Pupsocket's Guide to Dipping Cleric
Updated with Inner Sea Gods and all subdomains on d20pfsrd, 9. July 2014.
So, you're considering a single level of Cleric. Since you're considering multiclassing, you're probably not a main caster. Therefore, I will write the guide on the default assumption that your role in combat is going to involve more attack rolls and less spellcasting.
I’ve used the usual colored ratings, but most of the bad and very bad choices are not in the guide at all, to make it easier to find the actual relevant choices.
Class Features
You're not really choosing between options yet, so no colors.
Skills: A measly 2 skill points. But you get Sense Motive, Diplomacy and most of the Knowledges as class skills.
Base Attack Bonus: You lose one point. That's pretty bad, so make sure you get your money's worth.
Saves: +2 Fort and Will. Sweet. That's pretty much a decent feat's worth of improvement.
Aura: You ping on Detect [alignment] spells. That might help negotiations with outsiders. Also, you can take Sacred Summons, and if you're good, you can do double damage when the Paladin casts Litany of Righteousness.
Channel Energy 1d6: Meh. 1D6 healing or hurting is nothing to get excited about. But let's see what we can do with it later.
Domains: Oh yeah. This is why you're here, everything else is just gravy.
Orisons & Spellcasting: 2 or 3 spell slots is nice. There are decent spells, even with CL 1. Also, you can use wands and staves without UMD.
Spontaneous Casting: It's pretty much a trap even for a full Cleric.
Basic Proficiencies: Simple Weapons, Medium Armor, Shields. Simple weapons are of interest to Monks, who are not natively proficient with any reach weapons. Medium armor proficiency opens up Mithral Breastplate to people restricted to light armor.
Favored Weapon Proficiency: Shuriken. Greatsword. Glaive. Longbow. Anything else you would like?
Domains
When looking at domains, remember that the Cleric Dip only includes level 1 granted powers and 1. Level domain spells. Domains also add all their spells to your spell list for using spell trigger items, but unless a domain is extremely impressive in that regard, I'll ignore it. If your Wis is unimpressive, you’re probably looking for things in the static bonus/bonus feat part of the list.
I’ve put in the animal and terrain domains on the list. These are for Druids. “Other nature-themed classes with access to domains may select an animal or terrain domain in place of a regular domain.” This means Clerics of Gozreh and….whatever you can convince your GM goes.
Static bonuses
Animal (Feather): +1 Perception, +2 initiative in surprise rounds, and +1 maneuverability step in flight. All of it useful, none of it impressive.
Knowledge: Make a touch attack to identify a monster. Ain't nobody got time for that! You also get all knowledges as class skills.
Sun (Revelation): Perception as a class skill AND a +4 bonus? Nice.
Travel: +10 Speed. Ignore difficult terrain as a free action. Great spells.
Trickery: Bluff, Disguise, Stealth class skills, great spells, and a very useful defensive buff if you have move actions to burn.
Void: +2 stackable bonus vs. mind-affecting, and good spells. The Confusion effect is not very useful.
Eagle: You get a familiar, that’s nice enough all by itself. Here’s a tip: Improved Familiar doesn’t count your levels in a familiar-granting class. Also, minor but useful abilities.
Frog: A familiar (who isn’t a bird), and a weird tongue-attack that isn’t stuck at level 1. Reach out and lick a Basilisk.
Monkey: A familiar again, and things you don’t care about.
Plains: Summoning big beefy creatures to trample your enemies is fun.
Serpent: Familiars are nice, but this is no Eagle.
Bonus feats
Darkness: Free Blind-fight feat. Useless domain ability. Subdomains optional.
Rune: Most useless blast yet. But you get Scribe Scroll and the surprisingly useful Erase spell.
Wolf: Free Improved Trip. No Combat Expertise, no Int 13, just free Improved Trip. And good wand spells.
Standard actions (these are usable 3+wis times per day)
Chaos: Touch of Chaos is a great no-save debuff. Most subdomains give it up, so don’t take them.
Chaos (Azata): Granting a reroll on mind affecting stuff can be a lifesaver, but this subdomain is just better for a dedicated Cleric. also, you're giving up Touch of Chaos.
Community: Heal non-lethal damage and cure lesser status effects; only interesting if it synergizes well with a teammate. The subdomains are terrible.
Fire (Smoke): The granted ability lacks a duration, but it's nice. The spells are awesome, but not so much from a wand or scroll.
Good (Azata): Still a useful domain. Also puts Fly on your spell list.
Healing (Restoration): Remove minor status effects with a touch.
Law: Spending a standard action is steep, but ”I hit. I cleave, I hit. I save. He provokes? I trip him” from your meathead without uncertainty is pretty golden.
Law (Judgement): +1 caster level. You can loophole casting a spell that would normally have a long casting time as a standard action instead.
Liberation (Freedom): Liberty's Blessing is harder to use than the other save-granting abilities, but it's not limited to enchantments and it can be used as a pre-buff.
Luck: A very useful buff for your buddy. I prefer Law, though. This domain also has True Strike. Subdomains optional.
Madness (Insanity): The defense against mind-affecting is better than it seems at first glance, but it's only 1 minute.
Magic (Arcane): CL boosts are hard to come by in PF.
Nobility (Leadership): If you're committed to stand around and give minor circumstance bonuses, this one is at least unlimited.
Repose: That's a nasty no-save, no-SR, not mind-affecting bad touch debuff.
Other actions (these are usable 3+wis times per day)
(some of these are standard actions, but not used in combat, so they go here)
Animal (Fur): +10’ speed is not much, but it's a swift action. You get Magic Fang on your spell list, if for some reason you want it and don't already have it.
Water (Rivers): +10’ land or swim speed as a free action.
Charm (Love): Will save DC 10+Wis or lose an attack; as an immediate action multiple times per day, very nice when it works.
Destruction (Torture): Free action intimidate, with a bonus equal to damage dealt? Pure gold for a demoralizer build.
Glory (Honor): Standard action new save vs. charm/compulsion is good. Immediate action new save for yourself is pretty damn good.
Knowledge (Memory): Reroll knowledge checks, with a bonus, for you or your buddies.
Law (Loyalty): +4 save vs. charms and compulsions, duration: Enough. Nice.
Plant (Growth): Swift action Enlarge. It won't give you opportunity attacks, but it will give you damage, move-and-attack vs reach without AoO or full attack at targets more than one step away. Also, you can use wands of Enlarge Person.
Magic (Divine): Whenever you are the target of a divine spell – that's pretty often. Limited uses per day keeps this ability from a better rating.
Travel: +10 Speed. Ignore difficult terrain as a free action. Great spells.
Travel (Exploration): Give up a great movement power for a great reconaissance power. This ability lets you know if you should prebuff, and prebuff wins D&D.
Trickery: Bluff, Disguise, Stealth class skills, great spells, and a very useful defensive buff if you have move actions to burn.
Trickery (Ambush): Swift action concealment/full concealment? I’m sure you can find a use for that.
War (Tactics): Letting an ally roll twice for initiative is fantastic.
Cave: You get Darkvision for a couple of hours each day.
Desert: Free action Blur multiple times per day means never having to suffer sneak attacks from flanking or invisibility.
Inquisitions
Domain using classes (like Clerics) can use Inquisitions. Ultimate Magic trumps Ultimate Combat on this.
Banishment: If this works like it says, it’s very nice if you’re already a Bad Touch guy. It’s probably meant to be a separate action, though – in that case, it’s red.
Black Powder: This is almost a level of Gunslinger all by itself.
Conversion: For the right build, that’s easily +6 or more to 3 important skills right there.
Persistence: Step Up as a bonus feat and a speed bonus, not bad.
Sin: Quick, name a sin. Was it Pride or Greed? It totally was, and now I get +4 on my next Charisma check.
Spellkiller: Disruptive bonus feat (it doesn’t open up the later feats, unfortunately), and +2 AC for the rest of the encounter after your first kill. Also, you get an ability to stagger enemy casters that’s only half written.
Feats
A Cleric dip opens up new feat choices. A lot of them deal with Channel Energy, and are not at all relevant if you’re sticking with a single die, so I won’t mention them.
Channel Smite: You’re only taking this for Guided Hand.
Channeling Scourge: For a single feat, you can blast undead (or the living) like a full Cleric, IF you’re playing Inquisitor.
Command Undead: Commanding undead is nice. A 1 HD limit, less so.
Crusader’s Flurry: Flurry with a greatsword? Sure.
Divine Interference: Better for a Cleric. But spending a 1. Level spell, CL 1, to get a successful attack rerolled? Worth it. Note that the prereqs are separate: Divine spells, AND level 10 caster. So Magus 10/Cleric 1, no problem.
Domain Strike: If you’re using unarmed attacks, adding Bad Touch to your attacks as a swift action is just pure action economy gravy.
Guided Hand: Wisdom to attack rolls with a favored weapon. Gravy. But it’s costly.
Life Lure: Fascinating enemies is less useful IMO than Frightening them.
Turn Undead: The save DC doesn’t increase, but a failed save will send even a Dracolich running.
Selective Channeling: Arguably worth it with many of the variant channeling options.
Clarifying channel (Inner Sea Gods, Shelyn): Grant re-save vs charms, compulsions.
Ki Channel (Inner Sea Gods, Irori): Turn channel energy into Ki points.
Variant Channeling
Since we’re only channeling 1 die, many of these are too insignificant to mention. As with Animal & Terrain domains, there’s no definitive list of which options go with which gods.
Air/Sky/Wind: Save or half movement might occasionally be useful.
Ale/Wine: Negate sickened, nauseated and ability penalties for 1 turn? That might be worth an action. Will save or be nauseated, as an area effect? Pretty sweet. As written, Undead are not immune to this.
Bravery/Valor: New save vs. fear is worth an action.
Cities: Save or you basically can’t 5’ step for a turn.
Darkness: You can drop the light level for a minute? Sweet.
Disease: Heal ability damage.
Earth: Drop a persistent difficult terrain area. Tactically very useful.
Envy: Holy shit, a failed save means you waste your turn provoking an attack of opportunity?
Farming: Ignore fatigue or cause it. Barbarians probably care a whole lot.
Freedom: It’s kinda like casting slow for a turn.
Madness: It’s kinda like casting Confusion for a turn.
Rulership: So, it’s Mass Daze?
Self-Perfection: Ignore one temporary condition for 1 round? Sweet.
Sun: If you care about having Bright light, this is a very cheap way to get it.
Archetypes
Cloistered Cleric: The costs are excessively front-loaded, so it’s not worthwhile for a dip.
Crusader: Lose a domain and a daily 0. and 1. Level spell, gain a bonus combat feat from a very short list.
Devilbane Priest/Mendevian: Lose a domain and some casting for Heavy Armor Proficiency and +1 to one skill. Pass.
Divine Strategist: Lose a domain and channeling, gain ability to act in a surprise round.
Evangelist: If you need Bardic Performance for something else, this is a better dip than Bard.
Hidden Priest/Razmirian: Blah blah blah disguise spellcasting as something else, lose a domain.
Merciful Healer: Lose stuff, gain nothing.
Scroll Scholar: Lose a domain ability for +1 to one Knowledge skill.
Seperatist: Mix and match domains? Yes please. Lots of domain abilities work just fine with lower Cha or Wis.
Theologian: +2 level to your domain power will rarely matter, although it does allow a familiar to get Deliver Touch Spells. The ability to prepare your domain spells a few times per day is nice.
Undead Lord: A single bad domain and a level dependent ability.
Varisian Pilgrim: Restricted choices – but several blue choices on the list. You get to use your power on your friends as if they were you, at range 30’. There are plenty of powers that are very useful like that. Lose Medium armor.