Yet another build help thread

[jaappleton]

I've made a lot of these lately. I'm sorry about that.

If you're willing to help, thank you for indulging me.

Here's the scenario:

We start at lv9. There's two players, myself and a modified Vengeance Paladin, Str-based.

My character died.

Here's what I'm looking for:

1. I want to be able to heal, even a tiny little bit. Something so if the Paladin falls, I can get him back up. I don't need to be a Life Cleric, but I to be able to get him back up.
2. Reliable at-will damage. Typically this means extra attack, as Cantrips can often be a bit 'meh'.
3. Full spellcasting. We just hit lv9, I've never been that high a level before, so I'm dying to use 5th level spells.

We start with one Very Rare, one Rare, and one Uncommon magical item. The restrictions on these items are removed; Put a Staff of Power on a Monk and they can utilize it; put a Dwarven Thrower int he hands of a Half Orc, for example.

Now, from my first glance, that narrows it down to two things: Celestial Warlock and Swords/Valor Bard. But I'm open to basically anything.

[strangebloke]

I would say an Wood Elf Arcana Cleric, personally.

You focus Dexterity and Wisdom, so there's no overlapping stats. You can heal. You can pick up blade cantrips for respectable at-will damage. You're a full caster. You have overlapping spells but you can also know a few arcane spells, so it's not a total waste. If you have warcaster or you put away your sword, you can wield a shield and not be a liability for your tank.

Not sure what the 'best' items are. I'm partial to an amulet of health, which I think is only rare, for massive Hit points. I'd then probably get some kind of magic rapier with a nice to-hit bonus to make the blade cantrip that much better. Maybe a cloak of elvenkind so you can be supes stealthy when not wearing half-plate? IDK. Cloak of resistance is a very good uncommon item.

Bard is good as well. The only downside there is the charisma overlap.

[Daphne]

3. Full spellcasting. We just hit lv9, I've never been that high a level before, so I'm dying to use 5th level spells.

For this reason alone I suggest Bard instead of Warlock as it has a broader spell selection, more spell known and more high level slots.

I think Swords is better than Valor, but you could also check Whispers.

[jaappleton]

I would say an Wood Elf Arcana Cleric, personally.

You focus Dexterity and Wisdom, so there's no overlapping stats. You can heal. You can pick up blade cantrips for respectable at-will damage. You're a full caster. You have overlapping spells but you can also know a few arcane spells, so it's not a total waste. If you have warcaster or you put away your sword, you can wield a shield and not be a liability for your tank.

Not sure what the 'best' items are. I'm partial to an amulet of health, which I think is only rare, for massive Hit points. I'd then probably get some kind of magic rapier with a nice to-hit bonus to make the blade cantrip that much better. Maybe a cloak of elvenkind so you can be supes stealthy when not wearing half-plate? IDK. Cloak of resistance is a very good uncommon item.

Bard is good as well. The only downside there is the charisma overlap.

This is interesting. Very interesting.

Items could be pretty varied. A +2 Shield is Rare, so thats a great boost to AC. Staff of Defense is Rare, too, which boosts AC and lets me cast Shield 5x per day (which is hilarious on a Cleric, because their AC is pretty damn good for a full caster).

Hmm.

[jaappleton]

For this reason alone I suggest Bard instead of Warlock as it has a broader spell selection, more spell known and more high level slots.

I think Swords is better than Valor, but you could also check Whispers.

If I go Swords or Valor, I think the Scimitar of Speed would be amazing. Valor gets Shield proficiency to pair with it.

[Zanthy1]

I would absolutely go with one of the Bard options. I personally do not consider warlock a full caster (I call them a modified caster). Extra attack, full bard spellcasting which includes healing word. You also do get magical secrets (though not as many as a lore bard) but you could take some higher level healing spells if desired. Did I mention inspiration dice? Bards and Paladins are my 2 favorite classes and they work SO WELL together. (you also can get a damage cantrip just to have as a bonus option).

In terms of magic items....I rarely get my hands on any these days, but here are some ideas.

Very Rare:
Carpet of Flying: fly speed where you can shot arrows or spells from, and carry the paladin, in and out of combat
Dwarven Thrower: thor's hammer is awesome, and the fact that it comes back is cool too
Animated Shield: +2 AC that can be used while dual wielding
Oathbow: powerful longbow for ranged attacks
Ring of Telekinesis: Modified at will telekenesis (1000 lbs of objects)
Scimitar (or any weapon) of Speed: Bonus action attack, useful if you aren't using an extra attack

Rare:
Cloak of Displacement: All attacks on you have disadvantage
Ring of Evasion: automatically pass a failed dex save 3/day.
Ring of Spell Storing: have some backup stuff prepared, good for spell slot economy
Wings of Flying: Fly speed for 1 hour, useful for most combat encounters and can pair well with other stuffs

Uncommon:
Broom of Flying: Fly speed that can be paired with spells, ranged attacks, and other magic items
Quiver of Ehlonna: Cool quiver to store all your ranged stuff (not recommended if you aren't going ranged)
Ring of Water Walking: Jesus ring
Sentinel Shield: Advantage on perception and initiative (and +2 AC) If this can be combined with the Animated in the
Very Rare section, then that'd be awesome (while dual wieldind swords)
Winged Boots: Fly speed for 4 hours in small intervals, excellent for combat situations

[Ventruenox]

Celestial Warlock

Uncommon: Winged Boots
Rare: Rod of Tentacles (combine with Hex on Strength)
Very Rare: Bag of Devouring

You get 3 attacks at +9 to hit, control features if all three land whilst flying 15' above your target. Hexed for 6d6 damage per round or keeping stuck in AoE like Hunger of Hadar. Feed goons to your bag when possible.

[jaappleton]

Celestial Warlock

Uncommon: Winged Boots
Rare: Rod of Tentacles (combine with Hex on Strength)
Very Rare: Bag of Devouring

You get 3 attacks at +9 to hit, control features if all three land whilst flying 15' above your target. Hexed for 6d6 damage per round or keeping stuck in AoE like Hunger of Hadar. Feed goons to your bag when possible.

You seem to have had a whole character concept in mind when making this.

.....who hurt you, Ventruenox? :smalltongue:

[jaappleton]

I personally lean slightly toward Celestial Bladelock as a build, kinda in the style of a short rest Paladin, but I'm pretty concerned that with my character relying on short rests and my partner relying on long rests, that we'll seldom be at full strength.

[strangebloke]

This is interesting. Very interesting.

Items could be pretty varied. A +2 Shield is Rare, so thats a great boost to AC. Staff of Defense is Rare, too, which boosts AC and lets me cast Shield 5x per day (which is hilarious on a Cleric, because their AC is pretty damn good for a full caster).

Hmm.

I mean, I'd recommend against focusing on AC too much, although as a caster, not getting hit (particularly by lots of low-level mobs) is a great way to 'boost' your concentration ability.

If you go with the staff over the shield, I'd recommend picking up EA. You won't be able to max WIS, but you'll be able to use light armor safely, which is very nice. EA makes sure that you can hit with that one big attack.

1d6+1d8+4+4+2d8(if they move)=25 damage. (33 on a crit)
at 11th:
1d6+2d8+4+4+3d8(if they move)=34 damage. (46.5 on a crit)

The fun of this build is being good at stealth, melee combat, utility casting, healing, DPR, support casting, and tanking. The only thing you're missing is AOE control.

[jaappleton]

I mean, I'd recommend against focusing on AC too much, although as a caster, not getting hit (particularly by lots of low-level mobs) is a great way to 'boost' your concentration ability.

If you go with the staff over the shield, I'd recommend picking up EA. You won't be able to max WIS, but you'll be able to use light armor safely, which is very nice. EA makes sure that you can hit with that one big attack.

1d6+1d8+4+4+2d8(if they move)=25 damage. (33 on a crit)
at 11th:
1d6+2d8+4+4+3d8(if they move)=34 damage. (46.5 on a crit)

The fun of this build is being good at stealth, melee combat, utility casting, healing, DPR, support casting, and tanking. The only thing you're missing is AOE control.

I'm sorry, I'm not following. EA?

[strangebloke]

I'm sorry, I'm not following. EA?

Oop, sorry.

Elven accuracy. half-feat. roll 3 dice when you have advantage instead of two. Very good.

[Ventruenox]

You seem to have had a whole character concept in mind when making this.

.....who hurt you, Ventruenox? :smalltongue:

This was only a partial character concept. The mechanical build is only half the story. You would still need a background and personality that would make sense for those tactics, like a demented puppeteer (that just came to me). That's when a build becomes a character that can be fun to play. I just took your criteria (+ the prior no multiclass requirement) and looked over the donjon 5E magic item lists until something spoke to me. Provide me with a few defining life events, and I could weave a narrative for you too. I've had enough "Major Life Events" in the past ten years to give me a suitable and diverse range of experiences to draw from.

[solidork]

If you end up going with Celestial Warlock, tome would let you use Staff of Power with Shillelagh. You know, it kinda stinks that you actually can't fill up a Ring of Spell Storing at that level as a Warlock. Still, there are good spells you could get from the Paladin.

[CTurbo]

A Tempest Cleric would be the perfect Compliment to your Paladin buddy.

Wand of Lightning Bolts(rare) would be perfect
Staff of Thunder and Lightning(very rare) would be bonkers
Javelin of Lightning(uncommon) is good
Cloak of Protection(uncommon) +1 AC and saves
Shield +1(uncommon)
Amulet of Health(Rare) 19 Con
Shield +2(rare)
Armor +1(rare)
Shield +3(very rare)
Armor +2(very rare)
Scimitar of Speed(very rare) -ask DM if you can change weapon type like Mace or even Warhammer
Weapon +3(very rare)

Anyway, with Plate + Shield, you're already going to have a 20 AC so I wouldn't worry about boosting too much. I think the Cloak of Protection would be a great choice for your uncommon item giving you a 21 AC and +1 on all saves which helps out your concentration checks.
For your rare item, I would go with either Amulet of Health to get your Con to 19 for the hit points and the concentration checks, or the Wand of Lightning Bolts which shores up the biggest complaint of the Tempest domain.... not getting Lightning Bolt. Remember, that you could max the damage twice per encounter so that's 48 damage a pop plus 6 more for every level of upcast. Totally ridiculous.
For your very rare item, Staff of Thunder and Lightning is also perfect for this character as you can max the damage from any of it's features or stun your enemies. It's also a +2 weapon all the time too.

Keep in mind, you can activate Spirit Guardians and deal 3d8 to every enemy within 15ft of you as long as you can hold your concentration. Spiritual Weapon is also a reliable bonus attack that upscales nicely if you need it to.

I would suggest the magic Initiate feat for Booming Blade and another Lightning damage cantrip like Lightning Lure which lets you push AND pull your enemy 10ft or Shocking Grasp, and the Find Familiar spell which gets so a super helpful familiar to help with scouting or granting advantage on an attack once per round.
Sentinel is another great feat for you as long as your Paladin buddy doesn't have it. Your reaction attack allows you to use your Divine Strike again for extra damage.
Warcaster is great too for advantage on concentration checks as well as letting you use Booming Blade as your reaction attack.