I'm starting as a level 1 Arcana Cleric (for bless and medium armor and shield), then I'm taking Bard and Warlock levels. The plan is 4 Lore Bard and 5 GOO Warlock. The spells I'll take are support and healing for the most part, with Eldritch Blast and Repelling Blast for battlefield control. I'm variant human and took the Healer feat and have 2 Healers Kits. The rest of the party is a Paladin and 2 Rangers. The DM has limited the campaign to PHB only. TIA.
Should be fine, but then I think pretty much anything created with a modicum of sense tends to be fine in 5E. Healer's good since you won't be getting potions to supplement your spells. Just don't make any character decisions that are too obviously subpar and you'll be ok.
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I wouldn't bother with the Healer feat. Pick something more fun :)
The Healer feat is plenty fun for a lot of people, and OP clearly is going for a support/healer build. It's also a strong feat that scales well and saves precious spell slots.
OP, the only comment I have is that a multiclass build is always going to be weaker than a single-class build because you're sacrificing ASIs and class feature progression. A triple-class like you're planning means you will be behind on spells (you'll end up with a max of level 1 cleric spells, level 2 bard spells and level 3 pact magic when other full casters and baddies are slinging 5th levels around, which is when spells start to get very powerful). You'll also be dependent on two casting stats (Wisdom and Charisma), both of which will affect how well you attack, how high your spell save is, and how much damage and healing you do. This will be mitigated some if you choose to focus solely on boosting your Charisma.
Something to consider might be looking into a cleric/druid multiclass. It would let you double down on healing and control without being dependent on another casting stat. The downside to that is druid spells are pretty much all concentration, with a few exceptions (Tidal Wave comes to mind). And if you really want Eldritch Blast, you might consider taking the Magic Initiate (Warlock) feat. I think that's PHB? And on that note, if your DM is restricting you to PHB content only, Arcana domain is ineligible because it's from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. You might want to go Life domain (for healing), Tempest domain (for control) or War domain (for heavy armor) instead. Lastly, you could always just drop cleric entirely and pick up the Moderately Armored feat instead.
I wouldn't bother with the Healer feat. Pick something more fun :)
The Healer feat is plenty fun for a lot of people, and OP clearly is going for a support/healer build. It's also a strong feat that scales well and saves precious spell slots.
OP, the only comment I have is that a multiclass build is always going to be weaker than a single-class build because you're sacrificing ASIs and class feature progression. A triple-class like you're planning means you will be behind on spells (you'll end up with a max of level 1 cleric spells, level 2 bard spells and level 3 pact magic when other full casters and baddies are slinging 5th levels around, which is when spells start to get very powerful). You'll also be dependent on two casting stats (Wisdom and Charisma), both of which will affect how well you attack, how high your spell save is, and how much damage and healing you do. This will be mitigated some if you choose to focus solely on boosting your Charisma.
Something to consider might be looking into a cleric/druid multiclass. It would let you double down on healing and control without being dependent on another casting stat. The downside to that is druid spells are pretty much all concentration, with a few exceptions (Tidal Wave comes to mind). And if you really want Eldritch Blast, you might consider taking the Magic Initiate (Warlock) feat. I think that's PHB? And on that note, if your DM is restricting you to PHB content only, Arcana domain is ineligible because it's from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. You might want to go Life domain (for healing), Tempest domain (for control) or War domain (for heavy armor) instead. Lastly, you could always just drop cleric entirely and pick up the Moderately Armored feat instead.
Thank you for a very through answer. I'll give it some thought. My thought process to this point was a character that provides tons of utility and support without being flashy and still allows me to roleplay. I'll still get two ASIs by level 9 with this build. Bless, Magic Missile, Detect Magic, shield of faith don't care about your DC. Similarly, I will focus on spells that don't care about a spell save DC with both Bard and Warlock. I know I'll be missing out on the higher level, flashier spells, but I will have 4 1st, 3 2nd level and 4 3rd level spells (two will return on a short rest). The players will have 10 extra HPs from Aid, temporary HPs from Inspiring Leader and the bless spell active on them. If things get dicey, I can cast cure wounds from 100' away by having my owl familiar fly in to deliver the touch. If an enemy gets too close to an ally, I can push them with EB, which I'll have constant advantage on using when it's dark, because I'll stay 65+ feet back (devil's sight + 65' + nighttime = permanent advantage). Movement won't be a problem, since I'll have BoAS and will keep Phantom Steed up constantly, that allows my character to still act and move 200' / turn assuming my phantom steed uses it's movement and dashes.
Two of the players are very new to D&D. I could make a character that was more powerful, but I want to let them shine and enjoy themselves.
I'll need to convince the DM to let me play Arcana cleric and get the expanded bard spell list (to get Aid). He's pretty chill, so hopefully he won't have a problem with it. Thanks for the heads up about the Arcana Cleric, I'd have felt bad if I had played it without discussing with him first.
One question I was wondering...why take any bard levels at all? Is it for the spell list? I can see the draw for the warlock invocations and spells, but you haven't much touched on why bard is attractive to you. You might also just do a split between cleric and warlock (which is a fascinating roleplay opportunity, by the by, so kudos on that). The cleric spell list has a lot of useful buffing and debuffing spells, and obviously is a powerhouse for healing. If you get 5 levels of cleric, you'll also get access to Revivify, Spirit Guardians, Dispel Magic, Mass Healing Word, Speak With Dead, Tongues and Remove Curse, which could be very handy in CoS.
One question I was wondering...why take any bard levels at all? Is it for the spell list? I can see the draw for the warlock invocations and spells, but you haven't much touched on why bard is attractive to you. You might also just do a split between cleric and warlock (which is a fascinating roleplay opportunity, by the by, so kudos on that). The cleric spell list has a lot of useful buffing and debuffing spells, and obviously is a powerhouse for healing. If you get 5 levels of cleric, you'll also get access to Revivify, Spirit Guardians, Dispel Magic, Mass Healing Word, Speak With Dead, Tongues and Remove Curse, which could be very handy in CoS.
I'm going with 13 Wis to MC with Cleric, but 16 Cha for Bard/Warlock. Sleep, Feather Fall, Heroism and Healing Word at level 1. I'll go Lore Bard to pick up some extra profiencies and I'll get Bardic Inspiration and expertise in 2 skills (Arcana to make up for my low int and something else). At 3rd level, I'll have access to Lesser Restoration, See Invisible, Knock, Heat Metal... Whatever the party seems to need at the time.
My thought is to ignore the meta of thinking of him as a Cleric / Warlock / Bard and simply play him as a cleric of Hastur, a great old one. He learns his powers from his Tome (even though he won't technically have it until level 3).
Ultimately, if that's the fun you want, I say go for it! You seem to know what you're looking for and what you're giving up. (I find that most people go into multiclassing without really understanding the options and tradeoff; as someone who has played a lot of multiclassed characters myself, I always like to ensure people are careful before they commit.)
It might behoove you to ask your DM if the niche spells/proficiencies you're multiclassing for will see much use in the campaign. (For example, I know that my own DM rarely calls for arcana checks.) While your DM has every right not to answer that question, the conversation at least allows you to establish that you want a chance for those features to shine. You can never go wrong with honest, collaborative communication between a player and a DM.
Overall, it sounds like a fun build, and I hope you have a blast with it!
I'm starting as a level 1 Arcana Cleric (for bless and medium armor and shield), then I'm taking Bard and Warlock levels. The plan is 4 Lore Bard and 5 GOO Warlock. The spells I'll take are support and healing for the most part, with Eldritch Blast and Repelling Blast for battlefield control. I'm variant human and took the Healer feat and have 2 Healers Kits. The rest of the party is a Paladin and 2 Rangers. The DM has limited the campaign to PHB only. TIA.
If your DM has limited you to the PHB only, then you cannot use the Arcana domain as that's only found in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Furthermore, there are other ways of getting bless and you're going to be neutering your spellcasting ability. Your only 3rd-level spells will be two warlock spells at a time when any full spellcaster is going to have 5th-level spells.
You are spreading yourself out too thin. Focus on one thing you want to do and do that. For example, a Thief rogue can use a healer's kit as a bonus action; thanks to Fast Hands. And you can better multiclass as a Paladin 2/Bard X for access to bless without needing 13s in both Wisdom and Charisma. The module, as written, assumes being 9th-level before entering Castle Ravenloft. Knowing this, a Paladin 3/Bard 6 would net you a total of three subclass features. It would look like this:
Bard (Lore) 6: proficiencies with 6 skills, and 1-3 musical instruments; expertise with 2 skills; 3 cantrips, 9 bard spells known, 4/3/3 spell slots; Cutting Words; Additional Magical Secrets
Paladin 3: proficiency with medium-heavy armor, shields, and martial weapons; 1 fighting style; 15 hit points from Lay on Hands; prepare 1 + Charisma modifier 1st-level paladin spells, 2 Sacred Oath spells; Channel Divinity; 1 4th-level spell slot for casting spells at a higher level
The exact breakdown would change your saving throws and availability of weapons and armor. Curse of Strahd is a resource-starved campaign where players aren't supposed to be able to just buy and equip whatever they want. What you bring is often what you leave with. For this reason, I suggest starting with paladin and sink your Dexterity. Place your holy symbol on your shield, and make sure your background gives you a musical instrument because you'll want one to start. My recommendation is Outlander, which also gives proficiency with Athletics and Survival, and your total two instruments should be a horn and lute. Your character won't have Extra Attack, and they'll only have one ASI. It's arriving late, too, so milk as much out of your stats as early as possible. If you opt to play a half-elf, I suggest a Standard Array of 16 8 14 10 12 16. The upside is you'll have a total of 10 skill proficiencies, and thematically I'd lean into elven heritage and pick the Oath of the Ancients. Otherwise, the best your variant human (or custom lineage) can hope for is 16 8 14 8 12 16.
If you know the campaign is going to at least 10th-level before the finale against Strahd, then a Paladin 2/Bard 8+ build makes more sense. You'll get 4th-level spells, at least 5th-level spell slot, and a second ASI. Alternatively, a rogue is proficient with the Sunsword (letting them Sneak Attack for radiant damage) and gets a third ASI.
The only other thing I'd caution you about is that plotting out your character's path in its entirety before the campaign begins robs you of the chance to grow and change with the story. I love theorycraft more than most, but when I sit down at the table I try to make decisions based on the party dynamic that emerges and my character's decisions. I still might steer towards a particular combo I want to play, but I've found that cementing your choices ahead of time can sometimes deprive you of satisfying character growth.
The only other thing I'd caution you about is that plotting out your character's path in its entirety before the campaign begins robs you of the chance to grow and change with the story. I love theorycraft more than most, but when I sit down at the table I try to make decisions based on the party dynamic that emerges and my character's decisions. I still might steer towards a particular combo I want to play, but I've found that cementing your choices ahead of time can sometimes deprive you of satisfying character growth.
Very useful advice. I will keep that in mind. Party needs will dictate his development as he levels. As I mentioned in other comments, I'm by far the most experienced person at the table and want my character to help the rest of the party to shine.
A build I made that was fun was Celestial Warlock 4 - Lore Bard 6 and looking him over, I was quite pleased with pretty much everything he could do. Went for Pact of the Chain, for an awesome scout with the Imp, his combination of Devil's sight and Invisibility was super useful, Voice of the Chainmaster gave me unlimited range on using him, the Healing Light ability from Celestial was a great slot-free healing option and the expanded spells open a few nice Cleric-y options too. Bard getting to 6 opens Magical Secrets, so pick a couple level 3's based on what your group needs most. Slow and Haste are here to buff/debuff in big ways, Lightning Bolt and Fireball are here too, if you want to blast more, and we can't forget Counterspell, which may well be a "must have" depending again, on how things have been going.
The more you talk about your character, however, the more it seems you have a theme and a plan to RP with and your idea fits that well. Mechanically, I think it's plenty viable and picking spells to suit what the group seems to need at the time will keep you relevant and helpful throughout. It sounds like you plan to have lots of fun with it, and that's what matters most!
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Talk to your Players.Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Ask you GM if there is a problem with Cleric Arcane and Warlock GOO (I assume this is Great Old One, if not then I am sorry for the mistake). ie 2 different deities can be problematic in some games.
In general if my stats support it and there is a larger enough group I like to multi-class to fill in holes and provide additional support where needed. But in some campaigns and groups that is not possible.
I would try and see if you can get the things you want by a feat instead of dipping into a class and compare proposed builds. As it was mentioned above be prepared to change you build depending on what happens in the game or if the GM provides info that changes you mind.
You'll finish up Curse of Strahd around level 8-10, so look at how your character will perform for most of the game, not at the pinnacle of the game. You may well not go beyond level 8, and CoS is a total TPK fest.
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I'm starting as a level 1 Arcana Cleric (for bless and medium armor and shield), then I'm taking Bard and Warlock levels. The plan is 4 Lore Bard and 5 GOO Warlock. The spells I'll take are support and healing for the most part, with Eldritch Blast and Repelling Blast for battlefield control. I'm variant human and took the Healer feat and have 2 Healers Kits. The rest of the party is a Paladin and 2 Rangers. The DM has limited the campaign to PHB only. TIA.
Should be fine, but then I think pretty much anything created with a modicum of sense tends to be fine in 5E. Healer's good since you won't be getting potions to supplement your spells. Just don't make any character decisions that are too obviously subpar and you'll be ok.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
I wouldn't bother with the Healer feat. Pick something more fun :)
The Healer feat is plenty fun for a lot of people, and OP clearly is going for a support/healer build. It's also a strong feat that scales well and saves precious spell slots.
OP, the only comment I have is that a multiclass build is always going to be weaker than a single-class build because you're sacrificing ASIs and class feature progression. A triple-class like you're planning means you will be behind on spells (you'll end up with a max of level 1 cleric spells, level 2 bard spells and level 3 pact magic when other full casters and baddies are slinging 5th levels around, which is when spells start to get very powerful). You'll also be dependent on two casting stats (Wisdom and Charisma), both of which will affect how well you attack, how high your spell save is, and how much damage and healing you do. This will be mitigated some if you choose to focus solely on boosting your Charisma.
Something to consider might be looking into a cleric/druid multiclass. It would let you double down on healing and control without being dependent on another casting stat. The downside to that is druid spells are pretty much all concentration, with a few exceptions (Tidal Wave comes to mind). And if you really want Eldritch Blast, you might consider taking the Magic Initiate (Warlock) feat. I think that's PHB? And on that note, if your DM is restricting you to PHB content only, Arcana domain is ineligible because it's from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. You might want to go Life domain (for healing), Tempest domain (for control) or War domain (for heavy armor) instead. Lastly, you could always just drop cleric entirely and pick up the Moderately Armored feat instead.
Thank you for a very through answer. I'll give it some thought. My thought process to this point was a character that provides tons of utility and support without being flashy and still allows me to roleplay. I'll still get two ASIs by level 9 with this build. Bless, Magic Missile, Detect Magic, shield of faith don't care about your DC. Similarly, I will focus on spells that don't care about a spell save DC with both Bard and Warlock. I know I'll be missing out on the higher level, flashier spells, but I will have 4 1st, 3 2nd level and 4 3rd level spells (two will return on a short rest). The players will have 10 extra HPs from Aid, temporary HPs from Inspiring Leader and the bless spell active on them. If things get dicey, I can cast cure wounds from 100' away by having my owl familiar fly in to deliver the touch. If an enemy gets too close to an ally, I can push them with EB, which I'll have constant advantage on using when it's dark, because I'll stay 65+ feet back (devil's sight + 65' + nighttime = permanent advantage). Movement won't be a problem, since I'll have BoAS and will keep Phantom Steed up constantly, that allows my character to still act and move 200' / turn assuming my phantom steed uses it's movement and dashes.
Two of the players are very new to D&D. I could make a character that was more powerful, but I want to let them shine and enjoy themselves.
I'll need to convince the DM to let me play Arcana cleric and get the expanded bard spell list (to get Aid). He's pretty chill, so hopefully he won't have a problem with it. Thanks for the heads up about the Arcana Cleric, I'd have felt bad if I had played it without discussing with him first.
One question I was wondering...why take any bard levels at all? Is it for the spell list? I can see the draw for the warlock invocations and spells, but you haven't much touched on why bard is attractive to you. You might also just do a split between cleric and warlock (which is a fascinating roleplay opportunity, by the by, so kudos on that). The cleric spell list has a lot of useful buffing and debuffing spells, and obviously is a powerhouse for healing. If you get 5 levels of cleric, you'll also get access to Revivify, Spirit Guardians, Dispel Magic, Mass Healing Word, Speak With Dead, Tongues and Remove Curse, which could be very handy in CoS.
I'm going with 13 Wis to MC with Cleric, but 16 Cha for Bard/Warlock. Sleep, Feather Fall, Heroism and Healing Word at level 1. I'll go Lore Bard to pick up some extra profiencies and I'll get Bardic Inspiration and expertise in 2 skills (Arcana to make up for my low int and something else). At 3rd level, I'll have access to Lesser Restoration, See Invisible, Knock, Heat Metal... Whatever the party seems to need at the time.
My thought is to ignore the meta of thinking of him as a Cleric / Warlock / Bard and simply play him as a cleric of Hastur, a great old one. He learns his powers from his Tome (even though he won't technically have it until level 3).
Ultimately, if that's the fun you want, I say go for it! You seem to know what you're looking for and what you're giving up. (I find that most people go into multiclassing without really understanding the options and tradeoff; as someone who has played a lot of multiclassed characters myself, I always like to ensure people are careful before they commit.)
It might behoove you to ask your DM if the niche spells/proficiencies you're multiclassing for will see much use in the campaign. (For example, I know that my own DM rarely calls for arcana checks.) While your DM has every right not to answer that question, the conversation at least allows you to establish that you want a chance for those features to shine. You can never go wrong with honest, collaborative communication between a player and a DM.
Overall, it sounds like a fun build, and I hope you have a blast with it!
If your DM has limited you to the PHB only, then you cannot use the Arcana domain as that's only found in the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Furthermore, there are other ways of getting bless and you're going to be neutering your spellcasting ability. Your only 3rd-level spells will be two warlock spells at a time when any full spellcaster is going to have 5th-level spells.
You are spreading yourself out too thin. Focus on one thing you want to do and do that. For example, a Thief rogue can use a healer's kit as a bonus action; thanks to Fast Hands. And you can better multiclass as a Paladin 2/Bard X for access to bless without needing 13s in both Wisdom and Charisma. The module, as written, assumes being 9th-level before entering Castle Ravenloft. Knowing this, a Paladin 3/Bard 6 would net you a total of three subclass features. It would look like this:
The exact breakdown would change your saving throws and availability of weapons and armor. Curse of Strahd is a resource-starved campaign where players aren't supposed to be able to just buy and equip whatever they want. What you bring is often what you leave with. For this reason, I suggest starting with paladin and sink your Dexterity. Place your holy symbol on your shield, and make sure your background gives you a musical instrument because you'll want one to start. My recommendation is Outlander, which also gives proficiency with Athletics and Survival, and your total two instruments should be a horn and lute. Your character won't have Extra Attack, and they'll only have one ASI. It's arriving late, too, so milk as much out of your stats as early as possible. If you opt to play a half-elf, I suggest a Standard Array of 16 8 14 10 12 16. The upside is you'll have a total of 10 skill proficiencies, and thematically I'd lean into elven heritage and pick the Oath of the Ancients. Otherwise, the best your variant human (or custom lineage) can hope for is 16 8 14 8 12 16.
If you know the campaign is going to at least 10th-level before the finale against Strahd, then a Paladin 2/Bard 8+ build makes more sense. You'll get 4th-level spells, at least 5th-level spell slot, and a second ASI. Alternatively, a rogue is proficient with the Sunsword (letting them Sneak Attack for radiant damage) and gets a third ASI.
The only other thing I'd caution you about is that plotting out your character's path in its entirety before the campaign begins robs you of the chance to grow and change with the story. I love theorycraft more than most, but when I sit down at the table I try to make decisions based on the party dynamic that emerges and my character's decisions. I still might steer towards a particular combo I want to play, but I've found that cementing your choices ahead of time can sometimes deprive you of satisfying character growth.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Very useful advice. I will keep that in mind. Party needs will dictate his development as he levels. As I mentioned in other comments, I'm by far the most experienced person at the table and want my character to help the rest of the party to shine.
Protection from Good and Evil is very powerful in CoS, I would take it over Bless.
A build I made that was fun was Celestial Warlock 4 - Lore Bard 6 and looking him over, I was quite pleased with pretty much everything he could do. Went for Pact of the Chain, for an awesome scout with the Imp, his combination of Devil's sight and Invisibility was super useful, Voice of the Chainmaster gave me unlimited range on using him, the Healing Light ability from Celestial was a great slot-free healing option and the expanded spells open a few nice Cleric-y options too. Bard getting to 6 opens Magical Secrets, so pick a couple level 3's based on what your group needs most. Slow and Haste are here to buff/debuff in big ways, Lightning Bolt and Fireball are here too, if you want to blast more, and we can't forget Counterspell, which may well be a "must have" depending again, on how things have been going.
The more you talk about your character, however, the more it seems you have a theme and a plan to RP with and your idea fits that well. Mechanically, I think it's plenty viable and picking spells to suit what the group seems to need at the time will keep you relevant and helpful throughout. It sounds like you plan to have lots of fun with it, and that's what matters most!
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
Ask you GM if there is a problem with Cleric Arcane and Warlock GOO (I assume this is Great Old One, if not then I am sorry for the mistake). ie 2 different deities can be problematic in some games.
In general if my stats support it and there is a larger enough group I like to multi-class to fill in holes and provide additional support where needed. But in some campaigns and groups that is not possible.
I would try and see if you can get the things you want by a feat instead of dipping into a class and compare proposed builds. As it was mentioned above be prepared to change you build depending on what happens in the game or if the GM provides info that changes you mind.
You'll finish up Curse of Strahd around level 8-10, so look at how your character will perform for most of the game, not at the pinnacle of the game. You may well not go beyond level 8, and CoS is a total TPK fest.