So I've started playing a Half Orc Forge Cleric, with point buy and want him to be somewhat gishy- the lack of racial wisdom bonus is troubling, but I really like the Half Orc Relentless Endurance, and the Strength and Con boots are pretty nice too. Used point buy to create the character, so my level one stats were 16/16 Strength + Con and 14 Wisdom (10 Cha / Int and 8 Dex). He is usually rocking a Spear and Shield.
In terms of building this character, I've been going back and forth on when I should be taking feats and what feats I should be taking.
Wisdom ASI : 14 Wisdom feels pretty low for a Cleric. At the end of the day he is primarily a caster. So I need to have a good casting stat. 14 was the highest I could get it with Point Buy for Half Orc, so its at 14 to start. Definitely need more Wisdom, pretty badly.
War Caster: removes any concerns with somatic issues while hands are full- which is usually, but with holy sigil on the shield that only realistically comes up when there are somatic and no material, and I don't want to stow the spear for the spell- So realistically not that often (albeit Spiritual Weapons is one such spell). Advantage on Concentration saves is the main selling point.
Magic Initiate (Wizard): Blade Cantrips combo with Divine / Blessed Strike, and Find Familiar is just... good. Blessed Strike is better at level 8 as it also buffs Cantrips to add some flexibility at range and radiant > fire. Divine Strike is more spicy at level 14 as it keeps scaling along with the blade cantrips. Magic Initiate just seems really spicy and adds a bit more punch to the gishyness of the build. GFB scales, it scales alongside Divine Strike, Clerics only get one attack anyway and it fits well into cleric's action economy as it doesn't compete with Spiritual Weapon or Spirit Guardians and can be used alongside Healing Word as well.
I'm not really certain on the order I should be picking things up though. My current plan was Wisdom ASI for 16 at level 4, and Magic Initiate at level 8 for the spice, then playing it by ear and going for War Caster or more Wisdom ASI depending on how things have been going. I suppose my question to more experienced players, are his 16 Constitution and high AC serviceable enough to delay picking up War Caster until level 12+? Is Magic Initiate a trap and am I overvaluing the extra damage from the blade cantrips compared to getting War Caster and more Wisdom ASI early?
If you're not playing with the Tasha's rules for racial ASIs, forcing you to have +2S/+1C, generically the best cleric statline you can make is Con 16/Str 17/Wis 15, and then at level 4 your ASI is Str/Wis, taking you to Con 16/Str 18/Wis 16. With 14 Wis instead, you should definitely focus on getting your Wisdom up - you'll be able to prepare more spells as well as have higher save DCs, and some other spells interact with your Wisdom bonus in other ways, such as Healing Word or Inflict Wounds.
War Caster is definitely primarily about the buff to Con saves, which you need to care about if you want to cleric on the front line, but don't forget it lets you OA with spells like, well, Inflict Wounds (and later, Banishment).
I would definitely recommend Wisdom at level 4. By level 7 you should be more familiar with the game and your campaign, and be more comfortable picking a feat.
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So I've started playing a Half Orc Forge Cleric, with point buy and want him to be somewhat gishy- the lack of racial wisdom bonus is troubling, but I really like the Half Orc Relentless Endurance, and the Strength and Con boots are pretty nice too. Used point buy to create the character, so my level one stats were 16/16 Strength + Con and 14 Wisdom (10 Cha / Int and 8 Dex). He is usually rocking a Spear and Shield.
In terms of building this character, I've been going back and forth on when I should be taking feats and what feats I should be taking.
Wisdom ASI : 14 Wisdom feels pretty low for a Cleric. At the end of the day he is primarily a caster. So I need to have a good casting stat. 14 was the highest I could get it with Point Buy for Half Orc, so its at 14 to start. Definitely need more Wisdom, pretty badly.
War Caster: removes any concerns with somatic issues while hands are full- which is usually, but with holy sigil on the shield that only realistically comes up when there are somatic and no material, and I don't want to stow the spear for the spell- So realistically not that often (albeit Spiritual Weapons is one such spell). Advantage on Concentration saves is the main selling point.
Magic Initiate (Wizard): Blade Cantrips combo with Divine / Blessed Strike, and Find Familiar is just... good. Blessed Strike is better at level 8 as it also buffs Cantrips to add some flexibility at range and radiant > fire. Divine Strike is more spicy at level 14 as it keeps scaling along with the blade cantrips. Magic Initiate just seems really spicy and adds a bit more punch to the gishyness of the build. GFB scales, it scales alongside Divine Strike, Clerics only get one attack anyway and it fits well into cleric's action economy as it doesn't compete with Spiritual Weapon or Spirit Guardians and can be used alongside Healing Word as well.
I'm not really certain on the order I should be picking things up though. My current plan was Wisdom ASI for 16 at level 4, and Magic Initiate at level 8 for the spice, then playing it by ear and going for War Caster or more Wisdom ASI depending on how things have been going. I suppose my question to more experienced players, are his 16 Constitution and high AC serviceable enough to delay picking up War Caster until level 12+? Is Magic Initiate a trap and am I overvaluing the extra damage from the blade cantrips compared to getting War Caster and more Wisdom ASI early?
If you're not playing with the Tasha's rules for racial ASIs, forcing you to have +2S/+1C, generically the best cleric statline you can make is Con 16/Str 17/Wis 15, and then at level 4 your ASI is Str/Wis, taking you to Con 16/Str 18/Wis 16. With 14 Wis instead, you should definitely focus on getting your Wisdom up - you'll be able to prepare more spells as well as have higher save DCs, and some other spells interact with your Wisdom bonus in other ways, such as Healing Word or Inflict Wounds.
War Caster is definitely primarily about the buff to Con saves, which you need to care about if you want to cleric on the front line, but don't forget it lets you OA with spells like, well, Inflict Wounds (and later, Banishment).
I would definitely recommend Wisdom at level 4. By level 7 you should be more familiar with the game and your campaign, and be more comfortable picking a feat.