5 Unique Backstory Ideas for Your Cleric in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) 5e

Instead of focusing on simple overlays like ‘A Priest’ this will be a small write up on 5 characters that might give you additional inspiration on your own character, and hopefully help you to write something unique and interesting to play in your own game.

For each of these ideas, I’m gonna to focus on a particular facet of the Cleric that I like the most. Something that I think gives the character life, or a piece of a character that I think is truly unique to build a backstory around. So, without further ado, let’s jump into 5 unique backstory ideas!

#1: The Discouraged

Clerics revolve around their faith more than any other class in the game, in large part due to the fact that that is where their magic comes from. Their faith allows them to establish abilities that change the world around them. What if your character is unsure if they wish to continue to worship their deity of choice, or what if they no longer agree with their deities teachings. Are they simply switching to a new god in a pantheon or have they been raised with the ‘one faith’ their entire lives and now they aren’t sure what to do.

The idea of a discouraged cleric is a story of faith and challenging one’s beliefs. Playing this character should make you think of things like, what is real? Which gods really matter? What does faith mean? It’s important to think about how your character came to their faith in the beginning. Has it always been a part of their life passed down generation to generation or was it a faith that they themselves found in a dark time. Consider an expression of real life. Most people who come to a faith in the real world do so either because it’s simply tradition, or because in a dark period of their life they needed to seek something, needed answers or they wouldn’t be able to deal with the pain or grief that they were experiencing. Once you’ve considered where the character started, follow that thread to what has left the character so destitute of faith in the present, and how they are reacting to this divergence.

#2: The Martyr

Most people don’t want their characters to die! But what if your character believes, truly believes that deep down that his sacrifice is required. Maybe it is their destiny, maybe they think that their death is simply a task given by their deity, a challenge or a test they must succeed and that passing such a powerful test of their faith will take them into the holy heavens to serve alongside their deity for all of time. Maybe they must sacrifice themselves in a truly pivotal moment, or maybe they know the exact moment that their martyrdom will come. This is a backstory idea that you might have to work closely with the DM to figure out how the specifics of it work into the campaign.

When playing such a character decide whether your character is resigned to martyrdom. Consider how a real person might react knowing the exact moment of their death and how it is to happen. Do they prepare for it? Do they live their life freely with wanton abandon thinking that they are unable to die except for in the chosen moment? Or do they think that their fate is a mockery of true life, that their life isn’t worth living any more except for the one thing they must do. Perhaps the fate that was given to you wasn’t even by a deity that you worshipped, but nonetheless you know it to be true, and now your Cleric is given abilities by a deity that isn’t even his own in order to propel them to the deity’s chosen narrative? How will you react to such a trial?

#3 The Champion

Many people still think healer when they hear Cleric, but this is not so in regards to your character. You are a champion of a divine being, the first in line in an endless planar war. What your character was chosen for is up to you, or whether they even know. But instead of learning the traditions of your deity, or learning the theoretical behind the religion, debating ancient texts and studying the scripture, your mentor saw to it that you were trained in weapons and armor. You were raised like a warrior, from dawn to dusk training amongst the others of the holy order. Perhaps you are some divine ‘chosen one’, or perhaps your temple or monastery is simply going on the offensive against demons, devils or another extraplanar threat. Perhaps you are even fighting against another kingdom led by a powerful theocracy.

Nonetheless, you are part of a powerful organization that is willing to train divine soldiers capable of incredible feats of magic for the battlefield. Why? What is your purpose and how did you undergo your training? Was your character chosen, born into the order, or did they willingly choose to fight for a cause or for the deity themselves because of what they believe in. Perhaps a holy war is brewing over a sacred site, or perhaps a war with an ‘evil’ neighboring nation is upcoming and holy warriors have been placed at the head of the conflict.

#4: The Guardian

This backstory is fun for connecting your character to another in the party. The Guardian is a chosen healer, teacher, or sage that looks after another member of the party. Perhaps you were their teacher growing up, or perhaps you have sworn some kind of oath to them, to protect or teach them because of your deity or because you believe they are important to your religion. Either way, your character is devoted to making sure they grow up into who and what they are supposed to. This means going out of your way to make sure they survive, to go as far as to put yourself in front of them if you must. Working with another player at the table to determine why this might be can be extremely interesting and create a fun party dynamic at the table.

However, the reason for your character guarding the character might not necessarily be a savory one. Perhaps the other character must one day be a sacrifice for the greater good, or perhaps they might be the next vessel of the chosen deity, the range of possibilities are endless, it’s up to you or maybe even your DM to determine why the deity is interested in the character, and why you were put in charge of their protection.

#5: Fallen Angel

Not like an Aasimar, though you could very well be. You are an angel (or really any powerful companion to a god), but you did something to displease your master. Because of what you did you were sent to the Material Plane in the shell of a mortal being as punishment, to serve alongside the mortal races until you do something worthy of returning to the heavens (like hitting level 20!). This gives you perhaps a completely different insight into parts of the campaign than another character if your DM is willing to work with you. It can also be fun to try and roleplay an angel that has suddenly become mortal. Suddenly you have to do things like eat, drink, sleep and go to the bathroom. You can’t fly everywhere! You don’t know exactly when people are lying, you can no longer speak every language in existence. The problems are multiple and having fun Rping such a thing can be a good challenge for a more experienced player.

In addition, choosing why exactly you are being punished, who you serve and what you did while you were an angel can help flesh out your character to a greater degree. Work with your DM to breathe some life into the character by exploring the possibilities of the expanded universe, and who you might have been as an angel!

If you like this article or any others I have written, consider liking, subscribing, tipping or pledging here on Vocal as it really helps me continue writing! Welcome to the Cleric Series! If you're looking for other articles about Clerics, follow the links below, otherwise keep on reading!

• Backstories for Clerics
• Spells for Clerics
• Feats for Clerics
• Magic Items for Clerics
• Best Tempest Cleric Build