Cleric Guide: D&D 2024

The 2024 Cleric is a full Wisdom caster with reliable support tools and an important choice at level 1. Divine Order decides whether you are better equipped for Heavy armor and Martial weapons or for divine scholarship. At level 3, your domain gives that base class a clearer job in the group.

Put Wisdom first. Constitution is the next priority for hit points and Concentration saves. Strength matters for a Protector who intends to use Heavy armor or weapon attacks; Dexterity fits a Medium-armor Cleric who wants better initiative and Dexterity saves.

Cleric basics

At level 1, you know three Cleric cantrips and prepare four level-1 spells. You can change your prepared level-1-and-higher spells after a Long Rest. Always-prepared domain spells do not count against that prepared-spell number.

Your level-1 decision: Divine Order

Divine Order is separate from your domain. You choose it at level 1, then choose a domain at level 3. It is a permanent choice, so decide which parts of your sheet you expect to use most often.

Protector is a practical choice for a War Domain Cleric or anyone who wants to stay near the front line. Thaumaturge is not an extra-prepared-spell option. It is the choice for a character who values another cantrip and wants to contribute more often to Arcana and Religion checks.

Hot Take: Do not choose Protector only because Heavy armor looks safer. If your Cleric expects to spend most turns casting from the back line, Thaumaturge's extra cantrip and reliable knowledge checks can matter more than proficiency you seldom use.

Channel Divinity and the class features that matter

At level 2, Channel Divinity starts with two effects: Divine Spark and Turn Undead. You have two uses, regain one expended use on a Short Rest, and regain all uses on a Long Rest. Later Cleric levels increase the number of available uses.

Divine Spark is a Magic action that either heals a creature you can see within 50 feet or deals Necrotic or Radiant damage after a Constitution saving throw. Its number of d8s rises at levels 7, 13, and 18. It is a flexible resource when an ally needs a small recovery or a target is vulnerable to your damage choice.

Turn Undead can Frighten and Incapacitate undead that fail their saving throws. It ends early for a creature that takes damage. At level 5, Sear Undead adds Radiant damage to undead that fail Turn Undead's saving throw; it is not the 2014 Destroy Undead feature.

Blessed Strikes is a class-level choice, not a reward assigned by your domain. Divine Strike adds 1d8 Necrotic or Radiant damage once on each of your turns when a weapon attack hits. Potent Spellcasting adds your Wisdom modifier to damage from Cleric cantrips. Choose the one that matches the action you take most rounds.

At level 10, Divine Intervention can cast a Cleric spell of level 5 or lower that does not require a Reaction. It needs no spell slot or Material components. Save it for a situation where the spell changes the encounter or solves a problem that your prepared list did not cover.

Choose a domain for your party role

The 2024 Player's Handbook presents four Cleric domains. Each begins at level 3 and gains more features at levels 6 and 17.

Life Domain

Life Domain begins with Disciple of Life, which improves hit point restoration from spells cast with spell slots. Its Preserve Life Channel Divinity can distribute a pool of healing among Bloodied creatures nearby, but cannot take a creature above half its hit point maximum. Blessed Healer restores your own hit points after you heal others with a spell slot, and Supreme Healing later maximizes healing dice.

Pick Life when you want healing to be a central contribution, especially in a smaller party that lacks other recovery tools. It does not require you to spend every turn healing; its value is that your recovery is stronger when the party actually needs it.

Light Domain

Radiance of the Dawn spends Channel Divinity to dispel magical Darkness in its area and deal Radiant damage in a 30-foot Emanation. Warding Flare uses your Reaction to impose Disadvantage on an attack roll made by a creature you can see within 30 feet. Improved Warding Flare refreshes those uses on a Short or Long Rest and grants temporary hit points to the target of the triggering attack.

Light is a good fit when the group needs an active combat caster with a defensive reaction. At level 17, Corona of Light also penalizes enemy saving throws against your Radiance of the Dawn and Fire or Radiant spells while they are in its Bright Light.

Trickery Domain

Blessing of the Trickster gives you or a willing creature within 30 feet Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks until a Long Rest or until you use the feature again. Invoke Duplicity creates an intangible, movable illusion that can become a spellcasting origin and distract nearby enemies.

At level 6, Trickster's Transposition lets you swap places with the illusion when you create or move it. This domain asks more of your positioning than the other core options, but it rewards a group that can create situations around its illusion rather than treating it as decoration.

War Domain

Guided Strike lets you spend Channel Divinity to give a missed attack roll a +10 bonus. You can use it for another creature within 30 feet, but doing so uses your Reaction. War Priest provides a limited number of Bonus Action weapon or Unarmed Strike attacks, recovering on a Short or Long Rest.

At level 6, War God's Blessing can cast Shield of Faith or Spiritual Weapon by spending Channel Divinity instead of a spell slot. The spell does not require Concentration when cast this way, lasts for one minute, and has the listed early-ending conditions. Avatar of Battle grants resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage at level 17.

Approved expansion domains

The five-book corpus adds three Cleric domains beyond the four in the 2024 Player's Handbook. Each is written for the 2024 class progression, so use the sourcebook and campaign setting to decide whether its story belongs at your table.

Arcana Domain

Arcana Domain from Arcana Unleashed makes a Cleric's spellcasting more flexible. At level 3, it always prepares a short arcane spell package, adds two Wizard cantrips, and lets Channel Divinity either grant temporary hit points to one spell target or make a successful save less secure against the spell's effect. The first build decision is whether those Wizard cantrips and magic-facing skills solve a party gap that a standard Cleric cannot.

At level 6, Dispelling Recovery attaches a no-slot Dispel Magic to a qualifying healing or condition-ending spell, and its level-17 feature adds four high-level Wizard spells. Pick Arcana for magical problem-solving rather than raw weapon durability; its strongest benefits reward casting and a party that can capitalize on a weakened saving throw.

Knowledge Domain

Knowledge Domain from Heroes of Faerun is for a Cleric whose table role includes answering the question before the group spends resources. Blessings of Knowledge grants a tool proficiency and Expertise in two knowledge skills. Its prepared domain spells lean into Divination, and Mind Magic uses Channel Divinity to cast a prepared domain Divination spell without a spell slot or Material components.

At level 6, Unfettered Mind supplies 60-foot telepathy and Intelligence save proficiency. Choose Knowledge when investigation, languages, and reliable information matter to the campaign. Its tradeoff is that its direct combat payoff is lower than Light or War, so the party needs to value the information and casting utility it produces.

Grave Domain

Grave Domain from Ravenloft: The Horror Within manages the edge between recovery and finishing an enemy. Circle of Mortality maximizes dice rolled to heal a creature at 0 hit points, makes Spare the Dying a Bonus Action, and adds a small once-per-turn Necrotic rider against a creature missing hit points. Path to the Grave spends Channel Divinity to impose attack and save penalties on a target, then can convert the next qualifying allied hit into extra Necrotic or Radiant damage.

At level 6, Sentinel at Death's Door uses a Reaction to halve an attack's damage against you or a Bloodied ally. Choose Grave for a coordinated party that can follow its curse with a meaningful attack and that needs a protector when characters hit 0 hit points. It is less reliable when allies cannot react to the short opening created by Path to the Grave.

Class Feats

Start with the turn pattern your Cleric will use most often. A Protector War Cleric can build around weapon attacks and Divine Strike. A Cleric who expects to cast damage cantrips regularly has a reason to choose Potent Spellcasting at level 7. A support-focused Cleric should make Concentration protection a priority before chasing a narrow weapon combo.

For the full feat discussion, use the Best Feats for Cleric guide.

Class Spells

For prepared-spell choices, daily changes, and level-by-level spell recommendations, use the Cleric Spell Guide.

A dependable build direction

One straightforward path is a Wisdom-first Cleric who chooses the Divine Order that fits their equipment plan at level 1, selects a domain at level 3 to fill a party role, and takes the Blessed Strikes option that matches their usual action. Let each later feat reinforce that same plan rather than trying to turn one character into both a frontline weapon user and a dedicated back-line caster.

Related D&D 2024 class guides

Return to the D&D 2024 class guide hub to compare every class. For other divine or support-focused characters, see the Paladin guide, Druid guide, Bard guide, and Wizard guide.

Read the setting material for the three expansion domains in Arcana Unleashed, Heroes of Faerun, and Ravenloft: The Horror Within.