I've been playing a Tempest Cleric for almost 2 years now, and as a very tactical player into optimization it grates on me how often this subclass gets underrated. This is one of the better videos on the subclass, but I wanted to expand on a few points. Thunderwave/Shatter maxed out in Tier 1 play are essentially combat enders. Dropping 16/24/32 points of straight damage on a grouping of targets will either erase most of them from existence or soften them up to the point of falling over for the rest of the players. Fireball averages 28 damage. Shatter hits a straight up 32 at the same level, and it's smaller which is regularly more convenient for not hitting allies. It's true that Con saves get worse in higher tiers of play, but even in Tier 2 these can be very worth dropping. Call Lightning is a major spell slot saver. It's round over round tightly targeted AoE damage, and if you catch a few people close enough together to warrant it, you can max it out for similar results as other AoEs. It's also lightning and a Dex save (generally a solid save to target), so regardless of whether they save or fail it triggers your 6th level knockback against everyone that it hits. By level 6 you can max this out twice per SHORT rest, meaning you have potentially 4-6 maxed out lightning/thunder hits in an adventuring day. Destructive Wave gets overlooked way too often. You can max out half of it for 47.5 average damage in a 30' GROUP FRIENDLY AoE around you. Combine that with Spirit Guardians and you are an absolute grinder for enemies that want to close on your group. Finally, from an optimization perspective, at level 12 all Tempest Clerics should be taking Metamagic Adept and picking up Transmuted Spell. That's because at level 13 Clerics get access to Fire Storm. Transmute that to lightning and you get a large, configurable, 70 flat damage AoE that also knocks everyone it hits back 10'. That damage is on par with Disintegrate, but comes in AoE form and still does half damage + knockback on a successful (Dex) save. Barring Meteor Swarm, Tempest Clerics are the best AoE blaster in the game. They embody area destruction just as a Tempest should and steadily increase in destructive capability through leveling which is solid design. Bonus points: First, if you're dipping Cleric 2 with the idea of going into Sorcerer after, don't do Storm Sorcerer. The subclass isn't good and it also isn't necessary, regardless of seeming like it should go hand in hand with Tempest. Go with Divine Soul instead and have access to the best of both both Sorcerer and Cleric spell lists. Second, planning to melee is a trap, even with Booming Blade. Your action will almost always be better spent doing other things and neither your strength nor dexterity are a primary stat for you to increase meaning that as play progresses you're either investing your whole build into a cantrip at the expense of everything else or your to-hit chance will be falling behind. Third, while heavy armor isn't necessarily a bad thing (my own Tempest domain is in HA), there's some real benefit to going medium armor instead. If you go Heavy Armor you have to get Strength to 15 on top of needing a strong Wisdom and at least a 14 in Con. That means you're probably dumping Dexterity. That will come back to bite you in every initiative and on any dexterity saving throws. Going Medium Armor means you get your Dex to 14 which is better than needing 15, and can be a 3 point swing compared to a dumped dex score on both Dex saves and initiative roles. For that you lose 1 AC, or just a 5% increased chance for an enemy to hit you. If I had it to do over again I'd probably be wearing medium armor. Going higher in initiative order before allies get in the way of your AoE's would be really convenient.
Thanks for watching!!! your in-depth depiction of being a remotest cleric is incredible. I really hope people read this comment. You have insight only someone with a severe level of experience with a tempest cleric would have. That spell analysis is spot on. I can tell you really enjoyed being that cleric.
My first character I made is a Triton, Tempest Domain. So a combination between Aquaman and Thor and I am obsessed. I didn't know how much damage I could make and I was beyond surprised when I used my Channel Divinity with the spell Shatter. I absolutely love my sailor Triton:)
I never would of considered a triton for a tempest domain. That works really well with the theme. Adding the sailor background was genius!! That’s awesome. Definitely a cool idea. Clerics are so strong and the tempest cleric has one of the coolest abilities in game!. Instant max damage is amazing!!!
@@qwitchyy Oh that's cool! It is very fun to play a character like that. My Triton also has a hammer as a weapon:) That is a perfect representation of Thor:)
This video was a lot of fun to watch and very informative. I'm currently looking to build a (new) kobold tempest cleric. Still a work in progress, but he's obsessed with becoming a storm dragon. So, he took shocking grasp (reflavored as a bite of lightning. CHOMP!) With the free sorc cantrip. Also, figured it fun synergy with the lv 6 ability to push enemies away. Planning to do mono class and nab up metamagic adept for transmute spell.
I love lightning chomp first and foremost. I am a big fan of staying mono class. With transmute spell and say I dunno spirit guardians that’s a profound spiritual moment…. For the enemy. That’s a really smart move I like that.
Made a Tempest Cleric Named Maldr (a mix of Bauldr, Magni & Modi from God of War 2018 & God of War Ragnarok). He was a half elf--but part Goliath rather than part human (mother's side). He was born & raised on the Citadel of Ice & Steel (city in the Elemental Plane of Wind) where his Goliath Mother was a priestess in a temple for Aerdrie Faenya (whom many Djinni & other EPoW residents worship) & his High Elf father was a ranking member of the Citadel's militia forces. After his father let a raid into the Material Plane & dissapeared, the Grand Caliph himself sent Maldr to the Material Plane to find his Captain/father & missing soldiers. This put him in the middle of Storm King's Thunder. What fun. My build is to start level 1 as a Half Elf (High Elf variant, Booming Blade Cantrip), putting the +1 into Strength & Wisdom to start at 16/8/14/10/16/10 Lightning Bolt, Heavy Armor (18 AC, 20 with sword & board), Lightning Bolt, Martial Weapons, Lightning Bolt, 60 foot Darkvision, Lightning Bolt, good (but not the best) blasting & field control spells, Lightning Bolt, my melee attacks will deal an additional 1D8 Thunder damage at level 5, 8, 11, 14 & 17, Lightning Bolt, whenever I deal thunder or lightning damage I can max it without rolling--like with Booming Blade crits or Lightning Bolt. At level 4 I went with +2 Wisdom (now 18) then Tough at 8 due to less than desireable health. After that I plan to finish off as an HP/AC tank capping his HP to 243 by level 20 with 20 Constitution (+2 Constitution at 12, 16 & 19) as well as 1D8+4 bludgeoning damage & 5D8 thunder damage on my auto attacks. Yes, 18 on Wisdom isn't the best it can be & I could easily change my mind by level 12 if my HP isn't as bad as I paranoially think it is.
Wow what a story!! It is in-depth and a lot of history behind it. You can ease up on hp your high armor will help a lot just focus on getting your wisdom up. Also you can get magic items that bring up your health if you really need it. The key to be tanky is have high ac and some resistances. It goes along way
I love playing as a Tempest Cleric. I’m a wood elf and one particularly fun encounter saw me use the “Mask of the Wild” trait to hide in the rain. Once hidden I was able to use my spiritual weapon with my holy symbol on it to attack a group of orcs. Being able to attempt to hide in stormy weather in additional to be able to essentially make storms has proven to be a very good time.
That’s awesome! Mask of the wild is something you rarely see. It’s so useful as a spell caster. That gives you so much ability in combat because to the opponent it’s a lot of action economy to find you first which is amazing. Plus you can still use your movement.
Ive had a build for this on the back burner for a while, a Goliath tempest cleric of umberlee that’s chaotic neutral and seeks to enforce her will on those who would stand in her way.
@@TheSinisterheroes the pocket character that i really wanna play is actually the goliath tempest cleric but my brain always goes back to party comp so if we have too many melee i play something else because this one lends very heavily into being a melee or mid range. the tempest cares not for morality the tempest only craves destruction.
@@TheSinisterheroes oh i know we can but the old school mmo raider brain part says oh no we cant do that cuz then we all die to fireball or a breathe weapon
My latest Tempest Cleric was part of a 2 character team that is supposed to duo an adventure series meant for 4-5. So she has to cover a lot of bases. Dex based magic school dropout that is pesimistic and a bit doom and gloom goth chick on normal days that drink too much in the worst bars with horrible company, until the storm rolls in. During bad weather she is hyper has ADHD and super optimistic though quick to anger and generally uncontrolled. Build wise she took Air genasi for shocking grasp, Prismari Student background for shield spell and firebolt (replavoured to a white hot lightning strike with fire damange). Dex build with stealth, medium armor, shield and rapier and chrossbow.
I like that!!! The way the storms influence there attitude. And change them without there realizing. It makes this real tangible connection to there domain, as a reward for the faith, I like it, leans a little storm sorcery but it can honestly go either way.
@@TheSinisterheroes If you were martial melee, I would say "Dont you wanna smack face of Dragon which taunt you in the sky?" which you cant do with Climbing speed but Tempest Clerics have more than 1 way to humble such disrespect.
I clicked just for the channel name! I Subbed for the content. Well done! I'd like to see the Grave and Death Clerics. If you've done them already, count on me being there soon. If not...get on it, please!
yeah i am thinking about trying out the Charger feat. sins you can move enemys allot. and you dont have extra attack to waist. yes spiritual weapon might be better,butt having less spellcasting bonus it might not be a big deal
I just built an air genasi (monsters of the multiverse) tempest cleric with the strixhaven background prismari student to get access to the shield spell, chromatic orb and wall of fire. (Backstory to make it make sense) metamagic adept for transmute spell so by 7th level wall of fire as lightning damage. The 6th level ability to push enemies back really bumps up the effectiveness of wall of fire/lightning. You also get shocking grasp as an air genasi so you can push enemies that way as well. Starting at 3rd level so won't be that strong yet but should be fun. I'll still have the potential for 25 AC with a shield, shield of faith, and the shield spell.
That sounds real on brand . Are you guys using Tasha’s rules cus then you could opt for the optional add proficiency to cantrips instead of addition dmg on attacks at level 8. Which would be awesome in theory. Making your shocking grasp utility and up the dmg of it.
@@TheSinisterheroes strixhaven student backgrounds are amazing though. I really want to see what kind of builds people can make using these backgrounds. Maybe we can chat and use it as a video idea. A sorcerer/life cleric with the Quandrix student background gets aura of vitality and can extended spell it. A necromancer wizard with witherbloom student background has inflict wounds. A swords bard, paladin, or blade singer wizard with lorehold student background gets spirit guardians. A ranger with prismari student background gets kinetic Jaunt, putting their movement speed at an average of 55 by 6th level with a climbing and swimming speed equal to their walking speed. Dhampir if you want to climb upside down on walls and shoot arrows from the ceiling. Really want to see what other people can come up with.
@@fledgling9097 its a gamble for sure but since the average works out to be 5 for some reason you might hit for more than you would with just flat wisdome, but again that 1 is gonna haunt your dreams
@@fledgling9097 it is very interesting the options you game with the strixhaven backgrounds, its very similar to the ravnica backgrounds. i happen to like the ravnica backgrounds alot cus of the cult of rakdos. when i start diving into feats and backgrounds i may cover it . if you ever want a second pair of eyes on something or just talk about it let me know.
Started a curse of strahd yesterday with the party zooted like hell. First encounter with enemies: around 15 buffed up vultures eating a corpse. Our snakeman hexblade wanted to investigate, triggering all of the birds. As he dealt with a couple of them, two attacked our barbarian. Be me. Lvl. 3 Thor - worahipping tempest cleric half elf with mark of the storm. What do i do? Channel Divinity and cast Shatter with max damage into the sky where all of the birds were. At first the DM was like nah, you can't do 24 AoE Damage 30 feet above you. Then he looked at my sheet. After half a minute he gave me the "well, fuck" look and asked how I want to finish this. My character (chaotic good) opened his mead bottle, chugged it emty, raised his warhammer (his holy symbol) and yelled "I'll see you in Valhalla, assholes!" and casted shatter. All but the two birds on the ground (who proceeded to gtfo there) started dropping from the sky. A nat 1 on the side of the barbarian got him crit by a vulture's corpse 😂 as the gm tried coping with half an hour of combat lost to my oneshot. Wasn't the first time it happened, either. One of our players (the bard) also used to gm for our party. As we played a waterdeep campaign we encountered a gazer in the sewers at lvl 1. Half our party members failed an int check and got knocked out. Me, an evocation wizard asked the fm if the gazer is still in the water/sewage (we were standing on dry ground). It was, indeed, the case. What do I do? Cast chromatic orb in lightning, so I have an advantage roll. I roll 24. The DM rolls abysmally low for defense. And like that, the gazer was no more and the dm sits in disbelief. He got back at me somewhat by making me do (and fail) a con check and getting my character to vomit profusely from the rising fumes and piss/shit vapor. Now I am known to our party as the one shot guy and the gms don't allow me to play wizard anymore 😂
That’s what tempest clerics do!!!!! That’s a great moment for your team to see that. It dose have a limited use so you wanna make sure you get to use it every chance you get. As far as the wizard is concerned, that was the DM’s doing lol.
Why does so many people think boom blades worth a crap there’s not too many scenarios that you don’t have to take a risk and get it just to get them to move at 5 feet to take them extra d8 of damage is the dumbest spell ever
The biggest reason booming blade is the way it is, is due to dpr builds, or damage per round, from an mathematical standpoint point they can situate that spell to do more damage by a sequence of averages. The rogue gets mileage out of it because of cunning action hit one enemy disengage bonus action and run away, it gives the biggest percentage that the enemy will move and take the extra damage. I am currently using it on a death domain cleric. My reasoning isn’t for the second hand damage, it’s mainly to maintain a strong melee presence. That extra d8 with my regular attack and then divine strike will keep me on par in melee as I am a frontline due to party composition. Though if I could be honest I should have gone with green flame blade.
Being able to maximize his breath weapon, which between that and Thunderwave made him excellent close aoe. That and between the heavy armor and Warhammer he was always a threat in melee. I loved the hyper aggressive play style
I love playing clerics but this is my first time playing a tempest cleric and I'm excited to play thru it cause imma try to mulitclass with sorcerer to be like a nova blast damage build
@@TheSinisterheroes I have a video from another RU-vidr who describes how to make the build if you wanna look into it sorry if this isn't okay to suggest
tempest cleric centaur. the freedom of nature and the sky hates enclosed spaces. guidance is a gust of wind or droplet of rain or the distant rumble of thunder. thier hooves echo the storm fury.
I'm running mine as the main tank. My wisdom is 12, lol. We are level 5 in a campaign that is to take us to 20. I want shield Master at level 8. My party lost my little brother, I'm hoping I can rp my dm into boosting my wis.
Your level 5. You have time to boost it up. I don’t mean to teach you how to play your character but wisdom is super important. Your wisdom modifier is really important to your abilities as well. Could you possibly swap some of your scores?. Maybe that’s more viable than trying to see if the dm will gift you them.
I like using Tempest for a Cleric of Hoar - focusing on the Vengeance / Poetic Justice aspect and his title of Lord of Three Thunders. I know the suggested Domain is War, but that feels boring and uninspired to me. Thunderous Strike should apply to Lightning AND Thunder. It is NOT OP.
I think most rational DM’s would agree to thunderous strike working for lightning and thunder damage. When it comes to gods I tend to be a little hard lined but there are always ways around it. If the deity themselves don’t interact with anyone but your character, I could see there being a lot of wiggle room.
Insect Plague looks like sore thumb even in theme. Not to mention, Spiritual Guardian can work well if not better. I wonder if Thunderous Strike has been changed because of Booming Blade. Not only, name contradicts with effect, it feels inconsistant when compared to other abilities. As cool as Flight can be this ability is quite disappointing even for Player's Handbook standard. Otherwise, cool subclass. Speaking of Destruction, are you going to review Light Domain?
@@TheSinisterheroesFeel like I am having bug because in channel divinity section I have turn undead button and text with turn undead and I cant click that but I dont have any channel divinity button. Id love to see screenshot how it should look like
I feel like Dragonborn is a very strong species and they get over looked a lot. Bronze dose lightning damage if I am correct. Bronze dragons are often good aligned dragons. It all could work well together. Tashas the ability score increases, and you are primed for a good character. The real question you have to ask is who is the dragon born, what’s the connection and how can you make this character someone your going to enjoy playing. Is there a certain animosity from the god you chose, cus Dragonborn don’t worship dragon gods, cus they lived in a world where they were slaves by dragons and no gods helped them. Is this connection to lightning drawing you to a god, making you wonder if this was the Dragonborn you were meant to be or are you meant to be a herald of this god. The combination mechanically is great!!!
lol that’s the first time I heard that🤣😂🤣 I mean I always suspected. In my future videos I’ll try and curve it. Thanks for the constructive criticism I appreciate it. It really helps in truth
You’re a better person than me 😂 this is a great reply. I started playing DnD a few months ago and im playing as a tempest cleric. Found so helpful! Much appreciated!
