Shelter Divine Domain — Cleric Subclass for 5th Edition

October 4, 2019

Books/ Dungeons & Dragons/ Free Nerdy Things/ Homebrew/ Mis-Adventurers/ Reading List/ Writers

The Mis-Adventurers: An (Almost) Epic Tale is a new adult comedic fantasy adventure novel that hits a lot of the beats of a D&D campaign and the lovely disasters that can ensue. As the author, I very consciously designed the story this way, because some of the best stories I’ve ever experienced have been around the game table.
A large part of what makes D&D work so well as a storytelling avenue is its codified rules. These define things like how magic works, what weapons can do, and even resolving complex maneuvers. As an author trying to capture the proverbial magic of a tabletop roleplaying game story, I knew I’d have to codify many of the book’s events in terms of game mechanics. As such, I devised a unique new D&D subclass for each character.

new D&D subclass D&D clerics Divine Domain

In The Mis-Adventurers: An (Almost) Epic Tale, Thomas Edward Overdale (aka Tom), of Farshire, is an eager halfling bard determined to set out on his own, so that he can write an epic tale of legend.

Divine Domain — Shelter

A new subclass for D&D clerics

Henry from the Mis-Adventurers inspired the Shelter Domain. This divine domain for clerics focuses on protection through force shields and wards, primarily. However, the themes of the domain includes things like hearth, home, and safe travels.

Shelter Domain

The Shelter Domain is about protection, hospitality and rest. Clerics whose deities fall into the shelter domain often weave their powers to form protective barriers. Clerics of shelter protect others with magical wards and barriers of solid energy. They make provision for those who have none and provide safe spaces for themselves and their allies.

Deities that fall into the shelter domain on Tallismor’s Verdant Coast include both the Dark and the Light of the humans, and Brimble Brownbottom of the halflings.

Shelter Domain Spells

Cleric Level	Spells
1st	sanctuary, shield of faith
3rd	arcanist’s magic aura, find steed
5th	glyph of warding, tiny hut
7th	private sanctum, resilient sphere
9th	hallow, wall of force

Bonus Proficiency

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor.

Faithful Protection

Also beginning at 1st level, when a creature you can see within range is attacked, you can use your reaction to cast shield of faith on that creature, potentially causing the triggering attack to miss. You can use this reaction after you see the attack roll but before you know the result.
You can do this a number of times up to your Wisdom modifier without expending a spell slot to cast shield of faith. Thereafter, you may expend a spell slot to use this feature. You regain the ability to use this feature without expending a spell slot when you finish a long rest.

Channel Divinity: Shelter the Afflicted

Starting at 2nd level, you can cause a shell of solid force to protect yourself and your allies. When you or a creature you can see within 60 feet of you is hit by an attack or makes a saving throw, you can use your reaction to create a 5-foot by 5-foot wall of force between the attacker and its target. The target gains +2 AC or a +4 bonus to the saving throw against the triggering effect. You can use this effect after you see the triggering roll but before you know the result.

Improved Sanctuary

Beginning at 6th level, creatures warded by your sanctuary spell are guarded against area effects. If a creature under the effect of your sanctuary spell is targeted by a damaging area effect that causes it to make a saving throw, the creature takes no damage on a success and half damage on a failure

Divine Strike

Beginning at 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 force damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra force damage increases to 2d8.

Divine Respite

Beginning at 17th level, you can spend a short rest beseeching your deity to aid you and your allies. When you do this, you and any number of creatures you designate within 60 feet of you gain the benefits of a long rest and of a full day’s worth of food and water. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish an 8-hour long rest by sleeping. If you possess a trait that causes you not to sleep or to gain the benefits of a long rest without sleep, you still need to spend 8 hours of deep meditation to regain this feature. During this meditation, you are incapacitated, as if asleep.