Dungeons & Dragons: How To Build A Grave Domain Cleric

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• Features Of A Grave Domain Cleric

• Best Ability Scores For A Peace Domain Cleric

• Best Species For A Grave Domain Cleric

• Best Spells For A Grave Domain Cleric

A grave domain cleric walks the line between life and death more than any other cleric subclass in Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons. This deathly subclass connects you with undeath, and gives you the power to bring your allies back from the very brink of death with barely a bat of your eye.

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At your most powerful, you can sap the remaining life force from creatures as they die, and use it to embolden your allies. This subclass is a powerful backline supporter, most suited to boosting the hit points and the damage of your allies without getting into the nitty-gritty of combat yourself.

Features Of A Grave Domain Cleric

Circle Of Mortality

At first level, you use the maximum possible hit points when you are healing a creature that is at zero hit points. You also learn the Spare the Dying cantrip in addition to your other cleric cantrips, and you can cast it as a bonus action with a range of 30 feet.

Eyes Of The Grave

Also at first level, you can use your action to detect the location of any undead creatures within 60 feet, provided the undead creatures are not behind cover or protected from divination.

Whatever your Wisdom modifier is, you can use this feature that many times per long rest.

Channel Divinity: Path To The Grave

At second level, you can use your Channel Divinity as an action and curse any creature within 30 feet of you until the end of your next turn. The next time this cursed creature is hit by an attack, the creature is vulnerable to that attack’s damage, meaning it takes double damage from that attack.

Coordinate this feature with sneak attacks from rogues or high-powered wizard spells in your party to maximize the damage that this creature will take.

Sentinel At Death's Door

At sixth level, you can use your reaction when you or a creature within 30 feet is critically hit to turn the attack into a normal hit.

Whatever your Wisdom modifier is, you can use this feature that many times per long rest.

Potent Spellcasting

At eighth level, you can add your Wisdom modifier to any damage you deal with a cantrip.

Keeper Of Souls

At seventeenth level, when an enemy dies within 30 feet of you, you or an ally within 30 feet gains however many hit points as that enemy has Hit Dice. You can use this feature only once per turn.

This won’t provide a huge number of hit points, but it doesn’t take an action, so you can help bolster your allies without cutting into your own action economy.

Best Ability Scores For A Peace Domain Cleric

Wisdom should be your highest ability score. This ability score determines your spellcasting modifier, as well as crucial abilities for a cleric such as your Medicine score.

Your Wisdom modifier also determines how many times you can use your Eyes Of The Grave and your Sentinel At Death’s Door features each day, and how much damage you add to your cantrips using potent spellcasting.

Constitution should also be very high. Constitution will decide your hit points, and it’s important for a cleric to have high hit points and avoid going down, so that they can stay up to support their party.

Dexterity is important for the same reason Constitution is important: you want to defend yourself. Your Dexterity doesn’t need to be among your top ability scores, but it will decide your Armor Class so definitely don’t dump it.

Strength will come in handy for dealing damage as a cleric, but it won’t be that crucial. You can let this score be on the lower side, but if you want to deal a good hit to your enemies at least keep it above ten.

Charisma and Intelligencecan both be dump stats for you. You won’t need them for much of anything, so save your points for your other ability scores, and rely on other party members to carry these scores!

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Best Species For A Grave Domain Cleric

As a cleric, it’s best to pick a species that will make you more resilient. Look for species with high Constitution and Wisdom increases, as well as resistances and Armor Class buffs.

Hill Dwarf is a great choice for any cleric, as the ability score increase will give you two points for Constitution and one point for Wisdom. As a hill dwarf, you gain the dwarven toughness, which increases your hit point maximum by an extra one point at every level.

You’ll also gain dwarven resilience, which gives you advantage against poison damage and the poisoned condition.

This is a great species to improve your resilience, and make you more difficult to take down in combat. Dwarves also gain proficiency in several weapons, as well as artisan’s tools of your choice. These proficiencies may not stack with your abilities super well, but they will make your character more worldly.

Lizardfolk also make great clerics, strangely. They have the same ability score increases as hill dwarves, increasing your Constitution by two and your Wisdom by one. You gain proficiency in two skills, including Animal Handling, Survival, and Perception, all of which are Wisdom-based.

You also gain a natural armor that increases your Armor Class to 13 + your Dexterity modifier, which is helpful for battlefield resilience.

A lizardfolk also has a special bite attack and the hungry jaws feature, which allows you to deal damage from a natural weapon. If you don’t want to carry a weapon, or if your holy symbol takes up your hands, this bite is a good alternative.

Loxodon have the same ability score increases, adding two points to Constitution and one point to Wisdom. They also have a natural armor, increasing your Armor Class to 12 + your Dexterity modifier. You gain advantage against being charmed and frightened, and you have advantage to checks made using smell. All of this will help you stay sturdy in battle.

Loxodon also gain a trunk which can perform simple tasks. This is just fun to have!

Kalashtar are half-dream creatures that increase your Wisdom by two points and your Charisma by one point. You gain advantage on all Wisdom saving throws, and resistance to psychic damage. You also don’t dream, leaving you invulnerable to the Dream spell and the Sleep spell.

The most interesting feature of the Kalasthar is your ability to speak telepathically to any creature, with a range that increases by ten feet each level. You can also use your action to let these creatures reply to you. This is not a cleric-specific ability, but it is a fabulous one to have!

Best Spells For A Grave Domain Cleric

Cantrips

Cantrip

Description

Guidance

Guidance allows you to touch one creature and grant them 1d4 to add to an ability check of their choice within one minute.

This spell comes in useful for any cleric to help support their party.

Thaumaturgy

Similar to the Prestidigitation cantrip, Thaumaturgy allows you to manifest a harmless symbol of supernatural power within 30 feet.

While not super powerful, this cantrip will allow you to command some respect or attention without having a high Charisma score.

Toll The Dead

With Toll the Dead, you force a creature within 60 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they take 1d8 necrotic damage. If the creature is below maximum hit points, they take 1d12 damage.

This is the highest damage-dealing cantrip on the cleric spell list. It will scale nicely with higher levels and the damage will increase with your potent spellcasting feature at eighth level.

Don’t take Spare The Dying, because you will get it for free with your Circle Of Mortality feature.

Spells

Spell

Description

Cure Wounds

Cure Wounds lets you cure 1d8 plus your spellcasting modifier hit points to a creature you touch.

This is a high-powered healing spell, and with your circle of mortality feature you can give out the maximum possible hit points from this spell.

Inflict Wounds

With Inflict Wounds, you make a melee spell attack against a creature. They take 3d10 necrotic damage on a hit.

Use this spell in combination with your channel divinity: path to the grave and deal devastating damage, especially at higher levels.

Guiding Bolt

Guiding Bolt is a ranged spell attack that deals 4d6 radiant damage on a hit. In addition, the next attack roll made against a target that’s been hit with this spell has advantage.

This is another strong damage spell to use in conjunction with your channel divinity: path to the grave feature as you can double the attack’s damage.

As a cleric, you can choose your spells every day. Make sure to experiment and tailor your daily spells to whatever you expect to face. These spells will work well with your abilities as a grave cleric.

Next: Dungeons & Dragons: All Cleric Subclasses, Ranked