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Monster Manual - Roper by Brian Valeza

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6e Wishlist: A Divine Sourcebook

With 5.5e or 6e now confirmed for 2024, I wanted to talk more about one thing I floated out on my “what I want from DnD 6e” post: A companion book for every deity, patron, etc. As a sourcebook, it would be primarily aimed at Clerics and Warlocks, but could also be useful to Paladins, Druids, Divine Soul Sorcerers, and anyone who wants to play a religious character, but doesn’t want to play a Cleric, such as a Bard who worships the god of music. Here are some of the things I’d want to see in such a sourcebook.

A compilation of every deity from every pantheon that exists within the DnD world, including the human ones. I’m talking the racial deities like Shardindlar from the Dwarvish pantheon, Shargaas of the Orc Pantheon, and Skerrit of the Fey Pantheon. From Greyhawk to Dragonlance, to Maztica and Eberron.

Information on each god, including their Alignment, Domains, type of followers, and a brief description of their role in the lore.

Information to help with roleplaying, such as festivals and feast days, what it takes to please them, their popularity/commonality within canon locations or cultures, attitudes toward their priests by outsiders, and what classes tend to follow them.

Boons or unique perks for picking that god over another. Whether this is giving every god and patron a Piety system like Mythic Odysseys of Theros introduced or a new feature, it can help differentiate the gods from one other, and help make who you choose just as important as the domain you choose. Have there be a difference between worshipping the Elven god of crafting vs the Dwarven god of crafting. This way, even if both would be Forge Domain, you’re still getting unique features depending on which one you choose, so even if you like playing Forge Domain Clerics, you can still experience something new each time you play by choosing a different god to gain unique boons from.

Have gods, patrons, churches, or cults come with pre-written story hooks, goals, ideals, bonds, flaws, and whatever else to give more options for unique narratives. By giving the gods or religious followers a stronger identity, it can help give shape to a PC’s story, give a campaign a compelling plot thread to follow, or just fascilitate in worldbuilding by knowing the roles that churches play in the local community.

If you gave gods and patrons something like a Paladin’s Tennants, it could help facilitate worldbuilding and character dynamics. This could connect to the piety system laid out earlier, and this was again something we kind of saw in Mythic Odysseys of Theros. The book told you what won and lost piety points with given deities so you could choose the one that best works with your character and playstyle.

Additional spells or features from worshipping a given god could help reduce the need for niche domains that can’t be stretched far enough to become a full Cleric subclass. Wanna worship Sune? Here’s a couple charm spells and a handful of features to give you that charm focused playstyle without having to make a proper Love Domain. Players want to play with a Sea God? Here’s a couple water spells, and free underwater breathing and swimming speed. Almost like a mini-subclass, but more limited, and with fewer benefits. Have these benefits unlock at levels when Clerics don’t gain anything else. So 3, 7, 9, 13, and 15 are viable levels to have new things unlock.