Themed Divine Domains
Generic domains are excellent for conveying one-note gods, but sometimes you want to more accurately portray a complicated god such as the Raven Queen, who presides not only over the passage of a soul into death, but also over winter. The following variant domains are available to help focus on a more specific interaction between a deity and their priest.
The Raven Queen's Domain
The Raven Queen is an unaligned patron-deity in the core pantheon, and she resides in the Shadowfell, also called the "Plane of Shadow." She was introduced in the Player's Handbook. The name of this goddess of death is long forgotten, but she is called the Raven Queen. She is the spinner of fate and the patron of winter. She marks the end of each mortal life, and mourners call upon her during funeral rites, in the hope that she will guard the departed from the curse of undeath. Any familiars you create that related to her resemble ravens, and they are treated as such.
The Raven Queen's Domain Features
| Cleric Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Domain spells, circle of mortality, eyes of the grave |
| 2nd | Channel Divinity: Wrath of Winter |
| 6th | Sentinel at Death's Door |
| 8th | Potent Spellcasting |
| 17th | Channel Divinity: Keeper of Fate |
Domain Spells
You gain domain spells at the cleric levels listed in the Raven Queen's Domain Spells table. See the Divine Domain class feature for how domain spells work.
Raven Queen's Domain Spells
| Cleric Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | armor of Agathys, bane |
| 3rd | augury, gentle repose |
| 5th | revivify, speak with dead |
| 7th | death ward, ice storm |
| 9th | antilife shell, cone of cold |
Circle of Mortality
At 1st level, you gain the ability to manipulate the line between life and death. When you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell to a creature at 0 hit points, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.
In addition, you learn the spare the dying cantrip, which doesn't count against the number of cleric cantrips you know. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action.
Eyes of the Grave
At 1st level, you gain the ability to occasionally sense the presence of the undead, whose existence is an insult to the natural cycle of life. As an action, you can open your awareness to magically detect undead. Until the end of your next turn, you know the location of any undead within 60 feet of you that isn’t behind total cover and that isn’t protected from divination magic. This sense doesn’t tell you anything about a creature’s capabilities or identity.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Channel Divinity: Wrath of Winter
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to call upon the Raven Queen's wrath. As an action, you wield your holy symbol and frigid winter winds begin to blow in a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on you, which moves with you. Creatures of your choice that start their turn within the sphere gain an additional 5 feet of movement until the end of their turn, while any other creature that starts its turn within the sphere has its movement speed reduced by 10 feet until it leaves the sphere.
When a creature within the sphere takes damage from a spell you cast, you can also choose to either knock that creature prone or push it up to 10 feet into an unoccupied space of your choosing.
This sphere lasts for 1 minute, until you stop wielding your holy symbol, or until you lose concentration (as if concentrating on a spell).
Sentinel at Death's Door
At 6th level, you gain the ability to impede death's progress. As a reaction when you or a creature you can see within 30 feet of you suffers a critical hit, you can turn that hit into a normal hit. Any effects triggered by a critical hit are canceled.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Potent Spellcasting
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.
Channel Divinity: Keeper of Fate
Starting at 17th level, you are able to twist the fates of those around you. When you use your action to cast a spell of 1st level or higher that targets one or more hostile creatures and any creature succeeds on the saving throw, you can use your reaction to expend a use of your channel divinity and force any number of creatures to reroll their saving throw. Creatures forced to reroll must use the new roll.
Chalom's Domain
Among Chalom's teaching is the idea that there is little to fear from darkness. There is comfort and solace to be found in the peace of solitude, and although the darkness may represent the unknown, it can also be a reprieve from distraction and an opportunity to know yourself. "The Unknown" is, indeed, the concept of much of Chalom's doctrine; experiencing it, learning it, and embracing it. What greater unknown, then, than the grave, where all souls must eventually pass under Chalom's watchful guidance.
Chalom's Domain Features
| Cleric Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Domain Spells, Circle of Mortality, Eyes of Night |
| 2nd | Channel Divinity: Twilight Sanctuary |
| 6th | Sentinel at Death's Door |
| 8th | Potent Spellcasting |
| 17th | Midnight Shroud |
Chalom's Domain Spells
| Cleric Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | faerie fire, sleep |
| 3rd | darkness, invisibility |
| 5th | revivify, leomund's tiny hut |
| 7th | death ward, greater invisibility |
| 9th | circle of power, dream |
Circle of Mortality
At 1st level, you gain the ability to manipulate the line between life and death. When you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell to a creature at 0 hit points, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.
In addition, you learn the spare the dying cantrip, which doesn’t count against the number of cleric cantrips you know. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action.
Eyes of Night
Your eyes are blessed, allowing you to see through the deepest gloom. You have darkvision with no maximum range; you can see in dim light as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light.
As an action, you can magically give the benefit of this feature to any number of creatures you can see within 10 feet of you. The shared benefit lasts for 10 minutes. You can extend this benefit a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (a minimum of once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Channel Divinity: Twilight Sanctuary
As an action, you present your holy symbol, and a sphere of twilight emanates from you. The sphere is centered on you, has a 30-foot radius, and is filled with dim light. The sphere moves with you, and it lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated or die. Whenever a creature (including you) ends its turn in the sphere, you can grant that creature one of these benefits:
- Give it 1d8 temporary hit points.
- End one effect causing it to be charmed or frightened.
Sentinel at Death's Door
At 6th level, you gain the ability to impede death’s progress. As a reaction when you or a creature you can see within 30 feet of you suffers a critical hit, you can turn that hit into a normal hit. Any effects triggered by a critical hit are canceled.
You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Potent Spellcasting
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.
Midnight Shroud
You can harness the shrouding power of night to protect your allies and stymie your foes.
Whenever you cast the darkness spell using a spell slot, you can choose a number of creatures that you can see (including yourself) equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of one). The chosen creatures can see through the darkness.
Zhudun's Domain
Although the Dark powers seldom gain followers of sufficient faith and prowess to be called gods, it does happen on rare occasion that a lone priest will take up their faith and act in their name. Zhudun, the Corpse Star, is one of the greatest of the Dark Powers. Those who seek his power generally do so in search of finding some way to cheat death, and although Zhudun is all-too-happy to grant their desires, some find the price is too steep. For Zhudun, there is only one option: if you are to resurrect someone, another must wear their death. Whether by ritual sacrifice, or the creation of undeath, Zhudun cannot restore life, he can only move the burden of death to another.
Zhudun's Domain Features
| Cleric Level | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1st | Domain Spells, Burden of Life and Death, Circle of Mortality |
| 2nd | Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave |
| 6th | Channel Divinity: Revenance |
| 8th | Potent Spellcasting |
| 17th | Keeper of Souls |
Domain Spells
You gain domain spells at the cleric levels listed in the Zhudun's Domain Spells table. See the Divine Domain class feature for how domain spells work.
Zhudun's Domain Spells
| Cleric Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | false life, ray of sickness |
| 3rd | gentle repose, ray of enfeeblement |
| 5th | fear, speak with dead |
| 7th | death ward, sickening radiance |
| 9th | antilife shell, dance macabre |
Burden of Life and Death
Beginning at 1st level, spells you cast which would normally have no effect on undead, including spells which the undead might be immune to, instead affect the undead as normal.
Circle of Mortality
At 1st level, you gain the ability to manipulate the line between life and death. When you would normally roll one or more dice to restore hit points with a spell to a creature at 0 hit points, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.
In addition, you learn the spare the dying cantrip, which doesn't count against the number of cleric cantrips you know. For you, it has a range of 30 feet, and you can cast it as a bonus action.
Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to mark another creature’s life force for termination.
As an action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you, cursing it until the end of your next turn. The next time you or an ally of yours hits the cursed creature with an attack, the creature has vulnerability to all of that attack’s damage, and then the curse ends.
Channel Divinity: Revenance
Beginning at 6th level, you can expend your Channel Divinity spell as an action to cast revivify without expending a spell slot or any material components. When you use your revenance ability in this way, your target's creature type becomes Undead. They no longer need to eat or sleep, although they must still spend at least 4 hours each day doing no more than light activity in order to gain the benefits of a long rest.
Potent Spellcasting
Starting at 8th level, you add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip.
Keeper of Souls
Starting at 17th level, you can seize a trace of vitality from a parting soul and use it to heal the living. When an enemy you can see dies within 60 feet of you, you or one creature of your choice that is within 60 feet of you regains hit points equal to the enemy’s number of Hit Dice. You can use this feature only if you aren’t incapacitated. Once you use it, you can’t do so again until the start of your next turn.