Arcana Cleric - D&D 5e Subclass Series

[@URGE]

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[@clarkside4493]

I wonder, say a _haste_ spell on an ally ends earlier than expected. Could you use a _mass cure wounds_ or a scaled up _healing word_ to end that spell's drawback?

[@christiandaxton6285]

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[@kodaharlan3053]

@Christian Daxton instablaster :)

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[@christiandaxton6285]

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[@0215YK]

Arcana clerics are the definition of exponential power, crazy how strong they get as levels go up.

[@Reluxthelegend]

In my setting, The lore origin for Arcana Clerics are employed by the Arcane Council(an international organization set to combat the misuse of magic) to help deal with problems of religious, divine, etc. variety. instead of being just clerics that worship a god of magic.

[@clarkside4493]

For a minute there, I got excited to try and end a spell buffing an enemy by casting a _healing word_ on them, but the class feature specifies allies.

[@fenrykbel7970]

When I see this subclass I visualise a cleric very aware of the different planes of existence. Kepping the balance between those planes. If I have one thing to say about this class, it's that Arcana mastery could be applied for each level of spell individualy. So 6th at lvl 11, 7th at lvl 13, 8th at lvl 15 and 9th at lvl 17.

[@davidstratton696]

That would be so much better with what u said about Arcana mastery.

[@IMXLegedaryBard]

Honestly one of my top three favorite Cleric subclasses. Besides how cool most of their abilities are, just the lore and rp potential you have is awesome. Thanks guys for keeping me entertained through all of covid, hope you two are doing well and still able to play even with all this craziness

[@Cann0n_balI]

Favorite Cleric domain by far 😁

[@D4rkW4ri0]

High Elf + Arcana Cleric + magic iniate= Get all the cantrips

[@MassiveKreutz]

It's great to see you progressively thaw out more each video, you're really likeable! Personality drives any entertainment industry, so let yours shine ;)

[@cregg1926]

Wizard but instead of a nerd, you're a priest. I like it

[@David_Here]

Loving your subclass reviews. Alot of this has helped me put the mechanical part of dnd in better perspective. I've always just focused on roll play and I realize now I may have been more of a hindrance on my parties in combat because of it. Sorry for the novel your videos have just been helping me to be better about that. So thanks.

[@navinate]

Love the in-depth look and commentary on how these subclasses might look in an actual game!

[@paulgarrison]

Looking forward to your videos on Tasha’s classes!

[@jwuphoff]

I was always unsure about this cleric subclass but you guys have opened my eyes!

[@binolombardi]

There is the potential with the right set up to do quite a bit of damage with certain cantrips. An arcane cleric that chooses green flame blade can add their wisdom modifier multiple that same casting. Pick up shillelagh with Magic initiate and you have quite a spread of damage potential focused entirely new wisdom. 2d8+(wis modX2) to the first creature with a potential 1d8+(wis modX2) is pretty juicy at level 8. That’s roughly 25.5 to 29.5 average damage if there are two creatures. With the ability to throw in a spiritual weapon afterward if needed. At level 8. It may also be worth noting that there if tashas drops with the cleric class improvement of adding a 1d8 to a spells damage roll being an option at level 8, magic missiles power on this class will be substantially more powerful. (Totally missed you talking bout this in the video) A point of focus about the spell breaker ability, it can be used on multiple targets at once. As such prayer of healing, mass healing word, mass cure wounds, and mass heal make this ability much more powerful. This is something that the dispel magic spell simply cannot do. Although it’s an very high level, the potential to cast forcecage around creatures and destroy them with sacred flame(bypasses cover) is pretty strong. Another good use to a the synergy of the contingency spell, combined with the powerful healing spells provided by the cleric spell list. Lesser restoration, greater restoration, revivify, a 2nd death ward, a remove curse, or simply an up caster cure wounds could all prove useful with a bit of planning and insight. Contingency with mass cure wounds would also allow for you to heal yourself and others without giving up an action in combat when the situation is dire. Simulacrum and wish would just be ridiculous... Free arcana proficiency lets you make spell scrolls if you have downtime and money.

[@davidstratton696]

U could get booming blade instead (or u can get both cause both r really good) and then pick up Polearm mastery and Warcaster and when an enemy comes within 5ft of u can cast booming blade when they do so (10ft if u get that one feat that increases the range of a cantrip and a reach weapon or something). I’m actually doing this with my Land druid/Arcana cleric (so I already have shillelagh) where I have/will be getting Polearm mastery, Warcaster, and Mobile. So I can do a hit and run with Booming Blade, and if the enemy moves from that spot (which I’m no longer near them so they very well might) they take the extra dmg from Booming Blade, then if they come near me I get an basically do it again (this time without the extra dmg from moving most likely). Even if the enemy doesn’t move your still controlling that enemies movement which is still amazing. Also Booming Blade would active potent spellcasting twice too but only if the enemy moves. Booming blade is better against single target dmg where as green flame blade is better against two enemies right by one another. I love both the spells but I’d say Booming Blade is better cause the enemies won’t always be right by each other. FYI Booming Blade is actually my fave cantrip.

[@pokoh1267]

Haven't played asmuch of the spellcasting classes, so these vids get me excited to try

[@insertphrasehere15]

The thing you missed is taking Magic Initiate (Druid) for Slillelagh. This fixes everything about the arcana domain and turns the 'no heavy armour' disadvantage into a SAD masterpiece and you get the full advantage of the SCAG cantrips. Basically now you can dump Strength entirely, have 14 dex and max your wisdom which is then used for everything. Feats aren't free, but you get a lot here, Thorn Whip is another great Druid cantrip that can drag people into Spirit Guardians for double damage, and you can pick up Absorb Elements for better survivability. Also, I like preparing Mass Healing Word for Spellbreaker. The key to Spellbreaker is that it does not limit the number of creatures that you can dispel when you heal if you are healing multiple creatures, meaning that you can potentially dispel a debuff that hit your entire party with a single spell slot and only a bonus action! At the same time you can get anyone up who is down, and drop a bit of healing on everybody at the same time. Holy action economy Batman! While it may be circumstantial, it makes Arcana Clerics the best magic dispelling characters in the game.

[@Chickennipp1e]

I really like the idea of dipping into this with my monk

[@elinamauno8833]

Great content, and nice to see a video where I pretty much agree with your view on the subclass to a t XD

[@dripskylark6054]

I love this subclass dude. Second favorite subclass for my second favorite class

[@Darkningvolt]

Arcane Cleric at level 5 with it channel divinity is super fun

[@frankyquilavafireblast895]

And with that they have covered every domain, I’m so proud of you guys I was actually taking a look at this domain a couple days ago and was doing a bit of theory crafting. My idea was variant half elf, specifically high elf, take prestidigitation as your freebie from being a high elf take booming blade and fire bolt from the two free ones that count as Kleric spells. Being a high elf you would have proficiency in the long sword, so regardless of what distance you are, Malay or ranged you’re going to be doing quite a lot of damage with your cantrips especially after level eight with potent spellcasting and the powers of the cantrips increasing I did half elf specifically for the two ability scores that you can put anywhere, preferably intelligence and wisdom so you can actually make good use of your free arcana skill, wisdom for spellcasting and Charisma is always nice to have; my own Asterix is that this might be outdated when Tosha comes up but it was just an idea Alternatively you can just do pure high elf for dexterity and a higher armor class since you’ll be relying on dexterity in scale mail Alternatively still, variant human with war caster

[@alexfalcone8963]

Definitely one of my favorite subclasses period

[@morganpetros9635]

Actually, *Wish* is the 9th-level spell every cleric wants, not Meteor Swarm ... ;) and it takes so long to get to 17th that most campaigns never get that far. Also, *NO* cleric gets anything between 8th and 17th level, particularly those who get stuck with (ugh) Potent Cantrip. Still, I love this subclass. ;)

[@prophetisaiah08]

This is actually one of my favourite cleric domains. The addition of wizard cantrips with the potent spellcasting actually makes a really good cantrip blaster. The big thing with the cleric/wizard mashup is that clerics have some of the best bonus action and concentration based damage spells in the game, but their cantrips are pretty weak by comparison to the wizard. This domain fixes that really well. Being able to follow up Spirit Guardians with an upcast Spiritual Weapon attack and a Fire Bolt every turn is actually some really decent damage output, especially from level 8 and up.

[@ladyvictoria820]

Mine too! Hi five!

[@HumanKatamari]

So many ideas for role-playing an arcana cleric. I like it when a subclass changes the basic nature of the original class.

[@davidstratton696]

Completely agree. My fave subclasses r Arcane tricksters, Arcana clerics, oathbreaker, Kensei, and bladesinger (bladesinger being my overall fave). I think those could all fall into that category. Correct me if I’m wrong.

[@desmondfalakei7108]

This is one subclass I’d often overlooked, as it seemed to be wizard light. I think of the divine sorcerer here too, and wonder if there is a multi class option there..

[@necromancersplayground8053]

Sweet, sounds like it would be really fun to play

[@mikeleonard5713]

It's a nice good cleric with some interesting situational options. They won't always be useful, but when they are, holy crap they're amazing. And that level 17 ability is so good! I want to play one, but I need to finish the campaign with my grave cleric first. I like clerics.

[@frankyquilavafireblast895]

Welcome my fellow domain brother

[@effretibooyag7837]

With the new tashas spells, taking mind sliver and sapping sting can help give martial and spell casting party memebers, making you the ultimate combat suppourt. I took fey touched to add onto this, and with hex you can actually deal consistent damage and offer utility

[@matthewwoods632]

Hmm this is more interesting than I thought it would be. I came in thinking magikier cleric, now I’m thinking very wizardy cleric and kinda liking it

[@liamfitzgerald1400]

The more Int-based stuff in the world, the better. Also the more I look at Clerics, the cooler they seem.

[@lordofbread468]

I LOVE this subclass!

[@Beardaniels]

This might be my favorite cleric subclass, it's so cool!

[@macenanoro826]

When you want to play an intelligence-focused (at least in RP) character, but the game needs a heal bot.

[@lucasrogers1842]

The dynamic of this character and another cleric or wizard would be interesting

[@NobodyDungeons]

With potent casting you can turn fire bolt into a fire damage eldritch blast which is fun.

[@Gladerunner2113]

As many have pointed out, Arcana Cleric came with SCAG, which makes it particularly good with the SCAG cantrips - Booming Blade and Green-Flame Blade, as well as any Wizard cantrips that can hit more than one enemy (Acid Splash, Sword Burst, etc). One interesting thing is that Divine Intervention - though it takes many forms up to your DM - does state that any spell on your Cleric domain list is an appropriate request, so any of the Arcane Mastery spells are fair game (namely, Wish).

[@toddshirley7055]

Thanks for reviewing this - I've been curious about it but always viewed it as an unnecessary hybrid. But I do like the benefit at 8th level!

[@robbyhill4891]

Love the videos guys!!

[@lordmeruem6759]

Havent played cleric yet, been lookin into it

[@aidanoreilly6948]

I like the combat assessment, could be amazing but not all the time! Cool subclass, despite the middle-of-the-road power level!

[@alexfalcone8963]

What an awesome subclass. This is so interesting and unique i love it. Imagine taking this subclass and then multiclassing into a wizard subclass to support those arcane spells you get for free. So many possibilities and such a supportive subclass

[@marcwells942]

This domain feels really low power early game, and super OP late game. Although, you bring up really good points about the cantrips. I do really love the flavor of this, though.

[@DRisky49]

The new Crusher feat is going to propel the Arcana cleric pretty far. Grab the melee cantrips and use a mace to knock enemies around to almost guarantee the secondary damage procs each round...and potent spell casting at level 6 will add Wis to damage which bring avg damage up with extra attack classes GFB by knocking an enemy next to a nearby enemy. BB by knocking them away from you and forcing them to willingly step back up to you and take the extra damage on their turn Add Polearm master and war caster and a quarter staff and you be able to get a full BB damage off with one reaction since you would resolve your AoO from PAM before the enemy finishes their turn

[@TRosati26]

I need to check the cleric out!

[@jasonnguyen350]

Keep up the good work more subclass reviews

[@hopefulmayhem5744]

Theys super cool at high levels.

[@douglaspatrick868]

So I fairly recently started a new campaign with a old tablemate of almost twenty years running where I'm the only PC who isn't either essentially or in actuality brand spanking new to TTRPGs. I ended up going high elf arcana domain cleric because I was worried about our party composition hamstringing us badly over the early and most of the mid-tier levels of play, if it would have functioned at all game mechanics wise. (two monks and an assassin rogue other than me) The subclass is an absolute blast to play, period. It has great utility both in and out of combat and the way you get dramatically better at almost every level from a pure game mechanics standpoint is hard not get ridiculously excited about and break into manic happy dances at random over. I haven't been this excited about leveling a character since I was a elementary school kid in the mid nineties cutting my own teeth playing AD&D with my Dad, Uncle, and a few of their VERY patient friends, haha! I'm all but foaming at the mouth waiting to hit double digit levels when things really open up and get crazy. 😎

[@Hesauce]

My brother has been looking to play an Arcana Cleric for our upcoming Descent into Avernus game, mostly because people keep telling him to try a cleric out but he still wants his magic missiles

[@D4rkW4ri0]

Heal with a healing word at lv2 the enemy whos getting Hasted, end the spell, enemy losses they're turn

[@paulh3892]

Whoa! 🤯

[@scarystones9738]

I have actually never played as a cleric... but this is the subclass I would choose if I ever do.

[@LordTonzilla]

Wow. I don't even know how to comment on this one because of all the possibilities from the wizard spell list.

[@richardn6749]

The best thing about this subclass is that you don't really need a mage in the party anymore

[@90Fuga]

Clerics can have realy good AC with medium armor (in my example i take the mace as starting equipment). Pick the cantrip "booming blade". At 4th level (or with human extra feat) get the "crusher" feat. With "crusher" you can force a creature 5 feat as part of a hit with your mace. Round 1 Cast Spirit Guardians (1A= concentration spell; 3d8 radiant/necrotic damage in a 15 feet radius around you that slows enemies down) Round 2 Use Spiritual Weapon (1BA= 1d8+wisdom modifier)+Booming Blade (1A= 1d6 bludgeoning damage from the mace+ 1d8 thunder damage if he moves) 3d8 x the amount of enemies in it + 1d8+ 1d6+ 1d8 if the target moves. That is every round with just one 3rd and one 2nd spellslot. It gets even better with the progression of your cantrips at 5th, 11th and 17th level+ the potent spellcasting which ads your wisdom modifier to your cantrip damage. You will probably become a huge target for all enemies around you as they try to break your concentration. So if they have a high Hit modifier you may be better to take the dodge action.

[@joshuapicaro8726]

Potent Spell casting gives booming blade bonus damage twice.

[@davidstratton696]

Damn right it does!! Definitely my fave cantrip!!

[@MATABEI]

With the forced action fear and ability to get higher level wizard spells, all while keeping the Cleric's normal advantages, this is a really good subclass. I would probably choose to play it over a straight up wizard.

[@IARsmiley]

I've used 1 level of Arcana Cleric with my Circle of the Shepard Tortle Druid. Mind Sliver and Shocking Grasp combo well with a bunch of stuff. Eventually I want to take the Fey Touched feat to have Magic Missle combo with Hunter's Mark tbh.

[@ryancatlin675]

Hmm love the detail

[@greyingproductions]

Love the videos!

[@mr7shesha001]

Never played a wizard before so I don't know much about their spells but this cleric subclass seems vert interesting on the RP side.

[@vampiricphantom8050]

Y'all should do this with the races

[@Distrezzed]

The Arcana and Trickster clerics are definitely my favorite subclasses. So hard to decide which I like more. In terms of mechanical power arcana is better but I love the idea and RP potential of the trickster

[@falsethewindow8170]

Possibly the most powerful subclass in the game, purely for being the only way to gain access to both divine intervention and wish.

[@kappakiev9672]

Arcana also opens the way for magic centric gods like Isis, Thoth, Freya, Hecate, and others

[@kingpancake8]

A lot of people miss that arcane abjuration as stated works like the banishment spell, while it's not super impactful, if you are in a situation where you can use it if the monster fails it's save theres no concentration required so the spell can't break or end b4 that minute and it just disappears from your plane for good ex. A 14th lvl arcane cleric attacked by a group of bearded devils and they all fail their saves can just shunt them back to the hells with nothing but this feature

[@stevenstorrie5235]

This looks like a good sub class

[@HiamZepplin]

what rulebook is the arcana domain in? Its not in player's handbook, DM guide or Tasha's cauldron of everything. Please Help!

[@trevorworkman6211]

I’m having a hard time thinking of a backstory or real flavor for the class. Most of the subclasses shout out a trope pretty quickly but this one doesn’t to me. That aside the keystone ability is nuts. If you want all the magic, this sounds like fun.

[@ShadowxxPanda]

Potent Cantrips have a strong synergy with the blade cantrips.

[@TheDolphinLegend]

I really WISH there were more INT based classes, subclasses, or features. I almost homebrewed a subclass for Druid about studying plants. I decided to just go with somebody else's hombrew called Circle of Blossoms. It would be neat if you could target as many creatures as your INT mod with the arcane abjuration, or something of the sort to incourage Intelligence. It is almost always a dump stat for me.

[@Boehr52]

I appreciate you guys, going thru all the subclasses helps alot Should do bloodhunter

[@muse0ica]

When you really want to play a Wizard but no one picked a healer. Though I really enjoy being able to essentially multiclass without taking levels away from your main class. Though I don't know if multiclassing into a Wizard later would be better for balancing. Not a huge min/max-er.

[@yeissonvelandia699]

if we gonna used a simple dagge just tink in Potent Spellcasting + Green-flame Blade = Dexterity modifier + 1d4 + 1d8 + Wisdom Modifier. Crazy eh?

[@Mandabar2]

Been playing a wizard and now want to have all the spells in my spellbook, an Arcana Cleric might be a minor solution to that hah

[@dhavalrana5902]

You guys are awesome

[@DRisky49]

The new Crusher feat is going to propel the Arcana cleric pretty far. Grab the melee cantrips and use a mace to knock enemies around to almost guarantee the secondary damage procs each round...and potent spell casting at level 6 will add Wis to damage which bring avg damage up with extra attack classes GFB by knocking an enemy next to a nearby enemy. BB by knocking them away from you and forcing them to willingly step back up to you and take the extra damage on their turn Add Polearm master and war caster and a quarter staff and you be able to get a full BB damage off with one reaction since you would resolve your AoO from PAM before the enemy finishes their turn

[@whiterino5738]

Best cleric for all practical purposes in my humble opinion! Just saying, not trying to draw heat.

[@Exisist5151]

Would a cleric of savras be a knowledge cleric or arcana cleric?

[@URGE]

A Cleric or Savras could make sense as either since knowledge and arcane magic go hand in hand. Wizards are seekers of knowledge and spell casting, and arcana domain clerics are very in line with wizardry. Thanks for watching!

[@staticdynamic1605]

Love it

[@fcaskvig]

I see a guardian of the weave. The party comes into posession of a magic item and an arcane cleric or group of goes (time cop) bounty hunter the item...

[@manarayofhope2374]

This sub class if used with the right race high elf or dwarf your pretty much a mid tier super hero that's nuts

[@KatanaKamisama]

I think starting as a V-Human with Magic Initiate Wizard would be LEGIT for this class. Pick up Find Familiar, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, and then you can take 2 cantrips where your casting stat matters with your subclass feature, such as Firebolt, and Minor Illusion. IF you play this subclass... I do NOT recommend multiclassing. Delaying that Cleric cap stone ability at all is a HUGE loss IMO.

[@jch8376]

Characters in 5e start out OP imo .

[@davidstratton696]

Nah they pretty much get OP around past lv10 (especially 15+).

[@macromondo8026]

*Literaly Me:* New player who wants to try out a spellcaster, hates fey, wish (heh) there was a way to add my spellcasting modifier to cantrips damage same way martials add their ability modifier to their attacks, likes healing magic and think Wish is the best spell ever. Is it safe to say i'm in love with this Subclass?

[@mrSift27]

I love healing in general, and I love playing wizards.. Combat is more on the “holy crap” side imo. Currently making an eladrin (DMG) cloistered scholar for this! Thanks guys 🤙🏼 Edit; add counterspell and this class is god tier support

[@leem4386]

arcana clerics don’t make sense in my homebrew setting, which is unfortunate because it’s such an interesting subclass :(

[@richard_n]

I can't believe you guys didn't give combat at least a 4. You can get the Wish spell for god's sake! That alone is a 4 since you can use any spell in the game with it.

[@coreygardner9803]

An arcana cleric with low intelligence is a basically a wizard who doesn't know how to read

[@charless1145]

Constructive criticism: try to slow down when speaking, and try to work on enunciation

[@sunnyjdx]

Insert comment for giveaway

[@thuglifebear5256]

So like Jehovas Witnesses.

[@nickivany2116]

Ü