Spells with a * next to them are already on the cleric list and detailed below. Since you could of taken them anyways, this makes them a little less valuable.
A quick comparison of damage channel divinities at level 10...[sblock]
War is assumed to turn a miss into a hit.
tempest is assumed to be used on a failed save, and is only the amount added (max - spell average).
light assumes 50% save rate.
war with a longsword = 14
light = 15.75 (aoe, uses an action).
war with a greatsword = 16.5 (-2 AC)
war with longsword and green flame blade = 18.5 + 9 to a second target
tempest with a level 5 shatter = 21 (aoe)
tempest with a level 5 call lighting = 22.5 (aoe)
death = 25
war supporting a rogue = 26
war supporting an assassin's surprise = 47.
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Knowledge Skill Expertise. It adds a lot to out of combat and RP and comes with a few good control spells, as well as divination spells.
I suggest 20 Wis to land suggestion, but after that it's fairly open. You should be using your knowledge to avoiding combat a fair bit. Possibly picking up utility feats like ritual caster (if you don't have a wizards), healer, and inspiring leader. Team up with other stealth and deception PCs' (assassin, bard), since knowledge and trickery go hand in hand. Though having some more battle focused (barbarians, fighter) allies to cover for you when things go wrong is good too. It also works well as in a solo game, since you can cover every skill with some rest.
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Blessing of Knowledge: More skills and expertise. Though not the most valuable ones.
CD: Knowledge of the Ages Temporarily gain any skill. This has diminishing returns as you've already gotten all the ones you really want.
CD: Read Thoughts: Knowing what someone is thinking has
all sorts of RP benefits. But what makes this skyblue is that this doesn't have V,S, or M components, and thus you can stealthily cast ©suggestion, even while your talking to them. Pathetically when combined with your other scouting spells (scry past a door, just make sure they are within 60'). Though it does take 2 actions and concentration.
Potent Spellcasting: Better then the weapon proficiency, since you don't need 2 stats.
Visions of the Past: Knowing the past isn't as useful as knowing the future, or the present. But it's still at-will.
Spells:
1
*
command
identify
2
*
augury
©
suggestion: "Help us kill your boss" is a great suggestion. Or simply "go away and don't come back", to take someone out of combat. You get this with your channel divinity as well, however concentration keeps you from turning everyone against their boss.
3
nondetection: It's pretty rare for a NPC to scry you.
*
speak with dead
4
©
arcane eye: A solid scouting spell.
©
confusion: A bit unpredictable, but is still a mass control spell.
5
*
legend lore: Pretty rare that you'll need this. Particularly once you get the level 14 ability.
*©
scrying: A nice scout spell.
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Life: Healbot. While giving out more hit points is unquestionably helpful, that's all you get. You don't even get any non-cleric spells, though it's at least mostly ones you would take anyways.
I suggest Con with heavy focus on defense (heavy armor mastery, defensive duelist) as none of your features and only a few domain spells need to hit. And the more hit points you have, the more you can heal. However, you could go Str/Con, or Dex/Con as well, and dishing out a little damage. Best with high risk/reward players, (wild sorcerer, reckless barbarian), since you can more readily recover from mishaps.
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Heavy Armor: A small boost to AC.
Disciple of Life: A little bit of HP to your spells. If you snag a heal of time spell (goodberry, aura of vitality) or your own regeneration, it's get's
much better.
CD: Preserve Life: More HP, with good targeting, but only upto 1/2 HP.
Blessed Healer More HP, for you. But you really shouldn't be casting that many spells to make much of a difference.
Divine Strike This requires Str/Dex, while nothing else does. Likely you should skip weapons and stick with sacred flame.
Supreme Healing: Yet more HP. While this sounds amazing, your higher level heal spells (heal, mass heal) don't roll dice as much. So it's mostly a boost to your lower level ones.
1
*©
bless,
*
cure wounds
2
*
lesser restoration
*
spiritual weapon
3
*©
beacon of hope: You're already overloaded with healing, maximizing it further doesn't help. And then this becomes useless with your level 17 feature.
*
revivify
4
*death ward
*
guardian of faith
5
*
mass cure wounds
*raise dead
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Light The AoE blaster. Best against large hordes. This fills in one of the gaps that clerics normally have, mainly damage. Though the extra spells overlap with the channel divinity a fair bit, and your spells can end up stretched if you try to both blast and heal. Particularly since they both need to scale with slots.
I suggest Con and defense slightly over Wis, so you can survive to get into melee for your channel divinity, and since most of your spells deal 1/2 on a miss anyways. Alert doesn't hurt either, killing things sooner. Best with other's who deal with single target (fighters, rogues, enchanters).
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Bonus Cantrip: This is mostly flavor, but still something.
Warding Flare: Disadvantage is potent to have, though as multi-attack comes into play, this helps less.
CD: Radiance of Dawn: A friendly, if slightly weak AoE. Scales reasonably. You may want to use this against hordes of undead in place of turn undead.
Improved Flare: You can now help your allies, though it's stretching your resource.
Potent Cantrip:
Corona of Light: While disadvantage on saves is normally powerful, this only applies to spells that do 1/2 on a miss anyways (and it doesn't apply to scorching ray).
Better if you have allies who also sling fire/radiant spells.
1
burning hands The best level 1 AoE damage spell. Though that's not saying much.
©
faerie fire: Advantage for everyone. Can combo nicely with scorching ray.
2
©flaming sphere: Adds some damage over time. Though generally combat doesn't last long enough to make it worth while.
scorching ray: A strong spell with strong scaling. Just make sure you have advantage, and possibly bless before casting, as it does nothing on a miss.
3
*
daylight Your channel divinity can already dispel darkness, and you have the light cantrip.
fireball. One of the best damage spells in the game. Though it doesn't scale that well.
4
*
guardian of faith
©
wall of fire A large area but less damage then fireball. With a plus that it blocks enemy archers.
better if combined with immobilizing effects from allies, but otherwise, don't expect to hit people more then once.
5
flame strike This does less damage then fireball. Even against fire immune things, use your cantrip.
*©
scrying
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Nature The druid. Most of the features revolve around beasts and plants, making this somewhat campaign dependent. They do get a few nice control spells and features from the druid list. It also one of the
better melee clerics, as you can snag Shillelagh for free, and you get a choice of damage types.
I suggest Wis/Con in equal parts, using your control spells to block out a few people, then bashing the ones that are left. Polearm Master can also work with a quarter staff if your party needs a bit more damage. Works with any group, but best in a nature setting.
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Acolyte of Nature: Shillelagh allowing you to go into melee without needing to use Str/Dex. Other options are ok.
Heavy Armor: A little extra AC.
CD: Charm Animal and Plant: A much more limited version of animal friendship.
Dampen Elements: 1/2 damage on some of the most damaging effects in the game. Plus it's at-will.
Divine Strike: Your choice of element, makes this solid.
Master of Nature: An upgrade to your CD. Dominate is very strong. Even if the targeting and duration is limited. Note that this will still break if the creature takes damage.
1
animal friendship: You can charm as your Channel Divinity. Though this lasts a good bit longer.
©
speak with animals: Best uses as a scout.
2
©
barkskin
©
spike growth No save AoE damage and area denial. Unfortunately, it doesn't scale at all.
3
plant growth A strong wall of plants that can keep melee enemies at bay for a good while. Assuming there's plants.
©
wind wall Good defense against archers.
4
©
dominate beast: Turning an enemy into an ally is strong. But this has some limited targeting.
©
grasping vine: Bonus action to attempt to move someone 20', that's it. That's very much
red by itself, even being able to do it repeatedly without a size limit. However, if you combo it with something to pull enemies into (pit, cloud of daggers, wall of fire), it can be
pretty good. Though you can't use it yourself, because concentration.
5
©insect plague: Ok area denial.
©
tree stride Useful for fast travel, and for hit and run against enemies. Assuming there's trees. Though it only targets yourself.
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Tempest The focused Blaster. Like the light cleric, adding damage really helps shore up a weakness with the cleric. Tempest brings more nova, though it's spells can be stretched a bit more. Though killing things sooner generally means less need to recover. This does have a weakness to underground, making it just ok for underdark campaigns.
I suggest Wis/Dex, with Alert. As well as sticking to medium armor, or even light armor (at 20 Dex) for stealth. Aiming to go first and blow up the enemies before they have a chance to retaliate, and your allies get in the way. Then falling back to a handbow to help stretch your slots while your allies are in the mix. Best with more tanky allies.
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Heavy Armor & Weapons: A little more AC, and a tiny bit more damage.
Wrath of the
Storm: Damage as a reaction is good, however it doesn't scale at all.
CD: Destructive Wrath: This adds ~70% more damage to a spell. Though your selection is somewhat limited (thunderwave, shatter, call lighting, and destructive wave). It can also work on divine strike, but that's generally
a waste.
Thunderbolt Strike The only things this works on is Wrath of the Storm, and Call Lighting. It feels like it should work on thunder as well.
Better if you have something to push people into, or have lighting lure (pull first, then immediately push).
Divine Strike: Most of your damage is from spells. Though you can maximize your weapon damage.
Stormborn Flight, without concentration. And why your carrying a handbow.
Spells that can be maximized with destructive wrath are marked with @
1
©
fog cloud Good for blocking archers, or for sneaking past people.
@
thunderwave A solid start with AoE damage.
2
gust of wind: A nice spell to keep low Str creatures at bay. But usually too thin to make it too good.
@
shatter: The same damage as thunderwave, but now at range.
3
@©
call lightning: Repeatable AoE damage that scales very well is
skyblue. But the fact that it also works with thunderbolt strike and destructive wrath with d10's makes this your go-to spell. Just watch out for low ceilings.
©
sleet storm: AoE Prone is not too useful. Particularly since they get as save.
4
@©
control water:
ice storm: Good damage and then slows people down.
5
@
destructive wave: High damage friendly AoE. Note that only 1/2 the damage is thunder, making this not quite as nice for destructive wrath.
*©insect plague: Ok area denial. Though it really seems out of place for a storm cleric.
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Trickery The rogue domain. How good it is depends heavily on your DM and party. You can pull off all sorts of fun tricks with the channel divinity and spells, setting up battles, attacking from another room, or other fun tricks, but if the barbarian always rush in or your sitting in the middle of a wide open area, you lose much of that benefit. The spell list is mostly defensive and avoidance, which let's you flee easily, either after you cast contagion, or to come back later and raise dead.
I suggest Dex followed by Wis, doing more to avoid any direct confrontations, and relying on your defensive spells to keep you safe. Possibly dip rogue for expertise and cunning action. You can always polymorph if you need to tank for a bit. Good in parties with patient for trickery. Bad in parties that like to rush in.
[sblock]
Blessing of the Trickster: Stealth (and surprise) is powerful. Note this does not work on yourself.
CD: Invoke Duplicity: Assuming you cast it ahead of time this is very nice. It also gives you advantage with dual wielding, contagion, inflict wounds, or crossbow expertise (not just melee attacks). Or you can simply cast around walls, or add 120' to your spells. Also works well with disguise self. However, it's generally not worth
using in battle.
CD: Cloak of Shadows 1 turn of invisibility has it's uses, but competes with duplicate. It also takes an action, so you can't turn invisible and hide on the same turn (without rogue), though you can on your next turn. On the plus side, it does not take concentration, and can be good to use if your caught in an ambush or something.
Divine Strike Poison is among the worst damage type.
Improved Duplicity: Now you have a squad of illusions to add even more confusion to the battle. Or you can have one of your duplicates call another duplicate a doppelganger.
1:
charm person A small skill buff with a clear downside.
disguise self Plenty of good trickery here. Like running around a corner, changing into a servant girl, and saying "he went that way".
2
mirror image A solid defensive spell.
©
pass without trace: Note that this stacks with blessings of a trickster. So you really can sneak a heavy armor guy in places.
3
blink: An excellent defensive spell. You have 50% chance of not being targetable, with no concentration. Plus you can travel though thin walls. You can also be a bit cheese and ready a dash while on the ethereal plane to travel though thicker walls.
*dispel magic:
4
dimension door: Short range teleports are useful. Particularly after you just landed contagion and need to run away a few turns while it kicks in. Just make sure your landing spot is clear.
©
polymorph: Not only useful for disguising yourself as a stray cat, but you can turn someone into a t-rex to stomp stuff.
5
©
dominate person: A very strong effect, but short lived with a lot of saving throws and limited targeting keeps it from being too good.
©
modify memory: Can come in handy on occasion.
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War The paladin. They do NOT "excel in combat" (until
level 17). They are just OK in combat. You get features to add to weapon attacks, but it doesn't add much damage at the cost of making you MAD (without shillelagh). The domain spells are pretty much all outclassed by bless. It's still viable to play one, but consider playing a paladin or multiclassing into another weapon class.
For straight war clerics, I suggest getting Shillelagh, booming blade/ green flame blade, and going Wis/Con with a quarter staff, using features when you miss. Best supporting rogues (war god's blessing) and necromancers (crusader's mantle).
[sblock]
Heavy armor & weapons: Extra AC is nice, and just a little extra damage.
War Priest: 2 attacks at level 1 is massive. But this can quickly get replaced with a feat or by spiritual weapon. Divine strike is 1/turn, so save this for when you miss to get a second chance. Note this does NOT work with
booming blade / greenflame blade, only "attack actions".
CD: Guided Strike: Turning a miss into a hit is pretty good.
Better with booming blade / green flame blade.
CD: War God's Blessing. You have divine strike, so you mostly want to use CD on yourself. Unless you have a
rogue ally.
Divine Strike: You make slightly better use of this then other domains, since you can change damage types, and it stacks with CD.
Avatar of Battle Massive boost to your defense. A bit late to save the domain though.
1
©
divine favor Worse then bless, unless you are the only one in combat and can't spare the action.
*©
shield of faith
2
©
magic weapon Worse then bless. It does have a good duration though, and can overcome weapon resistance.
*
spiritual weapon
3
crusader’s mantle Worse then bless. Unless you have a large party, such as a necromancer's army.
*
spirit guardians
4
*
freedom of movement
©
stoneskin: Good if you have someone in a narrow corridor tanking.
5
*flame strike
©hold monster Normally a
strong control spell that allows crits, but you likely don't have as much Wis to make it stick.
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Death (DMG): The Gish. With very good melee channel divinity and a mixed selection of damage/control spells, your one of the best gish domains. Though like most Gishes, they can be MAD. However you can skip weapons and using melee attack spells (vamperic touch, spiritual weapon) and stay pure Wis/Con. You could also grab thorn whip or shillelagh with a feat or druid dip.
I suggest Warcaster, 20 Wis then Resilient Con. Keeping your concentration and accuracy of Vamperic Touch, adding in Touch of Death to boost heal yourself. Add a spiritual weapon + touch of death for a double tap. Shillelagh and Green Flame Blade also work good here.
[sblock]
Martial Weapons Minimal extra damage.
Reaper Toll the Dead is the best option for twining. While twining is a bit situational, double damage is still potent. Chill Touch's is a good option for the bonus cantrip giving you an alternative attack (possible advantage) and long range, or you can choose toll the dead to free up another utility choice. Spare the Dying is the only other option.
CD: Touch of Death Very good damage that can't be wasted, but requires you to be in melee. Note that this can be used with melee spells as well (inflict wounds, spiritual weapon, vamperic touch).
Spiritual Weapon being particularly good since it's a bonus action, at range, and without concentration.
Inescapable Death: This is more of a theme tax then an actual feature. Particularly since you have plenty of radiant and turn undead to fall back on.
Divine Strike You'll be in melee anyways, though it's still kinda poor scaling. Stacks with Green Flame Blade though.
Improved Reaper: Doubles the power of some spells, if enemies are close enough. Most notably with blind and vamperic touch. Note that you only need 1 use of touch of death to deal extra damage to both targets.
I'm rating spells without considering Improved Reaper, since you'll be using them single target for the majority of the game.
But, i did mark the improved spells with a @. So increase their color by
1 once you get to 17.
1
false life Pre-healing is always nice. Scales ok.
@
ray of sickness Most low AC, low Con creatures don't rely on attack rolls, making this less then helpful.
2
*@
blind/deafness
@©ray of enfeeblement: Against high accuracy targets who use Str attacks this is better then blind. Though you need to hit AC as well.
3
*
animate dead
@©
vamperic touch: Repeatable damage and heal, but the fact that it's concentration and melee makes it a
good spell. The thing that really brings it to
skyblue is the synergy with Touch of Death, which not only boost damage, but healing.
4
@
blight an upgrade to inflict wounds, with 1/2 on a miss. Though it doesn't synergise with Touch of Death.
*
death ward
5
©
antilife shell Making yourself immune to most melee creatures is massive, particularly with the nice long duration. However, it goes both ways, and prevents you from using your channel divinity. (unless you use
Spirital Weapon) So know when to use it.
©cloudkill: Ok area denial. Nearly identical to insect plague.
@
other cleric necromancy spells that get improved.
Contagion
Gentle Repose
Inflict Wounds
Raise Dead
Speak with the Dead
[/sblock]
Arcana (SCAG): Anti-Magic. The CD and spells are pretty niche. They work well against red wizards of thay summoning fire elementals, but does little against orcs, kobolds, dragons, or terrasque. So check your campaign to see if what your going up against. At least you get all non-cleric spells boosting flexibility. Note that since the extra cantrips are cleric cantrips, booming blade get's a damage boost from potent cantrip, giving you
good melee options.
I suggest Wis then Con, getting shillelagh and being in melee. Best in campaigns that feature wizards and planar travel as enemies.
[sblock]
Arcane Initiate: Minor illusion and prestidigitation but several good choices, or booming blade and green flame blade for melee.
Arcane: More skills is good. Though it's an Int based skill.
CD: Arcane Abjuration: This is very close to
red as your you can easily lose out on a major ability simply by never facing one of these creatures, and it only affects 1. But this can still be
great in the right campaign.
Healing Dispel? I find the need to dispel to be
pretty rare, but it's still
2 spells for the price of 1.
Potent Cantrip: Keeps you on par. Bladesinger can double-tap with booming blade and greenflame blade, as well as affect multiple creatures with sword burst. Though similar abilities where errated to 1/cast, so this may follow.
Magic Secrets: High level wizard spells are somewhat better then high level cleric spells but not massively so. (except
wish->simulacrum).
1
©
detect magic:
magic missile: never bad, but rarely good. Doesn't scale too well.
2
©
magic weapon: Worse then bless, though last longer.
nystul's magic aura:
3
dispel magic: Obsolete by your level 6 feature.
magic circle: worthless at this level. Though it can come in handy at level 11.
4
©
arcane eye: A nice scouting spell.
leomunds's secret chest: you can usually just carry stuff yourself.
5
planar binding: This, along with planar ally / conjure celestial / gate (+magic circle), can actually be good. Though you'll need to wait a
few levels to be useful. Cost keeps it from being too broken.
teleport circle: Some good utility.
[/sblock]
Forge: You get an excessive number of ways to make things. But you probably won't need to make a new sword every day. Only slightly better than war, it also comes out great at level 17+. It does make a good
level 1 dip for other classes though.
[sblock]
Heavy Armor helps keep you up.
Blessings of the Forge: A versatile buff.
CD: Artisan's Blessing: A
nice utility, but it's not something you'll be using every day, let alone multiple times a day. So unless you have a lot of undead, to use turn undead, you're going to miss out on a main feature. Also, a lot of redundantcy with fabricate and creation later.
Soul of the forge: A bit more tankiness.
Divine Strike: Your basic boost.
Saint of Forge and Fire: Big increase to defense. Too bad it's so late.
1
Identify: Useful
©Searing Site: Not bad first level, but since it take concentration, it's going to take
2
©Heat Metal: Strong spell, but limited targets.
©
Magic Weapon: Bless is better level. And elemental later levels.
3
©
Elemental Weapon: Better then bless if you only have 1 weapon using ally. Improves as you go up.
©Protection from Energy: Decent
4
Fabricate: Nice utility here. Though fairly redundant with your channel divinity.
©
Wall of Fire: Good, easy to aim AoE
5
©
Animate Object: Best with a pocket full of caltrops. These can do some damage.
Creation: You have 2 other ways of making objects, and you can't use this for that aren't temporary.
[/sblock]
Grave: Adds some healing, and damage based on your party members.
[sblock]
Circle of Mortality: This makes you want to knock your allies out before healing them. But for most, it will only be +1.5 to a healing word. The extra cantrip can actually help, since it let's you get closer and to use a bigger heal.
Eyes of the Grave: Most undead within 60' will be pretty obvious. But it could help you spot a vampire in a masquerade.
CD: Path to the Grave: An action do double 1 attack (
not DC spells). Pretty good at this level, but fades as multi-attack comes into play. Though your likely to get at last some damage. Works wonders with a
rogue or
assassin though.
Sentinel at Death's Door: Not a huge amount of damage reduction, but it's a reaction you were probably not using anyway.
Potent Spell Casting: Standard bump
Keeper Of Souls: Not a lot of HP, but enemies dying is very common, and it doesn't take any kind of action.
1
©
bane: Your generally better off with bless, which doesn't take a save. But if you have a party of casters, this is one of the few ways to reduce saving throws.
False Life: Decent at this level.
2
gentle repose: If you have a level 2 slot, then you should probably heal instead.
©
ray of enfeeblement: Too many saves for too bad of an effect.
3
revivify: you were going to take this anyways.
©vamperic touch: Not a bad melee option.
4
blight: decent damage.
death ward: another one that was already on your list
5
antilife shell: A wall spell that moves with you.
raise dead: Not something you'd use often.
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