Madness Domain

[Inevitability]

We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go there were we cannot tread. We are free, so nearly free...


Tharizdun, the Black Sun. Vecna, the Maimed God. Kiaransalee, the Vengeful Banshee. Those, and many more, are the gods who reign over madness. Only a handful of people worship those deities, and almost all of them are vile and depraved.

Even so, you don't have to be evil to serve such a deity. Perhaps you were granted clerical powers by one of these deities without your involvement and now seek to use them for your own goals, or to find out why you were given them. Perhaps your character wishes to gain a deeper understanding of the ways of the mad, then use it to treat the insane.

Cleric Level	Spells
1st	Command, Dissonant Whispers
3rd	Crown of Madness, Phantasmal Force
5th	Fear, Hunger of Hadar
7th	Confusion, Phantasmal Killer
9th	Dream, Modify Memory

Touched by Madness
When you choose this domain at 1st level, you can choose to use Charisma instead of Wisdom as your spellcasting ability. If you do so, you use Charisma instead of Wisdom to calculate your spell save DCs, spell attack modifiers, and number of prepared spells per day. This choice, once made, is permanent and can't be changed.

Might Through Madness
Also at 1st level, you learn how to draw strength and knowledge from the deepest parts of your mind, but at the cost of your sanity. When you make an ability check, you can roll a 1d6 and add the result to your roll as a bonus action. After rolling, you take psychic damage equal to your cleric level plus the result of the roll. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your wisdom (or charisma if you chose to make it your cleric spellcasting ability) modifier (a minimum of once). You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Overwhelm the Weak
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to temporarily overwhelm a creature's mind with mad whispers, unpleasant sensations, and distorted images. As an action, choose a creature within 60 ft. of you. It must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be stunned for 1 round. A creature that can't be charmed is immune to this feature.

Lunatic's Rage
Starting at 6th level, you can enter a frenzied, destructive rage. As a bonus action, you enter the rage, which lasts for 1 minute or until you are knocked unconscious or killed. While raging, you gain advantage on melee attack rolls and strength checks and can attack twice when you take the attack action on your turn, but you take 10 psychic damage at the end of each of your turns. You need to finish a long rest before you can use this feature again.

Divine Strike
At 8th level, your weapons become infused with divine energy, which allows them to not only damage a creature's body, but its mind too. 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 psychic damage. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Incomprehensible Mind
At 17th level, your mind becomes something so alien that most creatures are powerless to affect it. You gain resistance to psychic damage, immunity to the charmed and frightened conditions, and all creatures who attempt to read your thoughts or sense your emotions take 3d6 psychic damage the moment they do so.




So, how is it? I was wondering about the balance of the L6 feature, as well as whether the L17 isn't too strong. Suggestions for more appropriate spells would be welcome!

And yes, I am aware there is already another madness domain. However, I feel this one is sufficiently different to warrant being posted.

[Inevitability]

Any feedback?

[ImSAMazing]

I really, really like this. The idea is great, the texting isgood, the features are not bad.

[PotatoGolem]

Doesn't seem overly strong. It gives strong abilities with big drawbacks- it's a nice high-risk-high-reward archeype

[The_Doctor]

Firstly, how can you not make reference to Azathoth, Cthulhu, Dread Hastur, Yog-Sothoth, or even the King in Yellow here? BLASPHEMY!

Also, I notice the level 1 feature becomes significantly more useful at level 17, because the psychic resistance removes some of the kickback from the level 1 feature.

[Inevitability]

Firstly, how can you not make reference to Azathoth, Cthulhu, Dread Hastur, Yog-Sothoth, or even the King in Yellow here? BLASPHEMY!

Mostly because I was too worried about this ending up too similar to the GOO warlock. The beings you named aren't really 'deities' in D&D terms, so being a cleric of them seems strange. 3.5 even called out Elder Evils can't grant spells.

Also, I notice the level 1 feature becomes significantly more useful at level 17, because the psychic resistance removes some of the kickback from the level 1 feature.

It does indeed.

[ImSAMazing]

Maybe add Weird to the cleric spell list?

[Gr7mm Bobb]

I feel that the might through madness is a bit harsh for what it does. I would recommend having it set up similar to how bardic inspiration is, scaling dice up as you increase in levels. I would remove the damage per level feedback but keep the feedback damage from the dice result. If you want to have that level of repercussion for it, I would remove the wis mod use limit.

Otherwise just make it scaling dice that does a feedback equal to the roll, usable Wis Mod (min 1) number of times per long rest. I understand not allowing it to stack more damage dice (assassin . . .), but is their an opposition to being able to apply it to attack rolls?

[PoeticDwarf]

Maybe add Weird to the cleric spell list?

Weird is a lv. 9 spell, right?

I don't think 5e works that way.

[The_Doctor]

Cleric Level	Spells
1st	Command, Dissonant Whispers
3rd	Crown of Madness, Phantasmal Force
5th	Fear, Hunger of Hadar
7th	Confusion, Phantasmal Killer
9th	Dream, Modify Memory

I suppose you didn't notice this.

[ImSAMazing]

I suppose you didn't notice this.

I did, but why not give it Weird? It isnt that bad of a spell.

[Gr7mm Bobb]

I did, but why not give it Weird? It isnt that bad of a spell.

It goes against the basic design pattern that has been presented. the spell itself isn't good or bad, just limited to a specific class for a reason.

[The_Doctor]

I did, but why not give it Weird? It isnt that bad of a spell.

I was talking to Ender Dwarf here.

[Inevitability]

Weird's a 9th level spell. Domains give up to 5th level spells.

[The_Doctor]

Blame my lack of Cleric playing.

[ImSAMazing]

Weird's a 9th level spell. Domains give up to 5th level spells.

Ik that, but maybe make it a feature?

[PoeticDwarf]

I suppose you didn't notice this.

I did...

What do you mean with didn't notice this