Spelljammer Dark Sun confirmed? Or, the mysterious case of the dissappearing Spelljammer article...

[JEB]

Earth? War, Knowledge, Forge (now), Nature, Grave (now)...

This really isn't hard.

Knowledge and Grave domains feel like quite a stretch to work with a primordial, earth elemental theme, looking at their Channel Divinity features. Forge and Nature sound closer but still don't feel "primordial" even reskinned. I suppose you could default to using the war cleric for an earth cleric, but that's because "fights good" is pretty portable - and there's still nothing about it that says "this character draws power from elemental earth".

That said, riffing off of @humble minion's point, encouraging PC clerics to customize their domain spell list could help with reflavoring. Provided you then choose something generic like life or war, where the mechanics are more easily disassociated from descriptions.

 

[Maxperson]

I like how 5e Xanathars focuses the Cleric on a "cosmic power" (≈ domain), even more than the 3e philosophy. The "power" results in a sacred tradition that feels plausible and with verisimilitude to reallife nontheistic sacred traditions. Indeed, even a polytheistic deity can be understood as one of the may possible "cosmic powers" to choose from. The 3e approach as an existentialist belief in belief can sometimes end up solipsistic or silly (like Banjo the Clown). The 5e approach is excellent.

I hope the 2024 Players Handbook makes this Xanathars sidebar part of its core Cleric class description.

Yeah. I wasn't thrilled with its exclusion from the 5e PHB. It felt like a bit of a regression to me, so I just popped it back in place myself.

 

[Parmandur]

Knowledge and Grave domains feel like quite a stretch to work with a primordial, earth elemental theme, looking at their Channel Divinity features. Forge and Nature sound closer but still don't feel "primordial" even reskinned. I suppose you could default to using the war cleric for an earth cleric, but that's because "fights good" is pretty portable - and there's still nothing about it that says "this character draws power from elemental earth".

That said, riffing off of @humble minion's point, encouraging PC clerics to customize their domain spell list could help with reflavoring. Provided you then choose something generic like life or war, where the mechanics are more easily disassociated from descriptions.

Yeah, that isn't terribly involved to balance. Looking it over, Forge works pretty well just straight. For an official adaptation, I wouldn't expect anything more from WotC than an "Elemental Pantheon" table with standard Domains similar to deity lists other Settings.

 

[Charlaquin]

Cleric domains are structured so uniformly, I feel like custom domains are super easy to design.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Cleric domains are structured so uniformly, I feel like custom domains are super easy to design.

And it would be hard to come up with something more broken than Twighlight...

 

[Mind of tempest]

I was 100% serious: you can remove deities from a Cleric and call it a Psion, and it would work in practice.

The fiction is arbitrary and easily replaceable.

well, true but I could also call it a wizard, which would also fit more as clerics have almost no overlap conceptually with psions.

The Mystic was meant for Xanathar's Guide, part of why that book ended up a bit short, even with padding. The Common Magic items page is part of what they added.on the last second, when mass combat and the Mystic didn'tmake the cut.

The Mystic actually isn't a take on the 2E Psion. It also isn't a take on the 3E Paion. Or the 4E Paion. In fact, that's four entirely different incompatible takes on the concept.

you seem to mistake concepts and mechanics, the mechanics are always different the idea is nearly identical every time.
besides, why should we not have 14th class?

There are philosophies, spirits, or supernatural forces suggested as potential deities for cleric right there in the PHB.

Xanathar's clarified this, but it has always been a possibility in 5e.

okay name a setting which does this? eberron does have gods just not ones you can touch or see.

The designers have always been super clear on how they intended refluffing to be fun and breezy.

intent means less than you think.

I miss the concept of the psionic ardent because this could be a source of stories about the hate-love relation with the rest of the divine spellcasters.

A psionic warlock subclass may be possible based in the concept of the engregore (collective mind).

Why does that sound like an aline fungus I have heard of the links up minds?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Cleric domains are structured so uniformly, I feel like custom domains are super easy to design.

Stone Domain​

Stone Domain Spells​

Cleric Level	Spells
1st	Catapult, Earth Tremor
3rd	Earthbind, Spike Growth
5th	Erupting Earth, Meld into Stone
7th	Stone Shape, Stone Skin
9th	Transmute Rock, Wall of Stone

Bonus Proficiency​

When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with heavy armor and all bludgeoning weapons.

Bonus Cantrips
You learn the Magic Stone and Mould Earth cantrips. Wisdom is your casting stat.

Channel Divinity: Strength of Stone
Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity as an action to give yourself resistance to bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage for the next minute.

Stone Stability
Beginning at 6th level you are immune to the Poisoned and Prone conditions and have advantage on your saves against the stunned, grappled and restrained conditions.

Divine Strike​

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your weapon strikes with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 bludgeoning damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Shared Strength of Stone
At level 14, whenever you use your strength of stone ability it also affects any allies you choose within 30 feet.

Took me about 20 minutes!

 

[bedir than]

okay name a setting which does this? eberron does have gods just not ones you can touch or see.

Not only are Eberron's gods not real, by canon, one of the things that empowers clerics there is a philosophy

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

okay name a setting which does this? eberron does have gods just not ones you can touch or see.

You just did: some of the deities in Eberron are not specified as polytheistic "gods".

Why does that sound like an aline fungus I have heard of the links up minds?

Because it sounds about right, while being conceptually completely incorrect.

 

[Parmandur]

you seem to mistake concepts and mechanics, the mechanics are always different the idea is nearly identical every time.
besides, why should we not have 14th class?

Bloat. It took 5 years and multiple iterations to get 1 new Class, and WotC hasn't made a single.test for a new Class since Eberron came out, 3 years ago. Don't count on it happening again.

intent means less than you think.

They put it into action, too, it's as easy as 123.