Table of Contents
Blesses
A bless is a set of enhancements and bonuses that apply to a nation's sacred commanders and units. The effects of a bless can include bonuses to units' attributes, special abilities, physical and elemental damage resistances, and enhancements to weapons. Most bless effects are activated in combat by blessing a unit, but some apply continually.
When creating a pretender, a number of options are available for bless effects. The choice of effects is tied to a prentender's magic paths, and are an important part of pretender design. Each magic path on the pretender above 4 confers a number of bless points equal to the corresponding path level. Having 3 in all elemental or sorcery paths also enables bless points for those paths. Bless points can then be spent on the effects listed below. Some effects require certain scale choices in addition to magic paths. Some options can be taken multiple times, which causes their effects to stack.
Additionally, the more powerful effects are incarnate only, activating only when the pretender god is present on the tactical map. These effects will be inactive both before the pretender awakens, and while the pretender is dead.
Sacred units can become blessed by a priest, by certain items, or when in a battle with a pretender or disciple in friendly dominion.
Priest Levels
Not all priests are created equal.
1 priests can bless small groups of sacreds (AOE 5) (+5 for every extra level of the caster).
2 priests can bless bigger groups of sacreds (AOE 10, since they get the +5 bonus) at longer range.
3+ priests can cast divine blessing, which blesses all sacred units on the battlefield.
More on priestly spells at Divine Magic.
Indirect Magic Path Bonuses
As well as bless effects, magic paths picked by a pretender can give indirect bonuses to the pretender themselves (though not their units). These can also be important in pretender design. The magic#indirect-magic-path-bonuses page lists the bonuses and discusses when they might be useful.
Bless effects
All bless effects cost one or more points in a specific path of magic chosen by a pretender, and a small number of blesses require points from two paths. The table below lists all the bless effects that are available, what points they cost, and any additional requirements to choose the bless.
Taorec wrote a very detailed overview of all the blesses in Dominions 5, which discusses their uses and weaknesses.
Fire
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Superior Morale | +1 Morale | Yes | ||||
| 1 |  1 | Wasteland Survival | Wasteland survival trait | ||||
| 2 | Minor Fire Resistance | Fire Resistance +5 | |||||
| 3 | Major Fire Resistance | Fire Resistance +10 | |||||
| 3 | Attack Skill | +2 attack skill | Yes | ||||
| 4 | Inspirational Presence | +1 Inspirational, +30 leadership | Yes | ||||
| 5 | Death Explosion | On death 10AP fire damage, (4+Size) AOE | Yes | ||||
| 5 | Heat Aura | Heat Aura (3), Fire Resistance +10 | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Fire Shield | Fire Shield (7AP damage) | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Flaming Weapons | 6AP fire damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons | Yes | 1 | |||
| 7 | Awe | Awe+1 | Yes |
Air
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Minor Shock Resistance | Shock Resistance +5 | |||||
| 1 | Precision | Precision+1 | Yes | ||||
| 2 | Farshot | Weapon Range +30% (not for spells or natural weapons) | Yes | ||||
| 3 | Swiftness | Swiftness trait (+30% combat speed, +1 defence) | Yes | ||||
| 3 | Major Shock Resistance | Shock Resistance +10 | |||||
| 4 | Charged Bodies | Charged Bodies trait: 10AN shock damage on first hit (also hits the charged guy) | |||||
| 5 | Wind Walker | Map Movement +6 | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Air Shield | Air shield 80 trait (Blocks 80% of all projectiles) | Yes | ||||
| 7 | Thunder Weapons | 1AN capped shock damage + 3AN fatigue damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons. | Yes | 1 |
Water
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Minor Cold Resistance | Cold Resistance +5 | |||||
| 1 |  1 | Winter's Gift | Snow Move trait (No movement penalties from cold climate) | ||||
| 1 |  1 | Swamp Survival | Swamp Survival trait | 1 | |||
| 2 | Water Walking | Swimming trait (Can cross rivers in heat dominion) | |||||
| 3 | Major Cold Resistance | Cold Resistance +10 | |||||
| 3 | Defence Skill | Defence +2 | Yes | ||||
| 4 | 1 | Frost Weapons | 8 cold damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons. | 1, 2 | |||
| 5 | Chill Aura | Chill aura 3, Cold Resistance +10 | Yes | ||||
| 7 | Water Breathing | Water breathing trait | Yes | ||||
| 10 |  1 | Quickness | Quickness trait (2 attacks per combat turn, double combat speed, attack+2, defence+2) | Yes |
Earth
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Mountain Survival | Mountain Survival trait | |||||
| 2 | Reinvigoration | Reinvigoration+1 | Yes | ||||
| 2 | Reconstruction | Inanimates don't have 'Never heals' trait | |||||
| 3 | Strength of the Earth | Strength +2 | Yes | 1 | |||
| 4 | Unbreakable | 75% Affliction protection | |||||
| 4 | 3 | Larger | +1 Size, +30% HP, +3 Strength, -1 defence, +2 Map Movement | 1 | |||
| 5 | Fire&Shock Resistance | Fire Resistance +10, Shock Resistance +10 | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Hard Skin | Natural protection +5 | Yes | ||||
| 8 | Fortitude | Pierce, slash and blunt resistant traits (50% damage reduction) | Yes |
Astral
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Minor Magic Resistance | Magic Resistance+1 | |||||
| 1 | Arcane Command | +10 Magic Leadership | Yes | ||||
| 1 | 1 | Spirit Sight | Spirit Sight trait (can see in darkness, no penalty versus invisible) | ||||
| 3 | Major Magic Resistance | Magic Resistance+2 | |||||
| 3 | 1 | Solar Weapons | 3AP damage, triple versus undead/demons, except natural ranged attacks. It is fire damage and affected by corresponding resistances and vulnerabilities. | 1 | |||
| 4 | Magic Weapons | All weapons become magical except natural ranged weapons | |||||
| 4 | Far Caster | +50% combat spell range | |||||
| 4 | Arcane Finesse | +1 to magic resistance penetration, applies to spells and some magic natural attacks | |||||
| 6 | Twist Fate | Twist Fate buff (First successful attack is negated) | Yes | ||||
| 7 |  1 | Fateweaving | MR save vs 16 or suffer Cursed Luck debuff when attacking blessed unit | Yes | 1 | ||
| 9 |  2 | Luck | Luck trait | Yes | |||
| 10 | 3 | Etherealness | Ethereal trait | Yes |
Death
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undying | Undying HP+2 (Additional HP Pool once HP falls below 0, non-undead that end a battle still on the field but with negative HP die after battle) | Yes | 1 | |||
| 1 | Undead Command | Undead leadership +20 | Yes | ||||
| 2 |  2 | Half Dead | Sacred units don't need to eat and can resist disease | ||||
| 4 | Withering Weapons | All weapons (except natural ranged ones) cause decay, MR resist | 1 | ||||
| 5 | Stygian Flesh | +10 Invulnerability | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Reforming Flesh | +10% regeneration for undead | Yes | ||||
| 7 | Reanimators | 50% to revive a killed enemy as undead minion | Yes | ||||
| 8 | Death Weapons | All weapons (except natural ranged ones) deal additional 2AN damage & disease, individually MR resisted | Yes | 1 | |||
| 10 | Fear | Fear 5 | Yes |
Nature
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resilient | +1 HP | Yes | ||||
| 1 | Low Light Vision | 50% Darkvision | |||||
| 1 | Minor Poison Resistance | +5 Poison Resistance | |||||
| 2 | Major Poison Resistance | +10 Poison Resistance | |||||
| 2 | Forest Survival | Forest Survival trait | |||||
| 3 | 1 | Unaging | Sacreds age at 1/4th speed. Retroactive, except for certain commanders hard coded as Old | ||||
| 4 | 1 | Poison Weapons | +5 poison damage on attacks, except natural ranged attacks | 1 | |||
| 5 | Recuperation | Recuperation trait (recover from afflictions) | Yes | ||||
| 5 | Berserker | Berserker +2 | Yes | ||||
| 6 | Barkskin | Barkskin buff (10 natural protection, -5 Fire Resistance) | Yes | ||||
| 7 | Regeneration | Regeneration +10% | Yes | 1 |
Blood
| Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1 | Strong Vitae | +1 HP | Yes | ||||
| 3 | Strength of the Flesh | +2 Strength | Yes | 1 | |||
| 4 | Blood Surge | Upon killing, sacred gains temporary buff for a few rounds (+3 Att, +3 Str, +1 Def, +1 Reinvig). Does not trigger upon killing inanimates | 1, 2 | ||||
| 5 | Blood Bond | 50% of damage taken is transferred to other sacreds within 5 squares | Yes | 1 | |||
| 6 | Unholy Weapons | +10 AP damage, only affecting enemy sacreds and gods, on all weapons except natural ranged attacks | Yes | ||||
| 8 | Blood Vengeance | Grants the Blood Vengeance trait. Attackers must make MR save or take equal damage | Yes | 1 |
Additional various notes
Weapon-bless-analysis by taorec
Thunder weapons
Thunder weapons can stun for 1 round (-75% defense skill). Good vs size 3+ units and single units (giants & thugs), though larger units have an increased chance to resist based on their HP (stun chance = 5% + [(1 AN + DRN vs resistance) / target HP] %). Countered by any amount of shock resistance.
Strength boosters
Strength booster are often better damage bless effects compared to specific weapon blesses.
Withering Weapons
Withering Weapons is usually not fast enough acting to help in troop engagements, but it can ruin thugs/SCs.
Blood Bond
Blood Bond does not propagate 999 damage effects as they are considered special.
Undying
- A non-undead unit with Undying and a source of regeneration can heal in the after-battle-phase into positive HP-values to survive the battle even after dipping below 0 HP.
- Undying does not count as max. HP for the purpose of HP regeneration per turn.
- Undying counts for the size of limb caps.
- Luck on units with Undying only affects the initial hit bringing the unit to or below 0 HP. [TBD: Interaction with healing above 0 again to be determined.]
- If diseased and always blessed (Prophet, Flask of Holy Water), will survive on the map with negative hp. Not sure how this interacts with leaving combat or Fires from Afar.
Swamp Survival
Swamp Survival protects agains MA C'tis disease dominion.
Blood Surge
Blood Surge is not a once-per battle effect but activates anew after each kill.
Fate Weaving
See cursed-luck
Blood Vengeance
Blood Vengeance damage is untyped and tagged as internal, meaning many special types of reduction such as twist fate or mistform don't apply to it. Blood Vengeance gets its own +DRN -DRN roll.
Common Bless Templates
This section lists general bless templates that my be useful for a variety of nations. It is intended as a general starting point, not as a specific guide. See also pretenders.
- RegenFortyBBond: The combination of Regeneration, Fortitude and Blood Bond turns tanky sacreds into extreme damage sponges. A classic hellbless rush option.
- Full Resistances: Carrying Fire, Cold, Shock and Poison resist allows sacred troops - which already tend to naturally be superior to normal chaff - to be quite resilient to spells that are typically used kill these. Useful in combination with casting cloud spells in combat. Also useful for making thugs difficult to counter.
- Max Strength: Makes your sacreds hit like trucks. Can solve some issues that might otherwise be quite a problem. Get at least +6 strength, usually with magic weapons as well.