-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D 5E [5e] Melee Tempest Cleric: STR or DEX?
- Thread starter stuffnsuch
- Start date
Scott Steven Bell
First Post
Tempest also gets heavy armor so I wouldnt bother with fighter levels myself.
imdeadagain
Explorer
Fighter for con saves, took duelling for the +2 damage with 1 handed melee weapons. Upcasting low level spells is fine, until you run out of them... Sacred flame is OK but it does zero on a save.
Going into melee with holy aura up is pretty devastating...
Going into melee with holy aura up is pretty devastating...
DrIntrepid
First Post
Starting the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign. I have a Triton character in mind. A soldier gish. Looking at barbarian storm herald vs tempest cleric vs eldritch knight.
I want to melee with some magic. Not magic with some melee. I just like the flavor of the Storms and Sea. Any advice?
I want to melee with some magic. Not magic with some melee. I just like the flavor of the Storms and Sea. Any advice?
Sacrosanct
Legend
I played a tempest cleric back in HotDQ, up to level 15. Honestly, I didn't worry about STR or DEX. STR high enough to wear heavy armor, and the focus was on WIS then CON (for concentration saves, super important with spells like spirit guardians). You'll probably be spending an ASI on War Caster, so that's one time you won't be able to bump WIS.
My PC was the second most effective tank in the party after the barbarian. You don't need to do nearly as much damage with your weapon attacks if you're doing spirit guardians every round, and when you want to nova, it's totally possible with your tempest CD and lightning spells (I was blue dragonborn for additional synergy)
My PC was the second most effective tank in the party after the barbarian. You don't need to do nearly as much damage with your weapon attacks if you're doing spirit guardians every round, and when you want to nova, it's totally possible with your tempest CD and lightning spells (I was blue dragonborn for additional synergy)
Warpiglet-7
Cry havoc! And let slip the pigs of war!
Do what is fun for you.
I like MOAR strength! I want to shove enemies prone in spirit guardians and crush skeletons with a mace. Optimal? Wrong question. What is optimally fun?
I am going with arcana cleric and so will be hitting with greenflame and booming blade making the lowly melee attack a bit better out of the box.
regardless play what is fun.
I don’t have fun with a 14 dex and high wisdom avoiding melee. It might ‘make sense’ in the way EB spam makes sense for a warlock. However, look at how many people complain that this boring or ‘is that it?’
what kind of cleric do you want to be? I want a magic mace ready for the enemies of my deity.
5e is not hard enough for either choice to be an imperative. Either one is fine. In a party with less melee punch I might argue strength and athletics are nice assets
I like MOAR strength! I want to shove enemies prone in spirit guardians and crush skeletons with a mace. Optimal? Wrong question. What is optimally fun?
I am going with arcana cleric and so will be hitting with greenflame and booming blade making the lowly melee attack a bit better out of the box.
regardless play what is fun.
I don’t have fun with a 14 dex and high wisdom avoiding melee. It might ‘make sense’ in the way EB spam makes sense for a warlock. However, look at how many people complain that this boring or ‘is that it?’
what kind of cleric do you want to be? I want a magic mace ready for the enemies of my deity.
5e is not hard enough for either choice to be an imperative. Either one is fine. In a party with less melee punch I might argue strength and athletics are nice assets
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing (He/They)
Meh. Dex builds are played out...practically every character in the party already has Dex as their highest or second-highest stat.
I'd go Strength, and buy some awesome armor.
I'd go Strength, and buy some awesome armor.
jgsugden
Legend
What role do you want to play in the party? Do you want to be the brute force, the face in negotiations, the scout, or the sage with the answers?
Here are some builds I would consider based upon your goals:
Sage/Muscle: Eldritch Knight Triton (Sage): You start with a S16/D08/C13/I15/W10/C12. You'll advance Con and Intelligence together at some point. Your skills will be Athletics, History, Arcana and (Replacing second history) Investigation. You're the muscle and mind of the party, providing insight into puzzles and the front line muscle to solve the physical problems. You'll go heavy armor, so the negative dexterity is not going to hit your AC at all - you'll be slow and take full damage on a lot of dex save spells/effects.
Face: Hexblade Warlock Triton (Courtier): You start with a S10/D14/C14/I08/W10/C16. Your skills will be Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion and Insight. You'll be using medium armor and sword and shield for levels 1 and 2, and then advancing to heavy weapons at later levels. You're the face of the party in negotiations, agile in discussions and with a decent eye for liars and deception.
Face/Muscle: Oath of the Open Sea (New CR content) Triton (Soldier): You start with a S16/D12/C14:I08/W:08/C:16. Your skills would be Athletics, Intimidation, Persuasion and (due to doubling up on either Athletics or Intimidation) Stealth. You'll be the muscle and face of the PCs. You'll have just enough stealth to not be a liability against your typical baddies when sneaking up.
Muscle/Scout: Gloomstalker Triton (Investigator) with a level of Rogue: You start with a S16/D14/C12/I:12/W:12/C09. Your skills to start are: Perception, Investigation, Insight, Athletics, Survival (but when you MC into rogue you get Stealth). You're a two weapon PC capable of scouting and investigating on your own. Here, the Gloom you're used to traveling is the deep sea... The gish elements are a bit slow, and feel least gishy when the spells come from Ranger, but it is the build I'd go with to be the scout for a party and still feel like a strong muscle. While two weapon fighting gets a lot of negative press, you'll do just fine, especially with the new options coming in Tasha's.
Here are some builds I would consider based upon your goals:
Sage/Muscle: Eldritch Knight Triton (Sage): You start with a S16/D08/C13/I15/W10/C12. You'll advance Con and Intelligence together at some point. Your skills will be Athletics, History, Arcana and (Replacing second history) Investigation. You're the muscle and mind of the party, providing insight into puzzles and the front line muscle to solve the physical problems. You'll go heavy armor, so the negative dexterity is not going to hit your AC at all - you'll be slow and take full damage on a lot of dex save spells/effects.
Face: Hexblade Warlock Triton (Courtier): You start with a S10/D14/C14/I08/W10/C16. Your skills will be Deception, Intimidation, Persuasion and Insight. You'll be using medium armor and sword and shield for levels 1 and 2, and then advancing to heavy weapons at later levels. You're the face of the party in negotiations, agile in discussions and with a decent eye for liars and deception.
Face/Muscle: Oath of the Open Sea (New CR content) Triton (Soldier): You start with a S16/D12/C14:I08/W:08/C:16. Your skills would be Athletics, Intimidation, Persuasion and (due to doubling up on either Athletics or Intimidation) Stealth. You'll be the muscle and face of the PCs. You'll have just enough stealth to not be a liability against your typical baddies when sneaking up.
Muscle/Scout: Gloomstalker Triton (Investigator) with a level of Rogue: You start with a S16/D14/C12/I:12/W:12/C09. Your skills to start are: Perception, Investigation, Insight, Athletics, Survival (but when you MC into rogue you get Stealth). You're a two weapon PC capable of scouting and investigating on your own. Here, the Gloom you're used to traveling is the deep sea... The gish elements are a bit slow, and feel least gishy when the spells come from Ranger, but it is the build I'd go with to be the scout for a party and still feel like a strong muscle. While two weapon fighting gets a lot of negative press, you'll do just fine, especially with the new options coming in Tasha's.
Similar Threads
