Sorcerer with 1 lvl dip into cleric?

[Erenior]

Hi there,

i just wanna know your opinions and suggestions on the following:

starting sorc 1 (perhaps divine soul), on lvl up dip 1 lvl into cleric (light cleric is my best guess for heavy armor proficiency) and after that go for sorc levels.

my very first idea was to build some sort of hybrid between healing and dps casting. i rly like the concept of sorc to be able to manipulate the action economy with quickend spell... or the hilarious moments coming up in social interactions with subtle spells... but then again i would like to have good ac... no need for swinging a weapon, so maybe heavy armor+shield with a free hand to cast /interact

for multiclassing into cleric i need 13 wisdom afaik, which is doable with standard array and point buy... strength and int doesnt matter that much and can work as dumbstats.

or will be straight light cleric a better idea?

i dont want this char to be melee oriented... kind of a "tanky" caster :D

Hope my english does not suck completly. Thank you.

[nickl_2000]

Hi there,

i just wanna know your opinions and suggestions on the following:

starting sorc 1 (perhaps divine soul), on lvl up dip 1 lvl into cleric (light cleric is my best guess for heavy armor proficiency) and after that go for sorc levels.

my very first idea was to build some sort of hybrid between healing and dps casting. i rly like the concept of sorc to be able to manipulate the action economy with quickend spell... or the hilarious moments coming up in social interactions with subtle spells... but then again i would like to have good ac... no need for swinging a weapon, so maybe heavy armor+shield with a free hand to cast /interact

for multiclassing into cleric i need 13 wisdom afaik, which is doable with standard array and point buy... strength and int doesnt matter that much and can work as dumbstats.

or will be straight light cleric a better idea?

i dont want this char to be melee oriented... kind of a "tanky" caster :D

Hope my english does not suck completly. Thank you.

This is definitely an option and a pretty decent one for you to do. It keep your spellcasting level going and gives you options for ritual casting, armor, and weapons.

One warning I would give with Light Cleric is the strength requirement for heavy armor. Unless you are playing a dwarf, you need to have a 15 in strength to avoid having your speed reduced by 10 feet.

[Telwar]

Remember, Light domain doesn't give Heavy Armor. Forge, Life, Nature, or Tempest grant those, but the Str requirement still applies (though chain only needs 13 to start).

[Falconcry]

Light gives you medium armour, permanent Burning Hands and Faerie Fire. BH is great low level but not so much later. FF remains great and light also would give the ability to blind someone for disadvantage. You also gain the light cantrip for free

Life on the other hand gives heavy, permanent Bless and Cure Wounds which both stay relevant. The Disciple of Life ability gives an extra two plus your level on your healing spells which adds up to alot on Healing Word etc. If you really miss Faerie Fire pick up a level of druid too, this would give you access to Goodberry as well. Goodberry alone gives you 10 healing per 1st level slot out of combat, add in the Life cleric ability and it jumps to 40. There is a trick to use spell slots for this before a Long Rest to have free berries. With Life/druid/sorcerer you would still be a full caster with all your slots. You would be two levels behind in sorcerer spells but have 9 cantrips at level 3, one of which could be light.

[Erenior]

Remember, Light domain doesn't give Heavy Armor. Forge, Life, Nature, or Tempest grant those, but the Str requirement still applies (though chain only needs 13 to start).

i did not consider that i need to invest kinda heavily into strength for the real deal armor...

i think it would be better (less MAD) to go for medium armor with 14 Dex and +2 AC from a shield then, isnt it?

something like (example) chain shirt (13 ac) + shield (2 ac) + dex (2 ac max) = 17 ac... which still seems to be not that good... and could be easily achieved by going draconic bloodline, even better with more dex due to now armor at all...

this is where i struggle the most :D so many possibilities

[stoutstien]

i did not consider that i need to invest kinda heavily into strength for the real deal armor...

i think it would be better (less MAD) to go for medium armor with 14 Dex and +2 AC from a shield then, isnt it?

something like (example) chain shirt (13 ac) + shield (2 ac) + dex (2 ac max) = 17 ac... which still seems to be not that good... and could be easily achieved by going draconic bloodline, even better with more dex due to now armor at all...

this is where i struggle the most :D so many possibilities

Medium armor is cheaper than both light and heavy armor as far as stats needed to maximize your potential AC. Medium armor and a +2 modifier will leave you one AC lower than heavy armor.
If you're not planning to be on the front lines that be plenty tough and cleric has a lot of bonus action spell + action dodge potential that can spike your survivability through the roof.

[Cyclops08]

I am considering the same thing for a melee sorcerer. 1st level as a cleric for med Armor and shield and Divine Soul for a free Inflict Wounds (3D10) at first level always prepared). My entire build is around Inflict wounds. No fireballs, just haste.
Warcaster is a must for me.

[stoutstien]

I am considering the same thing for a melee sorcerer. 1st level as a cleric for med Armor and shield and Divine Soul for a free Inflict Wounds (3D10) at first level always prepared). My entire build is around Inflict wounds. No fireballs, just haste.
Warcaster is a must for me.

I'd look into 2 lvs of war cleric for the CD +10 to hit once a SR.

[Telwar]

i did not consider that i need to invest kinda heavily into strength for the real deal armor...

i think it would be better (less MAD) to go for medium armor with 14 Dex and +2 AC from a shield then, isnt it?

something like (example) chain shirt (13 ac) + shield (2 ac) + dex (2 ac max) = 17 ac... which still seems to be not that good... and could be easily achieved by going draconic bloodline, even better with more dex due to now armor at all...

this is where i struggle the most :D so many possibilities

Bear in mind that AC 17 is actually not that bad, especially for a not-entirely-front-liner.

If you're going heavy armor:
Charisma (your casting stat)
Wisdom 13 (cleric multiclass)
Strength 13-15 for heavy armor
Constitution for HP

So that's four decent stats you need. Please, never dump Constitution. I learned that the hard way 20 years ago. (gets his cane, waves it at the kids on his lawn)

Assuming Variant human (vhuman) and standard array of 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, and assuming no homebrew or bonus feats etc, let's say the below array for heavy armor:

Str 15 (14, +1)
Dex 8 (8)
Con 12 (12) (and this is lower than I'd like; you can flip Str and Con assignments and just live in chain)
Int 10 (10)
Wis 13 (13)
Cha 16 (15, +1)

On the other hand, for medium armor, you need Dex 14 instead of Str 13-15, so it's not actually any more MAD. So, thus, switch Dex and Str in the above array, and put the +1 somewhere else. Probably Con or Wis. Alternately, you can take Dex 15 (i.e. putting the other +1 racial into Dex and not evening out Wis or making Con 13), and at 4th level take Medium Armor Master, get Dex 16 and use of a +3 Dex to AC.

Note that as a vhuman, you'd get a bonus feat to start, but because you're starting as sorcerer, you won't be able to spend it on either of Heavy Armor Master or Medium Armor Master, since you won't have proficiency as either until you take a cleric level. If your DM is cool with it, you could leave the feat slot "empty" until 2nd level when you take the level of cleric, and then use the appropriate Armor Master feat to tick the relevant stat to even, and then use your level 4 ASI on Charisma or whatever you want.

Alternately, you can flip and start Cleric instead of Sorcerer. That lets you spend the feat immediately and start at 1st with 18 AC either way, but it will cost you your Con save proficiency.

Also note that multiclassing pushes back the ASI to 5th character level, with the one level of cleric, since the ASIs are tied to class level, not character level.

[Ogre Mage]

I personally found a Divine Soul X/Life Cleric 1 to be a very effective support character.

You get cure wounds for free. The effect is increased by the Life Cleric healing bonus. You also get free access to bless which is a great support spell.

I would be sure to pick up the twinned spell metamagic. Healing word and guiding bolt are very effective twinned spells for a cheap sorcery point cost.

Once you get fireball you start doing big damage. But if the campaign is mostly melee combat you might consider spirit guardians.

[HiveStriker]

Hi there,

i just wanna know your opinions and suggestions on the following:

starting sorc 1 (perhaps divine soul), on lvl up dip 1 lvl into cleric (light cleric is my best guess for heavy armor proficiency) and after that go for sorc levels.

my very first idea was to build some sort of hybrid between healing and dps casting. i rly like the concept of sorc to be able to manipulate the action economy with quickend spell... or the hilarious moments coming up in social interactions with subtle spells... but then again i would like to have good ac... no need for swinging a weapon, so maybe heavy armor+shield with a free hand to cast /interact

for multiclassing into cleric i need 13 wisdom afaik, which is doable with standard array and point buy... strength and int doesnt matter that much and can work as dumbstats.

or will be straight light cleric a better idea?

i dont want this char to be melee oriented... kind of a "tanky" caster :D

Hope my english does not suck completly. Thank you.
Sorcerer and Cleric is a great mix.
I wouldn't go necessarily for Light though: only "new" spell you get is Faerie Fire, with low WIS won't be that useful. The feature is also wIS-based, so few uses per day.

For just one level in Cleric, I'd definitely dip into Tempest (Fog cloud, heavy armor, martial weapons), Life (bonus to heal always good, heavy armor) or Nature (skill bonus, great rituals, heavy armor).

And if you think you're gonna reach at least level 13 or are otherwise interested in a 2nd level dip somewhen, then DEFINITELY Tempest (or Zeal if your DM allows it) Cleric.
Sorcerer 1 -> Cleric 1 -> Sorcerer 5 (-> Cleric 2) -> Sorcerer 9 (-> Cleric 2) -> Sorcerer X

It basically gives you a free Empower on a lightning/thunder(/fire if Zeal) every short rest, except much better since auto-maximized.*
That way you can simply "dedicate" one or two of your spell known on blasting spells and upgrade them as you progress.
And decide to grab that feature as soon as you feel you need it.

* On that, after rereading Chain Lightning carefully, it seems that each bolt should be considered individually, meaning you could only maximize one bolt since each would be rolled for damage. Am I right? If so, would you mind houseruling otherwise (roll damage once for all bolts, only saves are rolled individually as usual)?

[Waazraath]

If you dip, I'd go for a 2 level dip and tempest cleric. It gives you the heavy armor and shield, and extra spell choices, but more: the lvl 2 ability (maximize lighting/thunder damage) 1/short rest makes sure you don't fall behind as a blaster caster. You have the maximum spellslots compared to any single class caster, and as long as you blast with thunder or lightning, and your area of effect damage spell will be comparable also when maximized (at level 5, cast a 32 damage shatter for example). Later this gets wild with lightning bolt and (especially) chain lightning.

[Cyclops08]

If you dip, I'd go for a 2 level dip and tempest cleric. It gives you the heavy armor and shield, and extra spell choices, but more: the lvl 2 ability (maximize lighting/thunder damage) 1/short rest makes sure you don't fall behind as a blaster caster. You have the maximum spellslots compared to any single class caster, and as long as you blast with thunder or lightning, and your area of effect damage spell will be comparable also when maximized (at level 5, cast a 32 damage shatter for example). Later this gets wild with lightning bolt and (especially) chain lightning.
related question: How can you play a tempest cleric in the Forgotten Realms (they're all EVIL)?

[NorthernPhoenix]

related question: How can you play a tempest cleric in the Forgotten Realms (they're all EVIL)?

In 5e Istishia grants Tempest and is a neutral god.

[Nifft]

related question: How can you play a tempest cleric in the Forgotten Realms (they're all EVIL)?

"My character fell through a portal from ${BETTER_SETTING} just like those not-Egyptian guys down south."

[MrCharlie]

It's worth noting that the only thing stopping you from having 8 str and wearing full plate is a 10 foot speed reduction. Even with encumbrance full plate+a shield weighs 71 pounds, and your heavily encumbered limit is 80 pounds. You can literally completely ignore the STR requirement at the cost of losing 10 feet of speed. Given that you are ranged, barely need to move, hardly need more equipment, and have short and long ranged teleports on your list for when you do need to move, this is barely a loss at all. As long as someone else will carry your rations or you have a bag of holding you should be fine.

Given this, the wisdom requirement is much more palatable. In fact, it's downright easy. You can buy an 8-12-16-8-13-16 as a variant human (I'd pad out with resilient WIS as well), switching the STR and DEX if you view this as metagaming too hard or want some leeway for equipment.

I personally like forge cleric because it gives you identify, and that it one of the major limits on effectively being the parties main arcane caster; you can't identify magic things. Also +1 armor is no joke; while heavy armor+shield is already a 4 point AC jump (once you have full plate) over an optimized mage armor sorcerer, forge cleric is a full 5 point jump to AC 21. With shield you can suddenly AC tank as a sorcerer, and with absorb elements and a high CON you can almost fake being a tank for a half-dozen rounds before reality catches up to you.

[Akal Saris]

It's worth noting that the only thing stopping you from having 8 str and wearing full plate is a 10 foot speed reduction. Even with encumbrance full plate+a shield weighs 71 pounds, and your heavily encumbered limit is 80 pounds. You can literally completely ignore the STR requirement at the cost of losing 10 feet of speed. Given that you are ranged, barely need to move, hardly need more equipment, and have short and long ranged teleports on your list for when you do need to move, this is barely a loss at all. As long as someone else will carry your rations or you have a bag of holding you should be fine.

Given this, the wisdom requirement is much more palatable. In fact, it's downright easy. You can buy an 8-12-16-8-13-16 as a variant human (I'd pad out with resilient WIS as well), switching the STR and DEX if you view this as metagaming too hard or want some leeway for equipment.

I personally like forge cleric because it gives you identify, and that it one of the major limits on effectively being the parties main arcane caster; you can't identify magic things. Also +1 armor is no joke; while heavy armor+shield is already a 4 point AC jump (once you have full plate) over an optimized mage armor sorcerer, forge cleric is a full 5 point jump to AC 21. With shield you can suddenly AC tank as a sorcerer, and with absorb elements and a high CON you can almost fake being a tank for a half-dozen rounds before reality catches up to you.

Wow, I never noticed that all the strength requirement did was a speed reduction! That's not terrible at all. Though being encumbered means you'll lose another 10ft of speed. Then again, I'm not sure most games even remember the encumbrance rules most of the time. I know I've never bothered to enforce it as a DM.

[MrCharlie]

Wow, I never noticed that all the strength requirement did was a speed reduction! That's not terrible at all. Though being encumbered means you'll lose another 10ft of speed. Then again, I'm not sure most games even remember the encumbrance rules most of the time. I know I've never bothered to enforce it as a DM.
You also ignore the strength column of the armor table if you use variant encumbrance, so it's still only a 10 foot speed reduction unless you're carrying more than 10x your strength score. They are different ways of interpreting the same thing.

If you don't use encumbrance than the STR limit is even more of a joke. 120 pounds from 8 STR is more than sufficient for all your gear, including plate armor. Hell, a character with a STR of 5 can wear full-plate and a shield! The one thing that people do forget about is coin weight, mostly because it's not an issue if you aren't wearing heavy armor until you have several thousand coins anyway, and most DMs don't like going through the trouble of describing how medieval banks take a cut off the top to convert the 100000 copper coins that eccentric dragon hoarded into a few thousand gold, but it can be a problem theoretically.

[GearsX]

Hi there,

i just wanna know your opinions and suggestions on the following:

starting sorc 1 (perhaps divine soul), on lvl up dip 1 lvl into cleric (light cleric is my best guess for heavy armor proficiency) and after that go for sorc levels.

my very first idea was to build some sort of hybrid between healing and dps casting. i rly like the concept of sorc to be able to manipulate the action economy with quickend spell... or the hilarious moments coming up in social interactions with subtle spells... but then again i would like to have good ac... no need for swinging a weapon, so maybe heavy armor+shield with a free hand to cast /interact

for multiclassing into cleric i need 13 wisdom afaik, which is doable with standard array and point buy... strength and int doesnt matter that much and can work as dumbstats.

or will be straight light cleric a better idea?

i dont want this char to be melee oriented... kind of a "tanky" caster :D

Hope my english does not suck completly. Thank you.

You know you can still wear heavy armor just to take a movment speed reduction if not proficient in it. I dont see the need to dip one lvl in a none compatible class. Since cleric uses wisdom, or instead dip into paladin or even fighter.

[nickl_2000]

You know you can still wear heavy armor just to take a movment speed reduction if not proficient in it. I dont see the need to dip one lvl in a none compatible class. Since cleric uses wisdom, or instead dip into paladin or even fighter.

You are confusing the negative for not having enough strength for heavy armor and wearing armor that you aren't proficient in.


"If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or Attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t cast Spells."

[sithlordnergal]

Heh, I'd just take the speed reduction. I have a Fighter/Wizard with 8 strength that walks around in Full Plate with a Shield. He only has 20 movement speed, but that hasn't really caused him any problems. It also makes the Boots of Striding and Springing really handy if you ever find them.