'Dungeons & Dragons' Adds New Cleric Domain for Playtesting

Dungeons & Dragons can try out a new cleric subclass that could eventually be added to official game material.

Earlier this week, Wizards of the Coast published a new "Order Domain" for clerics as part of its monthly Unearthed Arcana column. The "Unearthed Arcana" feature gives players a chance to try out new subclasses or rules before they're officially added to the game.

Order Domain Clerics place obedience to the law above all else and are concerned more with how things are done than whether the action was just or not. Adherence to the law is absolute, especially when it benefits the cleric or the deity they worship.

While Order Domain Clerics can still use their healing abilities, they can also use their abilities to command their allies to attack or charm/control enemies. Not only do these clerics gain access to spells like "Command" and "Dominate Person," they can also channel divine energy to charm any creature (of their choosing) within 30 feet of them.

Probably the strongest ability an Order Domain Cleric has is the ability to regain spent spell slots using their "Order's Dominion" ability. Whenever a cleric uses an enchantment spell, they automatically regain a spell slot of a lower level. There are limits, of course, but this allows Order Domain clerics to always have access to at least some of their powerful enchantment magic. When fully powered up, this ability essentially turns a 6th level spell into a 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st level spell. That's a TON of extra spells that a cleric can use to make their enemies miserable.

The "Order Domain" was originally created by Mike Mearls as part of his weekly "Mike Mearls Happy Fun Hour" show that airs on Twitch. Mearls spends about one hour a week creating new content live, all the while explaining his design process and figuring out the best way to make cool concepts work within the current Dungeons & Dragons ruleset.

You can check out the full ruleset here. As with other Unearthed Arcana material, players will be given an opportunity to give feedback on the new subclass so that Dungeons & Dragons designers can decide whether to officially include it in a future publication.