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InBaldur’s Gate 3, the Death Domain Cleric brings together the strength of the Fighter class and combines it with the darkness of theOathbreaker Paladin.
You have become so twisted with your healing that you choose to bring the dead back to life as your unholy minions.
This version of the Cleric is capable of channeling the power of their deity to use various necromancy spells, turning the tide of battle by enfeebling their foes or bringing past enemies back to life as their minions.
If you want to control the living and have command over the dead, then let’s get to work onbuilding the best Death Domain Cleric in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Best Character Creation Settings for Death Domain Cleric
The Cleric class is one that focuses on healing their allies and being a tank on the battlefield. Of course, some domains are better suited for this role than others. The Death Domain is better suited for buffing allies and debuffing foes while also being a tank.
If you do not wish to create a new character, you can begin the game as Shadowheart and switch her domain later by visiting Withers. Shadowheart begins as a Cleric and is well-suited for the role.
Best Race Selections
When creating your character, you want to think about races that have higher defenses, offer additional spells, or are naturally strong. Several races come to mind that will help the Cleric out the most.
The Drow make good Clerics because they have Superior Darkvision to help navigate dark areas, Fey Ancestry, which grants them advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and they get the Faerie Fire and Darkness spells.
The Duergar also get Superior Darkvision, allowing them to see more easily in dark locations. On top of this, they get advantage on saving throws against being charmed or paralyzed, as well as the Enlarge and Invisibility spells - both of which are useful in combat.
Gold Dwarf
The Gold Dwarves get Darkvision and advantage on saving throws against poison. They also get additional health each time they gain a level.
Asmodeus Tiefling
Tieflings in general get Darkvision and resistance to fire damage. The Asmodeus Tieflings, however, also get access to the Hellish Rebuke and Darkness spells, giving them an edge.
Typically, I tend to play asTieflingsbecause I like having the fire resistance, and the added spells are nice, but I recommendDrowfor the Death Domain Cleric because of the added Faerie Fire and Darkness spells, which can be useful in combat.
I also recommend eitherDuergar or Gold Dwarf.The Duergar get better Darkvision than the Gold Dwarves and can enlarge themselves. They also get the ability to turn invisible, which is useful in a pinch. On the other hand, Gold Dwarves get added health each time they level up, and that is very useful for a tankier class such as the Cleric.
Best Starting Spells
As a Death Domain Cleric, you get three starting cantrips, one Death Domain cantrip, and four starting spells. This gives you some great potential for the start of the game. I recommend starting with the following spells:
Description
Bursting Sinew
Allows you to explode a corpse, damaging those around it.
A staple cantrip that grants the target a bonus on ability checks.
Sacred Flame
Deals radiant damage to the target.
Toll the Dead
Death Domain Cantrip
Deal necrotic damage to an enemy. Deals less damage if the target is at full health.
Inflict Wounds
1st-level spell
Deal heavy necrotic damage to the target.
Guiding Bolt
Deal heavy radiant damage to the target. The next attack made against the target has advantage.
Cure Wounds
Heal a creature that you touch.
Allows you to command a creature to take specific actions.
As a Cleric, you can switch your spells outside of combat, so if any of these are not to your liking, or if you want to try something else out, you can do so easily.
Commandis a great starting spell because it allows you to force opponents to take specific actions, and can be used to get the commander on the Nautiloid to drop his weapon at the start of the game, giving you an edge.
Guidanceis another amazing spell because it can be used outside of combat to enhance almost all of your rolls when interacting with NPCs.Bursting Sinewis a fun cantrip that allows you to explode corpses on the battlefield, and comes in handy in a few chapter one fights.
Best Background/Skills Selections
Clerics are mostly a Wisdom-based class. As such, you will want to stick with theAcolyteorFolk Hero backgrounds, as these offer some great skills that work off your Wisdom stat.
The Acolyte background will give you theInsight and Religion skills,while the Folk Hero background will give you theAnimal Handling and Survival skills.I generally think that Folk Hero is the better option because Animal Handling has plenty of uses in the game, and Survival will allow you to locate buried chests to dig up.
As for your skills,I recommend taking Insight and Medicine.These are both core Cleric skills and will help out at various points in the game. Insight is one of the more helpful skills, as this will allow you to get insight into NPCs and determine if they are lying.
Best Ability Score Choices
Clerics are meant to be spellcasters who heal the party and can tank hits. They are similar to Paladins and can be treated similarly, but remember that they have plenty of ranged spell options.
Constitution
Intelligence
Similar to the Druid and Ranger classes, the Cleric is a Wisdom caster, meaning they need ahigher Wisdom scoreto cast spells effectively. Because of this, yourWisdom score should be 17. Along with this,I set Strength to 14,since I know that the Cleric will be a front-line fighter at times.
After this,Dexterity is 12since a Cleric will most likely be using medium armor that allows for a Dexterity bonus to be applied. Next up,Constitution at 12so that we get a little extra health.
Charisma is 13because I will ultimately do most of the talking, and I don’t want to fail every check. This leavesIntelligence at 8as the dump stat since Clerics don’t use it very much.
Death Domain Cleric Abilities/Feats
Death Domain Clerics get interesting abilities that allow them to deal additional necrotic damage to their foes. They can also target additional creatures with their necrotic spells. On top of this, they also get various spells from their domain that make it more worthwhile.
You can target an additional creature with your necromancy cantrips that typically target one creature.
Channel Divinity: Touch of Death
you may deal additional necrotic damage to creatures you hit with a melee attack.
Inescapable Destruction
Damage you deal ignores resistance to necrotic damage.
Divine Strike: Necrotic
Deal additional necrotic damage when you make a melee attack once per turn.
Domain Spells
As part of your domain, you are granted the following spells: Bone Chill, Bursting Sinew, Toll the Dead, False Life, Ray of Sickness, Blindness, Ray of Enfeeblement, Animate Dead, Vampiric Touch, Blight, Death Ward, Cloudkill, Contagion.
Your Channel Divinity allows you to deal extra necrotic damage, and you get additional damage from your Divine Strike. On top of this,you can ignore resistance to necrotic damage, making the Death Domain Cleric very powerful.
To complement your abilities, you will want to choose Feats that match the play style of the Cleric and enhance it.
Heavily Armored
Raises Strength by 1 and grants proficiency with heavy armor.
Ability Score Improvement
Used to raise Strength and Wisdom each by 1 for a total of 18 Wisdom and 16 Strength.
Savage Attacker
Roll your damage twice and take the higher result.
Gain 2 extra health per level gained.
The Heavily Armored Feat will allow you to make your character stronger by giving them heavy armor proficiency. This will increase their armor class, making them more difficult to hit. Using theAbility Score Improvementto raise both Strength and Wisdom afterward will increase your Strength to 16 and your Wisdom to 18, making it easier to hit enemies with attacks and spells.
Savage Attackeris another great Feat that will allow you to hit enemies harder. Finally, theToughFeat can be taken instead of Savage Attacker if you want more health. You can also choose to take theHeavy Armor Master Feat,as this will decrease the damage you are dealt, but it ultimately isn’t as effective as the others.
Death Domain Cleric Spell Choices
As a Cleric, you always have access to yourfull spell listto switch out your spells at any time. That is what is great about a prepared spellcaster. However, there are spells that I believe should always be prepared that will aid you in battle.
The creature cannot be targeted by enemies, and it cannot attack.
Prayer of Healing
2nd-level spell
Heal all allies within an area.
Spiritual Weapon
Summons a weapon that fights alongside your party.
Spirit Guardians
3rd-level spell
Surrounds you with spirit guardians that damage enemies that get within range.
Revive an ally with 1hp.
Bestow Curse
Curse a creature. They receive disadvantage on saving throws or attacks. You deal additional damage to the target.
Mass Healing Word
Heal all nearby allies.
Freedom of Movement
4th-level spell
Snap an ally out of stun. Allows the target to ignore difficult terrain and avoid being paralyzed or restrained.
Mass Cure Wounds
5th-level spell
Heal up to five nearby targets.
Insect Plague
Call forth locusts to attack an area, creating difficult terrain and damaging all creatures caught within.
Flame Strike
Call down a pillar of holy fire.
Planar Ally
6th-level spell
Call forth an ally from another plane.
Reduce the target’s maximum hit points.
The Death Domain Cleric gets access to some powerful spells. With the ability to bring the dead back to life as allies viaAnimate Deadand the ability to summon allies via thePlanar Allyspell, you will have additional creatures to aid you in battle. You can also summon aSpiritual Weaponas another ally.
One of the best spells you have access to isSpirit Guardians.This 3rd-level spell surrounds you with guardians that damage enemies that get within range. You can use this ability to damage enemies as you move across the battlefield as well.
As a Cleric, you should hang onto healing spells such asMass Cure Wounds, Cure Wounds, Mass Healing Word, and Revivify.These will all help keep your party alive, and Revivify will allow you to revive your fallen allies. Of course, you can forgo Revivify and take another spell if you have enough scrolls.
Sanctuaryis another useful spell for when you need to keep an NPC alive or if an ally is in desperate need of healing, and you want to keep them alive for a few turns.
Best Equipment for Death Domain Cleric
There are plenty of weapons and armor to be excited about for the Cleric, especially when you’re able to use heavy armor.
Speaking of which, one of the best armors for the Cleric is theHelldusk Armor,which doesn’t require proficiency to wear, allowing you to use a different Feat than Heavily Armored.
Selûne’s Spear of Night
Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws. Grants Darkvision. Grants the Moonbeam spell. Grants the Moonmote ability.
The Sacred Star
Inflict Radiating Orb on a hit. Hits possibly turn undead creatures. Deal additional radiant damage equal to your proficiency bonus. On a hit, light erupts around you, and enemies must succeed on a saving throw or be blinded.
The Blood of Lathander
When hit points reach 0, regain 2-12 hit points once per long rest. Sheds light in a 6m area. Undead and fiends caught in the light are blinded. Grants the Sunbeam spell.
Viconia’s Walking Fortress
Use your reaction to knock back foes and deal 2-8 damage. +3 bonus to armor class. Grants the Reflective Spell class action. Grants the Warding Bond spell.
Shield of Devotion
Gain an additional level 1 spell slot. Grants the Aid spell. +2 bonus to armor class.
Reaper’s Embrace
Reduces incoming damage by 2. Prevents you from being moved while the Reaper’s Rigidity skill is active. Grants the Howl of the Dead cantrip.
Helldusk Armor
Grants the Fly spell. Burns a target for 3 turns when you succeed a saving throw. Grants fire resistance and reduces damage by 3.
Hood of the Weave
+2 bonus to spell save DC and spell attack rolls.
Mask of Soul Perception
+2 bonus to attack rolls, initiative rolls, and perception checks.
Helm of the Balduran
Heal 2 hit points every turn. +1 bonus to armor class and saving throws. Can’t be stunned. Attackers can’t land critical hits.
Boots of Persistence
Grants Freedom of Movement and Longstrider.
Vital Conduit Boots
Gain 8 temporary hit points whenever you cast a concentration spell.
Evasive Shoes
Acrobatics +1. Armor Class +1.
Cloak of Protection
Armor Class +1. Saving Throw +1.
Nymph Cloak
Grants the Dominate Person spell.
Cloak of Displacement
The cloak gives enemies disadvantage when attacking you until you are hit each turn.
Craterflesh Gloves
Deal an additional 1-6 force damage when you score a critical hit.
Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength
Increases strength to 23.
Helldusk Gloves
+1 bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DC. Weapon attacks deal an additional 1-6 fire damage. Grants Rays of Fire spell.
Legacy of the Masters
+2 bonus to attack and damage rolls with weapons.
One of the best weapons for the Cleric can be obtained during Act 1, and it is theBlood of Lathander.This weapon grants you the Sunbeam spell, and also blinds the undead. It can also revive you if you should be defeated, a useful tool throughout the campaign.
If you decide that you would rather use a spear, Selune’s Spear of Night is a great choice, as well asThe Sacred Star,if you would rather use a morningstar.The Sacred Staris great because it applies Radiating Orb, which decreases the target’s attack rolls by 1.
In your off-hand,Viconia’s Walking Fortresswill grant you a higher armor class and also allows you to topple foes while dealing damage to them.You can also use the Shield of Devotionto get an extra spell slot, which is always useful in combat.
I recommend using the Helldusk Armoras it is one of the best armors in the game. It will also grant you the Fly spell, allowing you to maneuver around the battlefield with ease. Of course, if you’d rather have this armor on yourOath of the Crown Paladin, you can use theReaper’s Embrace armor instead.
The best helmet will be the Balduran Helmetbecause it heals you for 2 hit points every turn. TheMask of Soul Perceptionis also great because it will give you a +2 bonus to your attack rolls.
If you find yourself using many concentration spells, which often happens, theVital Conduit Bootswill give you temporary hit points. You should be using Spirit Guardians in combat, so this will help get you additional health when that spell is cast.
If you would rather use a different pair of boots, theBoots of Persistence will offer you Freedom of Movement and prevent difficult terrain from bothering you.TheCloak of Displacementis great for any class and will help prevent you from getting hit. Combine this with a high armor class, and it will be very difficult to hit you.
Of course, if you would rather give the cloak to another party member,the Nymph Cloakwill allow you to cast Dominate Person, granting you an additional ally for a short time.I recommend using Legacy of the Mastersbecause of the +2 bonus to attack rolls, but theGauntlets of Hill Giant Strengthwill also provide an additional strength bonus, and apply the bonus to your damage.
