The robed priest - a popular fan favorite.

[KorvinStarmast]

Nope, but it still takes up a hand, so it can't be used with a 2 handed weapon. I posted it on the Homebrew section and JPAProductions thought it may be a good idea to add a little more in

Yeah, I was reading it off of the Homebrew there, just wanted to toss a few more ideas around. I like what you did with that. My only concern "balance" wise is that with that up and a concentration effect like shield of the faithful up, you've got a stacking thing going on. (Also, is the use of 2h weapons that big of a deal for this class?)

[nickl_2000]

Yeah, I was reading it off of the Homebrew there, just wanted to toss a few more ideas around. I like what you did with that. My only concern "balance" wise is that with that up and a concentration effect like shield of the faithful up, you've got a stacking thing going on. (Also, is the use of 2h weapons that big of a deal for this class?)

A heavy armor cleric gets Scale Mail (17 AC) + A Shield at level one (19 total AC) all the time
A medium Armor who invests in Dex gets scale (14 AC) + Dex (usually 2) + Shield (18 total AC) all the time.

Both of those are higher to begin with and let you use the Shield of Faith concentration spell. Compared to that it's a lower AC, without disadvantage on stealth.


It isn't a big deal to use a two handed weapon other than I like the idea of a two handed weapon and a shield at the same time. That's a feel thing.

[JackPhoenix]

A heavy armor cleric gets Scale Mail (17 AC) + A Shield at level one (19 total AC) all the time

Do you mean chain mail? That's 16 AC, not 17, so the end result with a shield is the same as with medium armor and Dex (but you can dump Dex if you wear heavy armor... you'll propably want to invest in Str to avoid movement penalty with heavy armor instead anyway. Heavy armor cleric will pull up ahead once plate armor gets available, unless the medium armor cleric uses a feat for Medium Armor Master and Dex at least 16.

For sword & board cleric, both roads are viable, depending on what you want to do. But both still means you're wearing armor.

[GlenSmash!]

Because refluffing is too hard and far-fetched, but creating homebrew isn’t?

Nope, just different strokes for different folks.

Even if you reflavor light or medium armor to look like a thick leather jacket, it’s still a thick leather jacket - the original post asked about a religious nut wearing a bathrobe and have ideally 30AC doing so, and that’s gonna be difficult without homebrew or a class other than cleric.

Can I assume 30AC was hyperbole for effects sake? Because the OPs original suggestions top out at 18-20AC, with the first one having to pump a non-primary stat for Clerics.

If it were me I'd just grab Magic Initiate for Mage Armor and be done with it.

[MeeposFire]

Nope, just different strokes for different folks.



Can I assume 30AC was hyperbole for effects sake? Because the OPs original suggestions top out at 18-20AC, with the first one having to pump a non-primary stat for Clerics.

If it were me I'd just grab Magic Initiate for Mage Armor and be done with it.

Which is essentially the other option going with a dragon sorc kind of ability where your AC is 13+ some other stat (typically dex but could be something else if you want it to be but probably not wisdom since other classes that gets these benefits tend to not be their sole primary stat).

[Quoxis]

Nope, just different strokes for different folks.

Can I assume 30AC was hyperbole for effects sake? Because the OPs original suggestions top out at 18-20AC, with the first one having to pump a non-primary stat for Clerics.

If it were me I'd just grab Magic Initiate for Mage Armor and be done with it.

You assume correctly, i‘m on my phone, otherwise i‘d have made it blue.
The magic initiate route is good, but a) only works for 8 hours per day and b) is limited to lvl 4+ for anything other than vhumans.

[strangebloke]

Could always play a tortle or lizardfolk.

Lizardfolk make great clerics.

[GlenSmash!]

You assume correctly, i‘m on my phone, otherwise i‘d have made it blue.
The magic initiate route is good, but a) only works for 8 hours per day and b) is limited to lvl 4+ for anything other than vhumans.

Woo! Score one for discerning sarcasm, or at least facetiousness on the internet!

Yeah it's not a perfect solution to the OPs problem, but it's a pretty simple one and I like simple things.

Excuse me while I go back to playing fighters and barbarians.

[Zorrah]

Yeah, my vote thematically would be to have 1 level of monk. There are some other things that fit well thematically with multiclassing monk too, like quarterstaff counting as a monk weapon. Thematically, such a character probably wouldn't have a high strength, but you would want them to have a decent dex being unarmored and all.

While I think the defensive magical item, staff of defense or whatever else you can find to make this work, while a passable and interesting solution to the problem, I feel goes more against RAI than RAW. Part of the theme of 5th edition I feel was the idea that your character is defined by their personal power, not the loot they've gathered, and that gone are the huge hordes and magic shops of 3e and 4e because you shouldn't need a magic item to define your character. Granted, if we wanted to go appendix n about it, many heroes were defined by their magical items, but that's not the feel i get from 5e.

As a home brew, there could be a domain, protection or something, that grants wis+10 as base ac. I know people have said Cha and have reasons for such, but honestly, Part of the 5e fix for clerics was not requiring cha for so many of their secondary abilities, and it is my opinion that should keep going with homebrew cleric stuff. Channel divinity could double the wisdom bonus for this for one round. RAW and RAI, I wouldn't allow this cleric defense boon to stack with monk or barbarian unarmored defense, because they don't stack already, nor would it stack with mage armor or dragon sorcerers scales.