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InBaldur’s Gate 3, knowledge is everything. Knowing where to go, what to say, and being proficient in as many skills as possible will make your journey through Faerun that much easier. And while you’re able to only get the first two by playing and replaying the game, the last one is best achieved by becoming a cleric of the Knowledge Domain.
By praying to the gods of knowledge, you can gain proficiency in all skills related to a single ability until the next long rest. On top of that, you’re an excellent full spellcaster with access to tons of useful spells and powerful cantrips. If you’re ready to learn, then the Knowledge Domain is for you.
5 plus Constitution modifier
Spellcasting Ability
Wisdom
Normally, clerics aren’t particularly skill-focused. That’s fine as they have plenty of magic to support the party, butclerics of the Knowledge Domain have both magic and skills. At level one, they receive two more skill proficiencies, and at second level, they receive their incredible Channel Divinity skill,Knowledge of the Ages. Just like the Githyanki’s Astral Knowledge ability, this gives you proficiency with every skill associated with a single ability score until the next long rest.
And yes, this does meanif you play a Githyanki Knowledge Domain cleric, you’re able to haveproficiency in every skill associated with two ability scoresuntil the next long rest.
Knowledge Domain clerics aren’t just about skills; they’re also about magic. You have the entire cleric spell list to choose from alongsideuseful domain spellslikeCalm Emotions,Slow, andHold Person. you’re able to alsoread mindsusing your Channel Divinity at level six.
Best of all, level eight’sPotent Spellcastingadds your Wisdom modifier to your cantrip’s damage, making this subclass an excellent candidate to forgo weapons entirely in favor of being a pure spellcaster.
Skills, magic, and both medium armor and shield proficiency make Knowledge Domain clerics tough anduseful in every situation. You’re the total spellcasting package.
8(-1)
14(+2)
16(+3)
10(0)
As with all clerics,Wisdomis your most important stat as it defines your spellcasting power. You’ll be pumping that for most of the game except for a brief delay to pick up a feat that will give you access to better cantrips than clerics normally work with.
Constitutionat 16 provides you with a ton of extra hit points and resistance to certain effects, while 14Dexterityprovides the maximum amount of armor class for most medium armor.
IntelligenceandCharismaare left at 10 as we’re most likely going to buff the skills associated with these scores using our Knowledge of the Ages, but we shouldn’t start with a negative score here.Strengthis at 8 for the bare minimum to make a few crucial jumps.
Domain Spells (always prepared)
Prepared Spells Added:
Like druids, clerics know every spell on their spell list, but can only have a limited number of them prepared each day. You canswap these spells at any time after a long rest, sofeel free to experimentto see what spells are right for you. The spells you see in the chart above are merely recommended.
We’re eventually going to grab Eldritch Blast as our main damage cantrip, but the early game will be all aboutSacred FlameandProduce Flame. The one you use will depend on whether your target has a decent Dexterity score or not. If they do, use Produce Flame. If they don’t, use Sacred Flame.Guidanceis your third cantrip as it’s the best non-damage cantrip in the game.
Your first-level spells are going to be your bread and butter as they all scale well as you up-cast them (except forBless).Inflict WoundsandGuiding Boltare great damage spells, andHealing Wordbrings back downed allies.CommandandSleepare also great to have as domain spells.
Level two bringsShield of Faithbriefly, but it’ll be retired forLesser RestorationandSpiritual Weaponat level three. Spiritual Weapon is a great way to increase your damage per round and should be cast for any non-trivial battle.Calm EmotionsandHold Personprovide more solid debuffs.
At level four, we finally take Spell Sniper as our first feat and getEldritch Blastas our new main damage cantrip.Thaumaturgyprovides advantage on a few Charisma-based checks, andPrayer of Healingis great to keep the party moving when you run out of short rests.
Level five bringsGlyph of Warding, your first AoE spell, alongsideSlow(another great debuff) andSpeak With Dead.Mass Healing Wordcomes at level six, and while it’s not the best healing spell, it can at least bring your party back to fighting strength if your team takes an unfortunate Fireball.
Level seven seesBanishmentas a great way to temporarily remove an enemy from combat, whileConfusionprovides AoE crowd control.Otiluke’s Resilient Sphereis great for protecting someone from ranged attacks, but otherwise not incredibly useful.Freedom of Movementcomes at level eight to unstick allies, andRevivifywill keep the squad alive during intense combat encounters.
Level eightalso brings us another feat, which should be animprovement to your Wisdom score. You’ll do thesame at level 12.
Level nine is where we get a bunch of fifth-level spells.Greater RestorationandMass Cure Woundsare great healing spells,Dominate Personis a fantastic debuff, andTelekinesiscan be useful under the right circumstances. We’ll retire Mass Healing Word now thatMass Cure Woundsis online.
Flame Strikeat level 10 brings our second great AoE damage spell, andHealat level 11 can bring your party’s tank back for more.Planar Allyat level 12 gives you a djinni, deva, or cambion to augment the party, andDispel Evil and Goodis a great utility spell that doesn’t require concentration.
Best Races For A Knowledge Domain Cleric
Several races provide beneficial bonuses to a Knowledge Domain Cleric. Below we have thepotential races ranked best to worst.
Elf
As usual, wood elves offer a lot. You won’t be using thoselongbow and sword proficienciesuntil later, buttwo skills,advantage against being charmed and sleepeffects,Darkvision, and anincrease in movement speedare always good.
Drow
Technically an elf subrace, drow offer one less skill proficiency than wood elves in return fordoubled Darkvisionrange and Drow Magic, which includesDancing Lights,Faerie Fire, andDarkness. All good spells to add to the Knowledge cleric’s repertoire.
Githyanki
You’ll want to go githyanki forAstral Knowledge, which combines with your Knowledge of the Ages for a ton of skill proficiencies.Mage Hand,Enhanced Leap, andMisty Stepare also great spells to have. The sword proficiencies will prove useful later, but the armour doesn’t really help.
Half-Elf
Wood half-elves are strictly worse than regular wood elves or drow. armor proficiencies aren’t any good, but the weapons help later, and you get fewer skills or worse Darkvision. Still,you get most of what elves get, so they’re a decent choice overall.
Gnome
Go deep gnome. You’ll getadvantage on a ton of saving throws, SuperiorDarkvision, and Stone Camouflage foradvantage on stealth checks. Forest Gnome offers a free speak with Animals, but you can get that with potions.
Dwarf
The weapon and armor proficiencies from most dwarf subraces are wasted. Go with Duergar foradvantage against charms, paralysis, and poison, SuperiorDarkvision, and both theEnlargeandInvisibilityspells.
Half-Orc
Savage Attacks won’t do much, butIntimidationproficiency,Darkvision, andRelentless Enduranceare surprisingly beneficial for Knowledge clerics.
Halfling
Lightfoot or Strongheart, Halflings are a decent choice for clerics.Halfling Luckprevents those unlucky critical fails, and Brave helpsprevent becoming frightened. Your choice ofadvantage on Stealth or poison checksdefine your subrace.
Tiefling
Asmodeus tiefling will give youProduce Flame, letting you pick a different cantrip at level one.Hellish RebukeandDarknessare both good spells to have, andDarkvisionandresistance to fire damageare also great boons. The other tiefling subclasses are less optimal as they prefer dealing damage with weapons.
Human
One extra skilland25 percent more carrying capacityis all humanity has to offer. That extra carrying capacity is great, but is it worth all those wasted skill proficiencies? Probably not.
Dragonborn
One damage resistanceand abreath weaponare all dragonborn offers. There are better races to choose.
Restores a single Spell Slot of 3rd level or lower.
Ring #1
Hellrider’s Pride
+1 to Strength saving throws, whenever you heal another creature, it gains resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from weapons.
The Whispering Promise
Healing a creature also grants a 1d4 bonus to attack rolls and saving throws for two turns.
Ring #2
Vital Conduit Boots
+1 Athletics, wearer gains 8 temporary hit points whenever they cast a spell that requires concentration.
Off-Hand Melee Weapon
Melf’s First Staff
1d6 + 1 bludgeoning damage, versatile weapon, +1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, cast Melf’s Acid Arrow at 2nd level once per long rest.
None
N/A
In the early game, stick to what a cleric is good at: healing.Wapira’s Crown,The Whispering Promise, andHellrider’s Prideall make it so every Healing Word cast also provides resistance to most weapon damage, bonuses to attack and saving throws, and even a little healing for yourself.
You’re also fairly well protected withRing of Protection,Safeguard Shield, and whatever medium armor you can find (Breastplate +1is chosen here, but you could easily replace that with Adamantine Scale Mail before the end of act one) providing plenty of armor and bonuses to saving throws.
Offensively,Melf’s First Staffprovides a bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DC, andPearl of Powergives you an extra third-level spell slot.Bow of Awarenessis there purely for the bonus to initiative rolls, but you could potentially use it against anything resistant to magic.
Hellrider’s Pridecan beobtained from Zevloras a reward for completing the Investigate/Kill Kagha quest, while theRing of Protection is awarded by Molfor stealing the sacred idol in the Druid Grove.
Hood of the Weave
+2 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls.
Cloak of the Weave
+1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, cast Absorb Elements once per short rest.
Amulet
Flame Enamelled Armour
17 AC, +2 to initiative rolls, +2 to saving throws, resistance to fire damage, cast Fire Shield: Warm once per long rest. Disadvantage on stealth checks.
Spineshudder Amulet
Inflict Reverberation for two turns after dealing damage with a ranged spell attack.
Quickspell Gloves
Cast a cantrip as a bonus action once per short rest.
Coruscation Ring
When dealing damage while illuminated, also inflict Radiating Orb on the target for two turns.
Boots of Stormy Clamour
Inflict Reverberation for two turns whenever you inflict a condition on a hostile creature.
Knife of the Undermountain King
1d6 + 2 piercing, light finesse weapon, reduce the number needed for a critical hit by 1. Re-roll damage on two or less, taking the higher result. Advantage on attack rolls against lightly or heavily obscured targets.
Rhapsody
1d4 + 1 piercing, gain +1 to attack rolls, damage, and spell save DC for each foe defeated up to a maximum of three, change to inflict bleed while hiding or invisible.
Off-Hand Ranged Weapon
The Dead Shot
1d8 + 2 piercing, Reduces the number required for a critical hit by one. Double proficiency bonus for ranged attacks with this weapon unless they have disadvantage.
The late game is dedicated topushing your Eldritch Blastdamage,improving your spells, and also ensuring youstill have plenty of durabilitytoo. That said, much of the equipment chosen is designed to work well with the multiple attacks provided by Eldritch Blast.
We’ll start withReverberationprovided byBoots of Stormy ClamourandSpineshudder Amulet. Once the enemy receives five stacks, they take an extra 1d4 damage and must make a Consitution saving throw to avoid falling prone. Since Eldritch Blast fires six bolts at later levels, the odds of this triggering at least once are fairly high.
Coruscation RingandCallous Glow Ringcombine to provide anextra two radiant damageto each bolt whenever you deal damage from an illuminated location (and Coruscation Ring also inflicts a condition, which triggers Boots of Stormy Clamour).
Your weapons aren’t there to be used.Undermountain KingandThe Dead Shotboth reduce the number required to critical hit, which means your Eldritch Blast will crit way more often.Rhapsodyimproves your attack, damage, and spell save DC every time you defeat something, which will be happening quite a lot with this setup.
If you don’t have longbow proficiency(from being an elf or half-elf), then stick with Bow of Awareness for even more initiative, or Darkfire Shortbow for the ability to cast Haste.
If you don’t have shortsword proficiency, Markoheshkir provides +1 to spell save DC and spell attack rolls, an extra spell slot, and Kereska’s Favour can add stacks of Reverberation.
Quickspell Glovesgives you a turn of Eldritch Blast plus a powerful spell, whileHood and Cloak of the Weavefurther increase your spell attack rolls and spell save DC. Finally,Flame Enamelled Armorgives you a big boost to your initiative,nearly ensuring that you go first every combat. This can easily result in a quick kill, turning the tide of battle in your favor.
