Baldur's Gate 3: Death Domain Cleric

Is Death Domain a good subclass for a Cleric? On this page of our Baldur's Gate 3 guide, you will learn key information about Death Domain, including Necromancy spells and Necrotic damage, which your Cleric will be able to use. We have also prepared some tips on creating builds and strategies for a Death Domain character.

• Who is the Death Domain subclass for?
• Most important features of this subclass
• How to play as a Death Cleric?

Who is the Death Domain subclass for?

1. The Death Domain subclass is a perfect choice for a player wanting to play as an armored dark mage. You can choose it at level 1. Death Clerics are some of the most aggressive Clerics, wielding powerful Necromancy spells. They're still Clerics though: they have access to many healing and supportive spells too.
2. One of the biggest problems of a Death Cleric is the need to develop many statistics at once. Wisdom (affects spells) and Constitution (affects health and maintaining concentration) are key, but you also have to choose a third stat: Strength or Dexterity.
3. By choosing Dexterity, you can easily stick to using medium armor, but you will be forced to use finesse weapons, which usually deal less damage than other weapons. By choosing Strength, you can fully indulge in the fantasy of a dark knight wielding a huge sword, hammer, or glaive, but at level 4, you will have to purchase the heavily armored feat to gain proficiency in heavy armor, without which your armor class will be pitifully low.

Most important features of this subclass

1. Death Clerics focus on dealing high Necrotic damage. At level 1, you will receive the False Life and Ray of Enfeeblement spells, and you'll also choose one out of three cantrips - Bone Chill, Bursting Sinew, or Toll the Dead. Choose Bone Chill - Bursting Sinew is too situational, while Toll the Dead is a basic Cleric cantrip that any Cleric can have regardless of their subclass. You can get them both by choosing Bone Chill as a Death Domain cantrip and Toll the Dead as a base Cleric cantrip.
2. At level 1, you will receive Proficiency in all types of military weapons (longswords, greatswords, hammers, polearms, etc.). You will also receive Reaper trait - from now on, your Necromancy cantrips can hurt two targets at once instead of one.
3. At level 2, you will receive your unique Channel Divinity: Touch of Death. By hitting an enemy with a melee attack (not necessarily with a weapon; it could be, for example, an Inflict Wounds spell), you can expend a Channel Divinity charge to deal bonus Necrotic damage. The damage dealt will be equal to twice the level of your Cleric plus 5 (e.g. at level 4 of Cleric, you will deal 13 bonus Necrotic damage).
4. At level 6, you will receive the Inescapable Destruction feature. From now on, your attacks ignore enemy resistances to Necrotic damage. Even if the opponent is resistant to Necrotic damage, they will take full damage if you are the one who inflicted it.
5. At level 8, you will receive the Divine Strike: Necrotic action. From now on, once per turn, when you hit an enemy with a melee weapon (this time you have to use a specific weapon for that), you will deal a bonus 1d8 Necrotic damage.
6. A Death Cleric also receives several spells that are always prepared. At level 3, you will receive Blindness and Ray of Enfeeblement. At level 5, you'll get Animate Dead and Vampiric Touch. At level 7: Blight and Death Ward, and at level 9: Cloudkill and Contagion.

How to play as a Death Cleric?

1. As a Death Cleric, you will mainly focus on dealing high Necrotic damage. You can use the melee weapon of your choice, Inflict Wounds and Spirit Guardians spells as well as the Toll the Dead and Bone Chill cantrips. It's worth equipping both - one requires an attack roll and the other a defensive roll from the opponent, so depending on the enemy, each of them will have a different chance of hitting.
2. Although you are capable of dealing high damage in melee combat, you are not a full-fledged warrior. You still only have one attack per turn, so dedicated physical classes usually deal more damage than you. A Death Cleric still focuses more on magic than on combat, although they can also land a considerable hit in melee combat too, occasionally dealing very high damage thanks to their Channel Divinity. If you want to play as a more conventional dark knight, consider an Oathbreaker Paladin or a Hexblade Warlock.
3. Despite the aesthetics of a dark knight, you are still a Cleric, which means access to one of the best spell lists in the game. Remember to use healing spells and buffs, which you have a wide selection of.

See also

1. Game guide
2. Most important Cleric class info
3. Recommended Cleric spells
4. Best Cleric builds

Baldur's Gate 3

August 3, 2023

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