Hello, fellow Dungeon Crawlers! Welcome back to my Unearthed Arcana series, where I go in-depth about the new changes to Dungeons and Dragons and give you my opinion on them. For the sake of understanding the latest content, I will focus on the changes to the cleric class in this article, and we will explore the second half of the article next week.
The cleric is a beloved class in D&D, and every party wishes they had some sort of healing. They use their connection to a god to harness power and work miracles. Every cleric is different in their background and the magic that they produce. Anyone can talk and be with a god, but only a few can use that power for good.
The first helpful thing with the updated class is that it shows the class group and the primary ability used in that class. For example, the cleric is in the Priest group with a primary ability of wisdom. The updated cleric chart can be found below:
Looking at the new chart for the cleric class, there are a few differences that I see with the class when compared to the 2014 version of the player's handbook. First, they changed the name of the ability score improvements for feat for this class. So at any feat level, you still have the option to choose an ability score improvement or feat.
Next, I noticed they added a class feature to the 3rd level when a cleric wouldn’t have any updated features before. Cleric subclass at level three states that the character will be able to gain a new life domain subclass or cleric subclass of the player's choice.
Another change is the Holy Order feature. With this class feature, you can choose your role as a cleric, such as a protector, scholar, or thaumaturge. The last thing I noticed was some of the class features from the 2014 player’s handbook were moved a level. For example, Channel Divinity was initially gained at level two in the 2014 Player’s Handbook, but you now achieve it at level one with this change.
This update has also changed how spell slots work for classes with magical abilities. Instead of having spell slots for each level, you now have a number of prepared spells. I think this is a good move on Wizard's part, as I constantly struggle to remember how many spells
I can prepare at each level. It just sets clearer bounds for the player and DM.
Overall, these changes to the cleric are going in the right direction for D&D. I am excited to continue going through all the other classes and see their differences. The cleric didn’t have too many changes but added some new features. I’ll catch everyone next time as we dive deep into the new D&D content.
Happy Rolling!
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