One character idea (of many) I'm toying with is a cleric in service to Angharaddh, which is actually three goddesses in one, and gives me a wide range of cleric types to choose from as well as a fun challenge for theming. To represent this I'd like to try and take spells representing the three different aspects; Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil and Sehanine Moonbow.
Sehanine Moonbow is the easiest, as her domains of grave, knowledge and light are pretty well covered by common Cleric spells like Guiding Bolt, Guidance, and Spare the Dying or Gentle Repose, so I think I've got that area pretty well covered.
Aerdrie Faenya's domains are life, tempest and trickery; life is easily covered by healing spells (which I should probably take, as the party's healer), and I've got Create or Destroy Water for now for a touch of Tempest (since it can do rain). Bane will probably cover trickery well enough for now as well I think.
The one I'm looking for suggestions for is Henali Celanil; while her domain is also life, her focus is very much love. The only spell I've found so far that feels like a good match is Warding Bond, which creates a link with a target who gains +1 AC and all damage resistances, but the caster takes any damage it suffers (i.e- damage is split between them and you). This will probably do for lower levels, but I'd love to have a few ideas for what I might take later on.
I'll be starting at 3rd level, so will have 1st and 2nd level spell slots initially, but will need to fill others later on, and I'm looking to theme the character through spell choice only for now (I likely won't be using the playtest Unity Domain).
I think I've probably exhausted what's in the Player's Handbook, so please do suggest anything in other books (with a quick summary of what it does, as the handbook is all I have unlocked at the moment).
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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The problem is that that would seem too much like specialising in just the one aspect; my current intention is to take one of Angharradh's specific cleric domains rather than one that's specific to any one of the three aspects. I'm currently leaning towards war cleric, with the idea being the character patrols and defends shrines belonging to all three goddesses, but I'd like to have a little flavour of all three in my spell choice, on top of the domain provided war spells.
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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.
Depending on how abstract and/or hopeful or cynical you want to get
command, aid, continual flame, Beacon of hope, fast friends life transference.
If you’re thinking of these as domain spells, so you can go a bit off the cleric class list: Charm person, enhance ability, ray of sickness, phantasmal force, locate creature
One character idea (of many) I'm toying with is a cleric in service to Angharaddh, which is actually three goddesses in one, and gives me a wide range of cleric types to choose from as well as a fun challenge for theming. To represent this I'd like to try and take spells representing the three different aspects; Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil and Sehanine Moonbow.
Sehanine Moonbow is the easiest, as her domains of grave, knowledge and light are pretty well covered by common Cleric spells like Guiding Bolt, Guidance, and Spare the Dying or Gentle Repose, so I think I've got that area pretty well covered.
Aerdrie Faenya's domains are life, tempest and trickery; life is easily covered by healing spells (which I should probably take, as the party's healer), and I've got Create or Destroy Water for now for a touch of Tempest (since it can do rain). Bane will probably cover trickery well enough for now as well I think.
The one I'm looking for suggestions for is Henali Celanil; while her domain is also life, her focus is very much love. The only spell I've found so far that feels like a good match is Warding Bond, which creates a link with a target who gains +1 AC and all damage resistances, but the caster takes any damage it suffers (i.e- damage is split between them and you). This will probably do for lower levels, but I'd love to have a few ideas for what I might take later on.
I'll be starting at 3rd level, so will have 1st and 2nd level spell slots initially, but will need to fill others later on, and I'm looking to theme the character through spell choice only for now (I likely won't be using the playtest Unity Domain).
I think I've probably exhausted what's in the Player's Handbook, so please do suggest anything in other books (with a quick summary of what it does, as the handbook is all I have unlocked at the moment).
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Ceremony could be a flavorful option. It's not overly powerful except for short duration ceremonies for coming of age and marriage as well as dedication. It's in the XGTE. I like Warding Bond and you might want to consider Life Transference that plays into the same concept and can be used on targets other than your bonded buddy. It's also XGTE.
You sacrifice some of your health to mend another creature’s injuries. You take 4d8 necrotic damage, and one creature of your choice that you can see within range regains a number of hit points equal to twice the necrotic damage you take.
Both Life Transference and Warding Bond play best with Life domain as you can heal yourself through the bonus heals that domain gives you.
Dawn deals damage, has ties to light domain, is symbolic of the life and death cycle, and the symbolism of the warm embrace of a loved one during a time of need would be on point, particularly as that loved one was shielding you from harm by harming your enemies. Flavored as the answer to prayers of those the party has left behind? I'd say it works. Also XGTE.
In reality, many of the Cleric spells already have flavorings of love since they are typically dealing with some kind of devotion anyway.
The ones that deal with the dead could be flavored as Ancestors protecting the living (Spirit Guardians) because of the kinship that they share. Or the living communing with the dead to remember them and preserve their memory.
Depending on how abstract and/or hopeful or cynical you want to get
command, aid, continual flame, Beacon of hope, fast friends life transference.
If you’re thinking of these as domain spells, so you can go a bit off the cleric class list: Charm person, enhance ability, ray of sickness, phantasmal force, locate creature
Loled at Command. Illusion spells can play into it a bit as well. They may be more cynical or hopeful in theme ("s/he loves me, s/he loves me not" all the way up to stalker level obsession) and might be more domain spells that need to be added.
Depending on how abstract and/or hopeful or cynical you want to get
command, aid, continual flame, Beacon of hope, fast friends life transference.
If you’re thinking of these as domain spells, so you can go a bit off the cleric class list: Charm person, enhance ability, ray of sickness, phantasmal force, locate creature
Loled at Command. Illusion spells can play into it a bit as well. They may be more cynical or hopeful in theme ("s/he loves me, s/he loves me not" all the way up to stalker level obsession) and might be more domain spells that need to be added.
That's kind of what I was going for. There are a lot of different kinds of love. And love can make people do lots of different things and feel lots of different ways, Hence enhance ability, because sometimes you feel superhuman, and ray of sickness, because sometimes you feel awful.
Ceremony definitely does sound like a must-have for the love-aspect; I suppose with Clerics able to refresh spells on a long rest it's one that could just be kept handy for when it's needed rather than keeping it permanently prepared? It's a shame that it doesn't have a ceremony with more general utility (e.g- cleansing ceremony performed as part of a short rest to cure poison or something) or it would be easier to justify keeping it prepared.
Life Transference also sounds like a really great option, though I'm curious about the wording; am I correct in thinking that if I had necrotic resistance it would mean I won't heal the target by as much? Do you think that that and Warding Bond are still reasonable picks if I were to go War Domain rather than Life Domain? Double 4d8 is still better than 3d8+WIS for a 3rd level Cure Wounds, at a risk to my Cleric, so that should still be appropriate I think!
Dawn does sounds like a great spell that should overlap all three of Angharaddh's aspects.
I think the conclusion is that I definitely need to get Xanathar's Guide to Everything unlocked already. If my main monitor wasn't currently in the process of dying I'd probably have already done it, fortunately I've a little time before I need the character. 😉
Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, definitely lots to consider!
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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.
Ceremony definitely does sound like a must-have for the love-aspect; I suppose with Clerics able to refresh spells on a long rest it's one that could just be kept handy for when it's needed rather than keeping it permanently prepared? It's a shame that it doesn't have a ceremony with more general utility (e.g- cleansing ceremony performed as part of a short rest to cure poison or something) or it would be easier to justify keeping it prepared.
Life Transference also sounds like a really great option, though I'm curious about the wording; am I correct in thinking that if I had necrotic resistance it would mean I won't heal the target by as much? Do you think that that and Warding Bond are still reasonable picks if I were to go War Domain rather than Life Domain? Double 4d8 is still better than 3d8+WIS for a 3rd level Cure Wounds, at a risk to my Cleric, so that should still be appropriate I think!
Dawn does sounds like a great spell that should overlap all three of Angharaddh's aspects.
I think the conclusion is that I definitely need to get Xanathar's Guide to Everything unlocked already. If my main monitor wasn't currently in the process of dying I'd probably have already done it, fortunately I've a little time before I need the character. 😉
Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, definitely lots to consider!
Yes if you have necrotic resistance, you will take half of the 4d8 damage and will heal for the full 4d8 since that would be double the damage you take.
As a War domain, I'm picturing that you would be in melee quite a bit, which might have happened with Life as well. You'll probably take more damage as a front liner than a heavily armored back or mid liner. With Life domain, you're healing spells provide 2+the spell level extra hit points to the target from your 1st level ability and your 6th level gives you 2+ the spell level hit points if it hits a creature other than you. The damage that you would be soaking from Warding Bond and taking from Life Transference would be healed in part by your heals, potentially even Life Transference (I'm not 100% that Life Domain's abilities work with it, but it's close enough that you could ask the DM and have a reasonable chance of getting it. Or I might just be tired and think otherwise when I'm awake.) War Cleric doesn't have that built in, so you'd have to be more judicious in using Life Transference and Warding Bond together.
The payoff would be that you would be helping the party defeat your enemies much faster which should mean that they take less damage for you to heal.
Keep in mind that you can't reduce the damage that you take from Warding Bond, you just take what your buddy takes and they're already getting resistance to all damage. Your DM may rule differently and it's close enough that they might.
None of this really changes anything about how those spells interact with a War Cleric vs a Life Cleric, it's simply a matter of the Life Cleric probably having more HP available to feel comfortable taking the extra damage. You can still use the spells and you probably won't have to heal as frequently. Of course, this analysis is also done in a vacuum and combat has a tendency to negate the best laid plans.
Ceremony definitely does sound like a must-have for the love-aspect; I suppose with Clerics able to refresh spells on a long rest it's one that could just be kept handy for when it's needed rather than keeping it permanently prepared? It's a shame that it doesn't have a ceremony with more general utility (e.g- cleansing ceremony performed as part of a short rest to cure poison or something) or it would be easier to justify keeping it prepared.
Life Transference also sounds like a really great option, though I'm curious about the wording; am I correct in thinking that if I had necrotic resistance it would mean I won't heal the target by as much? Do you think that that and Warding Bond are still reasonable picks if I were to go War Domain rather than Life Domain? Double 4d8 is still better than 3d8+WIS for a 3rd level Cure Wounds, at a risk to my Cleric, so that should still be appropriate I think!
Dawn does sounds like a great spell that should overlap all three of Angharaddh's aspects.
I think the conclusion is that I definitely need to get Xanathar's Guide to Everything unlocked already. If my main monitor wasn't currently in the process of dying I'd probably have already done it, fortunately I've a little time before I need the character. 😉
Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, definitely lots to consider!
Yes if you have necrotic resistance, you will take half of the 4d8 damage and will heal for the full 4d8 since that would be double the damage you take.
As a War domain, I'm picturing that you would be in melee quite a bit, which might have happened with Life as well. You'll probably take more damage as a front liner than a heavily armored back or mid liner. With Life domain, you're healing spells provide 2+the spell level extra hit points to the target from your 1st level ability and your 6th level gives you 2+ the spell level hit points if it hits a creature other than you. The damage that you would be soaking from Warding Bond and taking from Life Transference would be healed in part by your heals, potentially even Life Transference (I'm not 100% that Life Domain's abilities work with it, but it's close enough that you could ask the DM and have a reasonable chance of getting it. Or I might just be tired and think otherwise when I'm awake.) War Cleric doesn't have that built in, so you'd have to be more judicious in using Life Transference and Warding Bond together.
The payoff would be that you would be helping the party defeat your enemies much faster which should mean that they take less damage for you to heal.
Keep in mind that you can't reduce the damage that you take from Warding Bond, you just take what your buddy takes and they're already getting resistance to all damage. Your DM may rule differently and it's close enough that they might.
None of this really changes anything about how those spells interact with a War Cleric vs a Life Cleric, it's simply a matter of the Life Cleric probably having more HP available to feel comfortable taking the extra damage. You can still use the spells and you probably won't have to heal as frequently. Of course, this analysis is also done in a vacuum and combat has a tendency to negate the best laid plans.
Thanks for going into so much detail.
I'm thinking I probably wouldn't be using either Warding Bond or Life Transference a huge amount, the core spells will probably be the usual radiant damage and healing, but I could see Warding Bond being useful to put on a lower health party map (e.g- a Wizard) who shouldn't be taking a lot of damage, but could be at risk when, as you say, combat spoils plan A. Life Transference likewise seems ideal for situations where I'm doing okay but someone else in the party is dangerously close to zero, since it should heal more than a pure healing spell can?
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.
I'm thinking I probably wouldn't be using either Warding Bond or Life Transference a huge amount, the core spells will probably be the usual radiant damage and healing, but I could see Warding Bond being useful to put on a lower health party map (e.g- a Wizard) who shouldn't be taking a lot of damage, but could be at risk when, as you say, combat spoils plan A. Life Transference likewise seems ideal for situations where I'm doing okay but someone else in the party is dangerously close to zero, since it should heal more than a pure healing spell
Warding Bond on a key spellcaster is actually a pretty good usage of the spell and one that I haven't thought about prior (theoretical knowledge only about the spell so far, but one I plan to use when I finally get to roll a cleric). A 14 dex Wizard with Mage Armor and Warding Bond would have a solid 13 + 2 (dex mod) + 1 (Warding Bond) = 16 base AC as long as the spells are active, which is the same as Chain Mail. That gives a 75% chance to evade attacks by characters with a 0 hit modifier and a 55% chance to evade with a +4 hit modifier. The +1 AC represents a 5% flat increase. Being at range should help, but they would be tethered to you at a max of 60 ft or the spell would end. All of their saving throws increase by one which is nothing to sneeze at either. Finally, the resistance to damage is beneficial two fold- first, it preserves as much of those scarce HP as possible when they do get hit, fail a save, or are targeted by a save for half damage. Second, it ensures that a larger portion of those hits will be less than 10 and the ones that are over 10 will be half as much as they would be. This is important for concentration saves.
It would still be better if you were a ranged character yourself, since that could enable them to be further from the action when the battlefield allowed, but 60 ft isn't bad for a good chunk of encounters.
As for Life Transference, there are some factors that would play into which is more effective. Your Wisdom modifier would play in, the range the target is at would factor, your action economy plays a roll, your health, and finally if you have necrotic resistance. The components may come into play since Healing Word is V only while the other two have VS. I won't factor those, but it's good to know.
Healing Word is a bonus action at 60 ft for 1d4+spellcasting mod +1d4 for every spell slot level above first that is used to cast it. At 3rd level, that's 3d4+ability mod (likely between 3-5 when you first get this). If we use 4 for your wisdom mod that's 3d4+4 at 60 ft and you can still pop someone in the head with your mace or other weapon of choice or cast a cantrip like Sacred Flame or Toll the Dead. Average healing is 11.5.
Cure Wounds is 1d8+spellcasting mod + 1d8 per level above 1st. 3rd level with a +4 is 3d8+4 for and average of 17.5, which is best better than Healing Word, but requires touch range and your action. You won't be able to cast a bonus action spell, War Priest and many other bonus action attacks trigger off of the Attack action, and there aren't a bunch of other uses for your bonus action so it might go to waste. Like Healing Word, it's simply a heal so your actual healing = your net healing.
Life Transference uses an action and has a range of 30 ft. You take 4d8 necrotic damage for an average of 18 (9 with resistance) and heal for twice that meaning 36 (18 with resistance). Your net healing is only 18 (9 with resistance) since you took damage. This means that the throughput could be better but it's roughly on par with Cure Wounds in net healing at a better range.
Overall, I think it's balanced quite well between the single target spells available at 3rd level and which one you choose will depend on a lot of factors. Other spells are also available that can heal multiple allies, of course. I didn't worry about those because that adds more factors that aren't needed for the single target spells but aren't difficult to weigh against them.
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One character idea (of many) I'm toying with is a cleric in service to Angharaddh, which is actually three goddesses in one, and gives me a wide range of cleric types to choose from as well as a fun challenge for theming. To represent this I'd like to try and take spells representing the three different aspects; Aerdrie Faenya, Hanali Celanil and Sehanine Moonbow.
Sehanine Moonbow is the easiest, as her domains of grave, knowledge and light are pretty well covered by common Cleric spells like Guiding Bolt, Guidance, and Spare the Dying or Gentle Repose, so I think I've got that area pretty well covered.
Aerdrie Faenya's domains are life, tempest and trickery; life is easily covered by healing spells (which I should probably take, as the party's healer), and I've got Create or Destroy Water for now for a touch of Tempest (since it can do rain). Bane will probably cover trickery well enough for now as well I think.
The one I'm looking for suggestions for is Henali Celanil; while her domain is also life, her focus is very much love. The only spell I've found so far that feels like a good match is Warding Bond, which creates a link with a target who gains +1 AC and all damage resistances, but the caster takes any damage it suffers (i.e- damage is split between them and you). This will probably do for lower levels, but I'd love to have a few ideas for what I might take later on.
I'll be starting at 3rd level, so will have 1st and 2nd level spell slots initially, but will need to fill others later on, and I'm looking to theme the character through spell choice only for now (I likely won't be using the playtest Unity Domain).
I think I've probably exhausted what's in the Player's Handbook, so please do suggest anything in other books (with a quick summary of what it does, as the handbook is all I have unlocked at the moment).
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
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.
Look at the UA for the Unity Cleric, or google the UA for its predecessor the love domain cleric. Both of those seem right up your ally.
Thanks for the suggestion!
The problem is that that would seem too much like specialising in just the one aspect; my current intention is to take one of Angharradh's specific cleric domains rather than one that's specific to any one of the three aspects. I'm currently leaning towards war cleric, with the idea being the character patrols and defends shrines belonging to all three goddesses, but I'd like to have a little flavour of all three in my spell choice, on top of the domain provided war spells.
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.
Depending on how abstract and/or hopeful or cynical you want to get
command, aid, continual flame, Beacon of hope, fast friends life transference.
If you’re thinking of these as domain spells, so you can go a bit off the cleric class list: Charm person, enhance ability, ray of sickness, phantasmal force, locate creature
Ceremony could be a flavorful option. It's not overly powerful except for short duration ceremonies for coming of age and marriage as well as dedication. It's in the XGTE. I like Warding Bond and you might want to consider Life Transference that plays into the same concept and can be used on targets other than your bonded buddy. It's also XGTE.
You sacrifice some of your health to mend another creature’s injuries. You take 4d8 necrotic damage, and one creature of your choice that you can see within range regains a number of hit points equal to twice the necrotic damage you take.
Both Life Transference and Warding Bond play best with Life domain as you can heal yourself through the bonus heals that domain gives you.
Dawn deals damage, has ties to light domain, is symbolic of the life and death cycle, and the symbolism of the warm embrace of a loved one during a time of need would be on point, particularly as that loved one was shielding you from harm by harming your enemies. Flavored as the answer to prayers of those the party has left behind? I'd say it works. Also XGTE.
In reality, many of the Cleric spells already have flavorings of love since they are typically dealing with some kind of devotion anyway.
The ones that deal with the dead could be flavored as Ancestors protecting the living (Spirit Guardians) because of the kinship that they share. Or the living communing with the dead to remember them and preserve their memory.
Ceremony should DEFINITELY be in the Sub class list for a Cleric of Love. How else will you do a wedding on moment's notice?
Loled at Command. Illusion spells can play into it a bit as well. They may be more cynical or hopeful in theme ("s/he loves me, s/he loves me not" all the way up to stalker level obsession) and might be more domain spells that need to be added.
That's kind of what I was going for. There are a lot of different kinds of love. And love can make people do lots of different things and feel lots of different ways, Hence enhance ability, because sometimes you feel superhuman, and ray of sickness, because sometimes you feel awful.
Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
Ceremony definitely does sound like a must-have for the love-aspect; I suppose with Clerics able to refresh spells on a long rest it's one that could just be kept handy for when it's needed rather than keeping it permanently prepared? It's a shame that it doesn't have a ceremony with more general utility (e.g- cleansing ceremony performed as part of a short rest to cure poison or something) or it would be easier to justify keeping it prepared.
Life Transference also sounds like a really great option, though I'm curious about the wording; am I correct in thinking that if I had necrotic resistance it would mean I won't heal the target by as much? Do you think that that and Warding Bond are still reasonable picks if I were to go War Domain rather than Life Domain? Double 4d8 is still better than 3d8+WIS for a 3rd level Cure Wounds, at a risk to my Cleric, so that should still be appropriate I think!
Dawn does sounds like a great spell that should overlap all three of Angharaddh's aspects.
I think the conclusion is that I definitely need to get Xanathar's Guide to Everything unlocked already. If my main monitor wasn't currently in the process of dying I'd probably have already done it, fortunately I've a little time before I need the character. 😉
Anyway, thanks again for all the suggestions, definitely lots to consider!
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.
Yes if you have necrotic resistance, you will take half of the 4d8 damage and will heal for the full 4d8 since that would be double the damage you take.
As a War domain, I'm picturing that you would be in melee quite a bit, which might have happened with Life as well. You'll probably take more damage as a front liner than a heavily armored back or mid liner. With Life domain, you're healing spells provide 2+the spell level extra hit points to the target from your 1st level ability and your 6th level gives you 2+ the spell level hit points if it hits a creature other than you. The damage that you would be soaking from Warding Bond and taking from Life Transference would be healed in part by your heals, potentially even Life Transference (I'm not 100% that Life Domain's abilities work with it, but it's close enough that you could ask the DM and have a reasonable chance of getting it. Or I might just be tired and think otherwise when I'm awake.) War Cleric doesn't have that built in, so you'd have to be more judicious in using Life Transference and Warding Bond together.
The payoff would be that you would be helping the party defeat your enemies much faster which should mean that they take less damage for you to heal.
Keep in mind that you can't reduce the damage that you take from Warding Bond, you just take what your buddy takes and they're already getting resistance to all damage. Your DM may rule differently and it's close enough that they might.
None of this really changes anything about how those spells interact with a War Cleric vs a Life Cleric, it's simply a matter of the Life Cleric probably having more HP available to feel comfortable taking the extra damage. You can still use the spells and you probably won't have to heal as frequently. Of course, this analysis is also done in a vacuum and combat has a tendency to negate the best laid plans.
It's not a spell, and it's a little on the nose, but having a stockpile of Philter of Love could be fun.
Thanks for going into so much detail.
I'm thinking I probably wouldn't be using either Warding Bond or Life Transference a huge amount, the core spells will probably be the usual radiant damage and healing, but I could see Warding Bond being useful to put on a lower health party map (e.g- a Wizard) who shouldn't be taking a lot of damage, but could be at risk when, as you say, combat spoils plan A. Life Transference likewise seems ideal for situations where I'm doing okay but someone else in the party is dangerously close to zero, since it should heal more than a pure healing spell can?
That could be a fun chaotic option! The Aerdrie Faenya aspect is technically trickery domain I think so love potion related hijinks ought to track!
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.
Warding Bond on a key spellcaster is actually a pretty good usage of the spell and one that I haven't thought about prior (theoretical knowledge only about the spell so far, but one I plan to use when I finally get to roll a cleric). A 14 dex Wizard with Mage Armor and Warding Bond would have a solid 13 + 2 (dex mod) + 1 (Warding Bond) = 16 base AC as long as the spells are active, which is the same as Chain Mail. That gives a 75% chance to evade attacks by characters with a 0 hit modifier and a 55% chance to evade with a +4 hit modifier. The +1 AC represents a 5% flat increase. Being at range should help, but they would be tethered to you at a max of 60 ft or the spell would end. All of their saving throws increase by one which is nothing to sneeze at either. Finally, the resistance to damage is beneficial two fold- first, it preserves as much of those scarce HP as possible when they do get hit, fail a save, or are targeted by a save for half damage. Second, it ensures that a larger portion of those hits will be less than 10 and the ones that are over 10 will be half as much as they would be. This is important for concentration saves.
It would still be better if you were a ranged character yourself, since that could enable them to be further from the action when the battlefield allowed, but 60 ft isn't bad for a good chunk of encounters.
As for Life Transference, there are some factors that would play into which is more effective. Your Wisdom modifier would play in, the range the target is at would factor, your action economy plays a roll, your health, and finally if you have necrotic resistance. The components may come into play since Healing Word is V only while the other two have VS. I won't factor those, but it's good to know.
Healing Word is a bonus action at 60 ft for 1d4+spellcasting mod +1d4 for every spell slot level above first that is used to cast it. At 3rd level, that's 3d4+ability mod (likely between 3-5 when you first get this). If we use 4 for your wisdom mod that's 3d4+4 at 60 ft and you can still pop someone in the head with your mace or other weapon of choice or cast a cantrip like Sacred Flame or Toll the Dead. Average healing is 11.5.
Cure Wounds is 1d8+spellcasting mod + 1d8 per level above 1st. 3rd level with a +4 is 3d8+4 for and average of 17.5, which is best better than Healing Word, but requires touch range and your action. You won't be able to cast a bonus action spell, War Priest and many other bonus action attacks trigger off of the Attack action, and there aren't a bunch of other uses for your bonus action so it might go to waste. Like Healing Word, it's simply a heal so your actual healing = your net healing.
Life Transference uses an action and has a range of 30 ft. You take 4d8 necrotic damage for an average of 18 (9 with resistance) and heal for twice that meaning 36 (18 with resistance). Your net healing is only 18 (9 with resistance) since you took damage. This means that the throughput could be better but it's roughly on par with Cure Wounds in net healing at a better range.
Overall, I think it's balanced quite well between the single target spells available at 3rd level and which one you choose will depend on a lot of factors. Other spells are also available that can heal multiple allies, of course. I didn't worry about those because that adds more factors that aren't needed for the single target spells but aren't difficult to weigh against them.