Okay, so yesterday I fired up Baldur’s Gate 3 again, right? Been itching to try a Tempest Cleric properly this time. Figured I’d mess around and see what this “Tempest” thing actually does instead of just reading tooltips. Grabbed Shadowheart at camp and respecced her using Withers – slapped that Tempest domain on her without hesitation. First thing? Spent like ten minutes just staring at the level-up screen clicking options.
Getting Started with the Basics
At level 1, they throw Wrath of the Storm at you. Sounds badass, right? Basically, when somebody hits you in melee, you can zap ’em as a reaction. Used it when some goblin smacked Shadowheart near the grove. Little guy went POOF with lightning damage. Felt pretty damn satisfying, though the charges run out quick – only procs a few times til long rest.
Also got that Heavy Armor proficiency immediately. Ditched her default gear and shoved some clunky plate armor on her. Looked ridiculous clomping around stealth missions, but hey – took hits like a champ during that first owlbear fight.
Channel Divinity is Where It’s At
Hit level 2 and bam – Channel Divinity options pop up. Two choices here:
- Destructive Wrath: This is the gold. Makes your next lightning or thunder spell do MAX damage instead of rolling dice. Used it with Thunderwave against the harpies near the grove. Normally Thunderwave is random damage, right? Not this time. Full 16 damage to every bird-lady in that cone. Glorious carnage.
- Thunderous Rebuke: Felt kinda weak compared to the other one. When you get hit, it makes the attacker do a saving throw or take thunder damage. Saw it fail half the time when goblins rolled well.
Honestly? Destructive Wrath is the main reason to play Tempest domain. Saved it for big lightning spells like Call Lightning later on.
Spells That Made Me Cackle
Tempest gets extra thunder/lightning spells automatically added. At level 3, Shatter appears. Positioned Shadowheart behind some cultists near the swamp, yelled “EAT THIS” at my screen, and BOOM – hit three guys for massive AOE damage. Water surfaces nearby got electrified too – bonus!
Call Lightning at level 5 though? Absolute MVP. Climbed onto a roof during the gnoll fight, used Destructive Wrath with it – ZAPPED every gnoll for full 30 damage first strike. My tav fighter didn’t even get to swing his sword. Felt overpowered as hell… until I realized how many spell slots it burned.
Stuff That Frustrated Me
- Flight at level 6 sounds awesome – until you get shot down next turn by three arrows.
- Divine Strips for thunder damage is cool… unless you’re fighting constructs that resist thunder like those guardian statues.
- Destructive Wrath charges disappear FAST. Only one use per short rest til higher levels. Had to constantly remind myself not to waste it.
Biggest takeaway? Tempest Cleric ain’t for careful players. If you’re not blowing stuff up loud and proud with lightning, you’re doing it wrong. Almost got party wiped when I aggro’d half the creche by thunderwaving a single guard though. Worth it.