I just wanted to share my experiences playing a Tempest Cleric from level 1-6.
For starters, I was last to join a group and I was asked by the DM to be a Cleric. I did not have a problem with his request because I'm been anxious to play a Cleric anyway. I looked at the party makeup of a Fighter, Archer Ranger, Sorcerer, Lore Bard, and Rogue and I decided the group needed more front line muscle. At first, the War domain seemed like the obvious choice, but I have already seen a War Cleric in action more than once. I considered the Life Cleric before deciding on the Tempest.
Building my Tempest Cleric. I knew I wanted my guy to be tougher than normal since he'll spend more time on the front line than not so decided on Vhuman with a 14, 10, 14, 8, 15, 10 point buy and with a +1 to Str and Wis, and the Heavy Armor Mastery feat(+1 Str), I was sitting at 16, 10, 14, 8, 16, 10 at level 1. Chain mail + shield gave me a starting AC of 18.
So as no surprise to anybody, the Heavy Armor Mastery feat is REALLY strong at low levels. It has lost a little steam in the last couple of levels, but there are still times when we're up against enemies with 2 attacks, it's saving me 6hp at a time so it's still viable. I know this feat is part of what made this build so strong at low levels and it would have had the same benefit on the Fighter, or any other heavy armor character. There are other feats I could have taken that would probably have been just as fun like Magic Initiate for Booming Blade, Sentinel, Resilient(Con), or War Mage. I like the Sentinel feat with the Tempest Cleric. You attack my friend, I attack you. You attack me, I shock you. lol
Anyway, about actual Cleric stuff. I feel like the class in general is really strong. They can do a lot of things. Even with my low Char and Int, I never felt like I didn't have anything to do outside of combat. I play him kind of like a dumb jock with a heart of gold so he usually has bad ideas that he thinks are great, but he ALWAYS wants to help. I won't list all the spells I took, but as we all know, the Cleric has access to some great spells.
The actual Tempest Domain- All armor and Weapon proficiencies? Awesome. Wrath of the Storm, Destructive Wrath, and even Thunderbolt Strike are all great and fun. Wrathof the Sorm is just awesome at low levels. In the first encounter, I had 2 guards on me. I killed one on my turn, and then I killed the other on HIS turn when he hit me(for 3 damage... which was 0 damage haha). This was the first epic thing that happened and the group really loved it. Every time I've used Destructive Wrath, it's been epic. A hoard of 20 Mooks coming our way? Shatter + Destructive Wrath killed 12 of them immediately. Completely surrounded by enemies(on purpose of course)... Thunderwave from a 3rd level slot + Destructive Wrath and they're all dead. Every time I use it, the group cheers and the DM says "damn". I have made great use of all of the domain specific spells at one time or another. I know that I won't have access to some of the better Lightning spells but so far I don't feel like I missing out.
The first magic weapon we came across was a +1 Maul. The only other Str character didn't want it so I dropped the warhammer and shield in favor of the maul. I had just upgraded armor so my AC was still 18, but now I had a +1 2d6 weapon. When level 4 came, I had to decide between +2 to Str or Wis. I decided on bumping Str because I thought it fit my character better. I will almost definitely take +2 to Wis at level 8 though unless I change my mind and take Sentinel.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences. If you're somebody who's considering making a Tempest Cleric, I say go for it. Two big thumbs up here! My guy has been a one man encounter stopper several times now to the DM's dismay. I'm also the only character in the group that has not dropped to 0 hp yet even though I think the DM has at least half heartedly tried a couple of times. There have been more than one occasion where my allies have been stuck in some of Destructive Wrath AoE but it's never been a problem considering I can just turn around and heal them
For starters, I was last to join a group and I was asked by the DM to be a Cleric. I did not have a problem with his request because I'm been anxious to play a Cleric anyway. I looked at the party makeup of a Fighter, Archer Ranger, Sorcerer, Lore Bard, and Rogue and I decided the group needed more front line muscle. At first, the War domain seemed like the obvious choice, but I have already seen a War Cleric in action more than once. I considered the Life Cleric before deciding on the Tempest.
Building my Tempest Cleric. I knew I wanted my guy to be tougher than normal since he'll spend more time on the front line than not so decided on Vhuman with a 14, 10, 14, 8, 15, 10 point buy and with a +1 to Str and Wis, and the Heavy Armor Mastery feat(+1 Str), I was sitting at 16, 10, 14, 8, 16, 10 at level 1. Chain mail + shield gave me a starting AC of 18.
So as no surprise to anybody, the Heavy Armor Mastery feat is REALLY strong at low levels. It has lost a little steam in the last couple of levels, but there are still times when we're up against enemies with 2 attacks, it's saving me 6hp at a time so it's still viable. I know this feat is part of what made this build so strong at low levels and it would have had the same benefit on the Fighter, or any other heavy armor character. There are other feats I could have taken that would probably have been just as fun like Magic Initiate for Booming Blade, Sentinel, Resilient(Con), or War Mage. I like the Sentinel feat with the Tempest Cleric. You attack my friend, I attack you. You attack me, I shock you. lol
Anyway, about actual Cleric stuff. I feel like the class in general is really strong. They can do a lot of things. Even with my low Char and Int, I never felt like I didn't have anything to do outside of combat. I play him kind of like a dumb jock with a heart of gold so he usually has bad ideas that he thinks are great, but he ALWAYS wants to help. I won't list all the spells I took, but as we all know, the Cleric has access to some great spells.
The actual Tempest Domain- All armor and Weapon proficiencies? Awesome. Wrath of the Storm, Destructive Wrath, and even Thunderbolt Strike are all great and fun. Wrathof the Sorm is just awesome at low levels. In the first encounter, I had 2 guards on me. I killed one on my turn, and then I killed the other on HIS turn when he hit me(for 3 damage... which was 0 damage haha). This was the first epic thing that happened and the group really loved it. Every time I've used Destructive Wrath, it's been epic. A hoard of 20 Mooks coming our way? Shatter + Destructive Wrath killed 12 of them immediately. Completely surrounded by enemies(on purpose of course)... Thunderwave from a 3rd level slot + Destructive Wrath and they're all dead. Every time I use it, the group cheers and the DM says "damn". I have made great use of all of the domain specific spells at one time or another. I know that I won't have access to some of the better Lightning spells but so far I don't feel like I missing out.
The first magic weapon we came across was a +1 Maul. The only other Str character didn't want it so I dropped the warhammer and shield in favor of the maul. I had just upgraded armor so my AC was still 18, but now I had a +1 2d6 weapon. When level 4 came, I had to decide between +2 to Str or Wis. I decided on bumping Str because I thought it fit my character better. I will almost definitely take +2 to Wis at level 8 though unless I change my mind and take Sentinel.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences. If you're somebody who's considering making a Tempest Cleric, I say go for it. Two big thumbs up here! My guy has been a one man encounter stopper several times now to the DM's dismay. I'm also the only character in the group that has not dropped to 0 hp yet even though I think the DM has at least half heartedly tried a couple of times. There have been more than one occasion where my allies have been stuck in some of Destructive Wrath AoE but it's never been a problem considering I can just turn around and heal them
