It's something one of my players requested since they like spells like Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians so much but wished there was a Cleric Subclass that leaned into the theme. Let me me know what you think, and please give it a try. I want to keep refining the Subclass more, so constructive feedback is appreciated.
That's basically several domains mixed into one. And afaik there is and can be no such thing as a Spirit Domain. At least there is NO deity in FR, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, etc. that I know of that has a Domain called Spirits. A domain is always something tied to a deity, not to the Cleric as such, in contrast to i.E. Paladin Oaths.
I'd encourage you to actually read the features. There's nothing wrong with doing something different for once. Before Subclasses like Bladesinger and War Magic all Wizard Subclasses were always tied to a school of magic like Evocation or Necromancy. But WotC decided to change that. So why can't Homebrew do that same? [Redacted]
[Redacted] every god of Death and the Afterlife is technically also god of spirits. Many of them look after the souls / spirits of the dead. So you can just say this cleric gets their power form that kind of god [Redacted]
As for "several domains mixed into one" [Redacted], You can only say that about 1 feature, which is explicitly about borrowing the power of other domains from a dead Cleric. [Redacted]
Note as well that clerics in 5e do not have to be explicitly tied to a god and that spirit domain was a published domain in 3rd edition, in Dragon #312 36-37 (although as an intentionally evil, necromatic domain), and Shamans from 3rd edition were essentially calling on spirits more so than deities.
But rather than get into a debate on all that, it might be better to focus on the actual mechanics of the homebrew, and give feedback on balance or if there are perhaps any other spells or mechanics that would suit the stated intention of the archetype.
[Redacted- As asked, please focus on giving feedback on the mechanics]
Addendum: Btw. the lvl 6 subclass feat is significantly overpowered. No concentration on Spirit Guardians, thus making it combinable with Spiritual Weapon again, plus and an extra attack with 2d6 (2d12 at lvl 11 already) +WIS Necrotic/Radiant as part of the Attack Action on top? Hell, the War Domain Clerics will be VERY jealous. And some Paladins, and martials probably too, especially if you throw True Strike via Origin Feat, and Divine Strikes into the mix.
Also do the DPR calculations and you'll see the subclass still comes up short compared to a pure Martial like Battle Master, Berserker, and Vengeance. Especially if the Martial has a magic weapon.
Plus you're a full caster, so Concentrating on Spiritual Weapon instead of a control or support spell just for more damage is a terrible idea. That costs you 2 Spell Slots, requires 2 rounds of set up because of the casting rule , and you can only do that once before needing to finish a Short Rest to do it again. Read the Feature man, ffs.
Regarding DPR, you seem to forget that you can unleash 3 attacks at level 6 with your beefed up SG version plus SW, plus dealing AOE on top (even more when you use your move). A battle Master might be able to do a better single target burst with, especially with burning all his superiority dice, and action surge on top, but thats even more demanding than using 2 spell slots as a lvl 6 cleric, unless you get to do 2 short rests before a long rest.
Oh, Spiritual Weapon is too weak? You want another AoE/mass control/support spell out? You wanna have a Bless/Bane? At higher levels Conjure Celestial out at the same time? Fine! But Spiritual Weapon is still pretty solid, and with Spirit Guardians not requiring concentration instead (with your subclass feat) the old combo becomes very viable again.
You only need 1 round of set up btw. Spirit Guardians is a Magic Action you cast on round 1, can already deal (AOE) damage by using your 30 foot move (Get Boots of Speed for 60). On turn 2 you cast Spiritual Weapon as a Bonus Action, and attack with it, plus attacking with True Strike, plus the feats Spirit Attack as part of the same action, and move for AoE damage again.
As a Protector with a maul/great axe or greatsword that's 3d6+WIS, plus another 2d6+WIS, plus 1d8+WIS, plus 3d10 (/2 on a success save) during your move to any target, which's space the emanation enters...for up to 9 rounds...at lvl 6. All radiant and force damage. The Battlemaster gets one round of burst, and needs a short rest afterwards, too.
If you do not take my word for it just compare your lvl 6 subclass feature with what other clerics get at lvl 6. They are btw. the ones you should actually take as the benchmark, not the Battle Master.
Addendum:
Your list of Domain Spells also seems far off from the idea to deal with spirits. What do Fly, Wall of Force, Shield, Arcane Eye, Pass without Trace, and Dimension Door do in there for example? Why is Spirit Guardians not just in the list of Domain Spells? Why no additional summon spells, or Find Familiar? Those are all spirits, you know. And True Strike is already included. How convenient! This whole subclass looks like your list of personal favourites, which you wanna all roll into one subclass, plus cherries on top. The broken Twilight Sanctuary as a choosable option is a testament to that.
I had started creating a "spirit domain" cleric myself a while back but never quite got it completed. It was supposed to be based on the old Victorian concept of a "spiritualist" or "medium".
The idea would be that the cleric would be able to 'channel' spirits for various effects, with the Channel Divinity effect actually summoning a spirit to scout or fight for you. Never quite worked out all the details, though this was the spell list!
Also, let's not get hung up on the word "domain" in a cleric subclass name. It's a bit of a convention to use the word "domain", but there is no Rule-Thou-Must-Follow that says this must have anything to do with a deity! Its entirely setting-specific as to whether a given cleric or subclass get their power from a god.
Domains are tied to gods, not clerics. Clerics are just Warlocks, who follow verified accounts. Apart from that your spell list seems to be more in line with the idea of a medium.
I'm working on a Subclass for Cleric that heavily focuses on gaining power from spirits instead of directly from divinity.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/2606871-spirit-domain
It's something one of my players requested since they like spells like Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians so much but wished there was a Cleric Subclass that leaned into the theme. Let me me know what you think, and please give it a try. I want to keep refining the Subclass more, so constructive feedback is appreciated.
That's basically several domains mixed into one. And afaik there is and can be no such thing as a Spirit Domain. At least there is NO deity in FR, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, etc. that I know of that has a Domain called Spirits. A domain is always something tied to a deity, not to the Cleric as such, in contrast to i.E. Paladin Oaths.
I'd encourage you to actually read the features. There's nothing wrong with doing something different for once. Before Subclasses like Bladesinger and War Magic all Wizard Subclasses were always tied to a school of magic like Evocation or Necromancy. But WotC decided to change that. So why can't Homebrew do that same? [Redacted]
[Redacted] every god of Death and the Afterlife is technically also god of spirits. Many of them look after the souls / spirits of the dead. So you can just say this cleric gets their power form that kind of god [Redacted]
As for "several domains mixed into one" [Redacted], You can only say that about 1 feature, which is explicitly about borrowing the power of other domains from a dead Cleric. [Redacted]
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ModeratorNote as well that clerics in 5e do not have to be explicitly tied to a god and that spirit domain was a published domain in 3rd edition, in Dragon #312 36-37 (although as an intentionally evil, necromatic domain), and Shamans from 3rd edition were essentially calling on spirits more so than deities.
But rather than get into a debate on all that, it might be better to focus on the actual mechanics of the homebrew, and give feedback on balance or if there are perhaps any other spells or mechanics that would suit the stated intention of the archetype.
D&D Beyond ToS || D&D Beyond Support
[Redacted- As asked, please focus on giving feedback on the mechanics]
Addendum: Btw. the lvl 6 subclass feat is significantly overpowered. No concentration on Spirit Guardians, thus making it combinable with Spiritual Weapon again, plus and an extra attack with 2d6 (2d12 at lvl 11 already) +WIS Necrotic/Radiant as part of the Attack Action on top? Hell, the War Domain Clerics will be VERY jealous. And some Paladins, and martials probably too, especially if you throw True Strike via Origin Feat, and Divine Strikes into the mix.
[Redacted]
Also do the DPR calculations and you'll see the subclass still comes up short compared to a pure Martial like Battle Master, Berserker, and Vengeance. Especially if the Martial has a magic weapon.
Plus you're a full caster, so Concentrating on Spiritual Weapon instead of a control or support spell just for more damage is a terrible idea. That costs you 2 Spell Slots, requires 2 rounds of set up because of the casting rule , and you can only do that once before needing to finish a Short Rest to do it again. Read the Feature man, ffs.
[Redacted]
Oh, Spiritual Weapon is too weak? You want another AoE/mass control/support spell out? You wanna have a Bless/Bane? At higher levels Conjure Celestial out at the same time? Fine! But Spiritual Weapon is still pretty solid, and with Spirit Guardians not requiring concentration instead (with your subclass feat) the old combo becomes very viable again.
You only need 1 round of set up btw. Spirit Guardians is a Magic Action you cast on round 1, can already deal (AOE) damage by using your 30 foot move (Get Boots of Speed for 60). On turn 2 you cast Spiritual Weapon as a Bonus Action, and attack with it, plus attacking with True Strike, plus the feats Spirit Attack as part of the same action, and move for AoE damage again.
As a Protector with a maul/great axe or greatsword that's 3d6+WIS, plus another 2d6+WIS, plus 1d8+WIS, plus 3d10 (/2 on a success save) during your move to any target, which's space the emanation enters...for up to 9 rounds...at lvl 6. All radiant and force damage. The Battlemaster gets one round of burst, and needs a short rest afterwards, too.
If you do not take my word for it just compare your lvl 6 subclass feature with what other clerics get at lvl 6. They are btw. the ones you should actually take as the benchmark, not the Battle Master.
Addendum:
Your list of Domain Spells also seems far off from the idea to deal with spirits. What do Fly, Wall of Force, Shield, Arcane Eye, Pass without Trace, and Dimension Door do in there for example? Why is Spirit Guardians not just in the list of Domain Spells? Why no additional summon spells, or Find Familiar? Those are all spirits, you know. And True Strike is already included. How convenient! This whole subclass looks like your list of personal favourites, which you wanna all roll into one subclass, plus cherries on top. The broken Twilight Sanctuary as a choosable option is a testament to that.
I had started creating a "spirit domain" cleric myself a while back but never quite got it completed. It was supposed to be based on the old Victorian concept of a "spiritualist" or "medium".
The idea would be that the cleric would be able to 'channel' spirits for various effects, with the Channel Divinity effect actually summoning a spirit to scout or fight for you. Never quite worked out all the details, though this was the spell list!
Also, let's not get hung up on the word "domain" in a cleric subclass name. It's a bit of a convention to use the word "domain", but there is no Rule-Thou-Must-Follow that says this must have anything to do with a deity! Its entirely setting-specific as to whether a given cleric or subclass get their power from a god.
Domains are tied to gods, not clerics. Clerics are just Warlocks, who follow verified accounts. Apart from that your spell list seems to be more in line with the idea of a medium.
Why not create a Celestial Domain Subclass? That would relate to Domiel, the ruler of Mercuria.
Because Domiel may not exist in a given campaign setting. There may not be any gods at all in a campaign setting.
And this argument has nothing to do with the OPs question.