D&D5E: GRAVE DOMAIN CLERIC GUIDE

[@yesmaybe7466]

So this is probably the best dnd video I have ever seen. I would like to congratulate you on making a very impressive, and informative video. Thank you so much for the information, and your perspective.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

That’s high praise!. Thank you so much that’s is the nicest comment I have read. Sincerely that is so cool of you

[@tonymoyer2817]

Always love your vids. Helps me hone in on a concept. I just built a Dwarf Stone carver who carves gravestones and crypts, and took on the cleric skills to help protect himself and settle the restless dead in the graveyards in which he worked. A nice DM allowed Mold Earth as a cleric cantrip, rounding out the theme well.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

I love this idea for a few reasons. First off it’s a dwarf and I am so down! Second the use of the dwarven love for craftsmanship turned into monument carving is just smart. Thirdly many followers of death clerics who are not evil. Tend to take positions as undertakers, this is especially true for the ravenqueen followers whom aren’t Shadar Kai.

[@tonymoyer2817]

@@TheSinisterheroes I sometimes enjoy leaning more into the race and background , and let the class and subclass follow. He's a Guild Artisan first, and the clerical training came as a result of him spending time in cemeteries. He's drawn artistically to the dark styling of gravestone work, but also the permanence of memory in stone that it represents. These ideas become his traits, bonds and ideals and flaws.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

@ I like to do the same think. I think since the world is small, your background and race, should have a big impact in who your character is.

[@Trial88]

I think of the grave domain cleric as playing in the mid line. Out of melee, but close enough to help the melee characters. Then leave the squishy wizard farther back for artillery. I also love the path to the grave and then having your paladin smite them. Also being able to negate criticals means that players who built for ac and have stupid high ac can avoid being hit by attacks all together which is fantastic. Another great video man can’t wait for the next one!

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Thanks I really enjoy being a gish characters than can bounce around in between front line and back. I am gonna start working on the next one soon!

[@kwaksea]

@@TheSinisterheroes Apply healing spell to 0hp ally is good tactics for other healer too. Wait come think of it isnt Raise Dead, resurrection spell like Revivify?

[@TheSinisterheroes]

@@kwaksea there from the same school of magic

[@Punkhunter25]

Glad to see people loving this subclass. I've always loved it but some of the bigger youtubers seem to not be impressed with it's mechanics.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Thanks for that, I feel like the only one out in the ocean on some topics.

[@medievalhedgehog6967]

I've only played a shadar kai grave cleric for one session, but I found myself constantly keeping my allies alive and I loved it. I never thought playing a religious, lawful character would be interesting, but the shadar kai culture (especially in 4e) makes the "faithful servant of the Raven Queen" look like a cool elf covered in tattoos and body modifications, carrying praying beads made out of the bones of loved ones, not afraid of pain. I even made a guide for proper burials, and ways to dispose of bodies in a sacred way.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

I tend to toy around making characters a lot. When I come across a concept that I truly vibe with I do what you did. I start pulling references from all over the place and considering there whole life. What rituals they perform what gods they worship. It ends up consuming me in the best kind of way. The best is when I actually get to play those characters. It becomes so entrancing and fun and I love it so much. I hope your experience mirrored that.

[@kwaksea]

For some reason, I always imagine Grave Cleric to be quiet emotionless Guide to the Other Side like part of Circle of the Life (kinda like Circle of Spore and Wildfire).

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Yeah I definitely see that. Especially with the circle of spores Druid.

[@Tricerapops]

I imagine it along the lines of a Jackie Chan character. Complete goof until it matters.

[@darylncp]

Starting my grave domain cleric under the Raven Queen soon, thanks for the detailed guide!

[@TheSinisterheroes]

OHHHHH I love the raven queen !!!!!! She has such a great story and her ambitions and domains are awesome!!! What race did you chose ?

[@darylncp]

@@TheSinisterheroes my cleric is a firbolg, for the giant aesthetic and wisdom bonus ahahaha

[@TheSinisterheroes]

The giant aesthetic!!!! That’s cool!! I like it when races lean into other races pantheons especially when those deities carry so much weight in there respective realms. It really shows how influential there deities are in the world. I like firbolgs, there stats work out so well for cleric. There’s so many great resources for the raven queen to learn about her it’s awesome. Your gonna have so much fun !!!

[@MartialMetal]

Nice video! That's one of my favorite cleric subclasses. I have just two observations: 1) you can't cast spare the dying then heal another ally, since by the rules when you cast a spell or cantrip as bonus action you can cast only another cantrip with your action. But you gave me an ideia, since you can use healing word or spare the dying to an ally at distance with bonus action, and then use your action to use spare the dying in an ally at touch range. 2) Path of the grave don't seems to work with fireball neither desintegrate, since none of them are attacks, and the feature says "hits the cursed creature with an attack"

[@triplethret888]

I played a 1-5 level, Grave Domain Cleric in a Strahd Campaign. It’s currently on hiatus, but it was so much fun. It was my first Cleric Character. Bane, always up. 30ft Spare the dying, best believed I used it. Eyes of the grave, definitely helped. As for the personality, I played her as, almost a Luna Lovegood-esque type character. Seeing the beauty in everything, even in the grim nature that Strahd brings. She wasn’t stupid, just chose to believe the best out a situation. Her backstory is that her Sect was using the religion to coerce people and individuals in power to give them more money. So she left, wanting to spread the word of how life should be enjoyed, from the smallest blessings. Great subclass

[@TheSinisterheroes]

That sounds awesome. Curse of Strahd is the perfect campaign for a grave cleric. I really hope you get it going again it’s a great campaign!

[@Nightwalker170]

One fun thing to note about Path to the Grave is that it lasts until the END of your next turn. Meaning that you yourself can use it to absolutely wallop a target. I was playing a human variant hexblade/grave cleric with a strong grim reaper theme. Great Weapon Mastery, Polearm Mastery and a halberd reflavored into a scythe as my pact/hex weapon. 10 feet of reach allowed me to fill in as second line assault support, so I didn't need the heaviest armor. We were fighting some sort of bear abomination zombie thing, and I already had my hex and blur online. We were flanking for advantage and the druid announced she was going to cast moonlight the fry the beasty. Our artificer had already been sent through a wall and our fighter was experiencing a horrible series of nat 1's, so I slapped path to the grave on the monster and moved to cover the druid while she was casting. The beast had been zapped a few times by our spells, so it had learned that chanting and finger waving equaled BAD, and bull rushed past the fighter to attempt to get to her before casting. That, however, meant passing my adorable little reaper to get to her. I used my reaction from polearm master for an attack of opportunity and rolled a 19. Crit. thanks to great weapon master I got a +10 damage bonus on top of the +5 from my charisma and +3 from my hexblade curse. Rolled the d10 for damage and got a 10. 28x2= 56. Doubled it again thanks to Path to the Grave for a whopping 112 damage. DM ruled that I cut that abomination in half, the long way.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

What was your level split? It seems like you were more warlock am I right? Or is such a strong ability in tandem with big heavy hitters, great weapon master dose give you that opportunity.

[@Nightwalker170]

@@TheSinisterheroes 4 levels of Warlock and Cleric each. It was like watching the planets align. Hexblade provided the weapon and the crit. The feats provided the opportunity and the damage. Grave cleric provided the mean to amp the damage even higher. It made my DM quite wary of putting my adorable little Reaper into 1v1 situations. All that work to replicated what I could do with a scythe in 3.5 (Scythes did 2d4, crit on a 20 and had a x4 damage multiplier)

[@ironocy496]

This video got me hyped for a character concept I have for a Curse of Strahd campaign I'll be playing in. I'm thinking a Reborn grave cleric from Farun who worships Kelemvor that facilitated burial rites and cared for the sick and dying who gets killed by an unknown assailant while traveling to a patient. His fellow priests recovered his body, burying him back in Baldur's Gate near the Temple of Kelemvor. Sometime later he awakens, Reborn, and finds himself wandering through a thick fog...

[@TheSinisterheroes]

That’s a great concept. It gives you so much to work with and being that reborn with your knowledge of a past life being a mystery, works so well with uncovering the world of curse of Strahd. Everything about cos, the world the people will reflect who you were before your incident. So there’s so many opportunities to uncover and remember bits of who you are.

[@gaelofariandel6747]

My DM has the courtesy of letting racial spells use our primary spellcasting stat if we're a spellcaster, so my Grave Cleric is a Half Elf variant (High Elf) with Chill Touch as a thematic ranged cantrip. For fairness & balance we run point buy rather than roll so I start off 12 13+1, 14, 10, 15+1, 10+2. Having 12/14/14/10/16/12 with 18 starting AC, 38 HP at level 5 with False Life adding a bit extra in case of emergencies gives me good damage, durability, utility and reach throughout almost all battlefields I enter. I LOVE the Grave Cleric's control over life/death & it honestly makes the Cleric one of the hardest classes to make as it runs neck & neck with so many other subclasses.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

The cleric is soooo strong!!! Don’t worry about other subclasses you get the chance to be anything. That’s what makes the cleric great.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Also your dm is cool for doing that I think that’s awesome

[@wildmike5707]

Oh boy I’ve been waiting for you to do this one

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Really you know you could always make a request. I’d do just about anything for you brother

[@wildmike5707]

You should’ve known this was coming but dreams druid. Just cuz it can be a healer doesn’t mean it needs to and folks seem to have forgotten about it

[@TheSinisterheroes]

I am on it

[@Domkhxiii]

I’ve always wanted to play a duo of someone as a grave cleric and another as an assassin rogue. Part of a death guild, they infiltrate and deliver a final death to anyone through inflicting vulnerability to the autocrit sneak attack (at later levels for assassin they also double their damage on top of everything!)

[@TheSinisterheroes]

I LOVE IT!!! I really enjoy making characters that come from similar places and back stories. I call them brother or sister characters. I think it’s so great. It sets you up to have this great fall back to each other and this wonderful built in reliability.

[@devingruver291]

Played a grave cleric once, and so far it's been my favorite subclass to play. Especially since one of the other players was half undead and the roleplaying were did to discover what type of undead and who there dad was was so much fun. (Half vampire. Btw. Think the grey prince from Oblivion) Also roleplayed so well that the other players out of character asked if i was secretly the big bad evil guy lol

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Ohhh that’s high praise to have the party think you’re secretly the big bad. #chefskiss seriously that’s high praise. You must of really enjoyed that character

[@devingruver291]

@@TheSinisterheroes Haha, yes. Still my most favorite character I've played in any ttrpg game so far.

[@socialreveluv5428]

For real if DnD was a videogame that class would be everything I've asked for but I can't wrap my head around playing it in an actual campaign because I've found it difficult to match with character ideas I've come up with. It seems like as a Grave Cleric it's almost mendatory to have a slight edgy touch to the character and that is unfortunately not the type of character-traits I'm enjoying to play... Ofc I could step out of my comfort zone but if the idea doesn't strike me from the get-go there is no reason to force myself liking a specific character idea even if the class mechanics are so awesome. For people who read this: How did you play your Grave Cleric?

[@TheSinisterheroes]

When I played it I went super dark and edgy, but you could play the character as the way death deities really are, just as caretakers or people who are there to comfort and guide them.

[@argisus1279]

Grave domain os great lol, my first cleric was a grave domain of the Raven queen shaddar kai

[@TheSinisterheroes]

I love the raven queen and the shadar Kai

[@argisus1279]

@@TheSinisterheroes yeah love their lore and everything behind them, also hey thnx for responding to me XD

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Have you heard about there older edition lore, where they were so prone to death that they had to live very extreme lives otherwise they would wither and die faster? My pleasure I am happy to respond.

[@argisus1279]

@@TheSinisterheroes Yeah when I was Dming I actually brought that back in and kind of spread it to the original versions of them before they became an elf subrace, though I do like being an elf and coming into the party everyone goes. "what kind of elf are you?"

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Elves are one of those races that I hated originally but once I played them I enjoyed it.

[@lukecuffe7295]

“If I was ever gonna heal…” I totally agree, this class is badass and changed my mind about playing a healer.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

It’s so much better if you let them drop first!!!! I really hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to be one!!

[@lukecuffe7295]

@@TheSinisterheroes hell yeah. They’ll have to “glimpse the other side” before I help haha. Great videos, man.

[@RussellPearce-cu6vw]

Hi i hope you see this love your videos have a question if i was a level 5 grave domain cleric to get VAMPARIC TOUCH then go level 6 monk how does VAMPARIC TOUCH work with this ?

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Glad to hear you love our videos! So if you were level 5 grave domain and then went 6 levels in monk it would still be considered a spell attack so you would have to use it instead of your unarmed/weapon attacks. Though It still would be a good multiclass to have considering monk and cleric are very well suited for multiclass. As a suggestion you could go dhampir and that would be a very very cool multiclass and character idea.

[@RussellPearce-cu6vw]

@@TheSinisterheroes ty could be a good concept

[@tonyromasco1735]

I played something like that in 2nd ed. He was a npc that was sent with the party. The party made him a permanent member when he stared down a vampire and said " Aye, you've cheated death...so far. But do not boast, old fool! You're death is standing right here, and he hears you. You can kick. You can scream. Nine-hells, you can even suck the blood of your betters. In the end, death will have its due! " Then threw a small glass vial of positive material plane matter at the vampire. The party was mopping up the vampires thralls. When he'd get stingy with the healing in combat, someone would always ask him why he hesitated. He'd always reply " I thought death might have wanted yah first laddie! Lucky for yoo he did nay want yer company......yet!" Raucous laughter all around

[@TheSinisterheroes]

That’s a perfect example of what a grave domain cleric is

[@ThatResolves]

Is the music track from arcanum ?

[@TheSinisterheroes]

No my wife made it for the channel

[@ThatResolves]

oh nice, really reminded me of it :D

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Thanks I’ll let her know!

[@douglaspope-gz1eq]

While I have never played a grave domain cleric I do like the concept I honestly thought that it was going to be an undead minion type subclass like the necromancer subclass and I was kinda disappointed to find out that's not the case and in fact it's about keeping people alive and at the same time helping people kill others and combating undead and while I still like it and all I would've liked to enhance undead minions like the necromancer subclass but beggars can't be choosie I guess you can still use undead minions I guess so you can make it work thematicly

[@TheSinisterheroes]

They can be really cool to play as, and you can really bring some cool aspects into the game that change dynamics. Being a cleric you can do practically anything, being a grave domain cleric you can do that and some seriously cool tricks as well

[@douglaspope-gz1eq]

@@TheSinisterheroes yeah that's true if I get the chance to play it I will

[@BourneFighting]

Clerics are so hot right now.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

They are nasty there class is so strong

[@Samuel_Kabel]

Raise Dead is Revivify+, not Animate Dead+.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Oh dip I might have gotten mixed up

[@Samuel_Kabel]

@@TheSinisterheroes Common and easy mistake, TBH. Create Undead is the higher level version of Animate Dead. WotC should have called Raise Dead "Lesser Resurrection." And not that it really matters, but having Spare the Dying as a BA cast doesn't really help you heal and stabilize on the same turn. You're still limited by the BA casting rules, so you'd have to use Healing Word and an action StD (unfortunate acronym). I suppose the 30' range might help. And you still get the cantrip added 'for free' (not counting opportunity costs).

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Getting bonus actions as a whole is not a uniformed concept in 5e. Some classes have bonus actions all over the place. Some rarely use there’s. When you do grab 1 or 2 then they tend to pile on what you can do. So a lot of times it becomes a juggling concept of which bonus action to use when.

[@Samuel_Kabel]

@@TheSinisterheroes True, but I was talking about a rules interaction you mentioned. If you cast any spell as a BA (even a cantrip), then the only spells you can cast as an action have to be cantrips. So Grave having a BA-cast Spare the Dying does not let them heal and stabilize on the same turn. Having Healing Word does that though.

[@Samuel_Kabel]

Clerics can usually fill their BAs well enough if they pick up Spiritual Weapon. EDIT: But I know Wizards have a damn hard time doing the same.

[@gregsquire9704]

Take grave cleric, dip 1 or 2 levels of fighter be a dhampir lineage Congrats you're Vampire Hunter D

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Your not wrong. Make the palm of your hand your holy symbol

[@gregsquire9704]

@TheSinisterheroes that's an idea. I dm a game and it consists of 2 fighters, bard, rogue, and wizard. No real support class. So I have to make one since this next arch is going to be interesting.

[@TheSinisterheroes]

You don’t need a support it dose help a whole lot. You can get through with out one it’s harder and you have to be more resource conscious, but you can do it. I don’t really like playing support just not for me. So I often try to avoid making some one feel they have to, but if it’s what you enjoy, you will change the world with it

[@gregsquire9704]

If dm allows one could use death domain for D instead of grave domain. As far as my group. Their 3rd level and do ALOT of stupid stuff. Dropping like flies. Lol

[@TheSinisterheroes]

Oh welllll. Sometimes you just gotta do I suppose. Scary stuff if your dm plays monsters with higher intelligence and they will stab an unconscious player, cus then your in real trouble.