Backstory
You are the second of three Rockseeker brothers (the other two are Gundren and Nundro). That makes you a member of a noble dwarven clan of Rockseekers. Unlike your brothers, you always had a heart of adventurer, so you abandoned dwarven tradition of becoming a craftsman in order to pursue the rising storm in your heart and set out on a quest for gold and glory. Recently you've got a message from your older brother Gundren, who told you that the clan's business has gone downhill in the last years, but he and Nundro have a plan to restore their clan to their former glory. In the clan's library they discovered information about a certain structure near the town of Phandalin, in which one of your ancestors 'was working on marvels both magical and technological'. However, he asked for you to meet him in Neverwinter to help, since 'The journey may require skills of your expertise'. And thus, you are here.
Class Overview
As a Mountain Dwarf Tempest Cleric your character has a mix of good health and armor, as well as access to some offensive capabilities.
Stats
Your character has premium strength and constitution, which also contributes to your health, respectable wisdom, mediocre charisma and intelligence, and dexterity as your dump stat. That means that you're less afraid of spells that target your WIS and CON: that includes mind controlling abilities and 'poison & disease' spells and effects. Your low DEX means, however, that you're more afraid of spells that require you to 'jump away or get hit' (examples: fireball).
Skills
You are not excetionally good at most skills, save for Insight, however, you're not too bad at most of them either. Your ok Wisdom score gives you good Perception and Insight, which means you have good eye for detail. Your Strength also gives you good Athletics. Given your low Dexterity, you should avoid Stealth, Acrobatics and Sleight of Hand. Leave those to sneaky weaklings. You prefer more direct approach.
Proficiencies
Your character is proficient in all weapons and armor. That allows you to have respectable damage with your attacks and have good AC.
While choosing your weapons, you should look for strength based weapons: a good one-handed melee weapon (to use in tandem with a shield, if you're looking for more defence), a good one-handed thrown weapon (to have a decent ranged option) and possibly a good two-handed weapon (if you're looking for more damage).
Attacks
Your attacks come from your choice of weapons. Generally speaking, you can perform a single attack per round, which will be your most common use of an action. It will usually be in a form:
1d20 + 5 to hit
[dice] + 3 damage
Where [dice] will depend on your weapon:
- 1d8 for one-handed melee
- 1d6 for one-handed ranged
- 2d6 for two-handed melee
Note: you also can perform two throws or melee attacks with lighter weapons, but the second attack will be less effective, plus you need to draw both weapons and not use your shield, so this is rather a backup option.
Spells
First, let's discuss your cantrips. Those don't spend your recourses, other than the use of your action:
- Guidance
This spell gives a little bonus to an ability check of the target's choise. However, it requires to cast it before the check is made, so you should anticipate, when the situation would require an ability check.
- Sacred Flame
This is your other ranged option. It does not do a lot of damage, but it doesn't require a weapon and has a larger range. Use it if running to your enemy and hitting them with a weapon is not an option.
- Spare the Dying
This is a niche cantrip with the sole purpose of safely stabilising a teamate. You will not use it often.
Now let's overview your 1st level spells. You currently can cast a 1st level spell 3 times before taking a long rest. We'll look at the spells you have available and discuss when to use each of them:
- Healing Word
This spell does not heal much. However, it uses only your bonus action, so it's good for bringing a teammate back up without interrupting your attacks.
- Thunderwave
This spell provides you with an AoE damaging option, as well as crowd control option. On top of that, it synergises well with your Channel Divinity, that can maximize its damage. You it, if there are three or more enemies in front of you, that would get caught in the blast.
- Fog Cloud
This spell has many uses, but most of them are utility. It can cover a large zone with fog, that blocks line of sight, therefore, disabling ranged characters and spellcasters, while they are in the zone. Considering its size, the zone will also create confusion within the enemy formation, forcing them to regroup. Furthermore, you can concentrate on it for up to an hour, so this can be setup ahead of time as a distraction. Use it when you need to divide and/or confuse enemies or buy yourself some time to close in on the enemy.
- Shield of Faith
This is a simple spell, that uses your concentration, giving yourself (or an ally) +2 to AC. Useful, if there are a lot of enemies that cannot be eliminated or disabled quickly enough, and an ally (or you) is in their line of fire.
- Bane
This spell is best used to debuff a group of enemies, that you can't deal with quickly. Taking away a d4 from their attacks and saving throws can turn their hits into misses and make your spells more effective. However, this requires them to fail a Charisma save, so it's not as reliable as Bless (has the opposite effect on your allies). Consider replacing it, if that becomes an issue.
- Command
This spell is used solely for control purpouses. It allows you to use some cheesy tactics in cooperation with your teammates. Examples: disarm an enemy and take their weapon away, make an enemy skip a turn to allow your party to regroup etc. The spell also states that you can use other one-word commands, so with enough imagination you can get a lot out of it.
Other Abilities
- Wrath of The Storm
This ability allows you to make significant damage to an enemy that hits you with a melee attack. You cannot use it too often, however, it will come in handy. You can use it to finish off a weak or wounded enemy, if you feel overwhelmed, or to simply pump some more damage into a strong enemy. This ability requires a Dex Save, so consider using it against more 'clumsy' enemies. On top of that, it synergises well with your second ability.
- Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath
This ability is a fantastic way to make sure, that you will do significant damage with a spell or ability, that deals lightning or thunder damage. Works best with Thunderwave to give you a good AoE clear, but also can be used in tandem with Wrath of The Storm to hurt a single enemy, that made the mistake of attacking you. Recharges on a short rest (1 hour), which is also great. Try to position yourself well before using it.
Tactics
Now let's discuss your overall combat tactics. Your role is an 'agressive tank'. You like to be in the thick of the fight, since you can use your good AC and Shield of Faith to repel most attacks and Wrath of The Storm to punish those, who managed to land a hit on you. Your melee attacks are also decent, however, while they are a reliable source of damage, they are not your best one. Gathering enemies next to you and using a combo of Thunderwave + Destructive Wrath allows you to clear waves of weak enemies fast. If you're facing mostly ranged enemies, your job is to either block their line of sight with Fog Cloud, or use your turn to get close and personal to them, causing them to either resort to their melee options, or suffer disadvantage on ranged attacks. However, if it seems, that you might become overwhelmed behind enemy lines, try to find cover and spam Sacred Flame. Also watch out for your teammates and try to get between them and your enemies, and use Healing Word if neccessary.