D&D 5E Cleric Houserules

[NotAYakk]

They are on DEX now, hasn't always been that way as I pointed out. Finesse weapons are the greatest offender to making DEX too strong IMO. We play finesse can apply to attack rolls, but not damage, STR still mods damage, even for missile attacks.

I'm taking 5e as-is. If you have a houseruled variant down that deep, naturally it will be different.

So, your answer is magic plate? Mithral is only under magic items... so not very common IMO.

Technically it is a common magic item. And amusingly cheaper than normal plate (!).

Even without that, the cost of low str in heavy armor? 10' of movement, that's it.

That isn't great, but it is a level 1 spell whenever you really have to move.

I know what you are trying to do, I just don't agree with it. A priest who relies on faith to protect him and doesn't work to protect himself (i.e. DEX) is going to get hit and die.

Sure, you don't want that archtype in your world.

The "swordmage" is basically the bladesinger, just for non-elves.

No, "Swordmage" is a 4e class that was a fully featured front-line combatant who protected allies. "Bladesinger" is a wizard first with very limited front-line combat capabilities.

It needs to be as hard to hurt as a paladin in full plate to fullfill its role. Making a swordmage class that was a half-caster would be practical (and its own exclusive spells, like paladins/rangers have).

 

[DND_Reborn]

I'm taking 5e as-is. If you have a houseruled variant down that deep, naturally it will be different.

Technically it is a common magic item. And amusingly cheaper than normal plate (!).

Even without that, the cost of low str in heavy armor? 10' of movement, that's it.

That isn't great, but it is a level 1 spell whenever you really have to move.

Sure, you don't want that archtype in your world.

No, "Swordmage" is a 4e class that was a fully featured front-line combatant who protected allies. "Bladesinger" is a wizard first with very limited front-line combat capabilities.

It needs to be as hard to hurt as a paladin in full plate to fullfill its role. Making a swordmage class that was a half-caster would be practical (and its own exclusive spells, like paladins/rangers have).

Our houserule was to make DEX not as powerful. My point was DEX was always good, but not the superstat it became when newer editions kept piling more onto it.

Although "common", Mithral is only 1% on table B. As per their normal lack of completeness, Mithral doesn't state what type of armor is found. Whatever cost you place on it according to the Magic Item Rarity table would have to assume that is on top of the cost of the actual armor. And personally, it makes no sense for Mithral Plate to cost less than normal plate.

10 feet of movement can be lethal. Not to mention further penalties because you aren't likely strong enough to wear the armor and carry any reasonable amount of gear.

No, I wouldn't. But as I said, try it out, let us know how it goes. I like the feature and will probably pitch something similar, but limited in duration or something.

Sorry, I have no clue about 4E, never played it. I thought you were just saying some form of "swordmage" class or something.

 

[DND_Reborn]

@NotAYakk :

Could you please edit post #15. You have a quote with me in it, but it was not my post. Thank you.

 

[cbwjm]

If you take a different look at domains, it's already there.

You have the crusader archetype = War Domain, the sage/cloistered priest archetype = Knowledge Domain, and the healer archetype = Life Cleric, to cover the basics.

Then, try not to interpret the list of domains per deity too strictly. In fact, the deities list in the PHB even says suggested domains, not available domains, so there is no reason to think it is utterly forbidden for almost any deity to have healers, sages and crusaders (could be a more complicated to justify a Storm domain for many).

Nah, I don't like that approach. I'd rather have more differentiated cleric/priest archetypes with domains as add-ons. That way I can have a crusader, mystic, shaman, or rune-priest each following the sun god with the light domain. They each have the light domain in common but the way they approach their faith is different.

 

[cbwjm]

I'd be happy to collaborate with you on it. I honestly feel this is needed. There are all kinds of concepts that would make great cleric subclasses if you untied them from domains and instead made them a core feature - oracle, archivist, prophet, crusader, apostle of peace, blessed chanter, etc. The list goes on.

Which is why making domains their subclass options instead of just standard options was a bad idea.

I had a look at what I'd cooked up, I think the more I looked at splitting archetype and domain, the more I felt the cleric class needed to be completely rebuilt to fit the splitting of archetype and domain. This is due in part to what I want to fit into the class. I was thinking for levels for the archetype (crusader, mystic, shaman, etc) to help differentiate them, and two for the domain (level 1 for bonus spells and the 1st level power bonus like the knowledge domain's skills, or the light domain's blinding ability, and level 2 for the channel divinity). I feel like I would have to remove some of the other class abilities like the divine intervention so that I have enough space to differentiate the archetypes.