Six months and 43 pages later, here we are!
Why? Clerics are fine.
One of my biggest sticking points with 3.5 was that cleric domains were so…tacked on. I always thought that clerics of different gods should play, well, differently. Why would a cleric of a healing god play almost exactly the same as a cleric of a fire deity? Wouldn’t a fire cleric solve most of his problems with arson as opposed to healing someone? Why don’t cleric spell lists have more variety instead of 9 lame domain spells?
Well, consider that problem solved. I’ve spent the last six months reviving 2E’s specialty priest/sphere mechanic for 3.5. Clerics now have access to a universal “All” sphere which is limited to basic spells that a generic priest would be expected to have, and then they pick a major and minor sphere that their deity offers to round it out. (I’ve also ported over the channel energy mechanic from Pathfinder in lieu of turning.)
So I don’t keep you waiting, here’s the PDF of my current version of this rebuild: Cleric Spheres
How does it work?
The way it works is that a cleric always has the “All” sphere, and then they pick a major and minor that their deity offers. The major adds ALL of its spells to the cleric’s list and given them the major and minor powers listed. The minor sphere adds all spells from 4th level and below to the cleric’s list and the listed minor powers. (Because elemental and alignment spheres are so specialized, I’ve made them ALWAYS count as major spheres when picked.)
For example, a cleric of the Egyptian god Apophis might pick Fire and Chaos as his spheres which will make up 2/3rds of his spells known. A cleric of Isis might pick Magic and Water, so her list will be VERY different from the first cleric’s. If you look at the spheres, the two characters will play very differently. I think that’s a good thing.
The Spheres
Most are pretty self-explanatory, but I’ve listed the major mechanical themes I went for next to each sphere. Note that in some cases I ran out of spells that fit the theme, so I added a few oddballs either for balance or to expand the theme. I created most of the powers from cool ideas I had, but I took a few from existing sources such as borrowing one of knowledge’s powers from 5th edition.
Hell yes it is. Let’s be honest, standard clerics are OP, and by now, pretty stale. This is new, and it’s fun. Most of the spheres are vastly inferior to the standard 3.5 cleric, but I think the game is better for it.
Also, a number of people have pointed out that the “All” sphere is way too limited. Yes. Yes, it is. Again, I wanted to clerics to play differently. I limited the All sphere to be only what was *strictly* necessary to perform basic priestly functions (Removing curses, healing, banishing, etc.)
House Rules and Notes
A sharp reader may have noticed that my revamp references a number of different rules and skills by now. Yeah, I’ve got a TON of house rules, but again, I think that the game is better for it. If you want to see my **VERY** expansive and neurotic rules you can view them here: House Rules
Restricted Use Spells
One of my favorite house rules is the *restricted used spell* which is denoted by the “†” symbol. I explain it on page 2 of my spheres PDF, but here’s how it works: A cleric may only have one copy of each individual restricted spell for each † symbol that appears next to the spell. If the spell appears in multiple spheres, the cleric may add the † symbols together to determine their limit. This mechanic was introduced to keep certain, very powerful spells, from unbalancing the game. Some spells are restricted at a certain level, but unrestricted when put in higher level slots.
My reasoning is that some spells drastically changed how the game is played. Close Wounds and Revivify are two of those candidates. They’re GREAT spells that made the game better, but eventually you’ve got 10 Close Wounds memorized and are packing 5 scrolls of revivify. I created restricted spells to help keep the stakes higher and prevent the awesome spells from trivializing combat. I’ve also made it so that restricted use spells cannot be scribed to a scroll.
Spell Nerfs/changes
Also, if you’ve looked at my house rules already, (House Rules) you’ll notice that I’ve either banned, nerfed, or modified a LOT of existing spells. One of the biggest changes I made was to nerf the ever loving crap out of Resist Energy. The spell now caps at +10 resistance, but some spheres can break that limit (elemental spheres and protection). The reason is that once you have Mass Resist Energy dragons become pretty laughable compared to what they’re supposed to be. Also, when’s the last time you saw someone actually BUY a ring of resist energy? Such items haven’t been nerfed and are now actually viable items to wear 24/7. I left the protection from energy spells alone and added a mass version. So, you can use it to protect against a dragon’s breath, but it’s constantly eating your actions to do so.
Conclusion & Feedback
I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I did making it. I’ve very open to suggestions, criticisms, and feedback. This is a work in progress subject to constant revision, so anything to make it better is very welcome. Until now, I’ve only been able to theory craft and engage in limited play testing, so I really do welcome any thoughts.
Why? Clerics are fine.
One of my biggest sticking points with 3.5 was that cleric domains were so…tacked on. I always thought that clerics of different gods should play, well, differently. Why would a cleric of a healing god play almost exactly the same as a cleric of a fire deity? Wouldn’t a fire cleric solve most of his problems with arson as opposed to healing someone? Why don’t cleric spell lists have more variety instead of 9 lame domain spells?
Well, consider that problem solved. I’ve spent the last six months reviving 2E’s specialty priest/sphere mechanic for 3.5. Clerics now have access to a universal “All” sphere which is limited to basic spells that a generic priest would be expected to have, and then they pick a major and minor sphere that their deity offers to round it out. (I’ve also ported over the channel energy mechanic from Pathfinder in lieu of turning.)
So I don’t keep you waiting, here’s the PDF of my current version of this rebuild: Cleric Spheres
How does it work?
The way it works is that a cleric always has the “All” sphere, and then they pick a major and minor that their deity offers. The major adds ALL of its spells to the cleric’s list and given them the major and minor powers listed. The minor sphere adds all spells from 4th level and below to the cleric’s list and the listed minor powers. (Because elemental and alignment spheres are so specialized, I’ve made them ALWAYS count as major spheres when picked.)
For example, a cleric of the Egyptian god Apophis might pick Fire and Chaos as his spheres which will make up 2/3rds of his spells known. A cleric of Isis might pick Magic and Water, so her list will be VERY different from the first cleric’s. If you look at the spheres, the two characters will play very differently. I think that’s a good thing.
The Spheres
Most are pretty self-explanatory, but I’ve listed the major mechanical themes I went for next to each sphere. Note that in some cases I ran out of spells that fit the theme, so I added a few oddballs either for balance or to expand the theme. I created most of the powers from cool ideas I had, but I took a few from existing sources such as borrowing one of knowledge’s powers from 5th edition.
- All (basic priestly functions. Healing, removing curses, etc.)
- Air (Flight, wind manipulation, and electricity)
- Earth (Battlefield manipulation, acid, a few nature type spells)
- Fire (Fire. Duh)
- Water (Ice, water manipulation, ship/sailing spells)
- Good (Limited spells, but cool powers)
- Evil (Limited spells, but cool powers)
- Law (Limited spells, but cool powers)
- Chaos (Limited spells, but cool powers. Mix the exploding dice with the Fire sphere…oh yeah.)
- Essence (Originally healing, I felt that it was better served as both the ability to heal and harm which is why it’s called Essence now. You can attack or build upon the “essence” of something)
- Knowledge (Divination. Lots of divination, and the Archivists’ dark knowledge power and 5th editions Portent power.)
- Luck (This was a hard one to figure out beyond “lots of rerolls”. It doesn’t have as many spells, so I buffed the major power pretty well. Also, I added charms and dominate spells to round it out)
- Magic (The ability to affect and manipulate magical energies themselves. Lots of dispels, wards, and abjurations. Got magic missile because I love the idea of a cleric using that spell)
- Nature (Pretty much a druid without wildshape. I banned 3.5 druids in my game until I can rework them to something passably balance for my game)
- Protection (Pretty standard spells, but I love the abilities I added. Sanctuary spells are pretty nasty with these guys)
- Soul (Soul manipulation, resurrection, etc. I added a new spell line similar to Hold Person but works on anything with a “Soul” regardless of creature type.)
- Sun (Focused on royalty and truth, they have anti-shapeshifter powers and are built around being regal / imperious as well as prismatic magic.)
- Travel (Pretty much what it says They get restricted access to Teleport at 4th level, so this is a good pick for a minor sphere)
- Trickery (Pretty much Loki. If picked as a primary, they get a d6 hit die, but the skills and spells are quite expansive and are probably a bit game breaking for a really creative player.
- War (What paladins probably should have been. They have the ability to operate at full BAB a few times a day, and when coupled with an alignment sphere for weapon boosting abilities, can get quite nasty)
Hell yes it is. Let’s be honest, standard clerics are OP, and by now, pretty stale. This is new, and it’s fun. Most of the spheres are vastly inferior to the standard 3.5 cleric, but I think the game is better for it.
Also, a number of people have pointed out that the “All” sphere is way too limited. Yes. Yes, it is. Again, I wanted to clerics to play differently. I limited the All sphere to be only what was *strictly* necessary to perform basic priestly functions (Removing curses, healing, banishing, etc.)
House Rules and Notes
A sharp reader may have noticed that my revamp references a number of different rules and skills by now. Yeah, I’ve got a TON of house rules, but again, I think that the game is better for it. If you want to see my **VERY** expansive and neurotic rules you can view them here: House Rules
Restricted Use Spells
One of my favorite house rules is the *restricted used spell* which is denoted by the “†” symbol. I explain it on page 2 of my spheres PDF, but here’s how it works: A cleric may only have one copy of each individual restricted spell for each † symbol that appears next to the spell. If the spell appears in multiple spheres, the cleric may add the † symbols together to determine their limit. This mechanic was introduced to keep certain, very powerful spells, from unbalancing the game. Some spells are restricted at a certain level, but unrestricted when put in higher level slots.
My reasoning is that some spells drastically changed how the game is played. Close Wounds and Revivify are two of those candidates. They’re GREAT spells that made the game better, but eventually you’ve got 10 Close Wounds memorized and are packing 5 scrolls of revivify. I created restricted spells to help keep the stakes higher and prevent the awesome spells from trivializing combat. I’ve also made it so that restricted use spells cannot be scribed to a scroll.
Spell Nerfs/changes
Also, if you’ve looked at my house rules already, (House Rules) you’ll notice that I’ve either banned, nerfed, or modified a LOT of existing spells. One of the biggest changes I made was to nerf the ever loving crap out of Resist Energy. The spell now caps at +10 resistance, but some spheres can break that limit (elemental spheres and protection). The reason is that once you have Mass Resist Energy dragons become pretty laughable compared to what they’re supposed to be. Also, when’s the last time you saw someone actually BUY a ring of resist energy? Such items haven’t been nerfed and are now actually viable items to wear 24/7. I left the protection from energy spells alone and added a mass version. So, you can use it to protect against a dragon’s breath, but it’s constantly eating your actions to do so.
Conclusion & Feedback
I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I did making it. I’ve very open to suggestions, criticisms, and feedback. This is a work in progress subject to constant revision, so anything to make it better is very welcome. Until now, I’ve only been able to theory craft and engage in limited play testing, so I really do welcome any thoughts.
