First 5e character. Need advice :)

[DC-Chaos]

Hi guys,

I played a lot of 3.5 but we are about to start our first 5e campaign and I need a little advice on how to build my character.

Kinda complicated setting but basically he's going to be a old wise wizard that heads up the national research department of a wizard run government.
He study's all of "the 5 greater schools of magic" and is therefore able to cast many different spells from different classes.
As all our campaigns we usually do everything with a satirical edge and focused on fun so I'm not too hung up on maxing out the character.
I really just want to to reflect the character Bio while still being a useful party member.
I also prefer to take Feats over the attribute increases as I won't be too focused on offensive magic and this will be a lot more about Role Playing than a standard adventure.
We start at level 3...

Wizard 2/Cleric 1 - Aburation Specialist/Knowledge Domain - Sage background
Aiming towards Wizard 16/Cleric 4

I have basically everything figure out with stats and his spells but we are starting out with 1 Feat (maybe 2) which I will use to dip into even more spells from another class.
However I can't decide between Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate but I could perhaps even take both once I hit Lvl 4 which would be cool I guess.
Furthermore I'm not really sure which class/spells are the best ones to take with these feats or even the full implications of what they can do.
And finally is there a way to maximise the multiclass build in a way that for example the feat Practiced Spellcaster used to do in 3.5

So to sum up...
-Which Feat is better for my build?
-Is it worth it to take both Feats?
-Which class/spells should I go for?
-If I select Ritual casting can I then use my Ritual Book to constantly add new spells to my repertoire?
-If I select Magic Initiate can I also gain more spells from this as I level up?
-Any other good Feats, Tricks, Items etc. for what I'm trying to do with this character?


Thanks guys!


P.S. for those that are curious here's the letter written to the party and DM to introduce my character...
My esteemed colleagues,

I am pleased to receive the news of the coming together of our council to further this great nation in times of strife.
I would therefore like to announce my official position as the newly instated head of national magical research and study.
As decreed by our forefathers, Magic (or Majik in the old tounge) has been defined and split into 5 distinct separations.
The role of our department is to study all 5 in an effort to gain an in-depth and esoteric knowledge of the true power and capabilities of magic so that our society may gain the most benefit from it's use.
I hope to bring this knowledge to our group in order to help solve the current debacle which has beset us.

Therein the 5 schools of Magic are as follows...

Psionics
The practice of using innate powers to manipulate or produce energy usually through force manifestation.
Characterized by a lack of arcane rituals, gestures, components, and other typical features of magic.
Notable sub schools include Telekinesis, Psychometabolism and Psychometry.

Hermeticism
As defined by Hermes the Wise this school uses elements, environments and wildlife to generate magical force which can be used to augment, modify or manipulate things in nature.
Characterized by primal forces, beast or plant like manifestations as well as ancient rituals, traditional ceremonies and the use of organic ingredients.
Notable sub schools include Witchcraft, Druidism and Alchemy.

Arcanism
The obtaining of great magical knowledge and powerful spells through use and study of tomes, scrolls, artifacts, magical items, runes, incantations and somatic gestures.
The most common of the great arts and is most identifiable by the use of a Spellbook and the channeling of magic though a wand or staff.
Notable sub schools include Aburation, Conjuration and Necromancy.

Thaumaturgy
The most difficult of the magical arts to explain but the classical definition is translated as "To work miracles or marvels".
A Thaumaturgist seems to use divine, metaphysical, advanced scientific and sometimes bizarre or unexplainable means to perform acts of great wonder.
Characterized by producing magical energy through prayer, worship, meditation, astral communion, complex enchanted machinery and abstract calculations.
Notable sub schools include Divination, Mathemagics and Scientology.

Sorcery
Something of an amalgamation of the first 3 schools mentioned but still unique in its own right.
Sorcerers have usually obtained their powers though super natural means and with practice may use their new found gift to channel powerful magic through their own body and mind.
They tend to practice similar disciplines of magic to Arcanists but notably powerful ones of preference are Pyromancy and Cryomancy.


Thus came into existence the department of Psionic, Hermetic, Arcane, Thaumic And Sorcerous Studies.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to our collaboration on this endeavour.


With Kind Regards,

Ned Vesuviaas Aulderant
Head of the P.H.A.T.A.S.S. department

[jaappleton]

Alright, I'll offer what help I can.

Ritual Caster is fairly useless to you. As a Wizard, you can already cast Rituals. And you can cast them as a Cleric, too. I'm not familiar with editions prior to 4E, so forgive me if I tread over territory you're already familiar with.

With your Wizard spellbook, you can copy spells into your spellbook each long rest. So when you can already cast Rituals, why take Ritual Caster when you can copy spells already? And to cast it as a Ritual, really, you just add 10 minutes to the casting time, and the spell is considered cast without having expended a spell slot. So with Detect Magic, just spend 10 minutes instead of one action, and you save yourself a spell slot.

As far as Magic Initiate, the new spell you pick uses the same casting stat as its class. So if you're a Wizard and take a Bard spell, you need Charisma to cast it. I don't know what your stat array is, but consider that. And since you're a Wizard and only Wizards use Intelligence... I'm not certain why you'd want to pick Magic Initiate, unless its to get yet another Wizard spell. But again, your spellbook can hold a ton of spells already.

As far as Feats in general with 5E, you can play from 1-20 with no feats and be alright. A lot of Feats offer combat benefits, and others (IMO) are primarily socially focused, liked the Actor feat. So for Feats to make you more knowledgeable, I honestly can't recommend much.

I can rattle off some spells I think are good, but they're mostly combat oriented. Not in the sense of damage, but in the sense of "Do this to keep people alive".

Oh, and as a spellcaster, just one note: You can only ever 'concentrate' on one spell at a time. So no more buffing yourself or allies to god-like levels. So if you cast the Bless spell (from the Cleric list), to add 1d4 to all attack rolls and saving throws, and you cast another spell that requires Concentration, you lose Bless. You can still cast non-Concentration spells, though. Like if you cast Bless in round 1, you can cast Scorching Ray in round 2. And actually benefit from Bless's additional 1d4 to attack rolls on Scorching Ray.

[Ninja_Prawn]

-snip-

I agree with all of this. Wizards are already the best at rituals (they have the biggest list and don't need to prepare them like everyone else), so Ritual Caster is not needed. Magic Initiate is also less useful, since you have access to so many spells. I can't see any spells that you can't get as a cleric/wizard that would be worth a feat, unless you're desperate for more cantrips.

Aiming for Wizard 16 / Cleric 4 looks a bit strange, since Wizard 17 gives you Wish, Foresight and/or True Polymorph, whereas Cleric 4 gives you... a feat that you don't need.

The feats you should be looking at are probably:

Observant
Keen Mind
Resilient (Con)
Lucky
and maybe War Caster

Maybe Skilled, if you're into that? I'm playing a wizard with Skilled (https://www.myth-weavers.com//sheet.html#id=691366) at the moment (yes, that is her in my avatar). You're welcome to contemplate her spell selection, though it's deliberately a bit left-field.

[jaappleton]

Yeah, Lucky is really the only Feat I recommend for ANYONE with room to take it.

I have the idea of a Halfling Diviner Wizard with Lucky. So not only is he immune to rolling 1s because of the racial trait, but he can swap out any two rolls (his, allies or enemies) because of Diviner's Portent, but he can also swap out any 3 of his own.

[DC-Chaos]

Hi Guys,

Yes already being able to cast rituals was something I wasn't sure about so it looks like I'm not getting any value there.
So Magic Initiate is the way to go then and since I only have INT and WIS as good stats that means probably Druid Spells are the likely choice.
I don't think there's another spell casting class I could dip into without Charisma is there? (my character is not Charismatic! haha)
Being able to cast spells from 3 different classes at only level 3 is just what I'm looking for.

I can see that most Feats and such are sort of built into the classes in the latest edition so you don't really need any extra.
However I like some of the ones I see and they have more use to me actually realising the character I want to play than +2 in a stat.
With Magic Initiate for example I can show how the character has studied all kinds of magic and knows a LOT of spells.
Or perhaps later I can take Keen Mind which will also reflect his studies in Science and Magic and is more useful for the story driven campaign we will play.
I'm really into customising my character to be as unique as possible so Feats really appeal to me in that respect.

Good tip on Wizard 17 / Cleric 3. Although we probably will never even get to Lvl 10 anyway and knowing me I'll Multi Class even more as we go along :P

Thanks for your input so far, Very useful :)

[jaappleton]

The ONLY spell that a Druid has that I'd want is Faerie Fire. Granting Advantage to all allies and seeing invisible targets? That's a damn good spell, especially at 1st level.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Druid Spells are the likely choice.
I don't think there's another spell casting class I could dip into without Charisma is there? (my character is not Charismatic! haha)

Nope, since you can't get ranger spells via Magic Initiate. The druid spells that aren't on the wizard or cleric lists are:

Cantrips:
Druidcraft
Magic Stone
Produce Flame
Shillelagh
Thorn Whip

Spells:
Animal Friendship
Beast Bond
Entangle
Faerie Fire
Goodberry
Speak with Animals

So, yeah. If you expect to need to speak with animals, that isn't bad. Entangle and Goodberry are decent spells in a vacuum. Faerie Fire is clearly the strongest, as jaappleton says. Cantrip-wise, an old master wizard with a gnarly club is kind of cool. Produce Flame and Thorn Whip have their uses, and take some of the pressure off your wizard/cleric cantrips.

[jaappleton]

Well, Lightning Lure is on the Wizard list. Thorn Whip is almost the same thing.

They have their uses. Even for allies. I've seen Lightning Lure used to save a falling ally; A Barbarian tackled an enemy off the roof of a tower, and the Sorcerer used LL to pull him back up. DM allowed a Strength save to grab back on to the ledge. And of course, the Barbarian made it.

[DC-Chaos]

Sounds great! Just the kind of spell selection I was looking for :)

Thanks for all the advice guys. I have a much better idea of how to build my character now.

[Fishybugs]

Also look at today's Unearthed Arcana for Warlocks and Wizards. The Arcane Tradition of Lore looks pretty cool for someone who is an adept and the core of magic and not just one school.

[DC-Chaos]

Wow! That's literally the exact thing I was looking for to finish of the build and they just posted it today! haha

Thanks FishyBugs :D