Clerics are the less combat-heavy cousins of Paladins in Solasta: Crown of the Magister, working much like 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. For people who are new to this type of character creation, there is a lot of information to sift through. This guide will simplify and explain as much as possible for beginners.
The Cleric class is slightly more complicated than most of the other classes. This is due to their powers being directly linked to an entity. Due to this, on top of race, background, skills, and subclass, there is also the deity and domain. The deity is the entity the player serves, and each one covers a couple of domains, which affect the cleric's spells and resistances.
Best Races, Backgrounds, and Skills for the Cleric in Solasta: Crown of the Magister
The first choice players have to make it on their character's race. This is one of the easier choices. For min-maxing stats, players will need to pay attention to what each race has to offer. Clerics are based around Wisdom and Charisma, and those ability scores should be made a priority. The best race options currently are Half-Elf, High Elf, Hill Dwarf, Human, and Island Halfling. Out of these, the most specialized and efficient for a Cleric are Half-Elf, High Ef, and Hill Dwarf.
- Half-Elf - Gain a +2 to Charisma and a +1 to two other scores of their choice. They have Darkvision, two bonus skills, and are immune to Charm and Sleep spells.
- High Elf - Gain a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Intelligence. They have Darkvision, an extra cantrip, are proficient in Perception, and are immune to Charm and Sleep spells.
- Hill Dwarf - Gain a +2 in Constitution and +1 in Wisdom. The Hill Dwarf is proficient with the Battleaxe, Handaxe, and Warhammer. They also get an extra HP per level, resistance to poison, and Darkvision.
- Human - Gain a +1 to all ability scores and a language of their choice outside of Common.
- Island Halfling - Gain a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Charisma. They have Darkvision, are Brave (advantage on saving throws against being frightened), are Lucky (can reroll a natural one once per day), and Nimble (can fit through the space of a creature larger than them.) They also gain an advantage on Dexterity and Acrobatics checks.
The next choice is the background. This affects some skill proficiencies, starting gear, demeanor, and the dialogue options of the character. For most clerics, the obvious choice is Acolyte. However, the Academic, Aristocrat, Lawkeeper, and Philosopher would also make decent options, both for role-playing and skill proficiencies.
Finally, skill proficiencies are the next big choice. Clerics get to choose two of these skills History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion. Between these, players should remember what they already are proficient in based on their background and race. For an illustrious know-it-all picking History and Religion are great options. For an insightful healer players should grab Insight and Medicine. Or for a cleric with some dirt on their past, Insight and Persuasion are good options.
Best Deity, Domain, and Feats for the Cleric in Solasta: Crown of the Magister
After selecting the class and skill proficiencies, players will need to select a deity. They have the choice of Arun, Einar, Maraike, and Pakri. This can depend more on role-playing than efficiency, but make an impact either way. Each of the Deities has a different alignment, and a couple of domains to choose from under them. This is the decision granted to Clerics instead of a Subclass.
- Arun - Neutral Deity of Elements. Arun rules the domains of Fire, Ice, Lightning, Sun. Being a Cleric of Arun grants lots of offensive elemental spells. Depending on which domain is chosen, the cleric will get a different cantrip and channel divinity. Elemental fire gets the Firebolt cantrip, Ice gets the Ray of Frost, Lightning gets the Shocking Grasp cantrip, and Sun gets the Light cantrip. Players will also gain immunity to the damage type they select.
- Einar - Lawful Good Deity of Valor and Fidelity. Einar rules over two domains, Law and Battle. Picking the Battle domain will grant the Cleric some offensive Wizard spells and proficiency with martial weapons. This type of cleric can also use an action to regain three hit points in a pinch. Picking the Law domain will grant a mix of offensive and defensive Wizard spells, proficiency with Intimidation, and resistance to being pushed or knocked over.
- Maraike - Neutral Good Deity of Life and Death. The domains this goddess rules over are Life and Oblivion. Picking the Life domain will grant the Cleric with healing and blessing spells and proficiency with heavy armor. Picking the Oblivion domain will grant the Cleric with some Necromancer and Charm spells, an advantage on death-saving throws for their party, and the Chill Touch cantrip.
- Pakri - Lawful Neutral Deity of Law and Knowledge. The domains this goddess rules over are Law and Insight. Picking the Insight domain will grant this Cleric Detection spells, advantage on Arcana, History, and Nature checks, and knowledge of whether Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion works the best for different scenarios. Picking the Law domain will grant a mix of offensive and defensive Wizard spells, proficiency with Intimidation, and resistance to being pushed or knocked over.
Finally, at level four players will get to pick a feat. There are several currently available for players to choose from, but only some of them are worth investing in. The best options for Clerics here are Acute Senses, Flawless Concentration, Hard to Kill, and Manipulator. Acute Senses is a general feat to wake the character immediately when attacked while sleeping. Flawless Concentration means if players take less than 10 damage they don't have to make a Constitution saving throw to continue casting a spell. Hard to Kill makes the player get back up from 0 hit points faster and easier. Manipulator grants the player an extra point in the Charisma ability and doubles their proficiency in deception, persuasion, and intimidation.
Solasta: Crown of the Magister is available now on Mac OS and PC.