Author Topic: Blaze Domain  (Read 4703 times)

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Blaze Domain
« on: February 02, 2017, 11:45:25 PM »
Wow, I haven't been on these forums in ages.  Do people still do much 3.5 homebrew? 

Anyway, I stumbled across an old file of mine, where I'd tried to build a fire-slinging cleric.  I'd jumped through a lot of hoops trying to get "good" fire spells.  I mean, fire spells that aren't all basically the same spell "deal Xd6 fire damage to Y creatures." 

So, I decided to dust off my homebrew skills and use my old research to create an easier option for any other devout pyrophiliacs out there. 



Blaze Domain

Granted Power (Sp): At will, you can fire a ray which deals 1d3 fire damage.  This functions as Ray of Frost, except that the damage type and energy descriptor are Fire instead of Cold. 

  • Wall of Smoke: Wall of black smoke obscures vision and nauseates those who pass through.
  • Heartfire: Subjects outlined in fire, take 1d4 damage/round.
  • Body Blaze: You are surrounded by fire and leave a wall-like trail of flame in your wake.
  • Firestride Exhalation: Deal 8d6 points of fire damage in 30-ft. cone, and teleport anywhere within the area.
  • Daltim's Fiery Tentacles: Like Evard's black tentacles, but creatures in the area also take fire damage.
  • Scalding Mud: Transmute rock or earth into boiling muck.
  • Scalding Touch: Touch deals 13d6 fire damage and dazes victim; usable a number of times equal to level.
  • Deadly Lahar: Create a wave of molten volcanic rock that sticks to creatures.
  • Internal Fire: Target dies instantly or takes 6d6+1/level fire damage.



So, I had a few goals here. 

Only Existing Spells: I didn't want to design any new spells for this.  Partly, that's because I've never had too keen a grasp on how strong a spell of any given level should be.  Partly, I think the chances that someone will actually use this are increased if only the domain itself is non-official. 

No Overlap: I didn't want to use spells that were already in the fire or sun domains.  If I could help it, I didn't even want to use spells already on the cleric list.  I just feel like clerics are not spoiled for choice on fire spells, and using spells they could already get their hands on easily was passing up a chance to expand their option. 

Not Basically Nine Different Versions of the Same Thing: If someone wants to really specialize in fire, they're going to need to be able to address a wide variety of situations with fire spells.  No matter how good you are with fire, it's going to feel like just a side thing if you solve all your problems through non-fire-related means.  That means they need a collection of fire spells that amounts to a Swiss-army knife, not one that amounts to a can opener.  Can openers are great, when you have to open cans.  But sometimes you need to do other things. 

Some of those spells are kind of obscure, so to save you the trouble of tracking them down, I'm going to quote them here. 



(click to show/hide)



So, what do you think?  I honestly am not too thrilled by the highest-level third of that domain.  As you go up in level, it seems to become harder to find fire spells that aren't underwhelming.  Should I post some of the alternatives I was considering? 

And how about that granted power?  It might be unconventional, but it seems to suit the concept of "fire dude."  I'm a little worried people will perceive an at-will attack as overpowered, even though reserve feats and warlocks exist. 

Offline bhu

  • Uncle Kittie
  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 16054
  • Fnord bitches
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2017, 11:54:56 PM »
If someone considers at will 1d3 fire damage overpowered  I think you can safely ignore their opinion.

Offline Stratovarius

  • Forum Host
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 7678
  • Arhosan Emperor
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 06:46:22 PM »
If anything, that granted power is underpowered. It's pretty useless past the first couple levels, unless the character is stacking shenanigans onto it.

And I'd look at alternatives, although you might just have to create your own - the problem is fire descriptor spells seem to just do a lot of fire damage and maybe a bit of crowd control, but are strictly inferior to other options.

It's not a very inventive idea, but Elemental Monolith (Fire only) might be an option for the top slot.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2017, 07:39:41 PM »
If anything, that granted power is underpowered. It's pretty useless past the first couple levels, unless the character is stacking shenanigans onto it.

Well, I could bring it up to around the power level of reserve feats by making it 1d6/2 cleric levels (rounded up).  Or, conceivably, I could grant the fiery burst reserve feat as a bonus feat.  Bonus feats get around prerequisites, after all.  The last option I can think of is making it work like you were continuously benefiting from produce flame, multiple attacks per round (eventually). 



I'd look at alternatives…

Here are some of the other ones I was considering. 

Level 1
  • Lava Missile: A worse version of magic missile from Serpent Kingdoms.  Already on the cleric spell list at 2nd level. 
  • Produce Flame: Over from the druid list. 
Level 2
  • Body of the Sun: Ongoing fire damage to adjacent creatures. 
Level 3
  • Darkfire: A better version of produce flame.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
  • Fire Wings: Over from the druid list. 
  • Summon Monster III: Small fire elemental or hell hound only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
Level 4
  • Searing Exposure: Causes fatigue.  Over from the druid list. 
  • Summon Monster IV: Fire/magma/steam(/glass)  mephit (or fire grue) only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
Level 5
  • Summon Monster V: Medium fire elemental (or fire energon) only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
  • Wall of Magma: Already on the cleric spell list at this level. 
Level 6
  • Fires of Purity: Deal fire damage with each melee attack you make.  Deal fire damage to those who attack you in melee.  Over from the druid list. 
  • Summon Monster VI: Large fire elemental (or fire elementite swarm) only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
Level 7
  • Summon Monster VII: Huge fire elemental only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
Level 8
  • Summon Monster VIII: Salamander only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
Level 9
  • Summon Monster IX: Elder fire elemental only.  Already on the cleric list at this level. 
  • Transmute Rock to Lava: Like scalding mud, but higher damage, higher level, smaller area, and more restrictions. 



…although you might just have to create your own

Well, I'm not inherently opposed to creating new spells.  But sticking to existing spells was a goal of this domain.  And if I opened things up for myself like that, I'd probably get more ambitious too.  For example, I kind of want to create a suite of "fire" domains.  Ash, flame, lava, smoke, and steam each seem like they could be domains unto themselves. 

Offline Stratovarius

  • Forum Host
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 7678
  • Arhosan Emperor
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2017, 10:40:27 AM »
Looking down the list of alternate spells:

1. Keep wall of smoke
2. Your call
3. I like Fire Wings here
4. Keep existing
5. Keep existing
6. Keep existing
7. Keep existing
8. Keep existing
9. Erupt comes to mind

For one of my domains I did 1d6/2 levels damage, but given it's fire and everything resists it, for this one I might go 1d8. Or something like "Anyone struck by a spell you cast with the fire descriptor automatically catches fire if they fail their save".

If you want a place to start for the Ash domain, I've got a Dust domain that might give some ideas.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2017, 10:42:32 AM by Stratovarius »

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2017, 05:20:19 AM »
Sorry, I kind of forgot about this thread for a while. 

2. Your call

Well, Heartfire gives invisibility negation, which is the sort of variety fire spells tend to lack, so I think I'll keep it. 

3. I like Fire Wings here

Hmm, well flight does add some nice variety.  I was kind of thinking Body Blaze could be a stand-in for Wall of Fire, which was ruled out by one of my self-imposed restrictions.  But now that I think about it, this domain doesn't need a Wall of Fire-type effect.  The Fire domain is still there, people who want Wall of Fire can still take it.  They can take both the Fire and Blaze domains if they want. 

9. Erupt comes to mind

I don't know, doesn't the 1-minute casting time kind of hurt it?  And, if I understand correctly, the range being touch means you have to be standing in the middle of its giant area.  The spell doesn't have any provisions excluding you from the effects either. 

For 7th level, would Elemental Body (fire only) be good?  I rejected it the first time around, but now that I think it over, it's not so bad.  Immunity to critical hits, stunning, and paralysis for 1 hour/level. 

Offline Stratovarius

  • Forum Host
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 7678
  • Arhosan Emperor
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2017, 03:04:23 PM »
I... huh.

You know, I never actually looked at the casting time, because I assumed Erupt was a fairly normal 9th level AoE spell. The other options at that level are Detonate and Rock to Lava, both of which might work, might not. But Erupt is terrible. :banghead

Elemental Body does give the domain a reasonable buffing spell, which isn't bad. That one's up to you.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2017, 12:33:56 AM »
Hmm, I seems to have overlooked Detonate.  It's like Internal Fire, but without the hit die restriction, with a better casting time, and without the need to carry a burning brazier everywhere.  Yeah, I'll probably go with that one. 

Nothing wrong with Transmute Rock to Lava, but it is pretty similar to Scalding Mud.  I think I'd rather have a save-or-die in there, just to keep things varied. 

Say, if I'm adding a divine version of Detonate, do you think it would be all right to change the M component to M/DF instead?  I'm a big fan of not requiring clerics to carry a spell component pouch.  The material component does have a listed value, but it's 1 gp, so meh? 

Okay, I think I'm pretty happy with everything except the 8th level slot.  I mean, a Slow effect that doesn't allow spell resistance and uses a ref save instead of a fort save isn't bad.  I just have this nagging feeling that, for being 5 levels higher than haste, it should have been a bigger improvement.  I don't know, am I being unreasonable?  Is Deadly Lahar good? 

Blackfire is kind of neat.  It's flames that deal constitution damage and can't be extinguished by normal means.  The fact that the flames are cold kind of puts a damper on things.  But what really ruins it is the evil descriptor.  No way am I making a fire domain where using the spells can cause a slow but steady alignment shift.  Fire is neither good nor evil.  (But it might be chaotic.) 

Offline Stratovarius

  • Forum Host
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 7678
  • Arhosan Emperor
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2017, 12:38:26 PM »
It's D&D, you can make almost any argument for alignment :P

As for Deadly Lahar... you don't really have much option. It's not like 8th level spells are full of Fire descriptor options, unfortunately. Unless you're planning on homebrewing one.

Detonate - a 1gp M component for a 9th level spell is just a bookkeeping annoyance. Ditch it.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2017, 01:49:15 AM »
All right, so the Blaze domain seems to be looking like this. 



Blaze Domain

Granted Power (Sp): At will, you can fire a ray of flame at a single target within 30 feet.  If you succeed on a ranged touch attack, your target takes fire damage based on you Cleric level.  Casting this spell-like ability requires 1 standard action. 

If you are a first-level Cleric, this attack deals 1d3 points of damage.  Otherwise, it deals a number of d6 of damage equal to half your Cleric level (rounded down).  No saving throw is allowed against this damage, but Spell Resistance applies. 

This is treated as a spell-like ability, of the Evocation school, with an instantaneous duration, and a spell level equal to half your Cleric level (rounded up, max 9th level). 

  • Wall of Smoke: Wall of black smoke obscures vision and nauseates those who pass through.
  • Heartfire: Subjects outlined in fire, take 1d4 damage/round.
  • Fire Wings: Your arms become wings that enable flight, deal 2d6 fire damage.
  • Firestride Exhalation: Deal 8d6 points of fire damage in 30-ft. cone, and teleport anywhere within the area.
  • Daltim's Fiery Tentacles: Like Evard's black tentacles, but creatures in the area also take fire damage.
  • Scalding Mud: Transmute rock or earth into boiling muck.
  • Elemental Body*: You take on the qualities of a type of elemental.
  • Deadly Lahar: Create a wave of molten volcanic rock that sticks to creatures.
  • Detonate: Slays subject and creates 20-ft.-radius explosion that deals 1d6 damage/level (max 20d6).

* Fire only.



(click to show/hide)



I'm fairly happy with that, if there aren't any issues.  While that may be it for the Blaze domain, I think I might like to try a set of domains to represent the different aspects of heat: Ash, Lava, Smoke, Steam, and Flame.  Should I continue that in this thread, or start a new one? 

Offline Stratovarius

  • Forum Host
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 7678
  • Arhosan Emperor
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2017, 12:09:38 PM »
I'd go ahead and keep working in here.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2017, 03:56:51 AM »
Okay, so here's a little brainstorming on the other domain.  For these ones, I'm willing to write new spells.  In fact, much of my brainstorming is new spells.  (For these, I've included parenthetical notes to describe how the spells would likely function.) 



Ash Domain
(click to show/hide)



Lava Domain
(click to show/hide)



Smoke Domain
(click to show/hide)



Steam Domain
(click to show/hide)



Flame Domain
(click to show/hide)



Any suggestions? 

Offline Nifft

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 324
  • Bad At Lurking
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2017, 02:04:14 PM »
I'm curious why you're making new domains, and not modifying Fire and Sun to have more up-to-date spell lists.

IMHO the Sun domain shows the strength of a thematic central idea: sure, it's Fire, but it's also Light and Anti-Undead.

In that vein, I'd drop stuff like Steam ("it's fire and also dry-cleaning!"), and replace it with stuff that has a strong central thematic:

Forge -> Fire + Iron + makin' stuff

Summer -> Fire + Plants + Fey

Volcano -> Fire + Poison Smoke + Earthquakes + really nasty lightning storms + Sacrifice

Phoenix -> Fire + Healing + Rebirth

Celestial Objects -> Fire + Radiance + Cold

The Silver Flame (Eberron) -> Fire + Purity + Law + Anti-Shapechangers

Oracle of the Pit (homebrew) -> Fire + Revelations + Endurance


IMHO that sort of central thematic gives enough design-space inspiration to make really good Domains.

Obviously not all of these will be appropriate to your world -- like, you probably shouldn't have seven different Fire-themed domains -- but in my experience that's a plus, since having a distinct theme for what fire means in THIS setting makes each of my campaign worlds different from all the other stuff out there.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2017, 05:53:56 PM »
I'm curious why you're making new domains, and not modifying Fire and Sun to have more up-to-date spell lists.

The Blaze domain is meant to be a rewrite of the Fire domain in all but name.  As for why I didn't call it the Fire domain?  After some debate, I decided I shouldn't force people to abandon the content they're familiar with in order to adopt new content I write. 



IMHO the Sun domain shows the strength of a thematic central idea: sure, it's Fire, but it's also Light and Anti-Undead. In that vein, I'd drop stuff like Steam ("it's fire and also dry-cleaning!"), and replace it with stuff that has a strong central thematic:

Well, here's what I was thinking of for the themes of the domains I listed:
Ash = fire + desolation + ruin + disintegration (leaving only ashes)
Lava = fire + volcanoes + newly-formed rock
Smoke = fire + concealment + suffocation + illusion (smoke and mirrors) + teleportation (there/not there)
Steam = hot springs + thermal vents + geysers + toxicity + acid + bizarre life forms
Flame = fire + explosions + whirling flame + fire whipped by wind

While I agree that Steam isn't a very evocative name, I'm having trouble coming up with a better one for the concept.  Hot Springs reminds me too much of anime hijinks.  Toxic Springs doesn't really convey the heat aspect.  Hydrothermal sounds too technical.  Geyser seems a little too limited in scope. 

I'm considering changing the name of Flame to Firestorm. 



Forge, Summer, Volcano, Phoenix, Celestial Objects, The Silver Flame, Oracle of the Pit

I'm familiar with the Forge and Summer domains.  I found the Volcano domain in Pathfinder.  I couldn't find any domain named Phoenix, Celestial Objects, or Silver Flame.  As far as I can find, the only domains associated with The Silver Flame are Exorcism, Good, Inquisition, Law, Protection, and Purification. 

Or were some of those meant to be suggestions for new domains, instead of existing domains I should look at for inspiration? 

I like the idea of generalizing Lava into Volcano.  I'll probably change that. 

Offline Nifft

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 324
  • Bad At Lurking
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #14 on: May 08, 2017, 09:53:37 PM »
The Blaze domain is meant to be a rewrite of the Fire domain in all but name.  As for why I didn't call it the Fire domain?  After some debate, I decided I shouldn't force people to abandon the content they're familiar with in order to adopt new content I write. 
Okay. Now I wonder why you want to exclude the spells in the Fire domain, since the two won't exist in the same world. :)


Well, here's what I was thinking of for the themes of the domains I listed:
Ash = fire + desolation + ruin + disintegration (leaving only ashes)
Lava = fire + volcanoes + newly-formed rock
Smoke = fire + concealment + suffocation + illusion (smoke and mirrors) + teleportation (there/not there)
Steam = hot springs + thermal vents + geysers + toxicity + acid + bizarre life forms
Flame = fire + explosions + whirling flame + fire whipped by wind

While I agree that Steam isn't a very evocative name, I'm having trouble coming up with a better one for the concept.  Hot Springs reminds me too much of anime hijinks.  Toxic Springs doesn't really convey the heat aspect.  Hydrothermal sounds too technical.  Geyser seems a little too limited in scope.
Solfatara or Fumarole >> Steam

Can you expand on how "whirling flame" and "fire whipped by wind" are different from plain Fire?

Also, how is "ash" different from what happens when regular Fire is applied to a problem?

IMHO "Firestorm" is not a good choice, since there's already a spell by that name. (Also a comic book character.)

Forge, Summer, Volcano, Phoenix, Celestial Objects, The Silver Flame, Oracle of the Pit

I'm familiar with the Forge and Summer domains.  I found the Volcano domain in Pathfinder.  I couldn't find any domain named Phoenix, Celestial Objects, or Silver Flame.  As far as I can find, the only domains associated with The Silver Flame are Exorcism, Good, Inquisition, Law, Protection, and Purification. 

Or were some of those meant to be suggestions for new domains, instead of existing domains I should look at for inspiration? 
Yeah, I just made those up, all of them are Fire-themed but not just the name of a para-element.

My point is that you probably want a few Fire-ish domains which are specific to your campaign world, instead of trying to fill in every check-box on the Elemental Bingo Chart.

IMHO you have two ways to go:

1/ ALL priests are FIRE PRIESTS!!! ("Eat the flames of heaven you heathen orc scum!") -- lots of Fire-themed Domains, and everybody has at least one, except weirdos. Clerics get a lot of Fire-themed weapons, and other classes probably tailor their spell lists to accommodate the new meta.

2/ Balance In All Things -- 2-3 domains with a Fire theme, 2-3 domains with a Water theme, 2-3 domains with an Air theme, etc. The specifics of which domains are paired conceptually will give you a good idea of how your world thinks about things. Like, if the main god of War is also the main god of Water, then I'd expect naval warfare to be a big deal, and soldiers to speak in naval metaphors.

On the other hand, if the Forge God is also the War God, then I'd expect soldiers to use blacksmith metaphors, and there would be really excellent weaponsmiths who were also clerics and soldiers.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #15 on: May 09, 2017, 05:40:36 PM »
Okay. Now I wonder why you want to exclude the spells in the Fire domain, since the two won't exist in the same world.

I debated it with myself quite a bit, but ultimately decided that I wanted the domain to be equally valid whether a DM decided to use it instead of the Fire domain, or alongside it.  You can actually see me waffling on that point over the course of this thread.  Trying to interpret all my comments on the matter as a single, resolved position will likely only yield confusion. 



Can you expand on how "whirling flame" and "fire whipped by wind" are different from plain Fire?

Basically, they exert force on their subjects on top of the heat. 



Now, I don't want you to think I'm, you know, listening to your advice or anything, but I'm feeling less enthused with the prospect of making a bunch of different fire-themed domain than I was a little bit ago.  I might just call it quits on the domains other than Blaze for the time being. 



Speaking of the Blaze domain, in my write-up of the spells, I changed Fire Wings to be dismissible.  It explicitly forbids casting spells with somatic components while it's active.  The "You cannot hold items" part would generally rule our casting spells with material components too.  So I said to myself, "Gee, being stuck like that in combat would kind of suck." 

So, anyway, if Fire Wings were used as written instead of with my change, how much use do you think the spell would get? 



Also, how much room would you say there is for a new fire-themed divine casting class?  Looking at the state of things, I see:
  • Black Flame Zealot: just so bad
  • Elemental Archon: turns you into an elemental, friggin mephits, underwhelming
  • Elemental Savant: have to give up other elements, turns you into elemental, underwhelming
  • Sanctified One (of Kord): only one fire ability

Offline Nifft

  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 324
  • Bad At Lurking
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #16 on: May 09, 2017, 08:32:39 PM »
Okay. Now I wonder why you want to exclude the spells in the Fire domain, since the two won't exist in the same world.

I debated it with myself quite a bit, but ultimately decided that I wanted the domain to be equally valid whether a DM decided to use it instead of the Fire domain, or alongside it.  You can actually see me waffling on that point over the course of this thread.  Trying to interpret all my comments on the matter as a single, resolved position will likely only yield confusion. 
Ah! Now I understand.

You're making a thing for yourself, but you want it to be usable by others too. That's really kind of you.

I do think it might be a lot easier and more rewarding to just make awesome things for yourself, and not worry so much if they're useful to others, and give them away anyway -- but that's just my experience. Whatever works for you is best for you.

Can you expand on how "whirling flame" and "fire whipped by wind" are different from plain Fire?

Basically, they exert force on their subjects on top of the heat. 

Hmm, so stuff like Meteor Swarm or (psionic) Energy Push would be good here.

Now, I don't want you to think I'm, you know, listening to your advice or anything
Such a tsundere.

My advice isn't to stop making fire-stuff, it's more like: have a goal in mind for your world, and then make stuff based on that.

For example, you could do a few different fire-gods, with very different philosophies:

The Soulsparks - Fire is a representation of passion, and true fire comes from within.

This Domain gives you stuff based around either you being on fire (Produce Flame, Body Blaze, Heart of Fire) or making someone else be on fire (Heartfire, Scalding Touch, Internal Fire).

Domain ability might be Bardic Music.


The Sunseers - Fire is a representation of the heavens, and true fire is a gift of the sun.

This Domain gives you stuff based around light (Dawn Burst, Searing Exposure, Blistering Radiance) and large area effects (Firestorm, Incendiary Cloud) and heavenly intercession (Flame Strike, Meteor Strike).

Domain ability might be a bonus feat like Searing Spell.


The Forgefollowers - Fire is a tool, and through fire we create better tools. With better tools, we improve our own abilities, but we must also improve ourselves that we may be worthy of our tools. The fire of a forge is the harrowing test that proves a blade. The fires of war are the harrowing tests that prove a man.

This Domain gives you stuff around conjuration & creation, generally suitable for war. Wall of Smoke, Heat Metal, Daltim's Fiery Tentacles, and Deadly Lahar are all good here.

Domain ability might be Fire Resistance 5.


Obviously each of these three faiths dislike the other two (who are the worst sort of heretics).

Speaking of the Blaze domain, in my write-up of the spells, I changed Fire Wings to be dismissible.  It explicitly forbids casting spells with somatic components while it's active.  The "You cannot hold items" part would generally rule our casting spells with material components too.  So I said to myself, "Gee, being stuck like that in combat would kind of suck." 

So, anyway, if Fire Wings were used as written instead of with my change, how much use do you think the spell would get? 
With your change it's quite usable.

Flight at level 5 is a big deal, so I think it would see use -- though maybe not as much combat use as out-of-combat problem-solving.


Also, how much room would you say there is for a new fire-themed divine casting class?  Looking at the state of things, I see:
  • Black Flame Zealot: just so bad
  • Elemental Archon: turns you into an elemental, friggin mephits, underwhelming
  • Elemental Savant: have to give up other elements, turns you into elemental, underwhelming
  • Sanctified One (of Kord): only one fire ability

TONS of room -- but again, the specifics would depend on your campaign world a lot.

Offline Maat Mons

  • DnD Handbook Writer
  • ****
  • Posts: 1203
  • What is a smile but a grimace of happiness?
    • View Profile
Re: Blaze Domain
« Reply #17 on: May 10, 2017, 12:55:57 AM »
You're making a thing for yourself, but you want it to be usable by others too.

I probably won't actually get a chance to use it myself.  But this idea has its origins in a Frostburn campaign where I couldn't find material to make a character to my satisfaction.  He was a priest of Pelor who journeyed to the lands least touched by the sun's warmth to minister to the heathens therein and apply Pelor's loving flames to their flesh until their hearts were warmed by his grace. 



TONS of room -- but again, the specifics would depend on your campaign world a lot.

Okay then, here are some things I was thinking of for class features. 

Blazing Metamagic: I was thinking some form of metamagic cost reduction that only applies to Fire spells would be good.  I've heard it said that metamagic cost reduction is a must for dealing damage with spells at high levels.  I'm not sure if I should go with Incantatrix-style cost reduction or Halruuan Elder-style cost reduction.  Any thoughts? 

Consuming Flames: I think it would be neat to have a class feature that adds a "reduced to ashes at 0 hp" clause to Fire spells, a la Disintegrate. 

Dancing Flames: If there are going to be metamagic-focused class features, should there also be a class feature to help out spontaneous casters with metamagic?  I know there's already a feat to eliminate the increased casting time.  Should the class grant that feat (or a more limited, fire-only version), or should I just leave the Favored Souls to fend for themselves? 

Errant Ember: Given that Clerics, at least, don't have a very good selection of Fire spells, I want to add some sort of Expanded Knowledge/Eclectic Learning-style feature.  Limited to Fire spells, of course.  Maybe from the Druid and Sorcerer/Wizard lists?  I'm not sure.  How many new spells do you think would be acceptable for a 10-level class? 

Searing Mastery: I think the Searing Spell feat is going to be important to anyone who wants to stick to Fire as his damage type.  If I make Searing Spell a prerequisite for the class, will it be all right to remove the level modifier and casting time adjustment as a 1st-level ability?  Sanctified One gives a better version of the same effect at 1st level without having Searing Spell as a prerequisite, but if I recall, Sanctified One loses a caster level there too. 

Spontaneous Combustion: I feel like the ability to spontaneously convert prepared spells to Fire spells is a very fitting ability.  Should the player have to pick individual spells that he can thereafter convert other spells to, or could the feature just work on all Fire spells.  Initiate of Lathander already does this for all Fire spells on the Cleric list, but this class would also be available to casters with far more Fire spells on their lists.  Also, if I give the ability one spell at a time, it's easy to design a counterpart for spontaneous casters, they just get extra Fire spells known. 

True Flame: I think it's a shame that most of the Fire spells have to deal with spell resistance just because they were stuck in Evocation instead of Conjuration.  (Don't both words literally mean "bringing forth?")  This would be a class feature that eliminates Spell Resistance on Fire spells.  And really, just because the fire is magical, why can't the heat it produces be non-magical.  What, is the light from the fire magical too?  If I stand next to an Antimagic Field with a Continual Flame are people in the field unable to see the light? 

Unearthly Heat: Well, since Sanctified One is already completely ignoring fire immunity, how about a class feature that removes that 1/2-damage-against-creatures-immune-to-fire thing from Searing Spell?  Heck, Hellfire also gets to completely ignore immunity to fire, so I don't know why this class should be left out of all the fun.  Maybe I should even throw in Hellfire's full damage to objects?