Death Domain

[BranMan]

Do we know what the death domain grants?

It's mentioned in the PHB, that it will be in the DMG.

And since the DMG isn't coming out for a while, could someone help me homebrew a death domain, or direct me to one (as I'm sure someone has tried to make it before).

Thanks!

[DontEatRawHagis]

No one knows...

[Baveboi]

I propose, much in the light of necessity, that we create the most approximate version of a death domain possible. I wanted to use the death domain for a game that is on-going and running now. Without the ability to give life, let's create death!

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26YLehuMydo)

Anyone has any good advice on the subject?

I imagine the spell-list going something like this:
1st - False Life, Inflict Wounds
3rd - Ray of Enfeeblement, Blindness/Deafness
5th - Animate Dead, Feign Death (Or Bestow Curse)
7th - Blight, Evard's Black Tentacles???
9th - Contagion, Cloudkill

[BranMan]

I imagine the spell-list going something like this:
1st - False Life, Inflict Wounds
3rd - Ray of Enfeeblement, Blindness/Deafness
5th - Animate Dead, Feign Death (Or Bestow Curse)
7th - Blight, Evard's Black Tentacles???
9th - Contagion, Cloudkill

I would imagine the death domain spells as being mostly the opposite of the life domain spells, so I propose this list:

1st - Bane, Inflict wounds
3rd - Ray of Enfeeblement, Blindness/Deafness
5th - Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch (or speak with dead)
7th - Blight, Phantasmal Killer
9th - Contagion, Antilife Shell

They're slightly different, but I think this one is a little more opposite to the life domain list. As for features:

Bonus Proficiency: Heavy Armor

Disciple of Death: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to inflict necrotic damage to a creature, add 2+ the spell's level to the damage dealt.

Channel Divinity: End Life
As an action, you present your holy symbol to evoke necrotic energy that can deal a number of damage equal to 5 times your cleric level. Choose any creatures within 30 ft of you, and divide that damage among them. Affected creatures can make a Wisdom save to take half damage. This feature can only effect creatures with less than half of their total hit points remaining.

Cursed Infliction: Not sure on this one. Something to make inflict wounds actually viable. Perhaps it can be used from 30 ft away, or effects 2 instead of 1 creature?

Divine Strike: As normal

Supreme Infliction: At 17th level, when you would normally roll one or more dice to deal necrotic damage with a spell, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.


It's not especially inventive, but it works as an opposite to the life domain, and could make using inflict wounds an offensive option.

[cobaltstarfire]

Someone on mythweavers posted this (http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b87/MurderOne/Mobile%20Uploads/attachment-2_zpsa69cf834.jpeg). if it helps any? I dunno if it's real or not, but it could be a good start?

[Baveboi]

AH! So they had a stub for the Tyranny of Dragons, huh? Thank you very much, Cobaltstarfire, your contribution is much appreciated!

I propose we use that list, cobbled with the 7th and 9th level from your own list, BranMan.

So we would have this:
1st - False Life, Inflict wounds
3rd - Blindness/Deafness, Ray of Enfeeblement
5th - Animate Dead, Speak with Dead
7th - Blight, Phantasmal Killer
9th - Contagion, Antilife Shell

I like Disciple of Death better than Reaper, but Reaper seems to be more in order with the balance of the other cleric archetypes.

Channel Divinity: Death Touch seems cruelly beautiful and somewhat in line with what you proposed here with Channel Divinity: End Life. I vote for Death Touch just because it is such an amazingly cruel ability.

Inescapable Destruction seems on par with everything else, I think, and since we had a bit of a struggle in the 6th level bonus, I guess this is as good as any.

Divine Strike is pretty decent, but re-fluffed to be unholy? Necrotic Damage instead of Radiant damage would have good synergy with Inescapable Destruction.

For Supreme Infliction perhaps the same feature the Wild Magic Sorcerers get? When you roll maximum damage for a necrotic damage die, roll another die of the same type? It would make Death Domain very burst-y. Otherwise, Supreme Infliction (isn't Affliction better here?) is a very nice ability as well.

[BranMan]

Some good ideas above. I suppose it makes sense to go along with the stub from Tyranny of Dragons, and it's the most likely to show up in the DMG. I don't really like reaper, as it kinda steers you towards chill touch, the only necromancy cantrip (of the 2, total) that is worth doubling. When would you be within range of 2 targets for spare the dying? Either way, I'd probably use reaper instead of disciple of death if I were to run this in the game, for the sake of continuity.

Death touch is pretty cool, no doubt about it, so that can replace end life.

Inescapable destruction is nice, as resistances seem fairly common among monsters, but it's not as interesting as it could be. I've always found that adding something that a PC can do is a lot better then removing something that they can't do, so it would be nice if this feature did more than take away resistance.

Divine Strike can become Unholy strike, which I like, because it makes it so that, paired with inescapable destruction, the extra d8's cannot be resisted. If disciple of death was kept, and changed to not just effect spells, it would make the death domain cleric do some pretty heavy damage.

As for supreme infliction, (respectfully disagreeing here on the name; I named it that because of inflict wounds, and I think it should stay that way because affliction refers to a disease, which isn't really necrotic damage), I think the wild magic idea could be good, but most of the time clerics aren't rolling very many dice when they deal necrotic damage, they're rolling larger dice, d10's. Sorcerers use more d6s, which makes the wild magic idea good, but I think for a capstone of the domain, maximizing the die rolls would be a bit better.

[DontEatRawHagis]

I had a small fight with my DM in an RPGA event over Clerics of Kelemvor. In a previous LFR module I ran as DM it said that the Clerics can cast speak to dead.

When I brought that up in another game which I think was the second module in that series run by a different DM he said Clerics of Kelemvor would never desecrate the undead in that way and my bringing it up made the Cleric have a dislike of me.

Side rant done.

[Baveboi]

I have done a lot of work with Forgotten Realms and read pretty much all that there is to read about the Time of Troubles, including Kelemvor's ascension to godhood.
Did you know he was a fallen Paladin that could never die? If struck a killing blow he would become a black panther, and then be born again as a man out of the panther's corpse. He ascended after collecting most of Myrkul's portfolios and has become a LN god of the domain of the dead. He is against undeath (contrary to Myrkul, who was a necromancer lich) and detests when others interfere with the natural order of the cycle of life.

If you use Speak With Dead to gather important information from a restless soul, he won't objectively be against it, but if you insist in pestering the dead constantly and never show the proper respect than he will be disappointed. They also never deal with undeads unless it is to put them to rest, so there is that as well.

[SliceandDiceKid]

I would imagine the death domain spells as being mostly the opposite of the life domain spells, so I propose this list:

1st - Bane, Inflict wounds
3rd - Ray of Enfeeblement, Blindness/Deafness
5th - Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch (or speak with dead)
7th - Blight, Phantasmal Killer
9th - Contagion, Antilife Shell

They're slightly different, but I think this one is a little more opposite to the life domain list. As for features:

Bonus Proficiency: Heavy Armor

Disciple of Death: Whenever you use a spell of 1st level or higher to inflict necrotic damage to a creature, add 2+ the spell's level to the damage dealt.

Channel Divinity: End Life
As an action, you present your holy symbol to evoke necrotic energy that can deal a number of damage equal to 5 times your cleric level. Choose any creatures within 30 ft of you, and divide that damage among them. Affected creatures can make a Wisdom save to take half damage. This feature can only effect creatures with less than half of their total hit points remaining.

Cursed Infliction: Not sure on this one. Something to make inflict wounds actually viable. Perhaps it can be used from 30 ft away, or effects 2 instead of 1 creature?

Divine Strike: As normal

Supreme Infliction: At 17th level, when you would normally roll one or more dice to deal necrotic damage with a spell, you instead use the highest number possible for each die.


It's not especially inventive, but it works as an opposite to the life domain, and could make using inflict wounds an offensive option.

As a warlock I'd dip for that disciple of death hex combo. Now I'd go 1d6+7 added to each projectile of my preposterous eldritch blast damage.