Death domain

The Death domain was a deity domain that granted divine spellcasters like clerics with death-related spells and powers.

“

Death is too powerful a force for even a single god to contain. It is a duty that has been passed from hand to hand, splintered into smaller pieces - disease, war, funeral rites - but there must always be an overseer of the cycle as life falls away. For countless aeons, it was Jergal. The Lord of the End of Everything presided over mortality with his unblinking stare, until even he grew weary. Young Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul must have thought themselves conquerors when they came for the god of death, yet he used their ambitions to free himself. Myrkul claimed primacy over death from Jergal's bargain, but even he does not rule death alone. What is murder if not the most violent of deaths, seized by Bhaal in his incessant greed? What need would there be for noble Kelemvor to judge passing souls, if one deity could hold the process entire? Even gods can die, after all. Those who worship death should remember that above all else.

”

— Death & Divinity: A Godly Guide that described the deities of death.

Deities

Amaunator • Anubis • Bhaal • Great Mother • Grolantor • Jergal • Kelemvor • Kiaransalee • Laduguer • Laogzed • Loviatar • Memnor • Myrkul • Null • Raven Queen • Shar • Talona • Urogalan • Vecna • Velsharoon • Yurtrus

Powers

Prior to the Spellplague, they gained the ability to kill a target instantly once per day, though the odds of success depend on both the strength of the cleric and the target.

Spells

Prior to the Spellplague, novice spellcasters were able to use the cause fear, death knell, and animate dead spells. Clerics of some experience could cast death ward, slay living, and create undead. Those that were masters of this domain had access to destruction, create greater undead, and wail of the banshee.

After the Second Sundering, clerics who chose this domain were granted free access to the following spells (they could cast them at any time without having to prepare them in advance). Novice spellcasters were able to use the false life, ray of sickness, blindness/deafness, ray of enfeeblement, animate dead, and vampiric touch spells. Powerful clerics could cast blight, death ward and antilife shell, cloudkill. In addition, Death domain clerics gained access to touch of death.

Appendix

Connections

Deity Domains

3^rd, 3.5, and 5^th Editions

Air • Animal • Arcana • Avarice • Balance • Bestial • Blightbringer • Cavern • Celestial • Change • Chaos • Charity • Charm • Chastity • Civilization • Cold • Community • Corruption • Craft • Creation • Darkness • Death • Demonic • Destruction • Diabolic • Dream • Drow • Dwarf • Earth • Elf • Endurance • Envy • Evil • Family • Fate • Fey • Fire • Forge • Freedom • Generosity • Glory • Gluttony • Gnome • Good • Grave • Greed • Halfling • Hatred • Healing • Herald • Hope • Humility • Hunt • Illusion • Joy • Justice • Knowledge • Law • Life • Light • Love • Luck • Lust • Madness • Magic • Mentalism • Metal • Mind • Moon • Nature • Nobility • Ocean • Orc • Order • Pain • Patience • Peace • Planning • Plant • Pleasure • Poison • Portal • Pride • Protection • Radiance • Renewal • Repose • Retribution • Rune • Scalykind • Sea • Skill • Slime • Sloth • Spell • Spider • Storm • Strength • Strife • Suffering • Sun • Temperance • Tempest • Time • Torment • Trade • Travel • Trickery • Twilight • Tyranny • Undeath • Vengeance • War • Water • Watery death • Wilderness • Winter • Wrath • Zeal

5^th Edition Subclasses

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Experts

Artificer
Alchemist • Artillerist
Bard
College of Glamour • College of Lore • College of Swords • College of Valor • College of Whispers
Ranger
Beast master • Hunter • Gloom stalker • Monster slayer • Swarmkeeper
Rogue
Arcane trickster • Assassin • Inquisitive • Mastermind • Scout • Soulknife • Swashbuckler • Thief

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Mages

Sorcerer
Aberrant mind • Clockwork soul • Dragon magic • Shadow magic • Storm sorcery • Wild magic
Warlock
Celestial patron • Archfey patron • Hexblade • Fiend patron • Great Old One patron • Undying patron
Wizard
Abjurer • Conjurer • Diviner • Enchanter • Evoker • Illusionist • Necromancer • Transmuter • War mage

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Priests

Cleric
Death domain • Divine domain • Knowledge domain • Life domain • Light domain • Nature domain • Tempest domain • Trickery domain
Druid
Circle of Dreams • Circle of the Land • Circle of the Moon • Circle of the Shepherd • Circle of Spores • Circle of Stars
Paladin
Oath of the Ancients • Oath of Conquest • Oath of the Crown • Oath of Devotion • Oath of Vengeance

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Warriors

Barbarian
Path of the ancestral guardian • Path of the berserker • Path of the storm herald • Path of the totem warrior • Path of wild magic • Path of the zealot
Fighter
Arcane archer • Battle master • Cavalier • Champion • Eldritch knight • Samurai
Monk
Way of the Drunken Master • Way of the Four Elements • Way of the Kensei • Way of the Sun Soul • Way of the Open Hand • Way of Shadow