Death Cleric Build - Kelemvor's Emissary - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Death Cleric Build - Kelemvor's Emissary

This build will aim to maximize various features that the Death Cleric provides. At core, it has all the nice things you would expect - Spirit Guardians, Healing Word, etc. Still Death cleric provides a healthy feature set from early levels, which does lose its steam in later levels.

First, I would like to emphasize that the goal here is to create a Necrotic-themed cleric build. It performs very well in the early game, where you can double-cast Bone Chill​ or Toll the Dead. You can also spellcast using Inflict Wounds​ that get empowered with Channel Divinity: Touch of Death.

So, as you can see early game is pretty stacked, and as you go, you can effectively use necrotic Spirit Guardians​ to apply all the debuffs thanks to the Callous Glow Ring. There is another feature that I would like to utilize, and that is Divine Strike: Necrotic​. This does mean that we will want to maximize melee damage, and for that, Shillelagh​ is a powerful option. A thematic combo for that is Spore Druid, with its Symbiotic Entity​ feature.

The late game is best done using Staff of Cherished Necromancy, which allows you to cast level 6 Inflict Wounds​ for free. This damage is nothing to scoff at and is the last puzzle piece to make the Death Cleric Build.

So let's jump into the build!

Class Contribution

I do see merit in some variations to ensure that you can freely use all of the capabilities.

9 Death Cleric

• Proficiencies in a wide array of armors and weapons.
• Access to support spells like Healing Word, Mass Healing Word, Sanctuary, etc.
• Aid​ to empower the ally's survivability with a solid HP boost each long rest.
• Can apply wet status for other casters with Create or Destroy Water, helping to make enemies vulnerable to Lightning and Cold damage.
• Spirit Guardians​ - the ultimate cleric spell, to debuff enemies, making them miss their attacks. To make the most out of it you will need some gear.
• A solid list of cantrips - Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead, etc.
• The Reaper​ feature allows hitting two enemies with the same cantrip.
• Channel Divinity: Touch of Death​ is a very powerful feature, giving a flat damage boost on melee weapon and spell attacks.
• Inescapable Destruction​ helps to maintain the power of your necrotic damage sources, circumventing enemy resistances.
• Your weapon attacks get a slight boost with Divine Strike: Necrotic.

2 Spore Druid

• Halo of Spores​ can be used as an additional necrotic damage source if you have a free reaction for that turn.
• Shillelagh​ it enables you to effectively use staves with your Wisdom modifier instead of needing strength.
• Gives 1d6 damage rider on all weapon attacks, thanks to the Symbiotic Entity.

1 Storm Sorcerer

• Provides Constitution Saving Throw proficiency, which will help maintain spell concentration.
• Access to Shield, which is an excellent, cheap survivability boost if the situation demands it. The +5 Armour Class is a huge boon, allowing you to avoid deadly attacks.
• Access to cantrips - Friends, Booming Blade, which are great all around. The latter is especially good if you do melee attacks, as it is a free damage boost.
• Unique Storm Sorcerer feature - Tempestuous Magic, giving a huge boost in mobility.

Synergy with other builds

A cleric is pretty much good in any party. The Death Domain variation limits itself, for the sake of the necrotic damage setup. Overall, there is no need to go above and beyond to maximize its synergies. Still, here are some synergies:

Controllers

Almost any party can benefit from good controllers that use Hold Person, Glyph of Warding: Sleep,​ or Hold Monster. They guarantee a 100% critical chance and allow you to maximize the whole group's damage. So your cleric, can hit with guaranteed crits using Inflict Wounds​ or melee hits.

• Fire Sorcerer - one of the most reliable builds for this type of setup, with Hat of Fire Acuity + Scorching Ray​ to build Arcane Acuity. After that, use the control spell witha  100% success chance.
• Lorecerer - similar to Fire Sorcerer, can use the same combo and can easily apply total control. Sadly, it is just limited to Hold Person and Glyph of Warding.
• Spellsword build - Sorcadin, Bardadin, Swords Bard Archer is the standard option for gish controllers, as they get access to Band of the Mystic Scoundrel + Helmet of Arcane Acuity for a very high spell success chance
• Other caster-related builds - Lore Bard or even Arcane Trickster with access to unlimited scrolls. They get nice features that help them improve their spell success chance.

Lightning/Cold Party

A cleric can easily apply Wet​ on enemies using Create or Destroy Water​ spell. This does impede your own action economy, but opens up your party members for huge damage potential:

• The main highlight would be Land Druid. A very popular variation of it is Thundersnow Herald, which comes with both Cold and Lightning spells for total annihilation.
• Sorcadin with access to Lightning Bolt.
• Many of the Sorcerer and Wizard variations - Storm Sorcerer, Talos Dragonling Build, Cold Sorcerer, Abjuration Wizard, etc.

Leveling Overview

Here is a concise table with all the main picks during your leveling progression. For more detailed reasoning, I go further in the article. Also, do not forget to check the recommended gear, as it is crucial.

Level	Class	Selection
1	Cleric 1	Cantrips: Toll the Dead, Thaumaturgy, Guidance​
		Subclass: Death Domain
		Cantrips: Bone Chill​
		Deity: Kelemvor
		Abilities: STR - 8, DEX - 16 (15+1), CON - 15, INT - 8, WIS - 17(15+2), CHA - 8
		Skills: Persuasion, Medicine, Insight
2	Cleric 2	-
3	Cleric 3	-
4	Cleric 4	Feat: Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom, +1 Constitution
5	Cleric 5	-
6	Cleric 6	-
7	Respec Character: Level 1 - Sorcerer 1 Level 2-7 - Cleric 6	Cantrips: Friends, Minor Illusion, Light, Booming Blade​
		Spells: Shield, Magic Missile​
		Subclass: Storm Sorcery
8	Druid 1	-
9	Druid 2	Subclass: Circe of the Spores
10	Cleric 7	-
11	Cleric 8	Feat: Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdom
12	Sorcerer 2 Cleric 9 Druid 3	Pick any of these for the last level; each of them brings a different benefit to the build.

Build Variations

Here are some variations that work similarly and utilize the same classes at their core.

Setup	Description
11 Death Cleric 1 Sorcerer	This variation is similar, but the main spin would be that it can play around with Cloudkill, while being totally immune to it thanks to Heroes' Feast.
Stars Cleric Build: 9 Death Cleric 2 Stars Druid 1 Sorcerer	In case you want more of the Radiating Orb​ setup, this is the way to go, as Star's Druid provides - Dazzling Breath​ area of effect attack. This also enables high concentration saving throw rolls via Starry Form: Dragon​ to maintain spells in combat easily.

Starting the Game - Level 1

This section covers the creation screen and what would go into the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for the Death Cleric build. If you have already started playing, feel free to do a respec at Withers and follow along. This will make it easy to follow the build step by step.

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc.

Race	Features	Description
Wood Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.	The race picks are very similar; the main difference is weapon proficiencies. However, the cleric subclass will already provide everything that you need. The most important aspect is the increased movement speed that you will need when using Spirit Guardians.
Wood Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry Fleet of Foot - your movement speed is increased by 1.5m.
High Half-Elf	Civil Militia Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry	These subraces are great for getting some bonus cantrips. The highlights would be: Minor Illusion​ - distract NPCs or trick enemies to go to a specific place, perfect for setting up combat Friends​ - helps with various charisma checks, but can leave enemies aggressive if cancelled while near them.
High Elf	Elven Weapon Training​ Darkvision​ Fey Ancestry
Half-Orc	Savage Attacks​ Relentless Endurance​ Darkvision​	The half-orc features are a good addition for this kind of build, where you will engage in frontline combat.
Githyanki	Martial Prodigy​	Githyanki comes with a wide array of utility actions like Astral Knowledge, Misty Step, etc. These can help both in combat and world exploration.

Class

Overview
Cleric
Clerics are representatives of the gods they worship, wielding potent divine magic for good or ill.
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.
Domain Spells​	Unique spell list accessible based on your cleric subclass.

Cantrips

Cantrips	Description
Toll the Dead​	A powerful cantrip that will deal significantly more damage to enemies who have already lost health. It also benefits from Reaper​ feature.
Thaumaturgy​	Especially recommended if you are the main character, as it will help with Intimidation checks.
Guidance​	The most important cleric cantrip, which improves various ability rolls, works on yourself and party members.

Subclass

Overview
Death Domain
Features
Martial Weapon Proficiency	Improves weapon options, especially when multiclassing.
Reaper​	Enables you to double cast necromancy cantrips. This gives a significant damage boost in the early game, compared to other clerics.

Cantrips

This is a Death Domain specific pick, giving a second selection of cantrips:

Feature	Description
Bone Chill​	Great cantrip that uses attack rolls, and can work as a better alternative to Saving Throw options early in the game. Moreover, it disables enemy health regeneration.

Deity

Feel free to pick any; my recommendation is Kelemvor.

Background

Backgrounds serve a few purposes:

1. They give a role-playing option of your previous history, if you are into that
2. It gives skill proficiencies, meaning that you get an additional bonus when you roll that skill check in which you are proficient. This depends on your proficiency bonus, which increases as you level up.

Here are my recommendations based on this build

Abilities

Now, let's take a look at the abilities of the Death Domain build. Correct allocation will allow you to maximize the early gameplay and get good modifier bonuses.

Skills and Expertise

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your role-playing and background decisions. However, you would still want those that will give you the best benefits. My recommendations are to pick those at which you have a high ability modifier or are useful in general:

• Persuasion
• Medicine
• Insight

Level 1 Prepared Spells

Spells	Description
Inflict Wounds​	This is the core spell for the Death Domain cleric. It will enable casting Channel Divinity: Touch of Death​ for a decent damage boost, most likely eliminating normal enemies with a single cast.
Sanctuary​	Use this spell to make the ally untouchable, for example, if they have low HP, or you want to divert the enemy's attention.
Healing Word​	The best healing spell, due to its cheap cost and ability to revive downed targets without wasting action points. Moreover, later with The Whispering Promise ring, you can buff specific allies.
Guiding Bolt​	The main, long-range damage spell for the cleric in the early game.
Create or Destroy Water​	Excellent spell to keep on hand. It can be useful when allies cast Cold or Lightning spells to double their damage.
Command​	One of the best control spells in the game, if you have a high chance of landing it. What makes it special is that it does not use a concentration slot.
Bless​	This is an excellent spell, however, I would only use it before combat and in the early game. It loses value later on, especially with some excellent items you can get in Act 1 like The Whispering Promise.
Shield of Faith​	Excellent early game spell, that can be used to improve defensive capabilities. I would not use it too much at higher levels as you get better use for concentration slots.

Leveling Progression - Levels 2-12

Here is the detailed progression for the Death Cleric build to get you started. You can use it as a guideline because early games can be daunting and overwhelming. Later on, once you get a feel for the class, you can start picking your options.

Level 2

By this time, you should have landed on the Ravaged beach already and started exploring the initial area. You might need 1 additional encounter if you did not obtain enough XP in the Nautiloid.

Action	Description
Turn Undead​	Excellent against undead enemies, making them run away.
Channel Divinity: Touch of Death​	The feature is a powerful option for the early game, and has decent scaling as you go. It works with melee attacks and melee spells. So you can do solid Nova damage using Inflict Wounds. Later, you can use Shillelagh​ with melee attacks and improve its damage.

Level 3

At this level, the Cleric gets access to Level 2 spells, further expanding the spellbook. Moreover, new always-ready spells are introduced.

Spells	Description
Blindness​	It can be useful to make an enemy Blinded​ and make it easy to land hits on them.
Ray of Enfeeblement​	Not a useful spell.

Prepared Spells

Spells	Description
Aid​	I think this is one of the best additions as it gives a solid boost to the health pool for all party members. Try to cast it with the highest level spell slot. It also works on summons.
Enhance Ability​	Almost a mandatory spell to have by someone in the group. This can help with various ability checks and turn the tables to your side.
Spiritual Weapon​	Gives a good use for a bonus action. The weapon deals okay damage and can act as a distraction.
Warding Bond​	Excellent spell, that you can use to greatly improve the survivability of one of your party members.
Hold Person​	It can be situationally useful, especially if you have an 80%+ chance of landing it. This then opens up an easy way for Advantage and guaranteed critical hits from the 3-meter range. However, I did not use it much with the cleric.
Lesser Restoration​	I recommend being aware that you have this spell, as there are situations where it might be useful. It does not have to always be in the prepared spell list.

Level 4

Cantrips

Cantrip	Description
Light​	This cantrip will be especially useful later on, once you reach Act 2. It will also help activate items like the Callous Glow Ring.

Feat

Level 5

This level is a huge milestone, and that is why no multiclassing happened before. Access to level 3 spells makes Cleric an extremely powerful build.

Feature	Description
Destroy Undead​	When you use Turn Undead, you will also deal bonus radiant damage. I think this is a good addition, but nothing fancy, as it has niche uses.

The Death Domain subclass also gains special spells:

Spell	Description
Animate Dead​	The spell is a decent flavour option, allowing you to raise the dead. These are pretty weak and have a low hit chance. You can buff them with Aid. The spell can also be upcast to increase the number of dead being raised.
Vampiric Touch​	Not recommended spell, for the steep use costs.

Prepared Spells

Now, this is probably the most important section as you will gain some game-changing spells, allowing you to win many encounters.

Spell	Description
Spirit Guardians​	The spell has two variations - necrotic and radiant. Of course, the build theme would want to use the necrotic one. However, it is inferior especially when early and mid-game contain powerful radiant items - Luminous Armour, Gloves of Belligerent Skies, etc.
Glyph of Warding​	You can use this Glyph to apply various damage types and effects. For example - fire, cold, lightning, etc. The main highlight is Glyph of Warding: Sleep, which works on multiple enemies and can outright win you an encounter.
Mass Healing Word​	Using this as a bonus action together with The Whispering Promise will buff all allies with the Bless​ effect.
Remove Curse​	This can be useful throughout the game in case you or a party member gets cursed.

Level 6

A new cleric feature is unlocked:

Feature	Description
Inescapable Destruction​	This is a powerful feature that will be useful against numerous enemies in Act 2. Now you necrotic spells and cantrips can overcome these resistances.

Level 7 - Respec to Sorcerer Lv 1

Now, to further empower Cleric and its capabilities you will have to respec at Withers and pick Sorcerer as a first class. Here are the main reasons for this switch:

• Get proficiency in Constitution Saving Throws. This is important as it allows you to sustain Concentration on spells while being hit.
• Access to the defensive spell Shield.
• Additional cantrips such as Friends, Booming Blade, etc.

Class

Overview
Sorcerer
Features
Spell Slots	These can be used to cast spells and are restored each long rest.

Cantrips

Take those cantrips that do not rely on damage as they will be using the Charisma modifier, which will be low for Cleric.

Cantrip	Description
Booming Blade​	As this build aims to use melee attacks, Booming Blade​ is free and a solid option to use for free to increase damage.
Light​	Although this cantrip was taken, you can do it again here and pick another one once you level up as a cleric.
Minor Illusion​	A powerful cantrip that can help lure enemies to one place before combat. Then you can exploit this for area of effect spells or attacks to inflict large amounts of damage or control.
Friends​	This can be situationally useful, especially as the main character. The main problem is that if it is cancelled near the target NPC, they will attack. So only do that once you are further away.

Spells

Spells	Description
Shield​	Very good spell that can ensure +5 Armour Class, giving a good survivability boost.
Magic Missile​	I recommend this spell. It is not very powerful, but it can be used to specifically hit a foe, with multiple attacks, and using Callous Glow Ring, apply a lot of Radiating Orb​ to weaken its hit chance.

Subclass

Overview
Storm Sorcery
Features
Tempestuous Magic​	After you cast a Level 1 spell or higher, you can Fly as a bonus action until the end of your turn without receiving Opportunity Attacks.

Abilities

Use the same ability scores as when starting with Cleric. Wisdom will still be the main spellcasting stat.

Continue leveling into Cleric Lv 1-6

Once you are done with the first level of sorcerer, you can multiclass back into cleric:

Go through levels 1-6 of Cleric, as you already did.

Level 8 - Druid Lv 1

Now we multiclass again, to unlock the Spore Druid subclass. This will be useful for a few reasons:

• Enable effective melee attacks using the Wisdom modifier, thanks to Shillelagh.
• Bonus necrotic damage rider with Symbiotic Entity​

This is purely a flavour option, as it allows for a concentrate on the build goal - high necrotic damage.

Cantrips

Spells	Description
Shillelagh​	Enables you to effectively use stave weapons using your Wisdom modifier.
Any	Pick any other cantrip

Prepared Spells

Here are a few recommendations for prepared spells. These are utility ones, as most of the offensive ones will be obtained via cleric.

Spells	Description
Longstrider​	Improves movement speed. It is free to cast outside of combat, and can also be used on allies.
Enhance Leap​	Enables easier exploration via jumping long distances
Speak with Animals​	A decent utility spell, especially if you forget to stock up on Potion of Animal Speaking.

Level 9 - Druid Lv 2

The goal here is to obtain the subclass feature, which directly improves necrotic damage via weapon attacks.

Subclass

Now you are ready to pick the subclass. As you can expect:

Overview
Circle of the Spores
Features
Wild Shape Charge	Allows transforming into a beast using Wild Shape. For spore druid, it is used for activating Symbiotic Entity.
Halo of Spores​	Easy additional damage using your reaction.
Symbiotic Entity​	Adds a decent necrotic 1d6 damage rider and temporary HP based on your druid's level.

Level 2 also unlocks a special cantrip for the Spore subclass:

Spell	Description
Bone Chill​	The build already obtains it from Death Cleric subclass.

Level 10 - Cleric Lv 7

Level 4 spells are unlocked, also new permanent spells are added:

Spells	Description
Blight​	A decent necrotic-themed spell. However, it targets only one enemy.
Death Ward​	This spell can be used as a life-saver or preparation option on Honour Mode. Use this before difficult encounters to maximize your chances of survival.

Prepared Spells

Spells	Description
Freedom of Movement​	As this spell does not use Concentration, it can be a great helper in certain situations. However, the level 4 spell slot is a huge cost.

Level 11 - Cleric Lv 8

Feature	Description
Divine Strike: Necrotic​	An additional source of necrotic damage when you hit with your weapon, sadly, only once per turn.

Feat

Feat	Description
Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdm	It will further help maximize the chances of hitting with a weapon while using Shillelagh. Moreover, it will improve your spellcasting success.

Level 12 - choose your option

As I mentioned before, you have a few options for the last level. None of them are game-changers in my opinion, but they do give a few playstyle improvements:

• Sorcerer Lv 2 - the benefit here is that you unlock Metamagic: Twinned Spell. This does require you to use Potion of Angelic Reprieve to build Sorcery Points, but allows casting 2x level 6 Inflict Wounds.
• Cleric Lv 9 - the goal here is to obtain Cloudkill.
• Druid Lv 3 - The third level now gives 12 temporary HP for Symbiotic Entity. Generally, I think this is still pretty low.

I will go with the Cleric:

Spell	Description
Cloudkill​	It can be a deadly spell if used correctly. The sad part, is that many enemies will have resistance or even immunity against Poison. You can make powerful combos if you have another caster for Heroes' Feast​ in the party.
Contagion​	The spell can be situationally useful, especially the Contagion: Flesh Rot,​ which doubles all the incoming damage.

That's it, the build is done!

Maximizing Ability Scores

Now, as the build progression is covered, there are a few aspects and important decisions you will have to make throughout the game. These will decide your final score for abilities.

Wisdom

1. 17 Wisdom - character creation.
2. Feat 1 - Ability Improvement - +1 Wisdom, the other goes to Constitution.
3. Feat 2 - Ability Improvement - +2 Wisdom
4. Act 3 - Mirror of Loss - pick +2 Wisdom.

These will allow you to reach 22 natural Wisdom, which is enough for a good Cleric setup.

Potions, Elixirs, and Consumables

Let's take a look at what consumables you can use to further empower the build.

Potions

These have short-term effects for a few turns.

Consumable	Description
Potion of Speed	This is a very powerful potion. It gives an additional action point, which can be used to cast a spell or attack. The activation is generally by drinking using a bonus action. However, you can stack together with party members and make one member Throw​ it on the ground, giving Hastened​ to everyone.
Potion of Invisibility	It can be used in two ways - the first one is to enter combat with a Surprised​ round, causing enemies to skip their turn. Another option is to leave combat if you see that it is not going in your favour.
Potion of Animal Speaking	An easy way to get the Speak with Animals​ effect.
Terazul	Gives Hastened​ and stacks with other sources of it. This is a late-game consumable.

Coatings

These are applied directly on weapons, and usually have a 10-turn duration:

Consumable	Description
Oil of Accuracy	The attack roll bonus is pretty good, which improves your chances of hitting.
Diluted Oil of Sharpness	Helps with attack and damage rolls.

Elixirs

Unfortunately, only one Elixir can be active at a time. However, the good thing is that they last for the whole day, before making a long rest. This makes exlixirs very useful and economical.

Be sure to activate them before combat, as otherwise, you will need to use Bonus Action.

Consumable	Description
Elixir of Hill Giant Strength	The elixir can be a decent option in the early game. This would enable you to effectively hit in melee range.
Elixir of Battlemage's Power	Improves Spell Save DC, making it easier to land spells.
Elixir of Peerless Focus	Makes it easier to maintain spell Concentration
Elixir of Bloodlust	The elixir gives an easy option to get an additional action point - just kill a foe. This can then be used to attack one more time or cast a full spell.
Elixir of Vigilance	For some encounters, you will want to go first. This elixir will ensure that it overcomes even Surprised​ mechanics.

Illithid Powers

This special mechanic in Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to consume tadpoles and unlock special Illithid Powers.

At first, you can only use the base powers. As you move to Act 3, you will be able to unlock the outer ring powers, also called Elite.

Illithid Power	Type	Description
Favourable Beginnings	Base	Beneficial power to take as it does not have any costs, and provides only benefits on the first hits with attack rolls.
Luck of the Far Realms​	Base	It's an easy way to ensure you land critical hits, especially good with Divine Smite.
Cull the Weak​	Base	It can help to kill an enemy faster if it is left with a few HP.
Psionic Backlash​​	Base	Excellent way to deal additional damage with reaction, early and mid game.
Ability Drain​	Base	Decreases enemy ability score, free use, so worth getting it.
Shield of Thralls​	Base	Excellent option for bonus temporary HP. It can also apply Stunned on foes after it is destroyed.
Illithid Expertise​	Elite	It can be used to maximize the effectiveness of charisma-based skills, especially those relevant to the main character.
Black Hole​	Elite	Allows for easily pulling enemies together for effective use of the area of attacks.
Psionic Dominance​	Elite	It can be used to save yourself from a deadly spell.
Freecast​	Elite	Allows for freely casting a spell without resource limitation.

Equipment Recommendations

Now I would like to go through some gear recommendations to maximize the Death Domain Cleric Build. Items are especially important as they take the build to the next level thanks to their unique effects.

The build plays mostly like a standard cleric, with a few variations to maximize its necrotic spells.

Act 1

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Blood of Lathander	Extremely good weapon if you do not care about Phalar Aluve unique effects. The Lathander's Light​ effect will help you activate additional debuffs from enemies and make combat easier in Act 2. Sunbeam​ is also a powerful spell to get this early in the game.
	Staff of Arcane Blessing	This works together with The Whispering Promise and increases spell attack rolls, making it easier to land Inflict Wounds.
	Melf's First Staff	A solid weapon that will increase spell attack rolls and help land Inflict Wounds​ more easily.
	Phalar Aluve	This is one of the best weapons in the game for a supporting class like Cleric. If you can precast its Phalar Aluve: Melody​ before combat, I recommend using it both to improve companion damage and attack rolls.
	Defender Flail	If you do not care about the unique effects, this is a go-to choice. The bonus Armour Class will help you avoid enemy hits and activate Holy Lance Helm.
Ranged	Bow of Awareness	Gives bonus initiative, allowing one to go earlier in combat.
	Gandrel's Aspiration	Gives an easy advantage against Monstrosity-type enemies.
Shield	Adamantine Shield	It provides a substantial defensive boost by reducing critical hit damage. It also applies a Reeling​ effect.
	Absolute's Warboard	Decent shield if you got Absolute's Brand from True Soul Priestess Gut (Lv. 4) in Goblin Camp.
	Safeguard Shield	Gives a bonus to saving throws, easily accessible early in the game.
Head	Holy Lance Helm	A solid helmet that will deal 1d4 radiant damage if the enemy misses you. Moreover, it will also activate any Reverberation​ effects from Gloves of Belligerent Skies.
	Haste Helm	Improves movement speed, allowing one to reach important targets easily, early in the game.
Cloak	-	Nothing relevant for the build.
Armor	Luminous Armour	The best armor pick, for most of the game, later you will get more options, for the necrotic theme.
Gloves	Gloves of Belligerent Skies	One of the best gloves for builds that apply status effects via various damage sources. This will create Reverbation, increasing the chance of making the enemy Prone.
	Hellrider's Pride	Defensive gloves that give damage resistance to those that the Cleric heals. Perfect combo to be used with Healing Word​/Mass Healing Word​ + The Whispering Promise.
Boots	Boots of Stormy Clamour	The best boots in terms of offensive damage. They will give Reverberation​ stacks when you apply status effects, for example, Spirit Guardians.
	Disintegrating Night Walkers	One of the best boots, giving a total advantage for movement on difficult surfaces. It also gives Misty Step​ to increase that mobility.
	Boots of Speed	Excellent boots that improve movement capabilities, especially useful when you are running around with Spirit Guardians​ active.
Amulet	Amulet of Restoration	The best cleric amulet in the early game. Use the spells together with The Whispering Promise to apply buffs to your allies.
	Amulet of Misty Step	Grants Misty Step​ for moving on the battlefield.
Rings	The Whispering Promise	The best ring for a cleric early in the game. This will apply Bless​ to allies when you use the Healing Word​ or Mass Healing Word.
	Ring of Arcane Synergy	The ring will prove useful once you obtain Booming Blade​ from sorcerer dip. This way, you can get a decent damage boost with Arcane Synergy.
	Crusher's Ring	Excellent ring that will allow you to move around more. This is especially useful before you obtain Tempestuous Magic​ from the Sorcerer dip.
	Ring of Protection	The bonus Armour Class is a great boost for survivability. This improves the chances of activating the Holy Lance Helm
	Ring of Absolute Force	Gives +1 damage boost on 5 Reverberation​ stacks detonation.

Act 2 - mid-game

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	-	Continue using weapons from Act 1, as nothing comes close in terms of usefulness.
	Drakethroat Glaive	Obtain this weapon as it is one of the best options for buffing yourself with elemental damage via Draconic Elemental Weapon.
Ranged	-	Bows from the previous Act.
	Darkfire Shortbow	It can be useful to precast Haste​ in some encounters.
Shield	Ketheric's Shield	The best shield for casters, as it gives +1 Spell Save DC, increasing spell success.
	Sentinel Shield	What makes this shield amazing is that by wearing it, you will be going first most of the time during encounters. This is a great way to apply Radiating Orb​ and Reverberation​ on enemies using Spirit Guardians.
Head	Fistbreaker Helm	Adds +1 Spell Save DC, improving spell success. This is not a hugely important item, so you can give this to another caster and continue using the previous act gear.
Cloak	Thunderskin Cloak	Because most of the enemies you come across will have Reverberation,​ this cloak will further help to weaken those foes.
	Cloak of Protection	Improves survivability and Saving Throw success. You want to equip this cloak to maintain that good Armour Class.
Armor	Luminous Armour	The best armor for clerics using Radiant damage.
Gloves	Gloves of Belligerent Skies	Still the best gloves for the Cleric.
	Gloves of Battlemage's Power	These gloves can be used to stack Arcane Acuity​ via Spirit Guardians. This helps you to land any other spells, and specifically Inflict Wounds​ for high single-target damage. Credits: Bluemajere
	Luminous Gloves	Alternative option, that will add 2 more Radiating Orb stacks as you inflict damage.
Boots	Boots of Stormy Clamour	Still, the best boots are in terms of applying to various conditions.
	Evasive Shoes	Gives a bonus to armor class.
Amulet	Amulet of Restoration	Continues to provide good value.
	Periapt of Wound Closure	Excellent amulet for Honour Mode runs, reducing your chances of wiping.
Rings	Callous Glow Ring	This is a key item to make the necrotic Spirit Guardians​ work well. Be sure to cast Light​ on yourself. This gives a radiant damage rider, meaning that your other revorb items (Luminous Armour, Gloves of Belligerent Skies) will still activate, applying Radiating Orb​ and Reverberation.
	The Whispering Promise	The ring is useful if you are buffing allies via healing.
	Crusher's Ring	Continues to be a solid option for movement speed.
	Ring of Spiteful Thunder	Adds Dazed​ effect that can be proc after 5 Reverberation​ stacks are activated and Thunder damage gets applied.

Act 3 - Final Build setup

Slot	Item	Description
Melee (One-Handed)	Staff of Cherished Necromancy	The best staff choice for the necrotic theme. This gives Life Essence,​ which allows for a free necromancy spell cast. It is best used with level 6 Inflict Wounds​ + Channel Divinity: Touch of Death. Moreover, thanks to Shillelagh​ + Booming Blade,​ you can effectively use this as a melee weapon.
	Torch of Revocation	Another thematic weapon that also deals both necrotic and fire damage.
Shield	Viconia's Walking Fortress	One of the best shields in the game. Overall, it serves more of a defensive role, giving advantages on Spell Saving Throws.
Ranged	Hellrider Longbow	Gives a solid boost to initiative.
	Bow of Awareness	Improves initiative.
	The Dead Shot	As you will be hitting occasionally with a weapon, this will improve critical chances.
Head	Horns of the Berserker	One of the rare headwear, that gives a direct damage boost. Thankfully, this is a necrotic one, which fits well with the whole build theme.
Cloak	Cloak of Displacement	It provides an increased chance of avoiding enemy attacks with attack rolls.
	Thunderskin Cloak	As you will cover enemies with Reverberation, this gives a chance to apply Dazed​ on foes.
Armor	Luminous Armour	In terms of combat potential, this is still a powerful armor choice as it applies Radiating Orb​ effects.
	Armour of the Sporekeeper	A flavourful armor choice which provides a few benefits. First, it improves spellcasting stats; second, it gives a necrotic damage boost (albeit small). Last, it gives Haste Spores​ while the Symbiotic Entity​ is active.
Gloves	Helldusk Gloves	Improves the damage of your melee attacks and spellcasting stats, to easier to land spells.
	Gemini Gloves	These gloves have a special interaction with Toll the Dead. When activating its Adroit Caster​ passive, the cantrip gets an AOE effect. This makes it a potent once-per-short-rest damage option if enemies get stacked.
	Gloves of Battlemage's Power	These gloves can be used to stack Arcane Acuity​ via Spirit Guardians. This helps you to land any other spells, and specifically Inflict Wounds​ for high single-target damage. Credits: Bluemajere
	Gloves of Belligerent Skies	Continues to help with stacking Reverberation.
	The Reviving Hands	Leans more into the support side, applying Blade Ward​ for everyone.
Boots	Boots of Stormy Clamour	Best offensive boosts, helping to build Reverberation​ stacks.
	Helldusk Boots	One of the best boots makes it easy to move across various terrains and resist effects.
	Disintegrating Night Walkers	One of the best boots makes it easy to move across various terrains and resist effects.
Amulet	Amulet of The Devout	The ultimate cleric amulet gives an additional Channel Divinity charge.
	Fey Semblance Amulet	A solid defensive amulet to help resist spell effects.
Rings	Callous Glow Ring	This is a key item to make the necrotic Spirit Guardians​ work well. Be sure to cast Light​ on yourself. This gives a radiant damage rider, meaning that your other revorb items (Luminous Armour, Gloves of Belligerent Skies) will still activate, applying Radiating Orb​ and Reverberation.
	Ring of Arcane Synergy	The ring can help you improve melee weapon damage via Arcane Synergy. The main problem is that it might not always activate, so test it, and decide if you would like to use it.
	The Whispering Promise	The ring is useful if you are buffing allies via healing.
	Crusher's Ring	Continues to be a solid option for movement speed.
	Ring of Spiteful Thunder	Adds a Dazed​ effect that can be proc after 5 Reverberation​ stacks are activated and Thunder damage gets applied.

Build Mechanics

In this section, I would like to dive deep into how to play the Death Cleric Build. This will help you utilize it to the fullest and correctly use various actions and spells throughout the game.

Important Mechanics and Combos

Let's go through key mechanics and tips on how to use the build effectively.

Touch of Death Power

Death Cleric comes with a good offensive Channel Divinity ability - Channel Divinity: Touch of Death. For what it is, it's pretty powerful, and continues to scale well into late levels. There are a few ways to use it, and they will make the "melee" aspect of the build.

• Hitting with a weapon will proc it. Later, once you get Shillelagh, this is a decent attack option.
• When casting melee spells, specifically Inflict Wounds. This becomes your "nova" when you want to deal big damage. 
• It can also work with Divine Strike: Necrotic. However, this does require some tinkering. You need to change the reactions window and remove the "Ask" tick. This, of course, means that you lose some control over when both of these activate, but it does allow for maximum single-hit damage

Effectively choosing cantrips

One trick that I first missed is correctly choosing which cantrip to use. This is more important early in the game, as later, it's easy to get a high success chance. The idea is that some spells like Bone Chill​ use attack rolls, and Toll the Dead​/Sacred Flame​ target enemy saving throws.

What this means is that enemies that have low armour class are better targets for attack roll spells. However, if the enemy has a low target saving throw stat (Wisdom, Charisma, etc.), you are better off using spells that use Saving throws

As you can see, the difference can be huge. So, try to use the one that is most appropriate against a specific enemy and their stats.

Spirit Guardians as bread and butter

So the most important spell for a Cleric is Spirit Guardians. With the correct gear, I recommend that each enemy you touch will apply various status effects such as Reverberation, Prone, and Radiating Orb.

So you are like a running Beyblade, damaging everything that you touch and also weakening their combat potential. Just remember the core items to make this work - Luminous Armour, Boots of Stormy Clamour, and Gloves of Belligerent Skies. There are some other options, but overall, these are the best picks.

Another core addition, specifically for the Death Cleric variation, is the Callous Glow Ring. Most likely, you will want to use the necrotic Spirit Guardians​ version. The main problem is that Radiating Orb​ effects are not active, and they provide huge combat value. Well, this ring gives a radiant damage rider, meaning that you can activate all those items that I mentioned before.

Animating Dead

One addition that might interest you is having a small army of undead. This is more of a flavour, as they don't provide much value besides being meat shields. Still, during late Act 1 and early Act 2, they can act as distractors.

The best use is Animate Dead, which, when upcast with level 4 spell slots, gets 3 zombies. They are quite weak, but you can use Aid​ to significantly improve their health. You can also improve their chances of hitting by using Bless, but I think that is a waste of a valuable concentration slot.

Also, if you go for an 11 Cleric/1 Sorc split, you can get the Create Undead​ spell, which gives stronger undead summons. Moreover, you can apply Heroes' Feast​ on them.

The good thing is that these work well with Cloudkill​ as they are immune to poison.

Revorb and status effects

The main highlight of the Light Cleric build is the sheer amount of status effects that you will be applying - Reverberation, Prone, Radiating Orb, Dazed, etc. This can greatly weaken foes and make them harmless to your group.

The main highlight, in my opinion, is Reverberation. This at first weakens the enemy's strength, dexterity, and constitution saving throw proficiencies. As it stacks to 5, the enemy will get damaged with 1d4 thunder. This is finished by making the enemy Prone​ if they fail a saving throw.

Once the enemy is Prone,​ they are easy pickings for your melee characters and waste their precious movement speed to stand up. To get these effects consistently, be sure to use Boots of Stormy Clamour and Gloves of Belligerent Skies.

Tempestuous Flight

Taking a level 1 dip into Sorcerer unlocked one of the features that will greatly improve Light cleric mobility - Tempestuous Magic. This will allow you to fly at the cost of a bonus action, not use movement speed, and avoid opportunity attacks.

While flying, any enemies you touch with Spirit Guardians will be affected by it. This is an excellent way to spread Radiating Orb​ and debuff most of the enemies in the combat zone.

Healing and Buffs

Overall, healing should be limited and, in my opinion, used sparingly. My recommended spells are Healing Word​ and Mass Healing Word. These are cheap to use and cost only a bonus action, which does not interfere with your important spells that will be covered later.

However, the major highlight is that those healing spells activate The Whispering Promise ring, buffing your allies. This is very valuable early in the game, so that your party has a higher hit chance, making combat easier.

In addition, there are other items that you can use - Hellrider's Pride or The Reviving Hands later in the game with more defensive bonuses.

Another aspect is camp casting. This means that you can apply long-term buffs that persist throughout the whole day. A few of them that the cleric has:

• Aid​ - gives 5 HP, which scales based on spell slot level used.
• Warding Bond​ - can be used to reduce incoming damage against allies.

Early Game Combat

This part would cover how the build plays up until level 6

• If you can use Bless​ to buff allies before combat. Once you get The Whispering Promise, you can forgo the spell and use Healing Word​ or Mass Healing Word​ to buff your allies.
• Thanks to the Reaper​ feature, your cantrips in the early game are very powerful. You can use Bone Chill​ or Toll the Dead​ to hit two targets.
• For a strong single-target damage source, use Inflict Wounds​ + Channel Divinity: Touch of Death. This can easily kill early game foes and scales well throughout the game, with upcast possibility.
• Create or Destroy Water​ is an excellent spell if you have other casters that use Cold or Lightning spells.
• Your bonus action has plenty of uses. The already mentioned healing spells, but you can also summon Spiritual Weapon, which can deal additional damage and distract foes.
• Glyph of Warding​ can be used to put enemies to sleep without a Concentration slot. It is excellent if you see a few of the targets grouped up.
• The best option for casting at this stage is radiating Spirit Guardians​ + Luminous Armour + Gloves of Belligerent Skies + Boots of Stormy Clamour. This allows for easily debuffing multiple enemies.
• If things are turning for the worse, you can always use Sanctuary​ to save an ally or use it to flee combat.

Late Game Combat

This covers the combat options for the late game:

• Once you get Shillelagh,​ you can use it to improve your weapon hit chance. This enables you to hit foes and save spell slots, while also utilizing Channel Divinity: Touch of Death​ and Divine Strike: Necrotic.
• Once you obtain Callous Glow Ring, you can use the necrotic version of Spirit Guardians,​ which will benefit from all the revorb items.
• Once you have Staff of Cherished Necromancy, try to kill an enemy using Spirit Guardians​ or weapon hits. This will activate Life Essence, which gives free fully upcasted Inflict Wounds.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Death Domain Cleric Build for Baldur's Gate 3. This is well made necrotic-themed build that enables an excellent core cleric kit, and support from items to take it to the next level.

Cheers!