How to Build a Githyanki Artificer Cleric

Stacking githyanki, artificer, and cleric together creates one of the trickiest multiclass builds in 5e—and also one of the most rewarding. You’re pulling from three separate mechanical traditions: the psionic edge of a githyanki warrior, divine spellcasting, and infusion-based crafting. It demands careful level sequencing and spell selection, but the payoff is a character that functions as both a support caster and a tactical innovator in ways that single-class characters can’t match.

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Why Githyanki Works for This Multiclass

Githyanki bring several advantages to this build. Their +2 Strength and +1 Intelligence from the base race fits awkwardly at first glance—clerics want Wisdom, artificers want Intelligence, and neither particularly needs Strength unless you’re building for melee. However, the githyanki’s real value lies in their racial features: they get medium armor and weapon proficiencies that both cleric and artificer appreciate, plus free castings of misty step and eventually jump and nondetection.

The psionic spellcasting uses Intelligence, which means your artificer spells and your racial abilities share the same modifier. This creates some synergy, though you’ll still need respectable Wisdom for cleric spells. The decaying city of Tu’narath breeds warriors who understand both martial discipline and arcane innovation—perfect thematic grounding for someone who blends divine magic with magical craftsmanship.

Ability Score Considerations

This is where the build gets challenging. You need Intelligence for artificer spells and infusions, Wisdom for cleric spells and domain features, and ideally some Constitution to survive. The MAD (Multiple Ability Dependent) problem is real here. Starting with point buy, consider Intelligence 14, Wisdom 14, Constitution 13, then boosting your primary casting stat as you level. You’ll never be the most potent spellcaster in either class, but versatility compensates.

Split Progression: Finding Your Level Balance

The core question with any multiclass: how do you split levels? For a githyanki artificer cleric, several approaches work depending on your campaign’s expected progression.

Heavy Cleric Focus (Cleric X / Artificer 3): Take artificer to level 3 for your subclass and two infusions, then pump cleric for the rest of your career. You lose high-level cleric features and spell slots progress more slowly, but you gain tool expertise, infusions that enhance your gear, and either Battle Smith’s Steel Defender, Armorer’s power armor, or Alchemist’s experimental elixirs. This gives you utility and battlefield presence beyond pure spellcasting.

Even Split (Cleric 10 / Artificer 10): Only viable in high-level campaigns reaching tier 4 play. You get 5th-level spells from both classes, multiple infusions, and significant subclass features from each side. The tradeoff is you never access either class’s capstone abilities, and your spell slot progression lags behind single-class casters by several levels.

Heavy Artificer Focus (Artificer X / Cleric 1-3): Uncommon but interesting for campaigns emphasizing exploration and problem-solving over combat. You’re primarily a crafter and inventor who picked up some divine magic for flavor and emergency healing. The single cleric level grants medium armor and shields (redundant with artificer, but immediate at level 1) plus domain features. Life domain’s Disciple of Life makes your cure wounds notably more effective.

Best Subclass Combinations

Your subclass choices dramatically shape how this multiclass functions.

Cleric Domains That Synergize

Forge Domain: Creates thematic resonance—you’re literally a divine smith. The channel divinity lets you create temporary magic weapons or armor, while your artificer infusions provide permanent enhancements. At higher cleric levels, you gain immunity to fire damage and the ability to make magical armor. Requires Strength or Dexterity investment for melee effectiveness.

Knowledge Domain: Leans into the githyanki’s intellectual tradition. You gain expertise in two Intelligence or Wisdom skills, which stacks beautifully with artificer’s tool expertise. The channel divinity provides proficiency in any skill for 10 minutes—incredible for a class already loaded with skills and tool proficiencies.

War Domain: If you’re taking the melee approach with your githyanki’s weapon proficiencies, War Domain’s bonus action attacks and improved critical range at higher levels support an aggressive playstyle. The martial focus uses your Strength, which githyanki provide naturally.

Artificer Specialists Worth Considering

Battle Smith: Your Steel Defender uses your Intelligence for attacks, and it can receive your cleric healing spells. This gives you a tanky companion that scales with your primary artificer stat. The Extra Attack at 5th level only matters if you invest in Strength or Dexterity, but the ability to use Intelligence for weapon attacks removes MAD problems for melee builds.

Armorer: The Guardian or Infiltrator armor adapts to different situations. Guardian model makes you a surprisingly effective tank with disadvantage-imposing attacks, while Infiltrator gives you ranged lightning attacks and stealth capability. Both use Intelligence for attack rolls. The armor counts as your artificer infusion, freeing up your other infusions for party support.

Artillerist: Your Eldritch Cannon provides bonus action offense or defense, including a healing option that synergizes with cleric healing. The force ballista gives you consistent ranged damage using your bonus action, which clerics rarely utilize effectively. At higher levels, your cannon becomes mobile and you gain significant spell damage boosts.

Recommended Feat Progression

With MAD concerns, you’ll want to prioritize ability score improvements, but certain feats dramatically enhance this build.

War Caster: Essential if you’re in melee. Advantage on concentration saves protects your crucial buff spells, and the ability to cast spells as opportunity attacks pairs well with both cleric and artificer spell lists. You’ll have weapons, shields, and tools in hand constantly—this feat removes somatic component problems.

Resilient (Constitution): Alternative to War Caster. Proficiency in Constitution saves protects concentration and helps survive, since you’re likely medium armor without a shield due to requiring free hands for spellcasting focus and tools. The bonus applies to all Constitution saves, not just concentration.

Telepathic: Thematic for githyanki and mechanically useful. The +1 to Intelligence or Wisdom helps your spellcasting, and telepathy within 60 feet provides silent communication—valuable for both roleplay and tactical coordination. The detect thoughts once per day adds utility.

Skill Expert: Gain expertise in one skill plus proficiency in another. Artificers already get tool expertise and good skill proficiencies; this pushes you into skill-monkey territory. Consider expertise in Arcana, Religion, or Medicine depending on your character concept.

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Spell Selection Strategy

You’re juggling two spell lists with different casting abilities. Prioritize spells that don’t require saving throws or attack rolls from your weaker casting stat.

From your cleric list, focus on healing, buffing, and utility that doesn’t target enemies directly: bless, aid, lesser restoration, revivify, death ward, freedom of movement. Save your offensive cleric spells for ones with strong effects even on successful saves, like spirit guardians (though your concentration is precious).

From your artificer list, lean into spells that enhance you or your gear rather than directly attacking: absorb elements, sanctuary, heat metal, web, haste (on your martial allies, not yourself—too risky with multiclass concentration). Your artificer cantrips give you reliable damage options that don’t compete with spell slots.

Both classes prepare spells rather than learning them permanently, which provides excellent flexibility. Swap your prepared lists between long rests to adapt to your current adventure needs.

Infusion Priorities

Artificer infusions represent some of the build’s best features. With limited slots, choose wisely.

Enhanced Defense: +1 to AC on armor helps survivability for a character without d8 or d10 hit dice.

Enhanced Weapon: If you’re making weapon attacks (Battle Smith or Armorer Guardian), this matters. Otherwise skip it.

Replicate Magic Item (Bag of Holding): Utility infusion that every party appreciates. The artificer’s ability to create these at-will is campaign-defining.

Replicate Magic Item (Sending Stones): Create magical communication for your party. Pairs with your githyanki’s natural inclination toward tactical coordination.

Mind Sharpener: When you fail a Constitution save to maintain concentration, you can use your reaction to succeed instead, usable up to four times before requiring attunement refresh. This is concentration insurance without requiring a feat.

Playing the Githyanki Artificer Cleric

In practice, this character functions as a support caster with unusual versatility. You’re not the primary healer—that role belongs to a full cleric—but you provide backup healing while contributing utility through infusions and prepared spell flexibility. Your githyanki heritage gives you mobility through misty step, letting you reposition to support allies or escape danger.

Outside combat, you shine. Artificers get access to all tools with half-proficiency minimum, and expertise in the tools you choose. Combined with cleric knowledge skills and githyanki’s natural warrior discipline, you’re equipped to handle investigation, crafting, religious knowledge, and arcane understanding. You can identify magic items during short rests, create temporary magical gear, and prepare different spells based on what tomorrow’s challenges demand.

The challenge is accepting you’ll never be the best at anything. Your healing is weaker than a full cleric’s. Your infusions and spell versatility trail a full artificer’s. Your combat abilities lag behind dedicated martial characters. What you gain is breadth—the ability to contribute meaningfully in multiple areas without needing other specialists.

When This Build Doesn’t Work

Be honest about your campaign before committing to this multiclass. If you’re playing a combat-heavy dungeon crawl that rarely reaches level 10, you’re gimping yourself during the levels that matter most. The artificer cleric doesn’t come online until you have subclass features from both classes, which means level 4 at minimum (Cleric 1/Artificer 3 or vice versa).

If your table has a full cleric and a full artificer already, you’re redundant rather than complementary. This build works best in smaller parties or groups lacking dedicated support, where your flexibility fills multiple gaps.

The githyanki artificer cleric requires significant system mastery to play effectively. New players should probably stick to single-class characters until they’re comfortable with spell management, action economy, and resource tracking. Managing two spell lists, infusions, channel divinity, and class features simultaneously is a lot of bookkeeping.

Finally, discuss this build with your DM. Some tables restrict multiclassing for narrative or balance reasons. Others may have setting-specific considerations—githyanki culture traditionally despises divine magic as weakness, so your character needs a compelling story explaining their devotion to a deity.

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If you’re comfortable juggling multiple ability scores and spell lists, this build turns you into a character that few tables will have seen before. The combination of divine magic, infusions, and githyanki racial features creates unexpected synergies that reward experimentation and clever play across multiple campaigns.

Looking for more builds, subclasses, and tactics? Explore our complete D&D 5e Artificer Guide.