I am currently playing a Warforged Forge Cleric at level 3 with stats STR 13, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 18, CHA 8. My cantrips are Guidance, Mending (mostly for character flavor), and Toll the Dead. I use Chain Mail, a shield, and a mace.
At level 4, I'm considering gaining the feat Observant, because my Passive Perception is already 16 and I want to see everything! (Also hoping to build an Eyes of the Eagle to integrate into my robot eyeballs, giving me advantage on Perception rolls/increasing my Passive +5, so if I do both of those, my Passive Perception will go up to 26, hehe). The only other feat I was considering was Heavy Armor Master because it would be nice to have that 3 points off each hit, though my current AC is 20, so I'm pretty hard to hit anyway. Are there other feats I should consider?
Also, I was considering multi-classing at some point. My CHA is abysmal so a Paladin probably won't work (even though the Laying on Hands would fit my character), so I'm thinking about Fighter. I want the proficiency in martial weapons because my character's dream is to create an amazing warhammer (a gift he was going to give to his previous master before her death) and the extra +1 AC at first level would fit. If I do this, what level should I branch out?
My role in the group is the healer/utility, but I do enjoy a nice wade into combat. I've also discussed with my DM that in my downtime, I'm constantly smithing and making things, magical ones if I can and if not, selling my wares. I collect all scrap I can find from adventures so I can eventually use Artisan's Blessing a ton. What other tips do I need for my character?
I am currently playing a Warforged Forge Cleric at level 3 with stats STR 13, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 18, CHA 8. My cantrips are Guidance, Mending (mostly for character flavor), and Toll the Dead. I use Chain Mail, a shield, and a mace.
At level 4, I'm considering gaining the feat Observant, because my Passive Perception is already 16 and I want to see everything! (Also hoping to build an Eyes of the Eagle to integrate into my robot eyeballs, giving me advantage on Perception rolls/increasing my Passive +5, so if I do both of those, my Passive Perception will go up to 26, hehe). The only other feat I was considering was Heavy Armor Master because it would be nice to have that 3 points off each hit, though my current AC is 20, so I'm pretty hard to hit anyway. Are there other feats I should consider?
Also, I was considering multi-classing at some point. My CHA is abysmal so a Paladin probably won't work (even though the Laying on Hands would fit my character), so I'm thinking about Fighter. I want the proficiency in martial weapons because my character's dream is to create an amazing warhammer (a gift he was going to give to his previous master before her death) and the extra +1 AC at first level would fit. If I do this, what level should I branch out?
My role in the group is the healer/utility, but I do enjoy a nice wade into combat. I've also discussed with my DM that in my downtime, I'm constantly smithing and making things, magical ones if I can and if not, selling my wares. I collect all scrap I can find from adventures so I can eventually use Artisan's Blessing a ton. What other tips do I need for my character?
Thank you!
Heavy armor master feat is typically only useful in low level campaigns.
since you would be getting it at roughly level 8+ since observant first. There’s little point to it by then. By then 20 ac isn’t going to stop you from getting hit, and 3 off a hit isn’t worth a feat.
for dipping to fighter. Comes down to how far into fighter do you want to dip?
Yeah, and I think I would rather do for Observant than Heavy Armor Master.
for Fighter, maybe 1? Possibly 2 for Extra Attack, but I hesitate for 3 because if I tried to do Eldritch Knight my INT would not help since that stat is garbage, haha. I would rather get two levels of Paladin for Lay on Hands, Fighting Style, Divine Smite, and some of those spells, but my CHA is even worse than my INT, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon (or even at all? Not sure how to eventually gain 5 attribute points, not even Divine Intervention or anything can do that, right?) Ugh typing this out makes me wish I had arranged my stats differently...
imo clerics get really good stuff at every low level. Level 10 is where things start to taper off. Until then you are getting higher level spells and domain features pretty regularly. And if you’re the main healer, level 3 spells with mass healing word and 5 spells with mass cure wounds will save the party a lot. Action surge is cool, but pushing off those big spells by two levels can be a tough choice. And while you have a very good rp reason to get martial weapons, mechanically, it really only works out to about +1 damage. So, a good rp choice, absolutely, but just know it won’t make you much more effective in combat
Edit: You could also maybe ask your DM if you could be allowed proficiency in that Warhammer you make. Not all martial weapons, and not even all warhammers, just that one that you craft, since you can say something like you designed it specifically for you in terms of balance and length and its perfectly suited to your swing. It would be not quite a quarter of a feat for free, which doesn't feel too game breaking. And like I said, really it only amounts to +1 to damage.
Also, warcaster should always be your level 4 feat if you go into combat. And maybe even if you don’t.
Not sure how this would fit with your character concept but, have you considered a Path of the Zealot Barbarian? Read the blurb on Primal Instinct and compare it to how your race was created from stone and steel to be the ultimate fighting machines. Becoming a Zealot for you god of the Forge seems like reasonable progression. To make it work as far as keeping a high AC, you would need items of Protection, you could still use a shield and would probably need to add more into Con for Unarmored Defense.
I think this could give an almost Paladin like feel and definitely cover the bases for martial combat.
Interesting you made this Thread because I just started a Warforge Forge Cleric, But I did something different. I made sure I had at least 13 CHA so I can take 2 levels in Hexblade Warlock.
5 Reasons for this.
- 2 spell slots per short rest, It's already hard for spell casters to have so few spell slots for a whole day. You will be 2 levels behind in progression but I think it's worth it.
-Warforge can't see in the dark like lots of other races. This gets pretty limiting if you are going to use just the light cantrip. Devils sight will solve this problem.
-Clerics don't have any really long ranged Cantrips that go out to 120 feets, longest is scared flame and toll the dead at 60' Taking Eldritch Blast even with only a +1 modifier is better than doing nothing. Guiding Bolt is nice, but with the limited spell slots you can't keep sacrificing spell slots.
-You are now Proficient in martial weapons. Long Sword is much nicer than a Mace, And you are more likely to find a Magic Long Sword before you find a Magic Mace.
-If Str, Dex and Cha is not going to be your primary Stat, you are in general going to do less damage (especially when you run out of spell slots) Hexblade's curse adding your proficiency bonus is nice, HEX spell is also good if you don't need other concentrating spell, or even Booming Blade Cantrip is awesome when you get to 5th level.
I found this combination will give me Good AC and damage in Melee, Good support and healing with 2 extra spell slots for short rest. And something to do in those long ranged combats.
I think if I was in your situation I would probably go Fighter for at least 2 levels wouldn't say no to another +1 AC and Casting 2 spell combinations with your action surge/short rest can be very useful later on. eg (hold person then inflict wounds)
My DM told me that since we've only done one adventure, I'm getting to retcon my Charisma stat to 13 (probably will have to take a little off DEX or CON) so I can multi-class when I want!
Now that I have this good news, when do I add that delightful Paladin class? I definitely want my Cleric to be level 4 before I branch out a little, but should I wait until after Cleric 5 for those 3rd level spells? My plan is to start off by putting two levels into Paladin when I multiclass so I can utilize the Martial Weapons and Lay on Hands at 1st level, as well as Defense Fighting Style, Paladin Spellcasting, and Divine Smite at level 2. Then I would just go straight Cleric again.
The only other option would be to bounce back and forth between Forge Cleric and Paladin level 5 for that extra ASI at lvl 4 and Extra Attack at lvl 5. If I do this, two questions: 1) What Oath should I pick? I think I would lean toward Oath of the Crown, possibly Oath of Devotion. 2) When do I go back and forth? Cleric 5, Paladin 2, Cleric 6, Cleric 7, Cleric 8, Paladin 3, Paladin 4, Paladin 5, Cleric 9 etc
I still want to get Observant at lvl 4, but War Caster does sound pretty good. I mean, an automatic and free Toll the Dead whenever a creature moves away from me is pretty enticing, along with advantage on CON and always having my shield and mace in hand. (Hopefully soon to be magical warhammer!) Would War Caster be pointless by level 8? Because the next ASI I hit, I was thinking of adding 2 STR giving me 15 so I can wear Plate or Splint if I could find, afford, or build it. And then if I'm doing a bunch of Paladin stuff as well, starting to work on my CHA.
But maybe I'm forgetting about a must-have Feat for my Forge Cleric/Paladin? Or is there another tip I should use while leveling up?
Not sure how high this campaign is going to get, but I'm hoping we keep it going for a while. Love the group I'm with!
The Path of the Zealot sounds interesting, but I don't think my character fits with the raging too closely.
I think the Hexblade build/add sounds pretty cool! But I do want the STR so I can wear as heavy an armor that I can. And everyone else in my party has Darkvision, so I'm not too upset about not having it. RP question, would Hexblade be able to be with a god of healing/light/forge, etc? I may have to dip into Hexblade on another character I make in the future...
Warcaster keeps being useful forever. If you’re in melee, the advantage to keep up concentration spells, like bless, is critical. And maybe more important is actually being able to cast spells with somatic components without juggling with your item interaction will make life easier.
Don’t drop your DEX below 10. The minus will apply to your ac (and other stuff of course). Forge clerics already get that +1 to AC at level 6. I think it would stack with the paladin +1, since it’s not a fighting style, but the one from pally isn’t very necessary. Personally, I’m not a big fan of multi classsing. I’d rather just keep grabbing the higher level abilities and spells. I know people like it, and find combos that work well. It’s just not for me. Dropping your con score to take a couple levels of paladin is a big sacrifice, to my mind, at least.
Another option for a better ranged attack would be to get the Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) at level 4. And my two cantrips could be Fire Bolt (120 ft) and Control Flames (I feel like this would be a fun way to help with my Forge Cleric model), with the first level being Shield.
Then War Caster for level 8, then either Observant at 12 or just boosting STR, CHA, or CON.
I actually took Magic Initiate Wizard for my Cleric, I'm very happy with it. Acid Splash, Chill Touch and Shield. Warcaster seems like a no brainer for anyone who plans to keep up concentration spells, I'm looking at Beacon of Hope here.
You have a lot of good ideas for abilites that create synergy but, you have to realize that you can't do everything. Sort some of your ideas into categories of Must Have and Nice to Have. Observant feat I feel is nice to have in my opinion for Cleric. If it were Rogue or Ranger always tracking enemies and setting ambushes, watching the party's back, I would say Observant has more weight.
After doing an enormous amount of research, with all these helpful suggestions in mind, here's what I'm thinking (with my DM's permission, of course!):
Forge Cleric 4- Get that War Caster feat, Word of Radiance cantrip, another 2nd level spell slot
Forge Cleric 5- 3rd level Cleric spells! Destroy Undead, Proficiency bonus +3 (even though this will happen every 5 levels even if I multi-class)
Forge Cleric 6- Another 3rd level slot, Forge Cleric +1 AC and Fire resistance, 2 Blessing of the Forge before long rest (eh, unless I'm using it to mold a bunch of supplies/gold into admantine or something)
Warlock: Hexblade 3- Pact of the Blade (warhammer), 3 known 2nd level spells (Invisibility, Blink, Elemental Weapon)
Forge Cleric 7 to 17- All the good Cleric stuff (not sure I NEED a 3rd Blessing of the Forge, ASI, nor Divine Intervention improvement)
If my DM would rather me not branch into Warlock, I might replace the Warlock levels with one Paladin level (mainly for Lay on Hands and martial weapons) or one Fighter level (mainly for Defense and martial weapons) unless that would just be better to go straight Forge Cleric? Thoughts? Or should I rearrange this leveling order if I'm allowed to do Warlock: Hexblade?
Unless you DM is willing to waive the rule you can not You can not multiclass into Warlock (or Paladin which you also mentioned) because you need to have Charisma of at least 13 you multiclass into both of those.
I am not generally a fan of multiclassing and I would stick with Forge cleric all the way. Fighter could work to make you more martial but you would probably be less powerful overall as you would lack the high level spells.
Don't just think about feats also consider ASIs as an option. Normally I would say get wisdom to 20 but if you want to wade more into martial combat +1 as your attack stat isn't really good enough here are a couple of options for level 4 (and 8):
Get your strength up to 15, this would also allow you to wear plate for an extra 2 AC (if / when you can afford it)
Get strength to 14 and con up to 17 and take resiliant con at 8 (or vice versa) Resiliant con is an alternative to warcaster you don't get the abilty to cast spells as an opp attack or juggle or put your weapon away when you want to cast a spell with saomantic but not material companants but it is better than warcaster for con saves for a couple of reasons
It applies for all con saves so if you get hit with a poison attack you should be OK
Advantage is the equivalent of +5 when you need to beat a natural 10 but worse that that if you need to beat something higher or lower. With the extra Con +3 proficiency on average will be pretty closs to being worth the same as advantage at at level 9 when your proficiency increases to 4 it is strictly better.
After doing an enormous amount of research, with all these helpful suggestions in mind, here's what I'm thinking (with my DM's permission, of course!):
Forge Cleric 4- Get that War Caster feat, Word of Radiance cantrip, another 2nd level spell slot
Forge Cleric 5- 3rd level Cleric spells! Destroy Undead, Proficiency bonus +3 (even though this will happen every 5 levels even if I multi-class)
Forge Cleric 6- Another 3rd level slot, Forge Cleric +1 AC and Fire resistance, 2 Blessing of the Forge before long rest (eh, unless I'm using it to mold a bunch of supplies/gold into admantine or something)
Warlock: Hexblade 3- Pact of the Blade (warhammer), 3 known 2nd level spells (Invisibility, Blink, Elemental Weapon)
Forge Cleric 7 to 17- All the good Cleric stuff (not sure I NEED a 3rd Blessing of the Forge, ASI, nor Divine Intervention improvement)
If my DM would rather me not branch into Warlock, I might replace the Warlock levels with one Paladin level (mainly for Lay on Hands and martial weapons) or one Fighter level (mainly for Defense and martial weapons) unless that would just be better to go straight Forge Cleric? Thoughts? Or should I rearrange this leveling order if I'm allowed to do Warlock: Hexblade?
Your plan seems reasonable for Hexblade. I'd probably drop the observant feat plan to stick with ASIs because of how important the + to hit and higher DCs will be going forward. The problem with getting feats and multiclassing into class with stat requirements outside the ones that your base class needs is that you need to bump everything to be effective or limit your attack activities to one of those stats. This would probably mean sticking to ranged attacks with wisdom in your case, unless you did Magic Initiate (Druid) to get Shillelagh, picked up a club or a quarterstaff, and made your melee attacks with that.
If you don't bump your charisma, you can still get spells that aren't attacks or force saves. If you go Devil's Sight, consider Darkness cast on yourself to force most attacks against you to be made at disadvantage and allow for your attacks to be made at advantage. Be mindful of how this affects your team, since they likely won't be able to see within or through the darkness.
I say after level 6 forge cleric, go 2 into fighter, for that +1 Defense fighting style then action surge. Then continue your merry way as a forge cleric
After doing an enormous amount of research, with all these helpful suggestions in mind, here's what I'm thinking (with my DM's permission, of course!):
Forge Cleric 4- Get that War Caster feat, Word of Radiance cantrip, another 2nd level spell slot
Forge Cleric 5- 3rd level Cleric spells! Destroy Undead, Proficiency bonus +3 (even though this will happen every 5 levels even if I multi-class)
Forge Cleric 6- Another 3rd level slot, Forge Cleric +1 AC and Fire resistance, 2 Blessing of the Forge before long rest (eh, unless I'm using it to mold a bunch of supplies/gold into admantine or something)
Warlock: Hexblade 3- Pact of the Blade (warhammer), 3 known 2nd level spells (Invisibility, Blink, Elemental Weapon)
Forge Cleric 7 to 17- All the good Cleric stuff (not sure I NEED a 3rd Blessing of the Forge, ASI, nor Divine Intervention improvement)
If my DM would rather me not branch into Warlock, I might replace the Warlock levels with one Paladin level (mainly for Lay on Hands and martial weapons) or one Fighter level (mainly for Defense and martial weapons) unless that would just be better to go straight Forge Cleric? Thoughts? Or should I rearrange this leveling order if I'm allowed to do Warlock: Hexblade?
Your plan seems reasonable for Hexblade. I'd probably drop the observant feat plan to stick with ASIs because of how important the + to hit and higher DCs will be going forward. The problem with getting feats and multiclassing into class with stat requirements outside the ones that your base class needs is that you need to bump everything to be effective or limit your attack activities to one of those stats. This would probably mean sticking to ranged attacks with wisdom in your case, unless you did Magic Initiate (Druid) to get Shillelagh, picked up a club or a quarterstaff, and made your melee attacks with that.
If you don't bump your charisma, you can still get spells that aren't attacks or force saves. If you go Devil's Sight, consider Darkness cast on yourself to force most attacks against you to be made at disadvantage and allow for your attacks to be made at advantage. Be mindful of how this affects your team, since they likely won't be able to see within or through the darkness.
I just noticed that you are grabbing 4 warlock spells at Warlock 1, which isn't accurate. The expanded spell list doesn't automatically add those spells to your spells known, it just makes it so that you can know those spells when normally you wouldn't be able to do so. Hex is a solid choice and I recommend. Same with Shield. I would pass on Wrathful Smite right now, but you could consider it instead of Hex. Hellish Rebuke could be considered in place of Shield since it's also a reaction spell. At warlock 2, you'll only gain one additional spell known and same at Warlock 3. Each Warlock level does let you swap a spell that you know for one that you don't.
Otherwise, my previous comment stands. The Fighter option mentioned could be a good option, but it sounded like you were more worried about Paladin.
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Hello!
I am currently playing a Warforged Forge Cleric at level 3 with stats STR 13, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 10, WIS 18, CHA 8. My cantrips are Guidance, Mending (mostly for character flavor), and Toll the Dead. I use Chain Mail, a shield, and a mace.
At level 4, I'm considering gaining the feat Observant, because my Passive Perception is already 16 and I want to see everything! (Also hoping to build an Eyes of the Eagle to integrate into my robot eyeballs, giving me advantage on Perception rolls/increasing my Passive +5, so if I do both of those, my Passive Perception will go up to 26, hehe). The only other feat I was considering was Heavy Armor Master because it would be nice to have that 3 points off each hit, though my current AC is 20, so I'm pretty hard to hit anyway. Are there other feats I should consider?
Also, I was considering multi-classing at some point. My CHA is abysmal so a Paladin probably won't work (even though the Laying on Hands would fit my character), so I'm thinking about Fighter. I want the proficiency in martial weapons because my character's dream is to create an amazing warhammer (a gift he was going to give to his previous master before her death) and the extra +1 AC at first level would fit. If I do this, what level should I branch out?
My role in the group is the healer/utility, but I do enjoy a nice wade into combat. I've also discussed with my DM that in my downtime, I'm constantly smithing and making things, magical ones if I can and if not, selling my wares. I collect all scrap I can find from adventures so I can eventually use Artisan's Blessing a ton. What other tips do I need for my character?
Thank you!
Heavy armor master feat is typically only useful in low level campaigns.
since you would be getting it at roughly level 8+ since observant first. There’s little point to it by then. By then 20 ac isn’t going to stop you from getting hit, and 3 off a hit isn’t worth a feat.
for dipping to fighter. Comes down to how far into fighter do you want to dip?
Watch me on twitch
Yeah, and I think I would rather do for Observant than Heavy Armor Master.
for Fighter, maybe 1? Possibly 2 for Extra Attack, but I hesitate for 3 because if I tried to do Eldritch Knight my INT would not help since that stat is garbage, haha.
I would rather get two levels of Paladin for Lay on Hands, Fighting Style, Divine Smite, and some of those spells, but my CHA is even worse than my INT, so I don’t see that happening anytime soon (or even at all? Not sure how to eventually gain 5 attribute points, not even Divine Intervention or anything can do that, right?) Ugh typing this out makes me wish I had arranged my stats differently...
Heavy Armor Master is a great feat at low levels, but turns to crap as you go up. More creatures with weapons that magic items and higher damage.
Do you know what level the campaign wil end?
imo clerics get really good stuff at every low level. Level 10 is where things start to taper off. Until then you are getting higher level spells and domain features pretty regularly. And if you’re the main healer, level 3 spells with mass healing word and 5 spells with mass cure wounds will save the party a lot. Action surge is cool, but pushing off those big spells by two levels can be a tough choice. And while you have a very good rp reason to get martial weapons, mechanically, it really only works out to about +1 damage. So, a good rp choice, absolutely, but just know it won’t make you much more effective in combat
Edit: You could also maybe ask your DM if you could be allowed proficiency in that Warhammer you make. Not all martial weapons, and not even all warhammers, just that one that you craft, since you can say something like you designed it specifically for you in terms of balance and length and its perfectly suited to your swing. It would be not quite a quarter of a feat for free, which doesn't feel too game breaking. And like I said, really it only amounts to +1 to damage.
Also, warcaster should always be your level 4 feat if you go into combat. And maybe even if you don’t.
Not sure how this would fit with your character concept but, have you considered a Path of the Zealot Barbarian? Read the blurb on Primal Instinct and compare it to how your race was created from stone and steel to be the ultimate fighting machines. Becoming a Zealot for you god of the Forge seems like reasonable progression. To make it work as far as keeping a high AC, you would need items of Protection, you could still use a shield and would probably need to add more into Con for Unarmored Defense.
I think this could give an almost Paladin like feel and definitely cover the bases for martial combat.
Interesting you made this Thread because I just started a Warforge Forge Cleric, But I did something different. I made sure I had at least 13 CHA so I can take 2 levels in Hexblade Warlock.
5 Reasons for this.
- 2 spell slots per short rest, It's already hard for spell casters to have so few spell slots for a whole day. You will be 2 levels behind in progression but I think it's worth it.
-Warforge can't see in the dark like lots of other races. This gets pretty limiting if you are going to use just the light cantrip. Devils sight will solve this problem.
-Clerics don't have any really long ranged Cantrips that go out to 120 feets, longest is scared flame and toll the dead at 60' Taking Eldritch Blast even with only a +1 modifier is better than doing nothing. Guiding Bolt is nice, but with the limited spell slots you can't keep sacrificing spell slots.
-You are now Proficient in martial weapons. Long Sword is much nicer than a Mace, And you are more likely to find a Magic Long Sword before you find a Magic Mace.
-If Str, Dex and Cha is not going to be your primary Stat, you are in general going to do less damage (especially when you run out of spell slots) Hexblade's curse adding your proficiency bonus is nice, HEX spell is also good if you don't need other concentrating spell, or even Booming Blade Cantrip is awesome when you get to 5th level.
I found this combination will give me Good AC and damage in Melee, Good support and healing with 2 extra spell slots for short rest. And something to do in those long ranged combats.
I think if I was in your situation I would probably go Fighter for at least 2 levels wouldn't say no to another +1 AC and Casting 2 spell combinations with your action surge/short rest can be very useful later on. eg (hold person then inflict wounds)
Quick update:
My DM told me that since we've only done one adventure, I'm getting to retcon my Charisma stat to 13 (probably will have to take a little off DEX or CON) so I can multi-class when I want!
Now that I have this good news, when do I add that delightful Paladin class? I definitely want my Cleric to be level 4 before I branch out a little, but should I wait until after Cleric 5 for those 3rd level spells? My plan is to start off by putting two levels into Paladin when I multiclass so I can utilize the Martial Weapons and Lay on Hands at 1st level, as well as Defense Fighting Style, Paladin Spellcasting, and Divine Smite at level 2. Then I would just go straight Cleric again.
The only other option would be to bounce back and forth between Forge Cleric and Paladin level 5 for that extra ASI at lvl 4 and Extra Attack at lvl 5. If I do this, two questions: 1) What Oath should I pick? I think I would lean toward Oath of the Crown, possibly Oath of Devotion. 2) When do I go back and forth? Cleric 5, Paladin 2, Cleric 6, Cleric 7, Cleric 8, Paladin 3, Paladin 4, Paladin 5, Cleric 9 etc
I still want to get Observant at lvl 4, but War Caster does sound pretty good. I mean, an automatic and free Toll the Dead whenever a creature moves away from me is pretty enticing, along with advantage on CON and always having my shield and mace in hand. (Hopefully soon to be magical warhammer!) Would War Caster be pointless by level 8? Because the next ASI I hit, I was thinking of adding 2 STR giving me 15 so I can wear Plate or Splint if I could find, afford, or build it. And then if I'm doing a bunch of Paladin stuff as well, starting to work on my CHA.
But maybe I'm forgetting about a must-have Feat for my Forge Cleric/Paladin? Or is there another tip I should use while leveling up?
Not sure how high this campaign is going to get, but I'm hoping we keep it going for a while. Love the group I'm with!
The Path of the Zealot sounds interesting, but I don't think my character fits with the raging too closely.
I think the Hexblade build/add sounds pretty cool! But I do want the STR so I can wear as heavy an armor that I can. And everyone else in my party has Darkvision, so I'm not too upset about not having it. RP question, would Hexblade be able to be with a god of healing/light/forge, etc? I may have to dip into Hexblade on another character I make in the future...
Warcaster keeps being useful forever. If you’re in melee, the advantage to keep up concentration spells, like bless, is critical. And maybe more important is actually being able to cast spells with somatic components without juggling with your item interaction will make life easier.
Don’t drop your DEX below 10. The minus will apply to your ac (and other stuff of course).
Forge clerics already get that +1 to AC at level 6. I think it would stack with the paladin +1, since it’s not a fighting style, but the one from pally isn’t very necessary.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of multi classsing. I’d rather just keep grabbing the higher level abilities and spells. I know people like it, and find combos that work well. It’s just not for me. Dropping your con score to take a couple levels of paladin is a big sacrifice, to my mind, at least.
Another option for a better ranged attack would be to get the Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) at level 4. And my two cantrips could be Fire Bolt (120 ft) and Control Flames (I feel like this would be a fun way to help with my Forge Cleric model), with the first level being Shield.
Then War Caster for level 8, then either Observant at 12 or just boosting STR, CHA, or CON.
I actually took Magic Initiate Wizard for my Cleric, I'm very happy with it. Acid Splash, Chill Touch and Shield. Warcaster seems like a no brainer for anyone who plans to keep up concentration spells, I'm looking at Beacon of Hope here.
You have a lot of good ideas for abilites that create synergy but, you have to realize that you can't do everything. Sort some of your ideas into categories of Must Have and Nice to Have. Observant feat I feel is nice to have in my opinion for Cleric. If it were Rogue or Ranger always tracking enemies and setting ambushes, watching the party's back, I would say Observant has more weight.
After doing an enormous amount of research, with all these helpful suggestions in mind, here's what I'm thinking (with my DM's permission, of course!):
Forge Cleric 4- Get that War Caster feat, Word of Radiance cantrip, another 2nd level spell slot
Forge Cleric 5- 3rd level Cleric spells! Destroy Undead, Proficiency bonus +3 (even though this will happen every 5 levels even if I multi-class)
Forge Cleric 6- Another 3rd level slot, Forge Cleric +1 AC and Fire resistance, 2 Blessing of the Forge before long rest (eh, unless I'm using it to mold a bunch of supplies/gold into admantine or something)
Warlock: Hexblade 1- 2 cantrips (Create Bonfire, Eldritch Blast), 4 known 1st level spells (Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Shield, Wrathful Smite), Hexblade's Curse, Hex Warrior
Warlock: Hexblade 2- 2 Eldritch Invocations (Agonizing Blast?, Devil’s Sight?, Eldritch Sight?, Fiendish Vigor?), 3 more known 1st level spells (Comprehend Languages, Blur, Blinding Smite)
Warlock: Hexblade 3- Pact of the Blade (warhammer), 3 known 2nd level spells (Invisibility, Blink, Elemental Weapon)
Forge Cleric 7 to 17- All the good Cleric stuff (not sure I NEED a 3rd Blessing of the Forge, ASI, nor Divine Intervention improvement)
If my DM would rather me not branch into Warlock, I might replace the Warlock levels with one Paladin level (mainly for Lay on Hands and martial weapons) or one Fighter level (mainly for Defense and martial weapons) unless that would just be better to go straight Forge Cleric? Thoughts? Or should I rearrange this leveling order if I'm allowed to do Warlock: Hexblade?
Unless you DM is willing to waive the rule you can not You can not multiclass into Warlock (or Paladin which you also mentioned) because you need to have Charisma of at least 13 you multiclass into both of those.
I am not generally a fan of multiclassing and I would stick with Forge cleric all the way. Fighter could work to make you more martial but you would probably be less powerful overall as you would lack the high level spells.
Don't just think about feats also consider ASIs as an option. Normally I would say get wisdom to 20 but if you want to wade more into martial combat +1 as your attack stat isn't really good enough here are a couple of options for level 4 (and 8):
Your plan seems reasonable for Hexblade. I'd probably drop the observant feat plan to stick with ASIs because of how important the + to hit and higher DCs will be going forward. The problem with getting feats and multiclassing into class with stat requirements outside the ones that your base class needs is that you need to bump everything to be effective or limit your attack activities to one of those stats. This would probably mean sticking to ranged attacks with wisdom in your case, unless you did Magic Initiate (Druid) to get Shillelagh, picked up a club or a quarterstaff, and made your melee attacks with that.
If you don't bump your charisma, you can still get spells that aren't attacks or force saves. If you go Devil's Sight, consider Darkness cast on yourself to force most attacks against you to be made at disadvantage and allow for your attacks to be made at advantage. Be mindful of how this affects your team, since they likely won't be able to see within or through the darkness.
I say after level 6 forge cleric, go 2 into fighter, for that +1 Defense fighting style then action surge. Then continue your merry way as a forge cleric
I just noticed that you are grabbing 4 warlock spells at Warlock 1, which isn't accurate. The expanded spell list doesn't automatically add those spells to your spells known, it just makes it so that you can know those spells when normally you wouldn't be able to do so. Hex is a solid choice and I recommend. Same with Shield. I would pass on Wrathful Smite right now, but you could consider it instead of Hex. Hellish Rebuke could be considered in place of Shield since it's also a reaction spell. At warlock 2, you'll only gain one additional spell known and same at Warlock 3. Each Warlock level does let you swap a spell that you know for one that you don't.
Otherwise, my previous comment stands. The Fighter option mentioned could be a good option, but it sounded like you were more worried about Paladin.