tuxgeo
Adventurer
Flavor quibble: Upon reading the Cleric attack powers, it seemed to me that they were designed with Pelor in mind: they are mostly about doing Radiant damage. That is fine for clerics of Pelor; but I couldn't make it fit so well for Sehanine.
The reason for this is that one of Sehanine's dogma points says to stick to the shadows and avoid the light -- yet her Devoted Clerics have so many Radiant powers to choose among that they will be using light as their primary weapon a goodly part of the time.
(Certainly it would be possible to make all of Sehanine's clerics be Battle Clerics, with Strength their primary Ability, and then the flavor would fit. However, I don't like that approach. It seems unnecessarily restrictive.)
The obvious solution to me is to rewrite Sehanine's Dogma.
Here's my attempt, keeping in mind that her Spheres are Trickery, Moon, Love, and Autumn:
(1) (Existing Dogma: "Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.") Hardly a problem there. I would reword it: "Follow your dreams and give your life new meaning." -- partly because in earlier (2e?) FR fluff, she was said to communicate with her followers through dreams and visions. Also, some hold that destiny is a thing to be achieved rather than a thing to be sought. ("You don't find it, you make it.")
(2) (Existing Dogma: "Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of evil.") This is the one that does not fit for me. The moon is not like that at all! It's not a shadowy compromise between light and dark, it is an alternation: light at the full moon, dark at the new moon. She uses each at different times. I would replace that dogma point with: "Suit your actions to your task -- use love to heal, stealth to steal, light to reveal, shade to conceal." That way, there is no conflict between dogma and practice for her Devoted Clerics: they may brandish light as a weapon as much as they want without violating their god's dogma.
(3) (Existing Dogma: "Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.") That's fine, except that it fits Avandra better than Sehanine:
New horizons? That's "travel": Avandra.
New experiences? That's "change": Avandra.
Let nothing tie you down? That's "freedom": Avandra again.
I would replace that dogma point with: "Events have their own seasons, and rhymes and reasons. Watch and learn to be in the right place at the right time." This combines the age-old sentiment that love has its own seasons with the equally old sentiment that good timing matters (especially when you're being sly and sneaking to someone else's room).
Admittedly, this is all a minor point. Am I thinking too hard about this?
Feedback: it is only dogma point (2) that I have the problem with. I would appreciate suggestions about how to word the light/dark dogma point better for my own use. Thanks!
The reason for this is that one of Sehanine's dogma points says to stick to the shadows and avoid the light -- yet her Devoted Clerics have so many Radiant powers to choose among that they will be using light as their primary weapon a goodly part of the time.
(Certainly it would be possible to make all of Sehanine's clerics be Battle Clerics, with Strength their primary Ability, and then the flavor would fit. However, I don't like that approach. It seems unnecessarily restrictive.)
The obvious solution to me is to rewrite Sehanine's Dogma.
Here's my attempt, keeping in mind that her Spheres are Trickery, Moon, Love, and Autumn:
(1) (Existing Dogma: "Follow your goals and seek your own destiny.") Hardly a problem there. I would reword it: "Follow your dreams and give your life new meaning." -- partly because in earlier (2e?) FR fluff, she was said to communicate with her followers through dreams and visions. Also, some hold that destiny is a thing to be achieved rather than a thing to be sought. ("You don't find it, you make it.")
(2) (Existing Dogma: "Keep to the shadows, avoiding the blazing light of zealous good and the utter darkness of evil.") This is the one that does not fit for me. The moon is not like that at all! It's not a shadowy compromise between light and dark, it is an alternation: light at the full moon, dark at the new moon. She uses each at different times. I would replace that dogma point with: "Suit your actions to your task -- use love to heal, stealth to steal, light to reveal, shade to conceal." That way, there is no conflict between dogma and practice for her Devoted Clerics: they may brandish light as a weapon as much as they want without violating their god's dogma.
(3) (Existing Dogma: "Seek new horizons and new experiences, and let nothing tie you down.") That's fine, except that it fits Avandra better than Sehanine:
New horizons? That's "travel": Avandra.
New experiences? That's "change": Avandra.
Let nothing tie you down? That's "freedom": Avandra again.
I would replace that dogma point with: "Events have their own seasons, and rhymes and reasons. Watch and learn to be in the right place at the right time." This combines the age-old sentiment that love has its own seasons with the equally old sentiment that good timing matters (especially when you're being sly and sneaking to someone else's room).
Admittedly, this is all a minor point. Am I thinking too hard about this?
Feedback: it is only dogma point (2) that I have the problem with. I would appreciate suggestions about how to word the light/dark dogma point better for my own use. Thanks!
