Need ideas and advice for a halfling divine caster.

[Snowy-]

Background I'm hopefully going to be playing in a Birthright campaign using 5e soon. I've only played one session of 5e before but lots of D&D 3.5 and other systems.

I will be filling in the Divine caster slot as we'll be setting up with each member of the party having control of one type of holdings (Arcane, Divine/Temple, Skill-user/Guild, Law/Fighter type). I'll need divine casting, though I could potentially get away with just divine ritual casting, Knowledge Religion and a Birthright specific skill (this last will probably be a bonus proficiency).

In the setting Halflings came from a parallel plane that was their beautiful homeland before it got corrupted by shadow, cold, evil and unlife. They fled to the main plane (there are only two planes) but have the ability to sense undead every so often and to travel back with some effort. I want to play up this side of the character and make a character with aims to explore the shadow realm and if the game goes far enough start claiming bits of it back. As it sounds the shadow realm is dangerous and uncivilised.

We've decided that we'll be starting as privateers/pirates so I'll likely be aiming for light armour to fit that and potentially some 'rogue like' abilities or possibly just the criminal background.

So.... any ideas? Pros/Cons. Anything to help me make an interesting, fairly broadly competent character - doesn't have to be a combat monster should be able to get along in the wild avoiding bad guys.

Options I'm considering:
Trickster Cleric or a Death domain cleric (playing up the my magic is tainted)
Rogue/Cleric
Ranger/Cleric
Rogue or Ranger or Monk with Ritual Caster (Cleric)

TLDR

I need a divine casting piratical halfling ideally with broad survival skills and/or a shadow/death theme.

[Snowy-]

Oh. Druid might also be an option but they come with some different setting specific stuff so I left them out on that basis.

[Aett_Thorn]

Just out of curiosity, what books will you have access to use, and are you allowed to use any Unearthed Arcana options?


Right off the bat, based on what you described, I would either say:

1) Light cleric - you're learning to push back the darkness and shadow

2) A Dex-based Arcana cleric (Arcana comes from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAG)), using some of the SCAG cantrips for melee damage

3) A Dex-based Ancients Paladin, who is based on pulling divine energy from the gods of the old world, which seems to have some similarities to a feywild-like plane.

[DarkKnightJin]

Just out of curiosity, what books will you have access to use, and are you allowed to use any Unearthed Arcana options?


Right off the bat, based on what you described, I would either say:

1) Light cleric - you're learning to push back the darkness and shadow

2) A Dex-based Arcana cleric (Arcana comes from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (SCAG)), using some of the SCAG cantrips for melee damage

3) A Dex-based Ancients Paladin, who is based on pulling divine energy from the gods of the old world, which seems to have some similarities to a feywild-like plane.

Option 3 seems fitting. And Ancients' obsession with 'the Light' in the tenets would be the character's desire to preserve what Light they can in this new world. For fear of the same fate befalling it as their home did.

[Snowy-]

Those all sound good :-) thanks for the help.

It's a group of good friends who I'll be playing with so any (reasonable) option will be fine, certainly the settings books or unearthed arcana. I'd expect reskinning things will also be happily accepted.

Do i need to worry particularly about making a Dex based cleric or paladin or is it straightforward in 5e? No pitfalls to avoid?

[Aett_Thorn]

Those all sound good :-) thanks for the help.

It's a group of good friends who I'll be playing with so any (reasonable) option will be fine, certainly the settings books or unearthed arcana. I'd expect reskinning things will also be happily accepted.

Do i need to worry particularly about making a Dex based cleric or paladin or is it straightforward in 5e? No pitfalls to avoid?

Dex-based Clerics are generally fine, and you can usually multiclass them easily enough with Monks, Rangers and Rogues if you want a little from those classes.

Dex-based Paladins are going to have one big issue to watch out for: unless your DM allows it, you can't multi-class out of or into a Paladin without having a 13 Strength. If you go single-class, you're fine going Dex. But if you wanted to do a Paladin-Bard, or Paladin-Rogue, or something like that, then by Rules-as-Written, you need a 13 Str.

[Snowy-]

I guess I need to decide how much I want/need to multiclass. It looks like the balance of skills is much better between classes though the double proficiency on the rogue and the favoured land on the ranger both appeal.

It's nice to have choices!

[Citan]

Background I'm hopefully going to be playing in a Birthright campaign using 5e soon. I've only played one session of 5e before but lots of D&D 3.5 and other systems.

I will be filling in the Divine caster slot as we'll be setting up with each member of the party having control of one type of holdings (Arcane, Divine/Temple, Skill-user/Guild, Law/Fighter type). I'll need divine casting, though I could potentially get away with just divine ritual casting, Knowledge Religion and a Birthright specific skill (this last will probably be a bonus proficiency).

In the setting Halflings came from a parallel plane that was their beautiful homeland before it got corrupted by shadow, cold, evil and unlife. They fled to the main plane (there are only two planes) but have the ability to sense undead every so often and to travel back with some effort. I want to play up this side of the character and make a character with aims to explore the shadow realm and if the game goes far enough start claiming bits of it back. As it sounds the shadow realm is dangerous and uncivilised.

We've decided that we'll be starting as privateers/pirates so I'll likely be aiming for light armour to fit that and potentially some 'rogue like' abilities or possibly just the criminal background.

So.... any ideas? Pros/Cons. Anything to help me make an interesting, fairly broadly competent character - doesn't have to be a combat monster should be able to get along in the wild avoiding bad guys.

Options I'm considering:
Trickster Cleric or a Death domain cleric (playing up the my magic is tainted)
Rogue/Cleric
Ranger/Cleric
Rogue or Ranger or Monk with Ritual Caster (Cleric)

TLDR

I need a divine casting piratical halfling ideally with broad survival skills and/or a shadow/death theme.


I guess I need to decide how much I want/need to multiclass. It looks like the balance of skills is much better between classes though the double proficiency on the rogue and the favoured land on the ranger both appeal.

It's nice to have choices!
Indeed.

For a single-class, Trickery Cleric is definitely the one I would pick, closely followed by Death Cleric or, if you can get with only ritual casting, Shadow Monk with Ritual Caster.

I'm not sure about how really you need skills to be honest, seems your party would be large enough to get by with "normal" proficiencies, especially if someone else plays a skillmonkey.

For multiclass, I'd strongly consider a mix between Long Death Monk and Death Cleric, because I feel the mix is very thematic, as well as Shadow Monk / Trickery Cleric or Arcane Trickster / Trickery Cleric.

I'd avoid Ranger if are not specially interested in his spells because the fluff is kinda strong on this one, and a bit too "naturey/lifey" in my opinion to what you are looking for. With that said, fluff can always be adapted.

As for whether Monk or Rogue, I'd say pick the one that is not already taken, or the one you like the most if the choice is still opened..Both will play very differently, but both bring good defensive and offensive benefits, although in different ways.
(I'm actually trying my hardest not to tell "pick both" because it would be bothersome to level a tri-class character -let's not forget Cleric- but they mix well together too XD).

[Snowy-]

Awesome there's some good stuff for me to read up on there!

The skills are needed (but I'm reckoning far less than they have been in previous editions) to deal with the domain turns - effectively a kingdom management minigame. You can get other members of the party in to help but then they're not dealing with the areas they 'rule' as well. It never needed full omni skill monkeys but you ideally needed a social approach as well as a fighty one and preferably something investigative too. Spells may well cover a lot of this!

I like the idea of a monk with cleric rituals. Or a trickster cleric multiclass. I like unusual or complicated characters, not for power, I like the fun of using abilities cleverly and having options.