Build Recommendation/Optimization: Cleric:Tempest Domain

[metalith]

I am creating a new character for a D&D game I'm playing in. I joined a party already in progress.

The party has a Fighter: Arcane Archer (ranged), Druid: Land (Healer), Wizard (Blaster) and a Rogue (Assassin).

I brought in a Bard to be support but he died in the game. Currently characters are Lv 9.

The party seems to be built to attack from range, etc for the rogue. I want to build a front line fighter to help the rogue and control the flow of battle better.

I am interested in building a Cleric and liking the Tempest Domain. I rolled these stats for the build.

17, 15, 14, 14, 12, 11

The GM's only rule for building a character is no multi-classing and only official books and Unearthed Arcana.

I was visualizing something Thor-like a character that would run into combat attacking with both melee weapons and Thunder and Lightening.

I am looking for advise on how to build the character, should I focus on Str build with Moderate Wis, a Dex build with Moderate Wis or focus on pure Wisdom.

[CTurbo]

I'd pump Wis any way you go. Wis is by far the most important stat still even for melee Clerics.

You could go Variant Human with Heavy Armor Master at level 1 for 16 Str, 14 Dex, 15 Con, 11 Int, 18 Wis, 12 Cha. Take Res(Con) at level 4 to bump that to 16. Take Magic Initiate at level 8 for Lightning Lure, Booming Blade, and Find Familiar.

Your one attack per round would deal 3d8+3. You could use Spiritual Weapon as a bonus action for 1d8+4(+1d8 for each slot up cast) every round. Spirit Guardians deals 3d8 damage to all enemies within 10ft of you. So you'd be dishing out a LOT of damage in melee each round while still having the option to max a thunder or lightning spell twice per short rest.

Another option would be to start 18 Str, 14 Con, and 16 Wis, take Warcaster, Sentinel, and Magic Initiate for Booming Blade. Your one attack deals 3d8+4, you'd still be able to have SW and SG up, but now you'd be able to use Booming Blade and Divine Strike again with your reaction for an additional 3d8+4.

[solidork]

I would build him this way:

Variant Human
Str: 15
Dex: 12
Con: 14+1
Int: 11
Wis: 17+1
Cha: 14

Variant Human Feat: Magic Initiate for Booming Blade - Picking up a melee cantrip will keep your melee damage relevant into the late game.
Level 4 ASI: Resilient (Constitution) - This will round up your Constitution, and help make sure you keep your concentration even if you're on the front lines. I personally prefer it over Warcaster.
Level 8 ASI: Brawny (Athletics skill feat from UA) or Heavy Armor Master - we mostly just want to round up our Str and get something useful in addition to that.
Level 12 ASI: +2 Wisdom
Level 16 ASI: +2 Con, +2 Str, Warcaster, Sentinel are all equally good.

[GorogIrongut]

There's nothing wrong with a Tempest Cleric. That said, because you have access to everything (except multi classing), I'd be more tempted to go for a level 9 Forge Cleric (or because your party lacks any kind of tank, an Ancestral Guardian Barbarian or a Paladin of Conquest... but that's neither here nor there).

Assuming that you're starting at level 9 to match the rest of the party, I would do the following:
Hill Dwarf (17, 15, 14, 14, 12, 11) ASI's go to Squat Nimbleness (strength) and +2 Wisdom
Hit Points would be 8+8d8+9 for Dwarven Toughness and +27 for constitution modifiers. This averages out to 80hp.
AC in non magical full plate armour while using a GW = Crazy Stupid levels (Roughly 21). You use a GW so that you don't have to worry about Warcaster. You're a godly caster. You're armoured to the wazoo. You're also a great tank with that AC and Spirit Guardians.

Str 15+1=16
Dex 14
Con 14+2=16
Int 12
Wis 17+1+2=20
Cha 11


The stats can of course be used for a Tempest Cleric.

[metalith]

While the Forge cleric is nice, one of the issues is that not only a tank but the only real source of DPS is the Wizard. The rogue can hit hard but without someone to build sneak attack with, its hard.

So looking to try and be a bit of a dpser/frontliner with maybe okay tank skills.

[metalith]

Question about Booming Blade. I read the cantrip and it reads that if they move they take damage. If they don't move, doesn't it mean they don't take the damage? Or is there a way to make the damage trigger without the enemy moving?

[bid]

Damage on hit + damage on move.

At level 17 you'd do 1d8+5 (weapon) + 2d8 (divine strike) + 3d8 (BB) on hit.
If/when the target moves, another 4d8 occurs.

[CantigThimble]

Question about Booming Blade. I read the cantrip and it reads that if they move they take damage. If they don't move, doesn't it mean they don't take the damage? Or is there a way to make the damage trigger without the enemy moving?

At levels 1-4, it will only deal damage if they move. After level 5 it also adds damage to the initial hit.

[metalith]

At levels 1-4, it will only deal damage if they move. After level 5 it also adds damage to the initial hit.

Sweet. Nice. :D

[GorogIrongut]

While the Forge cleric is nice, one of the issues is that not only a tank but the only real source of DPS is the Wizard. The rogue can hit hard but without someone to build sneak attack with, its hard.

So looking to try and be a bit of a dpser/frontliner with maybe okay tank skills.

As much as I love Clerics, they're not the dps'er type. Sure they'll sit on the frontline. Sure they can tank with the best of them. But they're never going to match a sorcadin/paladin/fighter/barbarian/etc. As such, I'd still double down on the forge cleric. But I'll drop that argument.

Tempest Cleric
Hill Dwarf (17, 15, 14, 14, 12, 11)
ASI's go to Magic Initiate: Warlock (Booming Blade, Minor Illusion, Armor of Agathys) and Resilient: Constitution
Hit Points would be 8+8d8+9 for Dwarven Toughness and +36 for constitution modifiers. This averages out to 89hp.
Full plate armour while using a GW = 18. You use a GW so that you don't have to worry about Warcaster (plus you have Resilient:Con).

Str 14
Dex 14
Con 15+2+1=18
Int 12 (Lightning Lure doesn't work because of this)
Wis 17+1=18
Cha 11 (Lightning Lure doesn't work because of this)

You're next ASI should be +2 Wisdom.

[Specter]

Damage on hit + damage on move.

At level 17 you'd do 1d8+5 (weapon) + 2d8 (divine strike) + 3d8 (BB) on hit.
If/when the target moves, another 4d8 occurs.

This is very relevant, especially because with Channel Divinity you can max all the initial thunder damage, which is awesome on a crit.

[CTurbo]

As much as I love Clerics, they're not the dps'er type. Sure they'll sit on the frontline. Sure they can tank with the best of them. But they're never going to match a sorcadin/paladin/fighter/barbarian/etc. As such, I'd still double down on the forge cleric. But I'll drop that argument.




I completely disagree with this. Tempest Clerics are EASILY among the highest single class damage dealers in the game, and IMO, can tank just as well as the Forge Cleric, if not better. I know different people have different ideas on what makes a good tank, but to me, it takes more than just a high AC to be a great tank. BY higher levels, pretty much every character will have some +1 armor anyway so the Forge is really only going to have a +1 advantage on it's AC compared to the Tempest anyway. The Tempest out damages the Forge by a mile.

Clerics deal a lot more damage than people give them credit for. Especially with Booming Blade, and ESPECIALLY for a Tempest with Booming Blade.

Your one attack per round would deal 3d8+3. You could use Spiritual Weapon as a bonus action for 1d8+4(+1d8 for each slot up cast) every round. Spirit Guardians deals 3d8 damage to all enemies within 10ft of you.

Then on top of that, the Tempest can deal an additional 2d8 damage any time they're hit in melee. That is a lot of d8s per round. Get a reliable reaction attack, like from Sentinel, and you'd be doing another 3d8+Str.

That's already a whole lot of damage and we haven't even gotten to the Tempest's domain spells yet.

Level 1 you get Thunderwave(1st slot) which deals 2d8 thunder damage in a 15ft cube from you(up to 9 enemies). Add +1d8 for each slot upcast.
Level 3 you get Shatter(2nd slot) which deals 3d8 damage in a 10ft radius(12-16 enemies depending on DM) with a range of 60ft. Also adds +1d8 per slot upcast.
Level 5 you get Call Lightning(3rd slot) which deals 3d10 damage in a 5ft radius(up to 4 enemies) with a range of 120ft, and can be used as a bonus action on subsequent turns. Add +1d10 for each slot upcast. +1d10 damage if it's already raining outside.
Level 7 you get Ice Storm(4th slot) which deals 2d8+4d6 damage in a 20ft radius(up to 44 enemies) with a range of 300ft. Does not scale very well with upcasts (+1d8)
Level 9 you get Destructive Wrath(5th slot) which deals 5d6 + 5d6 damage in a 30ft radius(up to nearly 100 enemies) centered on you and knocks enemies prone. This spell cannot be upcast but is ally friendly since you can choose who is effected by it.

The best part is, twice per short rest, the Tempest can choose to max the damage(Destructive Wrath) of those spells, except for Ice Storm, and only works for 5d6 of Destructive wrath.

You will end entire encounters all by yourself with Destructive Wrath. You'll end encounters before they can even begin sometimes. I killed an entire pack of Gnolls with a single Shatter before they even could get to us for example.

You can also max the thunder damage from Booming Blade which is awesome when you crit. If you get Find Familiar, your familiar can get you advantage on your attack each round or at least most of the time.

In addition to damage spells, you get some amazing control spells as well like Gust of Wind, Fog Cloud, and Sleet Storm.

The Tempest is one of those rare classes that does everything well with no real glaring weaknesses. You could even make it a Dex build if you want to. You only lose out on one AC, but you get a much higher Initiative. Just remember that Tempest Cleric's get full weapon proficiencies so going Dex really limits that. The Forge is limited to simple weapons for what it's worth.





You do make a good point about Lightning Lure though, to fix that just put the extra 14 in Int or Cha, OR choose another utility cantrip.

[GorogIrongut]

I completely disagree with this.

That's cool. And honestly, I never said that Tempest Clerics were bad. I love clerics. I just said that damage dealing is much better with other classes. I can think of a few Sorcerors that would destroy a Tempest cleric in damage dealing. Same for Paladins. Barbarians. Let alone mentioning Hexblades.

Each class has a sub type that does great at dealing damage. Tempest eeks that out by a nose in the field of clerics. But for every Destructive Wave, there's an Animate Objects (forge) and Fireball (light) to counterbalance it.

For things to work you have to balance them carefully:
-Booming Blade is great, but if you don't keep your Dex/Str up (allocation of stats drain) then, you'll be swinging and missing a lot. Which just ends up wasting a large portion of your turn.
-Wrath of the Storm is great but only gets Wis modifier usage per long rest. If you don't keep your Wis up, then this happens a few times over a long time. If you buff Wis, then you not only will have only a passable melee attack stat (see Booming Blade) but you'll also suffer in your ability to obtain feats like Sentinel. Considering a few of your counterarguments were about a Sentinel/Booming Blade combination...
-Destructive Wrath is a mighty ability. Truly powerful. As you mentioned it can be encounter ending. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it's limited use being a Channel Divinity. The OP will get it 2/rest which is just about right to use it at epic moments of gameplay... without being able to use it willy nilly on things like a Booming Blade. That aside, it's not overpowered compared to many of the metamagics that a Sorceror would get and could use a LOT more frequently.
-Thunderbolt Strike is a ribbon ability that I love because it allows some field control.
-And of course there's the (for clerics) ubiquitous Divine Strike. Great for 1 hit a turn.

If the OP gets a choice of magic items to start with, I would dump Str and get a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Strength as they would help shore up a large portion of the above balancing act.

Just for clarification:
-Call Lightning is used as an Action in successive turns. It's not a bonus action.
-Lightning Lure, even when putting a precious 14 in Int/Cha, is unlikely to be an effective use. This is because no damage/movement occurs on a passed Str save. Most creatures will do well on Str saves and most humanoids will find a way to boost their saves. It's by no means a guarantee of failure, but the times I've used it as a cantrip, it always underperformed.
Thorn Whip is superior in every way. I have run an extended Spirit Guardians (30') while using Thorn Whip and/or Grasp of Hadar. If you want to talk about encounter ending that was it. No one could escape SG and they just died in droves.



I know it runs a bit counter to the view the OP has of his character (Thor), but mechanically using Magic Initiate to go Druid might be better. You get access to Thorn Whip. You get access to Primal Savagery. Both of those use Wisdom for their attack and thus synergize with Cleric. Primal Savagery has a similar effect as Booming Blade but without the rider and uses Acid instead. Thorn Whip is epic about control. For your level 1 spells you could go for Absorb Elements. Faerie Fire would get you Advantage. Or if you wanted to focus more on your Spirit Guardians (Thorn Whip to pull people in and either Earth Tremor to knock them prone in the field of your SG).

[metalith]

I understand that Druid would make a better stat sync for Magic Initiate, but love the idea of using Booming Blade and really unleashing the Thunder and Lightning dynamic.

We are doing the Rise of Tiamat adventures. So I think I might be able to work with a 14 in Cha. During my original thoughts for Str/Wis focus build I had put 11 into Dex and was bouncing around 14 in either Int or Cha depending on which skills I wanted uped.

Question: Can I level up the 1st level spell I gain from the feat or is it stuck as a level 1 only spell? Since Armor of Agathys was recommended but if it's a level 1, I think Shield would be a better replacement.

[Specter]

That's cool. And honestly, I never said that Tempest Clerics were bad. I love clerics. I just said that damage dealing is much better with other classes. I can think of a few Sorcerors that would destroy a Tempest cleric in damage dealing. Same for Paladins. Barbarians. Let alone mentioning Hexblades.

Each class has a sub type that does great at dealing damage. Tempest eeks that out by a nose in the field of clerics. But for every Destructive Wave, there's an Animate Objects (forge) and Fireball (light) to counterbalance it.

For things to work you have to balance them carefully:
-Booming Blade is great, but if you don't keep your Dex/Str up (allocation of stats drain) then, you'll be swinging and missing a lot. Which just ends up wasting a large portion of your turn.
-Wrath of the Storm is great but only gets Wis modifier usage per long rest. If you don't keep your Wis up, then this happens a few times over a long time. If you buff Wis, then you not only will have only a passable melee attack stat (see Booming Blade) but you'll also suffer in your ability to obtain feats like Sentinel. Considering a few of your counterarguments were about a Sentinel/Booming Blade combination...
-Destructive Wrath is a mighty ability. Truly powerful. As you mentioned it can be encounter ending. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it's limited use being a Channel Divinity. The OP will get it 2/rest which is just about right to use it at epic moments of gameplay... without being able to use it willy nilly on things like a Booming Blade. That aside, it's not overpowered compared to many of the metamagics that a Sorceror would get and could use a LOT more frequently.
-Thunderbolt Strike is a ribbon ability that I love because it allows some field control.
-And of course there's the (for clerics) ubiquitous Divine Strike. Great for 1 hit a turn.

If the OP gets a choice of magic items to start with, I would dump Str and get a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Strength as they would help shore up a large portion of the above balancing act.

Just for clarification:
-Call Lightning is used as an Action in successive turns. It's not a bonus action.
-Lightning Lure, even when putting a precious 14 in Int/Cha, is unlikely to be an effective use. This is because no damage/movement occurs on a passed Str save. Most creatures will do well on Str saves and most humanoids will find a way to boost their saves. It's by no means a guarantee of failure, but the times I've used it as a cantrip, it always underperformed.
Thorn Whip is superior in every way. I have run an extended Spirit Guardians (30') while using Thorn Whip and/or Grasp of Hadar. If you want to talk about encounter ending that was it. No one could escape SG and they just died in droves.

I know it runs a bit counter to the view the OP has of his character (Thor), but mechanically using Magic Initiate to go Druid might be better. You get access to Thorn Whip. You get access to Primal Savagery. Both of those use Wisdom for their attack and thus synergize with Cleric. Primal Savagery has a similar effect as Booming Blade but without the rider and uses Acid instead. Thorn Whip is epic about control. For your level 1 spells you could go for Absorb Elements. Faerie Fire would get you Advantage. Or if you wanted to focus more on your Spirit Guardians (Thorn Whip to pull people in and either Earth Tremor to knock them prone in the field of your SG).

- Single-target damage and area damage are two different fields. The Wizard in his party is already focused on that, so OP shouldn't bother (unless it's an emergency in a given round, for instance).
- Obviously, many classes will outdamage his Tempest. But can those classes heal, buff, do crowd control and wear heavy armor and a shield while doing that as well? Hardly.
- You can't just name the cons for every choice to act like anything done will be bad. If OP boosts WIS and keeps STR at 16, he will hit less often but heal/blast/use save spells more efficiently. If he pumps STR before anything else, he will use save spells less often, but hit frequently.
The important point (that many players forget) is that your build won't be good at everything, especially not at low levels. But with Variant Human, you can max both STR and WIS and still end up with two feats.
- Thorn Whip is good for Spirit Guardians, but that would take two turns to be effective (one for casting it, and another for maybe pulling someone inside), and you'd need to keep concentration on the spell for it to even happen. Also notice that people that actually go inside the SG area shouldn't want to get out of it. It's a cool combo, but it won't work every time.
- Primal Savagery is a terrible, terrible cantrip, and the only time you should it instead of anything else is never.


I understand that Druid would make a better stat sync for Magic Initiate, but love the idea of using Booming Blade and really unleashing the Thunder and Lightning dynamic.

We are doing the Rise of Tiamat adventures. So I think I might be able to work with a 14 in Cha. During my original thoughts for Str/Wis focus build I had put 11 into Dex and was bouncing around 14 in either Int or Cha depending on which skills I wanted uped.

Question: Can I level up the 1st level spell I gain from the feat or is it stuck as a level 1 only spell? Since Armor of Agathys was recommended but if it's a level 1, I think Shield would be a better replacement.

- If you have someone who is CHA-oriented in your party, I don't see why not keep that CHA at 0. You don't plan on multiclassing to CHA classes, and any spell you can get through Magic Initiate (Sorcerer) shouldn't rely on that. DEX, however, is a vital save, and gives you better initiative.
- It's always a 1st-level spell. Hint: Find Familiar.

[strangebloke]

- It's always a 1st-level spell. Hint: Find Familiar.

A Raven is just classic.

[CTurbo]

Find Familiar is the best Magic Initiate spell you can get IMO. Remember, you can only cast your Magic Initiate spell once per day. Having a familiar helps with scouting and can get you advantage on your one attack every round if used carefully. Get an Owl and it can fly in, grant the help action, and fly out without giving up an AoO.


I would stick a 14 in Dex because Dex saves is/was the one weakness of a Heavy Armor wearing Tempest build.

[metalith]

Can use Advantage from Help with Booming Blade? If not, it is still nice, because advantage would help the rogue.

[Specter]

Can use Advantage from Help with Booming Blade? If not, it is still nice, because advantage would help the rogue.

Yes, you can.

[djreynolds]

Tempest is awesome.
You need warcaster so you can use booming blade as a reaction attack.
You should wait on resilient con, seriously, til 12th level or past. It's expensive for just a +2 or 3.
You can play without stat bumps for a time. I prefer feats, just me.

Don't be afraid to just spam the bless spell, spirit guardians is awesome but the DM should catch on... the spirit guardians/booming blade/war caster combo is awesome... some DMs learn.

Sentinel is for the rogue to take.

That bless spell and that arcane archer with sharpshooter will do plenty of damage.

Good luck and die with honor

[Citan]

I am creating a new character for a D&D game I'm playing in. I joined a party already in progress.

The party has a Fighter: Arcane Archer (ranged), Druid: Land (Healer), Wizard (Blaster) and a Rogue (Assassin).

I brought in a Bard to be support but he died in the game. Currently characters are Lv 9.

The party seems to be built to attack from range, etc for the rogue. I want to build a front line fighter to help the rogue and control the flow of battle better.

I am interested in building a Cleric and liking the Tempest Domain. I rolled these stats for the build.

17, 15, 14, 14, 12, 11

The GM's only rule for building a character is no multi-classing and only official books and Unearthed Arcana.

I was visualizing something Thor-like a character that would run into combat attacking with both melee weapons and Thunder and Lightening.

I am looking for advise on how to build the character, should I focus on Str build with Moderate Wis, a Dex build with Moderate Wis or focus on pure Wisdom.
Hi!

Seems many people gave good advice around here already, I'll add my two cents to help you set weight on its. :)

First things first: decide whether you'd like Booming Blade or not. It's absolutely not a requirement, but it does give some added punch on top of your Divine Strike feature.

Second: decide what kind of spell you'll be concentrating on, Spirit Guardians or anything else.

BB+Spirit Guardians? Then the last tough choice is just ahead:
Are you ready to delay spell progression and 1-2 points of AC for the sake of being extra good at tanking? If answer is yes, then grab just one level of Druid for Shillelagh and Thorns Whip.

(Actually there is another way to go without multiclass, namely Spell Sniper: Booming Blade + Magic Initiate: Druid, but you don't want to disperse too much on ASIs. There may also be racial ways to get Booming Blade but I don't remember).

You trade 1-2 points of AC (which may or not be a big deal) for getting single-ability dependant, namely WIS.
Which means you can drop STR to 10-12, DEX to 14, and bump CON and WIS to 16 then just bump WIS and take more feats (Warcaster / Sentinel, Resilient: Constitution, Observant, Mobile, Alert, Tough, etc).

If the answer is no, then either STR (1 point more AC, better save against mobility effects) or DEX (better Initiative, better evasion against AOE) are both fine.

If you want BB but not Spirit Guardians (because you'll Bless the team for example, or regularly use Fog Cloud / Sleet Storm), then upping both STR and WIS in a balanced way is fine.

In both cases, I'd get Warcaster not too late: better concentration and ability to deal a good chunk of added damage on a fleeing enemy, + no problem casting any spell with a shield even without focus, is a good deal.
Or you could make the specific Sentinel + whip Spell Sniper Booming Blade build to limit the number of creatures that may attack you, but it's more of a risky gamble than a safe tactic imo. Plus if it works reliably, it will just convince even more enemies to actively avoid you instead of trying to break that annoying spell.

If you don't care about BB, then WIS all the way, DEX 14 for armor, and bump CON and gang on defensive feats AND most importantly Magic Initiate: Druid for Thorns Whip, another cantrip (Shillelagh in case of, although I'd rather suggest utility like Mold Earth or Shape Water) and 1-shot spell (Absorb Elements may actually be a great deal, unless you'd face elemental damage very often).

Thorns Whip is THE best action of any random Cleric that maintains a Spirit Guardian (I say random because specialized builds with possibly multiclass/feats may have better options).

Recap? :)

BB+SpiritGuardians+Shillelagh as race: High Elf or Half-Elf variants, learning BB as the racial cantrip, then picking Magic Initiate: Druid.
+ You also get Thorns Whip and Absorb Elements through the feat.
+ You don't delay progression while still getting all required tools to shine.
+ You delay only for a few levels your attack roll progression.
- Race choice is shoehorned, in fact imo the only good choice is Half-Elf because you can still start with a 16 WIS.
Recommended feats: Warcaster, Resilient: Constitution.
Recommended stat focus: WIS and CON, 14 DEX, 12 STR (unless you want to don heavy armor for that extra +1 AC).

BB+Spirit Guardians+Shillelagh as pure feats: whatever race you like, picking Magic Initiate: Druid (Shillelagh, Thorns Whip) then taking Spell Sniper: Booming Blade.
+ No delay progression in class.
- Because of heavy reliance on feats, you basically have to pick Variant Human.
- Even in that case, still heavy delay in ability score improvement (especially since you still want feats).

BB+Spirit Guardians+Shillelagh as multiclass.
Start Cleric, immediately after Cleric 3 or 5 pick your Druid level, possibly grabbing Booming Blade as Magic Initiate (although I'd say you might as well use the racial technique described above).
+ Greatly increased offensive & utility versatility (5 more prepared spells, suggested ones Longstrider, Ice Knife, Absorb Elements, Speak with Animals, Goodberry and 2 cantrips Shillelagh, Thorns Whip).
+ You get everything you need very early.
+ Opens way to increased tip or multiclass later if you want to explore something else (Wild Shape and more spells).
- You lose access to heavy armor and best medium armor unless DM leeway or bonus quest for custom wood/stone armor so your AC will be lessened by 1-2.
- You delay the rest of Cleric life by one level, which is not a big deal early, but quite annoying past char level 7-8.

BB+SpiritGuardians, "caster"
Go up to 18 STR/DEX, 20 WIS, pick Warcaster ASAP.

BB+SpiritGuardians, "martial"
Go up to 20 STR/DEX, 18 WIS, pick Resilient: Constitution and Sentinel.

BB alone
Mostly the same as martial, except Mobile will become another first-class feat because you won't want to have many enemies staying close to you.

SG alone
Magic Initiate: Druid with Thorns Whip taken at level 8 is all you need. Before that, Warcaster. After that, bump WIS, Resilient: Constitution, then another WIS bump.

Nothing among everything suggested
Why would you want to play a Tempest Cleric then? XD
Better go Druid or Tempest Sorcerer, or at least multiclass Tempest Cleric with a caster having Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning... XD

EDIT: me personally I'd mix the multiclass and racial but I do favor versatility over high level spells, YMMV. :)
Anyways, I hope I showed to you that Booming Blade could be acquired in different ways, and it is indeed much better on Tempest than on most other Domains.

Thorns Whip is usually the best action for all Domains (IF at least maintaining Spirit Guardians is your usual tactic but as djreynolds pointed out, even that should have a limit in the long run ^^ Otherwise it may not be worth the cost), but for Tempest, between the themagic synergy (thunder cantrip on weapon attack for a clad-armor Cleric) and mechanic synergy (allows use of Divine Strike + you can still use your Channel Divinity if you just really need to deal great damage right now and you can't/won't use a spell for some reason)... Well, it's certainly not "required" due to investment cost, but the ROI is fantastic so I'd still push you to get it. :)

[Petrocorus]

There's nothing wrong with a Tempest Cleric. ...... That said, of course be used for a Tempest Cleric
I totally second Hill Dwarf + Tempest Cleric. Tempest is one of the most versatile and probably the blastiest domain. Forge is a bit more tanky though.

However, i would put a bigger emphasis on Constit than Strength?

Str 14
Dex 14
Con 15+2 (Race) +1 (Res: Con)=18
Int 12
Wis 17+1 (Race) +2 (ASI) =20
Cha 11

When it comes to melee at-will DPS, obviously Booming Blade is awesome for a Tempest Cleric; but Word of Radiance can also be amazing against mobs, even if it doesn't synergize with Devine Strike.




AC in non magical full plate armour while using a GW = Crazy Stupid levels (Roughly 21). You use a GW so that you don't have to worry about Warcaster. You're a godly caster. You're armoured to the wazoo. You're also a great tank with that AC and Spirit Guardians.

What do you call GW? A Great Weapon? In this case, how do get an AC of 21 on a Tempest Cleric? Or even a Forge Cleric?

There are many ways to alleviate the need of a free hand for a cleric. There are Sage (https://www.sageadvice.eu/2016/07/18/can-cleric-use-holy-symbol-shield-for-a-focus-while-also-holding-a-weapon-in-other-hand/) Advices (https://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/04/holy-symbol-on-shield/) about the use of a shield as holy symbol. It's also quite easy to have a weapon being the holy symbol and hence, the casting focus, depending on your god.

[metalith]

I am unable to multi-class. If I wanted to do a pure optimized cleric build, I would probably use Magic Initiate with Druid. However, I want to go with the Thor-ish build concept.

I am loving the idea of using Booming Blade as my primary source attack, with Spiritual Weapon to additional push additional DPS.

BB+SpiritGuardians, "martial"
Go up to 20 STR/DEX, 18 WIS, pick Resilient: Constitution and Sentinel.

Is this something I can do right now at level 9 or would this be something at level 20?

I'm only able to spend 600 GP for EQ. Magic items are few and far better, the best item we have is some +1 EQ we have gathered from the dragon loot we recovered.

When I look at combat in my mind with this PC, I'm seeing a lot of focus on single enemy and using buffs to up the party. Then when the number of enemies goes up using attacking like Thunderwave and Call Lighting, to mop up Mobs.

[CTurbo]

As variant Human, you can have all three feats by level 9, but your Str and Wis would be 18/16. It's up to you but you could hold off on Sentinel until later and bump Str or Wis now.

[DnDegenerates]

It's hard to mess up a tempest cleric.

Bump wisdom before strength. Don't have trash con. Have a higher than average str at start to hold you over.

Even without booming blade you have a ton of reliable damage spells and utility.

Don't forget to use your channel divinity creatively for some sweet damage potential.

Spirit guardians and spiritual weapon are pretty bread and butter.

Also... Roleplay the tempest aspect in every awesome way you can. Thematically this domain is amazing. You have so many abilities that can be easily given roleplay.

Nothing makes a character more powerful than a players enthusiasm to play it. If you love the role-play, your successes will seem even more magnificent yo you and everyone envolved. Optimized or not .

[metalith]

Also... Roleplay the tempest aspect in every awesome way you can. Thematically this domain is amazing. You have so many abilities that can be easily given roleplay.

Nothing makes a character more powerful than a players enthusiasm to play it. If you love the role-play, your successes will seem even more magnificent yo you and everyone involved. Optimized or not .

I believe role-play and character effectiveness need to go hand in hand. I don't like characters that create a drain on the party resources and end up being a hindrance.

We had a Raven Queen Warlock recently that pretty much spent every turn merging/unmerging with his raven and moving around the battlefield. We were lucky to get one Eldritch Blast out of him.

[Specter]

I am unable to multi-class. If I wanted to do a pure optimized cleric build, I would probably use Magic Initiate with Druid. However, I want to go with the Thor-ish build concept.

I am loving the idea of using Booming Blade as my primary source attack, with Spiritual Weapon to additional push additional DPS.

BB+SpiritGuardians, "martial"
Go up to 20 STR/DEX, 18 WIS, pick Resilient: Constitution and Sentinel.

Is this something I can do right now at level 9 or would this be something at level 20?

I'm only able to spend 600 GP for EQ. Magic items are few and far better, the best item we have is some +1 EQ we have gathered from the dragon loot we recovered.

When I look at combat in my mind with this PC, I'm seeing a lot of focus on single enemy and using buffs to up the party. Then when the number of enemies goes up using attacking like Thunderwave and Call Lighting, to mop up Mobs.

I wouldn't pick Sentinel. Your reaction attack (not opportunity attack, you see) wouldn't benefit from Booming Blade, and it would be better for a rogue in your party composition.

I would have two feats max with this build, Magic Initiate and Warcaster, and have 18 STR and WIS by level 9. One point in each stat is not going to hurt you badly. But as I said, you can't be good at everything. Make a decision.

[metalith]

But as I said, you can't be good at everything. Make a decision.

Thanks for the info. I am looking to be the best I can be with the tools I have available. Thanks for the recommendations and advice. I am still open to additional feedback. I won't start playing this PC until next week.

[CTurbo]

I wouldn't pick Sentinel. Your reaction attack (not opportunity attack, you see) wouldn't benefit from Booming Blade,...


You know I just reread the feat, and you're right as in the reaction attack doesn't explicitly say make an opportunity attack. I guess I, and everybody else I have every played with, have been doing this wrong this whole time.

I agree with the 2 feats + 18 Str and Wis, and I'd still put one of the 14s in Dex just to help with Initiative and Dex saves.

[DnDegenerates]

I believe role-play and character effectiveness need to go hand in hand. I don't like characters that create a drain on the party resources and end up being a hindrance.

We had a Raven Queen Warlock recently that pretty much spent every turn merging/unmerging with his raven and moving around the battlefield. We were lucky to get one Eldritch Blast out of him.

I completely agree. There is roleplay then there is overboard or poorly executed roleplay.

I'm not suggesting one of the other. But the most memorable characters I've experienced are those with enjoyable personality traits and played by a player who adapts a persona well, even in combat. Powerful builds and mechanical understanding supplement this even more.

The least memorable are dice chuckers who are there to just tally damage.

[Citan]

I am unable to multi-class. If I wanted to do a pure optimized cleric build, I would probably use Magic Initiate with Druid. However, I want to go with the Thor-ish build concept.

I am loving the idea of using Booming Blade as my primary source attack, with Spiritual Weapon to additional push additional DPS.

BB+SpiritGuardians, "martial"
Go up to 20 STR/DEX, 18 WIS, pick Resilient: Constitution and Sentinel.

Is this something I can do right now at level 9 or would this be something at level 20?

I'm only able to spend 600 GP for EQ. Magic items are few and far better, the best item we have is some +1 EQ we have gathered from the dragon loot we recovered.

When I look at combat in my mind with this PC, I'm seeing a lot of focus on single enemy and using buffs to up the party. Then when the number of enemies goes up using attacking like Thunderwave and Call Lighting, to mop up Mobs.
I was giving you guidelines for how to level up to 20 actually. :)


I wouldn't pick Sentinel. Your reaction attack (not opportunity attack, you see) wouldn't benefit from Booming Blade, and it would be better for a rogue in your party composition.

I actually disagree about that.
I did speak about a "martial gish" with Resilient and Sentinel for a reason. If you want to be a tank with Spirit Guardians, Resilient gives the best benefit for concentration at higher level, compared to Warcaster, and the "focus around neck" or "focus on shield" takes care of the somatic components problem nicely, so Warcaster's second benefit is not a requirement, just a small facilitator.

As for Warcaster's third benefit with Booming Blade vs Sentinel...
Sentinel gives you a 100% assurance (except casters with Misty Step ^^) that you can a) get an opportunity attack b) make enemy stay right here.

Booming Blade fails at both parts:
- Max damage is a nice thing and can be powerful to dispatch small fry, but taking another 4d8 thunder damage will be nothing for big, meaty creatures if this is the only price to pay to run from danger.
- And if enemy Disengages, then it's a win-win (you made creature spend Disengage / it goes away from harm), but more like a win / WIN: you actually wanted it to stay close to you.

Final nail, Sentinel also means the creature starts next turn in your aura (provided you didn't have to move naturally ;)). And considering how usual it is for high level "tank Clerics" to upcast Spirit Guardians, and the better type against resistance probability (radiant >> thunder), your overall damage potential is much better.

I was speaking about up to level 20 progression though.

Now for a level 9 max character which want to heavily rely on Booming Blade, Warcaster will be better simply because you get a 1/3 Sentinel and 1/2 Resilient (albeit a tad better benefit as far as concentration goes) all in one.

---
@OP I'd go Elf (so you get Booming Blade as racial) picking Warcaster ASAP and boosting your attack stat at level 8.
You'll end 18 STR|DEX and 16 WIS, good enough for your concept. :)

[Finieous]

Most posters keep telling you about damage. Despite what they say, your melee damage isn't going to be good at 9th level. You can improve it when you're expending resources and casting spells.

But that's fine, because you have a lot of damage in your party. You want to tank. So what you actually need is Con, hit points, AC, and damage mitigation. Look at some CR 9 monsters and the damage they crank out. Fire giant, cloud giant, glabrezu, etc. You want to be alone in melee with them; how are you going to do that? This is the issue you should focus on. The fact that booming blade will do +(13.5 * hit chance) damage at 17th level is utterly irrelevant.

Booming blade can make you stickier in melee, which is what you want. Now you need to figure out how you're going to survive being sticky against late Tier 2 and Tier 3 monsters when your cleric is the entire frontline.

[metalith]

But that's fine, because you have a lot of damage in your party. You want to tank. So what you actually need is Con, hit points, AC, and damage mitigation. Look at some CR 9 monsters and the damage they crank out. Fire giant, cloud giant, glabrezu, etc. You want to be alone in melee with them; how are you going to do that? This is the issue you should focus on. The fact that booming blade will do +(13.5 * hit chance) damage at 17th level is utterly irrelevant.

I understand that at higher level this build may not work out as well as a pure tank build in the long haul. I never have an issue with my PC dying, but will do my best to keep him alive until then. I already have a pure tank character in another D&D game I'm playing in, (Battle Master: Tunnel Fighter, Sentinel. I picked up Blade Master since I picked up Hazirawn. OMG his damage output went through the roof) so don't want to be playing 2 of the essentially the same character just with slightly different features.

[Finieous]

I understand that at higher level this build may not work out as well as a pure tank build in the long haul. I never have an issue with my PC dying, but will do my best to keep him alive until then.

You mentioned in the OP that your bard just died and you haven't played this guy yet! This guy, as opposed to the late bard, wants to be in melee. :smallbiggrin:

A fire giant (as an example) multiattacks for 28 average damage. How many hits can you take? Figure how you're going to go toe-to-toe with a fire giant. I'm not saying there isn't an answer -- I'm just saying you should think about it, because clerics actually get surprising little in the way of damage mitigation.


Best "build": make the wizard cast polymorph on you anytime it's a tough fight. In this case, your build literally doesn't matter. ;)