Changes to Cleric for One DnD
Disclaimer: I may not have all of the changes made what I am going over is just what was revealed. So please don't go getting your panties in a bunch. With that being said here are the changes to Cleric for the next edition of DnD.
Level 1 Divine Order: One of the biggest changes to the new Cleric is that you no longer receive a subclass at level 1. Instead you now get it at Level 3. To make up for this substantial revision at level 1 Clerics now get to choose from one of 2 Divine Orders as follows:
Protector: You get proficiency with Martial weapons and can use Heavy armor.
Thaumaturge: Provides an extra cantrip from the Cleric spell list and grants a bonus to your Arcana or Religion checks equal to your Wisdom modifier (with a minimum of +1).
Level 2 Channel Divinity: In 5e Channel Divinity was a core class feature that allowed you to channel the divine energy of your god to fuel a variety of magical effects. At Level 2 that included the ability to Turn Undead as well as a Channel Divinity feature based on your domain. Additional Channel Divinity effects were added as you advanced in level. For new Cleric Channel Divinity is more or less the same but you now get to choose one of the following options (which is really designed to make up for the lack of subclass at 1st level):
Divine Spark: As a Magic action, you can focus divine energy towards any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You can then choose to heal or harm the target by rolling a 1d8 and adding your Wisdom modifier (this scales up to 2d8 at Level 7, 3d8 at Level 13 and 4d8 at Level 18). If you choose to heal, the target recovers that number in Hit Points. If you choose to harm, the target must make a Constitution saving throw and takes that number in your choice of Radiant or Necrotic damage if they fail the save or half that if they succeed.
Turn Undead: In 5e you use an action to brandish your holy symbol and utter a prayer at which point any undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened by you for 1 minute or until it takes any damage. A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move the creature can use the Dodge action. The new Cleric is more or less the same with the exception that the creature is both Frightened and Incapacitated.
Level 5 Sear Undead: This new feature is based on 5e Destroy Undead (which was also available at level 5). The way the new feature works is that whenever you use your Channel Divinity to Turn Undead you can roll a number of d8s equal to your Wisdom modifier. Each Undead (regardless of CR level) that failed their save suffers Radiant damage equal to your roll and the Turn Undead effect also remains in place. This is a major change to the Cleric that really buffs what was otherwise a somewhat limited feature in 5e and lets you potentially damage undead that you otherwise would never have been able to touch.
Level 7 Blessed Strikes: Blessed Strikes first appeared as an optional Level 8 feature in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, but has now become a core feature of the new Cleric that’s available at Level 7. For those of you who haven't read Tasha's Cauldron of Everything the feature lets you choose one of the following options:
Divine Strike: Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack roll you can add an extra 1d8 of your choice of Radiant or Necrotic damage.
Potent Spellcasting: You can now add your Wisdom modifier to damage dealt from any Cleric cantrip.
Notably these 2 options are available to a number of Clerics subclasses from 5e so if you are playing using the older (and still compatible) rules you’ll only be able to select one option for your new Cleric.
Level 10 Divine Intervention: In the 5e this core Cleric feature let you call upon your god for aid. You then described the assistance you sought and rolled percentile dice. If you rolled a number equal to or lower than your Cleric level your deity intervened (with the DM choosing the nature of the intervention). If your deity intervened you couldn’t use this feature again for 7 days. If you god did not intervene however you could use the feature again after a Long Rest. For the new Cleric this feature has been overhauled somewhat. Now you can choose any Cleric spell of level 5 or lower that doesn’t require a Reaction to cast. You can then cast it without expending a spell slot or Material components. The 7-day delay in using it again is also now gone meaning you can call upon Divine Intervention immediately after completing a Long Rest. According to Wizards of the Coast this rule change was designed to avoid some of the ambiguity of the old 5e feature not to mention the small likelihood of the intervention actually occurring.
Level 14 Improved Blessed Strikes: This improved version of Blessed Strike provides a buff to whatever option you previously chose at Level 7:
Divine Strike: If you choose Divine Strike at Level 7 you now get a 2d8 of extra Radiant or Necrotic damage when you hit a creature with a weapon attack.
Potent Spellcasting: If you chose Potent Spallcasting at Level 7 when you deal damage with a Cleric cantrip you now grant Temporary Hit Points equal to twice your Wisdom modifier to yourself or another creature within 60 feet of you.
Level 20 Greater Divine Intervention: For the 5e version of Cleric this feature was simply known as Divine Intervention Improvement and meant that your call for intervention automatically succeeded with no dice roll required. For the new Cleric however at Level 20 you call upon your god and are able to cast the spell Wish with no roll required. After using Divine Intervention to cast Wish you have to wait 2d4 Long Rests before using the feature again.
The subclasses for Cleric are: Life Domain, Light Domain, Trickery Domain and War Domain as I said earlier you know get your subclass at level 3 instead of level 1.
Life Domain: Disciple of Life and Preserve Life have moved to level 3, and Blessed Strike has become a base Cleric ability. Your Domain Spells now also include the Aid spell in addition to Bless Cure Wounds and Lesser Restoration.
Light Domain: Warding Flare and Radiance of the Dawn are now available at level 3. The spell See Invisibility has also been added to the Domain Spells list.
Trickery Domain: You now gain Blessing of the Trickster and Invoke Duplicity at level 3. In addition, the Mirror Image spell has been replaced with Invisibility. At level 6 you can now also swap places with your illusion whenever you create or move it using your Bonus Action. At level 17 your illusion grants Advantage to you and your allies when you attack a creature within 5 feet of it and if you dispel the illusion you can grant a number of Hit Points equal to your Cleric level to any creature within 5 feet of it.
War Domain: Your Domain Spells list now has Guiding Bolt. War God’s Blessing has also been changed from a single-use attack roll bonus and now allows you to cast Shield of Faith or Spiritual Weapon without a spell slot and without requiring Concentration for up to 1 minute.
