#the book of exalted deeds is extremely strange.

[mornyavie]

niche joke. ADHD cleric who can't cast abstinence spells because their ritalin counts as a stimulant-

post cancelled I just checked and according to the vow of abstinence feat caffeine DOES count as a stimulant. Unrelatedly ADHD cleric who can't cast Channel Celestial because they ate a chocolate bar yesterday.

[shaykhpod-blog]

PODSERIES: AVOIDING HYPOCRISY – PART 3 OF 8

The last blog was discussing the aspects of minor hypocrisy, which can be found within muslims. Another signs of hypocrisy is showing off to people in order to seek fame and other worldly things. Chapter 4 An Nisa, verse 142:

“Indeed, the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people and not remembering Allah except a little.”

Showing off is such a serious spiritual disease that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, classified it as the minor version of polytheism in a Hadith found in Sunan Ibn Majah, number 3989. In fact, the one who does this will not gain any reward from Allah, the Exalted, in this world or the next. They will be told on Judgment Day to seek their reward from the people they acted for, which will not be possible. This is confirmed in a Hadith found in Jami At Tirmidhi, number 3154. Showing off is so deadly that it will completely ruin a person irrespective of the righteous deeds they have performed. For example, a martyr, scholar and a generous person will be hurled into Hell on Judgement Day because of showing off even though their deeds were extremely righteous. This has been warned in a Hadith found in Sahih Muslim, number 4923.

Another aspect of hypocrisy is being lazy in matters of faith while being eager and responsive in matters of the world. It is often seen how some muslims can easily spend the night earning wealth but if they are requested to dedicate a small portion of the night in voluntary worship such as, reciting the Holy Quran, they find it burdensome and suddenly become lazy. These same people will happily go out in the middle of the night for the sake of travelling or entertainment yet, their bodies become like immovable mountains when they are advised to attend the local Mosque for the morning obligatory prayer. These people will dedicate hours on end to learning worldly knowledge, which is not prohibited in Islam, yet will not find the energy or time to study a single verse of the Holy Quran or a single Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. They will stare at a television for hours enjoying their mindless dramas and films yet, their eyes will suddenly become too heavy to keep open when invited to watch a short religious program. It is strange how muslims desire the constant help and support of Allah, the Exalted, yet they are too lazy to dedicate a small fraction of their day in acts which please Him beyond the obligatory prayers which in total take less than an hour to complete. Muslims must understand that what they give is what they shall receive. If they behave lazily and turn away from those acts which please Allah, the Exalted, then they should not expect much help from Him in their hour of need. No one expects a muslim to dedicate all day to acts of righteousness but a muslim should sincerely reflect on their daily timetable and honestly judge for themselves if they are dedicating as much time as they should do to those actions which please Allah, the Exalted. If a person can make time for earning unnecessary wealth and enjoying other worldly activities they should avoid laziness and make time for Allah, the Exalted.

Avoiding Hypocrisy Complete Free eBook: https://shaykhpod.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/avoiding-hypocrisy-v2.pdf

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[evangelineartemiasamos]

Skies and Ashes - The Library

Maven x Nikolai - A Red Queen/Grishaverse Crossover

Part I - A Walk in the Garden

Find this on Wattpad and on AO3

Nikolai POV

My guards already knew what to do – to keep their distance while they did their job, so I could feel almost private. Fortunately, no one else was in the library of Norta’s capital at this hour in the early evening. I walked along the shelves made of dark, lacquered wood, their tops showing off elaborate carvings. The setting sun cast its reddish light on the rich hall, falling on the wood and walls painted with warm ochre stripes.

I relished more the cool temperature in here than the architecture and the hosted books protected by the Grisha craft maintaining the coolness. The climate in Norta was generally humid and warm, especially now since the rain season had started, and the weather didn’t need long to make me uncomfortable. Extreme climates ached me, only that “extreme” was becoming a more and more loose term. The heaviness of my bones, the cramping muscles, the itching skin – they all came at me so often there was hardly a point in avoiding its triggers. Nor did I want to, if it meant giving up the skies and seas and my way of handling politics. Even when they pained me, I needed them, because they reminded me of who I was. So I’d decided to try my best to live with the aches.

But after a few minutes, even the controlled climate lost its soothing effect and suddenly, I began to feel too cool, and a harmless shiver became the harbinger of the more severe and familiar symptoms crawling beneath my skin.

I moaned. Not now, even though now was better than another time. I pulled off the gloves and let my fingers glide over shelves and the leather- and paper-spines of the tomes as I searched for a place to recline in. A glance behind me and I saw one of my guards approaching, sensing the change in my demeanour.

So awfully competent, aren’t you?

I passed seat after seat, table after table. I didn’t want to give in so early, but I also disliked most of the chairs in the colours of flames which were made of ostentatiously stuffed and embroidered velvet, itching and hard. They’d only give me more sensory issues.

Down the corridors, I could see a set of chairs in a different colouring, offering me slight hopes. And indeed – there were two soft and brown and cozy leather armchairs, next to a table decorated with an inlaid chessboard and engraved flames, over which stacks of books and papers were piled.

I sunk into the armchair and sighed. I knew how much this rest, just a few minutes of it, would help. I still felt the itches and shivers on and under my skin, but I had to accept that. The weariness, the strangeness, were what really terrified me. I thought my own specific ailments were the reason I usually preferred Genya to accompany me on journeys, even over skies and seas. She knew how to treat my kind of wounds and scars, enduring some of them herself. It was easy to trust her with them, despite her previous machinations.

But it wasn’t the same. As severe as her scars were, in the end, there remained on the surface. She couldn’t relate to being a stranger in your own body, down to your blood and bones, to wake up and wonder who you’d see on the mirror, and if your voice was still there or if you could only scream in your own head.

Which was probably a cruel way to think of it, as if a woman with a maimed face didn’t have moments of doubt s about the person in the mirror.

I leaned back further and closed my eyes, having given up any interest in the books on the table. It was deceptively relaxing, but the nightmares and scars wouldn’t go away, and likely, I’d still feel weary when I got up. Reprieve never lasted, even when a warm beam of sunlight fell on my cheek. I couldn’t not think of Alina, and how the war against the Darkling had left us, her without her Grisha powers, me scarred and sickly, both of us haunted my memories of what we lost and couldn’t have been.

One of my guards cleared his throat, just when a cold gush billowed through the air. I shuddered. Seems like the Nortans’ Grisha crafts to climate rooms wasn’t perfect –

A warm hand touched my shoulder and I opened my eyes with a start. “Are you cold, Your Majesty?” Prince Maven whispered, looming over me from behind my chair.

“No … I,” I stuttered, then cleared my throat. “This library is stunning, Your Highness. I assume you like it since you come here at this time?” Instead of chatting with the court before dinner.

He chuckled, still so close to me. He met my eyes for a long moment, making his following, “indeed,” almost unnecessary. His palm lingered on me even as he straightened and moved back a step, his warmth staying with me. A welcome feeling, although as temporary as everything I’d tried to ease my state.

“That’s my chair,” he said as he pointed at me and leaned against the one next to mine. The other chair was of the same material, but apparently, that still didn’t make it good enough for the prince who continued to watch me – in his seat.

I changed my position, from dozing idiot to lounging, but formidable monarch. The corners of Maven’s mouth twitched at this. I grinned. “I’m truly sorry, Your Highness. I’ll be gone soon, but for a while, you may take a seat and keep me company.”

He raised an eyebrow, I raised mine. Maven refrained from properly seating himself and remained sitting on the armrest. “Certainly, Your Majesty,” Maven said. “Do you wish a tour of the locality? Or are you content with spying on my lecture?”

I hadn’t spared a glance on the books and papers; now Maven pulled out a stack and skimmed through it. “You think the king of Ravka himself would take part in the ignoble profession of spying?” I said, with a faux shocked expression.

He shrugged, lowering the stack onto his thigh. “According to rumours, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

That didn’t sound too well for my Sturmhond persona, as it was already getting harder to hide it nowadays. “But what are rumours to us, Maven?” I asked.

For a second, he was put aback, before he regained his usual mocking but regal composure. He lifted his hand, a motion so elegant it drew my eyes to him like a puppet on a string. Frilly laces fell over his long fingers. “On the contrary, Your Majesty,” he began. “We are affected most of all. You’ve heard of my mother? She was exalted by rumours,” he balled his fist, “and she was put down by rumours.” With a sweep, he outstretched his arm, going down, turned and opened his hand to indicate the fall of his – currently imprisoned – mother.

“And this happens to kings as well,” he added gloomily, resting his hand on his thigh. But as dramatic as his gesture had been, I noticed the pinch of melancholy in his face. Still his eyes were fixed on me, and now probably pondering on the other rumours about me.

I wasn’t in the mood for his superficial concern. “Don’t tell me you find rumours amusing, Your Highness,” I said.

“No, I find them curious,” he replied. He threw his papers onto the table, bent over, and picked up a book. “A history of Ravka, written last year,” Maven informed me. He licked his fingers and started to thumb through the tome, which appeared quite used despite its relatively young age. “I’ve found it very interesting,” Maven went on, “and helpful so far. It’s one of my favourites.”

I smiled at that for a second. His favourite book was a blend of facts and exotic fiction? That said something about him, I supposed. It needed not to be a bad thing, though. As much time as I spent with scientific reports from engineers, I still loved best the book I’d read as a child, a legend about a girl who wanted to fly, succeeded, but got lost in the end. The story continued to fascinate me.

“I wonder,” said Maven, pulling me out of my memory, “if Your Majesty might not help me with the uncertain matters I’ve encountered in this book, to clarify the facts?”

I frowned. “I hope this interest is purely scholarly and political, Your Highness. Or do you intend to talk about my relationship to the Sun Summoner again?”

“No, no.” He shook his head. “But the Darkling, Your Majesty. You saw him in person.”

That he wasn’t phrasing this as a question was testament to his burning curiosity. It made me ball my fists, turning my knuckles white. “Too often,” I said, inwardly cursing at my lack of subterfuge.

He hesitated. “The author,” he said eventually, “doesn’t know what to make of the shadows soldiers appearing in the year of the Darkling’s rebellion. He isn’t even sure of their name. Nichevo’ya, I think – “

“Rebellion?” I snapped. Maven winced. “You believe that is the correct expression for that traitor’s deeds?”

“It’s … you’re right, Your Majesty. The term itself is up for discussion as well, which makes your experiences even more important.”

For history, he might’ve added. And still his eyes gleamed with the curiosity that made me sick. “You sound awfully excited, Your Highness, if I may say so.”

He startled, throat bobbing above his lace cravat. I thought he was a royal and courtier through and through, born and bred, and used to the theatre and power-play. But a part of him was as insecure as everyone else. “I’m sorry to have overstepped,” he said, finally looking down. “The Darkling is a fascinating figure in Norta. He was … like us, well, like my ancestors. My great-grandfather ended Norta’s endless wars by winning them and he became the first king. His acts re-created Norta. Many people – scholars, I mean – see the Darkling as a similar figure. A person of change, a politician and general of inspiration, a symbol –

I couldn’t listen to this any longer. I jumped up, slammed my hand on the table and grabbed Maven by the chin. Now I was the one to fix him with my stare. “You have no idea, do you?” I snapped. “He wasn’t a figure, a symbol, a role-model or whatever your historians say. He was a threat and a terror, and he made me feel wrong in my own skin.”

The outburst relieved me, yet I didn’t let go, not sure I said enough, or too much. Nothing was ever enough, because nothing would ever undo his crimes and abominations.

As I did nothing, Maven’s hands grabbed me by the elbows, and sudden warmth and cold crossing through my uniform and into my flesh. He noticed my surprise.

“Nice trick,” I groaned.

He smiled weakly. “A minor one. Temperature control.”

I let go of his chin with hesitation. It lingered on my fingers, the feeling of the soft skin of his jaw, with only little stubble, the skin of a vain man who shaved frequently. Only as I broke the contact did I realize how much I’d craved and enjoyed doing that. Touching him.

Now Maven maintained our touch, his hands travelling from my elbows to my wrists. I leaned back a little, not pulling away, as he turned my palms down and contemplated my bare hands, with all their scars.

I said nothing, so he might think those were the simple scars of soldier or a sportsman. But if they were that simple, they would’ve been healed by Grisha craft long ago.

When he looked up, a sunbeam, red from the sunset, fell on his light, pale cheek. “So that rumour is true,” he said quietly, his hands once more emitting that soothing warmth. “You are a king of scars, Nikolai.”

I was still remaining silent, barely inclining my head as I took in his handsome angular face, illuminated and set alight by sunlight bright as fire.

I wondered how beautiful he was when using his Grisha gift for real. When he burned.

A/N: I didn't mention this in the note to chapter one, but they language they speak is Ravkan (the Nortan tongue is a derivative of the Shu-Han proto language). Maven is actually quite skilled with languages, and while Nikolai knows how to communicate in many tongues, I think Maven would be the more elaborate speaker of the foreign language.

FYI, I haven’t read the Sneak Peeks into King of Scars so far.

Edit: I should’ve thought a little longer before I said something like “the Nortan tongue is a derivative of the Shu-Han proto language“, when it doesn’t really show in the text. Of course I kept many names from RQ with little changes for the sake of recognition, but that hardly explains the rather English names in a pseudo-Asian language similar to Shu-Han. I’m sorry for that, but I don’t know how to invent new “Shu-Han” names which would be halfway accurate either. In general, I imagine the Nortan tongue has many influences, like a derivative of Fjerdan since the country has many immigrants heralding from there as well, and from the other cultures of the people who travelled to Norta over time (Norta has very few Ravkan immigrants though). And at least I should’ve kept the Shu-Han patronyms although I think Nortans have both - patronyms and family names - while the patronyms are rather like middle names there.

I should really get the map drawn, right? -.-°

@moikorolrezni @mareshmallow @christineflame @flameandshadowx @runexandra @warstoned @ihnejgafa @noirmagic1 @themavencycle @i-tried-mare @a-3-g @bharatanatyamdancers @lovelysillynightmare @sunnsummoner @afigurativegameofchess @mcvencallore @riseredasthedawn3 @niinazenlk @head-full-of-books @tarynduartte @the-classystudentwizard  @indiefangirlflash

[eldritch-sanctum]

Why I am not fond of D&D alignments

A lot of people seem to defend D&D alignments, with arguments that they are just a tendency, not an extreme, that they aren’t meant to pigeonhole characters, just provide a basis, etc.  Or that anyone who doesn’t “get” alignments just doesn’t understand them.  

Personally I wonder why even have them in the first place.  However I understand that since it’s inception, D&D was highly influenced by Tolkien, which was influenced by biblical ideals of a rigid good vs. evil system.  Before that, the fantasy genre tended to be more on the “sword and sorcery” side with people beating up bad guys for money and glory.  

I think for the most part, people don’t really come into alignment conflicts or don’t see the issues that alignment has in most D&D or Pathfinder games.  For the most part you’re likely not going to see it.  

However, where alignment starts to fall apart is when you try to bring it outside of those worlds and start getting into thought experiments, philosophical analysis, but most of all when you try to ask yourself about giving an alignment to real people or complex characters outside of D&D.  It starts to seem as if the worlds of D&D and Pathfinder pigeonhole the very personalities and natures of people.

For example, how would you align historical figures?  This is where it gets really tricky and controversial.  How would you align Theodore Roosevelt, a man who has done a lot of good attacking big business and helping the environment, but also has done a lot of bad things like imperialism in Latin America?  Revisionist history likes to paint certain figures as bad or good based on modern moral ideals, but is that fair or not?  These are issues that are really for another day, but it’s these questions that I think can be used to exploit the weaknesses of the alignment system.  As a DM I would indeed try to do that shit for my players to challenge them.  

And really, real world politics is a minefield of this kind of stuff. 

Okay okay, that’s the real world, but even within fiction you can find examples of people who are hard to align.  Shakespeare is known for making some characters that it’s hard to know if you should love or hate them.  His depiction of King Henry V is very interesting, because he can be interpreted in so many different ways, is he good at heart or is he a lying scoundrel?  Where his actions just or not?  Should he have dumped his friends or not?  He comes across as a complete douchebag at times, and others as more sympathetic.  

A more modern character that touches on the same things, and I think also it feels that way is Vriska Serket form Homestuck.  Vriska is a character that has been endlessly debated over and over if she’s an evil, scheming, narcissist or is she a genuine hero?  She has very questionable methods, she done good, and she has treated certain others, especially Tavros, as utter trash just because to her they are weak or evoke feelings that she hates to have for him.  Does she do things because she really wants to be a hero or just for the glory and praise? 

Then there are some characters that it’s hard to even know what their real motive is, it feels like they are a total enigma.  Their actions can give us clues as to what they are like, what their beliefs, and ideals are-yet those same actions contradict each other.  My favorite example of course, is Magus from Chrono Trigger.  A man who has suffered greatly, and was raised by monsters, then chose to exploit those monsters for him to seek his own revenge against Lavos, meanwhile aiding in the death of many humans.  He later turns out not to be such a bad guy but still very sour, bitter, and salty; there does seem to be some goodness in him toward the end.  It’s just that his pursuit of revenge really drove him to be complicit and even aiding in evil, but when he realizes he can’t do it alone then he starts cooperating, and then you start to see that maybe he does really care, and maybe in a sense he really always had that care and it wasn’t just that he changed.  In Radical Dreamers we see his personality has changed to be much more mellow and wiser, more calm and has a greater understanding of the pitfalls of mindless revenge.  For these reasons I like to say his alignment is all over the place, or is just one of those people it’s difficult.  You can say maybe that he was Lawful Evil when you first encounter him, and that when he joins the party he’s Neutral or something, but it still doesn’t capture how he really is, and I think that is part of the interesting thing about him.

One could argue, with the examples above, that alignment would reflect who they really are on the inside regardless of what we know or don’t know about them.  However, one could ask, do they themselves even know?  What if it’s both?  What if Vriska both likes the praise she gets and becomes a hero because it feels good and because of altruism at the same time? Heck there’s an endless debate if true altruism even exists. 

Now this is just in the good vs. evil axis.  The law vs. chaos axis is even more nebulous.  Typically law is more about order, tradition, rules, honor, etc.  Chaotic ideals as even those put in the PHB are about freedom and experience.  However what if you had a character who was very rigid about certain laws and rules whose purpose is to give rights and freedom?  For example a real world one is the philosophy of “I do not agree what you said, but I will defend your right to say it.” It seems more like a chaotic value at first, but when there is a rigid law or rule behind it, then is it lawful?  When one right clashes with another right, some people will impose rigid codes wherein all rights and freedoms are considered equal, and others will give priority to certain rules and rights, and yet the rights and rules themselves are about freedom in the first place.

This debate also comes when playing characters like thieves and pirates, characters outside the law and disregard the law, but follow their own codes and rules.  In Volo’s Guide, pirates are listed as “any chaotic”, despite many people giving them more neutral or lawful alignments because of codes and order.

I could go on and on about the murkiness of when it comes to even making distinctions of the concepts themselves.  Philosophers have debated endlessly about what or who is good and evil, if moral relativism is correct or not.  There are scenarios and characters have been created to challenge these notions in the first place.  For example, Alan Moore’s Watchmen calls into question these things and if vigilantism is something we should really promote or glorify.  What about a character who genuinely thinks they are doing something good in their heart but its something that causes a lot of pain and suffering?  What about Deontological vs. Utilitarian ethics?

The thing though is that D&D is meant to be fun and usually easy-going,  these things aren’t meant to pop up otherwise your players would beat each other up or it stops being fun because of all these complex things going on.  I think that’s why people still like the alignment system because it just gives you an idea who to beat up and who not to with not many qualms about why and if you should have.

However, I am one of those people who tends to take the storytelling aspect a lot more seriously, and so I am one of those people who likes to be iffy about alignments and motives.  In the past I have created characters who are I would say have some rather radical ideals that put them in strange places in the alignment.  For example a drow warlock who has made a pact with a Far Realm entity, and wishes to destroy and eradicate all extraplanar sources of evil-even if it will piss off the overgod, especially if she allies herself with far realm entities who might or might not be evil.  She even goes as far as to say that the existence of planar extremes of good, evil, law, and chaos are oppressive to the free will of peoples. 

Speaking of Far Realm entities, those could be an interesting catalyst for alignment ambiguity.  Instead of listing them as evil, have them reflect the moral ambiguity and amorality their source of inspiration meant them to have.  Have ideals of good and evil, law and chaos, and yes, even neutrality be absolutely meaningless to them and act accordingly.

And another thing: Why are skeletons, usually mindless undead listed as lawful evil when they are mindless and usually without free will in the first place?  Why is a skeletal horse evil?  

And if you think about it, enchanters and some bards should be treated with more suspicion of evil than say, necromancers.  

Anyway, getting back on track.  I think the developers of D&D do have some awareness of these pitfalls now and then.  I remember the Book of Exalted Deeds bringing up some issues like in the first part.  Also I think in Hoard of the Dragon Queen, there is conflict about what should be done with chromatic dragon eggs, the Order of the Gauntlet wants them destroyed, but the Emerald Enclave wants them saved due to the “balance of nature” or something like that.  

Topics about nature, why nature is a certain way, does it have to be a certain way, why do these horrible parasites and disease exist etc. is another area of exploration for ambiguity, especially in a world where nature was designed by, or is maintained by gods, people can call into question if it’s right that nature should be cruel and amoral in certain ways.  

So basically these are places where moral ambiguity can come up.  Not everyone is going to like this sort of game, but I do.  In my homebrew setting, alignment is a thing many mortals believe in, but has no cosmic bearing at all, and in the world’s history has encountered instances where someone believed they were doing the absolute right thing by murdering someone who also believed they were doing the absolute right thing.  There are spells and items that do detect alignment-but what they yield depends on the user!  

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Cleric Week: Homebrew Domains

Dream Domain

image credit: Brom

A strange cleric that worships the sleeping world of dreams and obscure deities. The dream domain cleric learns to travel inside of the dreamscape, a series of demiplanes that exist somewhere between the astral, material, and shadow planes; one such demiplane for every sleeping creature. As masters of dreams, they can learn your most secret thoughts, memories, and fears, as well as receive visions of the future from their own dreams. I recommend using Scrying, Augury, and other divination spells while asleep to simulate this; clerics already have a wide access to divination magic. Sehanine Moonbow is an elven deity specifically of dreams, but you could also make arguments for deities of illusion, magic, or shadows.

Domain Spells: 

1: Sleep, Charm Person

3: Augury, Calm Emotions

5: Hypnotic Pattern, Fear

7: Phantasmal Killer, Hallucinatory Terrain

9: Dream, Scrying

Domain Abilities:

Dream Splendor- Beginning at 1st level, you have immunity to the frightened condition.

Channel Divinity: Dream Delve- Beginning at 2nd level, you can travel into the realm of dreams. You target a sleeping, sentient creature up to 60 ft. away. The creature must succeed at a WIS saving throw against your spell save DC to resist the effect. If the creature fails, you astrally project your spirit into the target’s dreamscape. The dreamscape’s appearance is at the will of the DM, and could be an abstract, surreal, or realistic scene. Traversing the dreamscape gives you insight into the target’s thoughts and memories as you will it, but closely guarded secrets require either a CHA check of 18 to uncover or you must overcome an encounter in the dream, at the DM’s discretion. For instance, the information of a vault’s combination might be guarded by actual guardians in the dreamscape, or by a convoluted puzzle or trap. You may also use the dreamscape to send a message to the creature which they will receive as soon as they awaken, although they are aware it was not from their own thoughts. If you or an ally is reduced to 0 HP in the dreamscape, their spirit returns to their resting body and they gain 1 level of exhaustion.

Dream Caravan- Beginning at 6th level, you can bring others into the realm of dreams with you when you use your Dream Delve ability, up to 9 other creatures. While inside of a dreamscape, you can travel to the dreamscapes of nearby sleeping creatures up to five miles away with each jump. In addition, you can plant a Suggestion (as the spell) in the target’s mind which they receive once they awaken.

Nightmarish Resolve- Beginning at 8th level, you add your WIS modifier to the damage of your damaging cantrips. While in a dreamscape, you instead add 1d8 to one attack on each of your turns. This bonus damage is radiant damage.

Channel Divinity: Nightmare- At level 17, you can use your Channel Divinity to manifest a creature’s greatest fear as an illusion as long as you maintain concentration, up to 1 minute. The creature can attempt to disbelieve it only when interacting with it and after succeeding at a INT saving throw against your spell save DC. While inside of a dreamscape, this ability targets the dreamer. The illusion has physical form inside the dreamscape and gains the frightful presence ability identical to that of a dragon, frightening all creatures near it within the dreamscape. The targeted creature takes 4d10 psychic damage each round.

Metal Domain

image credit: Kev Walker

The metal domain cleric is one who worships metal and metal-based artifice. They believe that metal and its nigh-immutability is perfection, and perfect their own form through it. They can telekinetically move metal, repel metal, or rust metal with a touch as metal bows to them. Some of the domain spells I used affect mainly stone, so I recommend altering the spells slightly so they mostly affect metal. You can find my suggestions below. There are a number of 3.5e deities with metal in their portfolio or domain, but earth or dwarven deities would also fit the bill, as would Dispater of the Nine Hells.

Domain Spells:

1: Grease, Earth Tremor

3: Heat Metal, Cloud of Daggers

5: Conjure Barrage, Erupting Earth

7: Stone Shape (shapes iron instead), Fabricate

9: Wall of Stone (manifests as iron), Animate Objects (metal only)

Domain Abilities:

Magnetic Grasp- Beginning at 1st level, you can telekinetically control unattended metal objects that weigh up to 10 pounds at a range of up to 60 ft. You must be able to see your target and maintain concentration.

Channel Divinity: Rusting Grasp- Beginning at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to rapidly decay metal with your touch. A 3 ft. radius area of nonmagical metal turns into a dusty pile of oxidation. Against a metallic creature (even magically animated) this deals 6d10 damage. When used against an enemy, an enemy’s weapon or their armor, you must succeed at a melee spell attack to target it. A weapon or armor rusted by your Rusting Grasp becomes useless.

Channel Divinity: Repel Metal- Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel Divinity to magnetically repel metal. You gain resistance to damage from weapons made from steel or iron for 1 minute.

Metallic Enhancement- Beginning at 8th level, you start to alter your physical form with divine metal, making you a more deadly combatant. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you cause the attack to deal an additional 1d8 damage of the weapon’s type. When you reach 14th level, this damage increase to 2d8.

Graft- Beginning at level 17, you can permanently enhance a creature’s armor class by 1 with a DC 15 Medicine check as you apply grafts of divine metal to their body over the course of 1 hour. The process is extremely painful and hideous. Creatures must either be helpless, restrained, unconscious, willing, or dead to apply such modifications. Such surgery will awaken unconscious or sleeping creatures instantly.

Fey Domain

image credit: Matthew Stewart

A fey domain cleric is one who worships the fey or fey deities, unlike a warlock who makes a pact with them or a druid who is an ally to them. The fey grant their clerics with power over nature and abilities similar to those of the faeries. Eventually, a fey cleric is touched by the magic of the Feywild and completely transforms into a fey creature. Valarian from the 3e Book of Exalted Deeds is a good faerie deity, as are any other deities of nature, magic, or illusions.

Domain Spells:

1: Faerie Fire, Animal Friendship

3: Charm Person, Enlarge/Reduce

5: Conjure Animals, Hypnotic Pattern

7: Compulsion, Greater Invisibility

9: Tree Stride, Conjure Fey

Domain Abilities:

Faerie Trickery- Beginning at 1st level, you gain Minor Illusion as a cantrip

Channel Divinity: Speak with Plants and Animals- Beginning at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity as an action to speak with a plant or animal of your choice for up to 10 minutes using your concentration. The target speaks in a language you can understand for the duration.

Fey Guise - Beginning at 8th level, you can perfectly mimic any humanoid’s voice and disguise your face as any humanoid you can see. You gain a +5 bonus to CHA skill checks while attempting to impersonate someone. You must have seen and heard the humanoid before in order to impersonate them in this way. This bonus is temporarily negated if someone close to the person you are mimicking notices you do something uncharacteristic. This ability does not change your clothing or body type, just your face and voice.

Channel Divinity: Blinding Beauty- Beginning at 8th level, you can use your Channel Divinity as an action to take on the blinding allure of a nymph. All enemy creatures within 60 ft. that can see you must make a CHA saving throw. Each creature that fails their saving throw becomes permanently Blinded. Creatures that succeed at their saving throws are only Blinded until the start of your next turn.

Fey Ascendancy- Beginning at level 17, you gain the Fey subtype and have advantage on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities.

Dragon Domain

image credit: Raymond Swanland

The dragon domain cleric worships a dragon or draconic deity like Bahamut or Tiamat. They bestow upon their disciple a loyal hatchling to care for and train with them, and will send a dragon champion in times of need to their greatest worshipers. I intended the dragon companion to start as a weakened wyrmling and then grow to a full wyrmling once you reach level 14. It sort of acts as a Divine Strike ability since it’s an additional attack on each of your turns, but if this ability proves too powerful for your campaign I would recommend swapping it out for a pseudodragon or summoning a wyrmling once a day for 1 minute. When selecting energy/damage types for elemental spells, I recommend choosing ones that match your wyrmling dragon. For instance, Chromatic Orb summons an orb of acid if you have a black dragon, etc.

Domain Spells:

1: Absorb Elements, Chromatic Orb

3: Gust of Wind, Warding Wind

5: Elemental Weapon, Protection from Energy

7: Stoneskin (Manifests as dragon scales), Dominate Beast

9: Dominate Person, Destructive Wave

Domain Abilities:

Draconic Companion- Beginning at 1st level, you are granted a hatchling dragon as your companion of the color of your choice. The hatchling has similar statistics to a wyrmling dragon of its color except it has maximum hit points equal to half of your hit point maximum, uses your proficiency modifier in place of its own, has an AC of 14, has a base damage die of 1d8 instead of 1d10, has a base breath weapon damage of 4d6, and is Small in size. In one year's time or when you reach level 14, it will grow into a wyrmling dragon, still using your proficiency modifier in place of its own, but otherwise its AC, HP, size, and base damage all increase to match that of a wyrmling dragon of its color.

Channel Divinity: Elemental Resilience- Beginning at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity as a reaction or bonus action to gain Immunity to the energy damage type of your Draconic Companion's breath weapon for a number of rounds equal to your WIS modifier.

Channel Divinity: Dragon Flight- Beginning at 6th level, you can use your Channel Divinity to sprout dragon wings and gain a fly speed of 60 ft. This effect lasts for 1 minute and requires you to maintain concentration.

Will of the Dragons- Beginning at 8th level, you gain immunity to the Paralyzed and Frightened conditions.

Dragon Call- Beginning at level 17, once per week, you can summon an adult dragon of your draconic companion's color for 1 minute. It obeys your verbal commands to the best of its ability. Maintaining the dragon's presence requires you to spend an action each round and maintain concentration. If the dragon is slain, it disappears in a cloud of light.