Best Cleric Domain for a 1 Level Dip?

[Garresh]

So due to a handful of campaign issues, mostly story related, like half the party is swapping out in a session or two for new characters. I'm making a 9th level Sorcerer. But the long short of it is that he is a devoted worshipper of chaos(His mother was a chaos beast), so I'm changing him to an 8th level sorcerer and 1st level Cleric. Additionally, I'm focusing on building him for support, buff, and a dash of healing here and there.

I'm doing this for lore reasons, and also to get access to twinnable healing spells I can use 5th level spots for in a pinch, and also the fun combination of Bless + Bend luck for +2d4 when needed in encounters where I won't waste Haste or Greater Invisibility.

So it comes down to Life or Trickery.

I don't have the Str for heavy armor due to MAD of this build, so Life exclusively grants me stronger heals, and a spell slot freed up for Guiding Bolt(which is sorc-luckable so its not too bad that it doesn't have +cha for attacks). However, Trickery gives me Charm Person(No way I'm blowing a sorc slot for that) and the fairly incredible Advantage on stealth for an hour at will.

Now the caveats. ALL our sneaky characters are swapping out. We may not have a stealth character for a while, so Trickery buff will be of marginal utility for some time. Also, we have a Tempest Cleric who already heals, though she doesn't make it her primary focus or anything. She'd rather make large amounts of explosions.

So uh, what would you do?

 

[Kithas]

Of those 2 choices I would pick trickery, mostly due to the lack of it in the party so you can make that an option in a pinch.

 

[Blue]

I'm making a 9th level Sorcerer. But the long short of it is that he is a devoted worshiper of chaos(His mother was a chaos beast), so I'm changing him to an 8th level sorcerer and 1st level Cleric. Additionally, I'm focusing on building him for support, buff, and a dash of healing here and there.

I'm doing this for lore reasons, and also to get access to twinnable healing spells I can use 5th level spots for in a pinch, and also the fun combination of Bless + Bend luck for +2d4 when needed in encounters where I won't waste Haste or Greater Invisibility.

So it comes down to Life or Trickery.

I don't have the Str for heavy armor due to MAD of this build, so Life exclusively grants me stronger heals, and a spell slot freed up for Guiding Bolt(which is sorc-luckable so its not too bad that it doesn't have +cha for attacks). However, Trickery gives me Charm Person(No way I'm blowing a sorc slot for that) and the fairly incredible Advantage on stealth for an hour at will.

Now the caveats. ALL our sneaky characters are swapping out. We may not have a stealth character for a while, so Trickery buff will be of marginal utility for some time. Also, we have a Tempest Cleric who already heals, though she doesn't make it her primary focus or anything. She'd rather make large amounts of explosions.

So uh, what would you do?

You can use heavy armor without the requisite STR, you just have a a movement penalty unless you are a dwarf. -10 move is not a huge penalty, it the same as medium vs. small races in 3ed. And if you are in Heavy armor, there's a lot less MAD going on for Dex. So Life actually makes you a lot less MAD dependent if you are willing to cut your speed to 20'.

Another thing is that clerics get Ritual casting for cleric spells, so any 1st level cleric spells you have prepared that can be cast as ritual you can do. Sorcerers don't get Ritual casting, so this is can be a minor boon.

 

[Garresh]

Yeah I was following the other post I made elsewhere and looking over my options, and I actually switched to a Hill Dwarf. I took a hit to Cha down to 19, so I shaved it off and put it into Con, with bonuses going to Wisdom.

This means a -1 to all my spell saves for my sorc spells, but I'm a lot tankier(with my rolls I think i was sitting at like 96 hp), and can heal significantly better, have 20AC, and can shield up to 24. So yeah, Life does really win out here.

 

[Z. H. Darkstar]

With this build, I'd go with a spell component pouch instead of a holy symbol & arcane focus. The single pouch would cover both spell lists. The only reason to go with a holy symbol is if you plan on getting a magic staff/rod/wand that can be used as an arcane focus.

 

[LightningArrow]

It seems Trickery is the best, thematically. It's a shame it lacks extra proficiencies like the others. Knowledge is also a good call, to become proficient in the things you really need at a given time.