Subclass Cleric Grave Domain
The Grave Domain is a support and control hybrid Cleric subclass: Path to the Grave curses an enemy with Disadvantage on saves and attacks, and lets an ally's hit against it detonate for bonus damage; Circle of Mortality adds flat healing to downed allies and gives Spare the Dying a Bonus Action; and Sentinel at Death's Door halves an incoming hit against anyone below half HP.
| LEVEL | FEATURE |
|---|---|
| 3 | Grave Domain Spells, Circle of Mortality, Path to the Grave, Pull of Death |
| 5 | Grave Domain Spells (expanded) |
| 6 | Sentinel at Death's Door |
| 7 | Grave Domain Spells (expanded) |
| 9 | Grave Domain Spells (expanded) |
Your Domain grants an expanding spell list that is always prepared and doesn't count against your limit. Spells are added at Cleric levels 3, 5, 7, and 9:
| CLERIC LEVEL | SPELLS ADDED |
|---|---|
| 3 | Protection from Evil and Good, False Life, Lesser Restoration, Ray of Enfeeblement, Spare the Dying |
| 5 | Revivify, Vampiric Touch |
| 7 | Blight, Death Ward |
| 9 | Dispel Evil and Good, Mass Cure Wounds |
11 spells total — a toolkit that spans healing, protection, debuffing, and resurrection.
When you heal a creature that is Downed (at 0 HP), it regains an extra HP equal to your Cleric level, on top of whatever the healing spell itself restores. This also unlocks Spare the Dying as a Bonus Action spell.
- Applies whenever you heal a Downed creature — no dice are maximized, it's a flat bonus HP amount
- Completely passive; no action cost for the bonus healing itself
Channel Divinity option. As a Bonus Action, you curse a creature you can see within 9 meters (~30 ft).
- Effect: The cursed creature has Disadvantage on all saving throws and all its own attack rolls until the start of your next turn.
- Payoff: The first time a nearby ally's attack hits the cursed creature, you get a Reaction prompt to detonate the curse for a burst of extra damage (your choice of Radiant or Necrotic, equal to your Cleric level) on that hit. This consumes the curse.
Path to the Grave is a debuff-then-detonate tool, not a guaranteed-critical button — it weakens the target's defenses first, then lets you convert your allies' follow-up hit into bonus damage.
A fully passive, automatic effect — there's nothing to activate. Once per turn, when you deal damage to a creature at or below 50% of its max HP, you deal bonus Necrotic damage:
| CLERIC LEVEL | PULL OF DEATH DAMAGE |
|---|---|
| 3–10 | 1d4 necrotic |
| 11+ | 1d6 necrotic |
Because it triggers on any damage you deal (weapon or spell) against a bloodied target, it rewards focusing damage on enemies you've already worn down rather than spreading it around.
A new action resource of its own. You start with 1 charge, plus 1 more for each Wisdom score breakpoint you cross (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24), for up to 7 total at 24 Wisdom. Charges refresh on a Long Rest.
Interrupt — Sentinel at Death's Door:
- Trigger: You or an ally within 18 meters (~60 ft), already at or below 50% HP, is about to be hit by any attack — not specifically a critical hit
- Cost: 1 Sentinel charge + your Reaction
- Effect: That hit's damage is halved
This isn't a crit-negation tool — it's a general damage-mitigation Reaction for anyone already bloodied, usable against any hit (crit or not) that could push them closer to death.
The Grave Domain is a battlefield controller disguised as a support Cleric. Your core loop:
- Path to the Grave — curse a priority target so its saves and attacks suffer Disadvantage
- Let your party hit it — the first ally attack that lands lets you detonate the curse for bonus Radiant or Necrotic damage
- Pull of Death — passively adds necrotic damage whenever you hit a target that's already below half HP, once per turn, no activation needed
- Circle of Mortality — when allies drop, your healing brings back extra flat HP, and Spare the Dying becomes a Bonus Action
- Sentinel at Death's Door — when any hit threatens an already-bloodied ally, spend a charge to halve that hit's damage
The Grave Domain rewards tracking HP states — who's below 50% for Pull of Death and Sentinel, and who's cursed and ready to be detonated.