I'm building a variant human Tempest Cleric, and I'm considering using Magic Initiate to pick up Shillelagh, since I'm not a fan of being MAD. This would let me keep Strength at 15 for plate armor and focus entirely on Wis. Any glaring criticisms?
I'd also like suggestions for good Druid cantrips and first level spells to pick up. Thanks!
Thorn Whip is a popular pick. I'm personally a fan of Produce Flame because I like having a ranged attack cantrip. Goodberry is a nice choice for your spell, Faerie Fire is another solid pick.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
I'm building a variant human Tempest Cleric, and I'm considering using Magic Initiate to pick up Shillelagh, since I'm not a fan of being MAD. This would let me keep Strength at 15 for plate armor and focus entirely on Wis. Any glaring criticisms?
I'd also like suggestions for good Druid cantrips and first level spells to pick up. Thanks!
Spells don’t matter because you can prepare them daily based off what you need.
as to the cantrips. Druidcraft is underutilized a lot. Nothing like communicating signals with your allies based off of different flowers being bloomed or not bloomed. Or knowing the weather ahead of time.
thorn whip is good for “drawing aggro” literally drag the enemies towards you in your plate to take the hits.
Primal savagery is nice cause you can still use it in a sphere of silence.
magic stone is a nice way to turn any situation into a ranger combat situation (60 ft) if needed. And gives anyone the chance for 1d6+ YOUR SPELL MOD damage, on a hit. (Using your spell mod to hit too)
Frostbite while giving crappy damage gives them disadvantage on their attacks.
ultimately, comes down to personal preference/flavor.
I'm building a variant human Tempest Cleric, and I'm considering using Magic Initiate to pick up Shillelagh, since I'm not a fan of being MAD. This would let me keep Strength at 15 for plate armor and focus entirely on Wis. Any glaring criticisms?
I'd also like suggestions for good Druid cantrips and first level spells to pick up. Thanks!
Spells don’t matter because you can prepare them daily based off what you need.
as to the cantrips. Druidcraft is underutilized a lot. Nothing like communicating signals with your allies based off of different flowers being bloomed or not bloomed. Or knowing the weather ahead of time.
thorn whip is good for “drawing aggro” literally drag the enemies towards you in your plate to take the hits.
Primal savagery is nice cause you can still use it in a sphere of silence.
magic stone is a nice way to turn any situation into a ranger combat situation (60 ft) if needed. And gives anyone the chance for 1d6+ YOUR SPELL MOD damage, on a hit. (Using your spell mod to hit too)
Frostbite while giving crappy damage gives them disadvantage on their attacks.
ultimately, comes down to personal preference/flavor.
I'd probably grab Goodberry or another druid spell that doesn't appear on your Cleric spell list. If nothing strikes your fancy, if suggest Healing Word to open up a prepared spell slot (since Healing Word should be prepared 99% of the time, at least early) or Entangle for a good AoE control spell.
The stuff that EightPackKilla recommended for the cantrips are solid. The only thing that I might suggest otherwise would be Produce Flame. Since your human and won't have Darkvision, you'll need a source of light from time to time. Produce Flame generates 10 ft of bright light and 10 ft of dim light, plus you can make an attack with it that deals 1d8 damage at up to 30 ft away. It isn't the sexiest cantrip, but it does have some versatility to help augment your other spells and skills. Granted, your party may not be happy with that option for stealth, but you'll probably be wearing at least medium armor, which means you won't be the best friend of your rogue pal anyway.
Going through the spells, I'm thinking I'll pick up Absorb Elements. Resistance to an attack and free damage never goes out of style. Hell, elemental damage should be more common at higher levels. Cantrips were hard. I considered Produce Flame as a way to cover both my light and ranged attack needs, but I'll be carrying a sword and stick most of the time, so I think I'll just stick with Light. Frostbite is probably my favorite damage cantrip from the fairly lame divine caster options, but I think I'll grab Druidcraft for the weather prediction and stick with Tolling the Dead.
Solid options. Druidcraft does have some fun interactions, particularly if your party is planning on something like Skywrite or traversing a canyon that has a narrow pass with open spaces and a sharp drop on either side of the path. Toll the Dead is probably my favorite straight attack cantrip in the game, particularly if you are going with Death Domain and have access to Reaper. If your initiative bonus is low, you're very likely to have had another party member attack before you, which improves your chances of having that d12 damage instead of the d8 damage, and the Wisdom Save is nice. Light is a better utility spell than Produce Flame as long as the extra lighting doesn't affect your party's plans to negatively. Being able to fire and forget that light spell and then charge into battle is certainly a benefit.
My ranking of the "general magical effects" cantrips goes Prestidigitation > Thaumaturgy > Druidcraft, but weather prediction is damn useful in some scenarios. It's probably the most marketable cantrip in the game, now that I think about it.
My ranking of the "general magical effects" cantrips goes Prestidigitation > Thaumaturgy > Druidcraft, but weather prediction is damn useful in some scenarios. It's probably the most marketable cantrip in the game, now that I think about it.
😉 you’re welcome.
druidcraft also, combined with plant growth. = growing a favored terrain forest just for your ranger within seconds/minutes.
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I'm building a variant human Tempest Cleric, and I'm considering using Magic Initiate to pick up Shillelagh, since I'm not a fan of being MAD. This would let me keep Strength at 15 for plate armor and focus entirely on Wis. Any glaring criticisms?
I'd also like suggestions for good Druid cantrips and first level spells to pick up. Thanks!
Thorn Whip is a popular pick. I'm personally a fan of Produce Flame because I like having a ranged attack cantrip. Goodberry is a nice choice for your spell, Faerie Fire is another solid pick.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Spells don’t matter because you can prepare them daily based off what you need.
as to the cantrips. Druidcraft is underutilized a lot. Nothing like communicating signals with your allies based off of different flowers being bloomed or not bloomed. Or knowing the weather ahead of time.
thorn whip is good for “drawing aggro” literally drag the enemies towards you in your plate to take the hits.
Primal savagery is nice cause you can still use it in a sphere of silence.
magic stone is a nice way to turn any situation into a ranger combat situation (60 ft) if needed. And gives anyone the chance for 1d6+ YOUR SPELL MOD damage, on a hit. (Using your spell mod to hit too)
Frostbite while giving crappy damage gives them disadvantage on their attacks.
ultimately, comes down to personal preference/flavor.
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I'd probably grab Goodberry or another druid spell that doesn't appear on your Cleric spell list. If nothing strikes your fancy, if suggest Healing Word to open up a prepared spell slot (since Healing Word should be prepared 99% of the time, at least early) or Entangle for a good AoE control spell.
The stuff that EightPackKilla recommended for the cantrips are solid. The only thing that I might suggest otherwise would be Produce Flame. Since your human and won't have Darkvision, you'll need a source of light from time to time. Produce Flame generates 10 ft of bright light and 10 ft of dim light, plus you can make an attack with it that deals 1d8 damage at up to 30 ft away. It isn't the sexiest cantrip, but it does have some versatility to help augment your other spells and skills. Granted, your party may not be happy with that option for stealth, but you'll probably be wearing at least medium armor, which means you won't be the best friend of your rogue pal anyway.
Going through the spells, I'm thinking I'll pick up Absorb Elements. Resistance to an attack and free damage never goes out of style. Hell, elemental damage should be more common at higher levels. Cantrips were hard. I considered Produce Flame as a way to cover both my light and ranged attack needs, but I'll be carrying a sword and stick most of the time, so I think I'll just stick with Light. Frostbite is probably my favorite damage cantrip from the fairly lame divine caster options, but I think I'll grab Druidcraft for the weather prediction and stick with Tolling the Dead.
Solid options. Druidcraft does have some fun interactions, particularly if your party is planning on something like Skywrite or traversing a canyon that has a narrow pass with open spaces and a sharp drop on either side of the path. Toll the Dead is probably my favorite straight attack cantrip in the game, particularly if you are going with Death Domain and have access to Reaper. If your initiative bonus is low, you're very likely to have had another party member attack before you, which improves your chances of having that d12 damage instead of the d8 damage, and the Wisdom Save is nice. Light is a better utility spell than Produce Flame as long as the extra lighting doesn't affect your party's plans to negatively. Being able to fire and forget that light spell and then charge into battle is certainly a benefit.
My ranking of the "general magical effects" cantrips goes Prestidigitation > Thaumaturgy > Druidcraft, but weather prediction is damn useful in some scenarios. It's probably the most marketable cantrip in the game, now that I think about it.
😉 you’re welcome.
druidcraft also, combined with plant growth. = growing a favored terrain forest just for your ranger within seconds/minutes.
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