Artifice Domain
The Artifice Domain treats making, repairing and awakening crafted things as sacred work. Its priests understand tools, workshops, stone, wood, metal and constructs as parts of a divine order in which skilled creation can itself become an act of worship.
At a Glance
| Divine Sphere | Craft, invention, tools, construction, objects, workshops and created things |
|---|---|
| Typical Role | Craft-priest, construct specialist, object breaker and magical maker |
| Published Rules | Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e SRD |
| Modern D&D Status | Two complete original 2024 and 2014 Cleric domain conversions (GM-approved); neither is an official WotC subclass. |
| Closest 2014 Official Alternative | Forge Domain from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything |
| Typical Patrons | Hephaestus, Athena, Ptah and other deities whose established portfolios genuinely include craft or making |
| Best For | Players who want divine magic to interact directly with objects, constructs and craftsmanship |
Edition Applicability
Choose your edition. The 2024 and 2014 tabs are distinct, playable original campaign conversions, not official printed Artifice subclasses. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e retain their published domain powers and domain-spell slots. The published 2014 Forge Domain offers a different sacred-smith option.
Artifice Domain — D&D 5.5e / 2024
Original campaign conversion, subject to GM approval; not an official 2024 Cleric subclass. Choose this domain at Cleric level 3. Use the 2024 Cleric’s normal spellcasting, Channel Divinity, Divine Order and Blessed Strikes rules.
2024 Artifice Domain Spells
These spells are always prepared starting at the indicated Cleric level, count as Cleric spells for you and do not count towards normal preparation. The group at level 3 includes first- and second-level spells.
| Cleric Level | Domain Spells and Use |
|---|---|
| 3 | Identify (inspect a mystery item), Shield of Faith (protect its bearer); Heat Metal (turn armour into a hazard), Magic Weapon (arm the workshop guard) |
| 5 | Dispel Magic (undo a hostile enchantment), Glyph of Warding (secure a threshold) |
| 7 | Fabricate (build from raw materials), Stone Shape (alter masonry) |
| 9 | Animate Objects (mobilise equipment), Wall of Force (seal a breach) |
Level 3: Workshop Training
Gain proficiency with one set of artisan’s tools and in either Arcana or Investigation. When you make an ability check using your chosen tools, you may add your Wisdom modifier (minimum +1), even if you already added your tool proficiency bonus. This does not grant the ability to produce an item without the normal materials, time or workshop access.
Level 3: Channel Divinity — Bless the Work
As a Magic action, expend Channel Divinity while touching one nonmagical weapon, suit of armour, shield or set of tools. For 10 minutes, choose one benefit: a weapon gains +1 to attack and damage rolls; armour or a shield grants an additional +1 AC; or the tools grant a 1d4 bonus to ability checks made with them. A weapon or armour bonus does not stack with a magic item bonus. Only one object can benefit from this feature at a time: blessing a second ends the first. An unattended item cannot confer the benefit to a creature until used or worn.
Level 6: Guard the Makers
When a creature you can see within 30 feet takes damage from an attack, you can use a Reaction to reduce the damage by 1d8 + your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Proficiency Bonus, regaining expended uses after a Long Rest. The protection does not repair a broken object or cancel other effects of the hit.
Level 17: Masterwork Blessing
When you use Bless the Work on a weapon, suit of armour or shield, its bonus becomes +2 instead of +1; on tools, the 1d4 bonus becomes 1d6. While you hold or wear your currently blessed item, you also have Advantage on saving throws against being knocked Prone or forcibly moved. These benefits end with that object’s blessing and still cannot stack with another magical enhancement bonus.
Artifice Domain — D&D 5e / 2014
Original campaign conversion, subject to GM approval; not an official 2014 Cleric subclass. Choose it at Cleric level 1. This is distinct from the published Forge Domain; use the 2014 Cleric feature levels and Channel Divinity rules.
2014 Artifice Domain Spells
These spells are always prepared from the stated Cleric level and do not count against your normal number of prepared spells.
| Cleric Level | Domain Spells and Use |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identify (inspect a mystery item), Shield of Faith (protect its bearer) |
| 3 | Heat Metal (turn armour into a hazard), Magic Weapon (arm the workshop guard) |
| 5 | Dispel Magic (undo a hostile enchantment), Glyph of Warding (secure a threshold) |
| 7 | Fabricate (build from raw materials), Stone Shape (alter masonry) |
| 9 | Animate Objects (mobilise equipment), Wall of Force (seal a breach) |
Level 1: Sacred Trades
Gain heavy armour proficiency and proficiency with smith’s tools or carpenter’s tools (your choice). You can evaluate ordinary manufactured objects with an Intelligence (Investigation) check; this does not identify magical properties or bypass traps automatically.
Level 2: Channel Divinity — Repair or Reinforce
As an action, expend Channel Divinity and touch one object or construct. A damaged, nonmagical object or construct regains 2d8 + your Wisdom modifier Hit Points (minimum 1), up to its normal maximum. Alternatively, touch a nonmagical weapon to grant it +1 to attack and damage rolls for 1 minute. That enhancement does not stack with another magical weapon bonus. This feature cannot restore an item that has been destroyed, recreate consumed charges or rebuild missing components.
Level 6: The Craftsperson’s Guard
When a creature you can see within 30 feet is hit by an attack, you can use your Reaction to grant that creature a +2 bonus to AC against the triggering attack, possibly turning it into a miss. You can do this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum once), regaining all uses after a Long Rest. You must use it before damage is rolled.
Level 8: Divine Strike
Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can deal an extra 1d8 force damage. At Cleric level 14, the extra damage increases to 2d8.
Level 17: Lasting Work
At the end of a Long Rest, you can bless one nonmagical weapon, suit of armour or shield you have worked on with your artisan’s tools during the rest. Until your next Long Rest, the item gains a +2 bonus to its attack and damage rolls (weapon) or to AC (armour or shield). The bonus does not stack with another magical enhancement; blessing another item ends the earlier blessing. The normal material and tool requirements still apply to repairing an item.
Artifice Domain — Pathfinder 1e
Rules status: published Pathfinder 1e Core Rulebook domain.
Artificer’s Touch
You can cast Mending at will, using your Cleric level as the caster level. You can also make a melee touch attack against an object or construct. On a hit, it takes 1d6 damage + 1 for every two Cleric levels you possess. This attack bypasses an amount of damage reduction and hardness equal to your Cleric level. You can use the damaging touch a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
Dancing Weapons
At 8th level, you can touch a weapon and give it the dancing special weapon quality for 4 rounds. You can use this power once per day at 8th level, plus one additional time per day for every four Cleric levels beyond 8th.
Pathfinder 1e Artifice Domain Spells
| 1st | Animate Rope |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Wood Shape |
| 3rd | Stone Shape |
| 4th | Minor Creation |
| 5th | Fabricate |
| 6th | Major Creation |
| 7th | Wall of Iron |
| 8th | Statue |
| 9th | Prismatic Sphere |
Artifice Domain — D&D 3.5e
Rules status: published in the 3.5e SRD Additional Domains.
Granted Power
You gain a +4 bonus on Craft checks. You also cast Conjuration (Creation) spells at +1 caster level. If a character has access to both the Artifice and Creation domains, the combined caster-level bonus for Conjuration (Creation) spells is +3 rather than stacking without limit.
D&D 3.5e Artifice Domain Spells
| 1st | Animate Rope |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Wood Shape |
| 3rd | Stone Shape |
| 4th | Minor Creation |
| 5th | Fabricate |
| 6th | Major Creation |
| 7th | Hardening |
| 8th | True Creation |
| 9th | Prismatic Sphere |
How the Artifice Domain Plays
Artifice rewards a player who notices the physical world around the encounter. Doors, locks, bridges, siege engines, statues, damaged equipment and constructs are not scenery: they are things the domain can repair, reshape, bypass or weaponise.
In Combat
- Against constructs, use the domain’s specialist tools. Pathfinder’s Artificer’s Touch bypasses hardness and part of a construct’s normal protection.
- Think in objects. A shaped wall, repaired mechanism or animated weapon may solve a problem without trading direct damage spell for damage spell.
- Do not mix the spell lists. Pathfinder’s 7th- and 8th-level spells differ from the 3.5e SRD list; choose the panel for the edition being played.
Outside Combat
Artifice clerics inspect damaged fortifications, certify workshops, recover lost manufacturing techniques, bless tools, arbitrate disputes between guilds and temples, and investigate constructs whose makers are dead. Their divine authority often matters most where a community depends on a bridge, mill, forge, dockyard or defensive work continuing to function.
Who Grants the Artifice Domain?
Strong established patrons include Hephaestus, whose cult centres directly on forge and craft; Athena, where skilled making and disciplined craft belong to her sphere; and Ptah, whose creative and artisan associations make him a natural patron of sacred making.
Priests, Temples and Rites
An Artifice temple may look more like a working guildhall than a passive sanctuary. Sacred spaces contain anvils, measuring rods, kilns, carving benches, pattern books and unfinished work. Rites often mark the first use of a tool, the completion of a major civic structure, the repair of an heirloom, or the moment an apprentice is trusted to work without supervision.
What Are Artifice Priests Doing Now?
Artifice clergy are repairing war-damaged infrastructure, examining unfamiliar mechanisms recovered from ruins, deciding whether autonomous constructs count as property or persons, and competing for access to rare materials and old workshops. In cities, their influence can run through guild politics; on the frontier, a single priest-engineer may be the person keeping an entire fort, bridge or water system alive.
Historical and Mythological Context
Divine craft is broader than “technology.” Mythic smiths and maker-gods connect skill with social order, beauty, weapons, architecture, ritual objects and the dangerous ability to make something that did not previously exist. An Artifice priest should therefore reflect the craft culture of the patron rather than behave like a generic inventor.
Related Domains and Character Options
Rules Sources and Licensing
- Pathfinder 1e: Artificer’s Touch, Dancing Weapons and the Pathfinder spell list follow the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook reference.
- D&D 3.5e: the Craft bonus, caster-level benefit and spell list follow the 3.5 SRD Additional Domains.
- D&D 5e / 2014: the playable Artifice subclass above is an original GM-approved conversion, not an official printed domain. The published Forge Domain remains a distinct official 2014 option.
- D&D 5.5e / 2024: no official Artifice Domain exists in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. The level-3, 6 and 17 features and domain spell progression above are an original GM-approved 2024 subclass. Use that edition’s published Cleric chassis and spell effects.
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