D&D 5E Creating a 5E Light Cleric?

[Dax Doomslayer]

Hi Folks,
I've decided to run a cleric in a 5E game. It seems at least the initial couple of adventures will be Undead heavy so I was wondering what would be an effective (and most importantly - fun) version to run. It doesn't need to be incredibly optimized but I would like a PC that is effective. I was potentially thinking a Protector Aasimer Light Cleric as that seems to be a cool concept but am open to suggestions. Also, any advice as how to go with this and if Aasimer is a decent choice. The charisma is a bit of a waste but they do get Wisdom. Any guidance is helpful!! Thanks.

 

[Sacrosanct]

If you're not all that worried about optimization, then play whatever concept seems the most fun. They will all be effective.

 

[TwoSix]

Cleric is never ever a bad choice, it works great against undead, and clerics have enough tools that they are always enjoyable. Aasimar is a fine choice, they're one of the strongest races overall. Anything is a Wisdom bonus is good, since Light clerics are very Wisdom dependent (even more so than other clerics). A race with Dex and Wis is probably ideal, like Wood Elf, since Light clerics use medium armor, but it's nothing major.

 

[kbrakke]

To echo what others have said, light cleric relies on spells more than other cleric types so boosting your spell save DC is the most important thing for you. Any wisdom boosting race is ideal, and there are enough that you should have options for any given backstory. I would do a pretty standard 14 dex, wear medium armor and shield, and 14 con because I basically always do 14 con.

To play any cleric well I would make sure you keep your whole spell list in mind because you can change what you prepare every day. So knowing everything you can do will help a lot when playing.

 

[Helldritch]

Charisma in such a character is far from a waste.

Use the persuasion skill to make him a zealot like preacher!

Bathe in the light heaten! Follow the light! May the light guide you in your tribulations! See how the light helps you! Shouldn't you give as much as the ligth is giving you? Many catchy sentences for this kind of character. You might even try to convert NPCs around you to your religion. And in combat....

Intimidation
Suffer the holy radiance of the light! May the flame eternal put you to rest vile beast from the dead pits of hell... So many things you could do with that charisma...

I would not even go for the heavy armored type cleric. A robed one (with a chain shirt underneath it) and a staff would make quite an impression. I have a light cleric in one of my group right now. She is slowly converting everyone to the "Light". We're in CoS and she comes from a monotheistic world in which the Light is the only religion but with many branches/beliefs connecting to it. Guess what? She has both persuasion and intimidation. Her stats are St:8, Dx: 14, CN: 12, Int: 10, Wis: 18, Cha: 14. She uses the Thaumaturgy cantrip to a great extent to give her some edges with her charisma checks.

The player playing that cleric is having quite a blast with charisma. She even considered taking the skill feats "diplomat and menacing" from UA. But since I already incorporated some of the effects of these feats in the skills she would only add her proficiency twice. She dropped the matter on that but still, I wish there would a feat called expertise in which you could mimic the rogue's expertise feat. Two skills of your choice and you double your proficiency on its checks. Maybe you can talk your DM in that...

 

[Kobold Stew]

Clerics are fun to play, and a light cleric gives you some great options to shine (yuk, yuk).

Any race that lets you start with a 16 wis and a 14 dex is going to be able to hold its own without difficulty: I would suggest that an Aasimar is too on-the-nose for a light cleric: for many, I'd think it's easier to find a bit more depth if you choose something else: hill dwarf, wood elf, variant human, or ghostwise halfling (from SCAG; includes built-in undeadish features) would work well.

The only drawback for me with Cleric is not being able to roll attacks -- Sacred Flame avoids cover, but means the DM rolls the save (or perhaps you do, but it still feels different than rolling an attack). The SCAG subclass lets you take Wizard cantrips, which lets you roll to attack, if that matters to you.

Most of all -- have fun.

 

[Kalshane]

I briefly played a Light Cleric (though I went Variant Human and took Spellsniper and snagged Produce Flame as my bonus cantrip so I could mix things up between attack rolls and saves (with Sacred Flame) depending on what I was facing. I think it's a solid class and would definitely shine in an undead-heavy campaign. I had another one in a high-level campaign I was running (new player who joined the game at level 12 to replace the player of their flame-focused Wizard who dropped out) and he filled in admirably in the vacated blaster role.

 

[Mistwell]

I recommend both the Guidance cantrip and Bless spell, just because both have a very wide array of utility. Beyond that, all the choices are pretty good.

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

Folks,
Thanks for the input.!! This helps a lot. Ironically Mistwell I was just choosing the spells and was wondering between Guidance and Resistance...