Cleric/Wizard

[ZorroGames]

One of my favorite characters I saw in "the old days" was a Elven Cleric/Wizard. The spell mix seemed quite useful for the party. I know this is 5th Edition and "things have changed" but it still sounds "fun" to my ears. Maybe Human or one of the rare Elf characters I would play...

PeteNutButter has it blue in his multiclass guide:

"A cleric who dips wizard has a few neat tricks to obtain via the level 2 wizard abilities, some helpful reactions such as shield, and absorb elements (notably not on the sorc list), as well as some non-concentration buffs that wouldn't compete with your cleric buffs such as longstrider or false life. Most of the level 2 and 6 abilities can compliment a cleric's casting well. The ability to pick up the melee cantrips of BB/GFB is great for an often melee class that doesn't get extra attack. It's MAD and requires a planned build but there are several combinations which create power."

So, help figure out this build, please?

I will go get my PHB and work on this but will return to see what people suggest.

A Cleric 6/Wizard X sounds like good long term role play potential but a Clerc 2/Wizard X might be more in line with my current group's short term needs.

Gracias in advance.

[Citan]

Hi!
It really depends on what you aim for in Clerics. :)
Usually you don't want to break the chance of getting free 1st and 2nd level spells, so dip would be 2 levels only.
Depending on your taste for Channel Divinities, a single level may be enough.

For example, Life Cleric can be perfect for a single level dip, because it brings a great healing benefit and heavy armor. Channel Divinity is decent but scales on Cleric level IIRC so you can really do without.

However, taking the example of Tempest Cleric, the Channel Divinity would really amp up your Wizard's blaster side so going the 2-level route is darn tempting.

Furthermore, if you were actually seeing your character as a versatile guy rather than a "nearly-pure" Wizard, then you could afford making a true dual-class for some nice tricks and combos.

In short, if you just want a bit of healing, dip one level, if you have a Channel Divinity that you particulary like, dip two levels. Beyond this general advice, there are too many good builds available depending on your choice of Cleric Domain, Wizard School and role priorities. So you should first draft a character concept then come back for feedback. ;)

[ZorroGames]

Hi!
It really depends on what you aim for in Cerics... {snip}
So you should first draft a character concept then come back for feedback. ;)

Doing that this morning. Definitely a WIP.

Gracias.

[Azgeroth]

just so we are clear, which is the main class and which is the dip? are we talking cleric with some wizard, or wizard with some cleric?

whats the characters roll?? front line/back line, damage/control/support?

obviously, wizards and clerics have a different base stat, trying to max both with seriously gimp your character in most other aspects.

cleric of light with 2 levels of div wizard could be very useful.

you mentioned using non concentration spells, assuming your going for spells that don't need a save or sp attack, remember your int decides how many spells you can prepare.

you mention sorcs don't get shield or long strider, but 3 lvls of sorc with cleric is amazing. twin cast and distant casting, cure wounds with range? yes please! (admittedly you can achieve this with a familiar, which you could get a number of ways)

so, assuming you want cleric with a little wizard for utility, you basically want divination or evocation.

if you want wizard with a bit of cleric, life is a great option, so is tempest, light isnt terrible (the defensive flare ability can save slots)

let us know what kind of character your looking for, what you expect from the campaign, and maybe your party comp. can all help!

[PeteNutButter]

Between all the domains and wizard schools, it is hard to say what to do without more guidance, but there are a lot of good combinations.

Cleric 1-2/Abjurer x can make a very competent tank with good AC and the ability to heal behind his force field. Cleric abjuration spells such as Shield of Faith also charge the ward.

Tempest Cleric/Evoker is a great thunder/lightning blaster. Absorb elements really adds to the flavor.

Life Cleric 1/Necromancer is pretty cool. Vampiric Touch gains the benefit of Life Domain ability.

Cleric any x/diviner 2 works well.

Enchanters need to be up close in melee to get the most out of their abilities, and a level in cleric will help surviving that with the AC boost. Similarly, transmuters get a nice boost that could help a tankier character.

Any wizard that likes touch spells goes well with a trickery cleric.

Too many options to suggest them all...

[Willie the Duck]

One of my favorite characters I saw in "the old days" was a Elven Cleric/Wizard. The spell mix seemed quite useful for the party. I know this is 5th Edition and "things have changed" but it still sounds "fun" to my ears. Maybe Human or one of the rare Elf characters I would play...


Assuming you are going for feel more than anything, there are any number of options, depending on how far wizard you want to go and how far cleric. The only one I wouldn't suggest would be split down the middle Cleric 10/Wizard 10 as the end game. Even that would be playable, but there's just really no point. On one end, you could probably capture the feel of this character just by being a high elf cleric--high elves are inherently wizardly and get a wizard cantrip. Especially if you are a dex-based lightly armored individual, you get some good wizard vibe without extensive investment. Next to that, cleric of Arcana domain (from SCAG) or cleric of another domain but with the Magic Initiate feat are also very mage-y without loosing any cleric levels. After that, if you are going to dip wizard, dip for 2. Specialist abilities are just that good that you want them. Diviner and abjurer have really useful abilities, but so does evoker (especially if paired with Light domain cleric). If you are going more wizard and only dip cleric, it depends on domain. Life cleric only dip 1, trickery go for 2. The rest, 1 or 2 as you see fit. Life cleric is probably the best dip to capture a cleric feel, and relatively convenient (the spells on your domain list are ones you would want to memorize every day anyways).

[Bloodcloud]

Thunder cleric 2 gets to max lightning bolt, which is great. I'd main abjuration wizard, get thunder cleric 2. Booming blade with warhammer, full plate and shield, 16 str 16 int 13 wis, vhuman with warcaster. OA's are booming blade too now.

[MrWesson22]

Depending on what is available to you, I would check out arcana clerics and theurgist wizards too. That said, in my last campaign, I went from 1 to 20 with a life cleric 1/abjuration wizard 19 and loved him. He was also a deep gnome and took the svirfneblin magic feat.

[ZorroGames]

Mark 1 draft.

Answering some questions asked above.

Roll: ranged spells damage, support next, melee damage as necessary.

Given what you get from multiclassing, I think start Wizard 1, go Cleric 1, then Wizard X makes sense to me.

Point Buy

ST 11 (3 points)
DE 8+2 =10 (0 points)
CO 12 (4 points)
IN 15+1=16 (9 points)
WI 14 (7 points)
CH 12 (4 points)

Perhaps drop CH or ST and increase WI?

Race: High Elf; Darkvision, Perception, Fey Ancestry, Proficient Longsword, shortsword, shortbow, longbow; cantrip TBD, extra language TBD.

Background: Hermit, proficient in Medicine, Religion, proficient with herbalism kit. 5 GP of money.

Wizard: Saves Intelligence, Wisdom; proficiencies Arcana, Insight.

Equipment: Dagger, (buy 2 SP Quarterstaff); arcane focus, Scholar's pack, Spellbook. Planned Arcane Tradition either Necromancy or Evocation, probably former.

Multiclass into Cleric of Azruth, God of Wizards, Knowledge Domain. Gain proficiencies with Light/Medium armor, shields. Armor wanted, shields nice but depends on where my Wizard goes thematically.

Edit: SCAG, Arcana Domain looks good too. This would affect proficiencies selected.

SCAG: Bladesinger has potential but puts your butt on the firing line as it were. Hmm... Maybe...

Knowledge Domain gives proficiencies in History, and Religion (have Arcana.) Stay for 1 level.

Return to Wizard.

Cantrips and Level 1 spells from cleric preferred are Resistance, Sacred Flame and... something; Inflct Wounds, Guiding Bolt.

Wizard cantrips and spells to start with would be some mix along the lines of Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Fire Bolt or Mage Hand; Sleep or Magic Missile or Shield or Ray of Sickness or Witch Bolt...

[Specter]

Knowledge Cleric 2/Wizard X or Diviner 6/Cleric X are both good.

[Corran]

So, since being in the front line is not your #1 goal, I think you can do just fine (in fact, I think it's even better) with medium armor (rather than with heavy armor). So, with that in mind, and given you aim for an elf, I would probably aim fir the following starting stats:

STR 8 (0 points)
DEX 12+2 = 14 (4 points)
CON 13 (5 points)
INT 15+1 = 16 (9 points)
WIS 13 (5 points)
CHA 8 (0 points)

*You have 4 more points to spend as you wish (for example, you could use those 4 points to boost both strength and charisma up to 10, if you really dont like negative modifiers; or you could use them to raise both con and wis to 14; or you could use them to raise wisdom to 14 and charisma to 10, leaving your con with an odd value so that you can later add resilient con as a feat; or use them in whatever other way you prefer)

Personally, I like the knowledge domain (knowledge cleric/ divination wizard would be a conept that I would very much like to play). But as others have already said, there are multiple ways you can go about domains and magic schools, that would make sense and give a distinct flavour feel to your character).

One more thing. If you are set on starting as a wizard, then the acolyte background would also be a good choice from a fluff/flavour perspective.

Edit: Guidance is a very nice cleric cantrip! Check it out.

[Citan]

Mark 1 draft.

Answering some questions asked above.

Roll: ranged spells damage, support next, melee damage as necessary.

Given what you get from multiclassing, I think start Wizard 1, go Cleric 1, then Wizard X makes sense to me.

Point Buy

ST 11 (3 points)
DE 8+2 =10 (0 points)
CO 12 (4 points)
IN 15+1=16 (9 points)
WI 14 (7 points)
CH 12 (4 points)

Ok. Soo. A few wild quick ideas...

If you want to be a "fullcaster" Wizard, meaning 18 levels in Wizard, 2 in others...
- be a tank: Abjurer + Life Cleric: heavy armor and shield, Arcane Ward, advantage against magic, you will be damn hard to beat. You don't care about being slow, in fact you pretty much want for people to try and hit you. Alternative if UA is allowed: Forge Cleric (IIRC, you can craft magic armor/shield).
- be a focus for control spells: Bladesinger + Fighter: stand back actually, just using that extra good concentration save to maintain spells. Max INT, even with lowish DEX you still have decent AC. But your Hold Person / Dominate Monster / etc are absolutely unbreakable.
- be the last lightning provider your enemies will ever see: Diviner Wizard + Tempest Cleric. Why no Evoker? That one would be good if you wanted to spend all your time blasting. For your character, having one maximum damage Lightning Bolt / Chain Lightning / Shatter / Chromatic Bolt should be enough. And thanks to Diviner, against single-target, you are truly deadly because you can ensure your big spell will succeed.
- be a versatile character: Bladesinger + Rogue: max DEX first, using mainly buffs or INT-independant spells until you can bump INT. Tanks to Cunning Action, you can switch back and forth between front and backline. With a free hand and Expertise coupled with Haste, you could also go and grab someone dangerous that was in enemy rear line then bring it back to your safety, so your friends can easily gangbang it.

If you are ready to be more a glorified, half-caster gish, then...
- Bladesinger 11 / Arcane Trickster 9: just FYI, because I just couldn't resist. XD

Storm Caller
Bladesinger 14 / Tempest Cleric 6: you are fast, you are resilient, you can unleash thematic attacks "thunder weapon attack" (Booming Blade), or just sustain a Call Lightning after unleashing your big Shatter.

Gandalf (for the "You Shall Not Pass")
Nature Cleric 6 / Abjurer Wizard 14: use Spirit Guardians, paired or not with Plant Growth, to completely block an area, forcing people to try and down you. Can go several ways:
INT heavy, so Spirit Guardians is mainly here for the difficult terrain.
WIS-heavy, so you mainly use utility/non-INT dependent spells on Wizard side, and instead use Shillelagh/Thorns Whip/Sacred Flame for your usual actions (would work better imo, although counter-intuitive at first glance).

Trickster Wizard
Trickster Cleric 5 / Wizard 15 (any?): you like Bestow Curse? You dislike it requiring very (too ^^) close range? Now problem solved. Ask your DM about Vampiric Touch (works only first time? All time?) which may also be a great contender depending on ruling. Works well with Diviner (Bestow Curse, sure-hit), Evoker (you can position yourself in the best way, even in "melee", through your duplicate, and still not hurt your pals), Transmuter (just because many fun things to do).

In all cases, keep in mind that...
- Cleric's prepared spells rely on your WIS.
- Both casters have spells needing high stats, other needing no stat.
>>> You will have to choose one stat. Certainly INT for fullcaster Wizard, for those other builds, it depends a bit more.
- Since you tend to prefer backlines, having a high speed is not strictly necessary so you can pick up a Domain that gives heavy armor. Just keep Misty Step then for emergencies.
- I really wouldn't dump DEX that hard, even with heavy armor. Many damage spells target DEX, you are not proficient in it (unless Resiient), and you have low HP. Only Abjurer can cope with dumped DEX.
- I would lower CHA to spare some points: even if you want your character to be charismatic, a 10 + proficiencies is usually enough, unless you have to be the true and only party face or you considered a dip into a CHA-class later.

Depending on what you choose, you could even be fine with a totally balanced character (read: normal Human with 14 everywhere) as long as you avoid spells relying on spellcasting too much at the beginning.

[Willie the Duck]

ST 11 (3 points)
DE 8+2 =10 (0 points)
CO 12 (4 points)
IN 15+1=16 (9 points)
WI 14 (7 points)
CH 12 (4 points)

Perhaps drop CH or ST and increase WI?

Given that you are capping at medium armor, and are even considering bladesinger, I might suggest finding a few more points for Dex.


Multiclass into Cleric of Azruth, God of Wizards, Knowledge Domain. Gain proficiencies with Light/Medium armor, shields. Armor wanted, shields nice but depends on where my Wizard goes thematically.

Given that you will be fighting with ranged spells most of the time, having a shield makes a lot of sense. Theme can trump, of course.



Cantrips and Level 1 spells from cleric preferred are Resistance, Sacred Flame and... something; Inflct Wounds, Guiding Bolt.

Guidance is a great boost to skills at low level. Plus that random time where your DM makes you make an athletics or acrobatics clamboring over rocks or something.


Wizard cantrips and spells to start with would be some mix along the lines of Chill Touch, Ray of Frost, Fire Bolt or Mage Hand; Sleep or Magic Missile or Shield or Ray of Sickness or Witch Bolt...
All good options. I will not hesitate to remind you that utility can be really important at low levels.


Otherwise, yeah. Looks good.

[Galadhrim]

I really like knowledge cleric 1 or 2/Diviner X although it can work with almost any school. Agree with others you need to get your dex to 14 and wear a shield, otherwise you really lose a lot from the dip. Play as a controller that does not need as much protection as your general squishy wizard. Knowledge clerics expertise in two int based skills makes him great for out of combat utility. You can be proficient in religion, arcana, and history and expert in two and really find out about anything going on in the world your dm has created. Take stealth from your background and you can excel in all of the pillars of the game If you take a background and race that gives a language proficiency you can have 6 languages known which really fits well with the character concept.