D&D 5E (2014) Domains of the Valar

[Hriston]

Keeping in mind that cleric domains are for describing clerics, rather than their deities who are complex individuals whose personalities cannot be captured with just a few descriptor words, I would like to present to you, dear ENWorlders, a list of suggested domains for the Valar. For this purpose, I've used the ten domains found in the PHB, DMG, and XGtE. I've also tried to limit the number of domains for each Vala in keeping as much as possible with the lists found in the "Gods of the Multiverse" appendix in the PHB which have between one and three domains for each deity. Some of the Valar on my list have more, but there are other domains that could fit which I edited down to what I felt was essential.

Now, of course, there is only one god in JRR Tolkien's setting, but I didn't put him on the list. The Valar are explicitly (in the texts) not gods and not meant to be worshipped. Personally, I refer to most of them as "Archfey" when using D&D terminology to describe them. However, characters in Tolkien's stories do sometimes call upon them by name and, at times, receive their intercessions. In this way, I think they are apt to fulfil the function of a pantheon of beings of godlike stature for D&D purposes, such as serving as the patrons of clerics. I'm following the D&D convention of categorizing gods as "greater" or "lesser" but have used the word power instead of god/goddess.

So here's the list roughly in order of power or "majesty", except for Melkor/Morgoth whom I've put last, enjoy:

Domains of the Valar

1. Manwë Súlimo, the "Elder King", greater power, suggested domains: Knowledge, Life, Light, Tempest, War
2. Varda Elentári, Queen of the Stars, greater power, suggested domains: Knowledge, Life, Light
3. Ulmo, Lord of Waters, greater power, suggested domains: Life, Nature, Tempest
4. Yavanna Kementári, Queen of the Earth, greater power, suggested domains: Life, Light, Nature
5. Aulë the smith and master of crafts, greater power, suggested domains: Forge, Knowledge, Light
6. Mandos (Námo) the Judge, Doomsman of the Valar, greater power, suggested domains: Grave, Knowledge
7. Nienna, Lady of pity and mourning, greater power, suggested domains: Grave, Life
8. Oromë, Aldaron, "Lord of Trees", greater power, suggested domains: Nature, War
9. Lórien (Irmo), master of visions and dreams, lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
10. Estë the Gentle, healer of hurts and weariness, lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
11. Vairë the Weaver, responsible for weaving the story of the World, lesser power, suggested domains: Knowledge, Trickery
12. Tulkas Astaldo, "greatest in strength and deeds of prowess", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Tempest, War
13. Vána the Ever-young,"all flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Light, Nature
14. Nessa, "swift as an arrow", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
15. Melkor (Morgoth), greatest of the Ainur, no longer counted among the Valar in later days, greater power, suggested domains: Death, Forge, Knowledge, Tempest, Trickery, War

Edited to add Forge and Tempest to Melkor's portfolio according to post #5.

Edited to add Trickery to Vairë's portfolio according to post #10.

 

[dave2008]

Keeping in mind that cleric domains are for describing clerics, rather than their deities who are complex individuals whose personalities cannot be captured with just a few descriptor words, I would like to present to you, dear ENWorlders, a list of suggested domains for the Valar. For this purpose, I've used the ten domains found in the PHB, DMG, and XGtE. I've also tried to limit the number of domains for each Vala in keeping as much as possible with the lists found in the "Gods of the Multiverse" appendix in the PHB which have between one and three domains for each deity. Some of the Valar on my list have more, but there are other domains that could fit which I edited down to what I felt was essential.

Now, of course, there is only one god in JRR Tolkien's setting, but I didn't put him on the list. The Valar are explicitly (in the texts) not gods and not meant to be worshipped. Personally, I refer to most of them as "Archfey" when using D&D terminology to describe them. However, characters in Tolkien's stories do sometimes call upon them by name and, at times, receive their intercessions. In this way, I think they are apt to fulfil the function of a pantheon of beings of godlike stature for D&D purposes, such as serving as the patrons of clerics. I'm following the D&D convention of categorizing gods as "greater" or "lesser" but have used the word power instead of god/goddess.

So here's the list roughly in order of power or "majesty", except for Melkor/Morgoth whom I've put last, enjoy:

Domains of the Valar

1. Manwë Súlimo, the "Elder King", greater power, suggested domains: Knowledge, Life, Light, Tempest, War
2. Varda Elentári, Queen of the Stars, greater power, suggested domains: Knowledge, Life, Light
3. Ulmo, Lord of Waters, greater power, suggested domains: Life, Nature, Tempest
4. Yavanna Kementári, Queen of the Earth, greater power, suggested domains: Life, Light, Nature
5. Aulë the smith and master of crafts, greater power, suggested domains: Forge, Knowledge, Light
6. Mandos (Námo) the Judge, Doomsman of the Valar, greater power, suggested domains: Grave, Knowledge
7. Nienna, Lady of pity and mourning, greater power, suggested domains: Grave, Life
8. Oromë, Aldaron, "Lord of Trees", greater power, suggested domains: Nature, War
9. Lórien (Irmo), master of visions and dreams, lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
10. Estë the Gentle, healer of hurts and weariness, lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
11. Vairë the Weaver, responsible for weaving the story of the World, lesser power, suggested domain: Knowledge
12. Tulkas Astaldo, "greatest in strength and deeds of prowess", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Tempest, War
13. Vána the Ever-young,"all flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Light, Nature
14. Nessa, "swift as an arrow", lesser power, suggested domains: Life, Nature
15. Melkor (Morgoth), greatest of the Ainur, no longer counted among the Valar in later days, greater power, suggested domains: Death, Knowledge, Trickery, War

I might suggest Forge for Melkor too. Or whatever corresponds to making terrific monsters!

 

[Hriston]

I might suggest Forge for Melkor too. Or whatever corresponds to making terrific monsters!

That's one of the domains I'd assigned but cut for him because the domain is very focused on actual metal forging, and we just don't see Melkor doing all that much forging himself onscreen. That was more Sauron's thing, I guess. However, Aulë and Melkor are described as being similar, and it's notable that they each "created" their own race of humanoids. I think of Melkor as a hearth spirit essentially, more fire to Aulë's earth, and I think the domains I chose depict him as a destroyer rather than a creator because, as the Professor liked to say, evil cannot truly create anything of its own making.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Giving Melkor the widest spread of domains makes sense, as "he had a share in the gifts of all his brethren." He might have Tempest as well, but excluding him from Life, Light, and Nature makes sense, at least in his downfall: He can't create life and doesn't have the concern for others to do healing (and indeed, never healed from the one wound he received from Fingolfin); he "began with the desire for light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended into Darkness;" and Tolkien describes him in his later stages as 'being far more capable of coping with something like a volcanic eruption than anything like a tree.'

 

[Hriston]

Giving Melkor the widest spread of domains makes sense, as "he had a share in the gifts of all his brethren." He might have Tempest as well, but excluding him from Life, Light, and Nature makes sense, at least in his downfall: He can't create life and doesn't have the concern for others to do healing (and indeed, never healed from the one wound he received from Fingolfin); he "began with the desire for light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended into Darkness;" and Tolkien describes him in his later stages as 'being far more capable of coping with something like a volcanic eruption than anything like a tree.'

This is an excellent point. Tempest is the other domain I was considering for him that I cut along with Forge. The full list was Death, Forge, Knowledge, Tempest, Trickery, and War. (I also considered giving Tempest to Oromë because of his terrible wrath.)

I removed Forge because I couldn't see him as a patron of artisans who teaches "patience and hard work," but the subclass abilities, especially the fire damage and resistance/immunity, are quite thematic for Melkor. He's described as forging the Iron Crown and possibly Grond, so I think there's a good basis for keeping it.

Tempest is a good fit too. Again, I was having trouble finding references connecting Melkor to actual storms, but I see earthquakes, fire, and violence are all part of the portfolio for this domain. He temporarily seduced Ossë who is probably the purest expression of the Tempest domain, but since, in later conceptions, that Maia is considered a vassal of Ulmo, I'm not sure the association argues for giving Melkor access to the domain. I suppose it's quite similar to the possible relationship between his seduction of Sauron and his affinity with the Forge domain. Clearly, from the discord he introduced into the Music of the Ainur to the wrath with which he is prophesied to return at the End of the World, destroying the Sun and Moon, the fire, confusion, and turmoil instigated by Melkor very much resemble the violence of a storm. His sudden attack, flooding Ard-galen with rivers of flame at the beginning of the Dagor Bragollach, is a good example. Some of the best storm imagery for Melkor comes from his duel with Fingolfin. His footsteps were like thunder as he strode out to meet the High King, and the shadow of his shield was like a stormcloud.

With that being said, I'm going to edit the OP to add these domains back to his portfolio because having a share in the gifts of the other Valar certainly justifies him having a larger number of domains.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I might have given Varda the Arcana domain rather than Knowledge. It's been a dog's age since I read the books, but doesn't somebody abjure a horror by calling upon her? That's the Arcana Channel Divinity power.

 

[Demetrios1453]

That's an excellent list. My only problem is that Trickery is limited only to Melkor/Morgoth, which kind of precludes any good Trickery clerics. But then again, I'm struggling to think of any of the other Valar who would have domain over "good" trickery - they're all about as boringly straightforward as they come (or they wouldn't have fallen for Melkor's fake redemption act before he destroyed the Two Trees). Ulmo is about the only one I can see here - he's one of the two that was at least suspicious of Melkor (along with Tulkas; but Tulkas is definitely not a "trickery" type power), and sort of went behind their backs to keep communication with the peoples of Middle Earth after the rebellion of the Noldor. And water is a fickle element. But that's the best I can think of, unless I'm missing some sort of act of trickery by one of the other Valar...

 

[Hriston]

I might have given Varda the Arcana domain rather than Knowledge. It's been a dog's age since I read the books, but doesn't somebody abjure a horror by calling upon her? That's the Arcana Channel Divinity power.

I didn't realize there was a cleric subclass in SCAG so didn't think of including Arcana. I generally like to limit player options in my games to the books listed in the OP plus EEPC, but if a player wanted to use something from SCAG, I'd be fine with it.

I included Knowledge in Varda's portfolio because she knows all the regions of Eä, so the multiplanar aspect of Arcane Abjuration also seems appropriate. It affects celestials, elementals, feys, and fiends.

If I'm thinking of the same passage as you, it's from "A Knife in the Dark", the 11th chapter of Book I of the LotR, in which Frodo invokes the name of Elbereth and gains the courage to resist the attack of the Nazgûl, and the Witch-king, in turn, shrieks with pain before stabbing him in the shoulder with a morgul-knife. Gandalf later says that if Frodo hadn't resisted, the blade might have pierced his heart. I don't think AA is an exact match for what happens here because the Witch-king is an undead, a wraith, so wouldn't be affected by that ability. Turn Undead has basically the same turning effect as AA but targets undead, so it's much closer. It's part of the base class, though, so it isn't indicative of any particular domain.

It's said (by Aragorn) the mention of Varda's name is "deadly" to the ringwraiths. if I was to guess why Varda in particular has this effect on them, I'd say it's an expression of themes of light and shadow, that she embodies the pure light of Eru which illuminates the undead-animating shadow of the Void. I'm reminded of this from the introductory paragraph of the Light Domain: "Clerics of a god of light are ... charged with ... burning away darkness." And also this from the Life Domain: "The gods of life promote vitality and health through ... driving away the forces of death and undeath."

Or you might be thinking of the incident in the third chapter of Book I, "Three is Company", in which the singing of an Elven hymn to Elbereth (Varda) by a company of elves drives away a black rider who is searching for Frodo and his companions. This invocation of Varda's name is almost identical in effect to Turn Undead and probably closer to your intended usage of abjure. The range seems to be greater than the ability's 30 feet, but the event agrees with TU's dependence on the undead target seeing or (in this case) hearing the caster, the elves being apparently unaware of the ringwraith's presence. It's actually kind of cool to think of a company of elves travelling around and cleansing the countryside by turning undead they don't even know are there.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I think you're right, I was thinking of the hymn to Elbereth in Book 3. But there were a few very prolific Tolkien-clone authors back in the day (Terry Brooks' Shannara series, Dennis L. McKiernan's Iron Tower series, etc.), and I read all of them, so it's also quite possible I've conflated memories!

I feel like there might be a place for Arcane Abjuration in the Valar domains, just not sure where.

 

[Hriston]

That's an excellent list. My only problem is that Trickery is limited only to Melkor/Morgoth, which kind of precludes any good Trickery clerics. But then again, I'm struggling to think of any of the other Valar who would have domain over "good" trickery - they're all about as boringly straightforward as they come (or they wouldn't have fallen for Melkor's fake redemption act before he destroyed the Two Trees). Ulmo is about the only one I can see here - he's one of the two that was at least suspicious of Melkor (along with Tulkas; but Tulkas is definitely not a "trickery" type power), and sort of went behind their backs to keep communication with the peoples of Middle Earth after the rebellion of the Noldor. And water is a fickle element. But that's the best I can think of, unless I'm missing some sort of act of trickery by one of the other Valar...

Thanks for pointing this out. It kind of bugged me too.

I had thought somewhat about Ulmo in exactly the respect you mention until I ran across this write-up on tolkiengateway.net:

Even while the Valar were secluded in Valinor or when the Children were under the wrath of his brethren, Ulmo, alone of the Valar, was the one who never forsook them. However, it was not done as rebellion towards other Valar, but because it was a role to which he was "appointed ere the making of the World".​

It's hard for me to reconcile this portrayal of Ulmo's actions with the idea that he was being sneaky or underhanded by remaining in contact with Middle-earth or that he had any desire to subvert the will of Eru. Rather, his actions were bourne out of his deep care for the Children of Ilúvatar and for Arda in general which is in complete alignment with the Valar's mission in coming into the World.

Aulë is another Vala I might consider for Trickery because he crafted the dwarves in secrecy, going behind the backs of the other Valar, so to speak. Giving him Trickery (instead of Light which I consider as having the weakest association with him of the three domains I assigned him) would make him remarkably similar to Melkor, which has textual support, and portrays him as a Promethean culture hero of the dwarves, basically stealing the spark of life to ensure their existence, making it an apt choice for a dwarven cleric.

And, to be clear, I would personally be fine with a player choosing pretty much any domain in combination with any deity. I would have no problem whatsoever with someone playing a Trickery cleric and choosing Ulmo or Aulë as their patron. There are some combinations that might feel like a stretch, but what I'm going for with this list are suggestions to players in a player facing document. So a variety of domain choices is desirable, but there's also a need to differentiate between deities to avoid sameness.

With that being said, I think putting Trickery on Aulë's list along with Forge and Knowledge would make him appear like a limited version of Melkor, and I also don't think it's quite right thematically for about the same reason as for Ulmo. First, Aulë is motivated to fashion the dwarves out of love for the Children of Ilúvatar and his own impatience for their arrival which prompts him to bring about similar creatures by his own hand. Then, when Aulë's secret is "discovered" by Eru (who sees all), he repents and relinquishes his incomplete work to the will of the Creator, and only then are the dwarves given sentience. So rather than a product of trickery, the dwarves are a product of faithfulness and extreme piety.

However, there is a Vala who I think would be a good fit for Trickery, and that's Vairë the Weaver, the spouse of Mandos. There isn't much about her except that she weaves tapestries that depict every event from the beginning of Time, which is why I chose Knowledge for her. This left her as the only entry in the list with just one domain. She has a clear connection to the spinning Fates, however, and I don't think it's too far from there to a deity like Fortuna, the embodiment of the whims of fate, both good and bad. So while there isn't much, if any, textual support for it -- I don't think there are any stories of Vairë doing anything tricky -- I think I'll edit the OP to add Trickery to her portfolio.