I love the thematic elements of this subclass, but the mechanics could use a little work.
To be honest, I think the emphasis and mechanics around the Subconscious Realm are a bit over-specific for a general subclass. If you had a world or campaign that included the Subconscious Realm as part of the lore, it would be great, but it might be prohibitive for a GM to try to shoehorn that into their otherwise-established world. Having some general lore in your description is great, but it needs to be abstract and flexible enough to make sense in a variety of worlds. Again, if this is for a specific campaign, you’re fine to be as specific as you’d like.
For your specific features:
Subliminal Affinity - I would remove the Perception proficiency. This feature is already very strong, and Perception doesn’t fit the theme of the subclass. Insight and a free 2nd level spell is both strong and thematic.
Channel Divinity: Repose - I’m not sure when or where you’d use this feature. It’s less beneficial than a long rest. Instead, consider making it only an hour long–in addition to the benefits of a short rest, grant the extra healing and removal of an exhaustion level. I’ll also note that this is an odd use of Channel Divinity, which is typically something more combat oriented (though not always). This is a decent feature, but might be worth being its own ability, once per long rest.
Partial Delve - like I said before, this is a really lore-defining feature that I can’t see many GMs welcoming. I’m also not sure what this feature is supposed to do mechanically, as I can’t find any information of what a character might do in the Subconscious Realm or why they’d want to be there, unless the GM starts fleshing that all out. And unless your whole party is this domain, it would either do nothing or your character would have a solo sidequest every long rest, which doesn’t sound fun at a table. I’d consider replacing this feature (maybe move the short-rest version of Repose here instead).
Memory Palace - as another commenter said, it’s not flashy, but it’s effective. Though keep in mind that other subclasses all get a damage boost at this level (either adding their Wisdom modifier to cantrips, or bonus damage to weapon attacks). It’s not necessarily a bad thing to buck that trend, just keep it in mind for balancing.
Dreamcaster - in addition to being lore-defining, this is quite powerful, even for 4th-tier play. If I’m understanding it correctly, the cleric could use this feature to put a bunch of enemies to sleep (though also themselves). And everyone takes a level of exhaustion when waking up. The mechanics feel complicated, and the aspect of the Subconscious Realm would need to be fleshed out to make more sense. I think there’s potential in the save-or-take-exhaustion mechanic, but it could be simpler (e.g., “Choose any number of creatures you can see, who must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creatures are subject to an intense weariness and take a level of exhaustion”).
I get the impression you’re really into the Subconscious Realm idea (I’m getting Tel’aran’rhiod vibes, which is cool). But the whole idea might be better suited for some sort of module (which might include some dream-related feats, spells, etc.) rather than a subclass. If you want to explore that more, consider making an adventure module or something in that vein for it.
Here are a few thoughts for features that might fit the overall vibe:
While casting Sleep isn’t terribly exciting on its own, why not play around with enhancing the Sleep spell? For example, a Channel Divinity option could involve increasing the number of hit points the Sleep spell effects, and/or at higher levels, targets put to sleep by your Sleep spell take psychic damage each round that doesn’t wake them up? Extending the duration? Removing the V/S/M requirements? Lots of options here to make Sleep useful beyond tier-1 play.
A feature that allows you to detect any (intelligent) sleeping creatures nearby. Situational, but could be a good additional feature for a level where you want to add a little more.
Just before completing a long rest, the cleric can use the Sending spell without expending a spell slot, but the target of the spell must also be asleep or the spell fails.
you’re correct that the mechanics are overly specific for this setting. this subclass was made for a homebrew setting and fits that lore accordingly, so i don’t expect it to be adaptable to any other world. the subconscious realm as a whole is pretty important in my campaign since i basically use it as a plot device for lore drops and stuff. i think in that context, abilities like Partial Delve make more sense since there’s an actual reason to go there.
i really appreciate your suggestions and will definitely use them to make the subclass more mechanically sound. thanks again
I love the thematic elements of this subclass, but the mechanics could use a little work.
To be honest, I think the emphasis and mechanics around the Subconscious Realm are a bit over-specific for a general subclass. If you had a world or campaign that included the Subconscious Realm as part of the lore, it would be great, but it might be prohibitive for a GM to try to shoehorn that into their otherwise-established world. Having some general lore in your description is great, but it needs to be abstract and flexible enough to make sense in a variety of worlds. Again, if this is for a specific campaign, you’re fine to be as specific as you’d like.
For your specific features:
Subliminal Affinity - I would remove the Perception proficiency. This feature is already very strong, and Perception doesn’t fit the theme of the subclass. Insight and a free 2nd level spell is both strong and thematic.
Channel Divinity: Repose - I’m not sure when or where you’d use this feature. It’s less beneficial than a long rest. Instead, consider making it only an hour long–in addition to the benefits of a short rest, grant the extra healing and removal of an exhaustion level. I’ll also note that this is an odd use of Channel Divinity, which is typically something more combat oriented (though not always). This is a decent feature, but might be worth being its own ability, once per long rest.
Partial Delve - like I said before, this is a really lore-defining feature that I can’t see many GMs welcoming. I’m also not sure what this feature is supposed to do mechanically, as I can’t find any information of what a character might do in the Subconscious Realm or why they’d want to be there, unless the GM starts fleshing that all out. And unless your whole party is this domain, it would either do nothing or your character would have a solo sidequest every long rest, which doesn’t sound fun at a table. I’d consider replacing this feature (maybe move the short-rest version of Repose here instead).
Memory Palace - as another commenter said, it’s not flashy, but it’s effective. Though keep in mind that other subclasses all get a damage boost at this level (either adding their Wisdom modifier to cantrips, or bonus damage to weapon attacks). It’s not necessarily a bad thing to buck that trend, just keep it in mind for balancing.
Dreamcaster - in addition to being lore-defining, this is quite powerful, even for 4th-tier play. If I’m understanding it correctly, the cleric could use this feature to put a bunch of enemies to sleep (though also themselves). And everyone takes a level of exhaustion when waking up. The mechanics feel complicated, and the aspect of the Subconscious Realm would need to be fleshed out to make more sense. I think there’s potential in the save-or-take-exhaustion mechanic, but it could be simpler (e.g., “Choose any number of creatures you can see, who must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creatures are subject to an intense weariness and take a level of exhaustion”).
I get the impression you’re really into the Subconscious Realm idea (I’m getting Tel’aran’rhiod vibes, which is cool). But the whole idea might be better suited for some sort of module (which might include some dream-related feats, spells, etc.) rather than a subclass. If you want to explore that more, consider making an adventure module or something in that vein for it.
Here are a few thoughts for features that might fit the overall vibe:
While casting Sleep isn’t terribly exciting on its own, why not play around with enhancing the Sleep spell? For example, a Channel Divinity option could involve increasing the number of hit points the Sleep spell effects, and/or at higher levels, targets put to sleep by your Sleep spell take psychic damage each round that doesn’t wake them up? Extending the duration? Removing the V/S/M requirements? Lots of options here to make Sleep useful beyond tier-1 play.
A feature that allows you to detect any (intelligent) sleeping creatures nearby. Situational, but could be a good additional feature for a level where you want to add a little more.
Just before completing a long rest, the cleric can use the Sending spell without expending a spell slot, but the target of the spell must also be asleep or the spell fails.
Hope that’s helpful!
thanks! this is really helpful.
you’re correct that the mechanics are overly specific for this setting. this subclass was made for a homebrew setting and fits that lore accordingly, so i don’t expect it to be adaptable to any other world. the subconscious realm as a whole is pretty important in my campaign since i basically use it as a plot device for lore drops and stuff. i think in that context, abilities like Partial Delve make more sense since there’s an actual reason to go there.
i really appreciate your suggestions and will definitely use them to make the subclass more mechanically sound. thanks again