This past weekend, I played in my first Legends of Greyhawk game, and my level 1 Cleric hit level 2. I thought I'd take a one level dip into Ranger and then proceed past that all the way through Cleric.
Then I noticed an interesting synergy should I actually take the next 5 levels in Ranger, going Gloomstalker.
My current Cleric is Human, with Magic Initiate (Wizard) and Tough as his origin feats, and I wound up taking the Thaumaturge divine order to add Wisdom to Arcana and Religion checks. He only had a STR 10, so heavy armor was never in the picture, I was always going to wear medium armor, so I thought taking 1 level of Ranger for weapon mastery would be useful.
Then I noticed the Gloomstalker, and realized how well it synergized with my Cleric.
His current stats are STR 10, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 17, CHA 12
At level 2 (Cleric 1/Ranger 1), I'd have weapon mastery. I can use it with a Rapier at low levels.
At level 3 (Cleric 1/Ranger 2), I can get Expertise in Persuasion, so that I'll have 5 really strong skills I'm proficient in: Arcana, Insight, Perception, Persuasion, and Religion. I thought about taking Druidic Warrior for my fighting style, getting Shillelagh.
At level 4 (Cleric 1/Ranger 3), Gloomstalker subclass comes online, adding my Wisdom to my initiative rolls. Dread Ambusher and Umbral Sight seem useful too.
At level 5 (Cleric 1/Ranger 4), My ASI will go towards War Caster. Wisdom gets bumped up to 18.
At level 6 (Cleric 1/Ranger 5), Extra Attack comes up. I can wield my Shillelagh quarterstaff to attack twice using Wisdom. Weapon mastery for quarterstaff adds topple.
By level 8, I was planning on choosing War domain, thus getting War Priest for an extra Wisdom modifier number of attacks with my quarterstaff per short or long rest.
By this time, I'd use Wisdom for Initiative rolls, melee attack and damage, spell save DC, 4 out of 6 of my skills boosted by Wisdom (only History isn't buffed, background from Sage), and a 5th skill (Persuasion) boosted by Expertise. And 3 attacks per turn.
Gloomstalker Ranger / Cleric isn't new, as I've seen older posts on the topic, but I haven't found anything recently.
Am I crazy in thinking the versatility and SAD-ness is pretty awesome for an organized play environment? Or should I forget about it and go more as a straight Cleric or Ranger?
I have played a Gloom Stalker/Cleric before. Somewhat similar approach. Also there is a great synergy between war cleric and ranger in general (giving an archer a 3rd attack for example). It is very good, and it can be very good flavor for a Ranger. A Cleric of War has a purpose, a conflict they are devoted too. In a campaign this can give you a very clear true north on the character.
Combat wise the hits keep coming as you go up in level and eventually, Ranger 5/Cleric X gets really strong. Concentration free spiritual weapon or shield of faith. Extra damage to an attack. Higher upcastable slots to do damage with. Free slots for Hunter's Mark. Personally I don't usually go the Shillelagh route, but it is a good route. You take a while to spin up to full power, but that is fine.
Glad to hear there's good synergy between the two classes. And most of all, it sounds like it would be fun to play.
LoG seems like a more restrictive AL, so versatility sounds like it would be a good thing.
I'm leaning pretty heavily into going this route. While Dodge + Spirit Guardians is effective, it feels boring and cookie cutter. This idea feels like its tactics adapt based on the current threat, which feels fun.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
This past weekend, I played in my first Legends of Greyhawk game, and my level 1 Cleric hit level 2. I thought I'd take a one level dip into Ranger and then proceed past that all the way through Cleric.
Then I noticed an interesting synergy should I actually take the next 5 levels in Ranger, going Gloomstalker.
My current Cleric is Human, with Magic Initiate (Wizard) and Tough as his origin feats, and I wound up taking the Thaumaturge divine order to add Wisdom to Arcana and Religion checks. He only had a STR 10, so heavy armor was never in the picture, I was always going to wear medium armor, so I thought taking 1 level of Ranger for weapon mastery would be useful.
Then I noticed the Gloomstalker, and realized how well it synergized with my Cleric.
His current stats are STR 10, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 17, CHA 12
At level 2 (Cleric 1/Ranger 1), I'd have weapon mastery. I can use it with a Rapier at low levels.
At level 3 (Cleric 1/Ranger 2), I can get Expertise in Persuasion, so that I'll have 5 really strong skills I'm proficient in: Arcana, Insight, Perception, Persuasion, and Religion. I thought about taking Druidic Warrior for my fighting style, getting Shillelagh.
At level 4 (Cleric 1/Ranger 3), Gloomstalker subclass comes online, adding my Wisdom to my initiative rolls. Dread Ambusher and Umbral Sight seem useful too.
At level 5 (Cleric 1/Ranger 4), My ASI will go towards War Caster. Wisdom gets bumped up to 18.
At level 6 (Cleric 1/Ranger 5), Extra Attack comes up. I can wield my Shillelagh quarterstaff to attack twice using Wisdom. Weapon mastery for quarterstaff adds topple.
By level 8, I was planning on choosing War domain, thus getting War Priest for an extra Wisdom modifier number of attacks with my quarterstaff per short or long rest.
By this time, I'd use Wisdom for Initiative rolls, melee attack and damage, spell save DC, 4 out of 6 of my skills boosted by Wisdom (only History isn't buffed, background from Sage), and a 5th skill (Persuasion) boosted by Expertise. And 3 attacks per turn.
Gloomstalker Ranger / Cleric isn't new, as I've seen older posts on the topic, but I haven't found anything recently.
Am I crazy in thinking the versatility and SAD-ness is pretty awesome for an organized play environment? Or should I forget about it and go more as a straight Cleric or Ranger?
Sorry, wasn't sure the best place to post this.
I have played a Gloom Stalker/Cleric before. Somewhat similar approach. Also there is a great synergy between war cleric and ranger in general (giving an archer a 3rd attack for example). It is very good, and it can be very good flavor for a Ranger. A Cleric of War has a purpose, a conflict they are devoted too. In a campaign this can give you a very clear true north on the character.
Combat wise the hits keep coming as you go up in level and eventually, Ranger 5/Cleric X gets really strong. Concentration free spiritual weapon or shield of faith. Extra damage to an attack. Higher upcastable slots to do damage with. Free slots for Hunter's Mark. Personally I don't usually go the Shillelagh route, but it is a good route. You take a while to spin up to full power, but that is fine.
Thanks for the feedback, Elfdope.
Glad to hear there's good synergy between the two classes. And most of all, it sounds like it would be fun to play.
LoG seems like a more restrictive AL, so versatility sounds like it would be a good thing.
I'm leaning pretty heavily into going this route. While Dodge + Spirit Guardians is effective, it feels boring and cookie cutter. This idea feels like its tactics adapt based on the current threat, which feels fun.