D&D 5E Wonder why there aren't any Elemental Domains (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)?

[Micah Sweet]

@Micah Sweet did you have those examples?

Yeah, I have to dig them up. My personal way to handle it uses a subclass from the Level Up 3pp MOAR Complete, which can be used for a cleric of any of the elements. I have individual ones too, but I have to dig them out of the archive as they're not in my active houserule document.

 

[Corinnguard]

Yeah, I have to dig them up. My personal way to handle it uses a subclass from the Level Up 3pp MOAR Complete, which can be used for a cleric of any of the elements. I have individual ones too, but I have to dig them out of the archive as they're not in my active houserule document.

I know which subclass he's talking about.

 

[CreamCloud0]

although there are probably too many spells already, i wish there was a proper full array of spells for each energy type, (and several non-energy type thematics, like plant spells and earth magic)

 

[Corinnguard]

although there are probably too many spells already, i wish there was a proper full array of spells for each energy type, (and several non-energy type thematics, like plant spells and earth magic)

There is this PDF from Kibblestasty.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e7eab9fcc76e2321541f8b3/t/63eb4bc29ed4062c3bf9dc88/1676364739458/Kibbles%27+Generic+Elemental+Spells+v2.0+-+compressed.pdf

 

[Staffan]

although there are probably too many spells already, i wish there was a proper full array of spells for each energy type, (and several non-energy type thematics, like plant spells and earth magic)

I would agree, and I have long been a proponent of damage spells coming with various rider effects. You have some of that with cantrips, of all things – perhaps because they are all "0-level" and thus need something else to differentiate between them. Like ray of frost slows targets down, shocking grasp negates reactions (which makes it great for getting out of melee), chill touch shuts down healing for a round, and so on.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

This is just my take, but I like domains to be about stuff that people (humanoids, fey, giants, sometimes even dragons and elementals) do. I would have preferred the nature cleric would have been the agriculture or farm domain cleric (still basically the cleric who casts plant spells), and the 2024 light cleric having a truth seeker component did a lot more for me than most of the light clerics in past have. I also figure the domains should be morally neutral. I figure doing terrible things to uncover a secret is one of the top two things a cleric of Vecna should be doing (the other is doing terrible things to keep a secret), and that totally fits a light domain cleric.

 

[el-remmen]

My response is a home brew one (no surprise there) but what I did was give each of the 13 possible Gods (in my setting) a cleric can follow its own spell list. And then based on domain choice (i limited it to 7 total but each god only offers 2 or 3 to their clerics) they get bonus spells.

So Orostos, god of nature and death had his own spell list and his clerics can choose to focus on either the death domain or nature domain.

Thus, a cleric of the god of air will have a spell list of some generic cleric spells but that contains a variety of air based spells but then gets bonus domain spells based on whether they choose the tempest domain or the light domain (the two choices for that god)

 

[Voadam]

D&D clerics have had a fairly dual identity mechanically since 3e.

The first is the classic cleric, modeled on a fantasy christian holy Knight with a lot of miracle powers. They focus on healing, buffs, and divinations with a little bit of utility and attack spells and turning undead. They are back up almost fighter tanks who don't use swords (modelling on Bishop Odo apocrypha) but have spells and undead turning powers. In 5e the light and life and pretty much the war domain cover this as a classic cleric.

The second is representing the diversity of themed concepts from polytheistic gods that clerics work for. So nature and forge and storm and knowledge and magic domains and trickery and such represent these type of cleric concepts that represent god types that do not quite fit the fantasy christian knight model. This represents continuing the 2e idea of gods having specialty priests with mechanical powers and spells and class features tuned to the god themes and not to the classic cleric fantasy magical christian knight model. So your priests of Set or Loki or Demeter.

 

[Staffan]

I think the cleric issue in general becomes easier to deal with if you have clerics draw power from divinity itself, with gods/domains providing some spice on top of that. In a way, the cleric class becomes the ice cream, and the domains become various toppings that add flavor to the underlying stuff without fundamentally altering its nature.

I also like the 4e concept that divine casters get a one-time infusion of power that allows them to access the powers of divinity, and once that is done it's permanent – somewhat similar to how Slayers (as in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) work. So should a cleric go renegade and/or apostate, the solution is not for the god to take their powers away. They can't do that, any more than the Powers That Be can de-Slayerify Faith when she goes renegade. The solution is to deal with the apostate.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think the cleric issue in general becomes easier to deal with if you have clerics draw power from divinity itself, with gods/domains providing some spice on top of that. In a way, the cleric class becomes the ice cream, and the domains become various toppings that add flavor to the underlying stuff without fundamentally altering its nature.

I also like the 4e concept that divine casters get a one-time infusion of power that allows them to access the powers of divinity, and once that is done it's permanent – somewhat similar to how Slayers (as in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) work. So should a cleric go renegade and/or apostate, the solution is not for the god to take their powers away. They can't do that, any more than the Powers That Be can de-Slayerify Faith when she goes renegade. The solution is to deal with the apostate.

I've always hated that idea, at least as a description of clerics. It makes divine beings impotent if the 4e cleric changes their mind. Same with warlock in recent editions. I would never consider your slayer as an example of a cleric, particularly as the infusion of power is nonvoluntary.