siteheader

Ideas for new Cleric Domains (by Acrozatarim)

Written by Martin K.

The following Domains were posted by user Acrozatarim at rpg.net in this thread. I'm copying them here so they don't get lost. (For my own Cleric stuff, see here.)


  

Domain: Air OR Weather OR Storms

You may add your Cleric level to any Background roll when attempting to divine or predict changes in the weather. Additionally, once per turn, you gain a +2 bonus to a Disengage check.

Invocation of the Winds: This battle, choose one of two effects: either your allies all gain a +2 bonus to Disengage checks; or your enemies all suffer a -2 penalty to Disengage checks and flying enemies suffer a -1 penalty to AC.

Domain: Beasts OR Wilderness

You have a small animal companion. Whether a bird, beast or something more exotic, use the rules for the Wizard's Familiar talent to create your companion; however, your companion only has 1 ability instead of 2.

Invocation of the Wilds: I need a good idea for an Invocation here.

(Why just one ability for the animal companion rather than 2? Because I wanted to fit in an Invocation as well without just making this Wizard's Familiar ++. There's also an argument that this Domain could easily be replaced with just a regular Druid class, which is fair, but Druids come with very specific flavour that may not match what a GM wants from a god's portfolio.)

Domain: Birth OR Fertility

Whenever your healing spells let an ally who is on 0 hit points or below use a recovery, they restore hit points as if they rolled the maximum score possible on their recovery dice.

Invocation of Renewal: This battle, the first of you or your allies to fall to 0 hit points or below may immediately use a recovery as a free action.

Domain: Celestial Bureaucracy

You gain 1 point in a special Icon Relationship with the Celestial Bureaucracy, the greater mass of petty divine functionaries and spirits upon whose harried backs the edifice of reality and the gods are borne. This Relationship works in the same way as a normal Icon Relationship, except its benefits usually come in the form of friendly godlings and heavenly bureaucrats giving aid and favour, while its complications often arise as paperwork, tangled red tape or surprisingly obstinate celestial officials.

Invocation of Celestial Authorisation: Whether through confusing the Bureaucracy with a sudden calamitous collision of contradictory event-generated paperwork, or through having the grace and favour of the right spirits to ease the passage of the alterations in reality you desire, for the rest of this battle things just seem to play out your way. The first time an enemy rolls a critical hit, it is instead treated as a normal hit and the next hit that you or your allies inflict is treated as a critical hit regardless of the score on the dice.

Domain: Chains OR Prisons

Whenever you suffer the Hampered, Stuck, Stunned, Weakened or Vulnerable conditions, add your Wisdom bonus to all of your Defences and to your attack rolls for the duration of the condition.

Invocation of Chains: This battle, whenever you fail a roll to Disengage from an enemy or an enemy successfully intercepts you, one engaged enemy suffers damage equal to your Wisdom bonus and becomes Stuck for one round.

Domain: Change OR Mutation

Whenever your hit point total changes (either increasing or decreasing), you gain +1AC for a round.

Invocation of Change: This battle, whenever any of your allies hit point totals change, they gain +1 AC for a round.

Domain: Earth OR Mountain

Once per battle, when you are critically hit, your opponent does not deal additional damage from the critical.

Invocation of the Mountain: This battle, you gain Resistance (Physical) 12+ for the duration of the combat.

Domain: Elemental

Whenever you cast a spell that affects an ally, that ally also gains Resistance (one of Fire, Cold, Lightning, Thunder or Acid) 12 for one round, picking which element at the time of casting.

Invocation of the Elements: This battle, you gain Resistance 14 to all of Fire, Cold, Lightning, Thunder and Acid.

Domain: Elephants

Once per day, when you are targeted by an attack against your MD, then before the attack is rolled you may choose to add +2 to your MD for the rest of the round.

Invocation of Hide: This battle, once per turn, you may end the effect of a single 'save ends' condition from the list above at the beginning of your turn.

(Everything is better with elephants. Why an MD boost? Because of the symbolism of the mastered mind as a mastered elephant, as opposed to the unruly mind which is a wild elephant prone to causing disruption)

Domain: Fire OR Hearth

You add your level to any Background roll to start a fire or dry anything out. Whenever you use a Recovery, you gain a +2 to the next attack roll you make in the following round.

Invocation of Hearthfire: This battle, all allies who are Nearby to you benefit from Resistance (Cold) 14 and, while Staggered, heal a number of hit points equal to your level each round. These benefits only persist as long as they are Nearby; if they or you move further away, they immediately lose the effects of the invocation.

(I wanted to avoid the usual FIRE BURN thing, and instead play up a bit on the symbolism of fire consuming fuel (Recoveries in this case) for effect and the notion of fire as a guardian against darkness and cold)

Domain: Forests OR Plants

I need a good ability here. I was considering 'You have a +5 bonus to saves against being Stuck and Hampered.' but that then causes this Domain to be the Domain of Entangling and Avoiding Entangling, whereas I'd prefer something that speaks more symbolically of other elements of forests or plants. I've also steered clear of having them do poison damage or be resistant to poison damage because that is particularly niche as an interpretation of the Domain, plus just makes them into Wood-Blooded.

Invocation of Rising Roots: This battle, your critical hits cause enemies to become Stuck (save ends).

Domain: Ice

You possess a Resistance (Cold) value equal to 12 + your Wisdom modifier.

Invocation of Frost: This battle, every enemy who you strike with a melee attack becomes Hampered for one round.

Domain: Civilisation OR Walls

As long as you are Nearby to an ally, both you and they gain +1 AC. A number of allies up to your Wisdom modifier can benefit from this effect.

Invocation of Walls: This battle, if you are wielding a shield, you gain an additional +1 to both AC and PD.

Domain: Arcane OR Sorcery

Choose a single spell from either the Wizard's spell list (for Arcana) or the Sorcerer's spell list (for Sorcery) as if you were of equal level in that class. You know this spell and can cast it.

Invocation of Magic: This battle, all allies who are Nearby you gain a +1 bonus on attack rolls with spells.

Domain: Pain OR Blood

When you are staggered, you gain +1 to your AC and PD. When you attack an enemy who is staggered, you gain a +1 to your attack rolls.

Invocation of Agony: This battle, you do not fall unconscious when reduced to 0 hit points and can continue to fight and act with full effect until you are dead.

Domain: Saddle OR Horses

You gain an additional 4 Background points that must be spent on Backgrounds related to riding or horses.

Invocation of the Saddle: This battle, any combat stunts you attempt while riding suffer no penalty.

(Why Saddle OR Horses? Because some cultures in a fantasy setting might have steeds other than horses but still have a very central cultural tradition of riding)

Domain: Travel

You gain an additional 4 Background points that must be spent on Backgrounds related to travelling or wandering.

Invocation of the Wanderer: This battle, you may pop free from a single enemy each turn.

Domain: Uncounted Host of the Divine

Your devotion encompasses an entire thronging pantheon of holy figures, possibly numbering in the thousands. Choose another Domain to be used with this Domain's invocation; whenever you rest, you can swap the chosen Domain for any other.

Invocation of the Divine Multitude: For this battle, you gain the benefit of the chosen Domain. Note that you do not gain the benefit of the chosen domain's invocation.

Domain: Water OR Sea

Another one that I need a good idea for. I am thinking maybe some sort of Escalation Die based abilities for both the regular ability and the invocation, to represent the ebbing and flowing of the tides.

Domain: Void OR Oblivion

Whenever an enemy critically hits you, they become Weakened for one round.

Invocation of the Void: During this battle, whenever you critically hit an enemy, they become Vulnerable for one round.

Leave your comments

Post comment as a guest

0
terms and condition.

People in this conversation

  • These are great. One of the areas I am working on is in this area... I understand why they sorta said 'use whatever gods you wish' but my world, like Glorantha, is a little more god-centric than that. Great stuff!

    Like 0 Short URL: