Cleric - Plague Domain

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Cleric Domain

Plague Domain

Priests of the Plague Domain are rare, and unwelcome. They are feared and reviled as plaguebringers, twisted clerics who exist to spread disease and rot. This reputation is often deserved, but not always. Some plague priests indeed seek to cause misery and suffering, but others aim to channel contagion where it may cause the least harm, or lead rites to honor gods of disease in hopes of staving off their wrath.

Priests of the Plague Domain are most often evil, to be sure, though exceptions exist. Even the purest-hearted are likely to be pragmatists who accept awful compromises. They are often solo wanderers, though they may find utility in joining with others on occasion.

Plague Domain Features

Cleric Level Feature
1st Domain Spells, Miraculous Healer, Awful Transmutation
2nd Channel Divinity: Vile Contagion
6th Plaguebearer
8th Divine Strike, Improved Awful Transmutation
17th Malignant Aura

Plague Domain Spells

You gain domain spells at the cleric levels listed in the Plague Domain Spells table.

Cleric Level Spells
1st bane, ray of sickness
3rd ray of enfeeblement, touch of filth*
5th bestow curse, stinking cloud
7th poison puffK, sickening radiance
9th inflict disease*, cloudkill

Spells marked with * or K are included in the Appendix. Spells marked with K are by Kibblestasty. and used with permission.

Miraculous Healer

At 1st level, you gain proficiency with the Medicine skill, and advantage on all Wisdom (Medicine) checks to diagnose diseases.

In addition, you suffer no ill effects from nonmagical diseases (though you may still contract them). You can spend 1 minute praying over a creature suffering a nonmagical disease to transfer the disease to an uninfected creature you can see.

Awful Transmutation

Additionally at 1st level, as a bonus action whenever you cast a spell that deals poison damage, you may change its damage type to necrotic.

Channel Divinity: Vile Contagion

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to spread misery and suffering. As a reaction when a creature you can see within 60 feet is afflicted by a disease or the poisoned condition, you may force another creature you can see within 60 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, that creature suffers the same affliction.

For a disease, the second creature is afflicted as normal per that disease's rules. When you spread the poisoned condition, the target suffers it for 1 minute, and can reattempt the Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their turns. On a success, the condition is ended.

Plaguebearer

Starting at 6th level, you are a vessel for divine gifts. You gain resistance to poison damage. Additionally, when an enemy hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to attempt to inflict a disease upon them. The target must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, or the attack's damage is halved and they are afflicted by one of the following diseases of your choice. Additionally, you can use your Vile Contagion as part of this reaction.

You can afflict an enemy in this way a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier, regaining all uses after a long rest. When a disease calls for a saving throw, it is against your spell save DC at the time the disease was inflicted.

Bonewrack Fever

The afflicted creature's bones warp and splinter, causing agonizing pain. Their movement speed is immediately reduced by half, and when they take the Dash action, their maximum hit points are reduced by your cleric level. Every time they complete a long rest, they must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, their movement speed is reduced by 5 feet; when their speed reaches 0 due to this effect, they die. On a success, the disease ends.

Muddlemind

The afflicted creature's thoughts get hazy and confused. At the start of each of their turns, they must roll a d6. On a roll of 1, they forget what they were doing and are incapacitated until the end of their turn. On a roll of 2-3, they wander aimlessly, moving 10 feet in a random direction before taking their turn as normal. On a roll of 4-6, they may take their turn normally.

The creature may make a Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of their turns to suppress the disease's effects for 1 minute, but it returns afterwards. Every time they complete a long rest, they must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, their d6 rolls for Muddlemind suffer a cumulative -1 penalty. On a success, the disease ends.

Crowpox

The afflicted creature begins to rot from the inside. They suffer disadvantage on all ability checks. Every time they complete a long rest, they must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they suffer a cumulative -1 penalty to all ability checks. On a success, the disease ends.

Divine Strike

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with foul rot. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 poison or necrotic damage. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Improved Awful Transmutation

Additionally at 8th level, your Awful Transmutation ability no longer requires a bonus action to use.

Malignant Aura

At 17th level, your mere presence befouls the air. As a bonus action, you can force all creatures within 15 feet to make a Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of their next turn.

Additionally, you are now immune to poison and necrotic damage, and immune to the poisoned condition.

Plague Domain quirks

The following are some optional quirks for a player of this Domain to choose from.

d6 Quirk
1 You hiss and slobber when you speak.
2 Your skin is covered in rashes and boils, with inexplicable lumps that change from day to day.
3 You have a persistent, rattling cough.
4 You insist on saying a prayer before every meal. You friends wish you wouldn't.
5 You prioritize your appearance - it's important that others think you're as healthy as can be.
6 Your holy symbol rots away every few days and needs to be replaced.

Appendix 1: Spells

Inflict Disease

5th-level necromancy

  • Classes: Cleric, Druid
  • Casting Time: 1 action
  • Range: Touch
  • Components: V, S
  • Duration: Instantaneous
  • Replaces: Contagion

Your touch inflicts disease. Make a melee spell attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, the target is afflicted with one of the diseases listed below (your choice). The spell has no effect on constructs, undead, or creatures immune to disease. The disease is magical, and can only be cured by the heal spell or equivalent magic.

At the end of each of the target’s turns, they must make another Constitution saving throw. If they succeed on the saving throw, they suffer no effects from the disease until the end of their next turn. When the target has succeeded on three of these saving throws, they are no longer diseased. When they have failed on three of these saving throws, the disease sets in, and lasts for 7 days unless treated by an appropriate means. Once the target has either three successes or three failures on these saving throws, they stop making saves for this spell.

  • Muscle Weakness. The creature's arms become unbearably weak. They have disadvantage on Strength checks, Strength saving throws, and attack rolls that use Strength. Their attacks using Strength deal half damage.
  • Trembling Spasms. The creature is overcome with terrible tremors. They have disadvantage on Dexterity checks, Dexterity saving throws, and attack rolls that use Dexterity. Their attacks using Dexterity do half damage.
  • Skinslough. The creature's skin becomes paper-thin and causes agonizing pain when it tears. They have disadvantage on Constitution checks and Constitution saving throws, except those caused by this spell. In addition, when the creature takes damage, its movement speed is reduced to 10 feet until the end of its next turn.
  • Mindrot. The creature becomes disoriented and confused. The creature has disadvantage on Intelligence checks and Intelligence saving throws, and cannot tell friend from foe in combat.
  • Fire-eyes Fever. The creature's eyes turn milky white and are searingly painful. They have disadvantage on Wisdom checks and Wisdom saving throws, and are blinded.
  • Flesh Rot. The creature’s flesh decays. They have disadvantage on Charisma checks and Charisma saving throws, and take 5 additional points of damage when they suffer bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage.

Poison Puff

4th-level transmutation

  • Classes: Druid, Warlock, Wizard
  • Casting Time: 1 action
  • Range: Self (30-foot cone)
  • Components: V, S
  • Duration: 1 round

You exhale a cloud of poison that magically expands to fill a 30 foot cone. Creatures in that area must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failure, they take 4d12 poison damage and become poisoned until the start of their next turn. On a success, the target takes half as much damage and is not poisoned.

The area is lightly obscured until the start of your turn, and any creature that ends their turn within the area takes 2d4 poison damage.

Touch of Filth

2nd-level transmutation

  • Classes: Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock
  • Casting Time: 1 action
  • Range: Self
  • Components: V, S, M (a piece of rotting food)
  • Duration: Concentration, 1 minute

You envelop your hand in a vile miasma. Make a melee spell attack against a creature within your reach. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 poison damage and is poisoned. At the end of each of their turns, they can make a Constitution saving throw, ending the poison on a success. Until the spell ends, you can make this attack again on each of your turns as an action.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.

Change Log

v1.0

  • Moved Awful Transmutation from 8th to 1st
  • Buffed Awful Transmutation at 8th
  • Updated Artwork

v0.3

  • Minor language cleanups for clarity.

v0.2

  • Replaced contagion with inflict disease
  • Some language cleanup, fixed the features table

v0.1

  • Initial Draft!
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5E SRD Content

  • This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available here.

  • The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available here.