Suggestions for cleric domain

[haplot]

I'm going to be playing in a campaign based on Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and I'm going woodelf cleric, starting at lvl 5.

My stats (after racials and stat increase at lvl 4) are:
str 13
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 18
Cha 14

Rest of party is a tiefling trapper ranger, a paladin (race unknown), and either a sorc, or a wizard (race also unknown).

I'm looking for a nice domain to complement the group. I was thinking about war domain. Acolyte background atm. Going with longsword but that can be changed.

Thank you in advance for any input.

[Dungeon-noob]

Okay, few minor comments before i go into advice territory. I don't know what a trapper ranger is, where are they from? Second, do you know what kind of role the caster intends to take? Support, blaster, buffer, utility, crowd control, etc?

As for the actual advice, war domain is one i'd actually heavily advice against with that statline. You have exellent wisdom, but low CON, and no good melee stat either. Your melee skills will not be great, so focus on what you are good at: casting and playing face with 14 CHA. Considering your melee stats aren't good, and your casting is, you are more suited to a domain that supports casting over smacking things in the face. Knowledge domain lets you play the skillmonkey, bringing the knowledge and uncovering everything to know in the module for strategic advantages and more loot to find. Light makes you a solid blaster, setting everything on fire. And Grave domain allows you to keep everyone very alive, great in a module where you might find yourself in over your head, and allows for palladin novas against opponents vunerable to their smite with the channel divinity.

Personally, i'd pick Knowledge or Grave, since both of those provide things this party could use very well (skills*utility or survivability&nova synergy).

[LudicSavant]

I'm going to be playing in a campaign based on Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, and I'm going woodelf cleric, starting at lvl 5.

My stats (after racials and stat increase at lvl 4) are:
str 13
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 10
Wis 18
Cha 14

Rest of party is a tiefling trapper ranger, a paladin (race unknown), and either a sorc, or a wizard (race also unknown).

I'm looking for a nice domain to complement the group. I was thinking about war domain. Acolyte background atm. Going with longsword but that can be changed.

Thank you in advance for any input.

If we're looking at it from a pure optimization perspective...

The War Domain shines primarily at 2 things:
1) Being crazy bursty during the first few levels (which you're already past).
2) Having synergistic party combos with parties that include large numbers of attacks (such as having a Vengeance Paladin with Haste + PAM + a fighting steed, the cleric using Animate Dead, the Druid using Conjure Animals, etc etc... meaning that you can roll an entire bucket of d4s with your early access to Crusader's Mantle) and high damage, missable single attacks (e.g. 50+ damage riding on a single roll, which can benefit from your Channel Divinity).

And it looks like neither of those things are really true for you. Additionally, you only have one high stat (Wisdom), which means that your melee attacks will be, in a word, bad. And your Constitution is low for a Cleric, which means that you could be risking your Concentration more than usual at melee range.

As such I would strongly recommend against the War Domain in your case.

Incidentally, is it too late to re-order your stat choices? You lack both the Strength for moving around properly in plate, and the Dex for properly using half-plate. You should definitely change that if you can!

[beargryllz]

Go trickery with those stats and party comp. Possibly consider knowledge or arcana

Consider criminal or urchin background instead of acolyte

You're a scoundrel, street smart and charismatic. Use your skills to infiltrate deadly dungeons and plunder to gain favor with the gods

I agree with the other posters that war domain is inappropriate given your bad melee stats. It's also somewhat redundant since there is already a paladin and a ranger there to enter the melee

[LudicSavant]

If you can't change your stats or race, then we basically have to do damage control for your build choices. Medium Armor isn't a good option, because of your 10 Dexterity. And plate armor will slow you down significantly, but it's not as bad as it could be since you're a Wood Elf (you'll move at 25 feet, same movement speed as a dwarf in plate).

Since you've got just one useful stat (18 Wisdom), and you don't have any Dexterity (despite being an elf), our choices are kind of narrowed. Things that get "Potent Spellcasting" rather than "Divine Strike" (and are thus more Wisdom-based) don't get Heavy Armor Proficiency. The only way to get Heavy Armor Proficiency and get a Wis-based level 8 ability is to go Nature Domain.

[nickl_2000]

So if you can rearrange your stats to get 15 strength or 14 Dex you may want to consider nature cleric and take shillelagh as your druid cantrip. Then you can mix it up in melee with a staff and have a good AC

[haplot]

As for changing things around, it can be done as we haven't as yet started.

numbers pre racials are 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15.

The ranger is going with background of criminal, and the player wants to down the route of laying down traps and disarming them. I haven't had a look at his character to see how good a build it is.

As for the magic user, I have no idea what style they are going for in regards to buffing etc.

[LudicSavant]

As for changing things around, it can be done as we haven't as yet started.

numbers pre racials are 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15.

The ranger is going with background of criminal, and the player wants to down the route of laying down traps and disarming them. I haven't had a look at his character to see how good a build it is.

As for the magic user, I have no idea what style they are going for in regards to buffing etc.

Okay. So let's say you still want to be a Wood Elf just to narrow it down (nothing wrong with being a Wood Elf). In that case, here's one possible improvement to your stat array:
14 Dex / 14 Con / 17 Wis

Improve Wis to 18 with the "Observant" feat. Along with your Keen Senses from being an elf, this will give you a passive perception of a whopping 22, which means basically nothing escapes your notice. It's always great to have someone with a high passive Perception in the party. Make sure to remember that Passive Perception doesn't denote the character being passive, it denotes the player being passive (via not rolling dice). For example, one of the first examples given of passive rolls is actively searching for secret doors repeatedly.

For subclass, if we're just looking at the PHB, consider the Light domain. You can Concentrate on Spirit Guardians and throw down a Fireball or a Channel Divinty on top of that for some serious AoE damage (oh, and have Spiritual Weapon going too, for more damage still). Your Warding Flare provides good defenses in a pinch. And Potent Spellcasting lets you stay focused on just tossing Toll the Dead with Wisdom. All the while you can take advantage of your 35 foot movement speed to help kite things while you rain destruction on them from a range or defend/buff your allies. Or you can use that same movement speed to dash into just the right position for your Channel Divinity or Spirit Guardians.

You know how people make a fuss about the Tempest Domain's blasting potential? Well, it's got nothing on the Light domain (at least not at this level). A maximized Call Lightning, for example, will only do 30 damage on average (and take up your Concentration, which could have been used on Spirit Guardians). And a Maximized, upcast Shatter is doing 32. Meanwhile, Fireball is doing an average of 28 damage in a much larger area, and isn't taking up your Concentration or Channel Divinity resources.

[haplot]

I don't have to play a wood elf, could change my race, but I do like the idea of the kiting.

Any other suggestions to make the character rock?

[LudicSavant]

Any other suggestions to make the character rock?

To elaborate on the Wood Elf Light Cleric route:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ef/42/b5/ef42b54d69a9ad11082a11b81fbe01fa.jpg
Priest of Immolation
Level 5 Wood Elf Light Cleric
8 Str / 14 Dex / 14 Con / 13 Int / 18 Wis / 10 Cha
Feat: Observant

Skills:
You have the Guidance cantrip and should spam it basically all the time when you're out of combat and not Concentrating on something else, like Spirit Guardians or Detect Magic. The benefit of Guidance is comparable to Expertise, except you can hand it out to anyone, using any skill. That's fantastic. Also don't forget that it can boost ability checks, like Initiative rolls!

You also have Observant, which makes your Passive Perception 22 (and your passive Investigation 19). This is practically a party role unto itself, as long as you're actually remembering to use the passive roll rules properly. Seriously, noticing things is important, and you are exceptional at it.

You should be proficient in Stealth, Perception, Investigation, and any other 3 skills you like. Remember that you can customize the skills from your background! It's not a variant! (See PHB pg125)

Cantrips:
You get the Light cantrip for free, which only further boosts your role as the guy who lets the party notice everything. Try casting it on things like the ranger's arrows, then having him shoot it into a foe you want to light up.

You get 4 more cantrips on top of that. I recommend Guidance, Toll the Dead, Word of Radiance, and Thaumaturgy. Why Thaumaturgy? So you can have flaming eyes, obviously. (https://coubsecure-s.akamaihd.net/get/b65/p/coub/simple/cw_timeline_pic/a446f4093d4/81c5c74061ee23222967d/big_1411097976_1395225900_image.jpg)

Guidance is basically a must-pick for Clerics, what with it arguably being the best cantrip in the game and all. Toll the Dead will provide you with the highest single target damage output for your cantrips. Word of Radiance allows you to further improve your considerable AoE abilities and scales wonderfully with Potent Spellcasting.

Blasting:
You know how people make a fuss about the Tempest Domain's blasting potential? Well, it's got nothing on the Light domain (at least not at this level). A maximized Call Lightning, for example, will only do 30 damage on average (and take up your Concentration, which could have been used on Spirit Guardians). And a Maximized, upcast Shatter is doing 32. Meanwhile, Fireball is doing an average of 28 damage in a much larger area, and isn't taking up your Concentration or Channel Divinity resources.

As good as Fireball is, Spirit Guardians will still often be your first choice for a third level slot. The spell is just that good, especially in dungeoneering scenarios (where it can often last for multiple encounters due to its generous 10 minute duration). But don't worry, you can cast Fireball while Concentrating on Spirit Guardians. Or use your Channel Divinity while doing so.

This is devastating at level 5. 3d8+8d6 (average ~42), and successful saves only halve the damage. That means an average of ~21 points of damage in a huge AoE even if the enemies all succeed on their saving throws and only take one tick of Spirit Guardians. That damage is guaranteed, and you have a chance to double it! And you can maintain Spiritual Weapon with your bonus action too, getting you another potential 1d8+4 damage a round (bringing your damage up to 4d8+8d6+4 (~50) for one target, plus 3d8+8d6 AoE).

Short on spell slots for Fireball? No problem. Your Channel Divinity (which you can use once per short rest, or twice per short rest at level 6) plus that Spirit Guardians you've been maintaining for multiple encounters is going to be dealing 2d10+3d8+5 (average ~30) to the whole room, with a save only halving rather than negating the damage. That's fantastic. Additionally, since your Channel Divinity isn't a spell, it's an opportunity to use a bonus action spell (like getting Spiritual Weapon going, or using Healing Word to pop an ally back up off the death gate, or casting Sanctuary on yourself right after you blast everything). And both your Channel Divinity and Spirit Guardians won't hit allies, meaning this is basically like if you were an Evoker with Sculpt Spells.

And of course, this isn't just dealing damage. Spirit Guardians also halves the movement speed of all enemies in the area at the same time. Also, like all Clerics, you can do the whole SG/SW/Dodge thing.

Defenses:
You wear half-plate and a shield for 19 AC, which already means you're more durable than that non-caster who decided to pick up a glaive or greatsword. You also have a 35 movement speed, which helps with kiting and positioning in general. You're practically immune to stuff like Domination and other nasty things that key off the "charmed" condition (which turns out to be quite a lot in 5e, from Hypnotic Gaze to Harpy songs to vampire abilities etc), thanks to getting Advantage for being an elf on top of a +7 Wisdom save. Like all Clerics, you can do the whole SG/SW/Dodge thing in a pinch to grant Disadvantage to foes. And you've got all of the usual active mitigation skills of a Cleric, like Sanctuary (note: You can maintain Spirit Guardians while Sanctuary is active. Or just cast it at the end of your turn, after you've hit someone).

Future ASIs:
Max your Wisdom. After that, you'll probably want to improve your initiative (via Alert or Lucky) or saves, especially Concentration saves (via War Caster, Resilient, or Lucky again).

[haplot]

Sounds great.

I'm a bit confused though to how you get the stats as youve written them.

By my reckoning, I'd only have a max of wis 17, not 18? stat pre racials being 15 (highest of the stats) +1 for being wood elf, and +1 coz of observant?

[LudicSavant]

Sounds great.

I'm a bit confused though to how you get the stats as youve written them.

By my reckoning, I'd only have a max of wis 17, not 18? stat pre racials being 15 (highest of the stats) +1 for being wood elf, and +1 coz of observant?

Oops, made a mistake on the stats. For some reason I thought you had a 16 in there. Not sure why.

In that case, drop Observant and take +2 Wis. Or you could be a Wildhunt Shifter (+2 Wis / +1 Dex) and switch your 12 and your 13.

[haplot]

Na worries, all good

Thank you soooo much for your assistance.

its very much appreciated

[LudicSavant]

For changing up race, Wildhunt Shifter would allow you to get the stat array for Observant, if you still want that. Just switch the 13 we put in Int for the 12 we put in Dexterity, so that you end up with 14 Dexterity/12 Intelligence/17 Wis. And it'd still get you the Perception proficiency (and a Survival proficiency, too). And it allows you to "shift" 1/short rest as a bonus action for 7 temporary hp, Advantage on Perception (raising it all the way to 27 passive perception) and the Mark the Scent ability.

Other interesting possibilities for race for a Light Cleric:
- Mark of Warding human
- Mark of Passage human
- Envoy Warforged
- Variant Human (take Resilient: Constitution so you can get 14 Dex/14 Con, and +2 Wis at level 4)
- Ghostwise Halfling
- Hill Dwarf
- Aarakocra (though this one's frequently considered overpowered/banned)
- Simic Hybrid

[haplot]

Thank you for the replies. Its much appreciated.

Decided to stick with wood elf (easier on my brain and easier to change the char sheet :D)

also decided that you guys and gals were right, War is bad domain for me. So I have changed that.

Ta very much again.