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P. G. Macer
2022-07-15, 12:00 AM
I’m back with yet another homebrew Cleric Domain! This one is based off dragon gods. You can find the full version on the Homebrewery here (https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/1e8zxFzyf2tc).


DOMAIN SPELLS
1st: Cause Fear, Identify
3rd: Alter Self, Dragon’s Breath
5th: Fly, Incite Greed
7th: Charm Monster, Find Greater Steed*
9th: Reincarnate**, Summon Draconic Spirit

*Unless you gain this spell from another source, you can only summon a dragonnel (Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons pg. 190) with it.
**When cast as a Domain Spell, this spell uses an alternate reincarnation table, found at the end of this subclass.

Bonus Proficiency
Beginning at 1st level when you select this Domain, you gain proficiency in heavy armor or martial weapons.

Dragon’s Blessing
Also at 1st level, your connection with draconic divinity gives you the following benefits:


You can speak, read, and write Draconic. If you already knew Draconic, you learn your choice of Celestial, Infernal, or Undercommon.
You gain proficiency in the Perception skill
Choose one kind of dragon from the table below. This will impact further features in this Domain. You also learn one cantrip as indicated by the table, which counts as a cleric cantrip for you but does not count towards your number of cleric cantrips known.
If you already know that cantrip, you learn the thaumaturgy cantrip, and if you already know the thaumaturgy cantrip, you learn one cleric cantrip of your choice.




Dragon
Category
Damage Type
Cantrip


Amehtyst
Gem
Force
Sword Burst


Black
Chromatic
Acid
Primal Savagery


Blue
Chromatic
Lightning
Shocking Grasp


Brass
Metallic
Fire
Produce Flame


Bronze
Metallic
Lightning
Lightning Lure


Copper
Metallic
Acid
Acid Splash


Crystal
Gem
Radiant
Word of Radiance


Emerald
Gem
Psychic
Mind Sliver


Gold
Metallic
Fire
Create Bonfire


Green
Chromatic
Poison
Poison Spray


Mercury
Metallic
Radiant
Sacred Flame


Obsidian
Gem
Fire
Green-Flame Blade


Purple/Deep
Chromatic
Psychic
Vicious Mockery


Red
Chromatic
Fire
Fire Bolt


Sapphire
Gem
Thunder
Booming Blade


Silver
Metallic
Cold
Ray of Frost


Topaz
Gem
Necrotic
Chill touch


White
Chromatic
Cold
Frostbite



Channel Divinity: Breath Weapon
Starting at 2nd level, as an action you can expend a use of your Channel Divinity to exhale destructive energy. Each creature within a 30-foot cone originating from you must make a Dexterity or Constitution saving throw (your choice; all targeted creatures make the same kind of save) against your spell save DC or take damage equal to your Wisdom modifier + a number of d12s equal to your proficiency bonus. The damage type is that of the kind of dragon you chose for Dragon’s Blessing.

Wyrm-Touched
Starting at 6th level, you gain resistance to the damage type of the dragon type you chose in Dragon’s Blessings. If you already have resistance to that damage type, choose another damage type from the same category of dragon as the one you chose in Dragon’s Blessings. If you chose Green, you also gain advantage on saving throws against poisons and the poisoned condition.
Additionally, you gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If you already have darkvision from your race, it extends by 30 feet.

Divine Strike
At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with draconic 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 damage of the type associated with your Dragon’s Blessing choice to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Draconic Hierarch
At 17th level, your connection to your dragon god peaks. You gain immunity to the damage type associated with your choice of dragon type in Dragon’s Blessing. Additionally, you become immune to the frightened condition and gain blindsight out to a range of 30 feet.



d8
Race
Source


1
Dragonborn (Default)
Player’s Handbook


2
Dragonborn, Chromatic
Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons


3
Dragonborn, Draconblood
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount


4
Dragonborn, Gem
Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons


5
Dragonborn, Metallic
Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons


6
Dragonborn, Ravenite
Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount


7
Kobold (Legacy)
Volo’s Guide to Monsters


8
Kobold (Multiverse)
Monsters of the Multiverse





All right, now some thoughts of mine. Like my earlier Fey and Winter Domains, this Domain breaks with orthodox 5e design principles to offer highly thematic domain spells of over 5th level.

In order to hopefully not overly frontload the subclass, this Domain only offers one of heavy armor or martial weapons.

For further revisions of this domain, in order to better equalize the options in the first-level Dragon’s Blessing feature (so, e.g., optimizers don’t automatically pick Red over Gold or Brass), I’m thinking of just letting the player choose any cantrip matching their dragon’s damage type from most class spell lists (excluding warlock so Amethyst can’t choose eldritch blast).

I’m also wondering if something feels a little off with the 17th-level feature. I know immunity to a damage type is powerful, but the canon Forge Domain offers it at that level, so maybe I’m okay there…?

Hope y’all like it!

Jervis
2022-07-15, 12:26 AM
Why make them choose between weapons or armor? Generally a cleric that's suppose to melee just gets both. At least thats what most modern subclasses do. That aside, pretty cool. I like the reincarnate table

P. G. Macer
2022-07-15, 12:42 AM
Why make them choose between weapons or armor? Generally a cleric that's suppose to melee just gets both. At least thats what most modern subclasses do. That aside, pretty cool. I like the reincarnate table

Fair question! My logic was that martial weapons, heavy armor, a language, the Perception skill, and a cantrip would be too frontloaded, but if that turns out not to be the case, I’ll happily change it back to both, which it was in an earlier draft.

MrStabby
2022-07-15, 07:00 AM
This is where my ignorance of a lot of the lore will show...

When I think Dragon Domain I think Bhamut and Tiamat.

I think of gods worshiped by dragons and dragonborn and kobolds.

When I look at the class I see a set of abilities that matter the least to the types of entity that would be most likely to take this archetype. For example, giving a breath weapon attack to a creature with a breath weapon already, you get a language you probably already have (yes you get anotherone but I am not following the theme here).

I also don't like how a dragonborn would have two differen breath weapons that upgrade at different rates and use differen resources and (with newer rules) have different use times. The themaic similarities but mechanical disjunction between these might be a bit awkward.



That aside, the class is awesome. It has a lot of flavour to it, it isn't overpowered whilst at the same time it has awesome peaks in power and reasons to play the archetype. Importantly, it seems like it would be fun to play alongside as well as fun to play.

P. G. Macer
2022-07-15, 10:48 AM
This is where my ignorance of a lot of the lore will show...

When I think Dragon Domain I think Bhamut and Tiamat.

I think of gods worshiped by dragons and dragonborn and kobolds.

When I look at the class I see a set of abilities that matter the least to the types of entity that would be most likely to take this archetype. For example, giving a breath weapon attack to a creature with a breath weapon already, you get a language you probably already have (yes you get anotherone but I am not following the theme here).

I also don't like how a dragonborn would have two differen breath weapons that upgrade at different rates and use differen resources and (with newer rules) have different use times. The themaic similarities but mechanical disjunction between these might be a bit awkward.



That aside, the class is awesome. It has a lot of flavour to it, it isn't overpowered whilst at the same time it has awesome peaks in power and reasons to play the archetype. Importantly, it seems like it would be fun to play alongside as well as fun to play.

You raise good points.

Some of what you describe revolves a 5e design “paradox” I have seen referred to as the Triton Problem, which is that certain highly thematic race-class/subclass combinations are not very effective due to redundant abilities, the classic example being a Triton PC taking a water-themed subclass such as Fathomless Warlock and getting very little out of it at certain levels due to already being able to breathe underwater and having a swim speed.

I tried to circumvent that with this Cleric Domain due to alternate features, most notably in my opinion with the Wyrm-Touched feature, with the sentence:


If you already have resistance to that damage type, choose another damage type from the same category of dragon as the one you chose in Dragon’s Blessings.

So if, say, you were a Gold Dragonborn and not using one of the Wildemount variants, you could gain Acid, Cold, Lightning, or Radiant damage resistance from this feature.

I think the biggest redundancy that is not addressed in the subclass itself you have correctly identified as the Breath Weapon Channel Divinity. I had thought it wouldn’t be an issue given that both subclasses introduced in Fizban’s have breath weapon features, but if you think it’s a problem I’ll consider replacing it with something else. I’m definitely going to rename it if I keep it to reduce confusion with the Dragonborn feature.

The backup languages for the Level 1 feature were intended to represent Bahamut (Celestial), Tiamat Infernal), and the Deep Dragons from Fizban’s (Undercommon), though given the last one’s obscurity I’m considering restricting it to the first two.

I’m really glad you liked the subclass as a whole, though! That means a lot to me!

Abuzorg
2022-07-18, 08:28 AM
Cool subclass that captures what a dragon cleric should get in my opinion. I only have two concerns :

1. I understand that you want to give the most dragon themed spells as possible to this character, but a cleric getting bonus 6th-7th-8th level spells is unheard of outside of the arcana domain (for whom it's their whole 17th level feature). If I were you, I would maybe give draconic transformation as a bonus spell at level 17th on the feature you designed and make due without Fizban's Platinum Shield and Illusory Dragon, which aren't really necessary IMO.

2. Not as big, but given how prevalent are poison damage dealing enemies are, giving the green dragon resistance to the poisoned condition on top of poison damage resistance is a little bit too much and makes it the clear winner out of all the choices, even if the drawback is having a poison breath weapon.

P. G. Macer
2022-07-19, 04:18 PM
Cool subclass that captures what a dragon cleric should get in my opinion. I only have two concerns :

1. I understand that you want to give the most dragon themed spells as possible to this character, but a cleric getting bonus 6th-7th-8th level spells is unheard of outside of the arcana domain (for whom it's their whole 17th level feature). If I were you, I would maybe give draconic transformation as a bonus spell at level 17th on the feature you designed and make due without Fizban's Platinum Shield and Illusory Dragon, which aren't really necessary IMO.

2. Not as big, but given how prevalent are poison damage dealing enemies are, giving the green dragon resistance to the poisoned condition on top of poison damage resistance is a little bit too much and makes it the clear winner out of all the choices, even if the drawback is having a poison breath weapon.

1. I acknowledged that I was departing from standard 5e design principles in my original post about the 6th-8th level spells. I can see Illusory Dragon being dropped, but in my opinion a cleric of Bahamut unable to cast the spell named after one of Bahamut’s aliases feels wrong.

2. I think this may boil down to different individual play experiences, as in my experience poison damage hasn’t been very commonly used by enemies that Green becomes the obvious choice on this cleric, especially as choosing Green makes your offensive capabilities via not just the Channel Divinity but also the cantrip weaker than the other options with how prevalent poison-immune enemies are. I should probably also revise the Domain to make clear that the advantage against poison only is granted if Green is chosen at first level.