Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some tips on my 5e character I will make for Hoard of the Dragon Queen (and possibly beyond).
Some criteria:
- I want to be a Dwarf (for RP purposes, been wanting to play one for a while now).
- There will already be 2 pure fighters in the party so a pure fighter is out (multi-classing into one a bit would be ok though).
- Rest of the party is still undetermined. I expect (hope
) at least 1 caster will be in there. - We might continue with the same characters after Hoard of the Dragon Queen, but I expect us to go to level 10 to 12 maximum.
- I would like to do good damage (but not necesarily the most ).
- I like AoE but not necessary
I read through the Player Handbook and currently and what jumped out immediately for me was the Tempest Cleric (need to find a way to make a chaotic good one though as there are no good Tempest dieties but that’s worries for later). I love the theme, the class abilities look good, I get a lot of casting versatility, etc (casting would definitely be a plus for me). However I read somewhere that the Cleric damage is not so good ?
So concretely I’m wondering are there any other fun classes that fit well stat wise with a Dwarf ? Or maybe some fun multi-class combos that work already before reaching level 10 – 12 ? Or maybe even some reassurance that the Tempest Cleric rocks ? ;)
Thanks !
Jorn
Circle of the Land (Mountain) Druid could work.
Got some decent damage, healing/resurrection, utility, AoE and survivability. Quite similar to a Tempest Cleric in many ways. Definitely would work thematically, at least on a par with the cleric.
Obviously your sole aim in fighting the draconic threat would be to get some skinning done and avail yourself of quality non-metal armor ;)
I think a Hill Dwarf Tempest domain Cleric would work pretty well. For damage, you can cast and maintain spiritual weapon and call lightning at the same time, dealing 3d10 (or 4d10) small AoE damage and 1d8+Wis (or 2d8+Wis) single target damage per turn. At level 6 and beyond, Thunderbolt Strike causes every bolt of call lightning to push targets 10', and you could maximize a bolt using your Channel Divinity if you don't forsee undead enemies in the near future. You can also use Wrath of the Storm with Thunderbolt Strike to push away (and damage) attackers as a reaction.
The character would get to wear heavy armor and not be heavily stat-dependent, really just needing Wisdom and some Constitution and whatever else you want. If you wanted to attack with your martial weapons, you could get a high Strength as well, or you could take the Magic Adept feat (or multiclass as a Druid) and use a shillelagh for Wisdom-based attacks (plus Divine Strike).
As an alternative to Tempest domain, you could take the Nature domain instead and learn shillelagh that way, without any feats or multi-classing. You'd lose all of the neat lightning-based things from Tempest, though.
I'm gonna suggest something completely against type: build yourself a high survivability Warlock. Either a Hill Dwarf (for the extra hit point) or a Mountain Dwarf (for medium armor) will work (though I favour the Mountain Dwarf), and then just continually grab survivability items. Go fiend pact, grab spells like Armor of Agathys and Hellish Rebuke. Make the most out of your Eldritch Blast and just go nuts.
Yeah, the lack of a Cha boost hurts, no doubt. But there is something to be said for a caster type that doesn't need to panic the second they come under fire. Heck, if you want, you can go with a melee optional build as well. Being able to blast from a distance or mix it up in melee is a pretty fun trick.
This edition seems to reward utility and survivability a bit more than previous ones, so I think that niche builds like this can be pretty fun.
I'll second the Land Circle druid with Hill Dwarf. I played a dwarf druid in a previous campaign, and it is a lot of fun, and very versatile. With the new shillelagh cantrip, you can easily hold your own in melee, and you have a variety of useful abilities, not the least of which is added healing.
I think you cannot go wrong with a dwarven cleric.
edit: i read you wanted to do damage, A dwarf paladin of Moradin (Devotion) or clangadin silverbeard (vengeance) might be thematically fitting.
Thanks already so much guys for the suggestions !
I’ll take a closer look at the Druid, although I’m not sure if that would fit very well with the roleplay I have in mind But maybe multiclassing into it could be fun. If I understand correctly though I’d be limited to a staff (or similar) for a weapon to be able to use shillelagh ?
I’ll take a closer look at the Warlock, I had skipped that class because of the stats but if you say it’s workable maybe it’ll be cool J
Paladin was the second one on my list. I'm curious if a Cleric Paladin multiclass might be interesting ? (off the top of my head currently, as I don't have the book with me now, maybe it's utter crap). Or Cleric Fighter multiclass ?
Cleric/Fighter isn't too bad, in terms of required ability scores.
Cleric/Paladin might get a bit tricky trying to manage Strength, Charisma, and Wisdom.
Nothing jumps to mind that would make either combination especially powerful, though.
Yeah looks like you're right ... for some reason I have the urge to multiclass just for the sake of multiclassing (in 4e I was a bit of a min maxer but I'm trying to step away from that a bit ) Of course I don't want to limp behind either.
According to 2Chlorobutanal the tempest cleric wouldn't be so bad in damage, is that the general consensus ? I already brought this hammer in my initial enthousiasm to swing around while RPing for some inspiration from the DM so don't want to waste it if I don't have to either ;)
I feel that the druid brings more versatility to a party than a cleric, in terms of skills, spells, and helpful class features, but you are certainly not cheating yourself with Tempest cleric. I think that for clerics, War probably edges Tempest out in sustained damage, but Tempest has some powerful spike potential when you need it (in the form of on-call maximized lightning/thunder damage). Not so great against blue dragons, but nobody's perfect!
Mountaint Dwarf Evoker. Good damage, AoE, and your a dwarf.
The fact that you don't have any Int bonus isn't that big of a deal.
A really fat druid or barbarian would work with either subrace.
Just pump up your constitution and don't worry about Strength or Dex if you go Druid. You'll be a big-ol fat guy who, when needed, can just transform into a bear to break a door, or turn into a panther to be all sneaky-sneaky.
If you go Barbarian, a little Strength works fine, but you could go Dex-build for a whacky variant. Just some big dwarf, possibly with a very large beard on his neck, rolling around the battlefield.
NimrodVanHall wrote:
Thanks everyone for the tips! I heard the beta for Dungeonscape is around the corner so I'll try out your suggestions in the character builder there, level them to 10 or something and then compare
Thanks again !