#ursikka

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Class Feature Friday: Chaos Domain & Blessing (Cleric Domain & Warpriest Blessing)

 We’re finally back to first edition domains again, and this time we’re looking at the first of the alignment domains!

As one might imagine, the four alignment domains are some of the most common domains out there, each deity and demideity that isn’t true neutral has at least one of them. However, since every deity has their own philosophy, what exactly these domains and their associated blessings mean varies from religion to religion.

On a philosophy note, chaos is all about doing what you want when you want, not shackled by the laws, personal code, or other trappings of civilization getting in the way. Of course, what chaotic beings want varies by the other part of their alignment. Chaotic good wants themselves and others to flourish, using order when it is a useful tool to do so, but discarding it when it gets in the way. Chaotic neutral is a bit more selfish, willing to do all sorts of things to remain free and able to experience the world as they see fit. Finally, chaotic evil is sadism incarnate seeking fully selfish goals and more than willing, and even taking pleasure in causing suffering to achieve those goals.

None of this implies that those who are chaotic are incapable of planning, only that they dislike structure that would limit their flexibility.

Of course, chaos is more than just a philosophy, but it also covers cosmic forces as we interpret them. The tendency for new and wondrous things to arise without a guiding hand, as well as the nature of entropy to break down even the most solid things, be they living things, civilization, or simple matter. Chaotic beings learn to accept that these changes are inevitable and worth celebrating, some simply accepting what is to come or shaping them according to their desires, while others reveling in new developments and bidding them a fond farewell as they leave.

To choose an alignment domain is to draw power from something inherently subjective, wielding the powers associated with the concept. Clerics and inquisitors that choose such a domain believe in their faith’s interpretation so greatly that they wield it against their detractors in a very literal way.

The same also goes for warpriests, but in a much more literal and violent way. Such warpriests may lead armies that lash out at established civilizations that impose what they believe to be too much order or control over the world around them, or crusade against tyrants as heroes of freedom.

Again, the exact reasons vary from faith to faith, and person to person, so the exact why they choose this power and how they wield it is diverse and unique to all practitioners.

 For clerics and inquisitors, the power of chaos allows them to inflict unfavorable propability upon their foes, making them momentarily less likely to succeed.

Later on, they can briefly empower a weapon with the power of chaos, making it a deadly tool against lawful foes.

Clerics also gain access to various domain spells, namely those that protect against law or provide other forms of chaotic protection, chaotic blessings for their weaponry, powerful invocations of chaotic energy through blasts and cosmic words, the ability to bring objects to life, and even summoning the servants of chaos to fight for them.

While the touch is a useful if risky maneuver, the second ability and spells of this domain truly gear it towards both defense and combat, harming and debuffing foes, or providing various self-buffs. Naturally, this makes it a good pick when facing organized foes that might be lawful, but might not see as much use against more wild foes. Inquisitors, however, will find it quite useful for the extra damage and debuff they can utilize.

Meanwhile, the warpriest blessing allows them to imbue their weapons with a lesser form of chaotic blessing to harm lawful foes.

Later on, the greater blessing allows them to call upon chaotic outsiders or anarchic creatures to aid them in battle, granting them a variety of special allies.

For warpriests, the chaotic damage enhancement will be situation depending on the foes you face, but summoning, even limited summoning, will always prove useful. I would recommend taking expanded summoning feats to add more chaotic options to your summoning lists, specifically proteans, to further develop this, and probably use your other blessing choice to get something a bit more general purpose unless you have something specific in mind already.

 Freedom means different things to different people, so these holy figures are as varied as there are chaotic deities that make use of the domain in the first place. All value autonomy and the desire to preserve at least their own freedom, if not that of others.

  The faith of the Song of the River maintains many shrines along the Heart River, which is sacred to the goddess. These simple riverbank shrines are maintained by Felami, a naiad priestess who travels up and down the river, maintaining them and tending to the communities that depend upon the river for their livelihoods, as well as travellers seeking freedom and new wonders.

 The icy tundra of the far north are considered a death sentence to many local cultures, with only devotees of the Ice Walker daring to travel far away from settlements to keep different villages connected. Some priests even train as warriors to hunt the icy predators like the insectile ursikka to help make the journeys safer.

 The priesthood of the Rebel’s Heart are exactly what one would expect, being revolutionaries. They practice in secret and work to guide and protect those that would stand up to tyranny. However, even goodly civilizations consider them an ill omen, assuming that they support rebels and insurrectionists regardless of the justness of their cause.

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Deep Shaman (Shaman Archetype)

(art by LuigiL on DeviantArt)

The power of the ocean is not one to be trifled with, and shamans in particular are well-aware of the power of water and its spirits. However, the traditional spirits of waves tend to grant powers more useful for those that dwell on land primarily, such as the ability to breathe underwater. While this is useful for such surface-dwellers, it is not so much for the aquatic races.

Deep shamans, as they are known, instead ask for a modified version of the pact with the waves, gaining abilities that more suit their aquatic nature. Additionally, many of their abilities that are not replaced are instead enhanced underwater.

These are the shamans that call upon the power of deep water, where the light does not touch. Indeed, many also revere the goddess Besmara, honoring her former aspect as a spirit of the sea, before her worship transformed her into the goddess of piracy and sea monsters.

While technically terrestrial shamans can make similar pacts, they have more difficulty, since their spirit-granted powers no longer grant them the ability to survive or swim at speed in the depths, requiring they use traditional magic to supplement those losses of abilities.

 Naturally, their focus on the depths means that these shamans universally form a bond with a spirit of the waves. What’s more, they also must take an aquatic animal as their spirit familiar, which does mean they need special considerations when carrying the creature on land, such as an aquarium ball.

Many of the hexes these shamans use are modified by their connection to the depths, such as weakening the strength of those harmed by the chill, and entangling foes in water with their damaging water hexes. Additionally, the crashing wave hex, which normally enhances water spells, also applies to their spirit powers and hexes that utilize water.

They also gain two new hexes, which replace the hexes that hide them in mist or let them peer through murky water. Instead, they gain the power to control the buoyancy of themselves and others, letting them swim with ease and making others rise or sink at their whim. The other hex lets them regain the ability to breath and swim underwater since they do not get it naturally, but it also lets them resist water pressure much more easily as well.

Other shamans of the waves can push foes away with a touch, blasting them forcefully with water. For a deep shaman, however, the injuries are much more severe than the nonlethal blast, and much more forceful. What’s more, instead of quenching flame with their weapons, they use water to increase the mass and force of their weapon, striking harder.

Meanwhile, their mastery of water no longer automatically gives them swimming speed and the ability to breathe underwater. However, they do gain the ability to sense vibrations in the water, and their blast of freezing cold water becomes stronger and farther-reaching while in the water.

Rather than turn into an elemental, these shamans instead turn into a brine dragon, the epitome of elemental water in dragon form, a form they can maintain for hours, or indefinitely if they remain below the surface of the water.

This is one of the more fun ways that an archetype modifies another character option choice, as it makes the waves spirit, which one would think would be very useful for an aquatic character, into something that does not provide redundant or useless abilities to such sea-dwelling characters. It even has an option so that landbound races can still use it. As for its utility, it provides much the same as the standard waves spirit, but makes them much more potent in their preferred turf. As a final note, I recommend also supplementing this archetype with the aquarium ball item from Familiar Folio, as well as the expanded underwater rules from Aquatic Adventures, the same book this archetype comes from.

 It would be erroneous to assume that these shamans are of a higher rank or class than other shamans of the wave. It is merely that they express their powers in different ways. However, the spirits of water that they bond with might have different personalities compared to others, perhaps being less relatable or knowable compared to those that see the sun, assuming there is any difference at all.

  The frozen seas of the world of Akkus are patrolled by all sorts of deadly arctic predators, including the insectile ursikkas. However, beneath its surface lies aquatic folk of various races that rarely ever venture above the ice except to hunt. These cultures are often led or advised by mystics and shamans with a particularly impressive command of the water around them.

 Perhaps derived from a wealthy sailor or pirate captain, the shabti Tuvi’tib has always been fascinated by the sea, and had an affinity for its depths and the creatures that live there. However, even being an otherworldly facsimile, they still need air. To that end, they sought out a spirit of the water to bond with.

 Seeking answers about a curious artifact, the party must brave the depths to find a powerful merfolk shaman who might have the answers they are looking for. However, the shaman is in self-imposed exile, and may react violently to the intrusion.