In D&D, Death Domain Clerics carefully study the forces and nature of death itself, drawing from the School of Necromancy to fuel their power.

When Dungeons & Dragons players think of Clerics, they often find themselves drawn to stereotypes like bright blessings, buffs and powerful healing, but not all Clerics focus their energies on life. Those who follow the Death Domain path carefully study the forces and nature of death itself, drawing from the School of Necromancy to fuel their power.

Considering that many Death Domain Clerics may fall into a more ominous category than other Clerics, many of them walk an incredibly dark path. On the other hand, simply practicing Necromancy doesn't necessarily make someone evil, as their studies could lead to understanding and perhaps even transcendence. Regardless of the path a player chooses to walk while building this type of Cleric, the right ability score focus, racial attributes, feats and spells will guarantee an incredibly powerful character.

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For a powerful Cleric, regardless of the Domain they choose, Wisdom is the most important ability score. First and foremost, the WIS modifier contributes to their spell modifier, spellcasting modifier for ranged attacks and their spell save DC. WIS also contributes to important skills like Survival, Medicine, Perception, Insight and Animal Handling. Almost as important as WIS is Charisma, especially for a Cleric who could find themselves in situations where they need to convince others of their work's importance or possibly even lie about the nature of their practices. CHA influences necessary skills like Persuasion, Intimidation, Performance and Deception.

Following WIS and CHA, it's imperative to make sure that this Cleric has a solid Constitution. A positive CON modifier is added to their hit point dice roll at each level and tacked on to hit dice rolled during a short rest. CON also contributes to the sturdiness of mind and body, determining how the body fares against elements like lack of sleep or heat. It also determines how well a spellcaster can maintain their concentration when suffering damage in combat. Once those three stats have been determined, consider a positive modifier for Intelligence and decide whether the Cleric will draw from Strength or Dexterity in melee combat situations.

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Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft introduced three intriguing player Lineages, and among them is the Reborn. Reborn are an outstanding choice because they are "living" proof that death isn't always the end of life. At some point, the Reborn died, and though they may not necessarily remember the circumstances of their death, they may bear the scars of a gruesome and bloody ending that didn't quite take. The fact that Reborn struggle with memories surrounding their own demise gives them the perfect excuse to walk the path of the Death Domain.

Lineages have the added benefit of choosing their own ability score increases, adding +2 to a chosen stat and +1 to a secondary stat. That means the Reborn can add +2 WIS and +1 CHA right out of the gate and be well on their way to maxing out those important stats. The Reborn also have useful abilities like Deathless Nature, which gives them advantage on saves against disease and poison and resistance to those damage types.

Reborn do not need to eat or drink, and they have advantage when making Death Saving Throws. They don't need sleep, and magic can't put them to sleep. They can also finish a long rest in four hours if they spend that time sitting motionless. Additionally, they have a feature called Knowledge From a Past Life, which allows them to roll a d6 and add it to skill checks as many times as their proficiency modifier per long rest.

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Sometimes choosing a feat is a gamble because players sacrifice their opportunity to increase ability scores. Fortunately, there are feats that not only boost one ability score by +1 but also grant a unique ability. There aren't many feats that work well with the Death Domain while also increasing an ability score, so choosing carefully is important. The Skill Expert feat, for example, allows the player to increase one ability score by +1, choose one skill to gain proficiency with and become an expert with a skill they are already proficient with.

The War Caster feat, though it doesn't provide an ability score boost, is also a worthwhile addition. War Casters gain advantage on CON saves when trying to maintain spell concentration. They can also cast a single target melee spell as an attack of opportunity, and they are able to forego using somatic components for casting when their hands are full.

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Death Domain Clerics automatically learn certain spells at levels one, three, five, seven and nine, but beyond those spells, it's important to consider choosing cantrips and spells that enhance their abilities and their purpose. Necromantic cantrips like Spare the Dying and Toll the Dead are great choices, while level one spells such as Bane, Command and Create/Destroy Water make a statement about the power this Cleric holds even at a low level. As they grow in power, they can pick up Necromancy spells like Bestow Curse, Revivify, Speak With Dead and Death Ward.

Higher levels provide even more opportunities to toe the line between life and death with spells like Raise Dead, Create Undead, Resurrection and True Resurrection. There are also interesting damage and control spells like Harm, Geas and Insect Plague that further enhance this character's ability to make an impression and show the world of the living exactly who's in charge.

Artist, writer, avid gamer, lover of comics, manga and anime and all around nerd, Jennifer has been creating online content for numerous websites for over 15 years. She can generally be found on Tuesday nights playing Drow Warlock Zaelien Vel'rai in the So Many Levels D&D campaign on Twitch!

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