Choosing a cleric domain for a low-level campaign

[Khorne]

Hi to everyone,

I have been asked from a friend DM to join a group of new players to give a bit of a help in a campaign (i know most of the rules and it is a little bit easier and faster to play if there are two people at the table that can help with calculating hit rolls and ability checks...).

It is a very variable group, since every time there's different people: in the "player pool" we have:
- a lvl 3 druid (who doesn't shapeshift by choice)
- a lvl 2 pacifist bard
- a lvl 3 surprisingly good ranged rogue
- a lvl 3 ranger
- a lvl 2 artificier
and, I think, some more who i haven't yet met. There are times where we are 3 players, other where we are 5, and so on.

As you can see, it is obviously not a very min-maxed group, and it doesn't have to be; I just like to have a character who can work decently and help the rest of the group succeed in whathever we're doing, while having a bit of fun.

My DM gave me a lvl 4 character: I tried bringing a barbarian to the table, but after a couple sessions we've seen that the damage is present but there's no support, and there's a problem with the encounters: we have a char that does 15-20 dpr, and others that do 3-5. While not a problem in itself, it is difficult for the DM to do a fight that is not trivialized by the barbarian, but not too hard that it sucks for everyone else.

So, i thought of a Cleric: it is my undying love (playing clerics since the '90s), and has the versatility to be able to be a "jack-of-all-trades", not outshining anyone else while bringing some damage and utility to the table.
The main question is: what kind of a cleric would be better? I thought of Light or Tempest, while giving an eye to Arcana, but to me everything is good. I think Life is a bit too defensive (it is useless to heal well when there's no damage going out), but I am open to any idea.

I think the character will go no higher than level 7, max 8, so I can't rely on a domain that comes online late in the game: also, multiclassing is frowned upon by the DM.

So, what should I choose? I am also open to other class ideas, even if Cleric would be my to-go choice. Most important thing is bringing new people to the game afterall!

Thanks in advance for any idea :smallsmile:

[nickl_2000]

My opinion? Arcana

You skill bonus Arcana ability fills a missing gap and the extra 2 cantrips gives you a lot of versatility.

Cantrips:
Cleric: Toll the Dead, Guidance, Spare the Dying
Wizard: Chill Touch, Mold Earth

That alone gives you some battlefield control, emergency healing, out of combat assistance with Guidance, and a damaging spell with both attack and DC.

[Aett_Thorn]

My opinion? Arcana

You skill bonus Arcana ability fills a missing gap and the extra 2 cantrips gives you a lot of versatility.

Cantrips:
Cleric: Toll the Dead, Guidance, Spare the Dying
Wizard: Chill Touch, Mold Earth

That alone gives you some battlefield control, emergency healing, out of combat assistance with Guidance, and a damaging spell with both attack and DC.

Second this. Plus, you get access to some decent Wizard spells that the party may need to have. If you take Ritual Caster (Wizard) as a feat, you'd gain even more versatility.

[Ogre Mage]

My opinion? Arcana

You skill bonus Arcana ability fills a missing gap and the extra 2 cantrips gives you a lot of versatility.

Cantrips:
Cleric: Toll the Dead, Guidance, Spare the Dying
Wizard: Chill Touch, Mold Earth

That alone gives you some battlefield control, emergency healing, out of combat assistance with Guidance, and a damaging spell with both attack and DC.

I agree but I would take Firebolt instead of Chill Touch for diversity in damage type. Toll the Dead and Chill Touch both do necrotic damage.

[nickl_2000]

I agree but I would take Firebolt instead of Chill Touch for diversity in damage type. Toll the Dead and Chill Touch both do necrotic damage.

Good call there. I guess I just have a liking for Chill Touch's rider effect. Ray of Frost would be a solid choice as well, that rider has made a huge difference in several encounters my group has been in.

[HolyAvenger7]

Hi to everyone,


So, what should I choose? I am also open to other class ideas, even if Cleric would be my to-go choice. Most important thing is bringing new people to the game afterall!

Thanks in advance for any idea :smallsmile:

For a low level campaign and a player that likes to deal damage, I would say to consider a Forge Cleric. They are healthy at low levels. You can fight on the front lines, buff the squishies and still sling some fun magic.

[DarkKnightJin]

If you wanna support the team, keep Grave domain in mind.
AFB right now, but I believe that Nature Domain is pretty sweet too.

Arcana would give a bit of extra cantrip choice, while Knowledge Domain would give you some free Expertise in 2 of the Knowledge skills. Though that would kinda pull some of the combat versatility from the class.

In the end, any Cleric Domain, by virtue of being on the Cleric chassis, is great for supporting the team.
So, unless you purposely build it out to suck, you're gonna be fine.

[Vorpal Crowbar]

Hi to everyone,

I have been asked from a friend DM to join a group of new players to give a bit of a help in a campaign (i know most of the rules and it is a little bit easier and faster to play if there are two people at the table that can help with calculating hit rolls and ability checks...).

It is a very variable group, since every time there's different people: in the "player pool" we have:
- a lvl 3 druid (who doesn't shapeshift by choice)
- a lvl 2 pacifist bard
- a lvl 3 surprisingly good ranged rogue
- a lvl 3 ranger
- a lvl 2 artificier
and, I think, some more who i haven't yet met. There are times where we are 3 players, other where we are 5, and so on.
As you can see, it is obviously not a very min-maxed group, and it doesn't have to be; I just like to have a character who can work decently and help the rest of the group succeed in whathever we're doing, while having a bit of fun.

So, i thought of a Cleric: it is my undying love (playing clerics since the '90s), and has the versatility to be able to be a "jack-of-all-trades", not outshining anyone else while bringing some damage and utility to the table.
The main question is: what kind of a cleric would be better? :

The group looks light in melee tanks..

I might suggest Cleric of the Forge in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, really fun and you can do a bit of everything. And as my group's rogue said "It's nice to go through the Underdark with a vending machine." :)

Maybe for at wills: Thaumaturgy, Light, Toll the Dead
maybe take feat Magic Initiate: pick two: Shape Water, Mold Earth, or Minor illusion (best one to help the rogue) and get Find Familiar.

VC

[Protato]

Tempest is pretty good whenever I've seen them played, I recommend them wholeheartedly.

[CTurbo]

Tempest is my favorite domain, but if you thought the Barbarian dished out too much damage, you wouldn't like the Tempest

[Crgaston]

This actually sounds like a good place for a knowledge cleric. It’ll allow you to RP your meta-knowledge and focus on buffing and moving the plot.

[djreynolds]

Hi to everyone,

I have been asked from a friend DM to join a group of new players to give a bit of a help in a campaign (i know most of the rules and it is a little bit easier and faster to play if there are two people at the table that can help with calculating hit rolls and ability checks...).

It is a very variable group, since every time there's different people: in the "player pool" we have:
- a lvl 3 druid (who doesn't shapeshift by choice)
- a lvl 2 pacifist bard
- a lvl 3 surprisingly good ranged rogue
- a lvl 3 ranger
- a lvl 2 artificier
and, I think, some more who i haven't yet met. There are times where we are 3 players, other where we are 5, and so on.

As you can see, it is obviously not a very min-maxed group, and it doesn't have to be; I just like to have a character who can work decently and help the rest of the group succeed in whathever we're doing, while having a bit of fun.

My DM gave me a lvl 4 character: I tried bringing a barbarian to the table, but after a couple sessions we've seen that the damage is present but there's no support, and there's a problem with the encounters: we have a char that does 15-20 dpr, and others that do 3-5. While not a problem in itself, it is difficult for the DM to do a fight that is not trivialized by the barbarian, but not too hard that it sucks for everyone else.

So, i thought of a Cleric: it is my undying love (playing clerics since the '90s), and has the versatility to be able to be a "jack-of-all-trades", not outshining anyone else while bringing some damage and utility to the table.
The main question is: what kind of a cleric would be better? I thought of Light or Tempest, while giving an eye to Arcana, but to me everything is good. I think Life is a bit too defensive (it is useless to heal well when there's no damage going out), but I am open to any idea.

I think the character will go no higher than level 7, max 8, so I can't rely on a domain that comes online late in the game: also, multiclassing is frowned upon by the DM.

So, what should I choose? I am also open to other class ideas, even if Cleric would be my to-go choice. Most important thing is bringing new people to the game afterall!

Thanks in advance for any idea :smallsmile:

You know in this group, IMO, you need heavy armor. I would go with a life cleric. It is a good archetype to roll with, you may not need the healing.

Dwarf will give you some extra selections for weapons, with battle axe and war hammer. A nice boost to con, and poison at lower levels can be taxing.

Perhaps against creed, but inflict wounds is 3d10 of necrotic damage at 1st level, so you have a go to damage source in melee. This can be upcasted, will say an average of 18 points of damage.... that's not defensive. And you still have channel divinity to heal with if you spend all your spell slots on other spells

Channel divinity is nice as you can heal multiple allies at once, it may not be much but could keep players standing. And, up to the DM, you could still cast healing word as a bonus action, since channel divinity is not classified as a spell.

At early levels that rogue and ranger in the party will be doing the damage, so bless goes a long way.

[CTurbo]

I think a Paladin would be a great choice. You can optimize him around being a great support character. Just choose your spells around buffing/debuffing, and take the Inspiring Leader feat.

Oath of Devotion or Ancients would be great.

Variant Human starting with 16 Str, 14 Con, 16 Cha and the Inspiring Leader feat. Bump Cha to 18 at level 4.

Go Sword and Board for 20 AC

Defensive Fighting Style adds +1 to AC
Dueling adds +2 damage with a one handed weapon
Protection Fighting Style you can force disadvantage on attacks against friends standing next to you.

1st level spells-
Bless, Cure Wounds, Heroism, Shield of Faith, Sanctuary, Protection from evil and good

2nd level spells-
Aid, Lesser Restoration, Find Steed

[strangebloke]

Playtest the law domain from Unearthed Arcana! It's very support-oriented!


Other than that... I'm second/third/whatever the forge cleric. Hill dwarf forge cleric. You'll never go down and neither will the party. Spam Guidance as often as possible.

There's no real way to help the pacifist bard who's only dealing 4 damage. that's how he chose to make his character.

[Khorne]

This actually sounds like a good place for a knowledge cleric. It’ll allow you to RP your meta-knowledge and focus on buffing and moving the plot.

First of all, thanks for all the good ideas!

I agree that a heavy armor user might be handy (so the DM has someone to bash without leaving a dying char on the floor every turn), and the group lacks a bit of... everything.

I think i will go Hill Dwarf (I see it as the most appropriate race for a Cleric); the Grave domain would be interesting from a RP point of view (the pacifist thinks he's Jesus, impersonating a little Death would be funny), but from a mechanical point I see a lot of merit in Tempest (many ways to be useful or offensive) and Forge (it's just so good). Arcana looks very interesting too, even if I always have done a more "upfront" type of Cleric.

I see the point about doing a Life Cleric to be able to do other things with spells since healing can come from other places (and works better), and that was my first idea... it's so hard to choose when there's so much to do in a group :smallsigh:

I thought about a paladin too, but it's not really my cup of tea - and i know our DM hates paladins, so it would be a risky move :smallbiggrin:

Anyway thanks again for the support, at least I have some more good points to be confused about!

[ImproperJustice]

As others have said, a Front Line Cleric seems most appropriate. Top Choices there are:

Life- Maybe the “boring” or vanilla choice. But vanilla is America’s number one flavor and scent choice for a reason. It’s darn good, at any level of play. The domain spells actually allow you to use a wider range of other Cleric spells.

Forge- It’s tough, you can make stuff and enchant stuff. Sometimes you can butn stuff. Solid choice.

Tempest- Who doesn’t want Thor on their team? Cuz that’s what you are.

Nature- Really shines if you make it to 6-8th level. Thorn Whip or Shillelagh to wreck face. Good control spells. Plants and beasts are common at low levels.

War- General wisdom is that it is strong at tanking at low levels and becomes more of a support at higher levels. This seems like a domain that has some undiscovered potential to me, once someone begins playing one.

[djreynolds]

I think a Paladin would be a great choice.


First of all, thanks for all the good ideas!


I thought about a paladin too, but it's not really my cup of tea - and i know our DM hates paladins, so it would be a risky move :smallbiggrin:



Paladin is the choice here. You have three casters, a ranger, and a rouge who needs a buddy to help out with sneak attacks.

The druid and you can handle healing

The bard and you can handle debuffs, that means you can't smite everything in sight, save something for lesser restoration

Still got the bless spell

You still can turn undead

The wizard and druid can handle all the ritual stuff

Compelled duel is a good spell

[CTurbo]

Just go Tempest then. It's the most well rounded IMO.

You can literally do anything. Be a front line warrior, tank, heal bot, buff, utility guy, and then if you REALLY need to, you can totally nuke the battlefield.

I recommend variant Human with Heavy Armor Master at level 1, +2 Wis at level 4. 16 Str, 14 Con, 18 Wis and maybe Warcaster at 8 if you get there
or Hill Dwarf and start 16 Con and Wis and bump Wis at 4

[GorogIrongut]

I'm going to throw my hat in the arena for a Forge Cleric. You get to:
-Be a tank without being overly offensive. You are essentially your groups pinata, and being this particular kind of cleric means you can take those hits all day long. I ran a Forge Cleric for a while and I actually stopped using a shield and went for a great weapon so that I could do a little bit of smacking too.
- You still get all of the lovely perks of being a cleric. They have so many support spells that you can use to buff the party.
- In low level games, money is still a problem. Clever use of the Forge Cleric Channel Divinity, will go a LONG way towards helping the party out. Even better, your time spent in the forge can benefit the party. Spend your time repairing weapons, armour, etc. Take the mending cantrip so that you're a general fix it guy. This makes you a support character and not the guy doing insane damage.

Now, I applaud your choice of a hill dwarf for your cleric's race. It's what I usually do. That said, I would like to posit a different idea, seeing as you want your character to be more of a supporting character. Go for the dwarfen variant of a halfling. A stout halfling. Lucky is an incredibly good ability, and because it's all about the luck, it's very hard for a fellow party member to hate on it. Your good fortune is literally left to the hands of the Dice Gods. You get Brave which is great. Nimble which can be useful, and Stout Halflings get the dwarfen resistence to poison'y stuff.
Combine that with a feat from Xanathar's Guide... and you get to be even more support for your party.
--Bountiful Luck: Whenever an ally you can see within 30 feet of you rolls a 1 on the d20 for an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can use your reaction to let the ally reroll it.

People will love your character because he saves them from their biggest mistakes.

The biggest reason to do it, is because who doesn't like the image of a small stout halfling roaming around the wilds encased in Plate Armour...

Even better, using nimble, he can move through the squares of all his party members, so it's easier for him to be their shield.

The only downside, is that a halfling would need to have a high enough strength to wear the plate armour. Or have the DM say that your character really was half dwarf and so partook of some of their abilities.

But if he did, you'd have a great character. He'd be functional in and of himself. But he'd also be an ultimate support character.

[CursedRhubarb]

Forge Cleric can be an absolute blast at low levels. With just starting equiptment you can have a 19AC, buffed to 21 in fights if need be. Mine was a Firblog and the group heals. He has a habit of just wading into combat, frowning at the tiny goblins, kobolds, or humans that try to hit him, heals when needed and punishes enemies with his spear if they try and hurt people near him. Kinda a walking fortress at low levels.

[sophontteks]

The party needs a tank. Life clerics are amazing tanks. Think of it as if their healing exists to punish those who ignore him. It's pretty sick. If the enemy ignores the life cleric he will bring the entire team back up in one action. If they split their attention, he can heal himself while healing the threatened party member. The enemy has to focus him, and he'll roll with the punches all day. Just let loose spiritual weapon and spirit guardians for damage.

I recommend that because tempest is going to steal your teams thunder, and arcane isn't a great tanking archtype. But they are both fine choices. Grave is a great choice too.