Favorite one level dip for a wizard?

[Wasp]

Hi everyone

What is your favorite 1 level (cleric) dip for a wizard? Knowledge? Forge? Tempest? Another class?

Why is it your favorite? With which Wizard do you combine it? And when is it better than straight wizard?


Cheers

Wasp

[stoutstien]

Knowledge domain for skills

order domain for buffer

Nature domain is over looked a lot but can work if you want a few druid spells and heavy armor in one

sorcerer for con save is also a good one if you have the cha

A order domain 1-2/war wizard is in my to build stack. I like support casters though.

[CTurbo]

Knowledge for medium armor, shields, and skills

[McSkrag]

I am currently playing a Divination Wizard with a 1 level dip in Knowledge Cleric as an arcane investigator. He is proficient in investigation and religion and double proficient in arcana and history. Along with the guidance cantrip he's very good at finding and deciphering clues.

The 1 level of cleric adds very useful and flexible spells along with medium armor and shield.

Portent is a great ability and super fun. Expert Divination makes it more affordable to use spell slots for scouting spells like arcane eye, scrying, and clairvoyance so he can know all the things.

[Wasp]

Oh, the order domain may be an interesting new option...

[StickyZ]

I went with Light for my War Wizard. Warding Flare is kinda nice when the baddies think you look weak, plus you get all the other fun stuff with Cleric. Light cantrip isn't totally garbage for free, especially if you dont have Darkvision. The other ones suggested are great as well. Order sounds great, wasn't an option when I created my Wizard.

[Willie the Duck]

Hi everyone

What is your favorite 1 level cleric dip for a wizard? Knowledge? Forge? Tempest?

Why is it your favorite? With which Wizard do you combine it? And when is it better than straight wizard?

Depends entirely on whether you are 1) dipping mostly for the armor proficiency/defense, or you actually want to do clericky things, and 2) whether you are putting the bare minimum 13 Wisdom into it or 14-16 (or stat distribution in general).

If you can spare a 15 Str, 13 Wis, the Forge cleric is best for AC, starting you off with a 19 AC (chainmail, shield, +1 armor effect), which will raise to 21 when you gain plate (or more, if you find magic armor, although this competes with the +1 armor effect). OTOH, a light cleric with a 14 Dex and 14-16 Wisdom can get an AC which tops out 1 lower base and doesn't get the free +1 magic armor effect, but does get Wis bonus times a day disadvantage on enemy attack.

I think if you want to do some clericky things, and don't want to spend many stat points, then hill dwarf life cleric 1/wizard (any) after that makes a lot of sense. Heavy armor without needing to boost Dex or Str is great, and even with a 13 Wisdom, you can memorize Cure Wounds, Healing Word, Bless, and Shield of Faith -- 4 great support spells that are a good use of 1st level spell slots at any level (even at upper levels, Bless is great for an low/mid-challenge encounter where you don't want to spend a higher level spell as your concentration-bearing spell) which really don't need you to have a high Wisdom modifier (the Life cleric bonus making up for it with the healing spells).

[Dalebert]

One who's features are not dependent on wisdom, e.g. not light, for instance. I think Life might not be bad. Grab that heavy armor and boost your heal spells which you can upcast.

[CTurbo]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.

[McSkrag]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.

Yes, I would much rather have a 14 DEX for the saves and initiative than +1 AC with heavy armor.

[Derpldorf]

The Arcane Cleric is a pretty solid pick for most Wizards in my opinion. The Arcane Initiate feature allows you to take two wizard cantrips on top of the three Cleric Cantrips you normally receive. They count as Cleric spells so you want to pick cantrips that don't require a roll like Prestidigitation or Mage Hand. Combat mages can get access to solid utility without sacrificing your combat ability, and Utility mages can expand their abilities even further.

[XmonkTad]

Death cleric is awesome if you're a necromancer. Getting reaper + toll the dead is great at-will damage. Nature cleric is OK too so you can pick up magic stone to give to your minions to throw.

[Crushgrip]

My favorite so far is a dip into Knowledge Cleric for the above posted reasons. I have a Cleric 1 / Abjuration Wiz 6 that is awesome at support/control. Good hp's, good AC with the armor and arcane ward for those extra hp's that absorb damage and keep my guy from having to make concentration checks...also, the king of counterspell/dispel magic!

[Wasp]

Thank you all very much for the feedback

[Trustypeaches]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.
It’s also usually the superior option for clerics too.

[Rub]

Hi everyone

What is your favorite 1 level cleric dip for a wizard? Knowledge? Forge? Tempest?

Why is it your favorite? With which Wizard do you combine it? And when is it better than straight wizard?


Cheers

Wasp

I wrote this on another post. I'm starting an Cleric Arcana 1/Wizard Divination X soon. In addition to the Domain features, I think you should also keep in mind the 1st level spells that are always prepared:

1. Knowledge: Probably the best bet as you get Expertise in 2 skills (1 should be Arcana) and to a lesser degree, 2 languages. Identify is good to have as it frees up a Wizard spell and can be cast as a ritual. Command is pretty good too.
2. Arcana (SCAG): While you don't get Expertise in Arcana, you still pick it up as a regular skill proficiency so you can take something else with your background like Perception or Stealth. You miss out on the 2 extra languages and an additional Expertise, but you gain 2 additional Wizard cantrips! Take 2 utility ones like Mage Hand and Message so you can use the extra Wizard slots for blaster cantrips using Intelligence instead of Wisdom. Why do you need more blasting cantrips? Well, the Cleric cantrips should be all utility (Guidance, Light, Mending or Thaumaturgy) so that you have a variety in both ranged spell attacks & save attacks plus damage types via your Wizard choices. Not just for you, but eventually your Simulacrum as this will be one of his main rolls. Detect Magic (ritual) & Magic Missile are also great spells to always have prepared.
3. Light: Extra Cleric cantrip is a small gain, and while always prepared Burning Hands and Faerie Fire spells are great at low levels, they lose importance later on. The main reason for choosing Light Domain though is for Warding Flare which is the best level 1 Domain feature.
4. Life: This is situational if your party lacks healing. Bless as a spell always prepared is garbage, but getting an extra +3 or +4 HP via Disciple of Life for Cure Wounds (out of combat & separately prepared Healing Word in combat) for potentially unused level 1 & 2 spell slots at higher levels could really be helpful.
5. Death (DM guide): You'd have to get DM approval on this but makes for an interesting build. Prepared spell False Life offers nominal gains, but Ray of Sickness is a nice debuff and frees up taking that as a Wizard for an extra level 1 ritual spell. But the best thing is the Reaper feature. You and your Simulacrum doing 8d8+8d8 on two creatures with Chill Touch or 8d12+8d12 on 2 creatures using Toll the Dead per turn with cantrips just seems amazing!

I really wouldn't even consider any other Domains. I hope this helps!

[Arkhios]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.

Close, but not quite. You can wear any armor and continue to cast spells as long as you have proficiency. Lack of sufficient Strength only means your speed while wearing said armor is reduced by 10 ft.


On topic, I'd probably prefer taking one level in either fighter or rogue rather than cleric, but if I must take cleric, I'd make sure that I can afford to have at least 14 (preferably 16 or higher) as my Wisdom Score.
Secondly, regardless of my Dexterity Score, I'd prioritize Heavy Armor over Medium Armor. Other than that, I don't have any clear favorite, and would choose the domain depending on my character concept.

[Benny89]

I like to start with Fighter 1, then go Wizard for level 3 spells, then Fighter 1 again and rest Wizard. So I get 2 Fighter/18 Wizard in the end.

I like proficiencies of Fighter: heavy armor, martial weapons etc + Action Surge for double spell combo.

Nowhere near as strong as Sorcadin but still not a bad combo. It's not really an optimized choice but I like it.

[Kadesh]

More wizard.

[MaxWilson]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.

Or just cast Longstrider when mobility is needed, take the Mobile feat, or ride a horse (real or Phantom), with or without Mounted Combatant.

Str 15 is about high *movement* rate, not AC, and there are other ways to get high movement. Also if you have low Str and low Dex, e.g. 9 and 9, heavy armor is your only hope of getting a decent AC.

That said, I do love me some brawny wizards. If I roll an array like 14, 12, 14, 9, 6, 13, I will often make that e.g. a Heavy Armor Master Forge Cleric 1/Necromancer X with Str 16 (14) Dex 9 Con 13 Int 14 Wis 13 (12) Cha 6, skills Insight Medicine Stealth Perception Athletics. That way he covers combat healing (Healing Word), tanking (heavy armor, Shield, Blur, Sanctuary, zombies, Booming Blade, etc.), ranged combat (skeletons), and crowd control (Fear, Wall of Force, etc.) plus miscellaneous illusions and even some grappling (Enlarge). Forge Cleric can be used to either boost AC or to give the party Sharpshooter a no-concentration damage boost, especially against demons and werewolves and other weapon-resistant foes.

If I don't feel like necromancy, Enchantment, Abjuration, War, Illusion, Divination are all favorites too.

[Trustypeaches]

On topic, I'd probably prefer taking one level in either fighter or rogue rather than cleric, but if I must take cleric, I'd make sure that I can afford to have at least 14 (preferably 16 or higher) as my Wisdom Score.
Secondly, regardless of my Dexterity Score, I'd prioritize Heavy Armor over Medium Armor. Other than that, I don't have any clear favorite, and would choose the domain depending on my character concept.taking a dip in Fighter or rogue delays your spell slot progression. A level in Cleric doesn’t.

[Arkhios]

taking a dip in Fighter or rogue delays your spell slot progression. A level in Cleric doesn’t.

I know, but spell level progression is still delayed. I said "I would prefer". Not "you should instead". Is it wrong to have an opinion? :smallamused:

[HappyDaze]

It’s also usually the superior option for clerics too.

I've seen a lot of Dex 8 Clerics that would disagree.

[Malifice]

My Wizards dont dip.

I dont like delaying X+1 level spells becoming available, or being a level behind in casting of those higher level spells. I want Force-cage or Banishment now, and not in 6 sessions time.

Not only is every spell level unlocked a massive jump in power, it's also a huge increase in versatility, opening up dozens of new options in my toolkit.

[Trustypeaches]

I've seen a lot of Dex 8 Clerics that would disagree.
And I've seen just as many Str 8 clerics.

[HappyDaze]

And I've seen just as many Str 8 clerics.

That would mean that "usually" is probably not the right word. Perhaps "often" or "sometimes" would be better.

[Malifice]

The problem with Heavy Armor on a Wizard is you either have to be a Dwarf or have 13 Str to wear Chain mail or 15 Str to where Splint or Plate. Medium armor is the superior option in almost always for Wizards.

You dont need Str 13 or Str 15 to wear either armor.

If you dont have those scores, and wear the armor, your movement is reduced to 20'.

My current Hexblade has Str 9 and uses Half Plate just fine (with the reduced movement).

[HappyDaze]

You dont need Str 13 or Str 15 to wear either armor.

If you dont have those scores, and wear the armor, your movement is reduced to 20'.

My current Hexblade has Str 9 and uses Half Plate just fine (with the reduced movement).

Half Plate doesn't have a Strength requirement, so why is your movement reduced?

[Arkhios]

Half Plate doesn't have a Strength requirement, so why is your movement reduced?

It seems their group is using the Variant Encumbrance rule, and half-plate alone weighs 40 lb. That doesn't leave a lot of room to play with other equipment, considering that Str 9 means your encumbrance limit is 45 lb. A longsword (for example) weighs 3 lb. That leaves your carried weight already at 43 lb. The remaining 2 lb. is probably covered with clothes and some kind of backpack or the like. Although, it should be mentioned that Encumbrance is used instead of the standard Str requirements involved with heavy armors, so his argument is slightly redundant in regards to default assumption.

For reference:
Encumbrance

"If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet."

[Dark Schneider]

Wizard is one of the most difficult to dip because you want its spells ASAP, and dipping at level 18...well is a long time to think about it.

Thinking about utility? nice, but wizard also has many utility spells you will delay to get.

[LudicSavant]

Surprised nobody mentioned Hexblade yet.

A 1-level Hexblade dip gets the following goodies:
1) Medium Armor + Shield

2) A regenerating 1st level spell slot which can be used for stuff like Shield or Absorb Elements

3) Access to some particularly useful spells like Armor of Agathys, which you can then upcast with Wizard slots.

4) Hexblade's Curse, which grants +Proficiency to all the damage you do to the cursed enemy. Stacks excellently with anything that hits multiple times, like Magic Missile or DoTs. And the benefit scales with your level. As an example of how useful Hexblade's Curse can be for a Wizard, combining this with the Evoker's "Empowered Evocation" actually lets you throw triple digit damage magic missiles by tier 3.

And a 2-level Hexblade dip lets you do the whole Armor of Shadows Abjurer Tank thing.