Cleric build help

[Finger6842]

I've been asked to play a cleric in a campaign. I've never played a base cleric before, I typically play bard or wizard. Any build recommendations?

Background Info:
Dungeon crawl, combat heavy, level 9, starting stats 16, 15, 15, 11, 11, 9
No variant humans and everyone starts with 1 feat.
Other party classes Bard, Warrior, Wizard, Monk...don't know yet which sub-classes.
I presume dark vision will be critical

[nickl_2000]

Do you want to play a cleric who is beating thing with weapons or casting cantrips?

[Finger6842]

Do you want to play a cleric who is beating thing with weapons or casting cantrips?

I prefer being a great healer and / or support. I'm more interested in casting than tanking. I will be given 2 magic items and though I don't know what they'll be I am allowed to provide recommendation(s).

[Man_Over_Game]

A few suggestions:


Grave Cleric, Long Ranged Support. Good at ranged combat and support, balanced between offence and defense support.
Arcana Cleric, Versatile Combatant. A bit more sustainable, due to the extra cantrips. Due to the fact that it can get the Sword spells (like Booming Blade), it is really versatile. A bit of a wildcard with its odd abilities, good if you already have another player assisting with heals.
Light Cleric, Medium Ranged Combatant. Several abilities make you hinder enemies when they attack you, and others cause bursts around you, so you will benefit from supporting your front line and keep other targets from getting near your Wizard/Bard. Focused on offense, with some self-preservation abilities.
Life Cleric, Medium Ranged Healer. THE healer of DnD 5e. Heavy armor also means you can assist your front line and divide damage evenly, and your level 6 feature will keep you alive as you do it.


BONUS ROUND! : For classes that play similarly to a Cleric and provide long range support, here's some other ideas:


Druid-Dreams: Long ranged healing, teleporting, and great combat support spells from the Druid spell list. Pros: Control/Healing | Cons: Low Damage/Tankiness
Warlock-Celestial: Long ranged healing, combined with the raw damage output of the Warlock spells. Pros: Damage/Range | Cons: Low Control/Tankiness BONUS!:Can nullify magical darkness
Sorcerer-Divine Soul: Healing/Buffs combined with Metamagic makes for efficient group healing. Pros: Damage/Versatility | Cons: Low Tankiness/Utility

[Citan]

I've been asked to play a cleric in a campaign. I've never played a base cleric before, I typically play bard or wizard. Any build recommendations?

Background Info:
Dungeon crawl, combat heavy, level 9, starting stats 16, 15, 15, 11, 11, 9
No variant humans and everyone starts with 1 feat.
Other party classes Bard, Warrior, Wizard, Monk...don't know yet which sub-classes.
I presume dark vision will be critical
Hi!

Well, other suggestions are very good.
I'll still push Tempest a bit here. you won't really benefit the heavy armor or extra damage on weapon attacks, but the extra spells will give you some spells you're probably used to as a fall back for the few times when you regret not being a bard or wizard.

If you're ready for a full change though, any Domain is good really.

I'd go Nature Cleric then, with Thorns Whip as free cantrip to help friends by positioning enemies, while using Domain spells to hamper movement (Spike Growth, Plant Growth, Grasping Vine, Insect Plague) or protect friends (Wind Wall). And using Speak With Animals rituals paired with Persuasion / Animal Handling to make many beasty friends work for me.

Or maybe Trickery Cleric, to heal at range thanks to the Duplicate (the fact it's using concentration is a bitch though. If you fancy lasting spells this is an obvious no-go, otherwise, it can be very fun, especially paired with Spell Sniper: Thorns Whip).

Or simply Knowledge for skillmonkeying or Light for the occasional Fireball.

In short: check all Domains, pick the one that seems the most fun to you, start with 14 DEX, 16 WIS, 16 CON one way or another, wield medium armor and shield, no weapon (so one hand always free), pick Resilient: Constitution just before/after bumping WIS once.
Ah, and, don't put your brain off just because you're not in the front line. ^^

That will be enough to make you a great addition to party.
Everything else is up to taste really.

[McSkrag]

I agree with Citan that Tempest Domain is really solid all around with support, front line, and battlefield control abilities. Super fun to play.

Also Wood Elves make great DEX based clerics of any domain. Rapier + Shield, good AC, darkvision, 35 speed, good initiative.

[Galadhrim]

I've been asked to play a cleric in a campaign. I've never played a base cleric before, I typically play bard or wizard. Any build recommendations?

Background Info:
Dungeon crawl, combat heavy, level 9, starting stats 16, 15, 15, 11, 11, 9
No variant humans and everyone starts with 1 feat.
Other party classes Bard, Warrior, Wizard, Monk...don't know yet which sub-classes.
I presume dark vision will be critical

A front line cleric seems perfect for this party. Of course, it depends on what your wizard and bard will be doing. You have one front liner in the fighter and a skirmisher in the monk.

I suggest hill dwarf nature cleric
Stats: 11 15 17 9 16 11 after racials.
Free feat, Res (Con). level 4 ASI +2 Wis, level 8 ASI +1 dex, +1 to any other stat perhpaps int For a final set up of 11 16 18 10 18 11
Your concentration will be nigh unbreakable with a +8, even better if you are running bless for support. Nature cleric is great at supporting the entire party with their reaction to supply resistance to any elemental damage. Take thorn whip to pull combatants off of your back line and into your spirit guardians. Plant growth is great concentration free control.

If you want to be even tankier, you could go
Mountain Dwarf Life Cleric
Stats: 17 11 17 9 16 11. ASI: Res (con) - free feat, Heavy Armor Master - 4, +2 wis - 8
Final stats: 18 11 18 9 18 11
You are the ultimate support cleric and can do it from melee to assist your front line.

[CTurbo]

I've been asked to play a cleric in a campaign. I've never played a base cleric before, I typically play bard or wizard. Any build recommendations?

Background Info:
Dungeon crawl, combat heavy, level 9, starting stats 16, 15, 15, 11, 11, 9
No variant humans and everyone starts with 1 feat.
Other party classes Bard, Warrior, Wizard, Monk...don't know yet which sub-classes.
I presume dark vision will be critical



Tempest Cleric all the way!

Hill Dwarf with Res(Con) as free feat start 16 Str, 11 Dex, 18 Con, 9 Int, 16 Wis, 11 Cha and bump Wis at 4 and 8 to max it. Use Plate + Warhammer + Shield and hold down the frontlines making great use of Spirit Guardians.

or for a more mobile stealth option

Wood Elf with Res(Con) as free feat start 11 Str, 18 Dex, 16 Con, 9 Int, 16 Wis, 11 Cha and bump Wis at 4 and 8 to max it. Use Light or Medium armor + Shield and be more of a skirmisher.

[bid]

Dungeon crawl, combat heavy, level 9, starting stats 16, 15, 15, 11, 11, 9
No variant humans and everyone starts with 1 feat.
Other party classes Bard, Warrior, Wizard, Monk...don't know yet which sub-classes.
I presume dark vision will be critical
Resilient(Con) is a must as other have stated.

Wood elf with Dex18 / Con16 / Wis20. You could go tempest with a whip.
Hill dwarf with Con18 / Wis20. Pick nature domain for shillelagh and dampen elements.
Hill dwarf with Con18 / Wis18. Pick life and trade your last ASI for magic initiate(druid) with goodberry, mold earth, shillelagh.