2. I started my campaign as a Barbarian thinking I was going to multiclass into a spell caster and live with the lack of synergy, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work great. My DM gave me some options which just didn't meet what I was wanting. So he's allowing me to race change from human to aasimar, because when really pressed, I wanted a Thor like character, but didn't want to change out of Barbarian.
3. This is my build concept leveling in this order:
Barbarian Path of the Zealot (lvl 5)/ Tempest Cleric (lvl 9)/ Fighter Battle Master (lvl 4)/ Paladin (lvl2)
The biggest 2 problems I see you having is that it requires STR, WIS, and CHA to be 13 or higher to multiclass, but will also want decent DEX and CON, also it doesn't look like its full damage dealing potential comes online until the last level (to fix that just take paladin before cleric).
I also think you would be better off dropping fighter for more levels in one of your other classes.
The biggest 2 problems I see you having is that it requires STR, WIS, and CHA to be 13 or higher to multiclass, but will also want decent DEX and CON, also it doesn't look like its full damage dealing potential comes online until the last level (to fix that just take paladin before cleric).
You’ll be significantly ****** compared to other characters as you progress. Tempest cleric isn’t a bad idea for a Thor like character, maybe Goliath instead of Aasimar?
You’ll be significantly ****** compared to other characters as you progress. Tempest cleric isn’t a bad idea for a Thor like character, maybe Goliath instead of Aasimar?
If straight Zealot Path Barb, goliath would be epic.
2. I started my campaign as a Barbarian thinking I was going to multiclass into a spell caster and live with the lack of synergy, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work great. My DM gave me some options which just didn't meet what I was wanting. So he's allowing me to race change from human to aasimar, because when really pressed, I wanted a Thor like character, but didn't want to change out of Barbarian.
3. This is my build concept leveling in this order:
Barbarian Path of the Zealot (lvl 5)/ Tempest Cleric (lvl 9)/ Fighter Battle Master (lvl 4)/ Paladin (lvl2)
Will this be a disaster?
As has been said you are hitting paladin so late it's hardly worth it. Removing it from your build also reduces the amount of attributes required to multi class.
The other problem you will run into is that raging and spell casting do not mix. At all. This means many of your better cleric spells like spirit guardians will be unavailable to you while you are raging. And for Path of the Zealot you want to be able to rage because divine fury is a pretty darn good ability.
Personally, I would recommend a single class character. Especially if you are a noob. Any one of your choices can be really interesting and fun to play from level 1 to 20 and, to be honest, most games rarely get past level 10 or so.
If you have your heart set on playing a multiclass character then I would go path of the zealot barbarian 6/tempest cleric 14. Many of the tempest domain abilities are usable while raging and outside of rages you can focus on healing yourself and your fellow player characters. Keep in mind that you can cast spiritual weapon prior to a rage and use it while in a rage since it does not require concentration. So at 9th level when you can cast it your normal order of things would be: round 1 - attack twice and use bonus action to cast spiritual weapon, round 2 - attack twice and bonus action to rage, round 3 - attack twice in rage and bonus action to use spiritual weapon. This will be your standard 'rotation' until you gain a few levels in cleric and have a few more choices.
2. I started my campaign as a Barbarian thinking I was going to multiclass into a spell caster and live with the lack of synergy, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work great. My DM gave me some options which just didn't meet what I was wanting. So he's allowing me to race change from human to aasimar, because when really pressed, I wanted a Thor like character, but didn't want to change out of Barbarian.
3. This is my build concept leveling in this order:
Barbarian Path of the Zealot (lvl 5)/ Tempest Cleric (lvl 9)/ Fighter Battle Master (lvl 4)/ Paladin (lvl2)
Will this be a disaster?
A four-class character? Yeah that's gonna get complicated. Especially considering you're going to need good scores in basically everything but Intelligence. If you're just starting out, keep it simple. One, two classes tops. And pairing Barbarian with a casting class like Cleric is always going to present difficulties since you can't cast while raging. You'd be able to use all of your Domain abilities during Rage, but no spells. Paladin/Barbarian is an easier mix because you can use your spell slots for Divine Smite while Raging.
Also keep in mind that most campaigns don't get anywhere near Level 20 before they end, so you're likely not going to get that full build.
Barbarian doesn't really have any options that scream "Thor", so if you're set on playing that class I'd suggest just sticking with it, and try to build Thor next time. I'd consider a straight-up Tempest Cleric, maybe with a little Fighter thrown in.
DnD isnt about class/race builds that are most powerful, its about playing who you want to play the way you want to play it. Sure, you can spend an excessive amount of time concerned with builds, but I think you should just play the race or class you think is the coolest.
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According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.
DnD isnt about class/race builds that are most powerful, its about playing who you want to play the way you want to play it. Sure, you can spend an excessive amount of time concerned with builds, but I think you should just play the race or class you think is the coolest.
Agreed, but it is unpleasant to a lot people if they feel that their character is not on par with the rest of the party.
I get that about just playing the class/race that you find most fun, but the problem I think with this specific conundrum is that AndrewElford is specifically trying to play a Thor-like character, and unfortunately the build he suggested wouldn't give him a lot of opportunities for that.
sorry if this is too late but have you considered Eldritch Knight/Cleric? If we go EK 7 you get 2 ASIs, 2 attacks, War Magic, wizard cantrips and level 2 wizard spells(youll want to go the full 7 first most likely but a quick dip to cleric or starting cleric lvl 1 and moving to fighter a two might be fine ). at lvl three EK gets weapon bond a to get your weapon to return to you as a BA for thors returning hammer.
as for weapons 1 or 2 Javelin of Lightning (reskinned as a hammer if your gm is a cool guy a mace does 1d6 same as the jav, light hammer is 1d4 and has thrown property ) and yes there are returning hammers and hammers of thunderbolts but those are VERY unlikely to be acquired. a Horn of Valhalla to call in aid from the bifrost could be cool tooo
Of course, play whatever you find fun! But if you want build advice mine would be as follows:
A 4 class character is gonna be pretty unusable. Especially for a new character. Even if you're campaign hit level 20, I pretty much promise that the rest of your party will be miles ahead of you in power and general ability.
I would seriously consider sticking to one class for a newbie. Maybe two if you want, but one is really nice for simplicity. Storm Barbarian or Tempest Cleric would be your best bets I think.
Keep in mind that DnD isn't a game where branching out into different classes is necessarily beneficial. I see a lot of new players join and what to do all these crazy complicated builds when they usually could achieve the same thing with RP and a little help from the DM. Spreading your build thin or making it complicated, doesn't make it better. If anything, it makes it worse. Of course, some less optimal builds can be fun but this going to be a huge pain to keep track of as well being far worse than sub optimal.
I hope that helps! I would just stick to RPing it out and working out some cool loot or opportunities with the DM!
I'm not sure where your human + stats factor in, what feat you took at 4, etc... but if I understand correctly you're already a Barbaria (Zealot) 5, and the DM is open to you moving some stats around. If so I'd recommend you do something SUPER weird :)
Monks lose a lot from wearing armor... but they don't lose everything . Put on armor and you lose the monk unarmed attack damage dice modifier (not a big deal if you're using something else), the unarmored movement speed bonus (not a big deal if you don't care about that), ability to make an unarmed attack as a bonus action (not a big deal if you have a different way to make a bonus action attack, or other use of bonus action), ability to attack with monk weapons/unarmed attacks using dex instead of str (not a big deal if you want to attack with Str)... but every OTHER monk base ability isn't affected by armor/shields, and most of the subclasses aren't either.
Allow me to propose Barbarian (Zealot) 6/Monk (Sun Soul) 14.
Be a Mountain Dwarf (to fit with using a Thor hammer, and to squeeze a lil bit of extra Stats out. Also, bonus proficiecies would theoretically let you drop Barbarian entirely for a pure monk armored monk? :p )
Stats at level 6 (Barbarian 5/Monk 1): Str 18 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 14 Cha 8
Feat at Barbarian 4: Tavern Brawler (+1 Str): lets you still punch things while armored if you so choose and not have complete noodle fists (since you won't benefit from martial arts whenever wearing armor). Also it's just generally a fun feat, and gives you a +1 to a stat you want anyway. Could just as easily be Squat Nimbleness or Athlete, if you'd prefer.
ASI's at every other level: +2 Str at monk 4, +2 Wis at Monk 8, +2 Wis at Monk 12. Wisdom will give you better monk DCs, which helps with stunning strike and your spell like attacks. Alternatively, you could pump dex for better radiant bolts and take off your armor and play more of a real monk, but plllbbbbb that's boring and gives you poorer AC and thematic identity!
What'd you lose from not going Barbarian 20? Probably +1-3 better armor class at the very highest highest levels (but you have better AC at low/mid), fewer rages, slightly less damage per hit while raged, your zealot inspiring shout at 10, the zealot undying rage 14, better crits, better str checks, better hit points, advantage on initiative rolls.
What'd you gain from picking up Monk 16? Well, there's the general monk goodness which is probably too much to list but I will anyway:
If you're ever naked, you rock!
Dodge, Disengage, or Dash as a bonus for a ki point
Deflect missiles
Slow fall to jump off cliffs better
STUNNING STRIKE!!!
Evasion!
Purge frightened or charmed as an action
Run across water/up walls
immunity to disease and poison
speak all languages
HAVE ALL SAVES
But you also get some cool stuff from sun soul!
You get a d4-d8 30 foot radiant damage laser beam that you can make as one of your two attacks during an Action using your (admittedly mediocre) dexterity; if you do use one of your two attacks for it, then as a bonus you can fire it two more times! Kind of makes up for it having a -2 to hit compared to your melee hammer strikes.
You can Burning Hands as a bonus action after an attack
You can throw a light bomb as an action
Other than cool features from two classes, where is the Barbarian + Monk synergy? Well, there's isn't a ton, except:
This is one of the few ways you can use spell-like effects (laser beam, light bomb) while raging, because otherwise rage stops spellcasting (and indeed it does stop your Burning Hands bonus action)
Picking up stunning strike is pretty cool for any melee class, it lets your warhammer wallops really carry some weight
Barbarians don't have a ton to do with their bonus actions. Pumping yourself up from 2 attacks to 4 attacks is pretty nice, even if they don't hit as hard/as reliably. Plus, they're ranged and radiant, which is a plus!
Evasion saves a lot of hitpoints, and synergizes nicely with your barbarian Danger Sense
Rage also saves a lot of hitpoints over a similar-AC pure monk. Despite the lower hitpoints than a pure Barbarian, you're probably a little tankier than both (you could be really REALLY tanky by taking Long Death monk instead of Sun Soul, but that wouldn't really fit your "i want to be a caster" angle).
It's probably not the most optimal. But it requires a lot less fiddling than a 4-class character, and comes online basically at 8th level once you get to pick your monk subclass.
Never underestimate the fun of playing a character who isn’t exactly who they want to be. A slightly delusional barbarian who THINKS he’s a Norse god could be fun to run with. You’ll still be a full-on barbarian so presumably you won’t be behind the power curve of the rest of the party.
Your DM may even be on board with you characters quest to “reclaim his divinity.” Who knows, maybe he’s not actually crazy...
*update* My DM let me do a Paladin (Oath of Heroism)/Warlock with Thor as my patron (basically a hexblade with a norse rebrand and swap out with some lightning and thunder spells)
Ooh that's a solid re-skin to accomplish what you want. A Pact of the Blade/Hammer Warlock would be a good way to justify having a weapon you can throw and have it come back to your hand automatically, without just having your DM give you a Dwarven Thrower and I dunno... a belt of Dwarvenkind or something right off the bat.
1. I'm new to Dnd.
2. I started my campaign as a Barbarian thinking I was going to multiclass into a spell caster and live with the lack of synergy, but quickly realized that wasn't going to work great. My DM gave me some options which just didn't meet what I was wanting. So he's allowing me to race change from human to aasimar, because when really pressed, I wanted a Thor like character, but didn't want to change out of Barbarian.
3. This is my build concept leveling in this order:
Barbarian Path of the Zealot (lvl 5)/ Tempest Cleric (lvl 9)/ Fighter Battle Master (lvl 4)/ Paladin (lvl2)
Will this be a disaster?
Mmm... Probably. Is that a problem?
Lol... it could be but it could also work well...
Give me some details as to why, but also where you see it could work.
The biggest 2 problems I see you having is that it requires STR, WIS, and CHA to be 13 or higher to multiclass, but will also want decent DEX and CON, also it doesn't look like its full damage dealing potential comes online until the last level (to fix that just take paladin before cleric).
I also think you would be better off dropping fighter for more levels in one of your other classes.
Stats @ LVL 6 when I begin the multiclass:
Str: 16, Con: 14, Dex: 12, Int: 7, Wis: 17, Cha: 13
Yeah, that’s a hot mess lol
You’ll be significantly ****** compared to other characters as you progress. Tempest cleric isn’t a bad idea for a Thor like character, maybe Goliath instead of Aasimar?
If straight Zealot Path Barb, goliath would be epic.
If aasimar paladin 8/tempest cleric 12?
As has been said you are hitting paladin so late it's hardly worth it. Removing it from your build also reduces the amount of attributes required to multi class.
The other problem you will run into is that raging and spell casting do not mix. At all. This means many of your better cleric spells like spirit guardians will be unavailable to you while you are raging. And for Path of the Zealot you want to be able to rage because divine fury is a pretty darn good ability.
Personally, I would recommend a single class character. Especially if you are a noob. Any one of your choices can be really interesting and fun to play from level 1 to 20 and, to be honest, most games rarely get past level 10 or so.
If you have your heart set on playing a multiclass character then I would go path of the zealot barbarian 6/tempest cleric 14. Many of the tempest domain abilities are usable while raging and outside of rages you can focus on healing yourself and your fellow player characters. Keep in mind that you can cast spiritual weapon prior to a rage and use it while in a rage since it does not require concentration. So at 9th level when you can cast it your normal order of things would be: round 1 - attack twice and use bonus action to cast spiritual weapon, round 2 - attack twice and bonus action to rage, round 3 - attack twice in rage and bonus action to use spiritual weapon. This will be your standard 'rotation' until you gain a few levels in cleric and have a few more choices.
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Can't you take the storm path barbarian instead of zealot? Instantly fills your Thor vibe without needing to mutliclass 3 times.
A four-class character? Yeah that's gonna get complicated. Especially considering you're going to need good scores in basically everything but Intelligence. If you're just starting out, keep it simple. One, two classes tops. And pairing Barbarian with a casting class like Cleric is always going to present difficulties since you can't cast while raging. You'd be able to use all of your Domain abilities during Rage, but no spells. Paladin/Barbarian is an easier mix because you can use your spell slots for Divine Smite while Raging.
Also keep in mind that most campaigns don't get anywhere near Level 20 before they end, so you're likely not going to get that full build.
Barbarian doesn't really have any options that scream "Thor", so if you're set on playing that class I'd suggest just sticking with it, and try to build Thor next time. I'd consider a straight-up Tempest Cleric, maybe with a little Fighter thrown in.
DnD isnt about class/race builds that are most powerful, its about playing who you want to play the way you want to play it. Sure, you can spend an excessive amount of time concerned with builds, but I think you should just play the race or class you think is the coolest.
Agreed, but it is unpleasant to a lot people if they feel that their character is not on par with the rest of the party.
I get that about just playing the class/race that you find most fun, but the problem I think with this specific conundrum is that AndrewElford is specifically trying to play a Thor-like character, and unfortunately the build he suggested wouldn't give him a lot of opportunities for that.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
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sorry if this is too late but have you considered Eldritch Knight/Cleric? If we go EK 7 you get 2 ASIs, 2 attacks, War Magic, wizard cantrips and level 2 wizard spells(youll want to go the full 7 first most likely but a quick dip to cleric or starting cleric lvl 1 and moving to fighter a two might be fine ). at lvl three EK gets weapon bond a to get your weapon to return to you as a BA for thors returning hammer.
from there plenty of lightning/thunder cantrips (Shocking Grasp, Thunderclap, Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, Gust ect. ) using Blade Ward with war magic is a solid way to get that barbarian tankyness when you need it and with war magic you'll still be getting an attack each turn
the war-caster feat would be a must most likely
as for weapons 1 or 2 Javelin of Lightning (reskinned as a hammer if your gm is a cool guy a mace does 1d6 same as the jav, light hammer is 1d4 and has thrown property ) and yes there are returning hammers and hammers of thunderbolts but those are VERY unlikely to be acquired. a Horn of Valhalla to call in aid from the bifrost could be cool tooo
Of course, play whatever you find fun! But if you want build advice mine would be as follows:
A 4 class character is gonna be pretty unusable. Especially for a new character. Even if you're campaign hit level 20, I pretty much promise that the rest of your party will be miles ahead of you in power and general ability.
I would seriously consider sticking to one class for a newbie. Maybe two if you want, but one is really nice for simplicity. Storm Barbarian or Tempest Cleric would be your best bets I think.
Keep in mind that DnD isn't a game where branching out into different classes is necessarily beneficial. I see a lot of new players join and what to do all these crazy complicated builds when they usually could achieve the same thing with RP and a little help from the DM. Spreading your build thin or making it complicated, doesn't make it better. If anything, it makes it worse. Of course, some less optimal builds can be fun but this going to be a huge pain to keep track of as well being far worse than sub optimal.
I hope that helps! I would just stick to RPing it out and working out some cool loot or opportunities with the DM!
I'm not sure where your human + stats factor in, what feat you took at 4, etc... but if I understand correctly you're already a Barbaria (Zealot) 5, and the DM is open to you moving some stats around. If so I'd recommend you do something SUPER weird :)
Monks lose a lot from wearing armor... but they don't lose everything . Put on armor and you lose the monk unarmed attack damage dice modifier (not a big deal if you're using something else), the unarmored movement speed bonus (not a big deal if you don't care about that), ability to make an unarmed attack as a bonus action (not a big deal if you have a different way to make a bonus action attack, or other use of bonus action), ability to attack with monk weapons/unarmed attacks using dex instead of str (not a big deal if you want to attack with Str)... but every OTHER monk base ability isn't affected by armor/shields, and most of the subclasses aren't either.
Allow me to propose Barbarian (Zealot) 6/Monk (Sun Soul) 14.
Be a Mountain Dwarf (to fit with using a Thor hammer, and to squeeze a lil bit of extra Stats out. Also, bonus proficiecies would theoretically let you drop Barbarian entirely for a pure monk armored monk? :p )
Stats at level 6 (Barbarian 5/Monk 1): Str 18 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 14 Cha 8
Feat at Barbarian 4: Tavern Brawler (+1 Str): lets you still punch things while armored if you so choose and not have complete noodle fists (since you won't benefit from martial arts whenever wearing armor). Also it's just generally a fun feat, and gives you a +1 to a stat you want anyway. Could just as easily be Squat Nimbleness or Athlete, if you'd prefer.
ASI's at every other level: +2 Str at monk 4, +2 Wis at Monk 8, +2 Wis at Monk 12. Wisdom will give you better monk DCs, which helps with stunning strike and your spell like attacks. Alternatively, you could pump dex for better radiant bolts and take off your armor and play more of a real monk, but plllbbbbb that's boring and gives you poorer AC and thematic identity!
What'd you lose from not going Barbarian 20? Probably +1-3 better armor class at the very highest highest levels (but you have better AC at low/mid), fewer rages, slightly less damage per hit while raged, your zealot inspiring shout at 10, the zealot undying rage 14, better crits, better str checks, better hit points, advantage on initiative rolls.
What'd you gain from picking up Monk 16? Well, there's the general monk goodness which is probably too much to list but I will anyway:
But you also get some cool stuff from sun soul!
Other than cool features from two classes, where is the Barbarian + Monk synergy? Well, there's isn't a ton, except:
It's probably not the most optimal. But it requires a lot less fiddling than a 4-class character, and comes online basically at 8th level once you get to pick your monk subclass.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Never underestimate the fun of playing a character who isn’t exactly who they want to be. A slightly delusional barbarian who THINKS he’s a Norse god could be fun to run with. You’ll still be a full-on barbarian so presumably you won’t be behind the power curve of the rest of the party.
Your DM may even be on board with you characters quest to “reclaim his divinity.” Who knows, maybe he’s not actually crazy...
*update* My DM let me do a Paladin (Oath of Heroism)/Warlock with Thor as my patron (basically a hexblade with a norse rebrand and swap out with some lightning and thunder spells)
Ooh that's a solid re-skin to accomplish what you want. A Pact of the Blade/Hammer Warlock would be a good way to justify having a weapon you can throw and have it come back to your hand automatically, without just having your DM give you a Dwarven Thrower and I dunno... a belt of Dwarvenkind or something right off the bat.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Spiritual weapon acts Mjolnir and my pact weapon is a greataxe.