I'm trying to confirm if this is compatible before I start my campaign with this character.
Im a hill dwarf Fey Wanderer Ranger.
My goal is level 2 pick up Druidic Warrior, level 3 Subclass in Fey Wander and level 4 pick up War Caster. The goal is to use my wisdom(18) to improve my charisma checks and attacks with shillelagh.
Can I have a staff in one hand and shield in the other and still be able to cast shillelagh given it needs V,S,M components?
Rules as written you would need the War Caster feat, but a lot of DM's just hand wave that away.
It wouldn't be the most optimized build, but it would be interesting and unique. It does have one advantage, your spells will be fully powered (save DC and spell attack rolls). Most half casters have weakened spell casting because their main stat is either strength or dexterity. Actually I should say two advantages, you'll have higher AC than the vast majority of Rangers. Most players go with archery builds, with some others dual wielding.
The quarterstaff itself is one of the material components though. I think you just need to attach the mistletoe and shamrock leaf to it. It can't be that you need to use a different hand for each component since there's three different components.
From the DMG: "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." So, if you use a staff, that's both your spellcasting focus for the M and S components, and the weapon you then use. Thus, it does not require the War Caster feat.
I'm going to get on board with the people that say you would need the warcaster feat.
In your position, I would dual-wield a shortsword with a club affected by your shillelagh. I'll assume you bump your WIS from 18 to 20 at level 4 instead of taking warcaster, and that you take the two-weapon fighting style to make this strategy more effective.
You should be dealing, assuming a DEX of 14 (which is reasonable for a ranger with a starting WIS of 16), 1d8 + 5 + 1d6 + 2 damage per round, assuming that all attacks land, for a total of, on average, 14 damage per round with no other spells or limited use features. Not bad for level 4, and a bit better if your DEX happens to be 16 already.
At level 5, you'll get extra attack, which will enable you to deal 2d8 + 10 + 1d6 + 2 damage, for a total of 24 on average. If you are caught without prep time and need to forfeit your bonus action attack to cast the spell, it will be a little lower on round 1, but at least you can do it.
I'd also like to put it out there that I'm starting to see some DMs adopt a house rule where you don't need a bonus action to engage in 2-weapon fighting, so I'd talk to your DM about whether that could be arranged. You're a ranger. You have a lot of spells that need bonus actions.
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
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I'm trying to confirm if this is compatible before I start my campaign with this character.
Im a hill dwarf Fey Wanderer Ranger.
My goal is level 2 pick up Druidic Warrior, level 3 Subclass in Fey Wander and level 4 pick up War Caster. The goal is to use my wisdom(18) to improve my charisma checks and attacks with shillelagh.
Can I have a staff in one hand and shield in the other and still be able to cast shillelagh given it needs V,S,M components?
Probably need Warcaster feat.
Rules as written you would need the War Caster feat, but a lot of DM's just hand wave that away.
It wouldn't be the most optimized build, but it would be interesting and unique. It does have one advantage, your spells will be fully powered (save DC and spell attack rolls). Most half casters have weakened spell casting because their main stat is either strength or dexterity. Actually I should say two advantages, you'll have higher AC than the vast majority of Rangers. Most players go with archery builds, with some others dual wielding.
The quarterstaff itself is one of the material components though. I think you just need to attach the mistletoe and shamrock leaf to it. It can't be that you need to use a different hand for each component since there's three different components.
From the DMG: "Unless a staff’s description says otherwise, a staff can be used as a quarterstaff." So, if you use a staff, that's both your spellcasting focus for the M and S components, and the weapon you then use. Thus, it does not require the War Caster feat.
Varielky
I'm going to get on board with the people that say you would need the warcaster feat.
In your position, I would dual-wield a shortsword with a club affected by your shillelagh. I'll assume you bump your WIS from 18 to 20 at level 4 instead of taking warcaster, and that you take the two-weapon fighting style to make this strategy more effective.
You should be dealing, assuming a DEX of 14 (which is reasonable for a ranger with a starting WIS of 16), 1d8 + 5 + 1d6 + 2 damage per round, assuming that all attacks land, for a total of, on average, 14 damage per round with no other spells or limited use features. Not bad for level 4, and a bit better if your DEX happens to be 16 already.
At level 5, you'll get extra attack, which will enable you to deal 2d8 + 10 + 1d6 + 2 damage, for a total of 24 on average. If you are caught without prep time and need to forfeit your bonus action attack to cast the spell, it will be a little lower on round 1, but at least you can do it.
I'd also like to put it out there that I'm starting to see some DMs adopt a house rule where you don't need a bonus action to engage in 2-weapon fighting, so I'd talk to your DM about whether that could be arranged. You're a ranger. You have a lot of spells that need bonus actions.
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair