Hello, everyone! Today’s subclass explores a more mercantile cleric who is more likely to be called to adventure by occupation, rather than a crusade against the forces of evil. This sort of character would probably find themselves best suited to adventures on untamed frontiers, such as a campaign with a Western aesthetic or worlds rife with mistrust and intrigue, where demand for the services of honest but effective couriers and brokers would keep these clerics adventuring regularly.
Cleric
Table of Contents
Commerce Domain
Gods of commerce operate under very a very wide umbrella of ideals –gods of greed may see this aspect of their portfolio as a means of extracting their cut from valuable transactions, while lawful gods exert their influence to guarantee a secure sale or legal agreement, preserving trust and societal structure across the mortal realm.
Beyond the simple exchange of coin for goods and services, a cleric of the Commerce domain introduces a presence of security into a transaction. These clerics are not typically swayed by personal interest in the exchange, making them highly valued, but often the prices for their services as mediators, agents, or brokers will reflect it. Depending on the god they worship, a Commerce domain cleric’s role could be as simple as security and serving as witness to a trade, a courier transporting valuable or dangerous goods and payments, or even an auditor or enforcer to ensure that the terms of a contract are fulfilled to the letter.
Domain Spells
You gain domain spells at the cleric levels noted in the Commerce Domain Spells table. These spells are always prepared, and do not count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. These domain spells are considered cleric spells for you if they are not already present on the cleric spell list.
Commerce Domain Spells
| Cleric Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | comprehend languages, identify |
| 3rd | arcane lock, enhance ability |
| 5th | glyph of warding, sending |
| 7th | fabricate, secret chest |
| 9th | hallow, telepathic bond |
Bonus Proficiencies
At 1st level, you become proficient in the Insight and Persuasion skills.
Additionally, before you purchase any goods or services, you may make a Wisdom (Insight) check opposed by the seller’s Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Deception) check. If you succeed, you know if comparable goods or services can be purchased at a lower price within 1 mile of you, though not necessarily where such a purchase could be made.
Exchange Currencies
Also starting at 1st level, your deity’s blessing allows you to always have the most appropriate currency on-hand. As an action, you may exchange any money you are carrying for its equivalent value in another denomination (for instance, 10sp for 1gp, or vice-versa). You may only use this ability to produce locally accepted currencies.
Channel Divinity: Escrow Talisman
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to create a magical lockbox, keeping its contents safe until they are needed again.
As an action, you present your holy symbol and select a point within 30 feet of you. All unattended objects within a 5-foot cube centered on the point you selected are banished to an extradimensional space. In their place, a small clay tablet appears, marked with a symbol of your god and an itemized manifest of the extradimensional space’s contents. The tablet is roughly a 1 foot square, and is about 1 inch thick. This tablet’s appearance cannot be altered by illusion magic or magic which would reshape stone or earth and attempts to falsify its contents will result in the tablet being destroyed.
The tablet can be destroyed as a bonus action by a creature holding it, when you die, or when you create a new Escrow Talisman, at which point the contents of the extradimensional space appear in the nearest unoccupied space to where the tablet was destroyed.
Good Faith Exchange
At 6th level, when you or a creature within 30 feet of you make a saving throw against being charmed, you may add your Charisma modifier to the roll, and the creature causing the effect takes 2d8 psychic damage.
Divine Strike
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 psychic damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Equitable Exchange
At 17th level, when you or an ally within 30 feet of you hits with an attack, the creature making the attack roll regains a number of hit points equal to the difference between the attack roll and the target’s Armor Class.
For example, if a creature rolled an attack roll of 20 against a creature with an Armor Class of 15, the attacker regains 5 hit points.
Some artwork © 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.