Light Cleric Guide

[@SharanjitPaddam]

Choices Summary 1: Ghostwise Halfling [Variant Human, Wood Elf, Hill Dwarf]. Cleric 1: Religion, Medicine. PB: 8/14/14/10/15/10. Hermit: Perception, Stealth, [Primordial]. Equipment: Mace, Scale Mail, Light Crossbow, Explorer's Pack. Guidance, Toll the Dead, Spare the Dying. Detect Magic, Purify Food & Drink, Healing Word, Bless. 2: Guiding Bolt 3: Spiritual Weapon 4: ASI: [Elemental Affinity: Fire, Bountiful Luck, WISx2] Medium Armor Master, Light, Aid, Half Plate 5: Fireball, (Guiding Bolt), Spirit Guardians, Water Walk 6: Shield, Revify 8: ASI: Lucky, Banishment, Divination 10: Word of Radiance, Contagion, Greater Restoration 12: ASI: Wis X 2, Heal, Word of Recall, True Seeing

[@johnlewis1497]

Thanks for the summary!

[@harperthegoblin]

Light auto gets the Light cantrip so choose another spell for that

[@thelowmein9143]

Oooh I think you should put a description summary like this in the description of all your build videos.

[@simonburling3762]

You get the light cantrip for free at level 1. From the Bonus Cantrip feature. So at level 4 you get to select another cantrip.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Thanks! My mistake

[@jacobmoll2878]

Was coming here to post that myself. I was confused when he didn't mention it in first level features. The Monk normally loves bonus spells, even cantrips ha ha. I love you can just admit and say "my mistake" because honestly so many cannot it speaks highly of you sir.

[@Mehhhhhhhh1]

Played a light cleric to level 18. Most of what you said was all on point. One additional note is Hero's Feast is amazing for days that you know you're going to be fighting some big bads.

[@Treblaine]

Light Cleric: All the flavor, just 1 calorie.

[@mrpotatoh]

This is amazing because you’re my favorite D&D KZbinr and I always play wizard and literally yesterday I chose a light cleric for this next campaign and this video comes out! Thanks for all the great content !

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Hey, great timing!

[@ericpeterson8732]

toll the dead- reflavored that it sucks some light out of the person. like Dumbledore's light catcher. neurotic damage often is considered doing soul damage or hurting one's life-force. To a light cleric, there is a radiance that come from the soul. if you don't like the light catcher effect, you could have the target's life force escape into the ether. So the target glows for a second and then fades as a spark of leaves their body. Sorry, you inspired me when you talked about reflavoring the spell to make it more thematic.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

That sounds perfect.

[@bigdream_dreambig]

I love this. Reflavors the spell to be thematically appropriate while also remaining true to the spell's original intent and making sense with its damage type. Good work. 👍

[@maltheopia]

One really good, but underestimated thing about Light Clerics is that due to their Channel Divinity they can get their combo together faster than other blasters. CD + Spiritual Weapon -> Spirit Guardians + Spiritual Weapon Attack -> Fireball + Spirit Guardians + Spiritual Weapon is some major action advantage for minimal cost (basically a 2nd and two 3rd-level spells, trivial at higher levels). Is the Channel Divinity as good as a Fireball? Not really, even at very high levels. But the fact that it's not a spell is really important for keeping the damage train going. I played an Evoker Wizard and while I think it's superior in terms of damage, especially at levels 11+, an ongoing problem I had is when I had to use my bonus action to cast a spell like Misty Step; my damage tanked for that round. Their Channel Divinity also lets them cast, say, Mass Healing Word when called for.

[@Ciberbuster]

As a cleric you usually could go thought the fights only with spirit guardians + spiritual weapon, having the chance to take some circustancial spells as you could prepare from the entire spell list. Our cleric has come with awesome solutions with spells like Ceremony, Locate Object, Speak With Dead, Control Water and Scrying. Also i find Dispel Magic a must, is incredible useful from disarming traps to canceling enemies buffs.

[@nuclearbirds]

One of my favorite characters I ever played was an even split multiclass between Light Cleric and Abjuration Wizard. I know it’s typically not a great idea to do a multiclass with conflicting ability scores, but The Cleric spell list is full of abjuration spells that recharge the arcane ward that wizards get, and the wizard has access to control spells that are super useful since you want attackers to stay far away from you (between INT and WIS, eating up ability scores, CON and DEX suffer a bit). It worked really well and by the time we hit level 12, the DM had to adjust encounter CR’s because the build mitigated damage like crazy.

[@maltheopia]

I'm not a big fan of a Wizard multiclass, Arcane Recovery and Spellbook aside, because taking more than a single level is way too much of a detour until you're very high level. Delaying access to Fireball and Wall of Fire hurts. Not to mention I think a single level of Divine Soul Sorcerer for a rest rechargeable +2d4 bonus to saving throws while still getting access to Absorb Elements/Shield will serve you better.

[@DirtyDandtheCrew]

You're a Legend TreantMonk. I've been looking forward to this one for over a month, thank you.

[@bryanc.6735]

Keep these builds coming. I play primarily play Clerics and I like to see how you view and put them together.

[@benholeman3537]

“If the rogue character just died, you don’t want to wait a thousand years to revive him” For some reason this was really funny to me

[@freman007]

Wood Elf Druid shrugs...

[@jordanwhite8718]

Ben Holeman I don’t know I’ve played with some pretty annoying rogue players I might be perfectly fine waiting 1000 years or maybe 5000 years.

[@QuiescentPilot]

Man, those guys always seem like they’re trying to die... Like, they go out of their way to risk their lives on a single d20 roll pretty much every session...

[@DMDoherty1]

Woot, this is perfect timing. I am playing a Light Cleric in a CoS game and am glad to get your insight here. Thanks, TM!

[@krunchyfrogg]

Me too! Second session is tonight!

[@Akira-ss6cm]

With Tasha's releasing Spirit Shroud as an option, you could potentially implement a single target nuke with Scorching Ray if you're willing to get within 10 feet of the enemy. It's super nice to add a d8 or more for every single Ray that hits, partiality covering the gap in the light domain's blasting potential.

[@intrinsical]

Finally, after a full month of delay... Also, its pretty fine to take the Ghostwise Halfling for clerics in AL. Normally XGE is the better +1 choice for pure casters. However there is really only one good XGE spell for clerics - Toll the Dead. And since it's a cantrip, its quite possible go without it.

[@MikeKilo1969]

intrinsical I like the new lotusden halfling from Wildmount too!

[@Nr4747]

Somewhat true, but Toll the Dead is an amazing cantrip and can easily be your only damage cantrip, freeing up other cantrip slots.

[@ADT1995]

To be fair to less damage types, immunity/resistance to radiant damage is very very rare in actual play. Unless you are fighting angels you usually don't have to worry about resistance. The same cannot be said for fire, but thankfully I find it usually pretty easy to deduce if a monster is resistant to fire, except for the odd plant with a random fire resistance

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Must-dl... don't have the time to watch now but I'm glad this guide exists.

[@FelineElaj]

Never clicked on a video notification so fast. Thank you!

[@ChristnThms]

Fav class, one of my fav domains... what could go wrong? Not specific to the Light Domain, but regarding Spirit Guardians, you didn't mention the controlling aspect. Everything in the effect has its movement halved, which is not the same as difficult terrain, and thus can stack with difficult terrain. Or better yet, it can stack with a Druid's Plant Growth, to become a real lockdown spell that ALSO does decent damage. Having that decent AC and hp means that you can be front row, and really make it hard to get at your back row allies. The fact that you're a top shelf blaster just improves the situation.

[@ChristnThms]

@@gamecavalier3230 yup. At that point, anything that has less than 16 squares of movement cannot move without dashing, and even then would only get 1 square forward per 16 squares expended.

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

Other than the cantrip selection at 1 and ASI at 4, I love it. But the great thing about D&D is it's a game of variety. This may be my next build. I love Halfling because I do roll so poorly.

[@h-grid3137]

I just created light cleric Drow (In Wildemount it makes sence) We started at lvl1, I got Rapier and studded leather for starting equipment. So I am looking forward to some blasting from lvl2 :)

[@Aaron-ou5mw]

GameNinjaD Drow in Wildemount worship the light god, the Luxon. Their is a whole lore involving resurrection and beacons, but in general, that’s the gist of it.

[@ArtGuyCharlie]

Sunlight Sensitivity isn't as big of a problem for Light Clerics as people tend to think. The negative effects of Sunlight Sensitivity shouldn't be brought on by any light, just SUNlight (which was confirmed in a Sage Advice). And the only things Light Clerics have that generate light specifically refereed to as "sunlight" are their Channel Divinity, Corona of Light, and the Daylight spell. Since the Light from the Channel Divinity is a quick flash that doesn't stick around and Daylight is a seldom used, situational spell, Corona of Light is the only feature that would be relevant for Sunlight Sensitivity. So a Drow Light Cleric would not be imposing any extra mechanical disadvantages upon themselves until level 17. And even then, Sunlight Sensitivity only hampers attack rolls and perception checks. Aside from Spiritual Weapon a long range Cleric relies more on saving throws than attack rolls (especially when Corona of Light is up since making your saving throw spells better is it's main purpose in battle). So all in all, the only mechanical problem with being a Drow Light Cleric is that you'll hurt your perception checks with your 17th level feature (which you'll probably never use outside of battle).

[@ArtGuyCharlie]

@@gamecavalier3230 That's the official ruling, but naturally you guys might still want to keep your original interpretation and that's fair. I think of it this way: bright light from something like a Light spell is probably roughly equivalent to a light bulb IRL. And a light bulb may be bright, but it's still got nothing on direct sunlight. As for theme, that's really on the player as to what specific reasons their Drow might want to harness the power of light. Like maybe they see it as an act of rebellion against their evil heritage. Or maybe they feel strangely attracted to light after living in the dark for so long, even though they know it will hurt them (like a moth to a flame). It might not make sense for your everyday NPC level Drow to turn to light, but PCs are only limited by their own creativity. Also, for what it's worth, my homebrew world has a whole church of Drow Light Clerics. They worship a homebrew Drow light goddess and weaponize light against other Drow (so they actually do use Daylight lol), getting around their own sensitivity by learning to fight blind and covering their eyes with blindfolds or masks. BTW, here's the Sage Advice I was talking about- www.sageadvice.eu/2016/10/21/drow-sunlight-sensitivity-does-bright-light-from-torches-or-light-cantrip-cause-the-disadvantage/

[@ArtGuyCharlie]

@@gamecavalier3230 Go for it, I love it when other DMs want to use my homebrew ideas.

[@h-grid3137]

There is this nation, Xhorhas, in the Wildemount. Thousand years ago there was war between good gods, and evil gods. (known as Betrayer gods) Followers of Betrayers had their forces located in place now known as Xhorhas. Eventually, good god won the war and sealed all divine beings behind divine gate, so no god could influence material plane directly. Drow, who originally worshipped Lolth, risen from the rubble, shunned Lolth worship and discovered new divine entity, Luxon. Its pieces of star, scattered all over world. From Luxon, Drow discovered new type of magic, Dunomancy and ritual that lets them be reborn into new child, when they die.

[@fyng.1582]

The one thing for Light cleric about "just" using Spirit Guardians is that it isn't taking your action. For a lot of other clerics, what you're going to be doing with your action after Spirit Guardians is up is just swinging a mace or using a cantrip. For a light cleric, you can be using Radiance of the Dawn AND Spirit Guardians AND Spiritual Weapon. And since neither of them has friendly fire, you can be right up in the mix really punishing all enemies. Spirit Guardians has a long duration, and Radiance you get 2 uses of every short rest. To me, this makes a light cleric an amazing, efficient blaster even well into the mid levels.

[@fyng.1582]

Using all three of these every turn, you're looking at (say at level 9), ~43 radiant damage to all enemies, and ~52 damage to one enemy. Of course, saves or misses reduce this. That seems very respectable, especially for an AOE.

[@andrewhazlewood4569]

Another correction - at the time you get word of radiance cantrip it does 2d6 +wisdom damage not 2d6 because you already have potent spellcasting

[@thelowmein9143]

Mr Treantmonk seems to really like the ghost wise halfling

[@freman007]

Potent Spellcasting is wasted on Clerics (except Arcana Cleric) because the only Cleric cantrips that cause damage are Sacred Flame. Xanathars added Toll the Dead and Word of Radiance but they're all "save or suck" spells which are very dependent on the enemy having bad saves.

[@TheMinions25]

So if you don’t like the way the class feels after about 13 or so, would you multiclass or dip anywhere to make it better? I feel like hitting level 17 to force disadvantage on saves against fire/radiant damage would be really nice, but I’m not sure if I’d stick around for the last 3 levels in cleric just for* an ASI and little else.

[@panpiper]

Bless is an awesome spell all the way to level 20. I've taken a one level splash into cleric with my fighter, just so I can cast and concentrate on Bless while our regular cleric does his Spirit Guardians thing.

[@krunchyfrogg]

I just started playing a light cleric, I’m gonna enjoy this!

[@toddgrx]

I also play a Light Domain cleric (female)- Aurora Glimmertaint Our party lacks a fighter/barbarian having just a ranger, druid, bard, and rogue... so she’s a nice addition that adds damage capabilities

[@jacobmoll2878]

Circle of land druid only gets eight bonus spells as they do not get bonus 1st level spells so cleric still has more known spells than them at the same level with same ability scores.

[@zippyzipster4746]

This is an amazing video man. Thank you

[@JeppeESR]

Why the spare the dying it dose the same as the healing kit item witch is cheap and if you don't have that then a medecin check witch you are profecient dose the same if you can get a 10 or over which is automatic at later lvl because 1+5(from wis)+4(from preficency)=10.

[@tabulaaaa]

Its free, and its reliable

[@BobGrimminger]

Just one note: Druids of the land don't get level 1 circle spells, so a cleric should have more spells.

[@Krownen]

Do you plan on doing a video for arcana clerics?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Not sure - I definitely won't be doing a vid for every cleric domain, but Arcana is tempting though I haven't planned a build yet.

[@Krownen]

@@TreantmonksTemple yes that's it, give in to the temptation from the far reaches of the weave that beckons you to make "Treantmonk's Arcana Cleric Guide" ;)

[@freman007]

Since damage cantrips to benefit from potent spellcasting are rare in the cleric list I'd take Fire Bolt/Chill Touch and Shocking Grasp from the Wizard list. Shocking Grasp saves the hassle of carrying a melee weapon. Fire Bolt is the most damaging cantrip, but Chill Touch doesn't run into elemental resistance as much. It's not worth taking Elemental Adept Fire for one cantrip.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@freman007 What about Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade, they should also benefit from that feature.

[@85LuthoR]

@@TreantmonksTemple Yes! I would pick both and rely on Sacred Flames as my ranged cantrip. Futhermore, I woud strongly consider starting level one as a fighter for martial weapons, heavy armor and con proficiencies. Dueling is tempting, but i think defensive is probably the better choice. Variant Human allows all sorts of builds: strength (Alert boosts initiative), dexterity (Medium Armor Master allows stealth), pure wisdom (Magic Initiate for Shillelagh) and wizard-like (Ritual Caster grants your own spellbook and a familiar).

[@Sharkakaka]

Short version: haha fireballs go boom. Long version:

[@futbol1013]

How did your AC go from 16 to 18 between levels 3 and 4? With Medium Armor Master it should have gone up to 17. Did you forget to tell us this is when you bought the half plate?

[@futbol1013]

I would also switch your Charisma and Strength scores. With just an 8 Strength you are over your carrying capacity with only the starting equipment.

[@itaymiara444]

Can you please do an optimization series on Warlocks? I would love to see your take on the Old Ones warlock. I know they are not the best, but the flavor is amazing and I would really like to see a build that might work.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I at least want to release a build that is not Hexblade for Warlock. It's on my to do list.

[@QuiescentPilot]

Treantmonk's Temple I’d love to see some type of Warlock build. I was looking at your “Warlock Builds” playlist the other day ago, and I noticed that every single one was a Hexblade, and only 1 of them took more than 3 levels of Warlock. I’d love to see your take on a Fiendlock especially; I think that’s a pretty good one, and making a deal with a Devil is such a classic :)

[@itaymiara444]

Agree, but it would be great if it will be mostly pure warlock. Because many players don't play with mutliclass.

[@S1leNtRIP]

@@QuiescentPilot Playing a fiend warlock/barbarian multiclass right now! I'm loving it, and super tanky. So much temp HP, and the plan for the build is 6 Barb/14 Warlock (though it won't get that far, obviously)!

[@QuiescentPilot]

S1leNtRIP sounds like an interesting build. What level are you, and how is it working thus far?

[@michaelnielson3978]

How do you feel about destructive wave? I feel like it's a good aoe blast spell, especially for tempest cleric

[@Moley1Moleo]

"If the rogue character just died, you don't want to wait a *thousand* years to raise them anyway." Well, he's pretty annoying so I could use the break, actually.

[@Pyrela]

Say what you will, but Flamestrike can really rock some hostile goblin cheerleaders when they attack with their pyramids.

[@brettshull2141]

Lol

[@avengingblowfish9653]

I’m building a lvl 5 light cleric for a one shot and it’s difficult to not take Bestow Curse… against a low Wisdom target that does a lot of damage, shutting down their actions for a couple turns can be way more valuable than the damage from a Fireball or Spirit Guardians…

[@robertlynch1834]

How would you change this taking into account Tashas and the new half feats which give wisdom score and extra spells and abilities such as fey touched and telekenetic. I realise clerics are bonus action hungry but being able to shove allies or mobs 5 feet to avoid opportunity attacks and what not seems better than doing a 1d8 plus wisdom and its free.

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

Considering how lackluster clerics late level spells are would you consider multclassing a high level cleric if you knew your campaign wouldn’t hit 17th level?

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

I probably would only multiclass this particular build if I was going to 20. But like he pointed out there is no real point because of lack of synergy with other classes so it would be strictly for flavor/RP.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It's not a character that is overly well suited to multiclass.

[@brettshull2141]

For RP considerations, it has to be pretty cool to get 100% chance of divine intervention.

[@killcat1971]

When would you use Flame Strike? When the opponents are resistant/immune to fire, when they are vulnerable to Radiant.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

Shadow stuff - Shadow Demon, Shadow...though I would be inclined to do Radiance of Dawn or Spirit Guardians though. Maybe if they are too far for the close range options though.

[@mattrg320]

hey Variant Human with Elemental Adept Fire isn't bad at all, and is a great recommendation

[@matthewhelmers1426]

I wonder what changes you'd make post-Tasha's...

[@chrisholdaway3224]

What's the source for getting Stealth as a skill from Hermit? I thought it was just Medicine and Religion

[@erikbrockamp5492]

Can we expect to see an order cleric build guide?

[@TreantmonksTemple]

I haven't decided how many Cleric build guides I will be doing (Clerics - more so than Wizards, really start to look the same as the spell choices are less diverse). Order has the bonus action cast mechanic - I should look at that and see if I can come up with anything cool.

[@nilsjonsson4446]

Treantmonk's Temple I’m hoping for Order domain as well. Voice of Authority (1st level ability) really changes things up and makes Healing Word do more damage than a Spiritual Weapon attack. Command is also an amazing spell (and a bonus action for Order clerics level 6+) that increases in potency by 100% for each level upcast. Edit: Huge fan btw. Your guides are always very good and insightful. I haven’t found another youtuber yet that comes close in quality.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

@@nilsjonsson4446 Thank you so much!

[@ReverseUnicorn]

No Sacred Flame? Cantrip that does radiant damage?

[@johnlewis1497]

Thanks for another great video.

[@blingwraith6951]

does mutliclassing a Light cleric with Fighter for action surge work well? To maximize blasting power?

[@zbane8832]

Are you doing a guide for the other cleric subclasses?

[@drunkenyoda]

What is the opinion of taking healer feat for variant human feat???

[@williamcullen8756]

This will be our groups first 5e campaign. We play Pathfinder. Do groups in 5e need a dedicated healer? Your cleric does no healing that I can see.

[@benry007]

If I have 14 dex and 16 wisdom would you still use a light crossbow until lvl 5?

[@andrewhazlewood4569]

The light cleric takes the light cantrip at level one as a free domain feature. Why are you taking it again at level 4? 25:26 Never mind. Question asked question answered already.

[@bigdream_dreambig]

Now I feel like I should play a bugbear light cleric! 🙈

[@williamcullen8756]

I'm confused. Didn't you say that this race was rated Green v a Hill Dwarf/Variant Human/Woodelf which you rate as Blue?? If, when push comes to shove, you choose the GhostWise Halfling doesn't that mean that you value it above the others and that therefore it should be Blue? If it is your choice when making a Cleric?

[@opposumness3107]

I mean, he did say in the video (either this or the subclasses one) that his favorite class of all time is Halfling, so it could just be that this is something he'd wanted to play 🤷‍♂️

[@williamcullen8756]

@@opposumness3107 Yeah. He does like halfling a lot. We are playing with a halfling and that halfling luck comes in a LOT!

[@MrBurbank1966]

I love your builds so much, think you could do one on the Blood Domain Cleric?

[@matthewmoran1866]

the w h a t domain?

[@pdubb9754]

Wouldn't flamestrike be a good option if you need to avoid a big blast area? Avoid friendly fire, Admittedly I'd geel cheated that I have to cast a higher spell slot to have less firepower, so it is niche. Also, your halfing is over its carrying capacity.

[@derfnik87]

What is he using to build his characters with?

[@Tzunamii777]

D&D Beyond.

[@andrewhazlewood4569]

Halfling is far less beneficial for a caster cleric because they rarely use attack rolls- mostly saving throw spells and cantrips - so lucky is wasted.

[@WarpKL]

@ Chris, Assuming a cooperative DM, Build the most OP God Wizzard make to brake the game using any 5e book.

[@krunchyfrogg]

As previously noted, you get the light cantrip for free. How do you recommend using toll the dead? If an enemy has a good WIS save, won't it fail a lot? I was planning on taking both toll the dead and sacred flame, so I could guess which save (WIS or DEX) would make my cantrip optimal. Also, light clerics have the Potent Spellcasting ability at 8, making having more options for damage cantrips more important. This is just my opinion, and I'm wondering what you think.

[@krunchyfrogg]

Great video though, thank you so much!

[@TreantmonksTemple]

It doesn't hurt to have both. Generally Wis saves aren't that high at lower CRs though.

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

I would personally grab both at 1 for variety and diversification. But Toll the Dead is superior at 5+ for ~70% of encounters because they are going to be injured assuming someone in your party has multi-attack.

[@davidpowell9376]

My first Cleric was Light Domain. He was a Dragonborn. It was awesome.

[@Booklat1]

this seems extra interesting with the new dragonborn

[@mys6886]

only ""official"" class that gets fire ball the is the mess called the zeal domain in the Amonkhet setting rules

[@mys6886]

A cryptic riddle that wastes your time XD so true!! hahaha yeah many Dm's make a nonsense riddle that mean nothing and even when it is looked back on in hind sight they were just refusing to tell you anything and pretending they were. the yes but really no DM god I hate them.

[@panpiper]

Why use a crossbow? Toll the dead is just fine, and it is absolutely not worth sacrificing TWO AC to use a crossbow when you have Toll the Dead as an option.

[@Wanderingsage7]

Even if you aren't fully 'optimized' for it, as a cleric you're still a secondary at worst healer.

[@LG-gn9cx]

I'm going to play a Light Domain Cleric, as my first character for Baldur's Gate 3. Levels are capped at 10. Up to 8th level I will follow your guide mostly, Toll the Dead nor Ghostwise Halfling will be available. Sacred Flame, and regular Human (no Variant available at least at first) will do. I'm not impressed with the 5th level spell selections. I will be using my 5th level slots for up casting Spirit Guardians as you suggested. So I think I may multi-class into Evocation Wizard. At 9th level I'll gain Shield, Absorb Elements, Find Familiar, Detect Magic, Identify, Comprehend Languages, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, and Message. At 10th level I'll take Tenser's Floating Disk, and Magic Missile, and get Sculpt Spell. Here's the build on D&D Beyond, I call her The Red Priestess: www.dndbeyond.com/profile/Merlex/characters/28123437

[@itspabbs]

I need that WIS score higher. 18 is absolutely minimum by 8th level. Cleric cantrips are save or suck and everything is going to save.

[@wabbitrage8358]

never take spare the dying. Just get a healer's kit lol

[@morganpetros9635]

Okay, so ... first, the player should choose to roll for money rather than take the trash offered by the "standard boring equipment" options offered in the PH. Why? In this case because studded leather armor is DIRT CHEAP, gives only a -1 AC penalty compared to scale mail because the character has a 16 DEX, and provides NO PENALTY to Stealth checks. Why in the world would you insist on using a garbage equipment system when there's a much better one available? Second, this build ABSOLUTELY should use a shield starting from first level. Why? Because the only ... THE. ONLY. advantage a light crossbow offers over either of the cleric damage cantrips is that it's got an extra twenty feet of range. This is ESPECIALLY true since you're choosing a ranged attack cantrip that relies on a WIS saving throw rather than one most monsters are, y'know, actually good at. Since most low-level encounters take place in dungeons, and having to attack beyond sixty feet is almost unheard of in any dungeon not deep in the Underdark, this build should rely upon cantrips for ranged attacks. Doing so actually allows the character a +1 AC *BONUS* versus scale mail, AND gives it no penalty to Stealth checks. Hmmm ... I understand why you PREFER Bless to Faerie Fire, but since you already HAVE a buff spell with FF, why not choose Bane instead? It would provide more versatility to the character. The Light cleric GETS the Light cantrip FOR FREE at first level. You do not need to choose it. At level 4, I would suggest choosing Sacred Flame so you have an all-radiant-damage option, or either Mending or Thaumaturgy because ... utility and role playing. Other than that, I can't really object to your build.

[@Palora01]

Because Bless always works, on all targets, it's not opposed and unlike Bane it stays for the duration or until you lose Con. If one of the Baned targets dies that's 1 less affected target assuming all of them fail the saved which is never guaranteed. It's also more common to have enough party members to buff with it than enough enemies to make full use of Bane, as well as more important to help your party kill faster and make their saves than inconvinience some enemies to an unknown extent. 1 player > 1 monster

[@Loopy_D_Loop]

You say that the only advantage of a light crossbow over a cantrip is the range. But doesn't the crossbow do more damage (1d8+3 for the crossbow vs 1d8 for Sacred Flame and 1d8 or 1d12 for Toll the Dead)?

[@adamyusen64]

Use fireball, and only fireball. Nothing but fireball. Just fireball. JUST FIREBALL.

[@freman007]

There is only Fireball.

[@devildog1989]

War cleric....

[@NobodyDungeons]

Lets not forget melee clerics are very possible, and aren't slouches either especially war clerics

[@dustinmccollum7196]

I played a viking melee cleric. It was one of my favorite character and my part loved him too. It was funny everytime some ask me for some healing I would say I'm not that kind of cleric. We had a player that believe all clerics have to have a healing spell. So when he ask for a heal other players started say "hes not that kind of cleric".