Master of Shrouds PrC (DoF)

[strongbow]

Do Master of Shrouds get the granted domain powers of the Death, Evil, & Protection Domains or not?

p 67, Defenders of the Faith:

"In addition, a master of shrouds gains access to the domains of Death, Evil, and Protection."

"Access" is a tricky word, and can be interpreted both ways. Thoughts?

 

[Li Shenron]

I wish I could help you, but I have been lots of problems with Master of Shrouds myself

It happens to have 3 different spell progressions at the same time, and I have yet to see a FAQ or errata about it: first it is said to cast spells from the Cleric list, then to advance +1 level in existing class (but the thing is off from the level advancement table), then it is reported to have a spell list on his own. Whether you can provide your fine interpretation with it, at least it is confusing.

I'd better say nothing about his domains

 

[Berk]

The spell list for the Master of Shroud's PrC is in addition to. They add those spells to their previous existing spell list and cast them as divine spells. They get +1 level of existing class per level. And I they gain access to the Death, Evil, and Protection domains if they don't already have them. That's how I read it the first time I read it and I think I remember seeing the sage talk about it just like I explained it. I can be wrong and all but I think my interpitation is correct.

 

[strongbow]

Different Interpretations

I agree with you Berk, but again, what does access mean? Does access include the domain powers? Basically, do the three domains count as prestige domains or not?

I see the Master of Shrouds being interpreted in a few different ways.

1: If the character is cleric before taking the class, he/she gets +1 caster level & either
a) the Master of Shrouds spell list added to his/her own cleric spell list
b) no additional spells added to generic cleric spell list, (the master of shrouds spell list is for non-clerics taking the class)
c) domain access, but no granted domain powers.
d) domain access, including domain powers

2: If the character is not a cleric before taking the class, then things get complicated.
A) The character gets cleric spells only, and domain access (which may or may not include domain powers)
B) The character gets master of shrouds spells only, with a +1 per spell level for domain spells, following the standard rules for non-cleric divine casters who gain a prestige domain
C) The character gets cleric casting capability, the master of shrouds spells as well added to the cleric spells, and domain access like a cleric
D) The character gets +1 caster level to whatever divine casting class he/she had before the class, domain access like a non-cleric, and the master of shrouds spells added to the base divine caster spell list.

There are a lot of issues with Master of Shrouds, and I would appreciate discussion here, but first and foremost I would like to have my original question answered from the first post. Thanks.

Edit:Eliminated extra extraneous text

 

[Li Shenron]

1: If the character is cleric before taking the class, he/she gets +1 caster level & either
a) the Master of Shrouds spell list added to his/her own cleric spell list
b) no additional spells added to generic cleric spell list, (the master of shrouds spell list is for non-clerics taking the class)
c) domain access, but no granted domain powers.
d) domain access, including domain powers

I'd say a) + d) because the extra list has also a few arcane spells (which he'll be casting as divine anyway); moreover IIRC a requirement is already to have access to two of those 3 domains, so you basically gain a 3rd domain. This again IIRC!

2: If the character is not a cleric before taking the class, then things get complicated.
A) The character gets cleric spells only, and domain access (which may or may not include domain powers)
B) The character gets master of shrouds spells only, with a +1 per spell level for domain spells, following the standard rules for non-cleric divine casters who gain a prestige domain
C) The character gets cleric casting capability, the master of shrouds spells as well added to the cleric spells, and domain access like a cleric
D) The character gets +1 caster level to whatever divine casting class he/she had before the class, domain access like a non-cleric, and the master of shrouds spells added to the base divine caster spell list.

Again, IIRC you need access to 2 (or 1) of the listed domain to qualify for the class, which means you MUST be a Cleric (or a PrCl that I'm sure requires some Clericalness ).
Anyway you can be e.g. Wizard/Cleric and advance in Wiz spellcasting; I think you still get extra divine spell list but only to use with your divine spells/day. If you don't have any divine spellcasting ability, but only arcane, I am afraid you don't get any way to use the extra spell list, since no specific spells/day info is provided.

Sorry, I know it's not much useful, and probably wrong, but I don't want to see any Master of Shroud around in my game before I read some clear explanation by the authors

 

[Chun-tzu]

It seems extremely unlikely to me that the author would mean that you gain access to the domain spells, but not the domain powers. If that IS what was meant, it should have been spelled out.

I almost interpreted access to the domain to mean that they were now available for selection, except that makes little sense, since no core classes gain domains after level 1, and neither does the Master of Shrouds.

So it seems to mean you gain full access to the domains. But I never noticed what a wacky PrC this was (I've never paid much attention to evil-only PrCs). I see no reason for a Master of Shrouds to have a Fighter's BAB.

 

[Li Shenron]

But I never noticed what a wacky PrC this was (I've never paid much attention to evil-only PrCs). I see no reason for a Master of Shrouds to have a Fighter's BAB.

I agree, almost like the original Bladesinger...

It's a pity because IMHO it's one of the best PrCl concept I have seen; a mysterious spellcaster who speaks with dead and summons ghosts (or at least that's how I'd use it ), very different from a typical necromancer who is mainly interested in re-animating corpses (a Wiz necromancer) or bring back dead at his command (an evil Cleric).

 

[Berk]

by access I mean access access, ie. you get the powers and spells and all