Flavor V. Optimization

[poolio]

Hello all, This is my first post and i registered just so i could get some opinions on this,

So i'm making a Nature cleric and was going to take Shillelagh for the bonus cantrip cause i was thinking about instead of using a club or staff, to have
a wooden axe (if my dm will alow, and knowing him he'd probably love it) with runes and a wolf head carved into it (going to worship fenrir, a wolf god who'd ad the perfect flavor for the campaign i'm in) But after looking around for a bit it seems that a lot of people really like the "Quarterstaff+Pol-arm master+Sentinel" combo,

And i'm wondering what everyone here thinks, Pros and cons of the build, would the benefits of the feats be worthy of the ability scores i'd be giving up,

Thoughts?

[JoeJ]

This is in reference to some flavor of D&D I presume? Since you're asking about a specific build, you should ask the moderators to move your post to the correct forum for whichever edition you're playing.

[Takewo]

Hello all, This is my first post and i registered just so i could get some opinions on this,

So i'm making a Nature cleric and was going to take Shillelagh for the bonus cantrip cause i was thinking about instead of using a club or staff, to have
a wooden axe (if my dm will alow, and knowing him he'd probably love it) with runes and a wolf head carved into it (going to worship fenrir, a wolf god who'd ad the perfect flavor for the campaign i'm in) But after looking around for a bit it seems that a lot of people really like the "Quarterstaff+Pol-arm master+Sentinel" combo,

And i'm wondering what everyone here thinks, Pros and cons of the build, would the benefits of the feats be worthy of the ability scores i'd be giving up,

Thoughts?

I really don't know what your question is about. If what you're thinking is that the polearm combo wouldn't allow you to fluff you Shillelagh as an axe, you can simply fluff it as a halberd, which is pretty much the same and I should hope it counts as a polearm.

[hymer]

Assuming 5e here:
It seems to me you'd be sinking a lot of resources into melee fighting, on what is primarily a caster character. If your group is in dire need of someone who can stand in melee, then a nature cleric can do that, sure. But what else do you have in the group to work with?

[SirBellias]

First off, cool concept, I did basically the same thing with my druid, except he worships The Ox that pulls the Sun from the Sky.

I mean, you could do that, but if you don't already have one of those feats, you'll have to wait a really long time to actually get there. And as it's already been said, Druids aren't really designed for melee, besides wildshape, so I'd just focus on building up main stats and maybe getting a feat if you feel like it.

Also, Shillelagh doesn't necessarily have to be effective. It can serve as another factor of Intimidation, or just as flavor. It really isn't worth it at higher levels, but it's pretty cool, which is why I picked it for mine.

[JNAProductions]

You know, Flavor and Optimization are not mutually exclusive.

[ClockShock]

You know, Flavor and Optimization are not mutually exclusive.

But in some cases, one impedes the other, which the OP is suggesting to be the case here.

My advice: pick whatever keeps you on a more even footing with the rest of the party. If you think you need the more optimised build to keep with party, do that and work flavour into other places. If you don't need the extra power, take the flavour piece first.

[Alberic Strein]

Clock has the right idea.

Anyway:
1. Specific builds for specific editions should go to their specific sub folder on the forums.
2. Optimization is relative, get your DM and ask him how your character fares compared to the rest of the party. Being good at your thing while being about as good as the rest of the party is the sweet spot.
3. Different classes in different editions need different levels of optimization at different levels of the game to remain competitive. If I want to play a full fighter at 3.5 in a cleric/druid/wizard team, I need to bring out my A game.
4. You're playing a cleric, odds are you don't need sick combos to do your sh*t and do it better than any non cleric on the planet.
5. Compromise where you can and respect the times when you can't. Do a quick chart of what's important to you flavor-wise, and get ready to compromise on the rest.
6. Thinking harder and longer to manage to fit in a reasonable level of optimization and lots of flavor is (almost) always better.