I've played Life, Grave, and Light. As far as the mechanics of the game go, Life gave a few extra HP to heals which is nice. But Grave's ability to break a Crit was amazing! And both get heavy armor, which is super helpful. I'm currently playing Light, and I like it thematically, though I sometimes forget to use my Warding Flare because there's just so much I can do every round ((and because my character kinda suffered a bit of a traumatic brain injury during a fight against some vampires, so he's been a tad Gumpy lately)).
But for me, the best part of the game isn't the mechanics but the character development. I went super deep into developing my grave cleric's background, and his home village, and their climate, and their calendar, and their pantheon, and the character's first encounter with his deity, and his voice, and, well, just everything about him. I still miss him sometimes. He was a lot of fun to play.
That's awesome AnzioFaro. Thanks for sharing. Graves is a domain I haven't given much thought to but I'm sure would make for a fantastically thematic character.
My favorite is the death domain. I know part of it is the taboo "DM only" aspect of it but I also find it to be the more fun anti-undead domain. It specifically gets the ability to ignore resistance to necrotic damage. How many other creatures have that resistance? And why is it DM only when there are good aligned gods of death?
I really like Death too. It's what I tend to think about instead of Graves. I agree it should just be a player available option without special DM fiat. Oh well.
I voted for Nature. If I had to be 100% honest, its a 3-way tie between Arcana, Nature, and Order, but since I have a preference for nature-themed classes I opted to choose that particular domain. I'll admit that it's not the best in terms of Channel Divinity or spell listing, but it has some notable quirks and a very interesting thematic flavor to it; different from the druidic sages in tune with deep wood or the wardens of the wild, you're a direct agent of a nature god's will, channeling both their divine might and their green magic.
Also pure wis melee ranger is based, and the divine strike for Nature domain is one of the bests due to its versatility.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
It's ok Ranger, you'll always be cool to me.. Unless druid gets another use for its wild shape charges.
Don't let that stop you. Look at the other domains and talk about twilight or another you want to try next. No one said anything about experience playing...
Yeah I've never actually played a cleric...just played alongside them. I'm a rabid theory builder and I love coming up with interesting backstories for clerics. One of my favorite classes, easy. And Twilight is absolutely one of my favorites among the domains. Hope the fun continues for you wynlyndd, Twilight looks like a blast to play.
I'm currently obsessing over finding a Twilight Cleric multiclass build that picks up Shadow Blade. Automatic source of dim light for advantage? Yes please. And how thematic is that? Can't stop thinking about a gentleman swordsman that serves Selune and has been gifted with the power to summon a blade of pure night.
I voted for Nature. If I had to be 100% honest, its a 3-way tie between Arcana, Nature, and Order, but since I have a preference for nature-themed classes I opted to choose that particular domain. I'll admit that it's not the best in terms of Channel Divinity or spell listing, but it has some notable quirks and a very interesting thematic flavor to it; different from the druidic sages in tune with deep wood or the wardens of the wild, you're a direct agent of a nature god's will, channeling both their divine might and their green magic.
Also pure wis melee ranger is based, and the divine strike for Nature domain is one of the bests due to its versatility.
I also really like the nature domain and the fact it gives a completely different avenue to exploring nature-themed characters. Tempest is right up there too. I absolutely love druids, so anything that eeks into the same kind of territory gets my juices flowing.
I'd say my top 5 are: Twilight, Nature, Tempest, Arcana and Death in no particular order.
I'm currently playing a tortle order cleric of Dol Dorn in an Eberron campaign and I love it so far. I tend to lean toward the more tactical elements of the game and order domain fits that niche really nicely. Buffing/healing allies and giving them free attacks is wonderful.
I played a Tempest Cleric for a while, can't not love a maxed Call Lightning or Destrictive Wave. I played him as an alcoholic dwarfe (he had a problem, he wasn't just "haha, dwarfes gotta drink right ;) "). His god was a custom one that focussed on hospitality for the wandering and in need while bringing storms to those that defy it.
Borin opened up a tavern in the end, so if you'll ever come upon the "Burping Board" (original german: "Rülpsender Eber") with some grumpy looking dwarfe inside, you better play nice or you'll get the lightning treatment ;) .
These days, I'd boil my primary choices down to Grave Clerics, Tempest Clerics & Arcana Clerics.
My vote ultimately went to Grave Cleric.
Grave Clerics just have a lot going for them...bonus healing to an ally when they actually go down; which is when I'd probably heal them anyway...the ability to detect undead is thematic, and will probably come up every now and then...but the ability to both reduce a critical hit AND make a target vulnerable is just so party-friendly that it propels this domain to the top of the list.
The Grave Cleric capstone is just super-thematic, too...just wisps of blue spiritual energy flying up from the dead to heal the living; with the Grave Cleric being their conductor.
Tempest Clerics are undeniably fun, too...but it's weird for me.
My favorite think about them is that they can. at mid-level, shock a target who is fool enough to try and melee them...and just send them flying backward. XD
That, and their ability to deal maximum damage with a thunder or lightning spell (usually "Shatter" or "Call Lightning" for me).
That's really all that appeal to me, though...their lack of "Lightning Bolt" sort of sours them for me; and their flying ability as a capstone is neat and all...but their low-level gimmicks are somewhat brief and a bit too conditional.
I have grown to appreciate Arcana Clerics more & more as time has gone on...I really dig their concept.
Worshipping a god of secrets, mysteries...and of course, MAGIC...means that you occupy a unique role as a cleric who is devoted to both arcane AND divine magic...you're like a Wizard, who studies magic...but you also PROTECT it, in the role as a Cleric.
This means you probably worship a big-time magical deity like Mystra, Seluna, or Oghma...and even some less-benevolent magical deities, like Vecna.
Boy...do I EVER want to roleplay a secret worshipper of Vecna who is a Arcana Cleric...gotta get me that secret to lichdom...and a combination Wish-Divine Intervention might JUST be the easy way to do it without the mess.
Actually...using Divine Intervention to negate the downside to Wish might be a pretty clutch move...whatever. That's an ambition for another campaign.
Anyway...the mechanics:
Arcana Clerics get the ability to "turn" nearly every kind of otherworldly threat (except aberrations), which can be useful throughout a campaign. The "banishment" aspect is somewhat situational, given the limited CR restrictions, but that a purely secondary feature.
Their ability to gain new Wizard cantrips is widely known, and usually the biggest thing people mention...personally, I like the option to now use "Mind Sliver": send a huge spike of pure thought into their brains.
Prestidigitation for fun. ; )
"Booming Blade" is nice and all...a tad overdone.
"Spell Breaker" is just sweet...in addition to all this support you now provide as a Cleric...NOW you can just remove a debilitating spell from an ally by casting a cheap-o "Healing Word" on them.
Getting high-level "Wizard" spells is just icing on the cake.
Grave domain for me. It encourages you to let people go down before you heal them, which is way more exciting and thematic, and the ranged bonus action Spare the Dying can really save lives in tough low-level fights. Plus, it's fun to have a darker aesthetic while still being very clearly a good guy!
A properly functioning Peace cleric starts out at level 1 adding 2d4 to 2 people's attacks and saves and 1d4 to their skill checks and, if they had a chance to prep for the battle, initiative, scaling up number of targets with proficiency, and by level 6 is shuffling the party around like a deck of cards so whomever can most afford to get hit is the one getting hit and no one can be forced to stay separated from the group (at level 17, this no longer even costs 1 token hp). That's really, really hard to beat.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Yeah I've never actually played a cleric...just played alongside them. I'm a rabid theory builder and I love coming up with interesting backstories for clerics. One of my favorite classes, easy. And Twilight is absolutely one of my favorites among the domains. Hope the fun continues for you wynlyndd, Twilight looks like a blast to play.
I'm currently obsessing over finding a Twilight Cleric multiclass build that picks up Shadow Blade. Automatic source of dim light for advantage? Yes please. And how thematic is that? Can't stop thinking about a gentleman swordsman that serves Selune and has been gifted with the power to summon a blade of pure night.
I voted for Nature. If I had to be 100% honest, its a 3-way tie between Arcana, Nature, and Order, but since I have a preference for nature-themed classes I opted to choose that particular domain. I'll admit that it's not the best in terms of Channel Divinity or spell listing, but it has some notable quirks and a very interesting thematic flavor to it; different from the druidic sages in tune with deep wood or the wardens of the wild, you're a direct agent of a nature god's will, channeling both their divine might and their green magic.
Also pure wis melee ranger is based, and the divine strike for Nature domain is one of the bests due to its versatility.
I also really like the nature domain and the fact it gives a completely different avenue to exploring nature-themed characters. Tempest is right up there too. I absolutely love druids, so anything that eeks into the same kind of territory gets my juices flowing.
I'd say my top 5 are: Twilight, Nature, Tempest, Arcana and Death in no particular order.
Also this is a late reply, but if your DM would allow it, you could just pick up the Shadow Touched feat with wisdom as the casting modifier, right? Invisibility is nice to have anyway, especially as a free cast once per day, and Shadow Blade is one of my all time favorite spells. The idea of it is awesome, and psychic damage is always appreciated.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
It's ok Ranger, you'll always be cool to me.. Unless druid gets another use for its wild shape charges.
Do polls on DDB support multiple choice? I really would have liked to pick three or so, though I can't think of a single domain that I don't like the look of (including Death, even though I doubt I'll ever play it personally).
I put my vote for War Domain as I was expecting it to be in last place, but I actually really like it; War Priest is a good WIS ability, and I love Guided Strike as a Channel Divinity power (it's especially great when used with a spell like Guiding Bolt, since I always seem to miss with it otherwise). A lot of people complain about the spell list because it's concentration heavy, but I think they're all really good spells to have access to, and I think it's especially good as a multi-class domain (it pairs very nicely with Monk IMO).
Otherwise a big favourite of mine is the Trickery Domain; I'm surprised to see it languishing in the poll as I think it's a lot of fun as a twist on Cleric, and it has a great spell list. The 1st level WIS ability is quite situational I suppose, but an hour long advantage of Stealth is pretty damn good when you do use it.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
So many domains to choose from nowadays and I love it.
What is your favorite Cleric domain and why? If you have a build that uses it, share away.
I've played Life, Grave, and Light. As far as the mechanics of the game go, Life gave a few extra HP to heals which is nice. But Grave's ability to break a Crit was amazing! And both get heavy armor, which is super helpful. I'm currently playing Light, and I like it thematically, though I sometimes forget to use my Warding Flare because there's just so much I can do every round ((and because my character kinda suffered a bit of a traumatic brain injury during a fight against some vampires, so he's been a tad Gumpy lately)).
But for me, the best part of the game isn't the mechanics but the character development. I went super deep into developing my grave cleric's background, and his home village, and their climate, and their calendar, and their pantheon, and the character's first encounter with his deity, and his voice, and, well, just everything about him. I still miss him sometimes. He was a lot of fun to play.
So, yeah. I'm gonna have to go with Grave.
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
That's awesome AnzioFaro. Thanks for sharing. Graves is a domain I haven't given much thought to but I'm sure would make for a fantastically thematic character.
My favorite is the death domain. I know part of it is the taboo "DM only" aspect of it but I also find it to be the more fun anti-undead domain. It specifically gets the ability to ignore resistance to necrotic damage. How many other creatures have that resistance? And why is it DM only when there are good aligned gods of death?
I really like Death too. It's what I tend to think about instead of Graves. I agree it should just be a player available option without special DM fiat. Oh well.
Huh. Super interesting to see no votes for Forge so far. I feel like every third thread on here is about Forge clerics.
Edit: Of course someone voted for Forge right after I posted. Heh
Not surprised at all to see Tempest at the top. Everyone wants to have Storm's powers. EVERYONE
I voted for Nature. If I had to be 100% honest, its a 3-way tie between Arcana, Nature, and Order, but since I have a preference for nature-themed classes I opted to choose that particular domain. I'll admit that it's not the best in terms of Channel Divinity or spell listing, but it has some notable quirks and a very interesting thematic flavor to it; different from the druidic sages in tune with deep wood or the wardens of the wild, you're a direct agent of a nature god's will, channeling both their divine might and their green magic.
Also pure wis melee ranger is based, and the divine strike for Nature domain is one of the bests due to its versatility.
It's ok Ranger, you'll always be cool to me.. Unless druid gets another use for its wild shape charges.
I did not vote as I am playing my first Cleric in 5e: A Twilight Cleric of Selune within Curse of Strahd. It has been fun so far!
Don't let that stop you. Look at the other domains and talk about twilight or another you want to try next. No one said anything about experience playing...
Yeah I've never actually played a cleric...just played alongside them. I'm a rabid theory builder and I love coming up with interesting backstories for clerics. One of my favorite classes, easy. And Twilight is absolutely one of my favorites among the domains. Hope the fun continues for you wynlyndd, Twilight looks like a blast to play.
I'm currently obsessing over finding a Twilight Cleric multiclass build that picks up Shadow Blade. Automatic source of dim light for advantage? Yes please. And how thematic is that? Can't stop thinking about a gentleman swordsman that serves Selune and has been gifted with the power to summon a blade of pure night.
I also really like the nature domain and the fact it gives a completely different avenue to exploring nature-themed characters. Tempest is right up there too. I absolutely love druids, so anything that eeks into the same kind of territory gets my juices flowing.
I'd say my top 5 are: Twilight, Nature, Tempest, Arcana and Death in no particular order.
I'm currently playing a tortle order cleric of Dol Dorn in an Eberron campaign and I love it so far. I tend to lean toward the more tactical elements of the game and order domain fits that niche really nicely. Buffing/healing allies and giving them free attacks is wonderful.
I am doing my first cleric as a dwarf war domain. I love being up in melee and able to cast spells at times. enjoying the versatility.
I played a Tempest Cleric for a while, can't not love a maxed Call Lightning or Destrictive Wave. I played him as an alcoholic dwarfe (he had a problem, he wasn't just "haha, dwarfes gotta drink right ;) "). His god was a custom one that focussed on hospitality for the wandering and in need while bringing storms to those that defy it.
Borin opened up a tavern in the end, so if you'll ever come upon the "Burping Board" (original german: "Rülpsender Eber") with some grumpy looking dwarfe inside, you better play nice or you'll get the lightning treatment ;) .
These days, I'd boil my primary choices down to Grave Clerics, Tempest Clerics & Arcana Clerics.
My vote ultimately went to Grave Cleric.
Grave Clerics just have a lot going for them...bonus healing to an ally when they actually go down; which is when I'd probably heal them anyway...the ability to detect undead is thematic, and will probably come up every now and then...but the ability to both reduce a critical hit AND make a target vulnerable is just so party-friendly that it propels this domain to the top of the list.
The Grave Cleric capstone is just super-thematic, too...just wisps of blue spiritual energy flying up from the dead to heal the living; with the Grave Cleric being their conductor.
Tempest Clerics are undeniably fun, too...but it's weird for me.
My favorite think about them is that they can. at mid-level, shock a target who is fool enough to try and melee them...and just send them flying backward. XD
That, and their ability to deal maximum damage with a thunder or lightning spell (usually "Shatter" or "Call Lightning" for me).
That's really all that appeal to me, though...their lack of "Lightning Bolt" sort of sours them for me; and their flying ability as a capstone is neat and all...but their low-level gimmicks are somewhat brief and a bit too conditional.
I have grown to appreciate Arcana Clerics more & more as time has gone on...I really dig their concept.
Worshipping a god of secrets, mysteries...and of course, MAGIC...means that you occupy a unique role as a cleric who is devoted to both arcane AND divine magic...you're like a Wizard, who studies magic...but you also PROTECT it, in the role as a Cleric.
This means you probably worship a big-time magical deity like Mystra, Seluna, or Oghma...and even some less-benevolent magical deities, like Vecna.
Boy...do I EVER want to roleplay a secret worshipper of Vecna who is a Arcana Cleric...gotta get me that secret to lichdom...and a combination Wish-Divine Intervention might JUST be the easy way to do it without the mess.
Actually...using Divine Intervention to negate the downside to Wish might be a pretty clutch move...whatever. That's an ambition for another campaign.
Anyway...the mechanics:
Arcana Clerics get the ability to "turn" nearly every kind of otherworldly threat (except aberrations), which can be useful throughout a campaign. The "banishment" aspect is somewhat situational, given the limited CR restrictions, but that a purely secondary feature.
Their ability to gain new Wizard cantrips is widely known, and usually the biggest thing people mention...personally, I like the option to now use "Mind Sliver": send a huge spike of pure thought into their brains.
Prestidigitation for fun. ; )
"Booming Blade" is nice and all...a tad overdone.
"Spell Breaker" is just sweet...in addition to all this support you now provide as a Cleric...NOW you can just remove a debilitating spell from an ally by casting a cheap-o "Healing Word" on them.
Getting high-level "Wizard" spells is just icing on the cake.
Grave domain for me. It encourages you to let people go down before you heal them, which is way more exciting and thematic, and the ranged bonus action Spare the Dying can really save lives in tough low-level fights. Plus, it's fun to have a darker aesthetic while still being very clearly a good guy!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
A properly functioning Peace cleric starts out at level 1 adding 2d4 to 2 people's attacks and saves and 1d4 to their skill checks and, if they had a chance to prep for the battle, initiative, scaling up number of targets with proficiency, and by level 6 is shuffling the party around like a deck of cards so whomever can most afford to get hit is the one getting hit and no one can be forced to stay separated from the group (at level 17, this no longer even costs 1 token hp). That's really, really hard to beat.
I'm a huge fan of light.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Also this is a late reply, but if your DM would allow it, you could just pick up the Shadow Touched feat with wisdom as the casting modifier, right? Invisibility is nice to have anyway, especially as a free cast once per day, and Shadow Blade is one of my all time favorite spells. The idea of it is awesome, and psychic damage is always appreciated.
It's ok Ranger, you'll always be cool to me.. Unless druid gets another use for its wild shape charges.
Do polls on DDB support multiple choice? I really would have liked to pick three or so, though I can't think of a single domain that I don't like the look of (including Death, even though I doubt I'll ever play it personally).
I put my vote for War Domain as I was expecting it to be in last place, but I actually really like it; War Priest is a good WIS ability, and I love Guided Strike as a Channel Divinity power (it's especially great when used with a spell like Guiding Bolt, since I always seem to miss with it otherwise). A lot of people complain about the spell list because it's concentration heavy, but I think they're all really good spells to have access to, and I think it's especially good as a multi-class domain (it pairs very nicely with Monk IMO).
Otherwise a big favourite of mine is the Trickery Domain; I'm surprised to see it languishing in the poll as I think it's a lot of fun as a twist on Cleric, and it has a great spell list. The 1st level WIS ability is quite situational I suppose, but an hour long advantage of Stealth is pretty damn good when you do use it.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Surprised Order is so low!
Great subclass....likely top 5 in the game IMO