Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I will post some more of these as I have the chance, but I thought I would first state a couple of design criteria:
1. Domain powers should rarely if ever replicate a spell that is on the generic cleric list, ESPECIALLY one that any Joe Blow cleric of a LOWER level could cast.
Cleric of the Air domain: "Woo hoo, I'm 16th level, now I can cast control weather!"
Cleric of the Cave-dwelling Slime Monster: "Yawn... I could cast that 3 levels ago."
LAME!
2. Elemental domains should actually feature those elements, not associated energy.
So, how about the Water domain:
1st level - Rushing wave (Su): As a standard action, you can cause a wave of water to rise up and strike a foe within 30 feet. This strikes as a bull rush, but you use your caster level + Wisdom modifier rather than base attack bonus and Strength modifier.
2nd level - Striking wave 1/day per 2 caster levels you possess. Treat as burning hands but inflicts bludgeoning damage.
4th level - Control water 1/day
8th level - Mantle of water - When in the water, you gain a swim speed equal to your land speed and the ability to breathe water. Out of the water, you may surround yourself with a shroud of water for a number of rounds equal to your caster level. The mantle of water provides cover (+4 bonus to AC, +2 bonus to Reflex saves) and fire and cold resistance 10.
12th level - Acid fog 1/day seems a lot more like "water" than hailstorms and cones of cold.
16th level - Horrid wilting 1/day
20th level - Elemental swarm is fine
Just a notion.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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A notion for the Air domain
1st level - Walk on air (Su): as the current 8th level ability
I had noodled around with several variations on something like this as well, but I never quite hit a balance I liked with it:
Zephyr (Su): As a standard action, you can call upon a sustained rush of air to lift yourself or another creature within 30 feet. You may use the zephyr to provide a +10 bonus to an ally's Acrobatics check to jump.
Or:
You can rise into the air or to move a creature up, down, or that creature in the air. A willing creature is affected as levitate, but the zephyr lasts only until the beginning of your next turn; however, you can maintain the effect on An unwilling target may resist the Zephyr with a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1/2 caster level + Wisdom modifier).
Or:
You can use this ability as an immediate action to catch a falling creature as feather fall or as a standard action to boost a creature into the air as a jump spell.
Or:
You can solidify the air around a creature within 30 feet. This works as a grapple attempt, but you substitute your caster level and Wisdom modifier for your base attack bonus and Strength modifier.
2nd level - Gust of wind 1/day per 2 caster levels you possess.
4th level - Fly 1/day
8th level - Cloak of winds (Su) - You may surround yourself with a cloak of swirling winds for a number of rounds equal to your caster level. These rounds need not be consecutive. This power grants you a fly speed of 60 feet and a +10 bonus to Fly checks, and it acts as a wind wall that surrounds you on all sides and does not impede your own attacks.
12th level - Control winds 1/day
16th level - Whirlwind 1/day
20th level - Elemental swarm is fine
Thoughts?
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Such good ideas!
I very much agree that;
1) A Cleric *of any Domain,* not just Elemental, shouldn't get SLAs that replicate spells that he could already cast, and sometimes even at later levels than he already gained them!
2) Elemental Domain powers should involve the element in question. Air should center around affect that manipulate air (or clouds, wind, etc. but *not* lightning). An Earth attack ability should involve throwing rocks at people, or animating the ground to hamper foes movement, or something, not Acid Darts!
My preferences for the 1st level abilities would be keeping them all attack based.
Air - single target 30 ft. range 'gust of wind' that acts as a trip or bull rush, using the Clerics wisdom bonus or caster level as a bonus to the roll (with the latter option, a 10th level Cleric is gonna have a pretty mean Bull Rush!).
Earth - produce and throw rocks that do good damage, similar to magic stones.
Alternately, to avoid duplicating Magic Stone, perhaps it works more like Turn Pebble to Boulder, and allows the Cleric to use a swift action to transform a thrown or slung stone into a stone two size classes larger? (So a Halfling Earth Cleric would produce sling stones that do 1d6 damage, while a Human Earth Cleric would produce sling stones that do 1d8 damage, although both would start with ammunition of normal scale for their size, and the stones would revert back to normal size at the end of the round.) Perhaps this power would scale and allow the Cleric to 'boulderize' as many Sling stones (or thrown rocks) as he can normally fire, per his BAB, allowing a Cleric to fire off multiple embiggened Sling stones (or thrown rocks) in a single round. With this power, the Earth Cleric would be firing off Sling Stones that do as much damage as Spears sized for his race! Certainly not unbalancing (since he's just saving the cost / weight / action requirement of carrying multiple spears), and it might even be acceptable to give him a +1 to hit foes with these enlarged stones!
Fire - Produce Flame is a sexy, sexy spell, and a Domain Power that allowed the Fire Cleric to produce a torchlight-equivalent flame in his hand as a swift action, and then throw it as an attack action, would be very cool. The damage could scale normally. (1d6 plus 1 hp / level or 1 hp / 2 levels, whichever.) Unlike the magic sling stones, he wouldn't be able to fire off multiple attacks per round at higher level, but neither would he ever run out of ammunition, and the ranged touch attack is easier to use than the standard ranged attack. Plus there is the torch-light (and starting fires) utility aspect.
Water - A Water Blast similar to that of a Decanter of Endless Water seems like the best bet here. It could do only nonlethal damage, and include a lesser version of the Bull Rush from an Air Domain attack. Less damage than Fire, less 'trippy' than Air, but capable of both damaging and 'soft control' utility. Like the magic stones, the water would vanish at the end of the round. No filling up the well with your At Will water blasts! That's not what it's for!
On the other hand, and I'm nothing if not self-contradictory, I *love* the idea of an Air Domain Cleric being able to use a Swift Action to Feather Fall an ally (or himself), or a Standard Action to use his Burst of Wind to give someone a +10 bonus to a Jump check. (Part of me wants to streamline the two uses, so that the Swift Action adds to the Acrobatics check to reduce falling damage, but that doesn't work well with the idea of the Air Cleric attempting to save someone who is unconscious or entangled or otherwise unable to make an Acrobatics check...)
Some sort of utility + attack capable Wind Blast that did some knockback if used offensively, could power-assist jumpers *and* gently catch fallers would be sweetness, but beyond my immediate ability to figure out how to describe *briefly.* The last thing needed is for the 1st level Air Domain power to take a chapter to itself...
The Fire attack would likely already has some utility built in (torch light, starting fires), so adding some utility to the Air attack would be, IMO, not unbalancing.
If going with an attack + utility feature, the Water Jet would likely also want for some utility (drench small fires, extinguish torches?), perhaps by adding free Create Water to the effect (by having at least some of the water hang around afterwards and be usable for consumption). While I'm not in love with the setting ramifications of free Create Water, it's already part of the system thanks to unlimited Orisons, which means that any Cleric (and not just a Water Cleric) is going to be able to create unlimited water if he/she wants anyway.
An attack + utility feature for Earth isn't coming to me as quickly.
Perhaps, instead of just throwing the element at people, as with the Air, Fire and Water ideas I've listed, the Earth Cleric manipulates the Earth under them, as a Standard action changing a square of terrain into difficult or easy terrain, and it remaining after he's done, allowing him to smooth out a rough area over time, or 'roughen it up' to hamper pursuit? Just brainstorming. I kinda hate this idea actually, Earth Clerics wandering around town patching potholes... Even worse than Water Clerics filling the wells. :)
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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A notion for the Earth domain
1st level - Tremor (Su): As a standard action, you can cause the earth to shake underneath another creature. This works as a trip attempt, but you substitute your caster level and Wisdom modifier for your base attack bonus and Strength modifier. In addition, until the beginning of your next turn the space udner that creature is considered difficult terrain.
2nd level - Magic stone 1/day per 2 caster levels you possess. In addition, the enhancement bonus of your magic stones is equal to 1/2 your caster level.
4th level - Stone shape 1/day
8th level - Body of stone (Su) - This is pretty much fine as is in PF, but I would add the caveat that it allows you to make unarmed strikes without provoking attacks of opportunity and with a damage bonus equal to 1/2 your cleric level. (fists of stone, right?)
12th level - Stoneskin 1/day
16th level - Crushing hand 1/day - This works identically to the spell but is made of stone rather than force
20th level - Elemental swarm is fine
Thoughts?
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I think the Fire domain is probably fine as is, or close enough to it.
I was thinking, though, that I might actually replace ALL of the elemental domains' 12th level SLA with elemental body III - lets them turn into a Large elemental of the appropriate type. I think actually that would be a very fitting ability.
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So agreed, I honestly thought it was lame that every energy domain got a 1d6 ranged touch attack energy bolt. The halfling cleric in my brief RotR playtest was slinging lightning all the time. Ask a normal person (one who doesn't play) what he probably worshiped and I garuntee they wouldn't say air, they'd say lightning. Honestly Lightning should be its own domain seperate from air.
And I love what you've come up with for the domains. They feel very much in touch with the domains they represent.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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One more, not that it's an elemental domain as such, but because it seems to have inherited some elemental spells is the Sun domain.
Try this on for size:
1st level - Sun's touch (Su): This is okay in concept, but I would have it be useful against other targets besides. Melee touch to blind a target for 1 round (Will DC 10 + 1/2 caster level + Wis modifier). For that matter, I think it would be just fine if undead took damage AND had to save or be blinded.
2nd level - Searing light 1/day per 2 caster levels you possess. (sure, it's a 3rd level spell, but when you first get it, it's a ray that does 1d8 damage, 2d6 vs. undead)
4th level - Daylight 1/day
8th level - Nimbus of light (Su) - This is pretty much fine as is in PF.
12th level - Sunbeam 1/day
16th level - Sunburst 1/day
20th level - Meteor swarm 1/day - yes, I know it's fire and I'm trying to get away from fire spells, but these burning chunks of solar fire streaking from the stars seem a lot more like a "sun" effect than prismatic sphere does. I could get with a special effect like the exploding meteors also blind all targets in the AoE for 1 round on a failed save (as well as the creatures struck by the meteors and who get no save).
Thoughts?
Sun 1st level. Well, why would his TOUCH be blinding? If someone can poke me in the eyes, they don't need mystical powers to blind me, they just did mundanely. Why not make it a RAY effect that blinds/dazzles? Or link it to Channel Energy with same effects?
Air/Weather 1st level/ all. I'd rather have lightening/ electric effects be only in Weather, not Air. Air could have hamper enemies with wind gusts, or provide protection against missile weapons (though that's already a spell) An effect that gave the enemy a miss chance% also scales at all levels...
Water 1st level. I liked the "Wave" idea, though it seems it should require at least a tub of water nearby to work (since it's limited, it could be more powerful) I agree all the powers should use actual WATER, not COLD (that should be a separate domain) Alternately, it could only require a cup of water, but cause it to jet out in a Ranged Touch Attack that Blinds the opponent for 1 round...?
Earth 1st level. I agree, something more like granting a Free Bullrush when you & opponent are standing on land seems much more "Earthy" (and like Earth Elemental Racial Power) more than "ACID".
Air/Travel Fly power of travel. I *really* would prefer to see this as part of Air domain, as it's much more specific to Air(i.e. as an ability of Air Type Creatures) than Travel. I'm not sure which level, but Travel Clerics could get an ability making them always know their geographic location and be immune to Maze and the like, or enhancing the precision of teleports, something along that line.
Fire... Great.
The idea about ALL Elemental domains granting Elemental Form @ 12th level sounds good to me....
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Hey Jason, howsabout one for lightning? what can you come up with there, obviously the first ability would be the one that the air domain currently gets. I never understood how it wasn't a domain (they made a PrC but not a domain) when so many primitive and even not so primitive cultures feared lightning as the wrath of the gods.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Hey Jason, howsabout one for lightning? what can you come up with there, obviously the first ability would be the one that the air domain currently gets. I never understood how it wasn't a domain (they made a PrC but not a domain) when so many primitive and even not so primitive cultures feared lightning as the wrath of the gods.
Honestly, I think lightning fits fine as a subunit of the Weather domain.
Try this on for size:
1st level - Storm burst (Su): This is fine. Nonlethal damage is highly underrated.
If you wanted, you could make it do 1d4 sonic + 1d4 electricity instead, but I think it's fine as is.
2nd level - Shocking grasp 1/day per 2 levels - a touch attack for good electrical damage with no save will always be useful. If you think it's not weather-y enough, you could make it sound burst instead (sonic damage + stun = handy even at higher levels)
I actually think obscuring mist is a decent spell, but it fails my test of "you can ALREADY cast the spell, and at a LOWER level," and I also don't like the double-dip with the similar fog cloud 2 levels later. One foggy power is good, 2 is unnecessary.
4th level - Fog cloud 1/day is fine (I could also see doing sleet storm instead), perhaps with the bonus that you can see normally through your own fog (or SS)
8th level - Lightning lord (Su) - This ability is fine as is.
12th level - Control winds 1/day
16th level - Chain lightning 1/day (again, control weather came on your spell list THREE LEVELS AGO, and it's not the sort of spell you need to cast every day - it usually lasts more than a day!)
20th level - Storm of vengeance 1/day is fine
What is really needed, of course, is an ability that lets you see through fog, which is currently impossible with fog. Perhaps a new spell added.
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What is really needed, of course, is an ability that lets you see through fog, which is currently impossible with fog. Perhaps a new spell added.
Or it could be folded in with one of the fog-spell powers, such as Fog Cloud. Specific text that the Cleric can see through his own Fog Could SLA *and* that he counts all concealment from other types of fog as one step lower and can see twice as far. (So his own Fog Clould would be transparent to him, but an Obscuring Mist, whether his own or someone elses, would limit him to 10 ft. visual range and provide partial concealment to targets between more than 10 ft. away.)
It could be one or the other, as well;
1) Dropping concealment one level would cause the Obscuring Mist to give him no penalties to hit someone 5 ft. away and partial concealment penalties for everyone else. I prefer that this be at least part of it...
2) Doubling sight range would give him partial concealment penalties to foes 10 ft. away and then full concealment as normal to those more than 10 ft. away. Instead of doubling, the visual range could be quadrupled, making it 20 ft. before he begins to suffer full concealment penalties.
I put my own suggestions for first level domain powers on the other domain discussion thread and I won't repeat them here.
Mostly I really don't like the generic 1d6+x domain powers. For some domains (Fire, Lightning) they make sense. For earth? I like your miniquake much better.