cleric / fighter info

[dread05]

Hello, we are preparing a setting in the europian middle ages and I'm planing on roleplaying a crusader (to give you some quick info, its a van hellsing setting, vampires werewolves etc, magic is limited to prayers). Now my first idea was to go with paladin, oath of vengeance but after giving it some thought I couldnt fit the oath and its tenets in our story. It sounded somewhat vague to have an oath against monsters, since there is no main villain. Then I came up with the idea of the crusader, fighter/war cleric. My current plan is to go fighter 12 / cleric 8 with a shield and a warhammer. In my mind the war cleric is complete at 8th lvl, after that he just gains more spells, which are limited in our world anyway. Now fighter I was thinking about battle master, but im not sure yet. I'd appreciate any suggestions on the matter :).

[Tanarii]

Realistically, what level will the campaign be running to? Recommendations for a ten level build are totally different from a twenty level build.

That said, I'd go Fighter --> 5, Cleric --> 8, then back to Fighter. It sounds like physical combat ability is going to be paramount over magic, so you want Extra Attack as quickly as possible.

[RulesJD]

Hello, we are preparing a setting in the europian middle ages and I'm planing on roleplaying a crusader (to give you some quick info, its a van hellsing setting, vampires werewolves etc, magic is limited to prayers). Now my first idea was to go with paladin, oath of vengeance but after giving it some thought I couldnt fit the oath and its tenets in our story. It sounded somewhat vague to have an oath against monsters, since there is no main villain. Then I came up with the idea of the crusader, fighter/war cleric. My current plan is to go fighter 12 / cleric 8 with a shield and a warhammer. In my mind the war cleric is complete at 8th lvl, after that he just gains more spells, which are limited in our world anyway. Now fighter I was thinking about battle master, but im not sure yet. I'd appreciate any suggestions on the matter :).

Going to need more information about the above, because that changes a lot. For example, does spell casting work as normal? Aka can you cast Spirit Guardians, Divine Favor, Bless, etc?

[Finieous]

If you can give up the ASI, I'd go F11/C 9 for 5th level spells. I'd also go EK (dump Int) for shield, mirror image, War Magic, Eldritch Strike, and +3 caster levels (more slots). You still get five ASIs at C4, C8, F4, F6, F8. Start fighter for Con saves. Favor Str and Con -- you want a decent Wis, but you don't have to max it. It's one of the better martial casters (the "g" word sets my teeth on edge) in the game, IMO.

[dread05]

thanks for the answers, here are some more info. We will start at lvl 7 and keep going for as long as we want. I assume at least 15. Spells are a bit restrictive, for example the DM doesnt mind spells that are buffs like bless, divine favor etc, he tolerates everything that can be fluffed as divine help but there wont be spells like mirror image, raise dead or spiritual weapon. I've started with 3 figher, 4 cleric, and planing to add the next 2 to fighter, but maybe 4 fighter/3 cleric would indeed be better.

[Finieous]

Is he going to allow spirit guardians (please say yes)? If yes, and you have plenty of multiple enemy fights, I'd say cleric 3 is more important than Extra Attack. It sounds like you're not going to have much AoE in this campaign, which makes an already strong spell like spirit guardians even stronger. That said, if you can't cast "arcane" spells, not much point in EK.

On the other hand, Oath of the Crown paladin from SCAG is starting to sound better. The fluff seems to fit perfectly for a crusader -- and you still get spirit guardians at 9th level. :smallbiggrin:

[Tanarii]

If he won't allow Spiritual Weapons, I can't see him allowing Spirit Guardians. Sounds like he's only allowing non-flashy spells with non-visible effects to me.

Is he even going to allow magical Healing?

Given his restrictions you've described so far, I'd definitely prioritize Fighter 5 for Extra Attack.

[Finieous]

Well, angels coming down to fight beside you has a different flavor than a spectral weapon you can move around and attack with, but yeah, if that's a no-go I'd definitely focus on bless, GWM, and Extra Attack.

[dread05]

Ohh, spirit guardians are ok, they are divine after all (god sends him some holy spirtis to aid him). A flying sword tho is a no go.

[RulesJD]

Ohh, spirit guardians are ok, they are divine after all (god sends him some holy spirtis to aid him). A flying sword tho is a no go.

Because you're starting at level 7, then you have two optimum builds that only vary slightly:

Fighter 1/War Cleric 6

or

Fighter 2/War Cleric 5

Fighter levels first to get proficiency in con saves and slightly more starting HP. You are MUCH better off starting at Cleric 5+ because, well, Spirit Guardians is just that good on a melee focused character with proficiency in con saves. Even more so in a world without major magic.

I personally would go War Cleric 6 to get the extra spell casting slot + channel divinity twice per day. Your call. For Fighter I would recommend either EK (ONLY if he permits the Shield spell), or more likely Battlemaster for some useful maneuvers. Trip attack + Spirit guardians = boned in the water. 1/2 their movement to stand up and their in at least 15ft worth of difficult terrain. Later on, you can combo with Polearm Mastery to stop enemies 10ft away (still in the SG) and they wont be able to reach you because they have to get up and wont be able to afford the extra movement and will likely be stuck prone for a round.

Take Fighter up to 8 to get the ASIs/feats, then switch back to Cleric. Basically just getting more spell slots to fuel SG.

[PoeticDwarf]

thanks for the answers, here are some more info. We will start at lvl 7 and keep going for as long as we want. I assume at least 15. Spells are a bit restrictive, for example the DM doesnt mind spells that are buffs like bless, divine favor etc, he tolerates everything that can be fluffed as divine help but there wont be spells like mirror image, raise dead or spiritual weapon. I've started with 3 figher, 4 cleric, and planing to add the next 2 to fighter, but maybe 4 fighter/3 cleric would indeed be better.

Just begin 5 fighter, then take levels cleric (5? 6?) then go back for fighter (probably till 11 or 12) then back to cleric.

[dread05]

Thanks again for the replies. You keep mentioning cleric 5-6, isnt 8 better for the divine strike buff? Or is it to weak to matter?

[RulesJD]

Thanks again for the replies. You keep mentioning cleric 5-6, isnt 8 better for the divine strike buff? Or is it to weak to matter?

To weak to matter compared to Fighter stuff you can get (Shield if EK, BM maneuvers if not). Remember, it only adds to 1 hit per turn, so as soon as you pick up extra attack you are way better off because that adds your STR/DEX mod as well (and possibly increased weapon die).

The only reason I would suggest against this build is that Spirit Guardians is so good, your DM might get upset at you.