The other week I made this character https://ddb.ac/characters/91345607/Gesz7m as my attempt to create a character who might represent a low-level “chosen of mystra”.
I created them as a worshiper of mystra who would not become one of her chosen until they reached level 20 and entered epic play - if indeed that ever happens.
The character is a cleric and former acolyte who relies on armour, melee weapons and shields and has magical abilities granted to them by mystra.
I took Elemental Adept (Fire) to represent a playable low-level Silver Fire ability, and I was hoping to find a magic item by level 5 that would improve my DEX.
Can you please critique the character from a mechanical standpoint and suggest improvements I might make?
Thanks
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Speaking strictly mechanically, it seems you pointed out the major points that are holding your character back:
The Dex dump stat is obviously hurting your AC. There are not very many official items that increase Dex; An Agility Ioun stone being the only one you might encounter in a normal campaign by level 5, and that is very heavily up to the discretion of the DM. Strength is not doing you any favors either. Switching the two would make a much more effective character
I don't know what you mean by the Silver Fire ability, but the contents of elemental adept literally is doing nothing for you at this level, as you don't have any fire spells. there are many other feats which would be much more useful:
War Caster - Lets you attack with spells when creatures provoke opportunity attacks. More importantly it makes it harder to drop concentration on spells by giving you advantage on Concentration saving Throws
Magic Initiate (Wizard) - Fits Thematically with an Arcana Domain cleric and you can pick up a spell like Find Familiar that does use the spellcasting modifier, and Utility cantrips like Prestidigitation \ Mage Hand. If you plan on swinging your weapon a lot instead of casting you can also pick up Green Flame blade to express that Fire Motif you mentioned.
Resilient (Constitution) - A boring choice, but protecting concentration is very good for a caster and it gives you a half bump in Con.
Fey Touched - Gives you misty step, a single Ability Score to your casting stat, and another 1st level spell of enchantment or divination. most of the 1st level spell options are things you might pick up already, but having more choices is always better.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
Do you have any suggestions for spells that deal fire damage, which a cleric can have? I could not see any when I was choosing my spells, but I had wanted fire-based spells. It seems that all the fire-based spells are on the wizard spell list.
I considered switching to a wizard, but somehow, a wizard worshipping Mystra didn't seem to fit the brand, as a wizard gets their magic from study, not worship.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
As a spellcaster, you have cantrips that you can rely on rather than weapon attacks. This is especially true for a clerik with the Arcana domain, since they get extra cantrips from the Wizard spell list. As such, you don't need to worry too much about melee attacks.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Light Domain offers up fire type spells more so that Arcana, although I agree with the theme, a chosen of Mystra > Arcana is logical, but the subclass features, Light more tends to what you seek, I feel. Whichever route, I think it will be a fun character.
Also, as Arcana domain, you pretty much have to want Fire Bolt as a cantrip. It's handy and a nearly perfect match, little bolts of silver flame shoot out to hit your enemies.
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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.
Speaking strictly mechanically, it seems you pointed out the major points that are holding your character back:
The Dex dump stat is obviously hurting your AC. There are not very many official items that increase Dex; An Agility Ioun stone being the only one you might encounter in a normal campaign by level 5, and that is very heavily up to the discretion of the DM. Strength is not doing you any favors either. Switching the two would make a much more effective character
I don't know what you mean by the Silver Fire ability, but the contents of elemental adept literally is doing nothing for you at this level, as you don't have any fire spells. there are many other feats which would be much more useful:
War Caster - Lets you attack with spells when creatures provoke opportunity attacks. More importantly it makes it harder to drop concentration on spells by giving you advantage on Concentration saving Throws
Magic Initiate (Wizard) - Fits Thematically with an Arcana Domain cleric and you can pick up a spell like Find Familiar that does use the spellcasting modifier, and Utility cantrips like Prestidigitation \ Mage Hand. If you plan on swinging your weapon a lot instead of casting you can also pick up Green Flame blade to express that Fire Motif you mentioned.
Resilient (Constitution) - A boring choice, but protecting concentration is very good for a caster and it gives you a half bump in Con.
Fey Touched - Gives you misty step, a single Ability Score to your casting stat, and another 1st level spell of enchantment or divination. most of the 1st level spell options are things you might pick up already, but having more choices is always better.
Spellfire (Recharges after a Long Rest). Magical, heatless, silver fire harmlessly erupts from Laeral and surrounds her until she is incapacitated or until she uses an action to quench it. She gains one of the following benefits of her choice, which lasts until the silver fire ends:
She can breathe underwater.
She can survive without food and water.
She is immune to magic that would ascertain her thoughts, truthfulness, alignment, or creature type.
She gains resistance to cold damage, and she is unharmed by temperatures as low as −50 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the silver fire is present, she has the following additional action options:
Cast the cure wounds spell. The target regains 1d8 + 5 hit points. After Laeral takes this action, roll a d6. On a roll of 1, the silver fire disappears.
Cast the revivify spell without material components. After Laeral takes this action, roll a d6. On a roll of 1–2, the silver fire disappears.
Release a 60-foot line of silver fire that is 5 feet wide or a 30-foot cone of silver fire. Objects in the area that aren’t being worn or carried take 26 (4d12) fire damage. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 26 (4d12) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. After Laeral takes this action, roll a d6. On a roll of 1–3, the silver fire disappears.
But that's an NPC and NPC abilities are not balanced for use by PCs.
Agreed, just sharing it as a starting point. You could also argue that PCs would have the same ability... when they have the same experience level & centuries of practice that Laeral has. AFAIK, there are no other 5E characters with the ability, but 3rd & 4th edition stats are probably available as inspiration as well.
Worth noting: just because a wizard gains their power through study doesn't mean they can't be devoted. A wizard could study magic specifically out of devotion to Mystra and a desire to understand and glorify Mystra's gifts of magic to mortalkind. The wizard's spellbook could be a gift from a priest of Mystra they received in their youth, and they've spent the years since striving to become the sort of splendid mage that would find approval in Mystra's eyes.
Cleric can work too, but clerics aren't the only characters that can have a strong faith in their chosen deity.
But that's an NPC and NPC abilities are not balanced for use by PCs.
Agreed, just sharing it as a starting point. You could also argue that PCs would have the same ability... when they have the same experience level & centuries of practice that Laeral has. AFAIK, there are no other 5E characters with the ability, but 3rd & 4th edition stats are probably available as inspiration as well.
I was trying to make a playable 5e character, starting at level 1, with the feel and theme of being chosen but without needing any homebrew.
My idea was that Mystra wasn't going to grant anybody all the bells and whistles right away but that she might give one of her more devout and faithful worshipers specific abilities that slowly increased in power as they became more experienced, eventually leading to full-on chosen capabilities (via homebrew at level 20) if the character ever gets that far.
So the character would eventually become one of her chosen, with all of the powers and abilities thatg, along with that if they lasted long enough.
I hope that makes sense because I'm afraid I might nktnhsge explained it very well.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
I'm genuinly surprised that someone who writes about how much they have played and how many unforgetable campaigns they have DM:d wasn't familiar with the fact that cantrips is the go-to attack for clerics (if not all spell-casters) when they run out of spell slots. I mean, casting Bless in the first turn of combat and then relying on cantrips is a surefire way to go for low-level clerics. Didn't any of the clerics in any of the games you participated in do something like that?
Anyway, as has already been pointed out, you'd probably want to take firebolt as your attack cantrip of choice but since you are Arcana domain (nice choice, btw) then you could probably also afford Shocking Grasp. That way you have ways to defend yourself both at range and up close. This also means that you can dump Strength, get a Dex of at least 14 and more fit the image of a scholarly magic user. :)
This might be a bit of an aside (and I am basing this off of this https://realmshelps.net/magic/spellfire.shtml) but it would seem to me that there are two things: silver fire and spellfire and that are more of macguffins than anthing else.
Silver Fire can be mimic'd it the following spells: Aganarzzars Scorcher, Dispel Magic, Protection From Energy or Fire Shield (to mimic the ability to be a ring of warmth effect), Greater Restoration, Nondetection (to mimic the ring of mind shielding effect), Waterbreathing.
Now there is a few ways I could see this being done but the easiest one would be with a Divine Soul Sorcerer, failing that a Cleric with whatever domain you feel is best but then just tweak the bonus spell list to add in those spells.
Spellfire is a bit harder as it is more ability focused and the best I can come up with to mimic those abilities would be a War Wizard so that brings me to the last idea for a chosen of mystra chracter....Single Classed War Wizard, using the WIzard abilitiy to research and create spells to create a Lesser and a Greater Restoration spell (given they already have deispel magic and remove curse it's not a stretch to say they couldn't find a way to invent the Restoration spells) and use Life Transference to mimic the Spell Fire ability to restore health to a target. War Wizard also gives you the ability to abosrb magic when you counterspell or dispel magic and add an amount of force damage to a damage roll so that is a pretty good analogy for the Spellfire being half fire and half raw magical power. Whenever you cast a spell that falls into the silver fire or spellfire side of things hten you just add ont eh cosmetic effect of the radiant blue flames.
That should show a bit of a chracter progression as the learn each aspect of the "Chosen" until they reach 9th level spell slots (preferably 20th level as well) and piff, paff, poof! one wish spell later they are a full Chosen of Mystra and the DM can implement boons etc as needed to fully reflect the Chosne of mystra status.
My idea was that Mystra wasn't going to grant anybody all the bells and whistles right away but that she might give one of her more devout and faithful worshipers specific abilities that slowly increased in power as they became more experienced, eventually leading to full-on chosen capabilities (via homebrew at level 20) if the character ever gets that far.
So the character would eventually become one of her chosen, with all of the powers and abilities thatg, along with that if they lasted long enough.
So what you're saying is, you have a normal level 1 Arcana cleric.
To be frank, you can make the build any way you like, but the "feel and theme of being chosen" is going to stem more from RP and flavor descriptions than actual mechanics, especially if you're actively trying to avoid any special abilities until tier 4 play. Maybe Eddie's Sacred Flame looks silver. He's spent years studying mundane fire and wants to learn about magical fire. He is a self-made authority on Spellplague and talks about it anytime he sees a parallel. He's got natural ability with fire spells (which, as others have said, would probably be smart to take) and experiments with them when he has downtime, etc.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
I'm genuinly surprised that someone who writes about how much they have played and how many unforgetable campaigns they have DM:d wasn't familiar with the fact that cantrips is the go-to attack for clerics (if not all spell-casters) when they run out of spell slots. I mean, casting Bless in the first turn of combat and then relying on cantrips is a surefire way to go for low-level clerics. Didn't any of the clerics in any of the games you participated in do something like that?
Anyway, as has already been pointed out, you'd probably want to take firebolt as your attack cantrip of choice but since you are Arcana domain (nice choice, btw) then you could probably also afford Shocking Grasp. That way you have ways to defend yourself both at range and up close. This also means that you can dump Strength, get a Dex of at least 14 and more fit the image of a scholarly magic user. :)
I never said I wasn’t familiar with the concept, and I do have access to sacred flame snd shocking grasp for that very reason. However, Arcana Domain clerics seem to be somewhat lacking in attack potential and when it comes to spells or cantrips.
Furthermore, it may appear that I can potentially do more damage with those cantrips, than I can with my mace, but using them would mean that my AC would decrease due to not holding a shield.
So for a negligible increase in potential damage, I would have a lower AC (which is already low) and thus be easier to hit with an attack. A problem which is compounded if I switch DEX or INT with CON, as I would then have a lower amount of health
We also have to think ahead, of what happens after the first combat. When I’ve used up my spell slots and have to rely exclusively on cantrips for the rest of session. I would be one big walking target unable to defend himself and thus have to distract the rest of the party as they tried to keep me alive.
I don't want to be a burden to them.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
I'm genuinly surprised that someone who writes about how much they have played and how many unforgetable campaigns they have DM:d wasn't familiar with the fact that cantrips is the go-to attack for clerics (if not all spell-casters) when they run out of spell slots. I mean, casting Bless in the first turn of combat and then relying on cantrips is a surefire way to go for low-level clerics. Didn't any of the clerics in any of the games you participated in do something like that?
Anyway, as has already been pointed out, you'd probably want to take firebolt as your attack cantrip of choice but since you are Arcana domain (nice choice, btw) then you could probably also afford Shocking Grasp. That way you have ways to defend yourself both at range and up close. This also means that you can dump Strength, get a Dex of at least 14 and more fit the image of a scholarly magic user. :)
I never said I wasn’t familiar with the concept, and I do have access to sacred flame snd shocking grasp for that very reason. However, Arcana Domain clerics seem to be somewhat lacking in attack potential and when it comes to spells or cantrips.
Furthermore, it may appear that I can potentially do more damage with those cantrips, than I can with my mace, but using them would mean that my AC would decrease due to not holding a shield.
So for a negligible increase in potential damage, I would have a lower AC (which is already low) and thus be easier to hit with an attack. A problem which is compounded if I switch DEX or INT with CON, as I would then have a lower amount of health
We also have to think ahead, of what happens after the first combat. When I’ve used up my spell slots and have to rely exclusively on cantrips for the rest of session. I would be one big walking target unable to defend himself and thus have to distract the rest of the party as they tried to keep me alive.
I don't want to be a burden to them.
Ironically, Arcane Domain Clerics have the best selection of cantrips outside of Warlocks getting Eldritch Blast. You passed over Toll the dead and Booming Blade. If you switched Strength and Dexterity you could still use a dagger and apply Dexterity to Attacks and damage, and it is on average 1 damage less than a mace.
You can actually still very easily cast spells while having a shield equipped. Most clerics have their shield emblazoned with their holy symbol which means you can use your shield hand for Somatic components if it also has Material components. If the spell requires Somatic components, but not Material components, you can cast the spell if your other hand is free to perform the Somatic components (just by sheathing the weapon).
--------------
Somatic (S)
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Material (M)
Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5, “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell.
If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell.
A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.
A holy symbol is a representation of a god or pantheon. A cleric or paladin can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus, as described in the Spellcasting section. To use the symbol in this way, the caster must hold it in hand, wear it visibly, or bear it on a shield.
I need to rebuild this character sheet entirely and take better advantage of the built-in mechanics of the class and subclass, I think.
I will take everything you have all said into account and try to improve the character.
I will completely redo his spells also and look much closer at what I am choosing.
The long and short of it is I am just bad at building characters mechanically. I am much better at storytelling and writing characters than I am at their mechanical construction.
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A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
I'm genuinly surprised that someone who writes about how much they have played and how many unforgetable campaigns they have DM:d wasn't familiar with the fact that cantrips is the go-to attack for clerics (if not all spell-casters) when they run out of spell slots. I mean, casting Bless in the first turn of combat and then relying on cantrips is a surefire way to go for low-level clerics. Didn't any of the clerics in any of the games you participated in do something like that?
Anyway, as has already been pointed out, you'd probably want to take firebolt as your attack cantrip of choice but since you are Arcana domain (nice choice, btw) then you could probably also afford Shocking Grasp. That way you have ways to defend yourself both at range and up close. This also means that you can dump Strength, get a Dex of at least 14 and more fit the image of a scholarly magic user. :)
I never said I wasn’t familiar with the concept, and I do have access to sacred flame snd shocking grasp for that very reason. However, Arcana Domain clerics seem to be somewhat lacking in attack potential and when it comes to spells or cantrips.
Well, that is simply not true. As an Arcane cleric you get access to MORE attack cantrips than most (if not all) other clerics. You also get Magic Missile at first level.
Furthermore, it may appear that I can potentially do more damage with those cantrips, than I can with my mace, but using them would mean that my AC would decrease due to not holding a shield.
You can use a shield and cast cantrips, nothing prevents you from that. Also, since you can attack from a distance, less need of a high AC.
So for a negligible increase in potential damage, I would have a lower AC (which is already low) and thus be easier to hit with an attack. A problem which is compounded if I switch DEX or INT with CON, as I would then have a lower amount of health
As pointed out, this isn't really the case, but why do you feel the need be a primary damage dealer as a cleric anyways? Especially at lower levels? Once you get Spirit Guardians and Spiritual Weapon you can start dealing som pretty good damage, but before that it's quite suboptimal as an Arcana Cleric (a subclass literally devouted to spellcasting) to focus on melee weapons.
We also have to think ahead, of what happens after the first combat. When I’ve used up my spell slots and have to rely exclusively on cantrips for the rest of session. I would be one big walking target unable to defend himself and thus have to distract the rest of the party as they tried to keep me alive.
I don't want to be a burden to them.
You'd probably be a much bigger burden if you choose to play this rather suboptimal way. By focusing on Strength, dex-based AC and melee weapons you will actually be less able to defend yourself than if you rely on shield, Medium Armour (with decent Dex) and cantrips. Then again, D&D is about cooperation so if you talk to your group perhaps they won't mind? The important thing is that everyone have fun.
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Hi,
The other week I made this character https://ddb.ac/characters/91345607/Gesz7m as my attempt to create a character who might represent a low-level “chosen of mystra”.
I created them as a worshiper of mystra who would not become one of her chosen until they reached level 20 and entered epic play - if indeed that ever happens.
The character is a cleric and former acolyte who relies on armour, melee weapons and shields and has magical abilities granted to them by mystra.
I took Elemental Adept (Fire) to represent a playable low-level Silver Fire ability, and I was hoping to find a magic item by level 5 that would improve my DEX.
Can you please critique the character from a mechanical standpoint and suggest improvements I might make?
Thanks
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
EA: Fire doesn't do you any good if you don't have any fire spells, which I don't see on your sheet. All your damaging spells are Radiant damage, not fire. I don't know anything about Mystra so no idea what you'd take in its place, but I know EA: Fire is dead weight for you right now.
You're also an Arcana cleric devoted to a goddess of magic with 12 Intelligence and 14 Strength . I'd consider flipping those numbers, as the character is not really devoted to martial might and smacking people with a mace and is instead looking to scourge its foes with mystic fire.
There are no (official) magic items that raise Dexterity, other than a Manual of Dexterity. If you want higher DX, you're gonna need to do it in character creation or with an ASI later on.
Please do not contact or message me.
Speaking strictly mechanically, it seems you pointed out the major points that are holding your character back:
The Dex dump stat is obviously hurting your AC. There are not very many official items that increase Dex; An Agility Ioun stone being the only one you might encounter in a normal campaign by level 5, and that is very heavily up to the discretion of the DM. Strength is not doing you any favors either. Switching the two would make a much more effective character
I don't know what you mean by the Silver Fire ability, but the contents of elemental adept literally is doing nothing for you at this level, as you don't have any fire spells. there are many other feats which would be much more useful:
War Caster - Lets you attack with spells when creatures provoke opportunity attacks. More importantly it makes it harder to drop concentration on spells by giving you advantage on Concentration saving Throws
Magic Initiate (Wizard) - Fits Thematically with an Arcana Domain cleric and you can pick up a spell like Find Familiar that does use the spellcasting modifier, and Utility cantrips like Prestidigitation \ Mage Hand. If you plan on swinging your weapon a lot instead of casting you can also pick up Green Flame blade to express that Fire Motif you mentioned.
Resilient (Constitution) - A boring choice, but protecting concentration is very good for a caster and it gives you a half bump in Con.
Fey Touched - Gives you misty step, a single Ability Score to your casting stat, and another 1st level spell of enchantment or divination. most of the 1st level spell options are things you might pick up already, but having more choices is always better.
Ah, interesting points. Thanks.
I had taken the higher strength because I only get two spell slots, which don't renew until I take a long rest. My thinking was they still needed to be decent in combat after id used up my spells.
I didn't want to be a burden to the party, who would have to protect me once id used my two spells that day. That's why I also chose that armour and a shield.
Maybe I should reconsider and give him a higher DEX and INT instead of the STR and CON. Then go for range weapons like a crossbow as a backup for when I use my spell slots.
Do you have any suggestions for spells that deal fire damage, which a cleric can have? I could not see any when I was choosing my spells, but I had wanted fire-based spells. It seems that all the fire-based spells are on the wizard spell list.
I considered switching to a wizard, but somehow, a wizard worshipping Mystra didn't seem to fit the brand, as a wizard gets their magic from study, not worship.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
As a spellcaster, you have cantrips that you can rely on rather than weapon attacks. This is especially true for a clerik with the Arcana domain, since they get extra cantrips from the Wizard spell list. As such, you don't need to worry too much about melee attacks.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The three fire spells that all clerics can do are:
Being Arcana domain , you could take a fire based Wizard Cantrip (Fire Bolt, Create Bonfire are the main ones, but also Green Flame Blade )
Glyph of Warding (3)
Flame Strike (5)
Firestorm (7)
Most clerics that want fire based based spells will take the Light Domain, not the Arcana. It grants a whole bunch of fire attack spells.
Light Domain offers up fire type spells more so that Arcana, although I agree with the theme, a chosen of Mystra > Arcana is logical, but the subclass features, Light more tends to what you seek, I feel. Whichever route, I think it will be a fun character.
Also, as Arcana domain, you pretty much have to want Fire Bolt as a cantrip. It's handy and a nearly perfect match, little bolts of silver flame shoot out to hit your enemies.
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.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/148474-laeral-silverhand has Silverfire, misnamed Spellfire according to the comment section.
Spellfire (Recharges after a Long Rest). Magical, heatless, silver fire harmlessly erupts from Laeral and surrounds her until she is incapacitated or until she uses an action to quench it. She gains one of the following benefits of her choice, which lasts until the silver fire ends:
While the silver fire is present, she has the following additional action options:
But that's an NPC and NPC abilities are not balanced for use by PCs.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Agreed, just sharing it as a starting point. You could also argue that PCs would have the same ability... when they have the same experience level & centuries of practice that Laeral has. AFAIK, there are no other 5E characters with the ability, but 3rd & 4th edition stats are probably available as inspiration as well.
Worth noting: just because a wizard gains their power through study doesn't mean they can't be devoted. A wizard could study magic specifically out of devotion to Mystra and a desire to understand and glorify Mystra's gifts of magic to mortalkind. The wizard's spellbook could be a gift from a priest of Mystra they received in their youth, and they've spent the years since striving to become the sort of splendid mage that would find approval in Mystra's eyes.
Cleric can work too, but clerics aren't the only characters that can have a strong faith in their chosen deity.
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I was trying to make a playable 5e character, starting at level 1, with the feel and theme of being chosen but without needing any homebrew.
My idea was that Mystra wasn't going to grant anybody all the bells and whistles right away but that she might give one of her more devout and faithful worshipers specific abilities that slowly increased in power as they became more experienced, eventually leading to full-on chosen capabilities (via homebrew at level 20) if the character ever gets that far.
So the character would eventually become one of her chosen, with all of the powers and abilities thatg, along with that if they lasted long enough.
I hope that makes sense because I'm afraid I might nktnhsge explained it very well.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
So you might say you are Divinely Favored?
I'm genuinly surprised that someone who writes about how much they have played and how many unforgetable campaigns they have DM:d wasn't familiar with the fact that cantrips is the go-to attack for clerics (if not all spell-casters) when they run out of spell slots. I mean, casting Bless in the first turn of combat and then relying on cantrips is a surefire way to go for low-level clerics. Didn't any of the clerics in any of the games you participated in do something like that?
Anyway, as has already been pointed out, you'd probably want to take firebolt as your attack cantrip of choice but since you are Arcana domain (nice choice, btw) then you could probably also afford Shocking Grasp. That way you have ways to defend yourself both at range and up close. This also means that you can dump Strength, get a Dex of at least 14 and more fit the image of a scholarly magic user. :)
This might be a bit of an aside (and I am basing this off of this https://realmshelps.net/magic/spellfire.shtml) but it would seem to me that there are two things: silver fire and spellfire and that are more of macguffins than anthing else.
Silver Fire can be mimic'd it the following spells: Aganarzzars Scorcher, Dispel Magic, Protection From Energy or Fire Shield (to mimic the ability to be a ring of warmth effect), Greater Restoration, Nondetection (to mimic the ring of mind shielding effect), Waterbreathing.
Now there is a few ways I could see this being done but the easiest one would be with a Divine Soul Sorcerer, failing that a Cleric with whatever domain you feel is best but then just tweak the bonus spell list to add in those spells.
Spellfire is a bit harder as it is more ability focused and the best I can come up with to mimic those abilities would be a War Wizard so that brings me to the last idea for a chosen of mystra chracter....Single Classed War Wizard, using the WIzard abilitiy to research and create spells to create a Lesser and a Greater Restoration spell (given they already have deispel magic and remove curse it's not a stretch to say they couldn't find a way to invent the Restoration spells) and use Life Transference to mimic the Spell Fire ability to restore health to a target. War Wizard also gives you the ability to abosrb magic when you counterspell or dispel magic and add an amount of force damage to a damage roll so that is a pretty good analogy for the Spellfire being half fire and half raw magical power. Whenever you cast a spell that falls into the silver fire or spellfire side of things hten you just add ont eh cosmetic effect of the radiant blue flames.
That should show a bit of a chracter progression as the learn each aspect of the "Chosen" until they reach 9th level spell slots (preferably 20th level as well) and piff, paff, poof! one wish spell later they are a full Chosen of Mystra and the DM can implement boons etc as needed to fully reflect the Chosne of mystra status.
So what you're saying is, you have a normal level 1 Arcana cleric.
To be frank, you can make the build any way you like, but the "feel and theme of being chosen" is going to stem more from RP and flavor descriptions than actual mechanics, especially if you're actively trying to avoid any special abilities until tier 4 play. Maybe Eddie's Sacred Flame looks silver. He's spent years studying mundane fire and wants to learn about magical fire. He is a self-made authority on Spellplague and talks about it anytime he sees a parallel. He's got natural ability with fire spells (which, as others have said, would probably be smart to take) and experiments with them when he has downtime, etc.
I never said I wasn’t familiar with the concept, and I do have access to sacred flame snd shocking grasp for that very reason. However, Arcana Domain clerics seem to be somewhat lacking in attack potential and when it comes to spells or cantrips.
Furthermore, it may appear that I can potentially do more damage with those cantrips, than I can with my mace, but using them would mean that my AC would decrease due to not holding a shield.
So for a negligible increase in potential damage, I would have a lower AC (which is already low) and thus be easier to hit with an attack. A problem which is compounded if I switch DEX or INT with CON, as I would then have a lower amount of health
We also have to think ahead, of what happens after the first combat. When I’ve used up my spell slots and have to rely exclusively on cantrips for the rest of session. I would be one big walking target unable to defend himself and thus have to distract the rest of the party as they tried to keep me alive.
I don't want to be a burden to them.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Ironically, Arcane Domain Clerics have the best selection of cantrips outside of Warlocks getting Eldritch Blast. You passed over Toll the dead and Booming Blade. If you switched Strength and Dexterity you could still use a dagger and apply Dexterity to Attacks and damage, and it is on average 1 damage less than a mace.
You can actually still very easily cast spells while having a shield equipped. Most clerics have their shield emblazoned with their holy symbol which means you can use your shield hand for Somatic components if it also has Material components. If the spell requires Somatic components, but not Material components, you can cast the spell if your other hand is free to perform the Somatic components (just by sheathing the weapon).
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Somatic (S)
Spellcasting gestures might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Material (M)
Casting some spells requires particular objects, specified in parentheses in the component entry. A character can use a component pouch or a spellcasting focus (found in chapter 5, “Equipment”) in place of the components specified for a spell. But if a cost is indicated for a component, a character must have that specific component before he or she can cast the spell.
If a spell states that a material component is consumed by the spell, the caster must provide this component for each casting of the spell.
A spellcaster must have a hand free to access a spell’s material components — or to hold a spellcasting focus — but it can be the same hand that he or she uses to perform somatic components.
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https://www.dndbeyond.com/equipment/holy-symbol
A holy symbol is a representation of a god or pantheon. A cleric or paladin can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus, as described in the Spellcasting section. To use the symbol in this way, the caster must hold it in hand, wear it visibly, or bear it on a shield.
I need to rebuild this character sheet entirely and take better advantage of the built-in mechanics of the class and subclass, I think.
I will take everything you have all said into account and try to improve the character.
I will completely redo his spells also and look much closer at what I am choosing.
The long and short of it is I am just bad at building characters mechanically. I am much better at storytelling and writing characters than I am at their mechanical construction.
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Well, that is simply not true. As an Arcane cleric you get access to MORE attack cantrips than most (if not all) other clerics. You also get Magic Missile at first level.
You can use a shield and cast cantrips, nothing prevents you from that. Also, since you can attack from a distance, less need of a high AC.
As pointed out, this isn't really the case, but why do you feel the need be a primary damage dealer as a cleric anyways? Especially at lower levels? Once you get Spirit Guardians and Spiritual Weapon you can start dealing som pretty good damage, but before that it's quite suboptimal as an Arcana Cleric (a subclass literally devouted to spellcasting) to focus on melee weapons.
You'd probably be a much bigger burden if you choose to play this rather suboptimal way. By focusing on Strength, dex-based AC and melee weapons you will actually be less able to defend yourself than if you rely on shield, Medium Armour (with decent Dex) and cantrips. Then again, D&D is about cooperation so if you talk to your group perhaps they won't mind? The important thing is that everyone have fun.