Life Cleric/Enchanter Wizard

[Seekergeek]

So I've recently become a bit tired of your standard run of the mill melee characters. While racking my brain on what to build to replace my dead monk, I realized Hypnotic Gaze and Instinctive Charm could be used to interesting effect in melee range. After some thought, I really want to try a Life Cleric/Enchanter without any directly damaging spells who rolls in the thick of things. Rather than a weapon he just uses Sanctuary, Hypnotic Gaze, Instinctive Charm, Mirror Image and Blur to be a melee tank who makes his enemies do his meleeing for him.

My group is the furthest thing from an optimized table, to the point where I sometimes feel guilty about my builds. As a result, I'm not really concerned with the build being the most effective (which, obviously it won't be), but rather if you see it as even being feasible.

We are at level 7 currently, so what I've got in mind is cleric 1 for heavy armour proficiency and sanctuary, and enchanter wizard moving forward from there. I'm not settled on race, but I figure my spell book will look roughly like this:

First Level Wizard spells:
Charm Person
Disguise Self
Find Familiar
Fog Cloud
Grease
Protection from Evil and Good
Sleep
Tasha's Hideous Laughter

Second Level Wizard spells:
Blur
Crown of Madness
Detect Thoughts
Hold Person
Invisibility
Knock
Mirror Image
Misty Step
Suggestion
Web

Third Level Wizard spells:
Gaseous Form
Haste
Stinking Cloud
Tongues

Will this work? What race would make the most sense - my feeling is one of the Gnomes, but maybe I'm missing something. Standard 27 point pointbuy is in the works and I am going to get two uncommon magic items. How would you guys make this work?

[MaxWilson]

Coincidentally, I happened to write up a similar build in the level 10 characters thread yesterday here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20772262&postcount=14). I guess great minds think alike. :) And yes, I think it will work and it will be totally fun.

One thing I would do slightly differently is that I'd start as a wizard instead of a life cleric, and take the cleric level at level 2, but that's mostly because I'm afraid of Intellect Devourers and Mind Flayers so I want Int save proficiency. Doing it your way gets you proficiency with simple weapons, which could come in handy I guess, and it gets you Cha saves, and the chance to start out as a Heavy Armor Master instead of Warcaster.

Check with your DM whether the "regain HP" part of Vampiric Touch will work with Disciple of Life. If so, you'll probably want to take Vampiric Touch for even more tankability.

See if you can grapple an enemy while another PC knocks him prone and then you both wail on him (you with Vampiric Touch) with advantage after that. Also check with your DM whether he considers a grapple to be an attack even though it doesn't involve an attack roll; in particular, check whether you have to cast Sanctuary after grappling, or if you can cast it before. If you can cast it before then that means you can do Sanctuary + grapple even before you get Warcaster.

I see you're going to Stinking Cloud. See if you can get a cleric buddy to cast Protection From Poison on you beforehand, and then you can grapple enemies and drag them into the poison cloud with less risk of them breaking free or successfully attacking you.

Good luck, have fun!

[Seekergeek]

That is both great and somehow disappointing! I love the idea of a grappler approach, but for myself I'm going to try and go the route of a physical pacifist not because he abhors violence, but because he sees that sort of barbarism as below him - the tool of a lesser person/being/creature. He will, however, see no problem in manipulating those around him into harming one another.