Pathfinder: Blaster cleric?

[Strontosaurus]

Starting up with a new party, and I'm the 6th wheel.  They have a rogue/fighter and a paladin on the front line, a witch and a summoner taking care of your Int-primary arcane caster stuff, and an alchemist who alternates between mixing it up in melee combat and tossing bombs.  I've been told by several of them that they "need a blaster" which I know is kind of an overrated post, but I figured I could occasionally fill that roll with a cleric if I took the Fire domain.  It sounded better on my head than it comes out on paper.  Here's what I've got so far, but I don't really like it.

Maxis Drake
Human Cleric (Theologian) 4
Str 14
Dex 10
Con 13
Int 8
Wisdom 18
Charisma 12
Deity: The Elder God (homebrew)
Domain: Fire
Feats: Scribe Scroll, Combat Casting, Domain Focus

At level 4, this gives me a spell list that looks something like
1: Burning Hands (D), Burning Hands, Shield of Faith, Bless, Burning Disarm, Protection From Evil
2: Produce Flame (D), Sound Burst, Soothing Word, Hold Person

When we hit 5, which is supposed to be soon, I'd prepare two empowered fireballs and wrathful mantle.

The plan started to fall apart when I noticed that even if you prepare a domain spell in a regular slot (from the theologian ability) you can't spontaneously cure.  Of course, the paladin has really good in-combat healing, so my channels could probably keep the party going throughout the day.  Is this a terrible idea?  Should I drop Theologian and replace it with the Restoration domain? Should I just play a storm druid instead?  I like the flavor of my fire cleric, but the actual spell list is turning me off.  It's obvious that clerics at this level are supposed to be healbots or melee bruisers.

[Mooncrow]

The cleric list is pretty terrible for blasting, and if playing a casting druid is an option for you, I would definitely go with that.   

[Strontosaurus]

Well, I can get the spells on my list with the Fire domain, and take Theologian to let me cast them (at +2 CL, no less) from my regular domain slots.  Is it really that much worse than a druid? 

I did some tallying up and I get way more "actionable rounds" per day with a cleric.  Obviously the druid has better battlefield control and call lightning and flaming sphere, but once those spells are gone I have nothing to back it up, unlike the cleric.  That's what's sticking with me right now.

[Mooncrow]

Fire spells don't have a whole lot of versatility though, and it's one of the most common resist types =/  Druid ends up giving you a lot of ways to blast if that's what you want to do.  Of course, my favorite way to blast tends to be Rashemi Elemental Summoning with air elementals, or summoning in storm elementals... 

But even from the low levels you have options for several different element types, spells that can get around SR, etc. 

[Vicerious]

What are your allowed sources?  Is it PF-only?

If you have access to Complete Mage, you could take the Fiery Burst reserve feat and play around with Heighten Spell to power it for some serviceable blasting.

If you're using point buy for your stats, I'd also recommend pushing your Wisdom to 20.  The benefits outweigh having lower stats in other areas.

[Strontosaurus]

What are your allowed sources?  Is it PF-only?

If you have access to Complete Mage, you could take the Fiery Burst reserve feat and play around with Heighten Spell to power it for some serviceable blasting.

If you're using point buy for your stats, I'd also recommend pushing your Wisdom to 20.  The benefits outweigh having lower stats in other areas.

PF only.  I'm not seeing the point in 20 Wis.  If this was 4E or something, sure, but when half my spells aren't even offensive, +1 to save DC and an extra first level spell just don't seem appealing enough.

Is there any good way to do this?  Burning Hands and Fireball don't seem like enough to really pull the idea together but there aren't many other options for cleric evocation.

[veekie]

What about using the Oracle instead? Some of the mysteries can do decently for blasting jobs.

[Strontosaurus]

What about using the Oracle instead? Some of the mysteries can do decently for blasting jobs.

I've looked it over, but the reduced spell progression hurts, and all of the Flame mystery powers are once/day things, which is the same rotten deal I get from just taking the Fire domain.  Really I was just hoping that there was some trick I had missed.

[veekie]

Well:
Haunted Curse - Telekinesis
Ancestor - Telekinesis(10th)
Bones - Bleeding Wounds revelation(used with negative energy spells)
Flame - the fire spells, as you mentioned, and the Burning Magic revelation to go on top. Firestorm might not be very good at rapid damaging, but it does occupy a fairly sizable area(I think it's enough to set some smaller dungeons completely on fire) and lasts multiple rounds.
Heavens - Chain Lightning, Prismatic Spray, Sunburst and Meteor Swarm.  Plus Guiding Star empowering and Awesome Display for the mindscrew spells.
Waves - Geyser and Tsunami. Freezing Spells for debuff on cold blasting.

Its kinda design policy(based on things in Complete Magus) that clerics are supposed to suck at blasting though.

[Strontosaurus]

Yeah, I recall the chart way back in the 3.5 DMG.  Clerics and oracles both eventually get cool stuff but at level 4 the concept just doesn't have enough meat.  I like that Heavens oracle gets color spray, but without a domain spell, oracles actually don't come out that far ahead of clerics in terms of spells/day plus I'd be losing out on channel positive energy.

[veekie]

Well with Heavens its less just having Color Spray, its having Color Spray better than anyone else's Color Spray.

[Strontosaurus]

Well with Heavens its less just having Color Spray, its having Color Spray better than anyone else's Color Spray.

That is actually a pretty sweet ability.  Holy moly.  Still, channel positive energy is like an extra 4 spells per day, and if I take turn undead I can pretend it's a nuke.

[Sobolev]

Well with Heavens its less just having Color Spray, its having Color Spray better than anyone else's Color Spray.

That is actually a pretty sweet ability.  Holy moly.  Still, channel positive energy is like an extra 4 spells per day, and if I take turn undead I can pretend it's a nuke.

It also requires you to be on top of people, and people will save at all the wrong times.  My friend JUST tried to do this like, two weeks ago.  It seems cool on paper, but it's all your eggs in one basket (the basket is pretty strong to be fair) and as soon as someone saves or is immune, you basically immediately die.  At low levels Vermin and Undead aren't that uncommon.

Edit: To clarify, when I say you basically immediately die, I mean my friend is already dead and playing a new character.

[veekie]

That is why your oracle's probably packing nice armor and a shield to help reduce that. Its basically a cleric chassis after all.

[Mooncrow]

You could also go with a witch instead - their slumber ability is also crazy good, and you can do it at range.  Plus you still have the cure spells and what not (to use with wands )  And they have much better blasting options than a cleric.