Tao Domain (5e Subclass)
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Tao Domain[edit]
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| "Pakua with frame", by Benoît Stella and Πrate |
Cleric Subclass
The tao domain comprises a handful of faiths hailing from Kara-Tur and the Utter East. Rather than serving a single deity, clerics of this domain serve a Taoic Pantheon, a collection of lesser, demi, and quasi-deities, as well as nature spirits. Depending on the region, clerics of this domain go by titles such as daoshi, fashi, kannushi, lama, lisheng, miko, mu, pujari, or wu. They are experts at reading and adjusting the tao's flow, which makes them especially adept in divination magic and martial combat. Those unfamiliar with taoic clerics sometimes mistake them for monks, rangers, or even wizards.
| Cleric Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1st | Alarm, Find Familiar |
| 3rd | Magic Weapon, See Invisibility |
| 5th | Glyph of Warding, Slow |
| 7th | Death Ward, Conjure Minor Elementals |
| 9th | Hold Monster, Reincarnate |
Eastern Weapon Training[edit]
Taoic clerics undergo specialized martial training. You have proficiency with glaives, longbows, longswords, scimitars, shortswords, and tridents.
Unarmored Defense[edit]
Beginning at 1st level, while you are wearing no armor and not wielding a shield, your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Paper Talismans[edit]
Beginning at 1st level, you gain proficiency in Calligrapher's Tools, and learn to read and write in the Taoic script. This ancient writing system uses pictorial characters thought to be handed down from the gods. Using these tools, you can create paper talismans (sometimes referred to as charms, ofuda, fulu, sutras, or pujoc) by spending 1 minute and using 1 sp in materials for each one. This process can be done as part of a short or long rest, and so long as you have the time and materials, you can make as many talismans as you like.
When creating your character, you can forgo the holy symbol listed in your starting equipment to take an eastern-style calligraphy kit and 5 pre-made paper talismans instead. This kit includes a brush, an inkstick, an inkstone, and blank slips of paper.
These charms are vaguely magical, and can be attached to objects or creatures, as if with a dab of glue, using their latent power. A paper talisman can also be used as your holy symbol, but doing so consumes the charm. You may decide how this is represented, whether the talisman bursts into flames, dissolves into dust, or fades into a blank slip of paper.
Channel Divinity: Karmic Forces[edit]
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to escape peril with supernatural luck. When you make a saving throw, you can use your Channel Divinity to gain a +10 bonus to the roll. You make this choice after you see the roll, but before the DM says whether the save succeeded or failed.
Channel Divinity: Protection Charm[edit]
At 6th level, you learn to imbue karmic forces into your paper talismans. As an Action, you can create a protection charm from a paper talisman and give it to a willing creature within reach. The charm holds its power for 8 hours, or until you finish a short or long rest. When a creature in possession of one of these charms makes a saving throw, it can decide to activate it, gaining a +10 bonus to the roll. They make this choice after they see the roll, but before the DM says whether the attack hits or misses. After a charm is activated this way, it is destroyed.
Divine Strike[edit]
At 8th level, you gain the ability to meld your weapon strikes with the tao's flow. 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 force damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Oracle[edit]
Beginning at 17th level, your affinity for reading the tao's flow has become so great that you can cast divination spells using just a portion of their normal energy. When you cast a divination spell of 2nd level or higher using a spell slot, you regain one expended spell slot. The slot you regain must be of a level lower than the spell you cast and can't be higher than 5th level.
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