Got the Pathfinder Playtest PDF, and I've been screwing around with character building. The multiclassing system is lots of fun!
I've built a Barbarian/Cleric multiclass build up to level 9 so far, and I'm calling it the Acolyte of Rage.
Praise Gorum!
Eyes forward,
Lift your shield,
Praise Gorum!
No mercy,
Never yield,
Praise Gorum!
Cut them down,
Draw your blade,
Praise Gorum!
Battle frenzy,
Unafraid,
Praise Gorum!
Blood raging,
Battle cry,
Praise Gorum!
Make them bleed,
Make them die,
Praise Gorum!
Endless battle,
Evermore,
Praise Gorum!
Bless us with,
Holy war!
- Habna of Skala, Dwarven Skald, Battle of Akthal's Shame, 3313 AR
Level 1
Ancestry: Dwarf
Ancestry Feat: Mountain Roots
Background: Acolyte
Class: Barbarian
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 8
Trained Class Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Religion
Totem: Fury Totem
Barbarian Feats: Moment of Clarity, Sudden Charge
At first level there's not much interesting happening, but we're laying groundwork for multiclassing into Cleric by boosting Wisdom to 16 and taking Religion for our trained skill. The background choice here is mostly flavor, as there are more optimized choices out there, but this one is most thematic.
Recommended starting equipment: breastplate (80 sp), greatsword (20 sp), 3 javelins (3 sp), gauntlet (2 sp), backpack (1 sp), bedroll (1 cp), flint and steel (5 cp), waterskin (5 cp), winter clothing (4 sp), trail rations, 5 days (2 sp 5 cp), silk rope (10 sp), grappling hook (1 sp), sheath (1 cp) chalk (1 cp), candle (1 cp), pint of oil (1 cp), wooden holy symbol (1 sp), signal whistle (8 cp), torches (1 cp), sacks (1 cp), smokestick (20 sp) and caltrops (3 sp) - Total: 150 sp/150 sp spent, Bulk: 5 and 8/10 L
Level 2
Barbarian Feat: Cleric Dedication (Gorum)
Skill Feat: Fleet
You're beloved of Gorum, god of smashing face. You channel his holy power through cantrips between rounds of rage. If using a two-handed weapon, you'll need to release one hand using an action either the round before rage ends or on your initial action to cast the spell, unfortunately. Chill Touch is a great one to use on your Rage cooldown. The rules are unclear whether you can apply Strength to touch attacks rather than Dexterity, since p. 197 says "melee touch attacks have the finesse trait" and p. 182 says "you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier when making attack rolls" rather than "you use your Dexterity modifier" or "you must use your Dexterity modifier".
Recommended equipment: As above, plus a minor healing potion now you've got one RP per day - (0/1 RP invested).
Level 3
General Feat: Adopted Ancestry (Human)
Skill Increase: Athletics
Here's a sneaky little rules work-around to squeak in an extra archetype feat. Per the archetypes rules on p. 279, " Once you have the dedication feat, you can select any feat from that archetype in place of a class feat as long as you meet its prerequisites." We're setting up acquiring an extra Barbarian feat through Human Natural Ambition at 5th level granting us a 1st level Barbarian class feat, then converting that to any Cleric archetype feat instead.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus an acid flask and a wand of 1st level heal - (0/2 RP invested)
Level 4
Barbarian Feat: Basic Cleric Spellcasting
Skill Feat: Cat Fall
You get a single 1st level spell from the Divine list each day, plus your previous cantrips. Magic Weapon or Heal are both great options for your daily spell. However, we also have a potential alternative option: true strike. The rules are fuzzy on whether a multiclassed Cleric adds their deity's spells to their list, but the Cleric dedication feat states to "choose a deity as you would if you were a Cleric" and p. 70 states that a Cleric's deity adds spells to your spell list, so it's open to interpretation. Now normally, we couldn't use True Strike unless we were between Rage rounds, as it's a single Verbal action which requires concentration. However, since we can use Moment of Clarity, we suddenly become able to spend two actions during our rage to cast the single action True Strike spell, and our third action to Strike and roll twice, taking the better result whilst ignoring any circumstance penalties to our attack roll and negating any miss chance. Finally, at this level you can now activate your 1st level wand to heal yourself with your stunning 3 RP per day for 1d8+3.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus a wand of 1st level magic weapon and upgrade to a +1 breastplate - (0/3 RP invested)
Level 5
Ability Boosts: Str, Dex, Con, Wis
Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition (Basic Dogma [Emblazon Symbol])
Skill Increase: Acrobatics
Assuming you've upgraded your breastplate, your maximum Dex bonus should still be sitting right on the limit for your armor per the rules for expert quality equipment. Meanwhile, our ancestry feat started as a dwarf, shaved and grew a few feet into a human, swung briefly through a barbarian phase, wandered halfway across the rulebook into the archetype section, then teleported back into the cleric class and settled as turning our weapon into a holy symbol. All this so we don't have to spend an action letting go of our weapon to cast spells. Ugh.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus a cold iron falchion (equal value to the listed cold iron warhammer from the loot table), and upgrade to a +1 greatsword - (0/4 RP invested)
Level 6
Barbarian Feat: Domain (Zeal)
Skill Feat: Fast Recovery
You get a 2nd level spell slot now, meaning you've got access to two heal spells per day. Assuming you can access Gorum's bonus spells, enlarge becomes an option here, otherwise a heightened heal is likely your default slot filler. Your domain power lets you spend one action for one spell point to add a stacking +1 to your weapon for your next attack that turn, adding extra damage dice and attack bonus as normal. Adding this one before sudden charge is a good opener against distant enemies, or if you've spent an action to enter a fresh rage and you're already in someone's face. You're also rocking a massive bonus to Fort saves from your skill feat, and heal faster when you rest, which is good news since you have a massive hit point pool to feed.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus a wand of 2nd level heal and add a Disrupting rune to your +1 greatsword - (0/5 RP invested)
Level 7
General Feat: Ancestral Paragon (Adapted Spell [Ray of Frost])
Skill Increase: Acrobatics
This level patches one of the most glaring holes in the build, that being a lack of effective ranged attacks. Again, we grab a general feat to enhance our deep, mystic, instinctive connection to our ancestry... our human one, that is. Cycling the general feat to an ancestry feat, we convert it into the human Adapted Spell to gain Ray of Frost, which means we must always devote one of our two cantrips to this spell but finally gives us a means of dealing some form of damage at a distance. Plus now you get to shoot ice lasers from your sword, which is totally cool.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus eyes of the eagle and a skeleton key - (1/6 RP invested)
Level 8
Barbarian Feat: Advanced Dogma (Advanced Domain)
Skill Feat: Feather Step
This is a great level for you, since you get both a 3rd level spell, as well as a bonus 3 SP. The domain ability prepare for battle is a great pre-combat boost to your initiative, but you might want to simply save the bonus SP you gained for extra weapon surges instead. As for your once per day 3rd level slot, either a heightened heal or a heroism spell are decent contenders for daily preparation.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus a wand of 3rd level heal and upgrade to a +2 breastplate - (1/7 RP invested)
Level 9
Ancestry Feat: Boulder Roll
Skill Increase: Athletics
Your ancestry feat lets you push medium or smaller creatures around, even off the edge of a cliff, the side of a ship, or into a pit of acid. If they resist you, you deal them level plus Strength mod damage even if they succeed their saving throw. It opens up a great number of tactical options for maneuvering the battlefield to your desires. Unlike the Shove action, this one requires no free hand and only allows an opposed check if they accept damage, which is well worth the extra action cost. And as if this wasn't enough, it doesn't have the Attack action, meaning it won't impose a -5 penalty for a Strike in the same round. Also, thanks to picking up the Feather Step skill feat last level, we can even use this action if the target's standing in difficult terrain.
Recommended equipment: As above, plus upgrade to a +2 greatsword and a +2 master-quality breastplate - (1/8 RP invested)
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