Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Arrew Mar 19, 2015 22:23:58	I'm starting a L1 to L10 Campaign and haven't played 5e before... Since I'll be with the character for a while I want to choose wisely.   Currently I'm thinking the choice is between a Light Cleric with epic Radiance of the Dawn and Vengeance Paladin using sword and board Shield Master to shove mobs down for the party to pound on.   I like that the Paladin has a lot of party helpful features but the Cleric seems more... flashy explosive.   Any thoughts?
#2 Logain08 Mar 20, 2015 3:33:03	I can only comment on playing a vengeance paladin: a whole lot of fun. Mine is currently level 6, almost 7. Quite versatile: you can tank, deal damage, heal with lay on hands and your nova damage is quite impressive. Light support is also an option with bless if you want. But what is absolute gold is aura of protection: that feature is insanely good! And your party members will love you for sticking close and helping them make their saves.   But it also depends a bit on the composition of the party you're playing in. My group has no dedicated support or healer, so we do struggle at times. And I have no experience with clerics in this edition. Maybe someone else is better suited to offer you advice on the cleric.   Last piece of advice: do you have a preference between the two? If so, I would strongly encourage you to play the class you think you will enjoy the most. It's D&D, a lot is viable and the point at the end of the day is to have fun.
#3 SterlingRat Mar 20, 2015 5:30:09	Well... Paladins are better in combat, clerics are better out of combat. The real choice is do you want to be a cheerful bringer of joy and light to the masses (like The Flash) or do you want to be all dark and brooding vigilante justice who always scowls and beats up bad guys because he wasn't hugged enough as a child (like Batman).
#4 Arrew Mar 20, 2015 5:54:06	Are we talking funny justice league flash who had ginger hair, mopey flash from the 80's TV show or the one I don't know from the recent reboot?   Are clerics really better out of combat? I would have thought that the Paladin's Cha score made them more useful...
#5 SterlingRat Mar 20, 2015 9:33:04	Defintely not the mopey 80's flash. I watched that show in the 80s and thought it was great. I watched one episode recently on hulu and I am ashamed of myself for liking it back then.   I suppose a cleric's utility out-of-combat depends a lot on your own RP; My Paladin (Oath of the Ancients, not Vengance.) is a very ceerful individual, but he's not the sharpest tack in the box. I tend to be the one charging down the most obvious path to the Bad Guy, and when someone needs to figure out where the bad guy is or check out a room or figure out a puzzle or we have some kind of problem that can't be solved by hitting it with something sharp, I generally wander around poking things to see if they twitch. I may not be the most effective character, but I have fun.   My Clerics, in general, are more thoughtful. Planning plans and scheming schemes and figuring out where to point characters like my Paladin. I haven't played one in 5e yet, but I had one in the game I was DMing. In other editions and when I was DMing, the cleric's main task was to stay alive through combat.
#6 Finieous Mar 20, 2015 12:44:56	Best of both worlds: Tempest Cleric with a Maul. Wrath of the Storm, Divine Strike, Spiritual Weapon, Spirit Guardians -- you won't have the nova, but you'll be able to deal more sustainable damage than the paladin in fights that matter, plus cleric support and tempest blasting when needed.