Subclass Cleric Shadow Domain
The Shadow Domain is a Cleric subclass built around darkness, stealth, and control. Its Level 3 features establish a strong identity immediately: Cover of Night turns you into a capable scout with bonus-action Hide, Lengthen Shadow extends every touch spell on your list to 15 feet, and Shadow Grasp gives you a Channel Divinity that restrains an enemy in place. At Level 6, Fade to Black adds a renewable source of bonus-action invisibility that scales with Wisdom.
The Shadow Domain is the only Cleric subclass with a meaningful Stealth investment.
| LEVEL | FEATURE |
|---|---|
| 3 | Shadow Domain Spells, Cover of Night, Lengthen Shadow, Shadow Grasp |
| 5 | Shadow Domain Spells (expanded) |
| 6 | Fade to Black |
| 7 | Shadow Domain Spells (expanded) |
| 9 | Shadow Domain Spells (expanded) |
Your Domain grants an expanding spell list that is always prepared and doesn't count against your limit:
| CLERIC LEVEL | SPELLS ADDED |
|---|---|
| 3 | Bane, False Life, Blindness, Darkness |
| 5 | Blink, Fear |
| 7 | Black Tentacles, Greater Invisibility |
| 9 | Cone of Cold, Dream |
10 spells total. The Level 3 list lays a control foundation — Bane imposes Disadvantage on attacks and saves, Darkness denies vision entirely, Blindness imposes the Blinded condition, and False Life gives emergency temporary hit points. Blink at Level 5 makes you temporarily untargetable each turn on a coin flip. Greater Invisibility at Level 7 is one of the strongest Advantage-granting effects in the game. Cone of Cold at Level 9 adds rare cold-damage AoE to the Cleric's toolkit.
A passive that triggers immediately on taking this Domain:
- Stealth Proficiency — You gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.
- Darkvision — You gain Darkvision out to 12 meters.
- Bonus Action Hide — You can use your Bonus Action to Hide each turn.
Cover of Night makes the Shadow Domain Cleric a viable solo scout. Stealth proficiency + Darkvision means you can operate in darkness that most enemies can't see through, and the bonus-action Hide lets you maintain or re-enter a hidden state without sacrificing your main action.
The Hide action is unlocked as a Shout spell using a Bonus Action cost — it follows the same target conditions as regular Hide, including the requirement to break line of sight.
A passive that modifies all of your touch spells:
When you cast a Cleric spell with a range of Touch, your shadow extends the delivery range. The spell's effective range increases to 15 feet (4.5 meters), and the Melee restriction is removed — you can deliver the spell without being adjacent to the target.
This applies to any touch spell in your Cleric spell list and your Domain spell list, including spells cast through your other features. The extension works even if you are in an area where you cast no shadow.
Lengthen Shadow turns Inflict Wounds, Touch of Death, and other touch spells into viable ranged options without spending a feat on War Caster or Spell Sniper. At range 4.5m, you stay out of opportunity attack range while still landing the spell.
Your Channel Divinity option at Level 3. As an Action, you target one creature you can see within 9 meters (30 feet) and cause its shadow to seize it in place.
UseCosts: ActionPoint:1;ChannelDivinity:1
TargetConditions: not Self() and not Dead()
SpellProperties: ApplyStatus(SHADOW_GRASP,100,2)
SHADOW_GRASP applies the Restrained condition for 2 turns:
- The target's Speed becomes 0
- Attack rolls against the target have Advantage
- The target's attack rolls have Disadvantage
- The target has Disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws
The Restrained condition is one of the strongest control effects in the game — it stops movement entirely while also imposing Disadvantage on the target's attacks and Dexterity saves. Combined with spells like Bane (already on your Domain list), a restrained enemy is both slowed and weakened on their own turn.
Shadow Grasp costs your Action and one Channel Divinity charge. Channel Divinity refreshes on Short Rest at Level 2, so this is available at least once per short rest.
At Level 6, you learn to step fully into shadow as a Bonus Action. You can use your Bonus Action to turn invisible for 10 turns (1 minute of combat time).
UseCosts: BonusActionPoint:1;FadeToBlack:1
SpellFlags: Stealth;Invisible
TargetConditions: Self() and not HasStatus('FAERIE_FIRE')
The number of uses equals your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). This is tracked as a dedicated action resource — Fade to Black — that appears on the action resource panel and replenishes on Long Rest.
| WISDOM SCORE | FADE TO BLACK USES |
|---|---|
| 13 or lower | 1 |
| 14–15 | 2 |
| 16–17 | 3 |
| 18–19 | 4 |
| 20–21 | 5 |
| 22–23 | 6 |
| 24+ | 7 |
Restrictions:
- Cannot be used while affected by Faerie Fire (which suppresses invisibility)
- The invisibility breaks when you attack or cast a spell (standard invisibility rules)
At a typical Level 6 Wisdom of 18–20 (modifier +4 to +5), you get 4–5 uses per Long Rest. This is a significant resource — bonus-action invisibility removes you as a target repeatedly across a long adventuring day. Unlike other invisibility sources, it doesn't cost a spell slot.
The Shadow Domain is a control and stealth subclass that operates in darkness more effectively than any other Cleric. Its features stack into a coherent identity:
Level 3 identity:
- Cover of Night establishes your position as the stealth-capable Cleric — darkvision, Stealth proficiency, and bonus-action Hide mean you can operate in the dark and maintain hidden status without sacrificing your action economy
- Lengthen Shadow passively upgrades every touch spell you own; it's always active and costs nothing
- Shadow Grasp gives you a Channel Divinity that locks an enemy in place; pair it with a follow-up concentration spell like Bane or Blindness for a strong opening
Level 6 upgrade:
- Fade to Black adds renewable invisibility on a Bonus Action, costing no spell slot; at higher Wisdom, this is available multiple times per day
- Invisible Clerics are hard to pin down — go invisible after casting concentration spells to make it harder for enemies to target you and break concentration
Domain spell usage:
- Darkness at Level 3 is both a zoning tool and a personal escape — you have darkvision to see through it, many enemies do not
- Blink at Level 5 makes you untargetable every other turn on a d20 roll; combine with Fade to Black for sustained survivability
- Greater Invisibility at Level 7 is always prepared and provides Advantage on all your attack rolls and Disadvantage on all attacks targeting you simultaneously; this is one of the strongest Level 7 always-prepared spells in the game