[WIP] New Cleric Domain: Community

[RealAlHazred]

So, my home game is Eberron 5E, and the Community domain was always a huge part of the setting. I've been thinking of ways to make a 5E version of it. I've come up with the following bits so far, but I'd like feedback on how powerful these things look, and I'd be grateful if anyone has any additional ideas they'd like to share:

COMMUNITY DOMAIN SPELLS
[table="width: 500"]
[tr]
[td]Cleric Level[/td]
[td]Spells[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1st[/td]
[td]bless, purify food and drink[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]3rd[/td]
[td]aid, calm emotions[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]5th[/td]
[td]beacon of hope, create food and drink[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7th[/td]
[td]guardian of faith, Mordenkainen's private sanctum[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]9th[/td]
[td]circle of power, hallow[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you gain proficiency in the Persuasion skill, and in heavy armor.

Channel Divinity: Many Hands Make Light Work
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to make it easier for your people to help each other.

As an action, you present your holy symbol and evoke feelings of community and togetherness in those present. For 10 minutes, all allied creatures within 30 feet of you may use the Help action as a bonus action.

Congregationalist
Beginning at 6th level, when you cast a non-harmful spell that affects a certain number of allied or willing creatures, you can affect a number of additional creatures equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum of 1).

Potent Spellcasting
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.

Channel Divinity: Bolster Community
Starting at 17th level, you can use a reaction to activate an aura that bolsters the members of your community against outside threats.

Whenever any creature within 60 feet of you fails a saving throw, you can use your reaction to grant all creatures of your choice within 60 feet of you advantage to their saving throws. This effect lasts until the end of your next turn.

 

[Redthistle]

Which Eberron source-book was the Community Domain in?

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Which Eberron source-book was the Community Domain in?

In 3.5 it was the Campaign setting book.

 

[Redthistle]

Unfortunately, I lack that one. If I contribute to building this Domain, I'll need to pick up a copy of it first, though maybe the Pathfinder CRB will have something comparable.

 

[bedir than]

I like this. I may quibble about spell selection (I feel that sanctuary fits the style, etc). If a player at my table said "I want to do a community domain. It looks like the gods X, Y, Z should have such" I would approve it.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Unfortunately, I lack that one. If I contribute to building this Domain, I'll need to pick up a copy of it first, though maybe the Pathfinder CRB will have something comparable.

Eh, it's not that detailed, and lack of it doesn't really handicap you from commenting.

It's just a list of spells, use calm emotions once/day, and +2 to Diplomacy checks. I more-or-less thought it would be better to go to the beginning, and ask myself what a Community domain cleric would actually be doing for his flock. I've seen people attempt it before, but with a large number of combat spells on the list (which I can't see such a cleric using every day) and combat-focused abilities. I think, with the way 5E does things, you would get abilities that would help groups of people do things together better -- certainly of use in a fight, but not necessarily focused on fighting.

That's what has me stumped a little -- at 8th level, most cleric domains get bonus damage, which I'll assume has something to do with keeping them competitive with fighters and rogues. I'm considering either this:

Divine Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack that has already been hit since your last turn, you can cause the attack to deal an extra Id8 damage of the same type dealt by the weapon to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Or:

Potent Spellcasting
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any c1eric cantrip.

At 17th level, clerics get something really special:

• Arcana: Add four wizard spells to your domain spells list, one each of levels 6, 7, 8, and 9.
• Knowledge: You can see past events related to an object you're holding or a place you're in.
• Life: You heal maximum hit points.
• Light: You make a corona of light, enemies in it have disadvantage to radiant or fire spells.
• Nature: Command animal and plant creatures.
• Tempest: You get a flying speed.
• B]Trickery:[/B] You get four images when you Invoke Duplicity, and you can move them around as a bonus action.
• War: Resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage.

I'm thinking some kind of command ability for people, maybe similar in mechanic to the Nature cleric's command of animals and plants, except that the Nature cleric's ability builds on its Channel Divinity ability.

 

[Rhineglade]

I really like this a lot. Spell choices are perfect! It really does fit the "community" feeling in many ways.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

You might try adding psychic damage to divine strike--it feels like the community is opposed to someone, and I think that would be a first for clerics.

For the 17th level ability you might have something like group mind that lets your party communicate telepathically among themselves and know where the other members are as long as you are all on the same plane.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Divine strike (psychic): this is a good idea. And you're right -- none of the clerics get it.

• Arcana: Potent cantrip.
• Knowledge: Potent cantrip.
• Life: Divine strike (radiant).
• Light: Potent cantrip.
• Nature: Divine strike (cold, fire, or lightning).
• Tempest: Divine strike (thunder).
• Trickery: Divine strike (poison).
• War: Divine strike (weapon type).

Group mind: That's an interesting idea. I have to consider if it has any hard mechanical effects -- better Help bonus maybe?

 

[MechaTarrasque]

You are welcome.

I admit group mind was more a noncombat thing (Ang-gar the Barbarian got teleported some place and now it is easier to find him).

Alternatively, you could have Spirits of the Community--you summon a cloud of guardian spirits using your bonus action. The first time an attack would affect more than one party member, the spirits take the damage for the entire party for that attack. You can't use this ability again until completing a long or short rest. By 17th level, the party should be running into things that have AoE's, and you get 1 get out of jail free card against them.