Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana Divine Domains

And, here's the direct link to the PDF

http://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/UA_Cleric.pdf

Forge, Grave, and Protection domains...

 

[Dualazi]

I have a general dislike of these on the whole, so I'm definitely looking forward to when feedback is made available. Forge is the most innocuous of the bunch, though.

I'm getting tired of the constant presence of heavy-armor clerics, it makes some sense for clerics of battle/war etc, but I can't think of any thematic reasons for a cleric of life and death to need it. At this point I'd rather they just give all clerics the prof. or take it all away, so they can use the resulting design space for something worthwhile.

Protection clerics are my least favorite of the bunch, I can think of absolutely no reason why pseudo tank skills should be put on the cleric chassis as opposed to being saved for a new paladin variant, since Paladins are by default the front line holy-man. It seems sort of creatively bankrupt as well, since the Shield of the Faithful and Blessed Healer are basically just a feat and life cleric class feature lifted into this one.

Forge clerics are alright, but I think they have too much reliability. Almost all of their features are always on, and perks like fire resistance are very strong in my opinion. I'd like to see more decision making, but that's just me. Also, their initial ability should probably only affect weapons, since with the level 6 Soul of the Forge a forge cleric could easily have 22 AC without any magic items or buffs.

Grave clerics have the most thematically appropriate abilities of the bunch, but for a type of cleric focused around one theme they're a little too versatile, with a great offensive channel divinity, defensive reaction, and ridiculous level 17 feature (though I doubt most care about that high of level). Of the three, I definitely feel like they should lose the melee/armor focus the most.

 

[Mercule]

Given their themes, both Forge and Protection darn well should get heavy armor. It's only Grave I'd quibble with. And since clerics of such deities would have gotten heavy armor proficiency as a matter of course in any previous edition of the game, I can't really work up the will to strenuously object to it.

Most editions gave clerics heavy armor, so it isnt a big surprise. I mean clerics are the militant side of a religion, so you would think armor would be a priority .

I can agree that Protection should. Forge makes sense, too, though making is different than using.

Actually, I think it'd be a lot more interesting if the Protection Cleric, you know, relied on his god for protection, rather than a hunk of metal. How about an alternate 1st level ability:
Divine Bulwark: Starting at 1st level, you apply your Wisdom bonus, instead of your Dexterity bonus, to your armor class. Additionally, when you are wearing no armor and not using a shield, your base armor class is equal to 10 + your proficiency bonus.

That would let it scale roughly on par with what a Cleric could expect (including money on hand), starting about as well as Chain Mail and average Dex (15 AC) (12 base + 3 from 16 Wisdom) at 1st level to full plate +3 (21 AC) (16 base + 5 from 20 Wisdom) at 20th level. Sure, it doesn't quite get up to the 26 of full plate +3 and shield +3, but you also have it if someone tries to assassinate you in the shower.

The "Tradition!" argument is the one that doesn't carry any weight with me. I thought giving Clerics only medium armor, by default, was one of the best changes made in 5E. I still think only War should have had heavy armor and giving heavy armor to Life Clerics was asinine -- Life is right up there with Fertility for domains that should be the poster children for no heavy armor, maybe even no medium armor. I was pretty annoyed when the first Cleric played in our 5E game was a Life Cleric who made a bee-line for the Heavy Armor Mastery feat.

So, really, it isn't so much that I have a problem with either of those domains having heavy armor so much as annoyance that they decided to publish nothing but heavy armor domains and the Grave domain really doesn't need it. I'd much rather see an interesting 1st level power for Grave. I'd also rather they left Protection off the list and published something else that didn't have heavy armor.

 

[Mercule]

I would prefer the Grave domain to get martial weapons rather than heavy armour so they could use a longsword (Kelemvor) or some form of war scythe maybe.

Especially a scythe.

 

[Mecheon]

I do love Forge, as that fits with one of my ever-present character concepts who shows up every now and again

 

[CapnZapp]

Oh, for sure; they've bandied about the idea of having deity specific domains (Odin Domain, Helm Domain, what have you), and on fluff there is nothing going against that. But at a certain point it becomes remixing as much as anything.

When did they do this bandying?

I personally think it is a great idea to stick with "portfolios" as domains rather than individual gods.

Not only is it a lot of (needless) clutter, it also leads the situation where you pick one god over another because it gives you better crunch.

At least when a domain is "war" or "healing" you can probably find an appropriate god, or at least something close, without sacrificing any mechanical edge.

(Sure, if you're convinced the trickery domain, say, is much better than the "arcane" domain, you're still steered towards one subset of gods rather than another. But overlap and sheer breadth of selection still helps to reduce or remove the feeling you choice was mandated by crunch rather than by fluff)

 

[Parmandur]

When did they do this bandying?



I personally think it is a great idea to stick with "portfolios" as domains rather than individual gods.



Not only is it a lot of (needless) clutter, it also leads the situation where you pick one god over another because it gives you better crunch.



At least when a domain is "war" or "healing" you can probably find an appropriate god, or at least something close, without sacrificing any mechanical edge.



(Sure, if you're convinced the trickery domain, say, is much better than the "arcane" domain, you're still steered towards one subset of gods rather than another. But overlap and sheer breadth of selection still helps to reduce or remove the feeling you choice was mandated by crunch rather than by fluff)

@nearls on Twitter a while back; given the lower level of fan interest in further Cleric domains, doubt that is a high priority. But, they have considered it.

Personally, a think a system like the Warlocks Invocations would make sense for Clerics, mix and match abilities.

 

[Leatherhead]

Well, this isn't what I was hoping for, but what I expected.

Clerics are in a weird spot at the moment. You could almost call it a crisis of faith. It seems like nobody really knows what they are supposed to be anymore. It used to be that they had a hard line of niche protection where they were "The healer, who could also pull warrior duties" and had access to not only the fastest way to restore hp, but a monopoly on any other way to fix the PC's. Later on the healer niche was eroded down a bit, and Clerics got spell power to compensate for it, leaving them in a state where they basically could do anything, if not everything at some points. Some people considered that a fair trade cause they were still the go-to walking band-aid dispenser, but most other people didn't. Their next iteration all but totally removed their healing niche protection, by spreading it over multiple classes and making it so nobody needed to be tethered to a healer in order to adventure at a decent pace in the first place. They still had a defined roll, but were now faced with the more important question of "How do I make myself valuable to a group that doesn't need me?"

Right now, the only unique mechanic they have is turn undead, which is not much to base a class on, even less so considering some of the Domains don't exactly seem like they should be able to pull that off in the first place. Their fluff is getting cribbed left and right. What is the point of having a class be a dedicated servant of the gods, when multiple other classes can pull that off, while still retaining their core identities? You could say people have an image of a default cleric, and from what I have gathered it's an unglamorous, unadventurous depiction of something modeled off of stereotypical clergy life. Candles and prayer books and sitting around the temple all day long. You could say it's like a wizard, but even the the bookish wizards have experiments and tomb raiding for lost magics to drive their adventurous spark. I believe the domain of the cleric is where their identity was supposed to happen, but the domains don't really fulfill that kind of thing. Partly because they fall into two distinct camps with recycled abilities, and partly because the skeleton of the cleric doesn't have much for the domains to cling to and modify.

That's enough of me rating in the dark hours of the morning about core Clerics. On to the Article itself. I'm tired, and cranky, and I risk making this sound more negative than I intend it to be if I keep going on like this.

Forge Domain
Become one with the anvil.
Spells:
You get some fire stuff and a potpourri of spells that target objects. Bonus spells are one of the things I like about domains, considering it's something that can make clerics function differently.
Heavy Armor Proficency
Well, this is another Basher, at least having heavy armor is unquestionably appropriate, unlike the nature domain. But why not martial weapons?
Blessing of the Forge
You get a +1 weapon for free until around level 6, and then you get +1 Plate for the rest of your adventuring days. This is front-loaded and boring, with a side putting strain on bounded accuracy. It is worth noting that you can use this on your allies gear too. Great for that one character who hasn't found a magic Hand Crossbow because the DM doesn't like Sharpshooter builds.
Artisans Blessing
A more thematic use of Channel divinity than Turning Undead at the very least. But why is there a GP limit if you are required to use materials that cost the same? Is making a suit of plate around the same time you could buy one really something that needs to be stopped? Right now it's primary draw is going to making forgeries (does that count as a pun?) of keys or nick-nacks so the cleric can act like a rogue. Which goes against the grain of what this subclass is trying to invoke.
Soul of the Forge
Defense Fighting Style, but way better. The construct damage bonus is a bit out of left field though. I understand the connection, I just think it's tenuous given the existence of Flesh Golems, and the situation is rare enough that lots of players are going to forget it even exists.
Divine Strike
It's fire damage on a weapon attack. It's there to make it so the cleric doesn't lag behind in melee combat. Basically every cleric that doesn't have Potent Spellcasting has this in some flavor. I don't love it, but that's mostly because I think it should be folded into the core cleric experience somehow. It's mechanically sound enough.
Saint of Forge and Fire
Now this is interesting, with lots of fun potential for things you can do, like burn the world around you while you sip on some tea. The non-magical restriction on the mundane damage types is unnecessary though. This Domain already has command over magic weapons, and high levels are rich with enemies that have magical weapon attacks.

Thoughts:
It's blunt. But it still has a few loose ends


Grave Domain
Because busting makes you feel good.
It's the Death domain for people who aren't trying to kill everyone, just the ones who are already dead.
Spell list:
Some of these are questionable. Such as Ray of Enfeeblement, Vampiric Touch, Blight, and Antilife Shell. So basically half of the spells.
Heavy Armor
This technically works, due to most of the "Drain your life" attacks require an attack roll, but it seems like these guys would be the ones to stay away from the reach of the nasty things trying to kill them. I honestly think this subclass should have gone down the caster route instead of the basher route to begin with.
Circle of Mortality
You are really good at stopping people from bleeding out. Thematic.
Eyes of the Grave
This has the same problem as the UA ranger, Information Overload. I'm thinking it should be more like Divine Sense from the Paladin.
Path to the Grave
It's very useful for killing things. Especially things that are resistant to multiple forms of damage. However, I can't help but feel this should be an Elemental Clerics shtick. Certainly not for basher clerics at the very least. On top of that, this is the one Domain where Turn Undead is the channel divinity power to have.
Sentinel at Deaths Door
A use for a reaction is nice. But why does this negate critical hits, instead of any of the nasty effects that undead are prone to throw about? Things like charm, fear, paralysis, disease, or stat penalties. That would be way more useful as a sometimes used ability.
Divine Strike
Why do undead hunters deal Necrotic Damage? Path to the Grave isn't something that is useful enough make this workable in the conditions that you would need it.
Keeper of Souls
I don't like the idea of using the enemies hit dice in this power. Mostly because I stopped using hit dice for monsters. But also because this is virtually unlimited healing. I think this should be tied to the recipients HD instead.

Thoughts:
So many questionable choices here.

Protection
Because Paladins are too smite happy for your defender needs.

Spells:
The only questionable one is Slow.
Heavy Armor Proficiency
Was there ever any doubt?
Shield of the Faithful
Why is this a mundane effect? This is a servant of the god of protection here, the least you could do is give them a ranged magical ward that helps them protect instead of relying on them to jump in front of every bullet like they are the secret service.
Radiant Defense
This isn't very defensive, one charge of damage when someone else gets hit? No defensive buff, or temp hps, or disadvantage, just an eye for an eye. The scaling is a bit weird on this too, how many damage effects use your class level in the calculation?
Blessed Healer
Healing isn't the same as protecting. Protecting involves preventing a bad thing from happening in the first place. Healing is just cleanup after the bad thing happened.
Divine Strike.
Why does this get radiant damage, and not the undead hunters? Is there no other damage type available for "protecting?" Do they even need to deal more damage considering they are looking to be a leader/defender hybrid that isn't a Paladin?
Indomitable defense
Now this is a protection ability. Pick your own resistance, and you get to bestow it upon someone else if you see fit. My only complaint is that it doesn't allow you to pick from every damage type in the game, as an endgame ability should.

Thoughts:
At least half of this domain just kind of exists. Which leads me to believe that it shouldn't have been a domain to begin with. I understand the draw of a defender cleric, this shouldn't be the way it happens though.

 

[Aldarc]

I will offer my observations and comments, which will echo many of the comments already in this thread thus far. Overall, I am glad to see these additions to the cleric domain options. Forge (Creation) and Grave (i.e. "Good Death") were the most glaring omissions in the PHB. Moradin as a Knowledge deity? Sure, I can see that, but Forge is more appropriate. Protection is also a classic domain, of sorts, though one that I have never been particularly too keen on playing. It has always filled that "not quite War, but not quite Life" niche in my imagining of the domain. Every one of these UA domains provides a mission statement of sorts for the cleric domain, and I will attempt to assess the cleric domain, in part, on whether it meets that criteria, along with thematic cohesions/coherence and mechanical utility. For the sake of preventing a wall of text, I will divide these into separate posts, starting with the Protection cleric.

Protection

The protection domain is the purview of deities who charge their followers to shield the weak from the strong. The gods' faithful dwell in villages and towns on the borderlands, where they help bolster defenses and seek out evils to defeat. These gods believe that a strong shield and a suit of armor is the best defense against evil, second only to a stout mace on hand to respond to any attacks in kind.

The bold appears to be the central ideas behind what the protection cleric seeks to accomplish or believes. I also assume that there may have been a typo in the last sentence, such that it should read "These clerics..." instead of "These gods...", who likely have little personal need for conventional armor. An appropriate question worth asking when dealing with any Protection domain is simple: "Protection from what?" The flavor text suggests that the cleric should protection "the weak from the strong" and provide a "defense against evil." How well does the Protection domain reflect this? Let's take a look.

Domain Spells: In my experience, no one is entirely satisfied with the domain spell selection. There are always spells that a GM or player believe should have been included or excluded from the list. But do the Protection spells make sense? Mostly. Compelled Duel does seem a bit strange in some regards. Shield of Faith or Sanctuary may have been obvious choices here, but I suppose the designers sought to expand the cleric's usual spell access here, though Shield would have been a suitable alternative, even if it is self cast only. Also Spirit Guardians would have potentially made more sense here than Slow. Again, I suspect that spell list expansion was the impetus rather than spell-aptness. The rest of the spells make sense, within reason.

Bonus Proficiency: The above description does suggest that shield and armor should be an obvious emphasis for the protection domain. Clerics already have shield proficiency, so this domain adds heavy armor proficiency. Boring and uninspiring, but to be expected.

Shield of the Faithful: The cleric gains the Protection fighting style. I understand why people are worried that this cannibalizes from other classes (i.e. fighter, paladin), but it also makes sense for the Protection cleric as well. While I am not opposed to multiclassing, I also like that this gives the Protection cleric a thematically-useful ability within their class without having to dilute their cleric concept by multiclassing for the ability. Furthermore, this fulfills part of the flavor text above: “to shield the weak from the strong.”

Channel Divinity (Radiant Defense): Now we run into our first glaring problem. I don't like the idea that the character needs to get hit for this ability to be effective. Ideally, a Protection cleric would want the character to avoid getting hit entirely. But the full effectiveness of this ability suggests that the character should get hit for damage, which seems thematically off-base. This ability would probably be more appropriate for a Justice/Retribution domain than a Protection cleric. (Even then, I don't like that sort of design philosophy.) It's easier, however, to recognize a problem than to propose a solution, and this is where I am having difficulty.

Blessed Healer: The "cannibalization" of Shield of the Faithful from other classes' fighting-style was permissible because it encourages single-classing without multiclass dipping. In contrast, this ability comes from the Life cleric of the same name and level, and that represents a problem in terms of subclass distinction, particularly this early in expanded content. This ability, much like with Radiant Defense, also appears to be thematically off. You heal yourself in return for healing others, but this does not seem appropriate for a Protection cleric. Perhaps it would have been more appropriate if healing a target also bestowed an additional benefit of temporary HP or an AC buff.

Divine Strike: Again, boring but expected given similar subclass abilities. This ability does reinforce the suggested playstyle of the flavor text above that this subclass will be wielding a mace in hand while wearing armor in the thick of the fight.

Indomitable Defense: The idea behind this ability makes sense. You are good at defense, so here's some resistance to mitigate damage for yourself or others. The problem is that this ability seems weak in comparison with similar cleric abilities that grant resistance (e.g. War, Forge, Nature, or even the Ancients paladin). War and Forge, for example, effectively get resistance to non-magical slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning, whereas the Protection cleric has a wider range of possible resistances, but can only select two of the aforementioned three at a given time. The intent of this design choice likely meant to represent a trade-off for versatility (of selection and application), but it comes across as being lackluster, if not underwhelming, particularly given the commonality of resistance as a 17th level cleric subclass ability. It would be nice to have something newer here. What if the Protection cleric (again, within limitation) could activate a temporary aura that imposed disadvantage on attack rolls against allies within their radius?

Overall: About half of the Protection cleric's abilities are solid or thematically consistent with the flavor text (e.g. domain spells, heavy armor, Shield of the Faithful, Divine Strike), while the other half are either thematically incongruent (i.e. Radiant Defense, Blessed Healer) or mechanically lackluster (i.e. Indomitable Defense). The problem is that this latter half also constitute what should be the Protection cleric's subclass-defining abilities: alternate channel divinity, 6th level playstyle, and 17th level subclass capstone. Despite all that, I do think that the Protection cleric is easily salvageable, but the designers need to rethink these abilities in light of the actual subclass flavor.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Grave is what I feel needs to be one of the more caster focused domains.

So replace divine strike at 8th level with Potent Spellcasting (Wisdom mod to cantrips) like Knowledge, Light and Arcana. I feel at 1st level they should get at least Chill Touch as a bonus cantrip and probably something else to replace heavy armour.

 

[AverageCitizen]

The protection domain makes my Cleric1/WizardX Abjurer Tank build even better than before.