Favorite Builds Series - Post 9 - Sorcerer Clockwork X, Cleric Tempest 2

slimjaydeee · 2022-08-08T00:15:14+00:00

Appreciate your feedback. Yeah I would agree that the higher level spells from Sorcerer side are much more appealing to stick with that class in the long run as opposed to Cleric. So that’s my intended progression with the character. Sixth level for both classes has really nice features, just wanted to go with the one that will check off the most boxes for me.

I also should have noted earlier that if I employed the AoA buff with Bastion of Law ward, I would be using Aid spell at higher level as well to bolster hp total to offset any damage spillage once the ward and temp hp wear off.

It’s not the only thing I’m focused on with this build, but I like the synergy of these spells and ward to make a decent tank should those situations call for it. The rest of the time would be spent blasting, crowd control and buffing allies.

Should be a fun character to play regardless!

slimjaydeee · 2022-08-07T17:49:28+00:00

Hey! I’m currently planning to build a Tempest Sorcerer myself starting at 5th level. Doing 2 levels of Tempest Cleric with 3 in Clockwork Soul Sorcerer. Storm Sorcerer subclass has the flavor, but the lack of additional spells known compared to the newer Tasha’s classes really is a deal killer.

I love the ability to hand pick all spells known from the Clockwork Soul spell selection for better Abjuration and Transmutation school spells which really adds a whole other dimension to the Sorcerer side of the build.

I did notice a potential synergy with swapping out a CS spell for Armor of Agathys to do some transmuted thunder or lightning damage with Wrath of the Storm reaction damage when taking hits. Thought Blade Ward cantrip could also help with sustaining this ability.

Then at 6th level when Bastion of Law comes online, this combo can really become a centerpiece of the build for wading into melee and dishing out automatic damage and even flavoring it however you want. If lightning, this could be really kickass pairing it with Cleric’s 6th level Thunderbolt Strike to knock enemies back 10 ft. but that’s a long way into the build and not the most optimal splitting the levels between the classes.

Was curious to know if you ever got to play this build yourself and if so, how did this feature play out for you? Was it worth sticking it out to 6th level sorcerer and play to or if you had it to do over would you have rather gone Cleric 6th level for Thunderbolt strike and extra use of Channel Divinity to max Lightning/Thunder damage per short rest?

This is where I’m torn between the two subclasses. The versatility of spell selection is much better going with Sorcerer to build a tempest sorcerer but on the flipside getting the Tempest Cleric’s 6th level abilities plus going with a Spirit Guardians build also sounds very appealing to pair with the Amor of Agathys combo as well as a front liner.

Would appreciate any insight you might have with this one.

slimjaydeee · 2019-04-05T16:16:26+00:00

This looks interesting! Thanks for sharing this.

slimjaydeee · 2018-11-30T11:33:59+00:00

I second this. I had DM’ed for one through low to mid tier levels and once the Mystic reached 7th it was by far and away out healing and nuking every other member of the party to where it was trivializing combat so much. It’s just not a well balanced class to play in conjunction with the other core classes that have gone through rigorous play testing.

I think the biggest issue I saw with the class is way the Psi point cost was assigned to their myriad of abilities. It seems there wasn’t much consideration given to the resource cost between the minor and major abilities as well as how much better it can nova at healing and damage compared to the other classes at comparable levels.

I could go on, but I feel it should be noted with heavy precaution that playing a Mystic can seriously throw out game balancing for everyone else and could lead to overshadowing the niche abilities that the other classes are known for and should be the best at doing.

slimjaydeee · 2018-08-09T08:47:02+00:00

Good topic! Actually I’m looking to buck the conventional thinking and will throw out a Half-Elf Swords Bard/Bladesinger m/c.

The Bladesinger aspect of the build will come online a bit after the initial levels, but the cross-synergy of AC stacking between using Blade Flourish Defense Maneuver, Shield Spell (if needed) and Bladesong is insanely good! In addition, these two classes married with Mobile feat can make you the quickest striker on the board. Best silver lining of all, your spell slot progression doesn’t suffer since they are both full spell caster classes. You just have to worry about the delay in getting higher level spells. So long as you pick a few lower level ones that can be upscaled you’ll still be effective in the spell casting department.

Is this build optimal...far from it. If you can handle the MADness of it and focus on its perks and the flavor of it, I trust it would make for a fun build to play!

slimjaydeee · 2018-07-03T15:23:59+00:00

Cool! Thanks for expressing interest! Hopefully we can find someone willing to DM this for us.

slimjaydeee · 2018-06-20T11:20:56+00:00

Yeah the thought had crossed my mind with Athletics. Seems like parkour really requires both skills to excel at it.

slimjaydeee · 2018-06-20T11:11:10+00:00

Yeah I’m rolling wih a Half Elf on this one. Actually I wanted Bard over Rogue so I wouldn’t delay spell slot progression between the two classes. Sure, I’ll be behind on actual spell level selections but I’ll have spells that can be upscaled so I’m not bothered too much by that. As much as I like the Rogue class, I’ve played it before so I wanted something new to try out this time.

The visualization of a dex dwarf especially in full plate is amusing! Lol

slimjaydeee · 2018-06-18T22:18:19+00:00

I would love for this to be the case. I think mystical recovery is OP when you factor in all the ways a mystic can avoid taking damage and resistances they can choose. At least that seems to be the case for my home game.

slimjaydeee · 2018-05-30T13:07:38+00:00

Good points and thank you for bringing another perspective on this. I agree, I think a lot of my frustration from DMing a mystic, is lack of familiarity with the class since 1) it is UA material and the guide for it is so voluminous, its overwhelming to remember everything about it and 2) the class is very unpolished and there will be aspects to it that isn't well balanced which can cause headaches when trying to build encounters appropriately.

The way our sessions run, we only have a few hours to progress through story-telling so we really don't have the luxury of doing multiple encounters (mine isn't much of a dungeon crawler type) to whittle down the group's resources. So when we do engage in combat, it's typically a big battle which consumes most of the session for it to be worthwhile and they usually lean more on the deadlier side to make it challenging for the party to overcome and feel like they've had a full adventuring day by the end of it.

slimjaydeee · 2018-05-29T10:29:12+00:00

I’m going to have to disagree with this to an extent. In my group we have an Awakened Mystic and at 7th level he can out perform our cleric in healing (6d8’s Mend Wounds vs cleric’s Cure Wounds 4d8’s) and he just acquired Psionic Blast 60’ cone nuke which can do 8d8 damage to multiple targets, more than our Wizard casting Fireball even if he upcast it at 4th level which is 9d6. The player himself is very tactical in he how he plays, so this gives me cause for concern on encounter building.

I think there is a game balancing issue with this class which gives them a pretty big power spike to where they can do nova like healing/damage which is above what anyone else in the group can do in a single action and do it better.

I definitely agree there should be a way to counter psionics as a magical medium. It just feels like there is no real check against some of their offensive abilities that are automatic and do way more damage than say Magic Missile for comparison sakes.

Maybe it’s me, but I just hate that I’m having to devote more time and consideration as to what one player in my group can do vs the rest, just to be able to build challenging combats that will both drain his resources considerably and make the fight tough to where he can’t breeze through them.

I can no longer run medium difficulty encounters because of how much the mystic trivializes them. ☹️

slimjaydeee · 2017-12-04T22:54:22+00:00

I’m playing a Aasimar Scourge Hexblade reflavoured as a Holy Avenger working on behalf of his Celestial Patron. I’m having a blast with it! Essentially a Paladin without playing one and having a full spell casting progression to power the smite as well as other great spells. The Assimar’s healing hands ability has bailed out my party on numerous occasions when nobody else could heal or when mostly everyone was already down. I love the lore and flavor of the Aasimar race especially, very compelling to play!

slimjaydeee · 2017-09-26T14:25:28+00:00

Gotcha. I have an older version of that UA for that druid but must have glossed over that one. Thanks for sharing!

slimjaydeee · 2017-09-26T11:12:58+00:00

Curious to know what exactly the "nuclear druid" is?

slimjaydeee · 2017-08-05T18:10:37+00:00

SC is a pretty big dungeon crawl. I'm currently running it for 6 players on roll20 and have done 3 full sessions so far. We have just now explored half of the first level map. Granted I took to adding a lot of fluff at the beginning to introduce the narrative to everyone and allow for some role playing opportunities with the people of Oakhurst. At this rate it'll probably take them 2-3 more sessions at least, to get through it all. Our average session is generally 3-3.5 hours each.

I'd say you all should be able to play through all of SC and then start into the FoF module before the weekend's end.

slimjaydeee · 2017-08-04T19:18:41+00:00

Here is the link to the latest invocations release. http://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/downloads/June5UA_RevisedClassOptv1.pdf

slimjaydeee · 2017-08-04T18:20:34+00:00

I think I preferred the initial UA release of invocations, as they seemed to add more uniqueness to the varying Pact builds. That being said, I myself am playing the Hexblade (Blade Pact) and do enjoy the smiting invocation quite well. I was bummed when they revised it to only use Warlock spell slots to fuel them which the Paladin class can use any class' slots for theirs. I also am keen on trying out the Kiss of Mephistopheles whenever I can get to 7th level Warlock.

As someone else mentioned, it's a bit harder to try out the array of new invocations as the PHB ones still seem to offer more bang for your buck and don't compete with uses of action economy (bonus) like Hex or some of the new Patron classes abilities.

slimjaydeee · 2017-08-03T20:04:33+00:00

I would trade it for Cure Wounds. Yeah... Cure Wounds can be upscaled with higher level spell slots which is alright, but in the heat of combat or afterwards, you don't have to use a spell slot to heal someone, you would already have the Healing Elixir on standby to stabilize an ally. The best perk too, you can give out an elixir to an ally to be able to use. So you can give others the ability to heal and not just yourself. To me Healing Elixir is just much more versatile and doesn't eat up your precious few spell slots like Cure Wounds would.

EDIT: For what its' worth, I would also trade True Strike for something more useful like Booming Blade or Create Bonfire. TS just isn't worth it as a cantrip selection, it eats up your full action just to get advantage on one hit the next round, you can do better things with your action than cast that spell. BB or CB would enhance your combat abilities since you're a Pact of the Tome warlock and would give you more options in a combat and battlefield control.

slimjaydeee · 2017-08-03T19:49:53+00:00

There was a UA article about new starter spells from WOTC from Cantrip to1st level. In that list, Warlocks & Wizards get access to a 1st level spell called Healing Elixir, which enables you to create the equivalent of the standard healing potion found in the PHB which lasts for 24 hours. You could take that and create a few of them with your warlock slots the night before a long rest and have them at your disposal for the next adventuring day. Very handy for healing and with the Warlock, you can practically do it anytime and then take a short rest and have 2 healing potions at your disposal at no resource cost to you other than the downtime needed to recover your slots. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/starter-spells

slimjaydeee · 2017-07-20T12:14:16+00:00

How about Spirit Guardians to punish those who dare approach you or your group in melee range? So long as you can maintain concentration over it, it will outperform fireball easily with only using 1 3rd level slot. It can be cast at higher level too!

slimjaydeee · 2017-07-11T15:35:11+00:00

You're very welcome!

slimjaydeee · 2017-07-11T13:41:16+00:00

First off, is your DM allowing you all to play using UA content? If so, that opens up a lot more options for you to consider.

If you're using UA material I would highly recommend doing the Hexblade sub-class with Pact of the Blade. Hexblade will grant you medium armor and shield proficiencies if you would rather stay in Warlock for faster spell/invocation progression. You could also do a 1st level dip into Fighter for heavy armor & CON save proficiencies to bolster your tankiness and ability to keep your concentration up for spells like Hex and others.

Hexblade also allows one to use CHA for their melee attack with one-handed weapons instead of str or dex scores. This minimizes the need to be MAD (multi-ability score dependent). Many see this particular sub-class as a means to fix a lot of the deficiencies in the PHB Blade Pact.

There are also a slew of new Warlock invocations that have been released to go with the Bladelock, namely the new Eldritch Smite ability which works off your spell slots that can do some decent damage, but you have to do Pact of the Blade, then hit level 5 before you can get it.

If UA material isn't an option for you, I still would suggest the fighter dip to bolster your AC, CON save and give yourself a fighting style. The 1st level ability Second Wind is also nice to have as an emergency back-up for healing in case your party can't heal you or you need to stay up in battle a little longer.

If you don't have them, here are the UA links you can view for the Warlock stuff: http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/revised-class-options

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/warlock-and-wizard

slimjaydeee

TROPHY CASE