IMHO, gold dwarves make the best single-classed clerics.
they have no character level penalty, so the best spells will be there as soon as they can. They have a bonus to constitution, which not only keeps them alive longer, it also helps heaps with concentration, the clerics most important skill. the -2 dexterity doesnt matter too much, because they will be wearing the heaviest armor you can find them.
A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.
- Jackie Robinson
Half-orcs can be good single class clerics too. The penalty to charisma and intelligence won't matter (turning undead isn't all that useful so essentially losing that ability is a fair trade for 20 str 18 con 18 wis 16-18? dex). After casting draw upon holy might the physical stats are impressive when they hit a high caster level. And no ecl penalty.
Drow are VERY good in the long run for a race and female drow's favored class is cleric. But they level up slower..
How many other party members do you plan to have?
A few levels won't matter as much early on if you have several other strong charectors. I would say though that in the long run it's not such a bad idea. They can become quite strong. Plus it is the favored class for female drow so obviously you're not taking a giant step into the unknown (say perhaps a half-orc wizard). But I ask please have some originality. Don't be the Drizzt-esque "honorable drow." Be an evil party and kill random people! It's done enough.
I plan on having 6 characters in my party and I'm not playing HoF mode.
Since I'm not too fond of multiclass characters my cleric will be a pure cleric, I was thinking on a cleric of Lathander because they are good healers.
Stats of my Drow Cleric:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Constitution: 16 (max for drow because of their -2 penalty on const)
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 16
The Drow cleric won't be a combat cleric, the cleric will stand in the background with my sorceror which explains the clerics strength. The cleric won't need that much of dexterity I think because the cleric will wear a full plate armor.
@ qwertitus:
I like Drizzt but I'm not trying to imitate Drizzt Do'Urden. I like Drow becuase of their stealth and their cleverness in battle. Drow are also a very intelligent race. Ever since I read books about Drizzt I have shown a greater interest for Drow race but I surely liked them before Drizzt. My Drow aren't anything like Drizzt they are both true-neutral. Ok I have a drow ranger but I like rangers because of their dual wielding and long bow ability and the connection to the nature that they have.
I was thinking on a cleric of Lathander because they are good healers.
A drow worshipping the lord of the Dawn, the irony :laugh:
Well with that high Charisma score and the morninglord's extra turning feat undead won't stand a chance.
Also this character will serve you well at higher levels as secondary Bombardier
Be aware though that with STR 8 your cleric might have a little trouble wearing full-plate, or will be able to carry very little else. So you'll either need a Strength enchancing item/strong back feat or skim a few points off somewhere else and increase STR a little.
Are there are any other characters in your party with healing capabilities?
Hehe I know it sounds funny a Drow worshiping the Morning lord but I think it's a good choice. I have increased the strength to 10 but I fear that still won't be enough to cary a plate armor and some other weapons but we'll see . I think the ranger has some healing capabilities at later levels. I almost never use the clerics and rangers healing capabilities. It's just too slow. Before a clerics casts a spell youre dead. I like healing potions, a lot of them. But I like clerics because they have a lot of protective spells which are always good to cast before going into a difficult fight.
If you use the feat "Strong Back" that should help out with your carrying capacity. If that doesn't do it just use a strength spell. Also, the Ranger's healing and clerical abilities are quite limited.
I don't mean to insult anyone for liking Drizzt. I read the books as well and I agree that his story is compelling. All I'm saying is that I think his persona is way overused.