As the title suggests. I want a full caster, not a half-caster, and for the character not to use too many weapons. Think of a character running up to an enemy, blasting them with a spell or two, and then either teleporting away, or having some spell protecting them to take less (or no) damage. I think a cleric seems to work well, having both medium armor and shield proficiency, but I don't know if they have the right spells for it. Any suggestions, both for class/subclass, spells, and feats?
Bard- It'd be college of valor, obviously, and you'd need misty step or something to get the telebamfing done. Very viable option. Cane be made "optimal" just fine, whatever that means.
Cleric- Honestly imho this is like the weakest option, but I don't really know what you're looking for. Certainly they get heavy armor, why that's important I'm not sure since they're teleporting out, but hey.
Druid- The best version of this is them casting as an animal, which doesn't happen until 18th level. Otherwise they're great, kinda, I love their spell list and love the class, but they don't seem exactly optimal for this.
Sorcerer- Sure, why not? They can do this.
Wizard- There are two ways to go with this- Conjuration, with a focus on replenishing the free teleport from Benign Transposition, which is valid, viable, and great, or my personal favorite melee Wizard build, a Abjurer with at least 1 level of Warlock for Armor of Agethys, who prepares it at the highest level they have for up to 45 points of damage every time they're hit, taking zero damage (and not even reducing the armor of agethys temp HP) if their ward is still up, and being able to infinitely replenish the ward through ritual magic or through the spell mastery feature at very high levels.
Warlock- Armor of Agethys, Hexblade, etc, they can do great, but are not a traditional full caster, so not sure if they qualify.
I'm not sure what you're looking for, so give me more details. I'm not going to optimize 6 different classes, all of which are viable for your described needs.
A level of Hexblade Warlock gets you martial weapon proficiency along with medium armor and shield proficiency. Take 3 levels of Hexblade and you can get your pact weapon to be a +1 magical weapon that you can use as your arcane focus. You use your charisma modifier for your attacks, so you don't even need to load up on dex or strength. Take the rest of your levels in sorcerer so you can focus on one stat.
Or instead, a level of Fighter or Cleric can also give you more weapon choices and armor proficiences.
As for feats, Warcaster and Crossbow Expert are good feats for the build. Warcaster lets you cast a spell attack as a reaction and you don't need a had free to cast (works especially well with the Hexblade improved pact weapon). Crossbow Expert takes away the disadvantage of doing a ranged spell attack when in melee.
I was definitely thinking of taking Warcaster and Crossbow Expert, they are just too good to pass up.
But I wanted to avoid taking a weapon-based approach, it just seems too easy, even though there are spells to make your weapons magical/do more damage, like Magic Weapon. Hexblade could still work, since the Curse works with spells, but I feel like I would be losing out on too many features unfortunately.
Matthias, I had a chance to look through your Divine Soul sorcerer idea. It definitely looks fun, and could be really great for a thematic dark avenger (yet not a paladin) kind of character. However, if I were playing this character I would worry about either not having enough spell slots to keep this relevant all day, especially at later levels, or just not being strong enough to keep up the damage.
I would also like to keep my character weapon free, although shadow blade would be useful for when I needed weapons. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that any kind of spellcaster that would frequently go into melee (Eldritch Knight, Paladin, Hexblade, Bladesinger, Ranger) already seems to have either spells that augment the damage of the weapon (Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon, Holy Weapon, Flame Arrows, etc), have a lot of burst potential (Divine Smite, Eldritch Smite, etc), or just seem to have a lot of attacks (Fighters). It's a bit of a difficult concept I'm trying to make, but I feel like it could be really effective (and fun!) if built correctly.
Okay GiantOctopodes, mechanical details: preferably full caster; the ability to either avoid being hit (teleporting away, illusionary doubles, invisibility) or to take a hit (armor/shield proficiency) and not instantly die; attacks with spells, not weapons, to do damage. Likely that this character would focus on one enemy at a time, rather than trying to take on multiple foes.
Thematic details: think of something along the lines of a Sun Soul monk, where they can get in close range and survive the hits, or run away if they desire, and have a magical attack they can use to blast their opponents. In fact, if there was a monk subclass with even a half-spell progression, it would be the closest to what I'm thinking, but Sun Soul is the only thing available, and it's still far too limited for my liking.
In addition, I really like your Abjuration Wizard/Warlock idea. I've never tried an Abjuration Wizard, but I've heard that stacking the Ward on top of lots of Temp HP is a really good way to keep yourself alive, only really beaten by the master of extra HP, the ArchDruid with unlimited Wild Shapes. Armor of Agathys would be a fantastic spell for this, since it does additional damage on top of giving you temp HP. And, the single level of Warlock would get you Eldritch Blast, one of the best damaging cantrips in the game, and you could push it even further with 2 levels of Warlock (sacrificing an ASI) for two Eldritch Invocations, namely Agonizing Blast. All you would need is the Crossbow Expert feat and you could use it in melee, dealing a ton of damage (even if it does get a bit repetitive).
I'd probably look at divine sorcerer to unlock divine spells, then cherry pick touch/point blank range spells like shocking grasp, thunderwave, and inflict wounds, along with some defensive spells such as shield and mage armor. I'd consider a dip into Warlock as they have some nice spells that fit the concept (although I truly loathe the spell slot mechanics for warlocks)
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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.
Folks, this thread is from 2018. I’m betting the person has sorted it out at this point. Pro tip: always check the dates before you reply to threads. You could be talking to people who aren’t here anymore.
Heyo, I am here still, never check my notifications so I didn't realize it had been responded to, but bladesinger could work (but as I've never played one, it just seems a little TOO squishy to me)
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As the title suggests. I want a full caster, not a half-caster, and for the character not to use too many weapons. Think of a character running up to an enemy, blasting them with a spell or two, and then either teleporting away, or having some spell protecting them to take less (or no) damage. I think a cleric seems to work well, having both medium armor and shield proficiency, but I don't know if they have the right spells for it. Any suggestions, both for class/subclass, spells, and feats?
Options for full casters:
Bard- It'd be college of valor, obviously, and you'd need misty step or something to get the telebamfing done. Very viable option. Cane be made "optimal" just fine, whatever that means.
Cleric- Honestly imho this is like the weakest option, but I don't really know what you're looking for. Certainly they get heavy armor, why that's important I'm not sure since they're teleporting out, but hey.
Druid- The best version of this is them casting as an animal, which doesn't happen until 18th level. Otherwise they're great, kinda, I love their spell list and love the class, but they don't seem exactly optimal for this.
Sorcerer- Sure, why not? They can do this.
Wizard- There are two ways to go with this- Conjuration, with a focus on replenishing the free teleport from Benign Transposition, which is valid, viable, and great, or my personal favorite melee Wizard build, a Abjurer with at least 1 level of Warlock for Armor of Agethys, who prepares it at the highest level they have for up to 45 points of damage every time they're hit, taking zero damage (and not even reducing the armor of agethys temp HP) if their ward is still up, and being able to infinitely replenish the ward through ritual magic or through the spell mastery feature at very high levels.
Warlock- Armor of Agethys, Hexblade, etc, they can do great, but are not a traditional full caster, so not sure if they qualify.
I'm not sure what you're looking for, so give me more details. I'm not going to optimize 6 different classes, all of which are viable for your described needs.
My personal favorite for this is a cleric of the Light (burning hands, Warding Flare) or Tempest (thunderwave, Wrath of the Storm) domain.
A fun character I recently made, though, is a 6th-level Divine Soul sorcerer (modified tiefling for race: +1 Dex instead of Int, armor of Agathys instead of hellish rebuke, pass without trace instead of darkness, and cold resistance instead of fire resistance). 18 Cha, 16 Dex, 12 Con. She casts mage armor, armor of Agathys, spiritual weapon, and shadow blade before an important fight, then shreds people with green-flame blade or booming blade, as appropriate, as her action and misty step, attacking with spiritual weapon, or Quickening a cantrip or as her bonus action. Shield or counterspell as her reaction. Fun girl.
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Tooltips (Help/aid)
Have you thought about multi-classing?
A level of Hexblade Warlock gets you martial weapon proficiency along with medium armor and shield proficiency. Take 3 levels of Hexblade and you can get your pact weapon to be a +1 magical weapon that you can use as your arcane focus. You use your charisma modifier for your attacks, so you don't even need to load up on dex or strength. Take the rest of your levels in sorcerer so you can focus on one stat.
Or instead, a level of Fighter or Cleric can also give you more weapon choices and armor proficiences.
As for feats, Warcaster and Crossbow Expert are good feats for the build. Warcaster lets you cast a spell attack as a reaction and you don't need a had free to cast (works especially well with the Hexblade improved pact weapon). Crossbow Expert takes away the disadvantage of doing a ranged spell attack when in melee.
I was definitely thinking of taking Warcaster and Crossbow Expert, they are just too good to pass up.
But I wanted to avoid taking a weapon-based approach, it just seems too easy, even though there are spells to make your weapons magical/do more damage, like Magic Weapon. Hexblade could still work, since the Curse works with spells, but I feel like I would be losing out on too many features unfortunately.
Matthias, I had a chance to look through your Divine Soul sorcerer idea. It definitely looks fun, and could be really great for a thematic dark avenger (yet not a paladin) kind of character. However, if I were playing this character I would worry about either not having enough spell slots to keep this relevant all day, especially at later levels, or just not being strong enough to keep up the damage.
I would also like to keep my character weapon free, although shadow blade would be useful for when I needed weapons. Unfortunately, I've come to realize that any kind of spellcaster that would frequently go into melee (Eldritch Knight, Paladin, Hexblade, Bladesinger, Ranger) already seems to have either spells that augment the damage of the weapon (Magic Weapon, Elemental Weapon, Holy Weapon, Flame Arrows, etc), have a lot of burst potential (Divine Smite, Eldritch Smite, etc), or just seem to have a lot of attacks (Fighters). It's a bit of a difficult concept I'm trying to make, but I feel like it could be really effective (and fun!) if built correctly.
Okay GiantOctopodes, mechanical details: preferably full caster; the ability to either avoid being hit (teleporting away, illusionary doubles, invisibility) or to take a hit (armor/shield proficiency) and not instantly die; attacks with spells, not weapons, to do damage. Likely that this character would focus on one enemy at a time, rather than trying to take on multiple foes.
Thematic details: think of something along the lines of a Sun Soul monk, where they can get in close range and survive the hits, or run away if they desire, and have a magical attack they can use to blast their opponents. In fact, if there was a monk subclass with even a half-spell progression, it would be the closest to what I'm thinking, but Sun Soul is the only thing available, and it's still far too limited for my liking.
In addition, I really like your Abjuration Wizard/Warlock idea. I've never tried an Abjuration Wizard, but I've heard that stacking the Ward on top of lots of Temp HP is a really good way to keep yourself alive, only really beaten by the master of extra HP, the ArchDruid with unlimited Wild Shapes. Armor of Agathys would be a fantastic spell for this, since it does additional damage on top of giving you temp HP. And, the single level of Warlock would get you Eldritch Blast, one of the best damaging cantrips in the game, and you could push it even further with 2 levels of Warlock (sacrificing an ASI) for two Eldritch Invocations, namely Agonizing Blast. All you would need is the Crossbow Expert feat and you could use it in melee, dealing a ton of damage (even if it does get a bit repetitive).
Way of Four Elements Monk?
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I'd probably look at divine sorcerer to unlock divine spells, then cherry pick touch/point blank range spells like shocking grasp, thunderwave, and inflict wounds, along with some defensive spells such as shield and mage armor. I'd consider a dip into Warlock as they have some nice spells that fit the concept (although I truly loathe the spell slot mechanics for warlocks)
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
Bladesinger wizard?
I have decided to make a bad signature
I worship JUSTIN BUCKNER
Thanks for reading!
Me and about 4 friends started Dnd at our school and apparently it's really popular now so yay!
Im gonna make a cult of Buckner thread soon.
AGAIN, Thanks for reading!
We have an NPC of that type in the party now. I think his AC is 27.
My point exactly
I have decided to make a bad signature
I worship JUSTIN BUCKNER
Thanks for reading!
Me and about 4 friends started Dnd at our school and apparently it's really popular now so yay!
Im gonna make a cult of Buckner thread soon.
AGAIN, Thanks for reading!
I'm sure that he does have to take a round to do his "dance" or whatever.
Well yes. Mage armor is an action, but bladesinging is a bonus action and shield is a reaction so...
I have decided to make a bad signature
I worship JUSTIN BUCKNER
Thanks for reading!
Me and about 4 friends started Dnd at our school and apparently it's really popular now so yay!
Im gonna make a cult of Buckner thread soon.
AGAIN, Thanks for reading!
Folks, this thread is from 2018. I’m betting the person has sorted it out at this point.
Pro tip: always check the dates before you reply to threads. You could be talking to people who aren’t here anymore.
I was surprised that someone responded 5 years later, but I figured I'd respond anyway.
Heyo, I am here still, never check my notifications so I didn't realize it had been responded to, but bladesinger could work (but as I've never played one, it just seems a little TOO squishy to me)