Should the cleric be a Life domain cleric to heal the party, or would a Tempest Domain cleric fill the role of healer just fine while also being a reliable tank/dpr
You've got a really well rounded party no matter what you choose. One thing to think about is the Paladin can do a little healing too so I think no matter what cleric you decide on is going to round out the party nicely. I'd go Tempest because it sounds the most fun but you do you!
Same as above, since the wizard is abjurer and you have a paladin, you can go tempest without fear and add some good nova damage (maybe not great dpr however).
However, you should pick the one that you wanna play the most, since your group is really well rounded. Have fun!
Same as above, since the wizard is abjurer and you have a paladin, you can go tempest without fear and add some good nova damage (maybe not great dpr however).
However, you should pick the one that you wanna play the most, since your group is really well rounded. Have fun!
I agree with this. The Abjurer is going to give you a lot of the same buffs that you'd get with a Life Cleric. The Pally will be able to to pick up some of the healing load. And all clerics get the same heal spells, so the Life cleric's free domain spells don't give you anything you wouldn't already have... you just get to carry more cleric spells. IMHO, the coolness of a cleric comes from the domain spells that spill outside of the base list; I've always been personally underwhelmed by the base cleric spells. There is a large array of divination and specialized utility spells, but depending on your campaign and DM, most are likely to go completely un-utilized. Gaining yourself some more combat focused spells, of which the Tempest has many, can be a big boost.
The Tempest is an AOE master who can single handedly bring groups of enemies to their knees. Combining spells like Shatter, Call Lightning, and Destructive Wave with the Tempest CD Destructive Wrath brings a glorious amount of pain to the battlefield. You aren't going to get a ton of DPR from any cleric, but Tempests can tank with the best of them, and your nova damage is off the charts.
You have other options too, considering the Arcana, Forge, Grave, and Knowledge domains. There are more still, but these are some others with very interesting potential IMO.
Lastly, honestly, healing spells don't really do much in 5E. You're typically going to be healing 5 - 15 HP per cast. While almost any successful attack after the first few levels will do more damage than that. Standing in the back passing out heals while everyone else is fighting is just fighting a losing battle. You can help your team far more by dropping foo's before they have a chance to dole out damage, rather than waiting to try and patch up that damage. Clerics aren't "healers", despite the general association. They are Harbingers of Holy Might who can melt faces and heal their friends.
As is always the case, pick what sounds fun to you. You have lots of options and particulars like healing will work themselves out.
Don't forget you can upcast your healing spells. Even a level 1 cure wounds spell being upcast averages around 60 hit points if upcast to a 9th level spell. At that point you're better off just using the mass heal spell but upcasting heals can be very useful to stay ahead of damage. Your overall point though is fair. If your enemy with 10 hit points remaining is about to deal 20 damage to a target and you can heal for 15 or deal 10 damage, you're better off doing that. You're effectively preventing 20 points of damage and dealing 10, while also killing a target. However, if your enemy has 30 hit points and you can only deal 10, you're better off throwing that heal out. That is one thing I like about the Tempest Cleric is that he can throw out some reasonable damage. Plus his flavor is super fun.
So my party consists of
Variant Human Abjurer Wizard
Feral Tiefling Arcane Trickster Rogue
Variant Human Battlemaster Fighter (Archer)
Half Elf Oath of the Ancients Paladin
Hill Dwarf Cleric
Should the cleric be a Life domain cleric to heal the party, or would a Tempest Domain cleric fill the role of healer just fine while also being a reliable tank/dpr
You've got a really well rounded party no matter what you choose. One thing to think about is the Paladin can do a little healing too so I think no matter what cleric you decide on is going to round out the party nicely. I'd go Tempest because it sounds the most fun but you do you!
Same as above, since the wizard is abjurer and you have a paladin, you can go tempest without fear and add some good nova damage (maybe not great dpr however).
However, you should pick the one that you wanna play the most, since your group is really well rounded. Have fun!
My homebrew feat for thrown weapons, feat to help DMs extend Sorcerer's spells known list, and my homebrew combo monk subclass (diablo inspired)!
I agree with this. The Abjurer is going to give you a lot of the same buffs that you'd get with a Life Cleric. The Pally will be able to to pick up some of the healing load. And all clerics get the same heal spells, so the Life cleric's free domain spells don't give you anything you wouldn't already have... you just get to carry more cleric spells. IMHO, the coolness of a cleric comes from the domain spells that spill outside of the base list; I've always been personally underwhelmed by the base cleric spells. There is a large array of divination and specialized utility spells, but depending on your campaign and DM, most are likely to go completely un-utilized. Gaining yourself some more combat focused spells, of which the Tempest has many, can be a big boost.
The Tempest is an AOE master who can single handedly bring groups of enemies to their knees. Combining spells like Shatter, Call Lightning, and Destructive Wave with the Tempest CD Destructive Wrath brings a glorious amount of pain to the battlefield. You aren't going to get a ton of DPR from any cleric, but Tempests can tank with the best of them, and your nova damage is off the charts.
You have other options too, considering the Arcana, Forge, Grave, and Knowledge domains. There are more still, but these are some others with very interesting potential IMO.
Lastly, honestly, healing spells don't really do much in 5E. You're typically going to be healing 5 - 15 HP per cast. While almost any successful attack after the first few levels will do more damage than that. Standing in the back passing out heals while everyone else is fighting is just fighting a losing battle. You can help your team far more by dropping foo's before they have a chance to dole out damage, rather than waiting to try and patch up that damage. Clerics aren't "healers", despite the general association. They are Harbingers of Holy Might who can melt faces and heal their friends.
As is always the case, pick what sounds fun to you. You have lots of options and particulars like healing will work themselves out.
Don't forget you can upcast your healing spells. Even a level 1 cure wounds spell being upcast averages around 60 hit points if upcast to a 9th level spell. At that point you're better off just using the mass heal spell but upcasting heals can be very useful to stay ahead of damage. Your overall point though is fair. If your enemy with 10 hit points remaining is about to deal 20 damage to a target and you can heal for 15 or deal 10 damage, you're better off doing that. You're effectively preventing 20 points of damage and dealing 10, while also killing a target. However, if your enemy has 30 hit points and you can only deal 10, you're better off throwing that heal out. That is one thing I like about the Tempest Cleric is that he can throw out some reasonable damage. Plus his flavor is super fun.
It is true that you can upcast some healing spells, but, in general, they will be outstripped by a similarly upcast damage spell.
It is definitely a balancing act to both keep your buddies in the fight and end it.
You're absolutely right about the Tempest's flavor too. It's hard to beat being both Thor and Storm.
I'm interested to hear what the OP chose.
I ended up choosing tempest for the extra dpr
Hooray! Let us know how it goes!