Clerics on the Planes for 3.5E - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Clerics on the Planes for 3.5E

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
brknstar
Jan 25, 2004 1:24:55 I'm just curious as to how people are running Clerics on the Outer Planes in 3E (and 3.5). Sticking to the -1 level for every plane away from the character's God's Plane ('cept for adjacent Planes, the Prime, and Sigil) or are you cutters using something a bit different....if so, what?

I've been trying to figure out how to run it, and am inbetween feelings of "The -1 caster level thing is too harsh" and "the -1 caster level thing is just right."

I don't want to turn anyone off from playing the class, but I also can see the logic in some kind of planar interference.

As an example of another idea I had: all Clerics have to go by the "Spell Roll" Variant when on Planes not adjacent or of the Plane in which his/her God resides because there is "interference" caused by the divine powers of the Plane the Cleric is on. This is obviously a very ad hoc kinda thing, so if anyone's got some better ideas (or can just prove why the -1 caster level thing is the best way to go), I'm all for it!
#2
kilamar
Jan 25, 2004 4:04:33 We play according to this rule and I am the one who is playing the cleric.
You have to rely more on scrolls and wands naturally, but it works fine for me. You can also try to get Power Keys for important missions.
I admit that is not easy, after years of playing I got only one for Ysgard.

Kilamar
#3
primemover003
Jan 25, 2004 5:43:47 I always hated this convention of PS. It totally makes your Divine PC's less effective than non divine PC's of similar level. If anything it makes you even more reliant on your magic equipment than a fighter is. Taking away a primary casters main strength is stupid. The alignment penalty system from MotP while simplistic and lacking flavor works.

Similarly the Weapon plus reduction was a nightmare too. It just doesn't mesh well with 3E. Magic should work the same across the planes with a few exceptions that can be covered with the newer Planar magic traits (normal, wild, impeded, enhanced, limited, dead). The bookwork for DM's and PC's alike is easier to deal with.
#4
kilamar
Jan 25, 2004 7:22:53 Since we are not changing planes every five minutes, the bookkeeping is kept at an minimum.
Yes, it is a bit more work, but we prefer old-school Planescape.

Kilamar
#5
MephitJames
Jan 25, 2004 13:58:48 I always thought that the changes imposed on clerics and weapons were creative and I liked them in 2e. I would be willing to ditch them in 3e, though, if they were replaced with a similarly interesting solution. The limited, enhanced, etc. characteristics from MotP are good, but applying the same adjustments to arcane and divine magic seems a little odd.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 brknstar Jan 25, 2004 1:24:55	I'm just curious as to how people are running Clerics on the Outer Planes in 3E (and 3.5). Sticking to the -1 level for every plane away from the character's God's Plane ('cept for adjacent Planes, the Prime, and Sigil) or are you cutters using something a bit different....if so, what? I've been trying to figure out how to run it, and am inbetween feelings of "The -1 caster level thing is too harsh" and "the -1 caster level thing is just right." I don't want to turn anyone off from playing the class, but I also can see the logic in some kind of planar interference. As an example of another idea I had: all Clerics have to go by the "Spell Roll" Variant when on Planes not adjacent or of the Plane in which his/her God resides because there is "interference" caused by the divine powers of the Plane the Cleric is on. This is obviously a very ad hoc kinda thing, so if anyone's got some better ideas (or can just prove why the -1 caster level thing is the best way to go), I'm all for it!
#2 kilamar Jan 25, 2004 4:04:33	We play according to this rule and I am the one who is playing the cleric. You have to rely more on scrolls and wands naturally, but it works fine for me. You can also try to get Power Keys for important missions. I admit that is not easy, after years of playing I got only one for Ysgard. Kilamar
#3 primemover003 Jan 25, 2004 5:43:47	I always hated this convention of PS. It totally makes your Divine PC's less effective than non divine PC's of similar level. If anything it makes you even more reliant on your magic equipment than a fighter is. Taking away a primary casters main strength is stupid. The alignment penalty system from MotP while simplistic and lacking flavor works. Similarly the Weapon plus reduction was a nightmare too. It just doesn't mesh well with 3E. Magic should work the same across the planes with a few exceptions that can be covered with the newer Planar magic traits (normal, wild, impeded, enhanced, limited, dead). The bookwork for DM's and PC's alike is easier to deal with.
#4 kilamar Jan 25, 2004 7:22:53	Since we are not changing planes every five minutes, the bookkeeping is kept at an minimum. Yes, it is a bit more work, but we prefer old-school Planescape. Kilamar
#5 MephitJames Jan 25, 2004 13:58:48	I always thought that the changes imposed on clerics and weapons were creative and I liked them in 2e. I would be willing to ditch them in 3e, though, if they were replaced with a similarly interesting solution. The limited, enhanced, etc. characteristics from MotP are good, but applying the same adjustments to arcane and divine magic seems a little odd.