Role-Playing games

Build-a-Blast:
The Stargazer

by Serban, Quartermaster @ The Guild Hall

April 7, 2020

Welcome, dear adventurer, to Build-a-Blast. Now, if you’re anything like me, you like trying out fun, new D&D combinations. This series is for you. You, the grizzled old veterans of tabletop, for whom a simple cleric or bland fighter ain’t enough. You, the midmaxing critfishers with a creative feel. In Build-a-Blast, we’ll try to build some fun new PCs for ourselves. This week, a personal favorite: The Stargazer.

The Origin

When Wizards of the Coast started releasing their subclass Unearthed Arcanas in 2019, I was exalted. Little did I know, they would start this year with a bang. In the chaotic month of February, WotC descended from the sky with the incredible Circle of Stars Druid.

This divination-centered, constellation-obsessed nature boy stole my heart away. First of all, you receive a star-map, allowing you to Guiding Bolt your opponents into the grave. Then, the best feature comes to you at 2nd level, with your Starry Form. This gives you new options for your Wild Shape, turning you into one of three constellations: Dragon, Archer or Chalice. All three of these are very powerful.

Seeing this stargazing cosmos druid, my mind wondered to one of my all-time favorite DM annoyances: The School of Divination Wizard.

The Theme

And so came to pass my exploration of the Stargazer. The design is simple, this character starts out as a divinator, looking so deep within the cosmos for answers, that he becomes part of it. Another route could be someone who starts for a love of nature and stars and begins studying the arcane art of divination to better understand them. The overarching theme is simple: it’s all up in the stars. As an extra bit of flavor, you can have your Druidic Star Map also serve as your spellbook.

P.S. Bonus points for casting conjuration spells and making your pets be constellations.

The Gameplay

In terms of gameplay, you can go into many different paths. One I personally like is 2 levels into Wizard, with the rest into Druid. This way, you get the Portent ability from the School of Divination, but also all the powerful support spells of Druids. I should also mention, this build is mostly support-focused, with damage coming from your Star Map Guiding Bolt (which you can use multiple times a day, with its damage scaling with your maximum spell slot). What this path provides is also a solid health pool for your magical madman. Lastly, if you’re longing for some Wizard Spells, you won’t need to put a level into the class for them, rather just find a scroll at your local vendor.

Another possible path is leaning into your wizarding roots for a wider spell list, but less utility. I personally dislike this version, as it makes you squishier and there are not that many spells I find to be that important.

Tips & Tricks

Now that I’ve cover the basis for your provident environmentalist, here are some tips & tricks to help you reach up to the stars:
  • If you want to conjure those constellation beasties I talked about, consider entering your Dragon before, in order to ensure you don’t lose control of them.
  • In a fight with multiple small threats, the Archer will be a constant source of damage, requiring only a bonus action.
  • If there is a rush to heal multiple allies, using your action to activate Chalice and then using healing word will heal multiple allies, as well as provide more healing later on.
  • Facing a powerful shapeshifter? Use Moonbeam and Portent in a combo to confirm their failure!
  • Chalice also benefits from multiple smaller heals, rather than large ones. Consider that.
  • Your Guiding Bolts from Star Map do A LOT of damage. Don’t waste them.
  • Using both Portent and Cosmic Omen, you can heavily sway a dice roll. Your barbarian is readying a heavy attack? Not only can you give him whatever dice roll you want, it’ll also get a d6!
Well, that is all we have for today! Hope you enjoyed this Build-a-Blast. What are your favorite multiclasses, thematic combinations and powerful one-two-punches? Hopefully, we’ll have another one for you soon enough.

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