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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steeldragons" data-source="post: 6131721" data-attributes="member: 92511">Let us assume you are writing up your own D&D-esque 5e or OSR game (or whatever type of D&D/fantasy genre rpg you like).Let us assume you are having priests/clerics as a pc class. Let us also assume you have decided, primarily for flavor reasons (but will also have mechanical elements) that you want to organize "divine magic" into spheres of influence/domains.So as not to overwhelm new/beginner players, let us finally assume, that you want a list of TEN (10) base domain/spheres to begin with...these 10 area need to cover as many possible deity types as you can (since you've also developed your own pantheon for the default game world of this game you're creating.) Each god, of course, has access to multiple spheres, so "every spell level needs to have spells for each sphere and thus you'll end up with a bazillion spells" is not a concern. This is allll hypothetical, of course <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />.What would those 10 overarching domains be? What makes the cut and give you a solid assortment of clerical types for the players to explore? Is it necessary for all spheres to be individual or can things that naturally "go together" be combined?I'm thinking something along these lines...how does this look to you?1) Life & Death (Necromantic spells): all of your curative spells, also things like Death Ward and Gentle Repose, anything that involves/manipulates "positive/radiant" or "negative/necrotic" energies.2) Light & Darkness (mostly Evocations or Illusions): your assorted light/darkness spells, but also offense or defense spells that involve light, darkness or illusion.3) Creation (mostly yer Conjurations): Create Water, Heroes Feast, Planar Ally, etc... but also -to give a counterweight to the Nature sphere- those spells that support or promote Civilization or Community. So things like Purify Water or Dismissal would go here also, as it is something that would be beneficial to the common/communal good. 4) Knowledge/Lore (Divinations): all divination spells along with communicative/"knowledge gathering" spells. Sending or Plane Shift, for example, would be considered within the Knowledge sphere.5) Combat: self explanatory, spells for battle: either as external effects -like a Spiritual Weapon & Flame Strike- or personal buffs/benefits -like Bless or Divine Power.6) Protection (Abjurations): self-explanatory, spells that protect or defend. Death Ward would also be listed within this sphere.7) Nature: spells that involve the Natural World only: Animals, Plants or Weather. Speak with Animals, Entangle & Plant Growth and Call Lightning or Gust of Wind could all be listed here (the latter two also listed in the following sphere).8) Elemental: spells that involve the 4 cardinal elements: fire, water, air and earth.9) Good or Evil: spells that are alignment specific or other effects that incorporate radiant/positive or necrotic/negative energies but are not necessarily "light/darkness". Bless and Chant, for example, would be listed here as well as Combat, since the spell offers bonus to "us" and penalty to "them".10) ...I'm not sure. Unless I need to break up Good & Evil or combine Light/Life and Death/Darkness or something entirely different...So your game's powerful storm god [hypothetical example] might have access to something like: Good, Nature: Weather spells only, Elemental: Air and Water related only, and Combat. The other player want's to be a healer-non-combative priest and so, by their choice of deity, ends up with: Life & Death, Good, Protection, Divination [...maybe Creation?] and that's all.1) What would be your 10 domains?2) Would you insist on more than 10? What would they be? [note that opinions of 3e's version of every possible separate alignment, every possible separate race, every possible separate element and energy source. That's not really an option. Yes, it's thorough, but it is entirely too unwieldy to begin play with in a, well, non-3e/PF kind of game with multiple hundreds of pages of explanation and spell descriptions.]3) Is this all too much/unnecessarily complicating for new players/beginning play and should just be a well-rounded singular clerical spell list?4) What is your view of the 2e Full/Minor access distinction? i.e. The god of war might have full access to Combat and Protection, but only "minor access" to Life & Death (previously defined as only up to 3rd level spells) to healing spells. And if you like the idea but think it should be redefined/changed, how?Thanks, in advance, for your kindly participation and creativity.--SD</blockquote>

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