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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Volund" data-source="post: 7317689" data-attributes="member: 6872597">First off, you have a few weeks and you don't have to read much material to get ready for your first game. Spend a little time to learn the basics of your character race and class, just a few pages. Then read the rules for d20 ability checks and saves, pp 173-179, and combat and spellcasting, pp 189-204 in the PHB. Finally, figure out from this thread or elsewhere what spells you are likely to cast and read those, just a few more paragraphs. It's really not as much as you might think if you looked at all the books together. Based on my experience playing a tempest cleric, my first D&D character, from level 1 to 16...A 3rd level cleric is as good a melee fighter as anyone at low levels, but if you are looking to do something besides just sword and board on the front lines, here are some suggestions:If your party has other heavy hitters like a rogue, paladin, or fighter with great weapon master or sharpshooter, Bless is awesome. With good armor and martial weapons you may feel like you should be in the fray, but you'll have more impact helping others to land their power strikes. Once Bless is up, take the Dodge action to avoid getting hit and being forced to make a concentration save. While dodging, you have several nice Bonus Action spells you can still cast depending on the situation. Spiritual Weapon lets you add extra offense, and is almost mandatory when a 3rd level party is up against monsters with resistance to non-magical weapons. If someone goes to zero hp, use Healing Word to get them back up. If you are in a tough fight and Bless is more valuable to other attackers in your party than your own attacks, and you absolutely have to maintain concentration, use the Dodge + Sanctuary combo, which forces a monster to make a Wisdom save before attacking you at disadvantage. Assuming that you have an 18 AC, 16 Wis, and took the Resilient (Con) feat for at least a +4 on Con saves, the likelihood of a typical tier 1 monster forcing you to drop the Bless spell is tiny. About 1 out of 100 gnoll or hobgoblin or skeleton attacks would succeed. Less than 1 out of 50 ogre attacks.As others have said, always be looking for an opportunity for a well-placed Shatter spell with Destructive Wrath to drop a cluster of low CR monsters.If you are one of the primary melee fighters because of your party composition, Bless is still an option but you will probably be forced to make more concentration saves. (This is a good reason to take Resilient (Con) as your V. Human feat). You might want to cast Protection from Evil and Good if you are fighting the type of monsters it affects. It requires concentration but makes you harder to hit and also protects you from some nasty conditions. It has a 10 minute duration so it can even last through a couple of back to back combat encounters. Because of Destructive Wrath, your Thunderwave and Shatter domain spells great, but you have Fog Cloud and Gust of Wind always prepared, and they can be very useful in the right situations. Find creative ways to use them. Fog Cloud can give your party a momentary reprieve or cover your escape because casters can't cast spells and monsters can't make opportunity attacks at targets they can't see. Gust of Wind disperses poison gas, Stinking Cloud and Cloudkill, let's you be a living fire extinguisher, and occasionally pushes enemies off of bridges, columns and such. I would stay away from spells that require a single attack roll to hit or else fail entirely (Guiding Bolt, Inflict Wounds) unless you have advantage, are desperate, or confident of an impending long rest. The potential damage is tempting but the loss of a spell slot with nothing to show for it always sucks.</blockquote>

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