Cleric (5E)
Contents
| Level | Prof. | Features | Can. | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Spellcasting, Divine domain | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | +2 | Channel divinity (1/rest), Divine domain feature | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | +2 | — | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | +2 | Ability score improvement | 4 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | +3 | Destroy undead (CR ½) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6th | +3 | Channel divinity (2/rest), Divine domain feature | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 7th | +3 | — | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8th | +3 | Destroy undead (CR 1), Div. domain feature, Ability score imp. | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 9th | +4 | — | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 10th | +4 | Divine intervention | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 11th | +4 | Destroy undead (CR 2) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 12th | +4 | Ability score improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 13th | +5 | — | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| 14th | +5 | Destroy undead (CR 3) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| 15th | +5 | — | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 16th | +5 | Ability score improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 17th | +6 | Destroy undead (CR 4), Divine domain feature | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Channel divinity (3/rest) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability score improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 20th | +6 | Divine intervention improvement | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Class features
Spellcasting
As a conduit for divine power, you can cast cleric spells. See Spell (5E) for the general rules of spellcasting.
Cantrips
At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the cleric spell list. You learn additional cleric cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Cleric table.
Preparing spells
The Cleric table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
You prepare the list of cleric spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the cleric spell list. When you do so, choose a number of cleric spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your cleric level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
For example, if you are a 3rd-level cleric, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell cure wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells.
You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of cleric spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.
Spellcasting ability
Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your cleric spells. The power of your spells comes from your devotion to your deity. You use your Wisdom whenever a cleric spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a cleric spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
| Spell save DC | = 8 | + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Spell attack modifier | = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier | |
Ritual casting
You can cast a cleric spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
Spellcasting focus
You can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your cleric spells.
Divine domain
- main article: Domains (5E)
Choose one domain related to your deity. Your choice grants you domain spells and other features when you choose it at 1st level. It also grants you additional ways to use Channel Divinity when you gain that feature at 2nd level, and additional benefits at 6th, 8th, and 17th levels.
Domain spells
Each domain has a list of spells—its domain spells—that you gain at the cleric levels noted in the domain description. Once you gain a domain spell, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day.
If you have a domain spell that doesn’t appear on the cleric spell list, the spell is nonetheless a cleric spell for you.
Channel divinity
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to channel divine energy directly from your deity, using that energy to fuel magical effects. You start with two such effects: Turn undead and an effect determined by your domain. Some domains grant you additional effects as you advance in levels, as noted in the domain description.
When you use your Channel Divinity, you choose which effect to create. You must then finish a short or long rest to use your Channel Divinity again.
Some Channel Divinity effects require saving throws. When you use such an effect from this class, the DC equals your cleric spell save DC.
Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel Divinity twice between rests, and beginning at 18th level, you can use it three times between rests. When you finish a short or long rest, you regain your expended uses.
Turn undead
As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
Destroy undead
| Cleric Level |
Destroys Undead of CR |
|---|---|
| 5th | ½ or lower |
| 8th | 1 or lower |
| 11th | 2 or lower |
| 14th | 3 or lower |
| 17th | 4 or lower |
Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its saving throw against your Turn undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold, as shown in the Destroy Undead table.
Ability score improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Divine intervention
Beginning at 10th level, you can call on your deity to intervene on your behalf when your need is great.
Imploring your deity’s aid requires you to use your action. Describe the assistance you seek, and roll percentile dice. If you roll a number equal to or lower than your cleric level, your deity intervenes. The. DM chooses the nature of the intervention; the effect of any cleric spell or cleric domain spell would be appropriate.
If your deity intervenes, you can’t use this feature again for 7 days. Otherwise, you can use it again after you finish a long rest.
At 20th level, your call for intervention succeeds automatically, no roll required.
Character Options
- Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
Almost all the folk in the world who revere a deity live their lives without ever being directly touched by a divine being. As such, they can never know what it feels like to be a cleric—someone who is not only a devout worshiper, but who has also been invested with a measure of a deity’s power.
The question has long been debated: Does a mortal become a cleric as a consequence of deep devotion to one’s deity, thereby attracting the god’s favor? Or is it the deity who sees the potential in a person and calls that individual into service? Ultimately, perhaps, the answer doesn’t matter. However clerics come into being, the world needs clerics as much as clerics and deities need each other.
If you’re playing a cleric character, the following sections offer ways to add some detail to that character’s history and personality.
Temple
Most clerics start their lives of service as priests in an order, then later realize that they have been blessed by their god with the qualities needed to become a cleric. To prepare for this new duty, candidates typically receive instruction from a cleric of a temple or another place of study devoted to their deity.
Some temples are cut off from the world so that their occupants can focus on devotions, while other temples open their doors to minister to and heal the masses. What is noteworthy about the temple you studied at?
| d6 | Temple |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your temple is said to be the oldest surviving structure built to honor your god. |
| 2 | Acolytes of several like—minded deities all received instruction together in your temple. |
| 3 | You come from a temple famed for the brewery it operates. Some say you smell like one of its ales. |
| 4 | Your temple is a fortress and a proving ground that trains warrior-priests. |
| 5 | Yourtemple is a peaceful, humble place, filled with vegetable gardens and simple priests. |
| 6 | You served in a temple in the Outer Planes. |
Keepsake
Many clerics have items among their personal gear that symbolize their faith, remind them of their vows, or otherwise help to keep them on their chosen paths. Even though such an item is not imbued with divine power, it is vitally important to its owner because of what it represents.
| d6 | Keepsake |
|---|---|
| l | The finger bone of a saint |
| 2 | A metal-bound book that tells how to hunt and destroy infernal creatures |
| 3 | A pig’s whistle that reminds you of your humble and beloved mentor |
| 4 | A braid of hair woven from the tail of a unicorn |
| 5 | A scroll that describes how best to rid the world of necromancers |
| 6 | A runestone said to be blessed by your god |
Secret
No mortal soul is entirely free of second thoughts or doubt. Even a cleric must grapple with dark desires or the forbidden attraction of turning against the teachings of one’s deity.
If you haven’t considered this aspect of your character yet, see the table entries for some possibilities, or use them for inspiration. Your deep, dark secret might involve something you did (or are doing), or it could be rooted in the way you feel about the world and your role in it.
| d6 | Secret |
|---|---|
| 1 | An imp offers you counsel. You try to ignore the creature, but sometimes its advice is helpful. |
| 2 | You believe that, in the final analysis, the gods are nothing more than ultrapowerful mortal creatures. |
| 3 | You acknowledge the power ofthe gods, but you think that most events are dictated by pure chance. |
| 4 | Even though you can work divine magic, you have never truly felt the presence of a divine essence within yourself. |
| 5 | You are plagued by nightmares that you believe are sent by your god as punishment for some unknown transgression. |
| 6 | In times of despair, you feel that you are but a plaything of the gods, and you resent their remoteness. |
Serving other divinities
The typical cleric is an ordained servant of a particular god and chooses a Divine Domain associated with that deity. The cleric’s magic flows from the god or the god’s sacred realm, and often the cleric bears a holy symbol that represents that deity.
Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one of the nine alignments. The Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these in the “Gods of your World” section of Chapter 1.
Talk with your DM about the divine options available in your campaign, whether they’re gods, pantheons, philosophies, or cosmic forces. Whatever being or thing your cleric ends up serving, choose a Divine Domain that is appropriate for it, and if it doesn’t have a holy symbol, work with your DM to design one.
The cleric’s class features often refer to your deity. If you are devoted to a pantheon, cosmic force, or philosophy, your cleric features still work for you as written. Think of the references to a god as references to the divine thing you serve that gives you your magic.
