Goliath Cleric Build Guide

Levels 1-4

You must choose a subclass with Heavy Armor proficiency because your 8 Dexterity makes Medium Armor a death sentence. Forge Domain is the optimal choice, giving you Searing Smite and the ability to magically forge +1 Chain Mail at level 1 to offset your terrible AC. At level 4, take the Telekinetic (Wisdom) feat. This bumps your 15 Wisdom to 16 and gives you a bonus action shove, which is crucial for pushing enemies into your upcoming aura effects.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Spirit Guardians, defining your entire playstyle. Activate Large Form, cast Spirit Guardians, and wade into the frontline. Use your Telekinetic bonus action to drag enemies 5 feet into the aura, triggering the damage immediately on your turn. At level 8, take Resilient (Constitution) to bump your 13 Constitution to 14. Combined with Stone's Endurance, your concentration checks on Spirit Guardians are now virtually bulletproof.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, your melee DPR is an abysmal 3.58, so entirely abandon your 14 Strength weapon attacks. Rely exclusively on your scaling Toll the Dead (3d12) and Word of Radiance. Use your level 12 ASI to cap Wisdom at 20. Level 16 is where you take War Caster. You now have proficiency in Constitution saves, advantage on concentration, and damage reduction from Stone's Endurance. You will literally never drop a spell.

Levels 17-20

At level 17, you gain access to 9th-level spells, specifically Mass Heal, which restores 700 HP. Your Large Form and Giant Ancestry uses now scale heavily with your Proficiency Bonus, giving you a massive pool of damage reduction and size alterations. Wade into the center of the toughest encounters, cast Holy Aura to blind enemies, and act as an immovable divine monolith.

Cantrips

Toll the Dead: With a 14 Strength, your melee weapon swings are useless past level 4. This is your primary damage dealer, targeting Wisdom saves for d12s.

Word of Radiance: Because Large Form puts you in contact with more adjacent squares (up to 12 enemies can surround a Large creature instead of 8), this point-blank AoE hits significantly more targets.

Level 1-2 Spells

Bless: Your go-to Tier 1 concentration spell. Stone's Endurance ensures you don't lose it to stray goblin arrows.

Healing Word: Essential bonus action healing to pick up downed allies without wasting your main action.

Level 3-5 Spells

Spirit Guardians: The engine of the build. Large Form expands the 15-foot radius to cover a staggering 64 grid squares.

Banishment: A brutal save-or-suck spell. Your horrible 8 Dexterity means you will be hit by AoE spells often; maintaining concentration on this via Resilient (CON) is vital.

High-Level Spells

Heal: A flat 70 HP burst heal that cures blindness and disease. Far more reliable than rolling dice for Cure Wounds.

Holy Aura: The ultimate Tier 4 buff. It grants advantage on all saving throws, which finally patches up your catastrophic Dexterity saving throws against ancient dragon breath weapons.

Telekinetic

Take this at level 4. It rounds your 15 Wisdom to 16. More importantly, the bonus action shove allows you to push an enemy into your Spirit Guardians aura on your turn, triggering the spell's damage instantly, and they will take it again on the start of their turn.

Resilient (Constitution)

Take this at level 8 to bump your 13 Constitution to 14. Gaining proficiency in Constitution saving throws is mandatory for a frontline Cleric. When combined with the Goliath's Stone's Endurance, your concentration on Banishment is ironclad.

War Caster

Grab this at level 16. Advantage on concentration checks stacks beautifully with Resilient (CON). It also allows you to cast Command or Toll the Dead as an opportunity attack when enemies try to flee your Large Form threatened area.

Heavy Armor Master

If you don't need War Caster, take this. Reducing non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage by 3 stacks directly with the damage reduction of Stone's Endurance, making you an incredibly durable meat shield in Tier 2 and Tier 3.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Secure Chain Mail and a Shield immediately. With 14 Strength, you meet the requirement without a movement penalty, and your 8 Dexterity demands heavy armor. Ignore weapons entirely; your spell focus is all you need to cast Guiding Bolt.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Acquire Plate Armor to reach 20 AC (with shield). Seek out an Amulet of the Devout +1 to boost your spell save DC, ensuring enemies fail their saves against your Spirit Guardians and Telekinetic shoves.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

A Sentinel Shield is mandatory here. It grants advantage on Initiative rolls, which is desperately needed to counteract your -1 Dexterity modifier, allowing you to establish your aura before enemies swarm your party.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Aim for +3 Plate Armor and a Staff of Healing. The staff frees up your spell slots from Mass Cure Wounds, allowing you to dedicate all your high-level slots to upcasting Spirit Guardians and casting Holy Aura.

As a Goliath Cleric, you are a slow, lumbering area-denial tank. Your 8 Dexterity means the party absolutely requires a Rogue, Ranger, or Bard to handle stealth, trap disarmament, and lockpicking. You are going to fail every group Stealth check, so having a party member who can cast Pass without Trace is highly recommended.

In combat, you pair perfectly with forced-movement martials like a Swarmkeeper Ranger or a Repelling Blast Warlock. They can play ping-pong with enemies, blasting them back into the edge of your Large Form Spirit Guardians aura to trigger the damage multiple times per round. A Cavalier Fighter or Ancestral Guardian Barbarian standing inside your aura also forces enemies into a lose-lose situation where they take damage moving toward you, but have disadvantage attacking anyone else.

Fighter 2

Taking two levels of Fighter grants the Defense Fighting Style (+1 AC) and Action Surge. Action Surge allows you to cast two leveled action spells in the same turn (e.g., cast Blade Barrier to box enemies in, then Action Surge to cast Command: Flee to force them through it). It’s a massive burst of battlefield control.

Lunar Sorcerer 1

A single-level dip gets you access to the Shield spell and Silvery Barbs. Since your Dexterity saves are abysmal, you will be targeted by attacks often. Shield pushes your Plate Armor AC to 25. You also pick up Booming Blade, which pairs decently with your 14 Strength if you are forced to make a melee attack, though Toll the Dead remains mathematically superior.

• Trying to be a melee attacker: With only 14 Strength and no Extra Attack, swinging a mace at level 5 yields a pathetic 3.9 DPR. Cast Toll the Dead instead.
• Picking a Medium Armor subclass: With an 8 Dexterity, Medium Armor maxes out at 14 AC (Half Plate minus 1). You must pick Forge, Life, Twilight, Nature, or Tempest to get Heavy Armor proficiency.
• Wasting Stone's Endurance on small hits: Don't use your Giant Ancestry reaction to block 4 points of goblin damage. Save it to reduce a 25-damage hit to 15, lowering the concentration save DC for Spirit Guardians from 12 to 10.
• Forgetting Large Form expands your auras: Spirit Guardians and Word of Radiance originate from your token's perimeter. Activating Large Form physically increases the grid squares you threaten. Don't waste the trait.