Cleric subclass: Eminence domain

[traskomancer]

The domain of eminence focuses on individuals who, through bloodline, divine designation, or another source, have a natural skill for rulership and noble grace, as well as the amenities that come with them. Gods of eminence include Helm and Bane of the Forgotten Realms, as well as Hera of the Ancient Greek pantheon and Tyr of the Norse pantheon.

Domain Spells
Cleric Level Spells
1st Command, Unseen Servant
2nd Enthrall, Find Steed
3rd Aura of Vitality, Tongues
4th Death Ward, Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum
5th Geas, Wall of Stone

Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you are proficient with heavy armor, and either the Persuasion or History skill (your choice).

Birthright Superiority
Also at 1st level, you know how to flaunt your grace and wealth. As a bonus action, you can make a Persuasion or History check opposed by the Charisma saving throw of a creature within 60 feet of you that you can see and that can see you. If you win the opposed roll, you have advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws made to influence that creature until the end of your next turn. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Display of Opulence
At 2nd level, you can humble your foes with your style and dignity. As an action, you make a weapon attack or cast a cantrip that would damage a single creature. If the attack hits or the cantrip deals damage to its target, the attack or cantrip deals extra radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier, and the target’s next attack roll or saving throw before the end of your next turn has disadvantage.

Ruler’s Duty
At 6th level, your eminence allows you to salvage your endangered subjects. When a friendly creature would drop to 0 hit points within 60 feet of you, you can spend your reaction and a spell slot to restore 1d6 hit points to the creature per level of the spell expended. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

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, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Regal Brilliance
From 17th level onward, you emit bright light out to 10 feet and dim light another 10 feet further. You can suppress or reactivate this feature as a bonus action. Your allies within this light add your Wisdom modifier to ability checks and saving throws they make.

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What are people's thoughts? Is it different enough from the order domain thematically and mechanically? Is it balanced? Fun?

[MrStabby]

OK, so In order:

Domain spell list: looks good. Generally some good spells, right span of combat and out of combat and offers both new and thematic options

Bonus proficiencies: unremarkable, basically fine.

Birthright Superiority: Now this gets wierd. You get advantage on attack rolls to influence a creature? Or advantage if you make a saving throw to influence a creature? Realistically if you are using this it will be on ability checks, which means you take a charisma check to be able to make a charisma check at advantage... at the cost of a bonus action. It isn't useless, but it is pretty narrow, unexciting and not very powerful. I would look to streamline this and/or buff it a bit.

Display of Opulence: You could use your action to make an attack/cantrip anyway so this is basically a cost of a CD to add wisdom to your damage and disadvantage to a saving throw. The damage isn't much (compare to death domain which adds 5+2*cleric level) and the disadvantage on one attack is weak. Disadvantage on a saving throw is a bit of a bigger deal but this will be very dependant on initiative order. You are unlikely to be able to benefit from this yourself as the enemy will get a turn and an attack before your next turn.

Ruler's Duty: So I read this as an attack would hit a creature which triggers your reaction - with which you can expend a spell slot for d6 healing per level, and then the attack lands. I think that this is also a bit weak. Sure, healing with a reaction is good for your action economy but it is very inefficient healing: d6 per level with no stat added. I guess it's good if that d6 makes the difference between 0 HP or not on that attack but the odds of an attack taking someone down by such a small margin are pretty low at higher levels. I would also point out that in role this overlaps a bit with death ward as a domain spell.

So I think that overall up to level 6 the class is thematically strong but mechanically a bit underpowered. I think that clerics can get away with some underwhelming abilities as long as they have something awesome in this range. I think that the domain needs something a bit more eyecatching in one of these lower level slots, to make people say "that's why I want to play this domain".

But continuing...

Divine strike... fine

Regal Brilliance. It's good. I mean it works as a powerful and a thematic ability. My concern is that it is basically like the Paladin's aura of protection only coming much later and being (at this level) much smaller.



My overall view is that I can kind of feel what the domain is reaching for: I can see a vision of the cleric that is mighty, refined, glowing with grace and beauty and authority. I see the rich velvet and the gold and jewels of the priesthood. I think you have done a great job on nailing down something flavourful that would be a great addition to a party.

Where I think it is weak is that you have lowballed the mechanical power and spread it around a bit.

I would start off by asking "what should this cleric do better than other domains?" then take two things and try and weave those in through the abilities and domain spells such that it really feels different playing with one of these in the party than a generic cleric.

So it seems like you have a bit of a theme going about keeping your party on their feet - reaction healing, protective auras, giving creatures disadvantage on attacks coupled with death ward and aura of vitality.

What I would like to maybe see more of is the authority element - command as a domain spell is really the only nod towards that.

These themes, in my oppinion, are unlikely to really come through in play. The aforementioned domain spells are also class spells so don't set the cleric appart and the abilities that do this are all a bit weak or higher level.



My instinct would be to maybe change Regal Brilliance but move it to 6th level. The change to be so it is just different to the paladin aura. I think that the cleric should have an aura of something about them and this mechanically represents it at a low enough level that it becomes part of the character. This can then be the iconic ability of the domain and a big reason to chose it. Maybe something like +2 to AC would mean it has a different purpose to the paladin aura whilst still having the feel of shielding your subordinates.

I would drop Ruler's duty - there are cleric domains (life/arcana) that build on healing and I feel this is just a bit clunky.

Likewise dispaly of opulence - I think it is just too weak and doing too many different things to really feel like a single powerful effect in a game. My personal take would be somethin like use a CD to end any number of fear/charm effects on creatures of your choice within 60ft. A leader bringing their entourage back under their wing.

Birthright Superiority - I think that just streamlining it would be better. Use one of your uses per day to get advantage on a check to influence someone. It won't break anything not needing another bonus action and another roll as a skill check beforehand but should be much quicker and easier to remember.

For bonus proficiencies - this is fine, but I might throw in intimidation as well? One thing that I think is a little bit of a challenge with the class is it is being set up to be very MAD. It asks for Wisdom (obviously) and no cleric wants to dump constitution, and with the heavy armour and wepon attack bonuses it is leaning towards str or maybe dex as a secondary stat but then it also pushes the cleric into the role of a face with the boosts to cha skills (or Int with history). Switching to a boosted cantrip at 8 might better support these secondary roles. You could even strenghten the idea of Cha as a secondary stat for this domain (like Int for knwledge clerics or like Cha for swashbuckler rogues) through other abilities. I just feel that an actual rolled character would find themselves being either pulled a bit thin or just letting class abilities go to waste.

[traskomancer]

Thanks for the detailed feedback! I was erring on the side of underpowered because that's safer than the other end of the spectrum, but point taken, especially about there needing to be a Lv1-2 feature that's really eye-catching.

With Birthright Superiority I worded it poorly; I intended for it to give advantage on any d20 roll that interacts with the target in any way, not just social influence. It's probably still a bit underwhelming admittedly. I wanted it to be potentially good in or out of combat, not sure how well it works for that. I could also do what you suggest and make it straight-up a limited use advantage on charisma checks.


I like the suggestion of putting the aura at level 6. I think the fact that it makes you emit light is different from the paladin aura, though obviously not enough so. I'll try to find a mechanical way to represent that it's an aura of authority. I will say I feel Enthrall is authority-oriented and IIRC it's not normally a cleric spell.

Ending conditions on allies definitely feels appropriate and somewhat unique, that's a good call.

I didn't think about it being MAD but you're definitely right. I'll give it the cantrip-oriented lv8 feature, especially since it doesn't give weapon proficiencies. I was hesitant to put intimidation as a bonus proficiency option since it would be too close to Order domain, and it feels less relevant than Persuasion. I may reconsider that though. Granting History training does suggest Int being useful which I don't really want to lean into.

I'm really glad the flavor shows through. Thanks again for the feedback, MrStabby! I think I'll add a version 2 on here soon.

[traskomancer]

Version 2!

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Domain Spells
Cleric Level Spells
1st Command, Unseen Servant
3rd Enthrall, Find Steed
5th Mass Healing Word, Tongues
7th Aura of Life, Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum
9th Geas, Wall of Stone

Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you are proficient with heavy armor, and either the Persuasion or Intimidation skill (your choice).

Birthright Superiority
Also at 1st level, you know how to flaunt your grace and wealth. You can add a +10 bonus to one Charisma check you make to influence another humanoid. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Display of Opulence
At 2nd level, you can humble your foes with your style and dignity. When you damage a creature with a weapon attack or spell, that creature takes radiant damage equal to your Wisdom modifier + your Charisma modifier and must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, that creature has disadvantage on saving throws for the next minute, as long as it can still see you. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Regal Brilliance
From 6th level onward, you emit bright light out to 15 feet and dim light another 15 feet further. You can suppress or reactivate this feature as a bonus action. Your allies within this light have doubled carrying capacity, a +2 bonus to armor class, and can’t be charmed or frightened by creatures other than you.

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

Dazzling Nobility
At 17th level, the radius of your Regal Brilliance’s light increases to 25 feet of bright light and another 25 feet of dim light. When a creature starts its turn within the light, you can force it to make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC. On a failed save, the creature is charmed by you until the end of your next turn. If a creature succeeds on the saving throw or the effect ends for it, it becomes immune to this feature for 1 hour.

[MrStabby]

Looks good.

For the domain spell list there are a few other things that come to mind:

Fear, compulsion, wrathful smite, nystul's magic aura, crusader's mantle, find steed, find greater steed

Just as options.


Now some of these are very good and will need care around balance.

Find steed/greater steed to promote the image of the aristocraic type on horseback

Fear to capture the directed awe that others will have of your eminence

Compulsion to capture your issueing of orders (might leave this to order domain though)

Wrathful Smite - Fear effects generally capture a bit of your glory

Nystul's Magic Aura - eminence is in part abour how you are percieved by others, being seen to be a celestial or one of the more refined fey or fiends might serve you well.

Crusader's mantle is building on the idea of supporting your subordinates in battle.

I think you have a good class here - no need to change anything, but just running through some of the options.

[traskomancer]

I considered crusader's mantle and compulsion. Might be good, but I'm also fine with what I have in those slots. I included find steed and wasn't sure it'd be good to have its improved version also on the list, but I could see that making sense. I also totally forgot Nystul's aura could affect creatures. I'll have to give that spell another read.

Thanks!