Cleric Domains Breakdown – Pathfinder

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RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options whichare extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
Orange: OK options, or useful optionsthat only apply in rare circ*mstances. Useful sometimes.
Green: Good options. Useful often.
Blue: Fantastic options, often essentialto the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

Domains

Air Domain

The air domain isn’t particularly exciting. The powers are useful, but not exciting. The spells are decent with a few good options, and a few really bad ones. The spell list adds Chain Lightning and Elemental Body to your spell list, but these aren’t major improvements.

Lightning Arc (Sp): Generic ranged energyattack. Solid, reliable, and a great option at low levels when your spells arelimited.

Electricity Resistance (Ex): Permanentresistance to electricity, but it’s not a lot of resistance.

obscuring mist: Occasionally useful asan escape mechanic.
wind wall: Essentially negates archers,and you get it a level early.
gaseous form Occasionally useful as anescape or infiltration mechanic, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.
air walk: The Cleric’s best flightspell, but you can already prepare this as a 4th level spell.
control winds: Allows you to preventenemies from flying, and isn’t on the Cleric spell list.
chain lightning: Decent multi-targetdamage spell, and isn’t on the Cleric spell list.
elemental body IV (air only): Awfulspell.
whirlwind: Great crowd-control effect, andit’s not on the Cleric spell list.
elemental swarm (air spell only): Createa bunch of elemental servants. If you can spare the 10 minutes to cast thisahead of time, the elementals are big bags of hit points to defend you incombat. However, the biggest elemental you summon is CR 9, which won’t bevery scary at this level.

Cloud Subdomain

The cloud domain doesn’t improve the spell Air domains spell list, but the Thundercloud power is fantastic.

Replaced Power(s): Electricity resistance.

Thundercloud (Su): This is a great areacontrol power. Because it blocks line of sight, it interferes withspellcasting and ranged attacks, and you get guranteed damage. It’s not asscary as your spells, but it’s very useful.

solid fog: Occasionally useful as anescape mechanic or area control effect. Already on the Cleric spelllist.
storm of vengeance: This is a weirdspell. It’s hard to time, it’s hard to use, and it’s hard to not do just asmuch damage to your party. Already on the cleric spell list.

Wind Subdomain

The Wind domain trades some mediocre options for some equally mediocre options.

Replaced Power(s): Lightning arc

Wind Blast (Su): Cool, but situational.

whispering wind: You get this a levelbefore anyone else, but it’s not very good.
wind walk: This is better than air walkfor long-distance travel, and has a fantastic duration, but it’s not usefulin combat.
winds of vengeance: A very flashy buffwith a good fly speed, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.

Animal Domain

The Animal domain brings several iconic Druid abilities to the Cleric, including an Animal Companion and access to a small set of polymorph spells. The early benefits are terrible, so this domain should largely be ignored until level 5. Because the animal companion is on par with a ranger, the Boon Companion feat is almost mandatory.

Speak with Animals (Sp): Very situational.Animals aren’t very smart, so they have very little of interest to say.

Animal Companion (Ex): An Animal Companionis like a furry fighter. If you plan to depend on your companion heavily, takethe Boon Companion feat to bring your companion up to par. Also see myPractical Guide to Animal Companions.

calm animals: Situational, affects a verysmall set of creatures which generally don’t have the ability to rage.
hold animal: Situational, affects a verysmall set of creatures.
dominate animal: Situational, affects avery small set of creatures.
summon nature’s ally IV (animals only): Youhave Summon Monster, which is strictly better.
beast shape III (animals only):Potentially very powerful, but since it’s one of three polymorph spells thatyou get it’s unlikely that you are adequately prepared to use it. See myPractical Guide to Polymorph.
antilife shell: Excellent area controlability, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list at the same spelllevel.
animal shapes: Polymorph your animalcompanion into a bigger version of itself. Hillarity ensues.
summon nature’s ally VIII (animals only):You have Summon Monster, which is strictly better.
shapechange: Fantastic spell. Form of theDragon can be a truly monstrous option for you.

Feather Subdomain

Give up a lousy ability, and some of the least interesting spells in the Animal Domain for considerably improved flight abilities and a bonus to Perception.

Granted Power: Add Fly to your list of class skills. In addition, whenever you cast a spell that grants you a fly speed, your maneuverability increases by one step (up to perfect).

Replaced Power(s): Speak with animals.

Eyes of the Hawk (Ex): Perception is themost rolled skill in the game, and initiative bonuses are fantastic.

feather fall: You get this a level behindWizards, but it’s not normally on the Cleric spell list, and it’s good tohave.
fly: Flight is hugely important, and Flyisn’t usually available to Clerics.
fly (mass): Fly for the whole party!

Fur Subdomain

The big draw here is the spells. The options your give up are pretty bad, but Magic Fang is great for your companion, and Beast Shape I give you an early polymorph option. If you want to polymorph as a Cleric, this is the way to do it.

Replaced Power(s): Speak with animals.

Predator’s Grace (Su): Very situational,but better than Speak with Animals.

magic fang: Great for buffing yourcompanion.
beast shape I (animals only): Adds anotherpolymorph spell, making Polymorph a much better option for you.

Artifice Domain

The biggest appeal of this domain is access to Minor/Major Creation. Creation spells are very powerful, but the rest of this domains abilities are lackluster.

Artificer’s Touch (Sp): Mending isn’tparticularly important unless you have someone in the party who likes toSunder things. The ability to damage artifacts and constructs is verysituational, and doesn’t do much damage.

Dancing Weapons (Su): The dancing propertyis fantastic, but the duration is very short.

animate rope: Very situational.
wood shape: Like a cheaper, lower-levelversion of Stone Shape. Wood shape can turn any mundane piece of wood into auseful tool, a barrier, or whatever else you need.
stone shape: Very situational, but alsovery powerful.
minor creation: The possiblities arenumerous. Try creating poison for your rogue.
fabricate: Very situational, but alsovery powerful. Try fabricating a wall into gravel, or a metal door intoweapons.
major creation: The possiblities arenumerous. Try creating poison for your rogue.
wall of iron: Situationally useful.
statue: Like a weird version of Flesh toStone. Not on the Cleric spell list.
prismatic sphere: Very powerful areacontrol, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.

Construct Subdomain

Animate Servant is only slightly better than Dancing Weapon, but the new spells are considerably better than what you give up. However, because the new spells are high level, it doesn’t fix the problems with the Artifice domain at low to mid levels.

Replaced Power(s): Dancing weapon.

Animate Servant (Su): Better duration thanthe Dancing Weapon ability, and potentially more effective.

limited wish: Incredibly powerful, and noton the Cleric spell list.
polymorph any object: Incredibly powerful,and not on the Cleric spell list.

Toil Subdomain

The domain power is cool, but the spell options aren’t much better than the options which they replace.

Replaced Power(s): Dancing weapon.

Aura of Repetition (Su): The will save willkeep pace with your spells, and if you time this right you can really messwith your enemies.

command: Unremarkable. Already on theCleric spell list.
waves of fatigue: No save, but Fatiguedis a very lackluster condition. Not on the Cleric spell list.
waves of exhaustion: No save, andExhausted can really mess with melee enemies, but there are much betteroptions at this level. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Chaos Domain

Touch of Chaos (Sp): If you need to shut down an enemy attacker, this can really hurt them.

Chaos Blade (Su): The duration is veryshort, but Anarchic can deal a huge amount of damage.

protection from law: Useful, but hard topredict when you will need it.
align weapon (chaos only): Helpfulagainst lawful outsiders, but you can prepare Align Weapon normally at thesame level.
magic circle against law: Lawful
chaos hammer: You don’t get Slow, sothis is a decent way to slow people. However, the damage is poor.
dispel law: very flashy, but verysituational.
animate objects: Decent.
word of chaos: Fantastic AOE debuffa*gainst weaker enemies.
cloak of chaos: Good buff for your wholeteam, especially if your enemies are lawful.
summon monster IX (chaos spell only):You can already cast this without the alignment limitation.

Protean Subdomain

If someone took this in my game, I would punch them in the mouth. Aura of Chaos is a nightmare to manage, and hugely bogs down the game. The spell list changes don’t really add anything interesting, so this subdomain is largely reserved for trolls and people who hate fun.

Replaced Power(s): Chaos blade

Aura of Chaos (Su): Do you want combat tobe confusing and take forever? Because this is how you do it.

confusion (lesser): Confusion is a gooddebuff, but wasting a round to confuse someone for one round is a badinvestment since they get a will save to resist, and still have a percentagechance to act normally if they fail.
displacement: An excellent buff, thoughthe duration is short. Not on the Cleric spell list.
planar binding (proteans only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Proteans limitation isannoying.

Charm Domain

Dazing Touch (Sp): No save, and Daze takes away the target’s whole turn. Many monsters have more hit dice than their CR, but in encounters with NPCs or multiple monsters, this is a fantastic option.

Charming Smile (Sp): In encounters withNPCs, this is a good use for a swift action.

charm person: Helpful in socialsutations.
calm emotions: Very situational.
suggestion: Good mind control effect, andnot on the Cleric spell list.
heroism: Great buff, but it’s already onthe Cleric spell list.
charm monster: Situational, buteffective.
geas/quest: Powerful, but situationaland it’s already on your spell list.
insanity: Brutal permanent debuff, and noton the Cleric spell list.
demand: Very powerful, and not normally onthe Cleric spell list. Send the BBEG a message telling him to meet yousomewhere that totally isn’t a trap.
dominate monster: The ultimate Save orSuck spell. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Love Subdomain

On par with the Charm domain’s already fantastic abilities, and it replaces the lousy 2nd level spell with a slightly more useful option. This is a more defensive version of the Charm domain.

Replaced Power(s): Dazing touch.

Adoration (Su): Immediate action, will saveor the target automatically fails an attack. Hugely powerful.

enthrall: Distraction! Not on the Clericspell list.
euphoric tranquility: This is a weirdspell. It basically takes one target out of combat without a save, which canbe very powerful.

Lust Subdomain

On par with the Charm domain’s already fantastic abilities, and it replaces two of the worst spell options with some excellent debuffs. This is a more offensive version of the Charm domain.

Replaced Power(s): Charming smile.

Anything to Please (Su): The save DC willkeep pace with your spells, and the effect can really ruin the target’s day.More useful in combat than Charming Smile, but less useful socially.

touch of idiocy: Decent debuff for enemyspellcasters, especially at high levels when NPC spellcasters will barelyhave ability scores high enough to cast their best spells. No save, and noton the Cleric spell list.
confusion: Excellent debuff. Not on theCleric spell list.

Community Domain

Aside from the Unity power, the Community domain has nothing interesting to offer. It doesn’t give you any particularly exciting new spells, but the domain spells are decent selections from the Cleric spell list.

Calming Touch (Sp): Subdual damage is veryrare, and wears off quickly. The other conditions affected are fairly gentleand can be overcome by other means.

Unity (Su): With a high base will save andWisdom as your spellcasting ability, you will likely have the highest willsave in the party. Your fortitude won’t be shabby, but fortitude saves aregenerally less scary than will saves. This can provide an extra layer ofprotection for your fighter against spells like Dominate Person which willwreck your party.

bless: Good, but already on your spelllist.
shield other: Good, but already on yourspell list.
prayer: Good, but already on your spelllist.
imbue with spell ability: Good, butalready on your spell list, and somewhat situational.
telepathic bond: Very helpful for partycommunication, not on the Cleric spell list.
heroes’ feast: Good, but already on yourspell list.
refuge: Good, but already on your spelllist.
mass cure critical wounds: Mediocre.
miracle: Good, but already on your spelllist.

Home Subdomain

The Home subdomain is great if you plan to spend a lot of time defending a specific area or structure. For travelling and delving dungeons, this is difficult to use.

Replaced Power(s): Unity

Guarded Hearth (Su): This is helpful forprotecting wherever you rest or for defending a specific area. It’s certainlypowerful, but also very situational. Giving up Unity for this hurts.

alarm: useful, and not on the Clericspell list.
glyph of warding: Good, but already onyour spell list.
guards and wards: You get it a level behindWizards, but this has a ton of great effects.

Family Subdomain

Binding Ties is very slightly better than Calming Touch, but the spell list is worse than the default Community spell list.

Replaced Power(s): Calming touch

Binding Ties (Su): It is generally abetter idea to simply remove the condition from the target. Still, this isbetter than Calming Touch.

calm emotions: Hugely situational.
create food and water: Useful, butalready on your spell list.

Darkness Domain

The domain abilities are mediocre, but the addition of Shadow Conjuration adds a huge number of Wizard spells to your available options. The other shadow spells also add some cool utility options.

Touch of Darkness (Sp): No save, andcompletely prevents the target from making Sneak Attacks. The 20% miss chancereally helps, especially if the target gets a lot of attacks. The duration isdissappointing.

Eyes of Darkness (Su): Useful, but theduration is garbage.

obscuring mist: Occasionally useful asan escape mechanic.
blindness/deafness (only to cause blindness): Blindness is the better option anyway, and you get this a level earlierthan Clerics usually do.
deeper darkness: Situationally useful,and already on the Cleric spell list.
shadow conjuration: Fantastic. Grantsaccess to a huge number of Wizard spells. Not on the Cleric spell list.
summon monster V (summons 1d3 shadows):Clerics can already cast this without the limitaiton.
shadow walk: Excellent movement option,and not on the Cleric spell list.
power word blind: Excellent debuff, nosave, and not on the Cleric spell list.
greater shadow evocation: Not quite asgood as Shadow Conjuration, but it adds a lot of damage spells to your spelllist.
shades: Fantastic. Grants access to a hugenumber of Wizard spells. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Loss Subdomain

The powers you sacrifice are fantastic, and the Loss subdomain’s powers are confusing and difficult to use. The spell selections are fine, but you give up Shadow Conjuration and Shades, both of which provide massive improvements to the Cleric’s spell options.

Replaced Power(s): Eyes of darkness.

Aura of Forgetfulness (Su): It isn’t clearwhat happens to targets while inside the area, but it makes sense that theywould lose their memory once they exit the aura. The lost spells are annoying,but become less of a problem as you advance in level. The aura also affectsyour allies.

enervation: Very effective, but you getit a level after Wizards.
modify memory: Situational, but usuallyonly available to Bards.
energy drain: very powerful, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.

Night Subdomain

The Night subdomain is right on par with the Darkness domain. Night Hunter is about equal to Touch of darkness, and Night trades a better 6th level spell option for a better 1st level spell option. Choosing between the two isn’t a matter of which is better; it is a choice of which one you enjoy more. Just the way it should be.

Replaced Power(s): Touch of darkness

Night Hunter (Su): The duration is short,and it doesn’t work on things with Darkvision, but Clerics get very fewoptions for invisibility.

sleep: At level 1, this is the best saveor suck spell. It stops being useful after a few levels, but it’s a greatlow level option. Not on the Cleric spell list.
nightmare: Cool, but situational. Not onthe Cleric spell list.

Death Domain

The domain abilities are bad, and all of the spells are already on the Cleric spell list. Still, the spell selection is solid and includes a lot of good necromancy spells.

Bleeding Touch (Sp): The ongoing damage isnice to force Concentration checks, and this is good for killing things withtons of AC, but there are very few situations when your spells will not be abetter option.

Death’s Embrace (Ex): Channeling energy isyour job. How often will there be other people channeling energy near you? Howoften will they be channeling negative energy?

cause fear: Making things run away ifless useful than killing them, and it only affects creatures with up to 4hit dice. Already on the Cleric spell list.
death knell: Sacrifice a chicken orsomething for some really great buffs. Good, but already on the Cleric spelllist.
animate dead: Pet zombies! Good, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
death ward: Death effects are scary, andthis protects against them. However, the duration is short, so it is hard toknow when to cast this.
slay living: Save or die. Good, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
create undead: Pet mummies! Good, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
destruction: Roughly equivalent to Harm,which is a spell level lower. Already on the Cleric spell list.
create greater undead: Pet shadows!Good, but already on the Cleric spell list.
wail of the banshee: AOE Save or die, andit’s not on the Cleric spell list.

Murder Subdomain

The Murder subdomain greatly improves on the Death domain. It exchanges three spells which Clerics already get for three cool new spells from the Wizard spell list. Killing Blow is more usable than Death’s Embrace, though still not very good.

Replaced Power(s): Death’s embrace

Killing Blow (Su): Critical hits are rare,you’re probably not proficient with anything with a high threat range, and youcan’t get Improved Critical until level 15. Oh, and you can only use this afew times per day in case you’re unnaturally lucky. Still, it’s better thanDeath’s Embrace.

keen edge: You might actually get someuse out of Killing Blow, but this still isn’t particularly good for you. Noton the Cleric spell list.
suffocation: Excellent, exciting Save orDie spell. Even if they succeed on their fortitude save, they are stillstaggered, and they have to resist it for three turns. Not on the Clericspell list.
suffocation (mass): Arguably better thanWail of the Banshee. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Undead Subdomain

The Undead subdomain trades some of the Death domains normal killing power for some better support and debuff options.

Replaced Power(s): Bleeding touch.

Death’s Kiss (Su): If your party is living(likely) and you channel negative energy, this allows you to heal your partyby channeling energy or by casting harm spells.

ghoul touch: Excellent save or suck spell,and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.
enervation: Very effective, and it’s noton the Cleric spell list.
energy drain: very powerful, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.

Destruction Domain

The Destruction domain just isn’t good. The only interesting spell on the spell list is Disintegrate, and the domain powers are bad and potentially dangerous to use.

Destructive Smite (Su): The damage bonusis small, doesn’t scale well, and it’s a common morale bonus, so it won’tstack with many of your buff spells.

Destructive Aura (Su): This is very scaryto use, as it affects you and your party members. If your party has moreattacks than your target, this gives you an advantage. If you enemies havemore attacks, this will get you killed.

true strike: Rarely more useful than tworounds of attacking.
shatter: Situational.
rage: Situational; don’t cast onyourself.
inflict critical wounds: You have muchbetter options for dealing damage at this level.
shout: Usable while pinned, butotherwise rarely useful.
harm: Excellent damage with no DR orresistance. Good, but already on the Cleric spell list.
disintegrate: Excellent damage with no DRor resistance, and ranged, but fortitude saves are generally high. Not onthe Cleric spell list.
earthquake Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
implosion: Lots of damage to one targetper turn. Good, but already on the Cleric spell list.

Catastrophe Subdomain

The Catastrophe subdomain replaces Destructive aura with Deadly Weather, which gives you several interesting tactical options instead of potentially murder your own party. The spell selection is roughly equivalent, but you give up Disintegrate for Control Weather, which is already a Cleric spell.

Replaced Power(s): Destructive aura

Rage Subdomain

Rage is a great option for a Destruction cleric, but the spell selection isn’t much better than what you get from Destruction.

Replaced Power(s): Destructive aura

Rage (Su): Rage like a low level Barbarian.This is a good offensive option, but the limited duration means that you can’treally build a character around it.

bull’s strength: Essential, but alreadya Cleric spell.
moonstruck: You get this two levels late,but it’s an excellent debuff spell if your enemies outnumber you.

Earth Domain

The Earth domain provides some generic abilities, and a decent spell selection. The spells are mostly utilities or area control effects, and several of them come from the Druid spell list.

Acid Dart (Sp): Generic ranged energyattack. Solid, reliable, and a great option at low levels when your spells arelimited.

Acid Resistance (Ex): Permanent resistanceto acid, but it’s not a lot of resistance.

magic stone: Very low damage spell.
soften earth and stone: Excellentutility, not on the Cleric spell list.
stone shape: Excellent utility, but it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
spike stones: Fantastic area control, andnot on the Cleric spell list.
wall of stone: Excellent utility, butit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
stoneskin: Great buff that’s not on theCleric spell list, but very expensive to cast.
elemental body IV (earth only): Awfulspell.
earthquake Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
elemental swarm (earth spell only):Create a bunch of elemental servants. If you can spare the 10 minutes tocast this ahead of time, the elementals are big bags of hit points to defendyou in combat. However, the biggest elemental you summon is CR 9, whichwon’t be very scary at this level.

Caves Subdomain

The Caves subdomain helps you survive fighting underground. You get an easy way to get Darkvision for brief periods, and you get a selection of cool area control spells.

Replaced Power(s): Acid resistance

Tunnel Runner (Su): The duration is decentand the bonuses are pretty good. You will likely get Darkvision from thespell, but the bonuses to Stealth and Initiative are very good.

create pit: Area control. Not on theDruid spell list.
spiked pit: Better area control. Not onthe Druid spell list.
hungry pit: Even better area control. Noton the Druid spell list.

Metal Subdomain

Metal Fist is bad, and the spell selections are bad. Iron Body is cool, butnot enough to justify the rest of the subdomain.

Replaced Power(s): Acid dart

Metal Fist (Su): The damage is fine, butbarely exceeds that of a spiked gauntlet, and falls below the Heavy Maceyou’re probably holding.

heat metal: Amusing, but bad.
wall of iron: Situationally useful.
iron body: Cool buff, and not on theCleric spell list.

Evil Domain

All of the spell options are already on your spell list, and Touch of Evil is situational. Scythe of Evil is cool, but hardly enough to justify taking this domain.

Touch of Evil (Sp): The big appeal here isthe penalty to saving throws, and treating the target as Good for your Evilspells. Touch them to make them sickened, then hit them with something evil.Not particularly helpful at low levels when the duration is short, and hardgenerally you can just prepare spells appropriate to your enemies’alignments.

Scythe of Evil (Su): The duration is veryshort, but Unholy can deal a huge amount of damage.

protection from good: If you’re evil,most of your enemies will likely be good. Already on the Cleric spelllist.
align weapon (evil only): Essential forfighting Good outsiders, but you can already cast this as a second levelspell. Without the alignment limitation.
magic circle against good: AOE versionof Protection from Good. Already on the Cleric spell list.
unholy blight: Poor damage, and theduration of the Sickened condition is pathetic.
dispel good: very flashy, but verysituational.
create undead: Pet mummies! Already onthe Cleric spell list.
blasphemy: Very powerful against weakerenemies. Already on the Cleric spell list.
unholy aura: Excellent buff, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
summon monster IX (evil spell only): Youcan already cast this without the alignment limitation.

Daemon Subdomain

Considerably better than the Evil domain, the Daemon subdomain replaces Scythe of Evil with a much more exciting power, and adds two very powerful spells to the Cleric spell list.

Replaced Power(s): Scythe of evil

Whispering Evil (Su): Excellent AOE crowdcontrol effect. Fascination takes targets out of combat until someone doessomething hostile to them, so you can use this to disable groups of enemieswhile your allies move into position.

cause fear: Making things run away ifless useful than killing them, and it only affects creatures with up to 4hit dice. Already on the Cleric spell list.
vampiric touch: Fantastic, especially ifyou’re in combat a lot. Not on the Cleric spell list.
planar binding (daemons only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Daemon limitation isannoying, and Daemons have a fairly small list to choose from. Don’t mistakedemons for Daemons.

Fire Domain

Easily the best of the elemental domains, the Fire domain has effectively the same powers as the other elemental domains, but a considerably better spell list. You get several excellent area control and damage spells off the Wizard and Druid spell lists.

Fire Bolt (Sp): Generic ranged energyattack. Solid, reliable, and a great option at low levels when your spells arelimited.

Fire Resistance (Ex): It’s not a lot ofresistance, but fire is the most common energy damage type.

burning hands: Mediocre damagespell.
produce flame: Mediocre damagespell.
fireball: Good damage spell; one of thebest AOE spells at early levels.
wall of fire: Good area control, not onthe Cleric spell list.
fire shield: Decent buff, but you get ita level behind wizards. If you’re in melee, this can be an excellentdefense.
fire seeds: The holly berries option isinsane. Charge eight berries, then some time in the next hour or two, dropthem in the other guy’s square, and step back out of the 5 foot blastradius. Trigger all 8 for for 8d8 plus 8 times your caster level. The acornversion is bad. Not on the Cleric spell list.
elemental body IV (fire only): Awfulspell.
incendiary cloud: The damage isn’t great,but this is still a great area control spell. Not on the Cleric spelllist.
elemental swarm (fire spell only):Create a bunch of elemental servants. If you can spare the 10 minutes tocast this ahead of time, the elementals are big bags of hit points to defendyou in combat. However, the biggest elemental you summon is CR 9, whichwon’t be very scary at this level.

Ash Subdomain

The Ash subdomain replaces the rather boring Fire Resistance power for the super exciting Wall of Ashes. On top of a much better power, it replaces two of the worst spell options on the Fire domain spell list with two excellent spells from the Wizard spell list. This is a clear improvement on the Fire domain without altering the feel or strategy of the domain.

Replaced Power(s): Fire resistance

Wall of Ashes (Su): Absolutely fantastic.Wall of Ashes combines a counter-invisibility mechanic with a great debuff andan area control effect. If you aren’t using this regularly, you are doingyourself a disservice.

disintegrate: Excellent damage with no DRor resistance, and ranged, but fortitude saves are generally high. Not onthe Cleric spell list. You get it a level later than Wizards, which stinks,but it’s still a good spell.
fiery body: A fantastic buff, and not onthe Cleric spell list.

Smoke Subdomain

You give up your offensive options for some area controll effects. Coloud of Smoke is weak, but Stinking Cloud is pretty fantastic. This isn’t a real improvement on the Fire domain, but it provides some interesting new options.

Replaced Power(s): Fire bolt

Cloud of Smoke (Su): An interestingdebuff, but you have plenty of spells available which provide similar orbetter options.

pyrotechnics: Interesting, but difficultto use as it requires an existing fire. A torch might suffice, but checkwith your GM. The effects are decent, but you have other, better options atthis level. Not on the Cleric spell list.
stinking cloud: Excellent areacontrol.

Glory Domain

The Glory domain starts off very flat, but opens up a bunch of really excellent buffs, including some of the best options from the Paladin spell list. Divine Presence provides a really cool mechanic to pause and potentially escape fights.

Granted Powers: Makes your Channel Energyharder to resist for undead. Situational, but good.

Touch of Glory (Sp): Buff your party’sFace. The bonus is typeless, and should be impressive depending on your Wisdomscore.

Divine Presence (Su): Is the fight goingpoorly? Turn this on, politely excuse yourself, and walk out of the room.

shield of faith: Excellent buff, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
bless weapon: Better than Align Weapon,assuming your enemies are evil.
searing light: Terrible damage, evenagainst undead.
holy smite: Poor damage, and the durationof the Sickened condition is pathetic.
righteous might: Absolutely great buff,but it’s already a Cleric spell.
undeath to death: Wrecks undead, butalready a Cleric spell.
holy sword: This is an absolutelyfantastic buff, and this is one of very few ways for anyone but Paladins toget it. Use it early, use it often.
holy aura: Excellent buff, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
gate: Hugely powerful, but already onthe Cleric spell list.

Heroism Subdomain

Excellent buffs, but they’re all Morale bonuses so you can’t use more than one of the options granted by the subdomain at a time.

Replaced Power(s): Divine presence

Aura of Heroism (Su): Very solid buff, veryeasy to use. If you aren’t running other morale bonuses already, use this inevery fight.

heroism: Good single-target buff with anexcellent duration, and it’s not on the Cleric/Oracle spell list..
heroism (greater): Good single-targetbuff, but the duration is short so you may still prefer regular Heroism.

Honor Subdomain

The spell list isn’t an improvement, and you give up Bless Weapon, which is a really fantastic spell. Honor Bound is a great defense for you, and it’s a good way to break enchantments at low levels before you get the Break Enchantment spell.

Replaced Power(s): Touch of glory

Honor Bound (Su): Touching your friends toallow another save against charm/compulsion effects is good, but allowingyourself a second save as an immediate action is amazing. With the Cleric’swill saves, this is hugely valuable.

zone of truth: Situationall useful, butalready on the Cleric spell list. You give up Bless weapon for this, whichreally sucks.
geas/quest: Situationall useful, butalready on the Cleric spell list.

Good Domain

The Good domain brings practically nothing to the table. Touch of Good is bad because the duration is so short, and Holy Lance isn’t enough to justify a whole domain when the Glory domain gets you the Holy Sword spell. All of the spells on the spell list are already Cleric spells.

Touch of Good (Sp): The bonus only lastsone round, which is useless in combat. Instead, use this for Skill and Abilitychecks, or before you throw the Rogue into a room full of traps.

Holy Lance (Su): The duration is very short,but Holy can deal a huge amount of damage.

protection from evil: Most enemies willbe evil, but this is already on the Cleric spell list.
align weapon (good only): You canalready cast this without the alignment limitation.
magic circle against evil: Same issuesas protection from Evil.
holy smite: Awful damage, and the durationof the Blind effect is pathetic.
dispel evil: Good buff, but already onthe Cleric spell list.
blade barrier: Excellent area control,but already on the Cleric spell list.
holy word: Good against weaker enemies,but already on the Cleric spell list.
holy aura: Fantastic buff, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
summon monster IX (good spell only): Youcan already cast this without the alignment limitation.

Agathion Subdomain

A small improvement to the spell list provided by the Good domain, but hardly enough to justify losing Holy Lance.

Replaced Power(s): Holy lance

Protective Aura (Su): This would be decentif the bonuses scaled. By 8th level, most people will have a Ring ofProtection, and everyone should have a Cloak of Resistance +2. Theseenhancements will very quickly make this power obsolete. Plus, you give up theonly interesting part of the Good domain

shield of faith: Good, but already onthe Cleric spell list.
tongues: This is already a Cleric spell,but you get it a level early.
planar ally (agathions only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Agathion limitation isannoying.

Healing Domain

The Healing domain is bland. Most of the spells are generic cure spells, and untilyou get Breath of Life, most Healing clerics will be able to spontaneously cast the entire domain. Healer’s Blessing is the only thing truly worthwhile in the entire domain, and even that can largely be replaced by a Wand of Cure Light Wounds (or Infernal Healing if you’re crazy like that).

Rebuke Death (Sp): At very low levels,this is helpful. With small pools of hit points, players will be knockedunconcious often, so this can save you a lot of more expensive healingresources. At high levels, this will almost never be helpful.

Healer’s Blessing (Su): This is a hugeamount of extra healing.

cure light wounds: You can probablyspontaneously cast this by dropping your other domain spell.
cure moderate wounds: You can probablyspontaneously cast this by dropping your other domain spell.
cure serious wounds: You can probablyspontaneously cast this by dropping your other domain spell.
cure critical wounds: You can probablyspontaneously cast this by dropping your other domain spell.
breath of life: So essential that peopleoften call this a spell tax on clerics. If you have this and don’t prepareit, you’re a fool. It’s already on the Cleric spell list, so prepare yourother domain spell of this level if it’s even remotely interesting.
heal: Essential, but it’s already on theCleric spell list.
regenerate: Useful if you lose limbs,but not as easy to use as Heal. Already on the Cleric spell list.
mass cure critical wounds: You can probablyspontaneously cast this by dropping your other domain spell.
mass heal: Good, but there are moreimpressive options at this level, and it’s already on the Cleric spelllist.

Restoration Subdomain

Awful. Truly awful. Restorative Touch heals a very small set of conditions which generally aren’t that annoying or go away within a turn. The spell list is somehow worse

Replaced Power(s): Rebuke death

Restorative Touch (Su): With the exceptionof Dazed and Sickened, those conditions are fairly gentle. Unless your ally isgoing to do something really impressive with their turn, you are probablybetter off doing almost anything else.

remove disease: Hugely situational, andit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
neutralize poison: Hugely situational, andit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
break enchantment: Situational. Not nearlyas good as Breath of Life, and it’s already on the Cleric spell list.

Resurrection Subdomain

Surprisingly awful. Gift of Life has so much potential, but only comes into play if your party is falling apart. Combined with Rebuke Death, the entire domain becomes a disaster scenario fallback. On a normal day, you won’t be able to use most of your abilities.

Replaced Power(s): Healer’s blessing

Gift of Life (Su): If your party memberstend to die a lot, this is helpful. Of course, if you’re friends tend to die alot you are probably going to die before this can get a lot of mileage.

raise dead: Why would you need this as adomain spell? How often do you wake up in the morning and say “I bet one ofmy friends is going to die today, so I should prepare for it.” This isalready on the Cleric spell list, and generally raising the dead issomething that justifies taking a day off.
resurrection: See Raise Dead.
true resurrection: See Raise Dead.

Knowledge Domain

Granted Powers: Access to every knowledge skill. Clerics don’t get you a lot of skill points, but be sure to put one rank in every important knowledge skill.

Lore Keeper (Sp): Helpful for learningabout creatures, but very difficult to do in combat. If you don’t need toidentify things beforehand, this can save you a ton of skill ranks onKnowledge skills.

Remote Viewing (Sp): Clairvoyance is a greatscouting effect, and being able to use it one round at a time gives you a lotof really great options without wasting a spell slot to peek around acorner.

comprehend languages: Situational,already on the Cleric spell list.
detect thoughts: Situational, but verypowerful and not on the Cleric spell list.
speak with dead: Situational, already onthe Cleric spell list.
divination: Situational, already on theCleric spell list.
true seeing: Essential, but already onthe Cleric spell list.
find the path: Situational, already onthe Cleric spell list.
legend lore: You get it a level late, butthis spell can be very powerful if your DM is creative.
discern location: Situational, alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
foresight: Fantastic buff. Insight bonusesare rare and expensive, and a 10 minute per level duration will get you afew hours of protection. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Memory Subdomain

You get two more spells which aren’t on the Cleric spell list, and the Recall ability is absolutely amazing. This ia clear improvement on the Knowledge domain.

Replaced Power(s): Lore keeper

Recall (Su): I would take this over LoreKeeper any day of the week. Even if you can’t cover your party’s knowledgeneeds by yourself, allowing your allies to reroll knowledge checks even once aday can dramatically change the outcome of your campaign. 3+wisdom rerolls aday makes your party a bottomless well of knowledge. Adding your Wisdom bonusas an additional bonus is amazing, but this would probably be blue withoutit.

memory lapse: Situational, buthillarious. You get it a level late, but it’s not on the Cleric spelllist.
modify memory: Situational, butpotentially very powerful.
moment of prescience: Very powerful, andnot on the Cleric spell list.

Thought Subdomain

The Thought subdomain replaces three Cleric spells on the Knowledge domain with some very powerful spells from the Wizard spell list. Read Minds is an interesting ability, and probably removes the need to cast Detect Thoughts. Losing Remote Viewing hurts, but the improvements to the spell list are dramatic.

Replaced Power(s): Remote viewing

Read Minds (Su): Similar to detectthoughts, but you don’t have to spend a spell slot on it. Spread the durationaround as much as you can, because it’s not going to last very long.

seek thoughts: Potentially powerful, butvery dependant on your DM.
telepathic bond: Very helpful for partycommunication, not on the Cleric spell list.
mind blank: Immensely powerful buff whichapplies to almost all will saves. Cast this every day, and enjoy the 24 hourduration. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Law Domain

The spell list is pretty boring, but the Law domain abilities are fantastic.

Touch of Law (Sp): It’s hard to use incombat, but this ability is fantastic. The sheer reliability of a guranteed 11really makes you much more reliable. Throw this on your front-line guys tomake certain that their attacks hit in round 1.

Staff of Order (Su): The duration is veryshort, but Axiomatic can deal a huge amount of damage.

protection from chaos: Chaos is muchharder to predict than Good or Evil. Already on the Cleric spell list.
align weapon (law only): Very few thingshave DR/lawful, and you can already cast this without the alignmentlimitation.
magic circle against chaos: Same issuesas Protection from Chaos.
order’s wrath: Terrible damage, butDazed is a good status condition. The duration is still terrible.
dispel chaos: Good buff, but it’salready on your spell list.
hold monster: Save or suck, and not on theCleric spell list. You get it a level late, but it’s still fantastic.
dictum: Good against weaker creatures,but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.
shield of law: Excellent buff, but it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
summon monster IX (law spell only): You canalready cast this without the alignment restriction.

Inevitable Subdomain

If you like to boss things around, this is the subdomain for you. The Command ability is very useful if you are creative, and can address a lot of problems. The spell list is mediocre, but provides some potentially interesting options.

Replaced Power(s): Touch of law

Command (Su): Command is a good spell, andthe DC will keep pace with your spells. This might be easier to use than Touchof Law, but it’s not nearly as reliable.

command undead: Situational, but not onthe Cleric spell list.
command (greater): Already on the Clericspell list, and your Command ability will probably be enough.
planar binding (inevitables only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Inevitables limitation isannoying, and there is a small list of Inevitables to choose from.

Liberation Domain

The abilities are fantastic ways to get access to Freedom of Movement, but the spell list is very poor.

Liberation (Su): If you ever need this, itwill save your life. Somewhat redundant with Freedom’s Call.

Freedom’s Call (Su): The listed statuseffects are all very debilitating, and being able to ignore them for a fewrounds per day will save your life. Allowing your entire party to ignore themis fantastic.

remove fear: Rarely useful; hardly worthpreparing. Already on the Cleric spell list.
remove paralysis: Situational. Alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
remove curse: Situational. Generally youprepare this when someone in the party is already cursed.Already on theCleric spell list.
freedom of movement: Good to have ready,but situational, already on the Cleric spell list, and you have Freedom’sCall.
break enchantment: See to RemoveCurse.
greater dispel magic: Fixes a lot ofproblems, but already on the Cleric spell list.
refuge: Situational, and already on theCleric spell list.
mind blank: Immensely powerful buff whichapplies to almost all will saves. Cast this every day, and enjoy the 24 hourduration. Not on the Cleric spell list.
freedom: Very situational, and already onthe Cleric spell list. Most of the effects of this spell are covered byFreedom of Movement, and the ability to remove creatures from Imprisonmentand Maze are highly situational.

Freedom Subdomain

Liberty’s blessing is incredibly powerful, but the spell list really isn’t any different. If you don’t think you will need Liberation between levels 1 and 7, Liberty’s Blessing is incredibly powerful.

Replaced Power(s): Liberation

Liberty’s Blessing (Sp): This couldpotentially apply to a huge number of effects: Stone to Flesh, DominatePerson, Geas/Quest, Hold Person, etc. Rerolls on saves are amazing, and thereis nothing that prevents you from using this repeatedly until your targetpasses their save.

sanctuary: Situational. Already on theCleric spell list.
plane shift: Situational. Already on theCleric spell list.

Revolution Subdomain

Deviating from the Liberation domain’s theme of physical freedom, the Revolution domain takes on a much more social feel. Powerful Persuader is great on a Face, but spell list isn’t really any different from the base Liberation spell list.

Luck Domain

Though the spell list doesn’t become useful until very high levels, the Luck domain has arguably the best ability available. Good fortune is a game changer. It can save your life from save-or-suck effects, it can make sure you make that crucial last attack, and it can help in any number of other cases.

Bit of Luck (Sp): When things are going tocome down to one attack or skill check, this is very comforting to have onhand. Difficult to use in combat, but still very useful for skill checks andability checks.

Good Fortune (Ex): Free daily luck rerolls.Good on any character, and in any situation.

true strike: Very difficult to find ause for, but it’s not on the Cleric spell list.
aid: Good buff, but it’s already on theCleric spell list.
protection from energy: Good buff, butit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
freedom of movement: Good buff, but it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
break enchantment: Good buff, but it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
mislead: Excellent escape spell, and it’snot on the Cleric spell list.
spell turning: Absolutely fantastic. Noton the Cleric spell list.
moment of prescience: Very powerful, andnot on the Cleric spell list.
miracle: Very powerful, but already onthe Cleric spell list.

Curse Subdomain

Malign Eye isn’t as useful as Bit of Luck, and it’s hard to justify using inplace of casting a spell or attacking. The only important option on the spelllist is Eyebite, which is really only great for a level or 2 before enemieswill have too many hit dice to be affected.

Replaced Power(s): Bit of luck

Malign Eye (Su): This hurts as a standardaction. In the same amount of time you could cast spells which might give thetarget Shaken or Sickened, both of which apply -2 penalties to saves on top ofa laundry list of other effects.

bane: You will generally get better resultsfrom Bless. Already on the Cleric spell list.
bestow curse: Very powerful debuff, butit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
eyebite: Absolutely devastating save orsuck spell against targets below 10 hit dice. Creatures with 10 hit dicewill still be affected by the Sickened condition, which makes them easier tohit with other spells. Targeting a new creature each round as a swift actionallows you to affect a whole mess of enemies. Not on the Cleric spelllist.

Fate Subdomain

Tugging Strands is just better than Good Fortune. You get it a little later, but the effect is well worth the wait. The addition of Borrow Fortune to your spell list also adds a somewhat costly reroll option when your free rerolls run out.

Replaced Power(s): Good fortune

Tugging Strands (Su): I honestly didn’tthink that I would find a better option than Good Fortune, but here it is. Anycreature in line of sight includes you, your allies, and probably all of yourenemies. You get this two levels behind Good Fortune, and get additionalrerolls two levels behind each new reroll of Good Fortune, but that is reallythe only drawback.

augury: Useful if you roll well and yourDM is okay with vaguely alluding to the future. Already on the Cleric spelllist.
borrow fortune: This is a hugely powerfulspell. I would prepare this every day, but save it for absolutely crucialrolls, like save or suck effects. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Madness Domain

The Madness domain is absolutely fantastic. Vision of Madness is a high risk, high reward buff option which could be a lot of fun at the table. Aura of Madness is a fantastic group debuff which can shut down entire encounters. On top of excellent and exciting powers, the Madness spell list is almost entirely non-Cleric spells, many of which are powerful save or suck/die spells.

Vision of Madness (Sp): Give the bonus toattacks to your fighter types before combat, and hopefully the huge penalty tosaves won’t get them slaughtered.

Aura of Madness (Su): Confusion is a greatdebuff spell, and the save on this ability will keep page with your spells.Affecting every enemy within 30 reduces entire encounters to mobs of babblingincoherent lunatics.

lesser confusion: Even if they fail thesave, targets have a good chance to act normally.
touch of idiocy: Excellent debuff forenemy spellcasters. Not on the Cleric spell list.
rage: Interesting, but hard to use. Noton the Cleric spell list.
confusion: Excellent debuff. Not on theCleric spell list.
nightmare: Situational. Not on theCleric spell list.
phantasmal killer: Decent low level saveor die spell for Wizards, but you get it 2 levels late. Not on the Clericspell list. By this level you have other, more effective save or suckoptions.
insanity: Brutal near-permanentdebuff.
scintillating pattern: AOE debuff with nosave, and some very nasty effects. Not on the Cleric spell list.
weird: AOE save or die spell, and even iftargets pass their save, they are Stunned. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Insanity Subdomain

The Insanity Subdomain isn’t significantly better than the base Madness domain, but has slightly different options. Choosing between the two is entirely personal preference.

Replaced Power(s): Visions of madness.

Insane Focus (Su): Most Will save effectsare mind-affecting, so that +4 bonus applies to most will saves. The immunityto Confusion is situational.

moonstruck: Excellent debuff spell ifyour enemies outnumber you. Not on the Cleric spell list.
phantasmal web: Excellent AOE debuff/saveor suck. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Nightmare Subdomain

Fearful touch is a very interesting option if you like to use Fear effects, and it’s the key component of this subdomain. If you prefer to use Fear over Confusion effects, use the Nightmare subdomain.

Replaced Power(s): Vision of madness

Fearful Touch (Su): Fear effects aregenerally weak, with the exception of Phantasmal Killer, which kills people.Oh, look! It’s on your spell list! Of course, this combination requires toturns (or a quickened spell) to manage, but it’s certainly effective.

phantasmal killer: Combine with FearfulTouch, this is brutally effective.
cloak of dreams: Amazing defense. Not onthe Cleric spell list.
weird: I’m confused why this is here. It’s alreadyonthe Madness domain at the same level.

Magic Domain

Despite being a domain about Magic, the Magic domain’s abilities mostlycenter around resisting and defeating spellcasters. These abilities are verypowerful, especially in a magic-heavy campaign.

Hand of the Acolyte (Su): Unlike the energyray abilities, this targets AC. It won’t be as accurate, but at first levelyour weapon will do slightly more damage. At high levels, your weapon may beenhanced to deal more damage than the energy rays, but without enhancement theenergy rays will scale faster.

Dispelling Touch (Sp): Great for fightingother spellcasters. Engage them in melee, dispel their buffs, then stickaround to disrupt their spells.

identify: Helpful, and not normallyavailable to clerics. Without a Wizard’s intelligence, this will help whenidentifying items.
magic mouth: Situational. Not on theCleric spell list.
dispel magic: Immensely helpful, but onthe Cleric spell list already.
imbue with spell ability: Very cool, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
spell resistance: Fantastic, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
antimagic field: If they’re a betterspellcaster but you’re a better fighter, turn off the magic and go hit themwith your mace. You get this two levels ahead of other Clerics.
spell turning: Fantastic, and not on theCleric spell list.
protection from spells: Fantastic, and noton the Cleric spell list.
mage’s disjunction: Disregard mages, nuketreasure. Insanely powerful, and not on the Cleric spell list.

Arcane Subdomain

Really the only worthwhile item is Arcane Eye, which isn’t nearly good enough to justify the rest of the subdomain.

Replaced Power(s): Hand of the acolyte

Arcane Beacon (Su): A conceptuallyinteresting support effect, but you are a truly awful character if th best youcan do with your turn is to replicate the effects of Spell Focus.

magic aura: Hugely situational, though it’snot on the Cleric spell list.
arcane eye: Fantastic scouting spell. Noton the Cleric spell list.
analyze dweomer: Situational. Most ofthe time Detect Magic will work just as well.

Divine Subdomain

Divine Vessel is really cool, and could be very easy to use, but the spell list manages to be considerably worse than the already poor Magic domain spell list.

Replaced Power(s): Hand of the acolyte

Divine Vessel (Su): The +2 bonus is typelessapparently. Targeting yourself with a divinge spell is fairly trivial. Out ofcombat you can use cantrips like Resistance or Light, and in combat you canuse short-term buffs like Heroism.

bless water: Already on the cleric spelllist, situational, and bad. You can just buy holy water for the same priceas the material component.
cleanse: Nice self-healing effect, butit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
resurrection: Why would you need this as adomain spell? How often do you wake up in the morning and say “I bet one ofmy friends is going to die today, so I should prepare for it.” This isalready on the Cleric spell list, and generally raising the dead issomething that justifies taking a day off.
miracle: Good, but already on your spelllist.

Nobility Domain

Inspiring Word is bad, but you get Leadership for free, and a bonus to your leadership score. The spell list has only one option which isn’t already on the Cleric spell list, and most of the spells ar mediocre.

Inspiring Word (Sp): Small buff, and itdoesn’t stack with a bunch of cleric spells (Bless, Prayer, etc.), and theduration is pitiful. You should generally have something better to do incombat, so use it for skill checks between fights.

Leadership (Ex): If your DM allowsleadership in your campaign, this is fantastic.

divine favor: This is good, especiallybecause it’s a luck bonus, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.
enthrall: Decent, but already on theCleric spell list.
magic vestment: Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
discern lies: Situational, and already onthe Cleric spell list.
greater command: Good, but already onthe Cleric spell list.
geas/quest: Situational, and already on theCleric spell list.
repulsion: Situational, and already onthe Cleric spell list.
demand: Very powerful, and not normally onthe Cleric spell list. Send the BBEG a message telling him to meet yousomewhere that totally isn’t a trap.
storm of vengeance: This is a weirdspell. It’s hard to time, it’s hard to use, and it’s hard to not do just asmuch damage to your party. It’s also on the cleric spell list already at thesame level.

Leadership Subdomain

This is miles better than the Nobility domain. Inspiring Word is terrible,
and Inspiring Command is a welcome replacement. The addition of Brilliant
Inspiration to the spell list is a welcome addition. The other spell options
aren’t any better than the default Nobility list. If you are the party’s
support caster, this is a solid domain choice.

Replaced Power(s): Inspiring word.

Inspiring Command (Su): Despite the oneround duration, this is considerably better than Inspiring Word. Insightbonuses are easier to stack with common Cleric buffs like Bless and Prayer,and it can affect multiple targets.

bless: Good, but already on the Clericspell list.
prayer: Good, but already on the Clericspell list.
brilliant inspiration: Absolutely amazing.This spell only appears on the Bard spell list at 6th spell level, so youget this a stunning 5 levels early. Imagine allowing your fighter or yourrogue to reroll every d20 for the length of a combat. This can completelychange the outcome of a battle.

Martyr Subdomain

The Martyr subdomain focuses on you taking damage in place of your allies. Invest in additional hit points, because you will need them. This can help to compensate for a lack of a defender, but the Martyr subdomain lacks any proactive options.

Replaced Power(s): Leadership.

Sacrificial Bond (Su): Like an emergencyversion of Shield Other. This can be a fantastic way to rescue your squishyallies, or keep your defender on the front lines.

shield other: Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
sacrificial oath: An upgraded version ofShield Other, and it’s normally only available to Paladins as a 4th-levelspell, so you get it at least 2 levels early.

Plant Domain

Similar to the Animal domain, the Plant domain adds several Druid spells to the Cleric spell list. While the domain abilities are uninteresting, the spells list includes several really fantastic options across every spell level. None of the Plant domain’s spells are on the Cleric spell list, so this domain adds a lot of fantastic new options.

Wooden Fist (Su): Just get a mace.

Bramble Armor (Su): The damage is small,and it’s hard to know when to best use these rounds.

entangle: Excellent area control spell,and not generally available to Clerics.
barkskin: Excellent AC buff with a goodduration, and not normally available to clerics.
plant growth: Situational, but not on theCleric spell list, and potentially very powerful.
command plants: Very situational, butnot on the Cleric spell list.
wall of thorns: Excellent area control,and not on the Cleric spell list.
repel wood: Situational, but not on theCleric spell list, and potentially very powerful.
animate plants: Very powerful, and not onthe Cleric spell list.
control plants: Situational, but not onthe Cleric spell list.
shambler: Very powerful, and not on theCleric spell list.

Decay Subdomain

Aura of Decay is cool, but hard to use. The spell list gives up three spells from the Druid spell list for three spells already on the Cleric spell list.

Replaced Power(s): Bramble armor.

Aura of Decay (Su): Because this auraaffects allies, it’s hard to determine when to use this. The cumulativestrength penalty can be very debilitating, and doesn’t require a save.

contagion: Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
poison: Good, but already on the Clericspell list.
harm: Good, but already on the Clericspell list.

Growth Subdomain

The Growth subdomain is all about making yourself bigger and hitting stuff. If you’re going to be on the front lines, this is an excellent subdomain.

Replaced Power(s): Wooden fist.

Enlarge (Su): Situationally useful, thoughthe duration is very short. Miles better than wooden fist.

enlarge person: Fantastic, and not on theCleric spell list. The addition of reach justifies preparing this every dayif you can manage it.
righteous might: Fantastic, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list. You also give up Wall of Thorns, which is a reallygood spell.

Protection Domain

Granted Powers: A permanent resistancebonus. Saves you some money on a cloak of resistance, and gives you greatsaves early in the game.

Resistant Touch (Sp): Your allies shouldhave their own resistance bonuses.

Aura of Protection (Su): The bonuses aresmall, but they cover basically everything that can hurt you.

sanctuary: Situational. Already on theCleric spell list.
shield other: Good, but already onyour spell list.
protection from energy: Good buff, butit’s already on the Cleric spell list.
spell immunity: This spell is verydifficult to use. Unless you know exactly which spells your enemies willbe using, this won’t get you anything. Already on the Cleric spelllist.
spell resistance: Fantastic, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
antimagic field: If they’re a betterspellcaster but you’re a better fighter, turn off the magic and go hitthem with your mace. You get this two levels ahead of other Clerics.
repulsion: Situational, and already onthe Cleric spell list.
mind blank: Immensely powerful buffwhich applies to almost all will saves. Cast this every day, and enjoy the24 hour duration. Not on the Cleric spell list.
prismatic sphere: Very powerful areacontrol, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.

Defense Subdomain

Miles better than the Protection domain, the Defense subdomain replaces theuseless Resistant Touch with a once per day party AC buff, and replacesseveral Cleric spells on the Protection spell list with some excellentdefensive buffs from the Wizard and Druid spell lists.

Replaced Power(s): Resistant touch.

Deflection Aura (Su): Deflection bonusesare expensive, and this can reduce the need for Rings of Protection. Theduration isn’t great, and it’s only usable once a day, so you may need tosave this for when things get scary.

shield: Excellent AC buff, and it opensup your hands so that you can use a two-handed weapon without sacrificingAC.
barkskin: Excellent AC buff with a goodduration, and not normally available to clerics.
deflection: Amazing buff, despite theshort duration. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Purity Subdomain

Purifying Touch is a great power, but the Purity subdomain’s spell listisn’t any better than the Protection domain’s regular spell list. It’s noworse, fortunately.

Replaced Power(s): Aura of protection.

Purifying Touch (Su): This is a great wayto remove a huge number of negative effects: poison, disease, curses,enchantments, ongoing damage, etc. Basically any harmful spell with aduration that isn’t “instantaneous” can by fixed with this ability.

protection from chaos/evil/good/law:Situational, and already on the Cleric spell list.
remove blindness/deafness:Situational, and already on the Cleric spell list.
atonement: Situational, and already onthe Cleric spell list.

Repose Domain

Repose features a pair of fantastically powerful abilities, but the spelllist is fairly poor. The only non-Cleric spell on the spell list comes atlevel 9.

Gentle Rest (Sp): No save. Staggeredreduces the target to a single action, which can be debillitating at highlevels. Touching them again to make them fall asleep makes the target baitfor a Coup de Grace.

Ward Against Death (Su): This willabsolutely save your life.

deathwatch: Useful, but already on theCleric spell list.
gentle repose: Very situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.
speak with dead: Situational, alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
death ward: Death effects are scary,and this protects against them. However, the duration is short, so it ishard to know when to cast this.
slay living: Save or die. Good, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
undeath to death: Wrecks undead, butalready a Cleric spell.
destruction: Roughly equivalent toHarm, which is a spell level lower. Already on the Cleric spell list.
waves of exhaustion: Exhausted is apretty gentle status condition, especially at this level.
wail of the banshee: AOE save ordie.

Ancestors Subdomain

The Ancestors subdomain gives you nothing that you didn’t already have.

Replaced Power(s): Ward against death.

Speak With Dead (Su): Hugely situational,and you can replicate this with a spell which you could cast three levelsearlier. You also give up Ward Against Death, which is amazing.

rest eternal: Hugely situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.
geas/quest: Hugely situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.

Souls Subdomain

Touch the Spirit World is very situational, and the only interesting spellon this subdomain’s spell list in Trap the Soul. This isn’t really anybetter than the Repose domain, and might actually be worse if Gentle Rest isworking well for you.

Replaced Power(s): Gentle rest.

Touch the Spirit World (Su):Situational, but effective.

animate dead: Good, but already on theCleric spell list.
antilife shield: Excellent areacontrol, but already on the Cleric spell list
trap the soul: very powerful, butsituational and expensive. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Rune Domain

Granted Powers: Scribe Scroll is a greatfeat. Make scrolls of situational spells so that you always have themhandy.

Blast Rune (Sp): Useless at first leve dueto the dismal duration, and the damage doesn’t scale enough to keep itrelevent at high levels.

Spell Rune (Sp): And suddenly Blast Runebecomes useful! Throw something nasty on the rune like Hold Person or Harm,and really ruin someone’s day.

erase: Very situational. Not on theCleric spell list.
secret page: Very situational. Not onthe Cleric spell list, and you get it a level early.
glyph of warding: Situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.
explosive runes: Situational. Not onthe Cleric spell list, but you get it a level late.
lesser planar binding: Very powerful,and not on the Cleric spell list.
greater glyph of warding: Situational,and already on the Cleric spell list.
instant summonsSituational. Not on theCleric spell list
symbol of death: Effective, but it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
teleportation circle: Very cool, andnot on the Cleric spell list, but arguably situational.

Language Subdomain

This will greatly improve your ability to communicate with creatures thatdon’t speak your languages. Rune Shift would be fantastic if Blast Rune didsomething interesting. Telepathic bond is a welcome addition, but Tonguesand Telepathic bond aren’t good enough to make up for the loss of Spell Runeand Lesser Planar Binding.

Replaced Power(s): spell rune.

Rune Shift (Su): This would be fantasticif you hadn’t given up Spell Rune for it. Blast Rune by itself ispitiful.

comprehend languages: Ocassionallyuseful, but already on the Cleric spell list.
share language: Ocassionally useful,but already on the Cleric spell list.
tongues: Already on the Cleric spelllist, but you get it one level ahead of schedule.
telepathic bond: Very helpful for partycommunication, not on the Cleric spell list.

Wards Subdomain

Wards is a sidestep from the Rune domain. The spells are slightlydifferent, though no better, and Warding Rune removes much of the utility ofSpell Rune.

Replaced Power(s): spell rune.

Warding Rune (Su): Not as versatile asSpell Rune, but certainly an excellent defensive measure.

arcane lock: Situational, but not onthe Cleric spell list and you get it a level ahead of wizards.
dimensional anchor: Situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.
guards and wards: Contains a ton ofreally great effects, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.

Strength Domain

The Strength domain has a couple of abilities which are difficult to use,especially in combat where you would want them most. The spell list includesEnlarge Person, which is fantastic at any level, and at high level adds sometelekinetic fist spells which are great for locking down single targets.

Strength Surge (Sp): The bonus is nice,but the duration is only one round, which makes this extremely difficult touse. It also takes a standard action to use, which means you probably won’tuse it on yourself in combat.

Might of the Gods (Su): Doesn’t apply toanything combat related, and using it for strength checks and ability checkswill probably never matter.

enlarge person: Essential melee buff,and not on the Cleric spell list.
bull’s strength: Decent, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
magic vestment: Excellent, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
spell immunity: This spell is verydifficult to use. Unless you know exactly which spells your enemies willbe using, this won’t get you anything. Already on the Cleric spelllist.
righteous might: Absolutely greatbuff, but it’s already a Cleric spell.
stoneskin: Great buff that’s not on theCleric spell list, but very expensive to cast.
grasping hand: Useful for locking downsingle targets, and not on the Cleric spell list.
clenched fist: Stunned is a devastatingstatus effect, and Clenched Fist isn’t on the Cleric spell list.
crushing hand: Better version ofGrasping Hand. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Ferocity Subdomain

Ferocious strike is considerably easier to use in combat than StrengthSurge, and Ferocity doesn’t meaningfully change the Strength spell list. Thenew spells aren’t notably worse than the Strength domain’s spells, and theStrength spells replaced are situational.

Replaced Power(s): strength surge.

Ferocious Strike (Su): Not very flashy,but this is a reliable source of additional damage.

rage: Interesting, but hard to use.Not on the Cleric spell list.
bull’s strength (mass): Potentiallyuseful, but by this level anyone who needs a strength buff will have itemsfor it. Already on the Cleric spell list.

Sun Domain

If you plan to fight a lot of undead, the Sun domain is fantastic. Many ofthe spells on the Sun spell list do additional damage to undead, and yourabilities really help against undead. The low level spell options are bad,but as you gain levels the options improve. Sunbeam and Sunburst aredifficult to interpret because the spell descriptions are written strangely,but if your GM takes a reasonable interpretation of these spells, they canbe very effective.

Sun’s Blessing (Su): If you ever fightundead, you will win.

Nimbus of Light (Su): Removes Darknessspells, fries undead.

endure elements: Very situational.
heat metal: Amusing, but bad.
searing light: Terrible damage, evenagainst undead.
fire shield: Decent buff, and not theCleric spell list. If you’re in melee, this can be an excellentdefense.
flame strike: Great damage for aCleric spell, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.
fire seeds: The holly berries option isinsane. Charge eight berries, walk into melee. Next turn, drop them in theother guy’s square, and step back out of the 5 foot blast radius. Triggerall 8 for for 8d8 plus 8 times your caster level. The acorn version isbad.
sunbeam: This spell is poorly written.How long does the blindness last? Does the blindness end when you run outof rays? Or does it continue until the rounds/level duration expires? Itaffects “fungi, mold, oozes, and slimes” as though they were undead, butof those four only Ooze is a defined creature type. The wording regardingundead also makes it unclear if they are blinded in addition to the extradamage. The Pathfinder Rules Questions forum hasseveral threads about the spell, all expressing similar concerns. I would interpret the spell asfollows: Normal creatures take listed damage (4d6) and are permanentlyblinded. Undead take the bigger damage instead of the regular damage, andare blinded as normal. Oozes, and plant creatures which could be definedas “fungi, mold, or slime” (such as shambling mounds or mushroomcreatures) are affected like undead. Consult your GM to be sure.
sunburst: Though it suffers many of therules interpetation issues of sunbeam, sunburst is slightly easier tointerpret. Because the duration is instantaneous, the blindness effect ispermanent. The damage dealt to undead is still unclear (do they takedamage twice?), and the additional list of things affected like undead isstill confusing.
prismatic sphere: Very powerful areacontrol, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.

Day Subdomain

Day’s resurgence isn’t as cool as Sun’s Blessing, but if you don’tencounter a lot of undead and magical darkness, Day’s resurgence can be anice source of healing. The changes to the Sun spell list help to compensatefor the loss of Nimbus of Light, and are a solid improvement over the Sundoamin’s normal spells.

Replaced Power(s): nimbus of light.

Day’s Resurgence (Su): Healing per dayis fairly small, and there are very few effects which require daily saves.Still, this is free healing, and can help to overcome temporary negativelevels and diseases.

continual flame: Excellent way to get apermanent light source, but you really only need to cast it once or twice.Not on the Cleric spell list.
daylight: Excellent light source, andovercomes Darkness. Already on the Cleric spell list.

Light Subdomain

Blinding Flash is better than Sun’s Blessing in every situation notinvolving undead. The spell list is also a major improvement on the Sundomain. Faerie Fire is an excellent utility spell at any level, and Daylightis a welcome utility.

Replaced Power(s): sun’s blessing.

Blinding Flash (Su): Blindness can be verydebilitating, and blindness effects at level 1 are nearly nonexistent. Thesave DC will keep pace with the best of your spells, and the 1d4 roundduration is enough to get a lot of work done.

faerie fire: Longer duration thanGlitterdust, and nearly as effective for revealing invisibile creatures.Not on the Cleric spell list.
daylight: Excellent light source, butalready on the Cleric spell list.

Travel Domain

The Travel domain introduces a bunch of teleportation and mobility optionsto the Cleric. If you like to move around a lot in combat, this can give yousome excellent tactical options.

Agile Feet (Su): Great for clerics whoneed to move around a lot, but situational. Can be replaced by Freedom ofMovement.

Dimensional Hop (Sp): Extremely useful forclosing to deliver touch attack spells, or for escaping bad positions incombat.

longstrider: Great buff, huge duration,usually not available to clerics.
locate object: Already on the Clericspell list, but you get it a level earlier than other Clerics.
fly: Flight is hugely important, and Flyisn’t usually available to Clerics.
dimension door: Fantastic teleportationspell, and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.
teleport: Hugely useful, and not on theCleric spell list.
find the path: Useful, but already onthe Cleric spell list.
greater teleport: Hugely useful, and noton the Cleric spell list.
phase door: Powerful, and not on theCleric spell list, but you get it a level late.
astral projection: Situationallyuseful, but already on the Cleric spell list.

Exploration Subdomain

The Travel domain provides a lot of very cool tacticaly movement abilities,and the Exploration subdomain shifts this focus a bit more towardexploration and long distance travel. The spells aren’t quite as useful, andDoor Sight is less interesting than Agile Feet, and more options areavailable to replicate its effects.

Replaced Power(s): agile feet.

Door Sight (Su): Clerics already get alot of excellent divination effects which make this ability hard to justify.It’s about as situational as Agile Feet.

expeditious retreat: Excellent escapeoptin, not on the Cleric spel list. Not as reliable as Longstrider, butstill useful.
locate creature: Situational, but verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list.
world wave: Very situational, but noton the Cleric spell list.

Trade Subdomain

The Trade subdomain is a weird change to the Travel domain. It somewhatreduces the focus on tactical movement, and introduces a grab-bad of generalutility effects. Silver-Tongued Haggler allows you to be an effective Face,Overland Flight lets you fly all day, and Gate lets you summon things andtravel to other planes. Each of these effects is fantastic, which makes thisan excellent change to the already fantastic Travel domain. Because Travelis already so great, this is largely a lateral change. Pick whichever fitsyour playstyle better.

Replaced Power(s): agile feet.

Silver-Tongued Haggler (Su): Unless youare spending a huge amount of time in a given day making conversation rolls,you can get a ton of mileage out of this ability. With a passable charismascore and a handful of ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive, you canbe a very capable Face for your party.

floating disk: Situationally usefulutility. Not on the Cleric spell list.
overland flight: An all-day flight spellis a huge benefit for a Cleric. Not on the Cleric spell list.
gate: The biggest, scariest summon spellin the game.

Trickery Domain

While Clerics typically don’t dabble in stealth, guile, and generalytrickery, the Trickery domain allows you to do just that. The additional ofStealth to the Cleric spell list is difficult due to the Cleric’s alreadylimited skill ranks, but spells like Disguise Self and Invisibility canreally make the Trickery Cleric a good stand-in for a rogue. The abilitiesare powerful and scale very well, and the spell list includes a ton ofreally fantastic options at almost every level.

Granted Powers: Stealth and trickerygenerally aren’t things that Clerics do, but apparently you’re theexception.

Copycat (Sp): Basically a 50% miss chance.The duration is very short, so you won’t get much use at first level.

Master’s Illusion (Sp): This can be veryuseful if you are creative, and the DC will keep pace with your bestspells.

disguise self: Situational, not on theCleric spell list. Helps to compensate for your lack off the Disguiseskill.
invisibility: Fantastic. Not on theCleric spell list.
nondetection: Situational. Despite thehuge duration, the 50 gp material component makes this annoying to cast ona daily basis.
confusion: Excellent debuff. Not on theCleric spell list.
false vision: Very situational. Not onthe Cleric spell list.
mislead: Excellent escape mechanic, andyou get it a spell level ahead of wizards.
screen: Situational, but veryeffective, and you get it a spell level before wizards.
mass invisibility: Very powerful, andnot on the Cleric spell list, but you get it a level late.
time stop: Absolutely amazing. Not onthe Cleric spell list.

Deception Subdomain

Deception is a lateral move from Trickery. Its effects are moreself-centered than Trickery, but certainly no less effective.

Replaced Power(s): copycat.

Sudden Shift (Sp): While not as usefuldefensively as Copycat, this is fantastic to get into flanking position. Formedium creatures, 10 feet will take you to anywhere adjacent to thatcreature, which provides you with a lot of options.

mirror image: Not as useful asInvisibility for your party members, but much better for you.
project image: Situational, but not onthe Cleric spell list.

Thievery Subdomain

The Theivery domain is really only useful if you have Trapfinding. If youplan to multiclass Rogue-Cleric, you may find the Theivery subdomain useful,but even then you will likely get more from the unmodified Trickerydomain.

Replaced Power(s): master’s illusions.

Thief of the Gods (Su): If you are amulticlassed Rogue, this could be useful. However, you don’t get DisableDevice as a class skill, and you can’t disable traps with a DC higher than21, so you need some rogue levels to make this even remotely useful.

locate object: Situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.
ethereal jaunt: Situational, andalready on the Cleric spell list.

War Domain

The War domain starts of very flat, and doesn’t really pick up until highlevel. Weapon Master is fantastic despite the limited duration. The Warspell list is entirely Cleric spells until high levels, at which point yougain access to the extremely powerful Power Word spells.

Battle Rage (Sp): This should never be abetter option than attacking or casting a spell.

Weapon Master (Su): Because you need tomeet the prerequisites, this doesn’t give you a lot of options. CombatExpertise and Power Attack are good options if you don’t have them already,but you can also pick things like Toughness, Weapon Focus, or Dodge. Youwon’t be able to use this much due to the limited duration, but it can go along way in tough fights. Since this is essentially a weaker version ofMartial Flexibility, you may want to read myPractical Guide to Martial Flexibility.

magic weapon: Excellent, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
spiritual weapon: Excellent, butalready on the Cleric spell list.
magic vestment: Excellent, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
divine power: Excellent, but alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
flame strike: Great damage for aCleric spell, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.
blade barrier: Excellent area control,but already on the Cleric spell list.
power word blind: Very powerful, anddoesn’t allow a saving throw. Not on the Cleric spell list.
power word stun: Very powerful, anddoesn’t allow a saving throw. Not on the Cleric spell list.
power word kill: Very powerful, anddoesn’t allow a saving throw. Not on the Cleric spell list.

Blood Subdomain

Wounding blade is less complocated than Weapon Master, but sacrifices muchof its versatility. Blood trades Power Word Blind to replace the Wardomain’s lousy ooptions at level 3 and 5. Overall this is a slightimprovement on the spell list, but Wounding Blade just isn’t as good asWeapon Master.

Replaced Power(s): weapon master.

Wounding Blade (Su): Wounding onlyinflicts one point of bleed, so it’s not spectacular, but extra damage isnever bad.

vampiric touch: Fantastic, especially ifyou’re in combat a lot. Not on the Cleric spell list.
wall of thorns: Excellent area control,and not on the Cleric spell list.
inflict serious wounds (mass): As far asAOE damage spells go, this is pretty terrible. Already on the Cleric spelllist.

Tactics Subdomain

Tactics gives up Power Word Stun to replace Battle Rage with Seize theInitiative. Sieze the Initiative is miles better than battle rage, but PowerWord Stun is one of the best options on the War spell list, and War hasterribly few good options to trade.

Replaced Power(s): battle rage.

Seize the Initiative (Su): I would assumethat you can only use this once per combat, so pick an ally who really needsto go first. If the Rogue didn’t roll well, choose him. Otherwise, choosethe Wizard. Rerolls on anything are fantastic, and going early in theinitiative order frequently defines the outcome of an encounter.

aid: Good buff, but it’s already onthe Cleric spell list.
command (greater): Already on theCleric spell list.
planar ally (greater): Poweful, butalready on the Cleric spell list, and the components are very costly.

Water Domain

The Water domain starts flat, and never improves. It has the genericelemental domain abilities, which are nice to have, but nothing tocelebrate. The spell list has a lot of very mediocre options, and the highlevel options are pretty bad.

Icicle (Sp): Generic ranged energyattack. Solid, reliable, and a great option at low levels when your spellsare limited.

Cold Resistance (Ex): Permanentresistance to cold, but it’s not a lot of resistance.

obscuring mist: Occasionally useful asan escape mechanic.
fog cloud: A better, ranged version ofObscuring Mist. Not on the Cleric spell list.
water breathing: Situational. Alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
control water: Situational. Already onthe Cleric spell list.
ice storm: This is a mediocre areacontrol spell, and you get it a level late.
cone of cold: Excellent AOE damage, butyou get it a level late.
elemental body IV (water only): Awfulspell.
horrid wilting: Decent single-targetdamage, but at this level you can use save or die spells with the saveDC.
elemental swarm (water spell only):Create a bunch of elemental servants. If you can spare the 10 minutes tocast this ahead of time, the elementals are big bags of hit points todefend you in combat. However, the biggest elemental you summon is CR 9,which won’t be very scary at this level.

Ice Subdomain

Ice replaces the very dull and easily replicated cold resistance ability,and replaces two of the worst spells on the Water spell list with two decentdirect damage spells from the Wizard spell list. This is a clear improvementon the Water domain.

Replaced Power(s): cold resistance.

Body of Ice (Su): This is a really coolability. Cold damage is fairly uncommon, which means you can turn this on toresist ice damage, and you won’t miss the cold resistance when you’re facinganything else. The DR is also fantastic, and exceeds the DR of Barbariansuntil very high level.

freezing sphere: Basically fireballwith a higher dice cap and cold damage. Freezes water. You get it a levellate, but nearly anything is better than Elemental Body.
polar ray: A boat-load of single targetcold damage, and it doesn’t allow a save. Go point it at a red dragon. Noton the Cleric spell list.

Oceans Subdomain

Oceans isn’t as much of an improvement on the Water domain as Ice, but itprovides some cool new utility and area control options, and replaces someof the less interesting Water spells with new spells from the Wizard andDruid spell lists.

Replaced Power(s): icicle.

Surge (Su): You sacrifice the benefit ofeasy damage at low levels for an excellent tactical option. Even withoutfocusing on Bull Rush or Drag, the utility of moving people around thebattlefiend is undeniable. The wording doesn’t mention the effects of feats,but your GM may allow you to apply feats like Greater Bull Rush to grantyour allies attacks of opportunity. As always, check with your GM beforemaking any character decisions. You can also use it on your allies to getthem into position to full attack, or to get them out of dangerouslocations.

slipstream: Nice buff with a decentduration. Throw it on your mobile characters to help them move around thefield. Not on the Cleric spell list.
water walk: Situational, and it’salready on the Cleric spell list.
tsunami: A bit of damage, and someexcellent area control. Throw it at groups of enemies. Not on the Clericspell list.

Weather Domain

The Weather domain has a couple of interesting powers, though they don’t doa lot of damage. The spell list has some great area control effects, but thedamage spells are among the worst options available. Overall the domaintries to find a nice space between area control and damage output, andmanages to fail at both.

Storm Burst (Sp): Similar to the genericenergy bolt attacks, but Storm Burst deals nonlethal damage. Instead of realdamage, the target takes a penalty to its attacks for round. Potentiallyuseful at low levels, despite the damage limitations.

Lightning Lord (Sp): Replicates theeffect of a decent damage spell, but the ability to hit more than one targetat a time makes this miles better than Call Lightning. However, the damageis fairly small, even at 8th level, and doesn’t scale with level.

obscuring mist: Occasionally useful asan escape mechanic.
fog cloud: A better, ranged version ofObscuring Mist. Not on the Cleric spell list.
call lightning: Because the bolts arevertical, this will likely get used as a single-target damage spell.Instead of spending your standard action doing something helpful, you candeal 3d6 damage. That’s an average of 10.5. Even at level 5, that barelyexceeds your weapon damage.
sleet storm: Excellent area control,especially against clumsy foes. Not on the Cleric spell list.
ice storm: This is a mediocre areacontrol spell, and you get it a level late.
control winds: Allows you to preventenemies from flying, and isn’t on the Cleric spell list.
control weather: Situational, and alreadyon the Cleric spell list.
whirlwind: Great crowd-control effect,and it’s not on the Cleric spell list.
storm of vengeance: This is a weirdspell. It’s hard to time, it’s hard to use, and it’s hard to not do justas much damage to your party. It’s also on the cleric spell list alreadyat the same level.

Seasons Subdomain

The only clearly good option in Seasons is Goodberry. A first level spellhardly makes a domain. Seasons gives up the two best spells on the Weatherspell list and replaces them with Blight, which is terrible, and Sunburst,which is hard enough to interpret that I would probably never use it.

Replaced Power(s): storm burst.

Untouched by the Seasons (Su): Verysituational, and only replaces the effect of a first level spell which isalready on your spell list.

goodberry: Often overlooked, Goodberryis an excellent healing option. Cast it repeatedly on off days, and theberries will remain potent when its time to adventure. Use them to healthose last few hit points without spending a prepared spell or potion.They also reduce the need to purchase food. Not on the Cleric spelllist.
blight: Very situational. If you needto kill plants, Flame Strike them. Most plants take double damage fromfire. Not on the Cleric spell list.
sunburst: Though it suffers many of therules interpetation issues of sunbeam, sunburst is slightly easier tointerpret. Because the duration is instantaneous, the blindness effect ispermanent. The damage dealt to undead is still unclear (do they takedamage twice?), and the additional list of things affected like undead isstill confusing.

Storms Subdomain

Storms doesn’t meaningfully change the feel of the Weather domain. It isstill a poor mix of damage and control spells, with too little damage andtoo little control to be of any real interest.

Replaced Power(s): lightning lord.

Gale Aura (Su): Decent area controleffect. Helpful for slowing highly movile enemies. Giving up lightning lordmight seem disappointing, but lightning lord barely qualifies as green dueto its pitiful damage.

call lightning storm: The duration isnice, but at 9th level when you get this spell, Wizards can throwfireballs for twice as much damage. Not on the Cleric spell list.
sirocco: Nice area control effect. Alittle bit of damage, knock things prone, and make them fatigued. Not onthe Cleric spell list.

Multi-Domain Subdomains

Multi-Domain Subdomains can be taken as a subdomain of two base domains.

Archon Subdomain

The Archon domain is a lateral shift from the Good and Law domains. Yougive up the ability to enhance your weapons for an aura to debuff yourenemies. In addition, you give up Protection from and Magic Circle againstEvil/Law for some more general buff spells. Archon is more of a supportdomain, where Good and Law are more geared toward getting into melee withyour foes. You also get to keep the excellent Touch of Law power if you takethe domain.

Associated Domains: Good, Law

Replaced Power(s): Holy lance (Good domain) or Staff of order (Lawdomain).

Aura of Menace (Su): The -2 to AC andAttakc is prety nice, but the -2 to saves is fantastic. This won’t do muchat low levels due to the limited duration, but at high levels it’s going tobe very useful. Note that it doesn’t allow a save.

divine favor: This is good, especiallybecause it’s a luck bonus, but it’s already on the Cleric spell list.
prayer: Good, but already on yourspell list.
planar ally (archon only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Archon limitation isannoying, but there are a ton of excellent Archons to choose fro,.

Azata Subdomain

Azata provides you with some ways to avoid being trapped on controlled.It’s about on par with the Chaos and Good domains, and provides some usefuleffects.

Associated Domains: Chaos, Good

Replaced Power(s): Touch of chaos (Chaos domain) or Touch of good (Gooddomain).

Elysium’s Call (Su): The only benefit youwill likely use is the reroll on Charm/Compulsion spells, which issituational, but very powerful. Touch of Good is bad, and Touch of Chaos isabout as situational as Elysium’s Call.

expeditious retreat: Excellent escapeoptin, not on the Cleric spel list.
fly: Flight is hugely important, and Flyisn’t usually available to Clerics.
planar ally (azata only): Very powerful,and not on the Cleric spell list. The Azata limitation is annoying.

Demon Subdomain

The spell list isn’t great, but Fury of the Abyss is good enough to stillmake the Demon subdomain appealing. The bad spells on the Demon list replacespells which are already on the Cleric spell list, so it’s not a bigsacrifice.

Associated Domains: Chaos, Evil

Replaced Power(s): Touch of chaos (Chaos domain) or Touch of evil (Evildomain).

Fury of the Abyss (Su): The -2 penalty toAC is annoying, especially at low levels, but that bonus is going to scalevery well and it’s going to be very helpful. Use it to buff your touchspells if you use a lot of those, or use it on important attacks if you’reused to swinging a weapon around.

doom: Situational, and not as reliable asBless. Already on the Cleric spell list.
rage: Interesting, but hard to use.Not on the Cleric spell list.
planar binding (demons only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The demon limitation isannoying, but there are plenty of cool demons to summon.

Devil Subdomain

The spell list change isn’t particularly interesting, and Hell’s Corruptionreally isn’t very interesting.

Associated Domains: Evil, Law

Replaced Power(s): Touch of evil (Evil domain) or Touch of law (Lawdomain).

Hell’s Corruption (Su): Opposed skillchecks are fairly rare, but the -2 penalty to saves can be occasionallyuseful.

command: Unremarkable. Already on theCleric spell list.
suggestion: Good mind control effect,and not on the Cleric spell list.
planar binding (devils only): Verypowerful, and not on the Cleric spell list. The Devils limitation isannoying, but there are plenty of cool Devils to summon.

Cleric Domains Breakdown – Pathfinder – RPGBOT (2024)

Disclaimer

Domains

Multi-Domain Subdomains