Evil Cleric Build Challenge

[merlinus12]

My regular group is starting an evil campaign. I've used most of my creative build ideas as villains in our previous campaigns, so I've decided to issue a challenge to the denizens of the board. The 'winner' will have the honor of naming the character I play for the campaign! The guidelines are as follows:

- Character must be an evil cleric.
- Only material from PHB, DMG, MM, and Volo are permitted.
- Our DM is using his own pantheon, so don't worry about choosing a deity.
- Stats were rolled: 16, 15, 15, 13, 13, 12. You may allocate them as you wish.
- Campaign will begin at level 12. Each character is allowed to choose a very rare, rare and 2 uncommon magical items from the DMG.
- DM has promised a very high challenge campaign, so optimized builds are preferred. However, extra points awarded for builds that fit a clear theme.

[Honest Tiefling]

The 'winner' will have the honor of naming the character I play for the campaign!

Who wants to bet that the character get named Clericy McEvilface?

Also, how can you build a cleric without knowing the pantheon? Shouldn't we get a list of evil gods or is he allowing you to build a god?

[Corran]

Well, I'll just throw one or two ideas.

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of evil clerics, is a bunch of skeletons and zombies working for Mr Clericy McEvilface (I second this name:smalltongue:). But that does not necessarily mean that a death cleric is the only way to do this. I would much prefer a tempest cleric. Worship a diety of the sea, and have a strong compulsion to baptize and/or drown people. After they are drowned, you have Mr Clericy McEvilface say ''What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger'' (points for originality:smallsmile:), and then proceed to animate them as your puppets. Refluffing them as Davvy Jone's crew look-alikes optional.
Besides, wearing a full plate while wielding a mace/morningstar is as much badass you can get.

Or, you could go with the light domain, and have the main aim of your character to be to 'purge all the unbelievers'. A fire-related diety would do the trick. Even if that diety is good, you could still play the heretic (would work in a world where the dieties' interventions are kept to a minimal, or are non-existant whatsoever.

Personaly my favourite approach to a non-good cleric, is via the arcane domain. Once a curious (maybe even mighty) wizard, who after a revelation he had or an experience he suffered, he burned his spellbook and became a man of the cloth in service to an evil diety of magic (tie the diety with the event that caused this change of character in the first place). Once proud and arrogant, but now humbled and wise, you welcome the fatigue caused by the weight of the armor and of the shield you are carrying, as they are for reminding you that you are just a servant to a greater (evil) power. When/if you hit level 17, you get wish along with other amazing wizard spells (clone, simmulacrum, etc), so at that time you can have your character become his old arrogant self and try to pursue immortality (probably via becoming a lich), to make up for all that time that was lost. In the meantime, try to play the wise old fellow that tries to restrain his companions when their murderhoboism clouds their judgement. You are not above evil acts yourself, but you have the wisdom to apply your malice methodically and only when it is profitable for you and your allies. Essentially, play it like Qyburn from game of thrones (the old creepy and totally adorable dude, that raised the ''Mountain'' for Cersei).

ps: Apologies for the mant GoT refferences.

ps2: If you narrow down the concept, and thus determine the domain, we can perhaps give better and more optimization ideas. So till then, I am just throwing some (admittedly shallow) concept ideas to see if anything sticks.

ps3: Apart from undead minions, running around concentrating on (the evil version of - see spell description) spirit guardians would make your case for being an eeeevul man quite clear.

ps4: I've found that playing a female character helps somewhat when you are playing the evil campaign (sexist DM's:smalltongue:), but YMMV.

[Citan]

My regular group is starting an evil campaign. I've used most of my creative build ideas as villains in our previous campaigns, so I've decided to issue a challenge to the denizens of the board. The 'winner' will have the honor of naming the character I play for the campaign! The guidelines are as follows:

- Character must be an evil cleric.
- Only material from PHB, DMG, MM, and Volo are permitted.
- Our DM is using his own pantheon, so don't worry about choosing a deity.
- Stats were rolled: 16, 15, 15, 13, 13, 12. You may allocate them as you wish.
- Campaign will begin at level 12. Each character is allowed to choose a very rare, rare and 2 uncommon magical items from the DMG.
- DM has promised a very high challenge campaign, so optimized builds are preferred. However, extra points awarded for builds that fit a clear theme.

Hi!
I'm not very familiar with magic items, so I won't be creative. Apart from that, are you allowed to multiclass a bit?
Because if not multiclass, not much leeway...

For a pure Cleric, I'd go normal Human Tempest Cleric with the following starting stats...
14 STR, 16 DEX, 16 CON, 13 INT, 17 WIS, 14 CHA. Then I'd take Observant feat to even WIS, Warcaster.
THEN...
a) Magic Initiate: Wizard for Shocking Grasp and another one, which works because I would grab a Belt of Dwarvenkind (rare) along with a Headband of Intellect (if you want to play mainly with cantrips -is SCAG forbidden? Because otherwise Lightning Lure and Booming Blade are golden).
b)Polearm Master or Sentinel paired with a Belt of Fire Giant Strenght (very rare) to get 25 STR along with Boots of Speed (rare).

Other good magic items
Cloack of Elvenkind (to stealth)
Cloack of Protection (+1 to saves)
Gauntlets of Ogre Power: "only" 19 STR but can be a nice alternative to the Belts.
Goggles of NIght: because normal human.
Dwarven Plate (+2 AC and resistance against unwilling movement can be useful).
Daern's Instant Fortress (rare: great place to have a safe, can also be used as an on/off pretty decent AOE by RAW. In fact, if the DM is lenient (stupid?) enough to let it go, it's arguably a broken item. XD
Mantle of Spell Resistance: always good to have.

This is somewhat bland but should work nicely efficiency-wise.
Of course if multiclassing is allowed maaaany other great possibilites would open. ;)

[Honest Tiefling]

Or, you could go with the light domain, and have the main aim of your character to be to 'purge all the unbelievers'. A fire-related diety would do the trick. Even if that diety is good, you could still play the heretic (would work in a world where the dieties' interventions are kept to a minimal, or are non-existant whatsoever.

I am not so sure that a heretic of a goodly faith would work in an evil party, unless that evil party underwent an OOC agreement that they were all on board on corrupting the cleric. Which might be fun, but you should ask your DM about what happens when he/she falls and takes on a new faith just in case that happens.

Another idea, if you can build your own god, is a evil light based god. The god of strength, rule and tyranny, who is as unrelenting and eternal as the sun. Her followers seek to bring about eternal day, so that heretics can never use the darkness to hide their corrupted beliefs and all can toil for as long as their masters say. For she is the once and future lord of all creation, and the very laws of the world will bend knee to her or perish in everlasting burning agony.

[merlinus12]

I love all the ideas I've seen so far. The idea of a 'bad cleric of light' is intriguing. What stats/magic items/weapons would you pair with that? I assume a light cleric should be played as more of a blaster than a front line fighter?

Citan's Tempest cleric looks solid.

I realize the lack of deity info makes things difficult. Basically, the religion in this world is based around abstract virtues (compassion, honesty, courage, etc). Evil clerics embody these virtues in the absence of the others, while good clerics champion their virtue as part of the larger whole. Since we still use the same domains and mechanics, the builds should still work out the same.

[Citan]

I love all the ideas I've seen so far. The idea of a 'bad cleric of light' is intriguing. What stats/magic items/weapons would you pair with that? I assume a light cleric should be played as more of a blaster than a front line fighter?

Citan's Tempest cleric looks solid.

I realize the lack of deity info makes things difficult. Basically, the religion in this world is based around abstract virtues (compassion, honesty, courage, etc). Evil clerics embody these virtues in the absence of the others, while good clerics champion their virtue as part of the larger whole. Since we still use the same domains and mechanics, the builds should still work out the same.
Thanks.

Note that if you are not that interested in any of the rare magic items I suggested, a Ring of Spell Storing can always be put to good use. Especially if you have other casters in your party but even without. Especially for a Tempest, if there is a Wizard or Sorcerer in your party: beyond the fact that he could store a few Shield for you, he could also store a (upcasted or not) Chain Lightning. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in my comprehension, the spell stored uses the "spellcasting efficiency" (DC/ability) of the one who put it inside, but "is otherwise treated as if you cast the spell" so wouldn't it be considered as compatible with your Channel Divinity?
Honestly not sure what RAW is there so double check with your DM, but if allowed this could make for a powerful combo. ;)

Otherwise, this Ring could be still put to great use if you tend to have some non-casters or casters with little concentration spells in the group: cast some useful spells such as Bless or Spirit Guardians into it, give it to your ranged martial pal (Bless) or frontliner (Spirit Guardians) and enjoy. ;)

By the way, you didn't tell us if multiclassing was allowed?

[Gtdead]

I had 2 ideas about an evil cleric. One was an alter ego tempest cleric, who is a good and kind person, but every time he uses his tempest abilities, he loses a bit of himself and enters a state of rage.

The other was the cultist type. He has a day job as a healer, but he casts geas on those he heals, and forces them to do dreadful things in the name of his god. Any cleric can work but death fits thematically. It has a vampiry feel.

[Vorpalchicken]

I would take the opportunity to make a trickery cleric. They have a few shortcomings but they have several abilities and spells that make them a hoot to play. Also that generous selection of magical items can turn your character into a true pest.

A cube of force would complement your invoke duplicity ability nicely. Maybe take a helm of brilliance for firepower, or perhaps a robe of stars for a built-in escape plan. A hat of disguise would be a lot of fun too. Attunement issues would probably limit your second uncommon item to a magic shield or dagger or bow or maybe gloves of thievery.

As for the build, you could take a wood elf with starting stats: S12 D17 C15 I13 W17 Ch13 and have maxed Dex and Wis by 12th level or perhaps a variant human with Resilient(Dex) or maybe Observant to end up with similar stats.

[lunaticfringe]

Evil Light God is odd in D&D but not Reality (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bila_(sun)). By modern day standards a lot of Sun Gods would be considered Bastards. IIRC Apollo liked infecting people with plague.

[MasterMercury]

Went to bed
Saw this thread
Do all the domains
From Knowledge till Dead

I'm not doing stats, but maybe I can give you some inspiration.

Knowledge: the Dr. Frankenstein
Knowledge is power, and power corrupts.
You need to know everything, no matter who you need to torture or what experiments you have to do or what devil you need to deal with. If you know everything, you can save everyone. But, you will never know anything. Perhaps the best thing to do is destroy everything so nothing new will need to be learned.

Best companied with a helm of detect thoughts, which you constantly use on everyone.

Life Domain: Just stop
You're sick of healing. No matter how many times you patch people up, they get themselves hurt again. Maybe you should be running things, then no one would get hurt.

Light: BURN THE SIN! BURN IT!
The fire will cleanse everything, purify everything. Every evil, every brothel, every lawyer must burn!

Nature: Survival of the Fittest
Humanoids. They all sit in their huts, surrounded by walls and weapons and laws. They think they are above the plants and beasts, that they are better. They are wrong. They are not above the laws of nature. No child may become a man without proving his worth, no man may rule a nation without challenge, and if nations wishes for more land, they can come and get it.

Temptest: Same as above, more focus on weather and natural phenomena as opposed to birds and bees. I did like the "what is dead may never die" idea. Where have I heard that before?

Trickery: Why so serious?
[Insert Joker monologue here]

War: Trial by Fire
Everyone must die. War is a chance for people to prove themselves, to show valor, courage, honor.
Without war, there can be no peace. Without conflict, there can be no growth, no development, only stagnation. Only battle may move the world forward, only fear and rage can motivate men. It is my sacred duty to ensure war never ends.

Death:
I give up, I'm tired, it's an evil necromancer.

I hope some of these were inspirational. Enjoy.

[Dren Nas]

I've been looking at this for a few minutes and this is what I would do.

Mountian Dwarf

18, 13, 17, 12, 18, 13

12 Cleric of Death
Heavily Armored
War Caster
+2 Wisdom

Full Plate +2 (Very Rare)
Flame Tongue Greatsword (Rare)
Boots of Striding and Springing (Uncommon)
You should be able to find a few other things with the gold you get from the chart found in the DMG page 38.

Almost think of a deathknight from world of warcraft. Raise some dead to be a flanking buddy with you and your party members. Melt faces with Inflict Wounds. Spread death, decay, and disease around like a parade float tosses candy.

Hope you have fun!

[lewisa201111]

How about going a Lizardman with an Aztec feel Going light domain and get sacrificing those captives to the bloodthirsty Huitzilopochtli really play up the sun, fire and sacrifice angle with the heartless captives standing back up once you are done to hold down the next unlucky few with animate dead .
for items refluff them as you please to fit in with the high priest of an evil sun god idea
- A robe of stars ( very rare)
- Daren's Instant Fortress (rare ) reskinnned as summoning a shrine or sacrificial alter to cut the hearts of your captives out upon
- Winged boots (common)
- +1 weapon of your choice maybe a macuahuitl if you could convince the dm its a weapon you can wield