects to use?
Divine Font
Divine font is the reason Cleric can be both the party healer and something else. The class does not need to spend every prepared slot on emergency recovery because the font already covers a large part of that job.
| Font | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Healing font ● | Most parties, most campaigns, new players, undead-heavy games | Extra highest-rank heal slots are one of the most reliable support engines in PF2e. They heal living allies and can punish undead when the encounter calls for it. |
| Harmful font ● | Harm Clerics, undead or void-healing parties, unholy themes, Channel Smite builds | Harm is real, but less universally useful. It improves when the campaign supports void healing, living targets, divine offense, or melee delivery through Channel Smite. |
| Choice deity ● | Flexible deity concepts and players who know the campaign premise | If your deity allows either font, choose based on party needs. In a normal mixed party, healing font is usually the pragmatic pick. |
| Versatile Font feat route ● | Deities that allow both fonts and players who want both channels | Preparing either heal or harm in font slots is valuable, but only if your campaign regularly rewards both modes. |
Heal Font Priorities
Healing font is strongest when you use normal spell slots for non-healing answers. Prepare protection, cleansing, buffs, divinations, and utility. Let the font carry emergency hit points.
Healing Hands, Communal Healing, Magic Hands, Restorative Channel, Heroic Recovery, Fast Channel, and Resurrectionist all reward a Cleric who wants the font to be the party's recovery engine.
Harm Font Priorities
Harmful font wants a plan. It can support void healing, living-target offense, Divine Castigation, Channel Smite, Sap Life, Void Siphon, Cast Down, and Rebounding Smite. It is much less impressive when the campaign mostly needs conventional ally healing and condition answers.
If the party has another strong healer and your deity supports harm, harmful font can be a flavorful and functional offensive route. If the party has no healing safety net, choosing harmful font because it sounds edgy is how the group discovers the true meaning of "actions have consequences."
Sanctification
Sanctification can give the Cleric the holy or unholy trait, depending on deity. That affects class feats, spell traits, enemy interactions, and the character's side in planar and religious conflicts.
| Choice | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Holy ● | Often strong in campaigns featuring fiends, undead, cults, corruption, or sacred opposition. It also supports Divine Castigation against opposing creatures. |
| Unholy ● | Best for darker campaigns, unholy deities, undead themes, harm builds, or parties intentionally aligned with that side of the divine conflict. |
| No sanctification ● | Fine when the deity allows it and the campaign does not emphasize holy or unholy conflict. Weaker if enemy traits and divine feats regularly care. |
Discuss sanctification with the GM. Player Core ties it to deity permissions and anathema, while GM Core gives the GM room to make deity expectations part of the campaign. That is good when everyone knows the deal. It is bad when the Cleric finds out mid-session that the campaign is secretly a courtroom drama about anathema.
Domain and Focus Spell Priorities
Domains are focus spell access. Focus spells are renewable power. Renewable power is good because adventuring days enjoy disrespecting your prepared spell math.
| Domain priority | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Healing and protection domains ● | Support Clerics, defensive parties, new players | Defensive and restorative focus spells stay relevant because preventing a bad turn is often better than repairing one. |
| Zeal, might, confidence, and combat domains ● | Warpriests, Channel Smite builds, martial parties | These reinforce weapon turns, ally offense, and front-line pressure. |
| Knowledge, truth, magic, and lore domains ● | Investigation campaigns, divine scholars, prepared casters | These domains help the Cleric matter before initiative and during information-heavy adventures. |
| Travel, freedom, and mobility domains ● | Positioning-heavy tables, rescue Clerics, tactical maps | Movement solves more divine problems than people admit. "I cannot reach them" is the saddest heal spell. |
| Fire, sun, death, destruction, and direct damage domains ● | Themed casters, undead-heavy games, blasting support | Damage focus spells are fun, but they compete with a class that already has strong support jobs. Choose them when the campaign supports the damage type or theme. |
| Secrecy, trickery, passion, and social domains ● | Intrigue campaigns, face Clerics, deity-heavy roleplay | Excellent when the campaign makes social and exploration play matter. Narrow if every session is one hallway with initiative music. |
Domain Feat Progression
| Feat | Why |
|---|---|
| Domain Initiate ● | Required for domain focus play, free for Cloistered Clerics, and repeatable for more domain breadth. |
| Advanced Domain ● | Unlocks the deeper domain spell. Strong when the advanced spell is something you will cast regularly. |
| Domain Focus ● | Completely refilling your focus pool when you Refocus is excellent for Clerics who lean into multiple focus spells. |
| Shield of Faith ● | Good defensive payoff after spending Focus Points, especially for Clerics who already cast domain spells often. |
| Deity's Protection ● | Resistance after domain casting is valuable, but it wants a Cleric who is already committed to the domain route. |
Divine Spell Category Rankings
Use the Divine spell guide and Cleric spell guide for spell-by-spell work. For class-guide purposes, prepare by category first.
| Spell category | What Cleric wants from it |
|---|---|
| Emergency healing ● | Heal from divine font covers the core job. Keep normal slots free unless the party needs extra recovery beyond the font. |
| Condition removal ● | Cleanse affliction, clear mind, sound body, sure footing, counteract tools, and similar divine answers are why Clerics feel irreplaceable when the adventure gets mean. |
| Defensive buffs ● | Protection, saving throw help, AC support, resistance, and anti-condition prep prevent problems instead of making you mop them up later. |
| Accuracy and party buffs ● | Bless-style effects are excellent because a +1 in PF2e changes hit and crit math. The joke is that the smallest number at the table is sometimes the loudest. |
| Enemy debuffs and control ● | Fear, command-style pressure, prone support, speed penalties, and spiritual control effects help the party win instead of merely survive. |
| Spirit, vitality, and void damage ● | Divine offense is best when it targets enemy traits, weaknesses, sanctification, undead, fiends, or living enemies vulnerable to the chosen channel. |
| Divinations and information spells ● | Prepared casters love knowing what problem they are walking into. The GM does not have to spoil the adventure for scouting to matter. |
| Utility and rituals ● | Divine utility, rituals, travel support, and downtime magic are campaign glue. Not every valuable spell gets applause in combat. |
| Pure blasting ● | The divine list can deal damage, but Cleric is usually better when damage is tied to enemy traits, focus spells, harm/heal modes, or deity-granted spells. |
| Summoning ● | Useful when the player knows the creatures and action economy. Weak if it becomes "I spend a slot to add a confused assistant." |
Ability Scores
| Attribute | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Wisdom ● | The key attribute. It drives spell DCs, spell attacks, Religion, and the class's core competency. Start high. |
| Constitution ● | Clerics draw enemy attention because healing and buffs are rude to monsters. More HP helps you stay available. |
| Dexterity ● | Important for AC, Reflex, initiative-adjacent comfort, and Cloistered defense. |
| Strength ● | Important for Warpriests, armor comfort, Athletics, and favored weapon builds. Less important for back-line Cloistered Clerics. |
| Charisma ● | Useful for Diplomacy, deity leadership, social campaigns, and certain face builds. Not required for divine font in Remastered Cleric. |
| Intelligence ● | Extra skills help, especially for Religion plus Medicine plus social or knowledge coverage. Usually a luxury. |
Best Ancestries And Heritages
Cleric is forgiving on ancestry because Wisdom, spellcasting, divine font, and doctrine do most of the heavy lifting. The best ancestry choices improve durability, feat flexibility, senses, mobility, social authority, or a doctrine-specific plan. Use this with the ancestry guide hub and heritage guide.
| Option | Best for | Why it fits Cleric |
|---|---|---|
| Human ● | Any doctrine | Extra flexibility is excellent on a class juggling deity, doctrine, font, skills, and spell prep. Human is boring only if the player is. |
| Dwarf ● | Warpriest, shield Cleric, attrition campaigns | Durability, armor fantasy, and steady front-line presence fit Clerics who expect to be near danger. |
| Elf ● | Cloistered caster, domain scholar | Speed and classic spellcaster identity help a back-line Cleric stay positioned, though durability needs attention. |
| Gnome ● | Domain-focused Cleric, odd deity concepts | Innate magic and strange faith concepts fit Clerics who lean into focus spells, knowledge, or divine weirdness. |
| Leshy ● | Nature deity Cleric, support caster | Nature themes, quirky durability, and support flavor pair well with deities tied to family, nature, healing, or protection. |
| Orc ● | Warpriest, harm Cleric, intimidating clergy | Toughness and martial presence support the "holy symbol in one hand, problem in the other" route. |
| Kholo ● | Warpriest, fear-facing faith leader | Strong physical and social pressure can work well for militant or community-protective Clerics. |
| Ratfolk ● | Cloistered caster, utility Cleric | Useful for clever, tool-heavy, or urban Clerics, but the build needs to protect its defenses. |
| Versatile heritages ● | Deity-touched concepts | Use versatile heritages when the story layer reinforces the faith, sanctification, or divine weirdness instead of merely adding sparkles to the robe. |
Best Skills
| Skill | Why Cleric wants it |
|---|---|
| Religion ● | Automatic, thematic, and mechanically important for divine Recall Knowledge, rituals, faith institutions, planar context, and many monster mysteries. |
| Medicine ● | Preserves spell slots, handles between-fight healing, and pairs well with Healing Hands into Magic Hands. |
| Diplomacy ● | Many Clerics are public religious figures, negotiators, confessors, or problem-solvers with a holy symbol and a calendar. |
| Society ● | Useful for institutions, law, settlements, organizations, and social campaigns. |
| Intimidation ● | Demoralize is a strong third action, especially for Warpriests or stern divine enforcers. |
| Athletics ● | Warpriests like physical control, climbing, swimming, Trip, Grapple, Shove, and battlefield utility. |
| Arcana, Nature, or Occultism ● | Pick one if your party lacks Recall Knowledge coverage. The best Cleric knows when a problem is not actually religious. |
Backgrounds
The best Cleric backgrounds support the deity and add a skill the build will use every session. You already get Religion and a deity skill, so background choice is a clean place to add Medicine, Diplomacy, Society, Athletics, Crafting, or another Recall Knowledge skill. Use the broader backgrounds guide when you want the full character-creation layer.
| Background direction | Best for | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Acolyte, pilgrim, temple attendant, or theologian ● | Any Cleric | This makes the divine role legible from level 1 and gives the GM an obvious way to connect temples, doctrine, holy days, and religious obligations. |
| Medic, herbalist, hospice worker, or battlefield healer ● | Healing font, support Cleric | Medicine preserves spell slots, handles between-fight recovery, and keeps the party alive when the Cleric is out of font slots or currently face-down. |
| Guard, soldier, crusader, or shrine protector ● | Warpriest, shield Cleric | This supports armor, weapons, Athletics, and the practical job of standing where enemy weapons are currently being rude. |
| Scholar, scribe, archivist, or legal clerk ● | Cloistered Cleric, deity researcher | Extra knowledge and Society support investigation, scripture, rituals, and campaigns where religious law actually matters. |
| Noble, emissary, advocate, or community leader ● | Face Cleric, public faith figure | Diplomacy and social authority fit Clerics who negotiate, preach, represent institutions, or talk the party out of consequences they absolutely earned. |
| Artisan, blacksmith, undertaker, or relic keeper ● | Warpriest, ritual Cleric, temple worker | Crafting and item familiarity support symbols, shields, weapons, scroll access, and religious material culture. |
| Criminal, cult survivor, refugee, or penitent ● | Redemption, harm, dark deity, or intrigue Cleric | Strong story fuel, but it needs session-zero clarity so the background creates play instead of hijacking it. |
| Performer, merchant, sailor, or wilderness guide ● | Campaign-specific Clerics | These are fine when the deity and adventure support them. Otherwise, they can feel like a second character concept taped to the first one. |
Best Cleric Feat Chains
Use the full Cleric feat guide for detailed feat sorting. These are the major build lanes.
Healing Font Support
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Healing Hands ● | Improves heal dice, which matters because divine font gives you many highest-rank heal spells. |
| Communal Healing ● | Adds extra recovery when casting single-target heal. Great for parties that cluster around front-line damage. |
| Magic Hands ● | Makes Medicine better, which is exactly what a magical healer should want between fights. |
| Restorative Channel ● | Lets font slots cover key condition-removal spells. This is a major reason healing Clerics stay useful when raw HP is not the problem. |
| Heroic Recovery ● | Adds mobility and offensive boosts to single-target healing, turning recovery into tempo. |
| Fast Channel ● | Converts a 2-action heal into the 3-action version's area effect for font users. Strong when positioning and multiple targets line up. |
| Resurrectionist ● | Excellent for high-level campaigns where dying and revival are real table concerns. |
Harm and Smite
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Harming Hands ● | Harm dice improvement is important if harmful font is your real plan. |
| Divine Castigation ● | Lets heal or harm interact with opposing holy or unholy creatures through spirit damage. Campaign-dependent but potent. |
| Sap Life ● | Nice self-sustain if you regularly damage living creatures with harm. |
| Channel Smite ● | Delivers heal or harm through a melee Strike. Great for Warpriests, risky for characters with bad melee plans. |
| Cast Down ● | Adds prone pressure to damaging heal or harm casts. Control stapled to damage is worth attention. |
| Void Siphon ● | Drained on a critical failure against harm is good, but it needs enemies and saves to cooperate. |
| Rebounding Smite ● | Makes missed Channel Smite turns less tragic at high level. |
Symbol and Shield Cleric
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Emblazon Armament ● | Turns a shield or weapon into a religious symbol and adds a real benefit. Excellent on Warpriest, useful for symbol-focused builds. |
| Raise Symbol ● | Saving throw defense is useful, and the shield interaction with Emblazon Armament is the point. |
| Warpriest's Armor ● | Heavy armor support for Warpriests that want to stand in the punishment aisle. |
| Emblazon Energy ● | Strong when the campaign rewards the chosen energy type or the domain match matters. |
| Emblazon Antimagic ● | Powerful in magic-heavy campaigns, especially on shields. |
| Channeling Block ● | Turns font slots into emergency shield durability. Very Warpriest, very dramatic, very expensive. |
Domain Cleric
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Domain Initiate ● | The starting point for focus spell identity. Cloistered gets it free, which is a real advantage. |
| Advanced Domain ● | Worth it when the advanced spell becomes part of your normal encounter rhythm. |
| Surging Focus ● | Situational, but regaining a Focus Point when an ally drops can matter in hard fights. |
| Shield of Faith ● | Good if you are regularly spending Focus Points on domain spells. |
| Domain Focus ● | Refilling the focus pool turns domain casting into a serious adventuring-day engine. |
| Deity's Protection ● | Resistance after a domain spell rewards committed domain play. |
General Spell Support
| Priority | Why |
|---|---|
| Reach Spell ● | Touch-range and short-range divine spells become easier to deliver without walking into trouble. |
| Cantrip Expansion ● | More cantrips are useful, but Cleric usually has stronger early feat priorities. |
| Selective Energy ● | Makes area heal or harm much safer when allies and enemies are mixed together. |
| Steady Spellcasting ● | Helps preserve spell actions against disruption, especially for front-line or mid-line Clerics. |
| Defensive Recovery ● | Adds defense to healing, improving the target's next round instead of only repairing the previous one. |
| Fortunate Relief ● | Excellent when counteract-based condition removal is a recurring campaign need. |
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Equipment Recommendations
Cleric gear should support doctrine first. A Cloistered Cleric and a Warpriest should not shop like the same person unless both are attending a bake sale.
Cloistered Cleric Gear
| Gear | Why |
|---|---|
| Explorer's clothing with armor runes ● | Cloistered starts unarmored, so item progression matters. Do not neglect fundamental armor runes just because the outfit has sleeves. |
| Religious symbol ● | Required or relevant for class identity, worship, and symbol feats. Keep one accessible. |
| Healer's tools ● | Medicine remains valuable even with divine font. |
| Staff ● | A divine staff extends your prepared casting plan and gives repeatable utility. |
| Wands ● | Best for recurring spells you expect to cast daily but do not want to prepare every morning. |
| Scrolls ● | Carry situational divine answers, condition removal, utility, and emergency magic. Scrolls are the prepared caster's backup brain. |
| Shield ● | You can Raise a Shield even without Shield Block, but the value depends on proficiency, hands, and action economy. |
| Defensive invested items ● | Saves, AC, perception, and mobility items keep the back-line caster alive when monsters become impolite. |
Warpriest Gear
| Gear | Why |
|---|---|
| Light or medium armor ● | Warpriest doctrine supports armor from level 1, and later class features improve that route. |
| Heavy armor through Warpriest's Armor ● | Strong for Warpriests who want maximum defense and can handle the Speed and Bulk implications. |
| Shield ● | Shield Block plus divine support makes the shield a real part of the class plan. Use the shield guide. |
| Deity favored weapon ● | Your doctrine and several feats care about it. Keep runes current if you expect it to matter. |
| Backup ranged weapon ● | Warpriests still need a plan when flying, elevated, or distant enemies show up. Monster Core is not shy about inconvenient geometry. |
| Weapon and armor runes ● | If you Strike and get hit, fundamental runes are not optional. See runes. |
| Staff, wands, and scrolls ● | You are still a prepared divine caster. Armor does not make scrolls illegal. |
| Consumables ● | Healing potions, elixirs, talismans, and situational tools fill gaps without spending prepared slots. |
Treasure Priorities
- Keep armor or explorer's clothing runes current.
- Keep the deity weapon current if you Strike regularly.
- Buy scrolls for condition removal and niche divine utility.
- Add a staff or wand once recurring spell needs are clear.
- For Warpriests, treat shield quality and repair access as part of the build.
- Do not spend the entire budget on one holy toy while your saves look like wet paper.
Best Archetypes
Use the archetypes guide and Free Archetype guide for the broader system. For Cleric, archetypes should either reinforce the doctrine or cover a missing party job.
| Archetype | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Medic ● | Healing Clerics, parties without recovery redundancy | Medicine is already excellent, and Medic makes the non-slot healing plan better. |
| Blessed One ● | Support Clerics, holy protector concepts | Adds a strong divine-support identity without replacing Cleric casting. |
| Bastion ● | Warpriests, shield Clerics | Reinforces shield play and party defense. |
| Sentinel ● | Cloistered Clerics wanting armor, Warpriests wanting more defense | Good when armor proficiency solves a real survivability problem. |
| Champion multiclass ● | Deity-bound defenders, Warpriests, protective Clerics | Fits divine themes and defensive identity. Watch attribute and feat costs. |
| Oracle multiclass ● | Divine mystics and themed casters | Flavorful and sometimes useful, but do not dilute your Cleric's main job without a reason. |
| Ritualist ● | Campaigns with rituals, downtime, religion, and occult problems | Clerics often have the story position and Religion investment to make rituals matter. |
| Scroll Trickster ● | Utility-heavy casters and campaigns with scroll access | Useful if scroll use is frequent. Narrow if the campaign economy is stingy. |
| Marshal ● | Warpriests and divine leaders | Strong party presence if your Charisma and positioning support it. |
Example Builds
Cloistered Healing Font
| Choice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Doctrine | Cloistered Cleric |
| Font | Healing font |
| Attributes | Wisdom first, then Constitution and Dexterity |
| Skills | Religion, Medicine, Diplomacy or a deity skill |
| Feats | Healing Hands, Communal Healing, Restorative Channel, Domain Focus |
| Gear | Explorer's clothing runes, healer's tools, divine staff, scrolls, wands |
| Play pattern | Use divine font for emergency heal, prepare non-healing answers, and use domains or buffs to prevent damage before it happens. |
Warpriest Shield Cleric
| Choice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Doctrine | Warpriest |
| Font | Usually healing font |
| Attributes | Wisdom and Strength, with Constitution close behind |
| Skills | Religion, Athletics, Medicine, Intimidation |
| Feats | Emblazon Armament, Raise Symbol, Warpriest's Armor, Channeling Block |
| Gear | Medium or heavy armor, shield, deity weapon, runes, repair support |
| Play pattern | Hold the line, Raise Shield or Raise Symbol, heal when needed, Strike when the action is worth it, and make enemies waste effort removing you. |
Harmful Font Smiter
| Choice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Doctrine | Warpriest or a very carefully built Cloistered Cleric |
| Font | Harmful font |
| Attributes | Wisdom plus Strength for melee delivery if using Channel Smite |
| Skills | Religion, Athletics, Intimidation |
| Feats | Harming Hands, Divine Castigation if sanctified, Channel Smite, Cast Down, Rebounding Smite |
| Gear | Deity weapon, armor or defensive items, scrolls for support gaps |
| Play pattern | Use harm as offense, self-sustain, or melee delivery. Make sure the campaign and party can survive you not being the default heal battery. |
Domain Scholar
| Choice | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Doctrine | Cloistered Cleric |
| Font | Healing font for most parties |
| Attributes | Wisdom, Intelligence or Charisma as the concept demands |
| Skills | Religion plus other Recall Knowledge skills |
| Feats | Domain Initiate, Advanced Domain, Domain Focus, Deity's Protection |
| Gear | Staff, scrolls, wands, defensive items |
| Play pattern | Use focus spells every fight, prepare information and utility spells, and turn deity theme into practical table answers. |
GM Core and Monster Core Notes
Session Zero
Cleric needs one of the clearest session zero conversations in the game. The GM and player should discuss deity edicts, anathema, sanctification, religious institutions, undead expectations, holy or unholy enemies, and how strict the campaign will be about divine behavior.
That does not mean the GM should use anathema as a trapdoor. It means the Cleric's faith should create meaningful choices. "Your god matters" is fun. "Your god was a hidden terms-of-service agreement" is not.
Encounter Design
Monster Core makes Cleric matchup knowledge matter. Undead, fiends, celestials, void healing, vitality effects, spirit damage, diseases, poisons, curses, and creature traits all change what the Cleric should prepare.
The GM should telegraph enough information for preparation to matter. A prepared caster who never receives clues is not being challenged; they are being asked to guess the weather underground.
Treasure and Downtime
GM Core treasure assumptions matter for Cleric as much as they do for weapon users. Warpriests need armor, shields, weapons, and runes. Cloistered Clerics need defensive items, scrolls, wands, and staves. Both benefit from religious symbols, healer's tools, and downtime access for retraining or acquiring situational magic.
If the campaign starves the Cleric of scrolls and condition-removal tools, the class becomes narrower than the rules expect.
Hot Take: Divine font handles emergency healing, freeing the Cleric to prepare answers for the rest of the adventure.
