Cleric

# Cleric Class Details

Arms and eyes upraised toward the sun and a prayer on his lips, an
elf begins to glow with an inner light that spills out to heal his
battle-worn companions.

Chanting a song of glory, a dwarf swings his axe in wide swaths to
cut through the ranks of orcs arrayed against him, shouting praise to
the gods with every foe’s fall.

Calling down a curse upon the forces of undeath, a human lifts her
holy symbol as light pours from it to drive back the zombies crowding in
 on her companions.

Clerics are intermediaries between the mortal world and the distant
planes of the gods. As varied as the gods they serve, clerics strive to
embody the handiwork of their deities. No ordinary priest, a cleric is
imbued with divine magic.

## Healers and Warriors

Divine magic, as the name suggests, is the power of the gods, flowing
 from them into the world. Clerics are conduits for that power,
manifesting it as miraculous effects. The gods don’t grant this power to
 everyone who seeks it, but only to those chosen to fulfill a high
calling.

Harnessing divine magic doesn’t rely on study or training. A cleric
might learn formulaic prayers and ancient rites, but the ability to cast
 cleric spells relies on devotion and an intuitive sense of a deity’s
wishes.

Clerics combine the helpful magic of healing and inspiring their
allies with spells that harm and hinder foes. They can provoke awe and
dread, lay curses of plague or poison, and even call down flames from
heaven to consume their enemies. For those evildoers who will benefit
most from a mace to the head, clerics depend on their combat training to
 let them wade into melee with the power of the gods on their side.

## Divine Agents

Not every acolyte or officiant at a temple or shrine is a cleric.
Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out
 their gods’ will through prayer and sacrifice, not by magic and
strength of arms. In some cities, priesthood amounts to a political
office, viewed as a stepping stone to higher positions of authority and
involving no communion with a god at all. True clerics are rare in most
hierarchies.

When a cleric takes up an adventuring life, it is usually because his
 or her god demands it. Pursuing the goals of the gods often involves
braving dangers beyond the walls of civilization, smiting evil or
seeking holy relics in ancient tombs. Many clerics are also expected to
protect their deities’ worshipers, which can mean fighting rampaging
orcs, negotiating peace between warring nations, or sealing a portal
that would allow a demon prince to enter the world.

Most adventuring clerics maintain some connection to established
temples and orders of their faiths. A temple might ask for a cleric’s
aid, or a high priest might be in a position to demand it.

## Creating a Cleric

As you create a cleric, the most important question to consider is
which deity to serve and what principles you want your character to
embody. The Gods of the Multiverse section includes lists of many of the gods of the multiverse. Check with your DM to learn which deities are in your campaign.

Once you’ve chosen a deity, consider your cleric’s relationship to
that god. Did you enter this service willingly? Or did the god choose
you, impelling you into service with no regard for your wishes? How do
the temple priests of your faith regard you: as a champion or a
troublemaker? What are your ultimate goals? Does your deity have a
special task in mind for you? Or are you striving to prove yourself
worthy of a great quest?

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## Class Features

As a cleric, you gain the following class features.

### Hit Points

**Hit Dice:** 1d8 per cleric level
**Hit Points at 1st Level:** 8 + your Constitution modifier
**Hit Points at Higher Levels:** 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per cleric level after 1st

### Proficiencies

**Armor:** Light armor, medium armor, shields
**Weapons:** Simple weapons
**Tools:** None
**Saving Throws:** Wisdom, Charisma
**Skills:** Choose two from History, Insight, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion

### Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

* (a) a mace or (b) a warhammer (if proficient)
* (a) scale mail, (b) leather armor, or (c) chain mail (if proficient)
* (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
* (a) a priest’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
* A shield and a holy symbol

### Spellcasting

As a conduit for divine power, you can cast cleric spells. See Spells Rules for the general rules of spellcasting and the Spells Listing for the cleric spell list.

##### 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 and Casting Spells

The Cleric table shows how many spell
slots you have to cast your cleric 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 (see the Adventuring Gear section) as a spellcasting focus for your cleric spells.

### Divine Domain

Choose one domain
related to your deity: Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest,
Trickery, or War. The Life domain is detailed at the end of the class
description and provides examples of gods associated with it. See the *Player’s Handbook*
 for details on all the domains.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.

##### Channel Divinity: 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.

### 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.
Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

### Destroy Undead

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.

#### Destroy Undead Table

 8th
 11th
 14th
 17th

### 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.