Warforged Nature Cleric

[Immith]

Hi all!

I spoiled enough in the title! Essentially, my goal (besides just playing a warforged and being cringy, will get to that later) is to dump strength AND dexterity while being a frontliner. There are some ways to get to attack with a casting stat and I find Nature Clerics do fine with that by grabbing a druid cantrip (Shillelah). What is more, the same domain gives access to heavy armour as well so we're gucci!

Assuming standard array and the envoy subrace for Warforged, I want to do something like 8/10/14+1+1/13/15+1/10, switching INT CHA maybe but you get the point. Enabling the heavy plating (says nothing about 15 str) while sword n boarding brings me @20 AC level 1. Furthermore, I get to hit with WIS, so there's a perfectly good +3 attack and spell modifier.

I am thinking single class, don't wanna split around cause in general my group's games tend to end before lvl 7 :( Thus: Buffs n heals, spiritual weapon, guardian spiritsomething, dampen elements at lvl 6. At level 4 I think Magic Initiate is in order, grabbing booming blade and find familiar. Familiar pounds the integrated tool which is drums for extra oomph.

I planned this character purely due to wanting to optimize (and be warforged in general of course), so I'm not sure how I wanna handle roleplay. Genuinely interacting with the world as a warforged sounds fun though, I could go from there. "Why Nature Cleric" bothers me a little but I guess I'm an irregularity who is grateful for existing and curious about nature to the point of admiring and even protective.

In general, what do you think of the build and concept? Any additions, suggestions?
Thanks! :)

[Millstone85]

"Why Nature Cleric" bothers me a little but I guess I'm an irregularity who is grateful for existing and curious about nature to the point of admiring and even protective.Don't forget that under the metallic exterior, warforged are mostly made of wood. There are quite a few pictures of warforged druids growing leaves, and the same idea could apply to a nature cleric.

[Immith]

Don't forget that under the metallic exterior, warforged are mostly made of wood. There are quite a few pictures of warforged druids growing leaves, and the same idea could apply to a nature cleric.

Good point. I was actually pondering the appearance and awesome pictures come to mind. I am mostly worried about why a warforged would be a cleric, since warforged should be more or less be having little understanding of societal concepts like religion-abiding (since it wasn't born or raised in order to have notion of such things). Can I be a cleric without a specific deity or at least a sense of following some particular aims? I kinda doubt it to be honest, the concept of clerics seems quite specific around following deity/ies, using a holy symbol for magic, praying to prepare spells... If I fluff it loosely without those elements I don't see how single classing the Cleric makes any sense at all.

[nickl_2000]

Good point. I was actually pondering the appearance and awesome pictures come to mind. I am mostly worried about why a warforged would be a cleric, since warforged should be more or less be having little understanding of societal concepts like religion-abiding (since it wasn't born or raised in order to have notion of such things). Can I be a cleric without a specific deity or at least a sense of following some particular aims? I kinda doubt it to be honest, the concept of clerics seems quite specific around following deity/ies, using a holy symbol for magic, praying to prepare spells... If I fluff it loosely without those elements I don't see how single classing the Cleric makes any sense at all.

I don't know, it seems natural that a created intelligence would ponder the great questions of why it was created and why it exists when it isn't natural. Maybe he reaction to that question was to seek out solace in the natural world and following the natural clerics.

Maybe he dreams of becoming organic and is following a nature deity in the hope that the deity will turn them into a "real boy" (if I can make a poor reference to Pinocchio). That on it's own gives you a good reason for becoming a nature cleric and a good drive behind your character to do good in the world.

[leogobsin]

Good point. I was actually pondering the appearance and awesome pictures come to mind. I am mostly worried about why a warforged would be a cleric, since warforged should be more or less be having little understanding of societal concepts like religion-abiding (since it wasn't born or raised in order to have notion of such things). Can I be a cleric without a specific deity or at least a sense of following some particular aims? I kinda doubt it to be honest, the concept of clerics seems quite specific around following deity/ies, using a holy symbol for magic, praying to prepare spells... If I fluff it loosely without those elements I don't see how single classing the Cleric makes any sense at all.

In the section on Clerics in Xanathar's Guide to Everything there's a sidebar titled "Serving a Pantheon, Philosophy, or Force", here's the relevant section:

Talk with your DM about the divine options available in your campaign, whether they're gods, pantheons, philosophies, or cosmic forces. Whatever being or thing your cleric ends up serving, choose a Divine Domain that is appropriate for it, and if it doesn't have a holy symbol, work with your DM to design one.
The cleric's class features often refer to your deity. If you are devoted to a pantheon, cosmic force, or philosophy, your cleric features still work for you as written. Think of the references to a god as references to the divine thing you serve that gives you your magic.
So you'd need to talk with you DM, but having a cleric who serves more an ideal of Nature than any given deity is a totally valid concept.

[iTreeby]

Sticks and stones may be my bones but swords will never hurt me?

[Millstone85]

In the section on Clerics in Xanathar's Guide to Everything there's a sidebar titled "Serving a Pantheon, Philosophy, or Force"See also "Forces and Philosophies" page 13 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Here are a couple neat bits:

Devotion to a philosophy or a force isn't necessarily exclusive of service to a deity. A person can be devoted to the philosophy of good and offer worship to various good deities, or revere the force of nature and also pay homage to the gods of nature, who might be seen as personal manifestations of an impersonal force.

The power of a philosophy stems from the belief that mortals invest in it. A philosophy that only one person believes in isn't strong enough to bestow magical power on that person.

[Finback]

I'm planning on a warforged cleric of Primus, using the Kobold Press Clockwork magic material. Nothing says your warforged might not have simply been the recipient of divine blessing - perhaps they accidentally protected a sacred grove from orc invaders, and a nature deity saw an opportunity to bless them - after all, nature isn't particular about who lives or dies, so I can see it treating its choice of guardians with the same seemingly random judgment.

[Immith]

Thanks for the tips, I should have thought to check Xanathar's for ideas tbh. I'll check it out and probably read up a cleric guide or two for handling combats and spells. Thanks! :)