I am playing a level 5 wood elf tempest cleric in a new campaign. I was curious if there was any benefit from taking strength over dex. I'm struggling to find a straight answer online. My dm also is allowing me to change a few of my domain spells to better suit my character if that matters, although I don't think it does.
It all depends on how you are playing them. If you want to be nimble and are wearing light or medium armor, then go dex and use dex based weapons. If you want to be strong and are wearing medium to heavy armor, then go str. Most clerics are str based, but it's your character and you put the stats where you want them to be depending on how you plan on playing them. Most people choose the tempest cleric for the fact that you get proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons and that means str usually. As in benefit of str over dex, there isn't really any. The biggest benefit is that most melee weapons are str based, so your damage wouldn't be as high if you went dex. You also need a str of 13 for chainmail and 15 for splint and full plate. So decide how you want to play them and go from there. Pros for str: can wear all heavy, and more damage on attacks with str weapons. Pros for dex: with high dex light armor is good, more damage with dex based weapons, and higher dex saves (a lot of spells require this type of save). There aren't really cons that I can think of for either str or dex. I hope this was able to help.
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Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
If you use a shield than your weapon damage would be the same cause all one handed Martial weapons (excluding the Trident) deal 1d8 regardless of whether or not they have the finesse property.
I also think you should take into account your other party members' stats, if you don't have a Str or Dex based party member than that could change which option would be better.
But overall, it doesn't make much of a difference, do if you already have a Dex bonus from being an Elf I would recommend going the Dexterity route.
Heavy armor proficiency, chain mail starting equipment you need at least 13 strength. Splint and plate you need 15 strength. With "Wrath of the storm", "Divine Strike", thunderwave and spirit guardians, Tempest are fairly good in melee. I would bump strength before dexterity but it just depends on how you play your character. I like to melee but i bump my wisdom first.
Higher wisdom = more prepared spells, higher spell save dc, higher spell attack mod, more rebukes with wrath of the storm, more hp when healing. When you drop AOEs like thunderwave, shatter, etc, its fun to watch failed save after failed save because your spell dc is so high, especially when you max out damage with "Destructive Wrath". All that said you should set up your character how you like to play and whats FUN for you.
Btw, don't forget BLESS spell gives you a 1D4 bonus to your attacks and saving throws.
I am playing a level 5 wood elf tempest cleric in a new campaign. I was curious if there was any benefit from taking strength over dex. I'm struggling to find a straight answer online. My dm also is allowing me to change a few of my domain spells to better suit my character if that matters, although I don't think it does.
It all depends on how you are playing them. If you want to be nimble and are wearing light or medium armor, then go dex and use dex based weapons. If you want to be strong and are wearing medium to heavy armor, then go str. Most clerics are str based, but it's your character and you put the stats where you want them to be depending on how you plan on playing them. Most people choose the tempest cleric for the fact that you get proficiency in heavy armor and martial weapons and that means str usually. As in benefit of str over dex, there isn't really any. The biggest benefit is that most melee weapons are str based, so your damage wouldn't be as high if you went dex. You also need a str of 13 for chainmail and 15 for splint and full plate. So decide how you want to play them and go from there. Pros for str: can wear all heavy, and more damage on attacks with str weapons. Pros for dex: with high dex light armor is good, more damage with dex based weapons, and higher dex saves (a lot of spells require this type of save). There aren't really cons that I can think of for either str or dex. I hope this was able to help.
Remember this is a game and it's suppose to be fun for everybody. Let's all have fun and kill monsters.
Dexterity is one of the three most popular saves in the game and initiative is based off of it. Keep that in mind when making your decision.
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If you use a shield than your weapon damage would be the same cause all one handed Martial weapons (excluding the Trident) deal 1d8 regardless of whether or not they have the finesse property.
I also think you should take into account your other party members' stats, if you don't have a Str or Dex based party member than that could change which option would be better.
But overall, it doesn't make much of a difference, do if you already have a Dex bonus from being an Elf I would recommend going the Dexterity route.
It all depends, do you want to be Thor or Raiden? :)
Heavy armor proficiency, chain mail starting equipment you need at least 13 strength. Splint and plate you need 15 strength. With "Wrath of the storm", "Divine Strike", thunderwave and spirit guardians, Tempest are fairly good in melee. I would bump strength before dexterity but it just depends on how you play your character. I like to melee but i bump my wisdom first.
Higher wisdom = more prepared spells, higher spell save dc, higher spell attack mod, more rebukes with wrath of the storm, more hp when healing. When you drop AOEs like thunderwave, shatter, etc, its fun to watch failed save after failed save because your spell dc is so high, especially when you max out damage with "Destructive Wrath". All that said you should set up your character how you like to play and whats FUN for you.
Btw, don't forget BLESS spell gives you a 1D4 bonus to your attacks and saving throws.