Gods

[Raineh Daze]

Banestrike- Any weapon the god wields (as well as natural attacks) gains a bonus  on attack rolls and it deals an extra +1d6 points of damage for every 5 Bab the god has. In addition pick a creature type (if outsider, you must pick an alignment subtype as well, if humanoid, you must pick a specific race). Against creatures of that type this bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls are doubled, as well any DCs of your attacks against such creatures increases by 1. You may pick this Salient Divine ability multiple times, each one choosing a diferent creature type (but the “base” bonus to attack rolls and extra damage doesn't stack). If the god has 20 HD or more double all the bonus.

What's the bonus on attack rolls?

Divine Archery-You need Bab 3+, Point Blank Shot and Far Shot to pick this ability. The god can fire a ranged weapon at any target within line of sight and within range of the god’s personal senses. No range increment applies to the attack. The god does not incur any attacks of opportunity for firing a bow when threatened. As a full-round action, the god may fire an arrow at her full base attack bonus at each opponent within 10 feet per divine rank. The god must have the Weapon Focus feat with the type of bow she uses to perform this attack. When shooting a ranged weapon, the god can ignore any cover bonus to the target’s AC or any miss chance conferred by the target’s concealment, as well as adverse wind conditions, including magic ones like Wind Wall. If the god has 20 HD or more, she can also add her Cha mod to damage rolls with ranged weapons.

I'm a little confused--just a bow, or any ranged weapon, for the 'shoot at anyone' thing?

[VennDygrem]

I'm guessing for banestrike, it's just a +1 to attack per 5 BAB, like the +1d6 damage, though it should definitely be specified. There are definitely some more clarifications that would be useful for other salient abilities, so hopefully I can comb through them and help to pick them out.

[oslecamo]

Correct on the bane, fixed, also clarified Divine Archery (yes it's suposed to work with other ranged weapons). Go gun god!

[Raineh Daze]

I'll bear that in mind for if I ever do Real Pilot//God or Moon Vanguard//God.

I take it Altered Eldritch Source wouldn't affect Venerable Battlefield?

[oslecamo]

No. You would need some Paragon levels for that.

[Raineh Daze]

Eh, thought not. It's just that practically everything in the school ends up demanding a save, so it was worth a try.

[VennDygrem]

A lot of abilities work only on mortals, but there is no set definition for this in the class and it's not really specifically defined in general D&D terms. Would you say that, for the purposes of the God class's abilities, 'Mortal' refers to any living, corporeal creature with a maximum age? Even that is sort of vague, since a lot of monsters are mortal but have no listed maximum age.

I assume that certain creature types would be excluded, such as Undead and Constructs, since they are not alive and thus not mortal (for instance, upon being knocked down to 0 hp, they are specifically destroyed rather than killed). Many Outsiders are immortal, but not all of them are by my understanding. The creature type traits do not list being destroyed or any mention of being immortal (and the same goes for elementals) other than that both do not have a 'dual nature' (body and soul).

Also, are there any limits on what Portfolio the God can have access to? Most published deities have at least three or four items as part of their portfolio, but the number varies and doesn't seem related to degree of deity or anything else. Is this merely between the player and DM to decide on?

[oslecamo]

Mortals as in "they have a limited lifespan". They don't need to have an official maximum listed age, just that it's known that those guys eventually die of old age in recorded history.

And that's the reason why mortal races still exist and haven't been destroyed by all the nasty immortal things out there that keep coming back for more. Gods need mortals for faith, thus they make sure mortal civilizations endure.

Also, are there any limits on what Portfolio the God can have access to? Most published deities have at least three or four items as part of their portfolio, but the number varies and doesn't seem related to degree of deity or anything else. Is this merely between the player and DM to decide on?

Pretty much yes. As you pointed out it's quite unstable in the official material.

[oslecamo]

Added the option for a god to learn maneuvers/stances of schools she had acess to before entering the class.

[Raineh Daze]

You know, I've noticed something weird. You can resurrect people just fine, but the class has absolutely no options to heal someone almost-but-not-quite dead in the first place without having the healing domain.

Which means the best way to heal someone is to kill them, then resurrect.

[oslecamo]

You can get regular healing from the Divine Battlefield maneuvers.

[Raineh Daze]

You can get regular healing from the Divine Battlefield maneuvers.

Huh, forgot that they had any healing in 'em.

[VennDygrem]

I'm fairly sure I'm reading it as-written and as-intended, but do Gods' IL really only scale with levels in the class? Pretty much all other martial initiators can also add 1/2 their levels in other classes to IL, as you're aware. I just wanted to be sure that the hard limit on IL==God Level was strictly intended, though that certainly seems to be the case. In most cases it will be a minor set-back, though I can think of some where certain limits based on IL could get irritating (for instance, if you entered the class with 15 levels of other classes and then 1 level of God, and some of your maneuvers only last 1 round due to IL-based duration).

Is there a Divine Characteristic or Salient Ability that offsets this? I don't remember seeing one, so I'd imagine not.

[oslecamo]

Isn't there a rule out there that says that non-initiator classes automatically grant half IL?

Because like, for 3 years I've done Initiator classes, always wording it like that (copy-pasta ho!), and you're the first to complain.

But very well, added it anyway, as well as my tobhou classes. There's a bunch of other monsters with maneuvers around here, I believe they're also lacking that clause, but can't be bothered to go check all of them right now.

Now if you excuse me, I'm trying to finish the chaos chosen.

[VennDygrem]

I apologize if I was at all offensive. The ToB classes and most homebrew initiator classes I've read don't have a clause mentioning what its IL is, instead relying on the general clause present in the ToB that applies to all of them. I just felt that adding an extra clause into the class that specifically calls out IL as being equal to class level would override the general rule. If anything, my question was in regards to the presence of the clause, rather than any lacking of another clause.

Again, I'm sorry for any inconvenience. It was merely an observation and curiosity.

[Raineh Daze]

So... uh... should alter reality really scale by HD and not Divine Rank, seeing as it's possible to get 9th's from a one-level dip?

[oslecamo]

It's not any worst than the pseudo-caster monsters that can get 9th level spells if high level enough by dipping into casters.

[Raineh Daze]

It's not any worst than the pseudo-caster monsters that can get 9th level spells if high level enough by dipping into casters.

9th's with no restrictions other than 'related to portfolio'? It's a one level dip that gives you choice of as many spells as you can link to it, and the earliest level you get 9th's you could cast three per day and still have enough left over for a 7th.

Hell, right portfolio, and you have at-will access to Wish if needed.

[VennDygrem]

Wouldn't a God pretty much be able to do that anyway? Linking it to Divine Rank would keep a high-level dip (say, 17 class levels and 1 God level) from reaching 9th level spells right away, but what good is an 18th level character going to get out of a 1st level spell usable once per day? Even if spell level is restricted by Divine Rank and uses per day are by HD, that's a 1st level spell usable, what, 36 times per day? Personally I think the portfolio limitations should be fine, given that a spell's relevance to portfolio is going to be largely up to the DM. If you want to play a God of Celebration, Feasts, and Hunting, you might be able to justify recreating Haste, but you probably can't justify Time Stop. Unless the DM is ok letting you get away with it anyway, in which case it's fine, if odd.

Besides, that "one level dip" comes with some other caveats. The DM can bar you from entering the class. If you fail to keep your followers pleased, then *poof* you're no longer a God.

Further, if you dip a level of God to get access to unlimited Wishes, keep in mind you're still paying material and XP costs. Don't cast Wish so much that you lose the level of God you just took to get that ability in the first place.

Actually, now that I think about it, you were discussing this same issue about a year ago, though seemingly on the other side of the fence.

[Raineh Daze]

I realised how easy it is to get vague portfolios in the intervening time. Sorcerer 19/God 1 could be REALLY problematic like that.

And 500 followers isn't hard. Not with that level of magic.