Corruption Domain
The Corruption Domain turns physical decay, moral degradation and the deliberate spoiling of creatures, objects and places into divine magic. It is a published D&D 3.5 supplemental domain, preserved here as that specific rules tradition rather than treated as a universal cleric option.
At a Glance
| Divine Sphere | Corruption, decay, desecration, disease, moral degradation and the spoiling of places |
|---|---|
| Typical Role | Debuffer, disease-and-curse caster and destructive anti-object specialist |
| Published Rules | D&D 3.5e supplemental material |
| Pathfinder 1e Status | No same-named Corruption Domain in the Pathfinder Core domain list. |
| Modern D&D Status | No official same-named Corruption Domain in D&D 5e/2014 or the 2024 Cleric rules. |
| Possible Fiendish Patron | Demogorgon, where destructive corruption is deliberately part of the campaign treatment |
Edition Applicability
The Corruption Domain appears in D&D’s older vile-magic tradition and is presented as a full 3.5e domain in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. Its granted power and nine-spell progression are reproduced consistently there. This page therefore treats Corruption as D&D 3.5e supplemental material, not as an official Pathfinder or modern D&D domain.
Corruption Domain — D&D 3.5e
Rules status: official D&D 3.5e supplemental domain.
Granted Power
Once per day, when you attack an object, you can ignore the object’s hardness for that attack. The ability is narrow, but it can matter enormously when a barrier, relic, lock, weapon or structure must be destroyed quickly.
D&D 3.5e Corruption Domain Spells
| 1st | Doom |
|---|---|
| 2nd | Blindness/Deafness |
| 3rd | Contagion |
| 4th | Morality Undone |
| 5th | Feeblemind |
| 6th | Pox |
| 7th | Insanity |
| 8th | Befoul |
| 9th | Despoil |
How the Corruption Domain Plays
Corruption escalates from weakening individual targets to ruining environments. Early spells impose fear, blindness and disease; later magic attacks intellect, poisons water and destroys vegetation and objects over huge areas. The domain is most effective when the campaign treats contamination, damaged resources and desecrated places as meaningful consequences rather than disposable scenery.
Who Grants the Corruption Domain?
This domain fits demon lords, corruptive outsiders and other powers whose established portfolios involve the deliberate spoiling of bodies, minds, land or institutions. Demogorgon can support it where that corruptive aspect is established. It should not be assigned to every evil power merely because the domain is unpleasant.
Cults, Shrines and Rites
Corruption cults contaminate wells, deface protective boundaries, spread disease deliberately, twist oaths and destroy objects that embody communal continuity. Their shrines are often parasitic: built inside ruins, polluted sanctuaries, diseased groves or places where something wholesome has been deliberately spoiled.
What Are Corruption Priests Doing Now?
They are poisoning water supplies, infecting sacred animals, weakening fortifications before an assault, spreading magical diseases, corrupting civic leaders and preparing large-scale rites that turn fertile land or clean water into long-term hazards.
Related Domains and Character Options
Rules Sources and Licensing
- D&D 3.5e: the ignore-hardness granted power and domain spell list follow the Corruption Domain in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss.
- Earlier lineage: related corruption material appears in the older Book of Vile Darkness tradition, but this page uses the verified 3.5e presentation rather than relying on an unlabeled older fragment.
- Other editions: no same-named Pathfinder 1e, 2014 D&D or 2024 D&D domain is presented as official.
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