I think it’s important to mention why Grave Domain allows for resurrection from the dead. They are dedicated towards a respect for life, and while death is natural… if it’s can be avoided it should. If you can be brought back without turning to undeath, then it’s simply not your time yet. Xanathar’s Guide mentions this explicitly
@@coco101martin my apologies, I must have gotten it mixed up with a different spell. Thank you for the correction, in hindsight I should have made sure before correcting you
I love it for it's roleplay, but I do think it may have needed at least one core combat ability like warding flare from light cleric was phenomenal. Which is a shame because when you look at subclasses you often look for combat abilities.
As someone who played a grave cleric in a level 1-20 campaign, I can absolutely say that I used Path to the Grave a lot to coordinate with our rogue's sneak attack A LOT and it was amazing
@@esperthebard Wow, 1st time I've been commented by the content creator. So ... we were all basically on deaths doorway being attacked by a home brew undead boss. All my healing spells were used up. It's my very first use of the Divine intervention feature ... I rolled a 07. The whole room blew up in cheers. The DM decided that, because I was a life domain cleric, all our hit points were back to full and all spells were given back. The dungeon boss still put up quite a fight, but it fell hard and we all survived!
The weirder thing about tempest is the only lightning damage they do is their first level feature and call lightning. It can be combined with that first level feature VERY effectively but how weird is it that call lightning can have a lightning bolt strike behind a target and they fly away from you (not where the bolt struck) but destructive wave can’t knock people back? Meanwhile they have literally every spell that does thunder damage 1-5 except for thunder step
Imagine if you could apply the thunderbolt strike feature with thunder damage ...this sub-class would most likely be the strongest subclass of all ...Booming Blade, regular attacks, Thunderwave, Shatter, etc. I am pretty sure they controlled the spells that the Cleric could use this feature with for a reason.
@@Herbalizer28 what thunder class does this class have? Thunder wave which already pushes people back you just push them further. Sure you can get a feat to get booming blade (that spell didn’t exist yet so it did not influence the design decision) but level 8 your attacks push back too so who cares. And destructive wave and that’s it. Destructive wave is good. But how op is it to push someone back with a weapon attack as a cleric?
@@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar Good point on booming blade not being available yet when this subclass was created, but before the Crushing feat, pushing people 10ft everytime you hit them would have been considered pretty strong for crowd control. You could push them off cliffs, push them in area of effect spells, etc..This could also work with Shatter, everytime. So not only could you maximize damage, but you could push everything away by 10 ft !! Then again, there isn't much thunder spells, so the Tempest Cleric covers most of them ...and this would mean that creatures could be pushed 10ft. pretty much all the time. It's already a strong class, they didn't need to make it game breaking, like most classes from Tasha's...
@@Herbalizer28 power creep is a serious problem. I guarantee if it were printed today it would push back back with thunder and probably fly at level 6 and a bunch of other redonks buffs
I have been waiting forever for this one. I have even said so on all your prior rankings. NOW, before I watch the video, there is one obvious winner here, and I am sure you did not pick it, so as soon as I finish watching I'll share my most beloved (and esoteric) build with you :)
Okay, done, so, Tempest got 12th - just saying, this is one of the absolute best classes for synergy, as long as you pick the right feats or multiclass. For monoclass: Tempest Cleric (8) + Polearm Master + Spell Sniper (Booming Blade) + Warcaster. For multiclass: Tempest Cleric (2) + Draconic Sorceror (5) + Metamagic (Transmuted Spell). Can you guess the combos? :)
@@thewaver8 Tempest clerics are so much fun. If the enemy gets in your face, they get the wacky melee knock back combo... and if they don't, they eat blast spells that can get maximized AFTER they fail the save.
I agree. That or it should've replaced the Druid class entirely from a core design standpoint, but D&D is well past being able to make a change like that this many editions in.
Harvest Domain would be a good name, it could stray a little from the druid, being a connection between civilization and Nature, rather then its protector, the roleplay and worldbuilding potencial its great
Getting ready to play a cleric in a low to mid magic campaign. Haven't figured out which Domain to go with. Peace, Grave, Death, Arcana are the ones I've narrowed it down to. Hopefully this video will help me make the choice.
Are you really? Do you have an interesting or peculiar stories from your experience in that line of work? If so, shoot me an email esperthebard@gmail.com
@@esperthebard unfortunately being a cemetery/gravedigger is quite boring,hard work, but it comes with cool stories from the loved ones you meet during the burial about the person who's pasted. And a few things to note about the job for coolness I guess but oddly ravens love cemeteries, also walking in cemetery stomping around near a head stone you can feel the "Hallowed" ground below, also like 90% of men die around 10-15 years before the wife just from reading headstones. Also being the person to make sure not only the casket or urn gets put into the ground but I'm there long after filling in the hole and making sure it's looking nice, being the last human interaction with many pasted loved ones is very fulfilling. It's a connection to nature I never thought I would have. 5 years in love with the work , and any jokes about people dying to get in here or dying to join the party are welcome lol
@@tresser8798 Wow, that's true, you are often that last human interaction before the body is laid into its final resting place. What a thing. I've actually always liked cemeteries, especially ones with old gravestones, tombs, overgrown plants, and such. I usually go to a cemetery a few times a year to write poetry, take in the quiet natural elements, and walk around looking at gravestones wondering who the people were and what they did in life.
Imagine, over the course of a few hours, the Forge Cleric making the fighter a full suit of plate armor, starting with the helmet, moving on to the chest plate and pauldrons, then the gauntlets and arm protection, and finally, the greaves and leg protection. That would be one hell of a gift, especially at low levels.
Esper, one small thing that you didn't notice With the Grave Domain, you can always maximize your healing on a fallen ally, casting Spare the Dying as a bonus action first (bringing your ally to 0 HP) and then casting the most powerfull healing spell, maximizing the dice with the 1° level ability form the Grave Domain I think this makes the Grave Domain a lot better, mainly because it helps your friends to not get unconscious again after you just healed them But wow, what an awesome review. I love your videos man!
Spare the Dying just stabilizes someone who is at 0 hp (so they don't have to make death saving throws). You mentioned bringing your ally to 0 HP, but 0 is already the lowest HP can go. Negative hit points has not been a thing since 3E.
Esper, nice touch to the heartstrings when you mention "even bring fallen allies back to life" and you showed the picture of Aleena the cleric (who died in the Basic Boxset).
Welcome back Esper! I truly enjoy your videos on class breakdowns and subclass rankings. So great job there, and please keep them coming. These are my absolute favorite type of content you produce. I truly enjoyed all the artwork examples as you guided us thru the rankings and talk of lore. I have/am playing a Grave Cleric and completely agree with your assessment. I enjoy it, but slightly unfulfilled at the same time. Again, welcome back, and thank you for the best ranking video you have made yet. More please!
These class ranking (or any ranking) video is by far the best you do. I watch them over and over and still dig them every single time. Your narration is like a hypnotic pattern spell. You’re the best man. Please keep making these ranking videos.
@@esperthebard I actually exaggerated when I said marathon. What I actually did is I ran from my neighbour's house to the forest with almost no brakes and back. By the end of it my clothes were soaked in sweat, losed 1.7 kg and my dad had go after my with the car to tell me that I got into bear territory.
Both of the bond features should honestly be two rankings higher. Anyone who's played a game with a Peace cleric knows how potent a +5 on average from Bless & Bond is.
Could be the new ness, of the subclass, or the problem with roleplaying a peace cleric on the whole. But yes it is really strong, but I find it also needs teamwork, having a group of players who rush up and hit things and the other half stay put in most combats I can see it being difficult to balance a viewpoint.
I think you're underrating both emboldening and protective bond. The duration of EB means you can activate it before combat so you don't have to waste an action (or concentration like you mentioned), and a "free" bless effect is really strong even if you aren't stacking it with other enhancement effects (which as a peace cleric you likely will). Wrt PB reaction based teleports that don't require a spell slot are uncommon and powerful, even if they are situational; particularly if your party members know you will be running a Peace Cleric at character creation and can build accordingly.
Quickened spell isn't as amazing on a cleric as it is on a sorcerer because they're likely to have a spiritual weapon out, which does more damage as a bonus action than a cantrip does as an action. That order feature's main benefit is mostly to use your action to cast either your channel divinity or your divine intervention. But both are limited where as order clerics are likely to be spamming enchantment spells seeing as they have bless blindness and command and a expanded spell list full of them. That or to save a single spell slot not putting a spiritual weapon up. Which is kinda sad
I'm glad to see that you, like me, seem to read the twilight sanctuary feature as creating a bubble of dim light, rather than simply emitting as a regular light source.. there's been quite some disagreement about that particular aspect.
I never would have imagined people interpreting that as meaning regular light. The name is *twilight sanctuary*, so obviously it's an area of dim illumination (darker than bright light, lighter than pure darkness).
Great, thanks a lot, Esper. Oh, and I just got to say that I always loved the two Elmore illustrations shown from 01:55-02:00. Though I'm more into Easley's work, these two b/w ones from the D&D box-set are so awesome.
Great breakdown as always; going to push back slightly on the final assessment of the Nature Domain. The spell list is very nice for what it is designed to do: allow you to actually play a good control-centric cleric, and it's arguably the only one that does control magic well. It's also the "King of Nope" as the vast majority of its effects are automatic or only allow for one save: you can just impose resistance to natural damage, automatically cause ranged attacks to fail (Wind Wall), automatically reduce speed by 1/4 (or 1/8 with 2d4 damage if you stack Plant Growth and Spike Growth), and potentially charm someone's mount if you're up against cavalry. So while a lot of the abilities are niche (and thematic), those niches all fit together to give a powerful control mage, and arguably one of the best at 5th level and below.
It's not bad (and I do appreciate people utilizing niche things in creative ways), but I'd rather just play a druid to accomplish all that plus get the best druid options, like conjure animals and wild shape.
I think Divine Intervention should be at least B Tier. It doesn't just function in combat encounters. It can be used for massive story progression. Whatever your god is willing to help you with can change the entire course of a campaign.
My favorite class, next to paladin! And I'm in agreement about the Light domain. I'm currently playing a Light cleric who serves a Sun God that also serves as a God of Fire. My DM gave me Produce Flame as a domain spell.
@@esperthebard That makes the most sense to me. Nearly all Light clerics I've seen have served a Sun God specifically, even though some other deities are listed as having access to the domain. Sun Dad is just too popular, I suppose. Praise be unto Pelor!
It would be really rad to have a grave cleric that refused to revive the dead as they see it as their proper end, even PCs. Of course I can never imagine anyone doing this in game cause youd get banned from every game table lol.
Alternative rationalization: since you're getting the magic from your God, if it works it wasn't really their time. If it WAS their time, the spell would fizzle.
Twilight sanctuary is game breaking at low levels. At 1st level gaining 2-7 temp hit points that regenerate every single round without using any concentration? Its more damage than the average goblin does in a hit.
In my games, Tempest domain clerics follow Kord, who's a real melee-combat guy. That matches the flavor of the domain as well, since you get heavy armor and martial weapons.
Personally I think Tempest and Forge are the most fun. With a change or two I'd play Grave, I agree it should be entirely anti undead instead of making any. I like the idea of trickery, but its just not developed the way I want to play. Even then I'd buff Tempest's 17 as well as resistances to thunder and lightning earlier on (basically storm sorcerrer's capstone but split up, heck let you pick one resist then you get the other later.) For forge I'd let you get proficiency with any armor or weapon you make so this limits you a bit early and means you have to make the item first to then use a magic item you might find. I think the other domain I'd love to see is a Hearth Cleric that's really built on old folktales and the home, have a lot of strong safe spells but highly immobile. Have some cool buffs to rests and things too: remove extra exhaustion, improved healing from your hit dice, maybe even gain the benefits of a rest without sleep making the hearth cleric a true defender of their resting allies.
For the Grave capstone, I flavor it as when a soul is passing on, not all of the energy that is part of them on this plane can pass on with them, you're just taking the excess.
I think you missed one... where is the chaos domain? We have an order cleric so we could have one for chaos. Joking btw ;) but seriously I think there should be chaos/winter/disease domain... Although since I'm pretty new to DnD I'm not sure how that would work... maybe a focus on area-effect spells with an chance of friendly fire on fail-safes in the case of a chaos cleric... the winter could focus on slow, sleep, and cold spells and the disease could focus on effects over time.
The all heavy armor and martial weapons for the Tempest cleric, is so someone can play a heavy armor viking with two hand weapons who is a champion of Thor.
My take on why some cleric subclasses get three level one features and others don't, is because some subclasses get bonus proficiencies in armor or weapons, which isn't much of a bonus, thematically speaking.
I looked up a bit about Tempest (since I'm a 2e person, so not a lot of knowledge on 5e), as to why heavy armor and martial weapons - "Common backgrounds for this class include vikings and warlords" so I get the idea of priest who follows Zeus or Thor, so they would certainly be battle/martial in focus. Also if you're thinking the Tempest surrounding ocean storms, a trident is a martial weapon, so there's that.
i think this is one of your most well done videos, i listened to it on an 8 hour road trip like 8 months ago, and i’m revisiting it now that i’m finally playing a cleric for Descent into Avernus. I love recommending your videos to my players, but the length of them turns them off. they struggle watching 10 min videos, let alone an hour and a half ones
I've said this before: Life domain clerics getting the healing spells as their domain spells is *the best* option for a Cleric who is healing-focused. Having those spells always prepared means you don't have to pick them, which lets you have all kinds of other utility options available to you depending on the situation. It's like those old American Express commercials: Never leave home without your heals. Also, Peace Domain? It's a highly watered-down version of Unity Domain, which was *so much better.* It's not bad, but it's much, *much* weaker than it could have been. Unity would *easily* be the top domain if it were implemented as it was in the UA.
I agree on all points here, but I will say they could've added like a few spells from say druid or bard to help it feel not as bad, even if it's good it's not exciting spell list wise. Good berry would've been my choice and it is missing aura of vitality,(iF I recall).
@@off6848 If you're going to be technical about it, light is literally what prevents us from falling through the ground and holds electron shells around atoms and atoms together into molecules.
I always wondered why light domain wasn't called fire domain. You'd think being called the light domain they'd deal radiant damage, vision modifying effects, and maybe mobility options but not really. I also never under why if they're just going to throw around heavy armor proficiencies randomly why not just give that to the whole class?
It's a bit late, but perhaps the tempest cleric's reason for armor and martial weapons feat could be derived from certain actual mythical deities such as Thor? If it's not something along those lines, I have no idea. Just a thought I had while listening.
How about a Compassion Domain (IE the Good domain). It will take me a while to think of what they should get but here's what I have, just off the top of my head. Bonus spells: 1. Charm Person, Cure Wounds 3. Calm Emotions, Detect Thoughts 5. Aura of Vitality, Intellect Fortress 7. Charm Monster, Death Ward 9. Greater Restoration, Awaken Level 1. Bonus Proficiencies: You become proficient with heavy armor, persuasion, and healers' kits. Empathy with the Enemy: Choose an enemy within 30 feet. For an hour you have advantage on persuasion checks in order to get them to not attack you, your allies or innocents. Words of Comfort: Choose an ally within 30 feet. You can speak words of comfort to that ally, which relieves a single negative status effect on them once per every short rest. This gets bumped up to twice at level six, and four times at level 17.
I played a life Cleric/Monk of Ilmater he dual wielded whips to bring punishment to those who would hurt innocents. Along with his healing ability from the life Cleric. And some extra spells that the monk ki did not give me
32:48 maybe they get the martial weapon proficiency for stuff like war hammers and tridents? since they are tied to storm and sea gods respectively and tempest is tied to them as well?
the 5e healing is fine rest is basic rescores management the game has ways of fixing this with the heal skill but not many classes have the heal skill in 3.5 I think what makes 5e healing OP are death saves (healing by 1 is enough to bring you back despite taking massive damage) negative health needs to track if you have negative 20 hp for example you should need to heal by 21 hp with healing by 1 stabilizing it's combat relevant not rest relevant and that is why I see this as an issue if anything it should be a feat like Diehard
I actually found one heck of a way to use the tempest domain channel divinity. This would be a dual-class along with the wizard, either with the evoker or the other that lets you access the spell that makes chain between two opponents. This chain is special because when one takes damage the other takes the same amount, the downside is that if one heals the other does as well. So you can chain two & do a lightning bolt or chain lightning then maximise damage with channel divinity essentially getting two max damage spells out in one turn. Speaking of max damage this is what high level play can do. Meteor swarm (min is 19th level because cleric). Now if you haven't thought of Lightning or thunderball at this point in which the evoker would be great for let me tell you how we get them. Metamagic adept with transmuted spell, turn that fire into lightning or thunder damage then maximise output. Okay so may have picked up what I'm saying at this point so lets drive it home :) Evoker to protect allies or other wizard subclass to chain two enemies together or an ally may do this. Meteor swarm, transmute into thunder or lightning, channel divinity. Minimum damage is 140 on successful saves or if chained 280, this does not include resistance or immunity. Max damage is 240 like normal or 480 if chained.
I had an idea recently for a Forge Domain Gnoll Cleric based on the Ethiopian Myth of the Buda "WereHyena" being tied up in anti-semitic beliefs about Jews. I decided to reverse the the discriminatory nature of the Werehyena by owning it so people who use it as an insult have no power. So Why a Forge Domain Cleric? Ethiopian Jews have been long associated with being artisans like Blacksmithing, Pottery, Glassmaking, etc...and this was also thought to be a reason they were accused of being Magical Witches and Wizards or secret Hyena monsters using Fire to transform seemingly useless material like Rock, Mud, and Sand into Metal, Ceramic, and Glass. I also thought it would also be fun to be a Rabbi in a traditional D&D fantasy european setting spouting jewish jokes like how in Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" replaced Friar Tuck with Rabbi Tuckman played by Mel Brooks himself.
Funny thing. My personal choices due to style and flavour are Nature, Tempest, Knowledge and Arcana, all of them low ranked. Does this make me an anti-minmaxer? ^^
I don't have a problem with the new saves on debilitating conditions. I enjoy a chance at being able to roll a save every round instead of taking a walk of shame for a combat because I failed a save round one. Now I get to continue to fail the save every round for the entirety of combat.
My dm and I agreed I could use unity instead of peace, as there are a lot of things they changed that we weren't huge fans of, and unity made more sense with the characters personality and ideals. For context, bond doesn't seem to fit a peace theme as well as unity, shared burden from unity fit better for his personality, the teleport to take a hit we didn't like because if you bond a fighter and a mage, is the mage really going to take a hit for the fighter? Admittedly unity's capstone is kinda meh, requiring a bonded individual to be down and stay down to work but we still liked it far more
I'm currently playing a Half-Drow Twilight Cleric in a Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign and I LOVE IT. We played the other night and had a battle with some young white dragons & chardalyn berserkers. In that one battle I was able to - buff everyone with Bless, do massive damage to everything with Spiritual Weapon, explode a head with a max damage Toll the Dead, bring up two downed teammates with Mass Healing Word, dispel the magic flame that was making the berserkers basically immortal, and then cast Tiny Hut so we could take a break lol probably the most versatile subclass I've ever played.
A ranger, a druid and a nature cleric would be an interesting party. A ranger takes advantage of what nature provides, nature cleric worships nature (but not the most violent parts) itself, a druid is part of nature even the most violent aspects of it.
I think it’s important to mention why Grave Domain allows for resurrection from the dead. They are dedicated towards a respect for life, and while death is natural… if it’s can be avoided it should. If you can be brought back without turning to undeath, then it’s simply not your time yet. Xanathar’s Guide mentions this explicitly
I think his biggest issue was them having access to the "raise dead" spell as a domain spell since that is a make undead spell.
@@jondw it… doesn’t make undead though. It’s a res spell
@@coco101martin my apologies, I must have gotten it mixed up with a different spell. Thank you for the correction, in hindsight I should have made sure before correcting you
That seems a little too easy a handwave in my opinion, but I do appreciate that they tried to justify it in-game.
@@jondw Animate dead maybe? (The spell you confused Raise Dead with).
"There is a distinct thrill in making this choice and in rolling an incredible success that saves the day..."
_Cadeuces noises intensify_
man I will never forget that moment. Legendary
"Whoever it was, just put it back."
He strikes again!!!
And hour and a half of Esperism!!! Let's go!!!
Glad someone else agrees with me on liking Knowledge Clerics; they’re one of my favourite subclasses.
Hey
Hey jeg har lige
Ikr?! The boons of the subclass are subtler than others, but dang if it doesn't snag success rolls out of RP scenes like nothing!
I love it for it's roleplay, but I do think it may have needed at least one core combat ability like warding flare from light cleric was phenomenal. Which is a shame because when you look at subclasses you often look for combat abilities.
Maybe a cool role play like you teach other spell casters and act as a mentor that’s dope. Now I say that I really want to make a knowledge cleric.
The favourite class of healers, the wise, the pious, and the determined!
Also anyone who likes playing to cast spells from the front line. Especially if they prefer support magic to cowardly crap like fireballs.
Unless they want to play a paladin instead
Love to see an Esper video in my feed before my drive home! Love to hear you Bard!
Thanks for the love Ben! A good wagon ride to you!
As someone who played a grave cleric in a level 1-20 campaign, I can absolutely say that I used Path to the Grave a lot to coordinate with our rogue's sneak attack A LOT and it was amazing
Ya. Any one who can make a single attack hit really hard is a great target. Paladins rogues etc.
ah yes, a fine movie-length breakdown of my favorite class. Beautiful.
Life Cleric, by far, my all time favorite. I rolled a successful divine intervention. The whole room blew up with cheers. Best day ever.
Awesome. What was the miracle that occured?
@@esperthebard Wow, 1st time I've been commented by the content creator. So ... we were all basically on deaths doorway being attacked by a home brew undead boss. All my healing spells were used up. It's my very first use of the Divine intervention feature ... I rolled a 07. The whole room blew up in cheers. The DM decided that, because I was a life domain cleric, all our hit points were back to full and all spells were given back. The dungeon boss still put up quite a fight, but it fell hard and we all survived!
Night, Winter, and Chaos sound genuinely dope as clerical domains
Time and mind could also be cool.
About to go on a long drive. Amazing timing. Thank you Esper.!
Good travels to you!
So happy to see war cleric in the top 5 it’s so underrated by most people
Oh the other hand, my man disrespected Grave and Tempest. lol
The weirder thing about tempest is the only lightning damage they do is their first level feature and call lightning. It can be combined with that first level feature VERY effectively but how weird is it that call lightning can have a lightning bolt strike behind a target and they fly away from you (not where the bolt struck) but destructive wave can’t knock people back?
Meanwhile they have literally every spell that does thunder damage 1-5 except for thunder step
Imagine if you could apply the thunderbolt strike feature with thunder damage ...this sub-class would most likely be the strongest subclass of all ...Booming Blade, regular attacks, Thunderwave, Shatter, etc. I am pretty sure they controlled the spells that the Cleric could use this feature with for a reason.
@@Herbalizer28 what thunder class does this class have? Thunder wave which already pushes people back you just push them further. Sure you can get a feat to get booming blade (that spell didn’t exist yet so it did not influence the design decision) but level 8 your attacks push back too so who cares. And destructive wave and that’s it.
Destructive wave is good. But how op is it to push someone back with a weapon attack as a cleric?
@@Mr_Maiq_The_Liar Good point on booming blade not being available yet when this subclass was created, but before the Crushing feat, pushing people 10ft everytime you hit them would have been considered pretty strong for crowd control. You could push them off cliffs, push them in area of effect spells, etc..This could also work with Shatter, everytime. So not only could you maximize damage, but you could push everything away by 10 ft !! Then again, there isn't much thunder spells, so the Tempest Cleric covers most of them ...and this would mean that creatures could be pushed 10ft. pretty much all the time. It's already a strong class, they didn't need to make it game breaking, like most classes from Tasha's...
@@Herbalizer28 power creep is a serious problem. I guarantee if it were printed today it would push back back with thunder and probably fly at level 6 and a bunch of other redonks buffs
I have been waiting forever for this one.
I have even said so on all your prior rankings.
NOW, before I watch the video, there is one obvious winner here, and I am sure you did not pick it, so as soon as I finish watching I'll share my most beloved (and esoteric) build with you :)
Thank you for your patience, this one was indeed a long time coming.
Okay, done, so, Tempest got 12th - just saying, this is one of the absolute best classes for synergy, as long as you pick the right feats or multiclass.
For monoclass: Tempest Cleric (8) + Polearm Master + Spell Sniper (Booming Blade) + Warcaster.
For multiclass: Tempest Cleric (2) + Draconic Sorceror (5) + Metamagic (Transmuted Spell).
Can you guess the combos? :)
I do love Twilight and Forge domains though :)
@@thewaver8 Can you really call it a Cleric if it's only a 2 level dip to your Sorcerer 5? ;P
@@thewaver8 Tempest clerics are so much fun. If the enemy gets in your face, they get the wacky melee knock back combo... and if they don't, they eat blast spells that can get maximized AFTER they fail the save.
I think the nature domain should actually be the agriculture domain.
I can agree with this. The current Nature domain feels from a lore perspective to have a lot of overlap with the druid class.
I agree. That or it should've replaced the Druid class entirely from a core design standpoint, but D&D is well past being able to make a change like that this many editions in.
The word "nature" is just too broad to be a domain. Animal, plant, forest, mountain, etc. could each be their own domain.
Harvest Domain would be a good name, it could stray a little from the druid, being a connection between civilization and Nature, rather then its protector, the roleplay and worldbuilding potencial its great
Or "wild" domain. Or rather split "nature" into "wild" and "agriculture" depending on the deity... naturally.
Getting ready to play a cleric in a low to mid magic campaign. Haven't figured out which Domain to go with. Peace, Grave, Death, Arcana are the ones I've narrowed it down to. Hopefully this video will help me make the choice.
There are many great ones to choose from. Enjoy the new campaign!
Arcana is my favorite, but Peace would be best (and probably most fun) for early levels.
I have chosen Peace...
@@theblite32 to quote Bender, "the world will learn of your peaceful ways, by force" have fun
I'm a gravedigger IRL looks like I'm going cleric now lol
Are you really? Do you have an interesting or peculiar stories from your experience in that line of work? If so, shoot me an email esperthebard@gmail.com
@@esperthebard unfortunately being a cemetery/gravedigger is quite boring,hard work, but it comes with cool stories from the loved ones you meet during the burial about the person who's pasted. And a few things to note about the job for coolness I guess but oddly ravens love cemeteries, also walking in cemetery stomping around near a head stone you can feel the "Hallowed" ground below, also like 90% of men die around 10-15 years before the wife just from reading headstones. Also being the person to make sure not only the casket or urn gets put into the ground but I'm there long after filling in the hole and making sure it's looking nice, being the last human interaction with many pasted loved ones is very fulfilling. It's a connection to nature I never thought I would have. 5 years in love with the work , and any jokes about people dying to get in here or dying to join the party are welcome lol
@@tresser8798 Wow, that's true, you are often that last human interaction before the body is laid into its final resting place. What a thing. I've actually always liked cemeteries, especially ones with old gravestones, tombs, overgrown plants, and such. I usually go to a cemetery a few times a year to write poetry, take in the quiet natural elements, and walk around looking at gravestones wondering who the people were and what they did in life.
3 things are certain in life; death, taxes, and trouble.
There will always be a career in all 3.
Cleric or Necromancer are always fitting.
@@tresser8798 I’m pretty sure it’s because ravens and crows are scavengers.
Love the one long video format for this. Either way, these videos are excellent, thank you!
Thank you too!
Imagine, over the course of a few hours, the Forge Cleric making the fighter a full suit of plate armor, starting with the helmet, moving on to the chest plate and pauldrons, then the gauntlets and arm protection, and finally, the greaves and leg protection. That would be one hell of a gift, especially at low levels.
Forge cleric and armorer artificer teaming up to make the perfect suit of plate armor.
@@NoNamesLeft0102 YEAS!!!
Forge domain: use Artisans Blessing, create armor worth exactly 100gp, make it magical.....profit even more.
Esper, one small thing that you didn't notice
With the Grave Domain, you can always maximize your healing on a fallen ally, casting Spare the Dying as a bonus action first (bringing your ally to 0 HP) and then casting the most powerfull healing spell, maximizing the dice with the 1° level ability form the Grave Domain
I think this makes the Grave Domain a lot better, mainly because it helps your friends to not get unconscious again after you just healed them
But wow, what an awesome review. I love your videos man!
Spare the Dying just stabilizes someone who is at 0 hp (so they don't have to make death saving throws). You mentioned bringing your ally to 0 HP, but 0 is already the lowest HP can go. Negative hit points has not been a thing since 3E.
@@esperthebard Oh... I actually didn't know that. Well, thanks for the answer my dude, you're the best. Love from Brazil 💕
@@enzosanti3278 Thank you too! Abraço!
Esper, nice touch to the heartstrings when you mention "even bring fallen allies back to life" and you showed the picture of Aleena the cleric (who died in the Basic Boxset).
Finally! Answered prayers! 🙏
Welcome back Esper! I truly enjoy your videos on class breakdowns and subclass rankings. So great job there, and please keep them coming. These are my absolute favorite type of content you produce. I truly enjoyed all the artwork examples as you guided us thru the rankings and talk of lore. I have/am playing a Grave Cleric and completely agree with your assessment. I enjoy it, but slightly unfulfilled at the same time. Again, welcome back, and thank you for the best ranking video you have made yet. More please!
You knocked it out of the park with this one! Awesome! All your class videos have been fantastic but this one I think is your best.
Thank you so much Bob!
Just a note that Order domain is from Ravnica, it was just reprinted in Tasha's.
no wonder I was getting Azorius vibes
A Mighty Hurrah to Esper the Wisest Bard. Can't wait for the Ranger
Love the class videos, can't wait for the rest.
These class ranking (or any ranking) video is by far the best you do. I watch them over and over and still dig them every single time. Your narration is like a hypnotic pattern spell. You’re the best man. Please keep making these ranking videos.
I'm glad you like them so much. Thanks for the encouragement!
The light cleric is not a healer they are a force of nature that should be feared
space marine voice module: "BURN IN HOLY FIRE!"
Great work Esper! I truly miss your solo adventures
I miss them so much too. There will be more. It is destiny ...
Thanks.
Just finished an entire marathon throu my entire town and fairly deep in the forest so this is pretty nice to find.
A forest marathon, quite a feat!
@@esperthebard I actually exaggerated when I said marathon. What I actually did is I ran from my neighbour's house to the forest with almost no brakes and back. By the end of it my clothes were soaked in sweat, losed 1.7 kg and my dad had go after my with the car to tell me that I got into bear territory.
I'm surprised at how moderately you rated the features on Peace domain, honestly
Both of the bond features should honestly be two rankings higher. Anyone who's played a game with a Peace cleric knows how potent a +5 on average from Bless & Bond is.
Could be the new ness, of the subclass, or the problem with roleplaying a peace cleric on the whole. But yes it is really strong, but I find it also needs teamwork, having a group of players who rush up and hit things and the other half stay put in most combats I can see it being difficult to balance a viewpoint.
Man, after that Call to the Sanctum I was disappointed to see that I had already liked the video. Had to switch accounts to do it again
proof that I actually liked it twice
Many thanks
I think you're underrating both emboldening and protective bond. The duration of EB means you can activate it before combat so you don't have to waste an action (or concentration like you mentioned), and a "free" bless effect is really strong even if you aren't stacking it with other enhancement effects (which as a peace cleric you likely will). Wrt PB reaction based teleports that don't require a spell slot are uncommon and powerful, even if they are situational; particularly if your party members know you will be running a Peace Cleric at character creation and can build accordingly.
One of my favorite character ideas I’ve come up with is hands down my githzerai order domain cleric
I think why the Life Cleric gets heavy armor proficiency is because it's basically the OG cleric from earlier editions
that and imo it feeds into the idea of a frontlines medic, armoring themselves to live long enough amidst the battle to heal the party.
Quickened spell isn't as amazing on a cleric as it is on a sorcerer because they're likely to have a spiritual weapon out, which does more damage as a bonus action than a cantrip does as an action.
That order feature's main benefit is mostly to use your action to cast either your channel divinity or your divine intervention. But both are limited where as order clerics are likely to be spamming enchantment spells seeing as they have bless blindness and command and a expanded spell list full of them. That or to save a single spell slot not putting a spiritual weapon up. Which is kinda sad
I'm glad to see that you, like me, seem to read the twilight sanctuary feature as creating a bubble of dim light, rather than simply emitting as a regular light source.. there's been quite some disagreement about that particular aspect.
I never would have imagined people interpreting that as meaning regular light. The name is *twilight sanctuary*, so obviously it's an area of dim illumination (darker than bright light, lighter than pure darkness).
Great, thanks a lot, Esper. Oh, and I just got to say that I always loved the two Elmore illustrations shown from 01:55-02:00. Though I'm more into Easley's work, these two b/w ones from the D&D box-set are so awesome.
Man I love the oldschool art. 3E and before just had such a different feel and so much variety of styles.
38:58 How about thieve's tools (shout out to Nerd immersion and he's vid on fixing the trickery domains) and your choice of deception or stealth.
I checked both my PHBs (my older printing and my newer one), and they both say 1 druid cantrip and 1 skill prof. Where are you seeing 2?
@@esperthebard I think I need to go to a doctor and check out my eyes and ears.
Great breakdown as always; going to push back slightly on the final assessment of the Nature Domain. The spell list is very nice for what it is designed to do: allow you to actually play a good control-centric cleric, and it's arguably the only one that does control magic well. It's also the "King of Nope" as the vast majority of its effects are automatic or only allow for one save: you can just impose resistance to natural damage, automatically cause ranged attacks to fail (Wind Wall), automatically reduce speed by 1/4 (or 1/8 with 2d4 damage if you stack Plant Growth and Spike Growth), and potentially charm someone's mount if you're up against cavalry. So while a lot of the abilities are niche (and thematic), those niches all fit together to give a powerful control mage, and arguably one of the best at 5th level and below.
It's not bad (and I do appreciate people utilizing niche things in creative ways), but I'd rather just play a druid to accomplish all that plus get the best druid options, like conjure animals and wild shape.
I can't wait to see his Ranger Breakdown and Subclasses Ranking, mostly so I can see what features are in need of improvements.
The king is back!!
Great. I guess by the time i finish watching this video, the next class ranking will be out.
Loved the video by the way.
LETS GO BROTHERS
Onward!
I think Divine Intervention should be at least B Tier. It doesn't just function in combat encounters. It can be used for massive story progression. Whatever your god is willing to help you with can change the entire course of a campaign.
That was a very difficult feature to rate. I really like the concept though.
My favorite class, next to paladin! And I'm in agreement about the Light domain. I'm currently playing a Light cleric who serves a Sun God that also serves as a God of Fire. My DM gave me Produce Flame as a domain spell.
That's cool, as another commenter mentioned, the Light domain should have been called the Sun domain.
@@esperthebard That makes the most sense to me. Nearly all Light clerics I've seen have served a Sun God specifically, even though some other deities are listed as having access to the domain. Sun Dad is just too popular, I suppose. Praise be unto Pelor!
It would be really rad to have a grave cleric that refused to revive the dead as they see it as their proper end, even PCs. Of course I can never imagine anyone doing this in game cause youd get banned from every game table lol.
Alternative rationalization: since you're getting the magic from your God, if it works it wasn't really their time. If it WAS their time, the spell would fizzle.
Twilight sanctuary is game breaking at low levels. At 1st level gaining 2-7 temp hit points that regenerate every single round without using any concentration? Its more damage than the average goblin does in a hit.
In my games, Tempest domain clerics follow Kord, who's a real melee-combat guy. That matches the flavor of the domain as well, since you get heavy armor and martial weapons.
54:55 very simple solution: crafter gods don't like mass production.
Personally I think Tempest and Forge are the most fun. With a change or two I'd play Grave, I agree it should be entirely anti undead instead of making any. I like the idea of trickery, but its just not developed the way I want to play. Even then I'd buff Tempest's 17 as well as resistances to thunder and lightning earlier on (basically storm sorcerrer's capstone but split up, heck let you pick one resist then you get the other later.) For forge I'd let you get proficiency with any armor or weapon you make so this limits you a bit early and means you have to make the item first to then use a magic item you might find.
I think the other domain I'd love to see is a Hearth Cleric that's really built on old folktales and the home, have a lot of strong safe spells but highly immobile. Have some cool buffs to rests and things too: remove extra exhaustion, improved healing from your hit dice, maybe even gain the benefits of a rest without sleep making the hearth cleric a true defender of their resting allies.
Currently playing a light cleric and it’s easily one of my favorite characters.
Thank you, I missed these type of videos from you. You have renewed my faith and subscription in you.
This was a very interesting video, as always.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BEEN WAITING FOR ANOTHER ONE!!! THE ONLY CLASS RANKING ON RUclips WORTH WATCHINGGGGG!!!!
For the Grave capstone, I flavor it as when a soul is passing on, not all of the energy that is part of them on this plane can pass on with them, you're just taking the excess.
I think you missed one... where is the chaos domain? We have an order cleric so we could have one for chaos. Joking btw ;) but seriously I think there should be chaos/winter/disease domain... Although since I'm pretty new to DnD I'm not sure how that would work... maybe a focus on area-effect spells with an chance of friendly fire on fail-safes in the case of a chaos cleric... the winter could focus on slow, sleep, and cold spells and the disease could focus on effects over time.
36:00 I think they meant to call it "stormborne" (like airborne)
The all heavy armor and martial weapons for the Tempest cleric, is so someone can play a heavy armor viking with two hand weapons who is a champion of Thor.
Very good and enjoyable presentation, also your personal observations on the source material changes are very welcome and something that I agree with.
My take on why some cleric subclasses get three level one features and others don't, is because some subclasses get bonus proficiencies in armor or weapons, which isn't much of a bonus, thematically speaking.
I looked up a bit about Tempest (since I'm a 2e person, so not a lot of knowledge on 5e), as to why heavy armor and martial weapons - "Common backgrounds for this class include vikings and warlords" so I get the idea of priest who follows Zeus or Thor, so they would certainly be battle/martial in focus. Also if you're thinking the Tempest surrounding ocean storms, a trident is a martial weapon, so there's that.
i think this is one of your most well done videos, i listened to it on an 8 hour road trip like 8 months ago, and i’m revisiting it now that i’m finally playing a cleric for Descent into Avernus. I love recommending your videos to my players, but the length of them turns them off. they struggle watching 10 min videos, let alone an hour and a half ones
I've said this before: Life domain clerics getting the healing spells as their domain spells is *the best* option for a Cleric who is healing-focused. Having those spells always prepared means you don't have to pick them, which lets you have all kinds of other utility options available to you depending on the situation. It's like those old American Express commercials: Never leave home without your heals.
Also, Peace Domain? It's a highly watered-down version of Unity Domain, which was *so much better.* It's not bad, but it's much, *much* weaker than it could have been. Unity would *easily* be the top domain if it were implemented as it was in the UA.
you can still play unity domain if your dm is chill about it
Exactly. It frees up your slots for spells you want, while getting ones you need.
I agree on all points here, but I will say they could've added like a few spells from say druid or bard to help it feel not as bad, even if it's good it's not exciting spell list wise. Good berry would've been my choice and it is missing aura of vitality,(iF I recall).
With how versatile clerics are and how powerful paladins are, 5e seems to really favor the religious adventurers.
I think it's more so just tradition.
You can protective bond a friendly chicken to use as a meat sheild if you want, raising it to A tier in my opinion
Why didn't they just call the Light domain the Sun domain? You know? The thing that provides both LIGHT and HEAT?
Right??
We know from the effects of sonoluminessence that light isn't just created by the sun. Not to mention regular kinetic fire.
@@off6848 If you're going to be technical about it, light is literally what prevents us from falling through the ground and holds electron shells around atoms and atoms together into molecules.
@@HenriFaust I’ve never thought of that are you saying everything contains a photon
Forge cleric is amazing if you want to make raw resources and then feed it into fabricate. 1,000 pound Iron anvil.
I always wondered why light domain wasn't called fire domain. You'd think being called the light domain they'd deal radiant damage, vision modifying effects, and maybe mobility options but not really. I also never under why if they're just going to throw around heavy armor proficiencies randomly why not just give that to the whole class?
Great video. Second favorite class behind Paladin. Why do I hear at "18th" level at the 9:40 mark? lol.
Good catch. I meant to say 8th. At least I got the actual table in there.
Seriously amazing video. Thank you for making such amazing content.
It's a bit late, but perhaps the tempest cleric's reason for armor and martial weapons feat could be derived from certain actual mythical deities such as Thor? If it's not something along those lines, I have no idea. Just a thought I had while listening.
Does fact that Thor messes with weather make him wear armor and swing a martial weapon?
Talos and Umbralee mess with storms too. Does that mean they have to wear heavy Armour and use martial weapons?
How about a Compassion Domain (IE the Good domain).
It will take me a while to think of what they should get but here's what I have, just off the top of my head.
Bonus spells:
1. Charm Person, Cure Wounds
3. Calm Emotions, Detect Thoughts
5. Aura of Vitality, Intellect Fortress
7. Charm Monster, Death Ward
9. Greater Restoration, Awaken
Level 1.
Bonus Proficiencies: You become proficient with heavy armor, persuasion, and healers' kits.
Empathy with the Enemy: Choose an enemy within 30 feet. For an hour you have advantage on persuasion checks in order to get them to not attack you, your allies or innocents.
Words of Comfort: Choose an ally within 30 feet. You can speak words of comfort to that ally, which relieves a single negative status effect on them once per every short rest. This gets bumped up to twice at level six, and four times at level 17.
I played a life Cleric/Monk of Ilmater he dual wielded whips to bring punishment to those who would hurt innocents. Along with his healing ability from the life Cleric. And some extra spells that the monk ki did not give me
I always chuckle at how few domains there are in 5th edition when compared to 3rd edition. XD
They should have included the Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water Domains when they made 5th edition.
F5. Still play 3.5
32:48 maybe they get the martial weapon proficiency for stuff like war hammers and tridents? since they are tied to storm and sea gods respectively and tempest is tied to them as well?
Yessssss, one step closer to Druids!
the 5e healing is fine
rest is basic rescores management
the game has ways of fixing this with the heal skill
but not many classes have the heal skill in 3.5
I think what makes 5e healing OP are death saves
(healing by 1 is enough to bring you back despite taking massive damage)
negative health needs to track
if you have negative 20 hp for example you should need to heal by 21 hp with healing by 1 stabilizing
it's combat relevant not rest relevant and that is why I see this as an issue
if anything it should be a feat like Diehard
Great analysis. I think you underrated the peace domain a little bit. It is probably even better.
In response to minute 31:21 devastation spider... gargantuan or colosal beasts can have pretty high CRs
I actually found one heck of a way to use the tempest domain channel divinity. This would be a dual-class along with the wizard, either with the evoker or the other that lets you access the spell that makes chain between two opponents. This chain is special because when one takes damage the other takes the same amount, the downside is that if one heals the other does as well. So you can chain two & do a lightning bolt or chain lightning then maximise damage with channel divinity essentially getting two max damage spells out in one turn.
Speaking of max damage this is what high level play can do. Meteor swarm (min is 19th level because cleric). Now if you haven't thought of Lightning or thunderball at this point in which the evoker would be great for let me tell you how we get them. Metamagic adept with transmuted spell, turn that fire into lightning or thunder damage then maximise output. Okay so may have picked up what I'm saying at this point so lets drive it home :) Evoker to protect allies or other wizard subclass to chain two enemies together or an ally may do this. Meteor swarm, transmute into thunder or lightning, channel divinity.
Minimum damage is 140 on successful saves or if chained 280, this does not include resistance or immunity. Max damage is 240 like normal or 480 if chained.
Good video, hopefully next ranking will be the Druid. It should be a short one with only six subclasses.
I had an idea recently for a Forge Domain Gnoll Cleric based on the Ethiopian Myth of the Buda "WereHyena" being tied up in anti-semitic beliefs about Jews. I decided to reverse the the discriminatory nature of the Werehyena by owning it so people who use it as an insult have no power. So Why a Forge Domain Cleric? Ethiopian Jews have been long associated with being artisans like Blacksmithing, Pottery, Glassmaking, etc...and this was also thought to be a reason they were accused of being Magical Witches and Wizards or secret Hyena monsters using Fire to transform seemingly useless material like Rock, Mud, and Sand into Metal, Ceramic, and Glass.
I also thought it would also be fun to be a Rabbi in a traditional D&D fantasy european setting spouting jewish jokes like how in Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" replaced Friar Tuck with Rabbi Tuckman played by Mel Brooks himself.
What would you play if you were going for a “Green Knight” build? Nature cleric or Ancients Paladin?
Order Domain for me, some great roleplaying in the line around LN and LE
Please please PLEASE do a RANGER BREAKDOWN NEXT :) ?
Funny thing. My personal choices due to style and flavour are Nature, Tempest, Knowledge and Arcana, all of them low ranked. Does this make me an anti-minmaxer? ^^
The same thing happened with me haha
Tempest is associated with heavy armor and hammers because Thor.
Peace/ Mercy multiclass is pretty nice.
I don't have a problem with the new saves on debilitating conditions. I enjoy a chance at being able to roll a save every round instead of taking a walk of shame for a combat because I failed a save round one. Now I get to continue to fail the save every round for the entirety of combat.
Thanks for this!
Surprised to see my War Clerics ranked in the top 5. Most people seem to knock them way down. I'll take 4 - but love all Clerics.
5:20 your experience of religion is different to mine
My dm and I agreed I could use unity instead of peace, as there are a lot of things they changed that we weren't huge fans of, and unity made more sense with the characters personality and ideals. For context, bond doesn't seem to fit a peace theme as well as unity, shared burden from unity fit better for his personality, the teleport to take a hit we didn't like because if you bond a fighter and a mage, is the mage really going to take a hit for the fighter? Admittedly unity's capstone is kinda meh, requiring a bonded individual to be down and stay down to work but we still liked it far more
Thank you very much ! An excellent class to explore.
I'm currently playing a Half-Drow Twilight Cleric in a Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign and I LOVE IT. We played the other night and had a battle with some young white dragons & chardalyn berserkers. In that one battle I was able to - buff everyone with Bless, do massive damage to everything with Spiritual Weapon, explode a head with a max damage Toll the Dead, bring up two downed teammates with Mass Healing Word, dispel the magic flame that was making the berserkers basically immortal, and then cast Tiny Hut so we could take a break lol probably the most versatile subclass I've ever played.
A ranger, a druid and a nature cleric would be an interesting party. A ranger takes advantage of what nature provides, nature cleric worships nature (but not the most violent parts) itself, a druid is part of nature even the most violent aspects of it.