Making a Tempest Cleric and my stats are kinda goofy for fluff reasons and my own inexperience.
Stats:
STR 12 DEX 14 CON 15 INT 11 WIS 17 CHA 16
Trident (+Finesse - Versatility [Homebrew])
Heavy Armor
Shield
I plan to do lots of casting (what I'm most experienced with) but also plan on using a finesse weapon with shield, so I'll be leaning on DEX. I know this is broad so I appreciate any context/advice provided. I know I need to beef towards 20 on my WIS for my spells but should I space that with boosts to DEX for attack bonus'? Or is CON most appropriate since it's my closest skill?
Feats I'm interested in are:
Polearm Master: for a second attack as bonus action (Does using a spiritual weapon make this multi attack irrelevant?)
Lucky: Being able to reroll 3x a day is super clutch, especially since I'm high charisma for fluff reasons being able to reroll super important persuasion attempts might come in handy.
Heavy Armor Master: Reduction of damage by 3, might be nice for fighting small mobs or multi-attack enemies.
Weapon Master: Proficiency in trident for the bonus, (might see if DM will let me train for proficiency in it instead of this, not looking for proficiency in 4 weapons, I'm a cleric of Deep Sashelas so I don't intend to use anything besides of trident).
War Caster: Being able to use somatic components for spells when my hands are occupied. (If I put the symbol of my deity on my shield or trident to use as an arcane focus, do I still need the somatic component.)
I'm not 100% committed to any of my feats, just looking for the optimal way to build my character with the stats I've rolled and my chosen weapons/armor.
Again apologies for the wordiness and thanks in advance to any context, advice, or commentary the wise masters of this board can provide.
First, you are going to want 1-3 more STR for heavy armor requirements, otherwise you will be better off in medium armor.
Spiritual weapon will definitely be better than PAM in terms of bonus action DPS, but PAM doesn't need a spell slot and also lets you make an Opportunity attack when enemies approach. So not a bad option. More for melee characters though.
Lucky is always a good option if you don't have anything more important to do with that ASI.
Heavy armor master gets less helpful at epic levels (15+), and you are not optimized for a heavy armor build as previously mentioned.
You are already proficient in all (non-firearm) weapons, weapon master does nothing for you.
War caster is always a good choice for casters that wont always have a hand free. Advantage on concentration and can cast spells for opportunity attacks. And if spells require a material component, you can make tge somatic component with the same hand that holds your focus, but if it is just the somatic component, you would need a hand free without this feat.
Hadn't considered the distance debuff with STR on heavy armor and I'll put Polearm further down the list for when I'm a little higher and spell slot use becomes an issue. This has given me a much better idea of what I'm looking for and what to prioritize. Thank you so much for the response, one or two more questions if I may:
I'm starting out at level 3 on this campaign, should I prioritize getting WIS/DEX up first to be most effective in DPS? Or would war caster/luck be more useful? (WIS for casting, DEX for weapon attacks)
Seriously, can't thank you enough for the amount of help you've provided here. My DM is great but he's more into the roleplay than the wargamming and I wanna do both haha. Appreciate any clarity you can provide! Thanks!
My Tempest cleric started with a similar DEX/WIS build. I wanted to focus on ranged attacks to cast/concentrate from a safer distance. He is a Variant Human, so I started with the Resilient (Con) feat, to bring up my CON modifier. I used my first two ASIs to boost to 20 WIS. Next feat, will be War Caster. I probably could have / should have gone with War Caster sooner. After several levels our party composition changed, naturally, so I ended up rebuilding him with equipment, as a heavy armor tank.
As DxJxC said, as a Tempest, you have full martial weapon proficiency. You don't need to use a feat to gain that proficiency. DDB should already show you as proficient with the trident...?
My suggestion is to focus on your WIS / CON and War Caster / Lucky. If you're really wanting to focus on melee combat / PAM, then you might consider multi-classing into Fighter.
I didn’t think you can even use PAM with a trident, or is that a home brew rule.
If you’re using a shield, combat caster is really a must, otherwise you need to keep stowing or dropping your weapon to cast any spells with a somatic component.
And I’d agree with the other posters who said do a +1to Wis/Con.
Just as an FYI, I played a tempest cleric and focused on casting, I think I used my weapon 3 times and that was all for opportunity attacks before I got combat caster and just sacred flamed everything.
I would first suggest getting rid of your uneven Ability Scores - they do no one any good whatsoever. Afterward, my suggestion would depend on if you want to be primarily Melee or Ranged.
Melee:
Taking Tough would assist your HP if it is a bit below par.
Polearm Master allows for several shenanigans, such as Booming Blade opportunity attack combo (I know you can't learn that spell, but if you are willing to wait a few levels, Magic Initiate is an option, as shown below.)
Following the same train of thought as above, Magic Initiate would let you get Booming Blade and some other potentially useful spells, such as Prestidigitation, or Shield (or not if you want to focus on your Wrath of the Storm feature)
Ranged / Spellcasting:
War Caster is very good, allowing you to have advantage on Concentration saves, and tbh good for Melee too.
Metamagic Adept, the new UA, is also a very good option. Always nice to pick up Twinned and Quickened spell.
Playing Tempest 9/Sorcerer 1 right now. I would suggest swapping your Charisma and strength around, you'll get more out of a high AC than anything Charisma can give, unless there's a compelling narrative reason, and you already gain proficiency in Charisma saves when you start cleric. Dex is great and medium armor almost gets you there in AC but you're leaving behind a benefit of the cleric heavy armor class especially when in close quarters or melee.
With your stats and playing a full caster you're going to want your wisdom maxed at some point, that's 2 ASIs or a feat and an ASI regardless (observant might be nice here). I suggest getting your wisdom to at least 18 asap.
You should also take resilient especially with your odd con score, it's a huge feat for a caster (con checks are key but adding in proficiency to con saves is super strong, there are lots of nasty effects that target con) and definitely take war caster if your DM is a stickler for casting somatic spell mechanics and/or you get lots of opportunity attacks. Order isn't as important, though war caster is more impactful in early levels for con checks. Take both if you can, you won't regret either one if you're primarily a caster.
This barely leaves room for the other feats but Lucky can substitute for res con or warcaster in a pinch. But maxing wisdom and getting some kind of help on con saves is key for a tempest cleric or any caster that has good concentration spells.
If you are playing a Dwarf, you can ignore the Str req for heavy armour. But in general tempy clerics prefer higher str over high dex.
You' lvl 4 asi could be +1 con & +1 wis with these stats, evening both, providing you a nice amount of bonuses. Another option is grabbing resilient-Con giving you an even con stat and a stronger conc save. Combine that with warcaster and you' Concentration checks should be pretty good all the time.
What race are you, actually? There might be some good racial feats for you!
First, you are going to want 1-3 more STR for heavy armor requirements, otherwise you will be better off in medium armor.
Spiritual weapon will definitely be better than PAM in terms of bonus action DPS, but PAM doesn't need a spell slot and also lets you make an Opportunity attack when enemies approach. So not a bad option. More for melee characters though.
Lucky is always a good option if you don't have anything more important to do with that ASI.
Heavy armor master gets less helpful at epic levels (15+), and you are not optimized for a heavy armor build as previously mentioned.
You are already proficient in all (non-firearm) weapons, weapon master does nothing for you.
War caster is always a good choice for casters that wont always have a hand free. Advantage on concentration and can cast spells for opportunity attacks. And if spells require a material component, you can make tge somatic component with the same hand that holds your focus, but if it is just the somatic component, you would need a hand free without this feat.
Hadn't considered the distance debuff with STR on heavy armor and I'll put Polearm further down the list for when I'm a little higher and spell slot use becomes an issue. This has given me a much better idea of what I'm looking for and what to prioritize. Thank you so much for the response, one or two more questions if I may:
I'm starting out at level 3 on this campaign, should I prioritize getting WIS/DEX up first to be most effective in DPS? Or would war caster/luck be more useful? (WIS for casting, DEX for weapon attacks)
Seriously, can't thank you enough for the amount of help you've provided here. My DM is great but he's more into the roleplay than the wargamming and I wanna do both haha. Appreciate any clarity you can provide! Thanks!
I would use my first ASI to tick up a couple of odd ability scores to get 2 +1s (CON and WIS are good targets).
My Tempest cleric started with a similar DEX/WIS build. I wanted to focus on ranged attacks to cast/concentrate from a safer distance. He is a Variant Human, so I started with the Resilient (Con) feat, to bring up my CON modifier. I used my first two ASIs to boost to 20 WIS. Next feat, will be War Caster. I probably could have / should have gone with War Caster sooner. After several levels our party composition changed, naturally, so I ended up rebuilding him with equipment, as a heavy armor tank.
As DxJxC said, as a Tempest, you have full martial weapon proficiency. You don't need to use a feat to gain that proficiency. DDB should already show you as proficient with the trident...?
My suggestion is to focus on your WIS / CON and War Caster / Lucky. If you're really wanting to focus on melee combat / PAM, then you might consider multi-classing into Fighter.
I didn’t think you can even use PAM with a trident, or is that a home brew rule.
If you’re using a shield, combat caster is really a must, otherwise you need to keep stowing or dropping your weapon to cast any spells with a somatic component.
And I’d agree with the other posters who said do a +1to Wis/Con.
Just as an FYI, I played a tempest cleric and focused on casting, I think I used my weapon 3 times and that was all for opportunity attacks before I got combat caster and just sacred flamed everything.
I would first suggest getting rid of your uneven Ability Scores - they do no one any good whatsoever. Afterward, my suggestion would depend on if you want to be primarily Melee or Ranged.
Melee:
Taking Tough would assist your HP if it is a bit below par.
Polearm Master allows for several shenanigans, such as Booming Blade opportunity attack combo (I know you can't learn that spell, but if you are willing to wait a few levels, Magic Initiate is an option, as shown below.)
Following the same train of thought as above, Magic Initiate would let you get Booming Blade and some other potentially useful spells, such as Prestidigitation, or Shield (or not if you want to focus on your Wrath of the Storm feature)
Ranged / Spellcasting:
War Caster is very good, allowing you to have advantage on Concentration saves, and tbh good for Melee too.
Metamagic Adept, the new UA, is also a very good option. Always nice to pick up Twinned and Quickened spell.
Playing Tempest 9/Sorcerer 1 right now. I would suggest swapping your Charisma and strength around, you'll get more out of a high AC than anything Charisma can give, unless there's a compelling narrative reason, and you already gain proficiency in Charisma saves when you start cleric. Dex is great and medium armor almost gets you there in AC but you're leaving behind a benefit of the cleric heavy armor class especially when in close quarters or melee.
With your stats and playing a full caster you're going to want your wisdom maxed at some point, that's 2 ASIs or a feat and an ASI regardless (observant might be nice here). I suggest getting your wisdom to at least 18 asap.
You should also take resilient especially with your odd con score, it's a huge feat for a caster (con checks are key but adding in proficiency to con saves is super strong, there are lots of nasty effects that target con) and definitely take war caster if your DM is a stickler for casting somatic spell mechanics and/or you get lots of opportunity attacks. Order isn't as important, though war caster is more impactful in early levels for con checks. Take both if you can, you won't regret either one if you're primarily a caster.
This barely leaves room for the other feats but Lucky can substitute for res con or warcaster in a pinch. But maxing wisdom and getting some kind of help on con saves is key for a tempest cleric or any caster that has good concentration spells.
If you are playing a Dwarf, you can ignore the Str req for heavy armour. But in general tempy clerics prefer higher str over high dex.
You' lvl 4 asi could be +1 con & +1 wis with these stats, evening both, providing you a nice amount of bonuses. Another option is grabbing resilient-Con giving you an even con stat and a stronger conc save. Combine that with warcaster and you' Concentration checks should be pretty good all the time.
What race are you, actually? There might be some good racial feats for you!
You guys know this thread is over a year old, right?
And yet here we are....the internet is forever, or so they say.
True. Covid forces all of us to do things unexpected.