The Ancestor Domain is devoted to the reverence and guidance of those who came before. Clerics of this domain serve as conduits between the living and the spirits of their honored dead, calling upon the wisdom, protection, and powder of their forebears. Many who follow this path belong to cultures where ancestor worship is deeply ingrained, such as elven societies whose gods preserve the spirits of the dead to offer counsel to those who come after. However, this domain is far from exclusive to the elves—many
human lands,
dwarven lineages, and even some
orcish tribes practice a similar veneration of their ancestors, seeking strength in the lessons learned by those who have passed.
Deities that grant access to this domain are often patrons of wisdom, tradition, and family. These gods ensure that the souls of the virtuous do not simply fade into the afterlife but instead remain as guiding spirits to offer their knowledge and vigilance to the living. Clerics of this domain act as a bridge between their people and these lingering souls, invoking ancestral blessings in times of need. They are often advisors, storytellers, and battle priests who summon the echoes of past warriors to fight alongside them.
Domain Spells
1st-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You gain the following spells at the listed cleric levels as domain spells.
Guidance of the Ancestors
1st-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You can call upon the spirits of your forebears to grant you insight. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) or Wisdom (Insight) check, you can roll a d4 and add the result to your roll. Additionally, you can cast Identify as a ritual without material components, but once you do, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.
Channel Divinity: Summon Ancestral Guardian
2nd-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You can use your Channel Divinity to summon a spectral ancestor to protect an ally or hinder a foe. As a bonus action, you summon an ancestral guardian to safeguard you or your companions. The guardian lasts for 1 minute or until you are incapacitated. When summoned, choose one of the following effects:
Guardian’s Protection: The spirit hovers around a creature of your choice you can see within 30 feet of you. That creature has resistance to bludgeoning, necrotic, piercing, radiant, and slashing damage.
Spirit of Vengeance: The spirit shares the target's space and strikes out at enemies. When a creature hits the target with an attack from within 10 feet of it for the first time each turn, it takes radiant or necrotic damage (your choice) equal to 2d6 + your cleric level.
The guardian is intangible and cannot be targeted by attacks or spells, but is instantly destroyed by any affect that would end possession, such as
Protection from Evil or
Protection from Good.
Whispers of the Departed
6th-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You can reach beyond the veil to seek wisdom from the dead. You learn the
Speak with Dead spell if you don’t already know it, and you can cast it once per long rest without expending a spell slot. Additionally, you gain proficiency in one skill of your choice. When you cast Speak with Dead in this way and receive answers to all questions asked, you can change the skill you gain proficiency with from this feature.
Potent Spellcasting
8th-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You add your Wisdom modifier to the damage you deal with any cleric cantrip you cast.
Ethereal Council
17th-Level Cleric (Ancestor Domain) Feature
You can call forth a council of spirits to advise and defend you. As an action, you summon three spectral ancestors in unoccupied spaces within 30 feet of you. Each spirit can take one of the following roles, which you decide upon summoning:
Seer: Grants one creature of your choice within 30 feet of it Truesight out to 60 feet and advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation) checks.
Guardian: Grants resistance to bludgeoning, necrotic, piercing, radiant, and slashing damage to you and up to two creatures of your choice within 30 feet of it.
Avenger: Whenever you cast a cleric spell that targets a hostile creature, one avenger spirit within 30 feet of it makes a spectral melee attack (your spell attack modifier) dealing 4d8 radiant or necrotic damage. An Avenger spirit can attack only once per turn.
The spirits last for 1 minute or until you dismiss them as a bonus action. The spirits cannot move once summoned.
Deities of the Ancestor Domain
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