The Quintessential Cleric

Author	Sam Witt
Publisher	Mongoose Publishing
Publish date	2002
OGL Section 15	qclr

The material below is open game content.

Domains of the Gods

In general, domains reflect aspects of a god. They provide clerics with abilities and spells in keeping with how the god wishes to be represented to his faithful followers and to outsiders. Unfortunately, domains can be too general to really describe some of the gods who grant them. Estates are an answer to this – each estate provides a handful of spells that exemplify a more focused area of power than the domain from which they are derived. When an estate is chosen, it replaces all odd-level spells in the domain from which it is derived. The cleric retains all of the even numbered domain spells, as well as the granted power from the domain itself. A cleric may not choose more than one estate for each domain. The following estate descriptions are provided as building blocks for those Games Masters and players that wish to flesh out the religions in their campaign and offer more choices for clerics.

Spells marked with an asterisk are detailed later in this book.

Air Domain

Estate of Wind

This estate provides clerics with the freedom of the wind, allowing them to move through the world like the breeze itself. This minor domain is also suitable for those gods who specialise in travel or liberty.
3. Freedom of Movement: Subject moves normally despite impediments.
5. Solid Fog: Blocks vision and slows movement.
7. Wind Walk: You and your allies turn vaporous and travel fast.
9. Freedom: Releases creature suffering imprisonment.

Estate of Tempest

This estate is often used by priests of those gods closely linked to storms, including those with ties to thunder and/or lightning.
3. Ice Storm: Hail deals 5d6 damage in cylinder 40 ft. across.
5. Control Wind: Change wind direction and speed.
7. Erosion: Destroys crops and prevents vegetation from growing.
9. Storm of Vengeance: Storm rains acid, lightning, and hail.

Animal Domain

Estate of the Beast

The estate of beast calls upon the destructive power of animals to thwart the enemies of the cleric. This estate is most commonly granted by deities of a primal nature as well as those deities that see animals as tools to be dominated and used rather than as allies.
3. Summon Swarm: Summons swarm of small crawling or flying creatures.
5. Awaken: Animal or tree gains human intellect.
7. Summon Nature’s Ally VIII: Calls creature to fight.
9. Shambler: Summons 1d4+2 shambling mounds to fight for you.

Estate of the Wild

Deities that are animalistic themselves or who are associated with a specific type of animal ally most often grant this estate. It is for any religion in which animals are seen as either divine themselves or as divinely sanctioned allies of the faithful.
3. Phantom Steed: Magical horse appears for 1 hour/level.
5. Faithful Hound: Phantom dog can guard, attack.
7. Totem Animal *: Imbues the cleric with enhanced abilities.
9. Sympathy: Object or location attracts certain creatures.

Chaos Domain

Estate of Chance

Gods related to randomness or unpredictable fortune often grant the estate of chance. Clerics who adopt this estate represent the fickleness of the divine and their abilities are unpredictable at best.
3. Blink: You randomly vanish and reappear for 1 round/level.
5. Rainbow Pattern: Lights prevent 24 HD of creatures from attacking or moving away.
7. Prismatic Spray: Rays hit subjects with variety of effects.
9. Prismatic Sphere: As prismatic wall, but surrounds on all sides.

Estate of Decay

When all order is removed from a system, it begins to decay, breaking down and falling apart as entropy takes its toll. Gods who grant this estate are often fatalistic and bring messages of the inevitable doom that is the fate of all things.
3. Rotbreath *: Caster exhales a damaging fog.
5. Transmute Rock to Mud: Transforms two 10-ft. cubes/level.
7. Destruction: Kills subject and destroys remains.
9. Mord’s Disjunction: Dispels magic, disenchants magic items.

Death Domain

Estate of Execution

While killing for its own sake is an undeniably evil act in most cases, there are times when a death is called for by mortal or divine law. Clerics who adopt this estate serve deities that believe in justice and the judgement of those who do wrong.
3. Vampiric Touch: Touch deals 1d6/two caster levels; caster gains damage as hp.
5. Harm: Subject loses all but 1d4 hp.
7. Finger of Death: Kills one subject.
9. Spectral Gallows *: Tentacles strangle targets in area of effect.

Estate of Graves

Gods who are concerned more with what happens after death, rather than death itself, often grain this estate to their followers. Dealing both with creating and destroying undead, this estate is found in use in both good and evil religions.
3. Halt Undead: Immobilises undead for 1 round/ level.
5. Antilife Shell: 10-ft. field hedges out living creatures.
7. Control Undead: Undead don’t attack you while under your command.
8. Soul Bind: Traps newly dead soul to prevent resurrection.

Destruction Domain

Estate of Murder

Gods who revel in the wanton destruction of life grant this estate, providing their clerics with the tools they need to snuff out lives wherever they find them. While this estate is most often granted by the powers of evil, more than one good deity provides the powers of this estate to holy assassins trained to target enemy priests.
3. Hold person: Holds one person helpless for 1 round/level.
5. Slay Living: Touch attack kills subject.
7. Destruction: Kills subject and destroys remains.
9. Wail of the Banshee: Kills one creature/level.

Estate of Rupture

Where the estate of murder focuses on the annihilation of life, the estate of rupture centres on the destruction of objects and structures. Clerics armed with the spells of this estate specialise in siege warfare and terrorism, using their divine power to lay waste to enemy and civilian dwellings and armaments.
3. Stone shape: Sculpts stone into any form.
5. Material Disruption *: Damages weapons and armour.
7. Destruction: Kills subject and destroys remains.
9. Earthquake: Intense tremor shakes 5-ft./level radius.

Earth Domain

Estate of Depths

This estate provides clerics with power over the dark caverns and hidden spaces deep below the surface of the earth. A favourite estate of the gods of dwarves and other subterranean dwellers, these spells are also often granted to those who must battle the creatures lurking within the earth.
3. Meld into stone: You and your gear merge with stone.
5. Passwall: Breaches walls 1 ft. thick/level.
7. Cavernous Travel *: Transports creatures underground.
9. Time Stop: You act freely for 1d4+1 rounds.

Estate of Material

Gold, gems, iron, stone, and other materials are all brought up from the lands below and the spells of this estate are related to this aspect of the earth domain. Gods with a focus on structure and stability often grant this estate.
3. Keen Edge: Doubles normal weapon’s threat range.
5. Wall of Stone: 20 hp/four levels; can be shaped.
7. Wall of Iron: 30 hp/four levels; can topple onto foes.
9. Repel Metal or Stone: Pushes away metal and stone.

Evil Domain

Estate of Crime

The gods who grant this estate promote larceny and other criminal behaviours in their clerics and followers. Armed with these spells, the clerics are able to commit all manner of crimes in the names of their deities.
3. Improved Invisibility: Subject is invisible for 10 min./level or until it attacks.
5. False Vision: Fools scrying with an illusion.
7. Shadow Walk: Step into shadow to travel rapidly.
9. Thief Soul *: Caster gains the skills of a dead rogue.

Estate of Pain

Torture and violence are part and parcel of most fantasy worlds and, whether you are a goblin shaman or a human priest, there are times when it is necessary to coerce your enemies into telling you what you want to know.
3. Agony *: Target suffers intense pain and subdual damage.
5. Harm: Subject loses all but 1d4 hp.
7. Forcecage: Cube of force imprisons all inside.
9. Energy Drain: Subject gains 2d4 negative levels.

Fire Domain

Estate of Conflagration

Fire can be a healing, warming presence that makes life both simpler and more comfortable. This estate deals not with the tame fire used by men, but the uncontrolled infernos that can turn a man to ash in the blink of an eye.
3. Fire Trap: Opened object deals 1d4 +1/level damage.
5. Flame Strike: Smites foes with divine fire (1d6/ level).
7. Fireball: 1d6 damage per level, 20-ft. radius.
9. Delayed Blast Fireball: 1d8 fire damage/level; you can delay blast for 5 rounds.

Estate of Purification

This aspect of the fire domain focuses on the healing aspects of flame – the heat that cleanses the taint of corruption or the stench of infection from its target. Of course, the fire often does a great deal of damage in the purification process.
3. Dispel Evil: +4 bonus against attacks by evil creatures.
5. Hallow: Designates location as holy.
7. Healing Flame *: Heals the caster’s allies within a certain area.
9. Mass Heal: As heal, but with several subjects.

Good Domain

Estate of Assistance

The support role of clerics is emphasised by the spells of this estate, which are granted by those deities that stress teamwork and aid over direct action or violence.
3. Shield Other: You take half of subject’s damage.
5. Imbue with Spell Ability: Transfer spells to subject.
7. Heroes’ Feast: Food for one creature/level cures and blesses.
9. Miracle: Requests a deity’s intercession.

Estate of Righteousness

This estate represents the aspects of deities concerned with the divine rightness of a religion’s actions. Bolstered by the powers of this estate, clerics are assured of the godly sanction for their actions.
3. Helping Hand: Ghostly hand leads subject to you.
5. Righteous Might: Your size increases, and you gain +4 Str.
7. Symbol: Triggered runes have array of effects.
9. Avatar *: Summons an avatar of the caster’s god.

Healing Domain

Estate of Cures

While the healing domain is concerned with the repair of physical injuries of all types, this estate provides the specialised magic necessary to combat disease, both magical and mundane.
3. Remove Disease: Cures all diseases affecting subject.
5. Restoration: Restores level and ability score drains.
7. Greater Restoration: As restoration, plus restores all levels and ability scores.
9. True Resurrection: As resurrection, plus remains aren’t needed.

Estate of Antivenin

This estate gives clerics the abilities they need to thwart the progress of poisons and prevent the use of toxins against the faithful.
3. Negative Energy Protection: Subject resists level and ability drains.
5. Neutralise Poison: Detoxifies venom in or on subject.
7. Greater Restoration: As restoration, plus restores all levels and ability scores.
9. Drowning Poison *: Kills those who use/carry poison and detoxifies all poison in area.

Knowledge Domain

Estate of Intuition

The mind works in mysterious ways, and the spells of this estate allow it to plumb the murky waters of intuition to reveal knowledge previously hidden.
3. Locate Object: Senses direction toward object (specific or type).
5. Discern Lies: Reveals deliberate falsehoods.
7. True Seeing: See all things as they really are.
9. Discern Location: Exact location of creature or object.

Estate of Secrets

Not all information should be available to everyone and the gods who provide the spells of this estate believe that it is their duty to insure that dangerous or damaging information is kept out of the hands of undeserving mortals.
3. Obscure Object: Masks object against divination.
5. Confusion: Makes subject behave oddly for 1 round/level.
7. Maze: Traps subject in extradimensional maze.
9. Mindcrypt: Creates a trap in the caster’s mind.

Law Domain

Estate of Order

Religions that favour this estate believe that everything in life has a place and that evil only prospers when the divine order is disturbed. Judicious use of these spells can be used to return things to their natural order, or to at least minimise the effects of chaos.
3. Dimensional Anchor: Bars extradimensional movement.
5. Planar Binding: As lesser planar binding, but up to 16 HD.
7. Banishment: Banishes 2 HD/level extraplanar creatures.
9. Imprisonment: Entombs subject beneath the earth.

Estate of Decree

As is often the case, the clerics who accept this estate believe that they, guided by their deity, should be the ones to establish the laws of the land. The spells of this estate help them to establish their dominance over others.
3. Hold Person: Holds one person helpless for 1 round/level.
5. Dominate Person: Controls humanoid telepathically.
7. Exalted Domination: Allows domination of multiple persons or monsters.
9. Soul Bind: Traps newly dead soul to prevent resurrection.

Luck Domain

Estate of Fortune

Deities that grant this estate encourage those who follow them to trust in divine luck to see them through and provide these spells to help their clerics demonstrate the power of good fortune.
3. Remove Curse: Frees object or person from curse.
5. Death Ward: Grants immunity to death spells and effects.
7. Contingency: Sets trigger condition for another spell.
9. Miracle: Requests a deity’s intercession.

Estate of Ill-Omen

When the enemies of the church believe they have the faithful under the hammer, clerics with this estate can often tip the balance by provoking a run of bad luck for their oppressors.
3. Bestow Curse: -6 to an ability; -4 on attacks, saves, and checks; or 50% chance of losing each action.
5. False Vision: Fools scrying with an illusion.
7. Misfortune *: Inflicts a –6 penalty to target’s attack and damage rolls, skill checks, and saves.
9. Antimagic Field: Negates magic within 10 ft.

Magic Domain

Estate of Augmentation

Clerics use the spells from this estate to improve the abilities of themselves and the faithful to increase their odds of success during divinely mandated missions.
3. Greater Magic Weapon: +1 bonus/three levels (max +5).
5. Permanency: Makes certain spells permanent; costs XP.
7. Regenerate: Subject’s severed limbs grow back.
9. Shapechange: Transforms you into any creature, and change forms once per round.

Estate of Weakness

Clerics attuned to this estate use their granted powers to weaken their opponents, crippling their ability to hinder the faithful.
3. Confusion: Makes subjects behave oddly for 1 round/level.
5. Feeblemind: Subject’s Int drops to 1.
7. Crippling Fog: Summons fog that causes ability damage.
9. Imprisonment: Entombs subject beneath the earth.

Plant Domain

Estate of Nature’s Force

The powers of this estate are attuned to the wild aspects of nature, the thick, lush growth of the deep jungle and the creeping destruction of lichens and hidden roots.
3. Snare: Creates a magical booby trap.
5. Hallucinatory Terrain: Makes one type of terrain appear like another (field into forest, etc.).
7. Liveoak: Oak becomes treant guardian.
9. Maze: Traps subject in extradimensional maze.

Estate of Cultivation

This estate assists clerics in taming the powers of the forest and wilderness, bending it to their will and focusing its energies in directions that are beneficial to the cleric and his congregation.
3. Diminish Plants: Reduces size or blights growth of normal plants.
5. Antiplant Spells: Keeps animated plants at bay.
7. Cultivation: Creates cultivated fields from wilderness.
9. Obedient Growth *: Forces vegetation to grow into desired formations.

Protection Domain

Estate of Deflection

This estate specialises in turning danger away from the targets of its spells, protecting them by redirecting the forces of violence.
3. Magic Vestment: Armour or shield gains +1 enhancement/three levels.
5. Forbiddance: Denies area to creatures of another alignment.
7. Spell Turning: Reflect 1d4+6 spell levels back at caster.
9. Prismatic Sphere: As prismatic wall, but surrounds on all sides.

Estate of Avoidance

The best way to keep from being harmed is to be somewhere else when an attack arrives. Clerics of this estate specialise in moving themselves or their allies out of harm’s way, letting the danger pass by without incident.
3. Blur: Attacks miss subject 20% of the time.
5. Improved Invisibility: As invisibility, but subject can attack and stay invisible.
7. Mislead: Turns you invisible and creates illusory double.
9. Relocation *: Transport religious creatures to friendly temple.

Strength Domain

Estate of Might

The spells of this estate provide the cleric with the strength and determination to smite his foes and law waste to the holdings of his enemies.
3. Enlarge: Object or creature grows +10%/level (max +50%).
5. Spell Resistance: Subject gains +12 +1/level SR.
7. Statue: Turns subject creature into statue.
9. Earthquake: Intense tremor shakes 5-ft./level radius.

Estate of Power

Gods who favour this estate are concerned with more ephemeral forms of strength than simple muscular might. These spells assist clerics in improving their magical capabilities and cowing others with displays of their divine strength.
3. Protection from Elements: Absorb 12 damage/ level from one kind of energy.
5. Divine Power: You gain attack bonus, 18 Str, and 1 hp/level.
7. Power Word, Stun: Stuns creature with up to 150 hp.
9. Power Word, Kill: Kills one tough subject or many weak ones.

Sun Domain

Estate of Life

In the iconography of many religions, the sun is a source of life and living energy. The spells of this estate promote this aspect of the sun, giving clerics a stronger grasp over the grave.
3. Negative Energy Protection: Subject resists level and ability drains.
5. Healing Circle: Cures 1d8 +1/level damage in all directions.
7. Resurrection: Fully restore dead subject.
9. True Resurrection: As resurrection, plus remains aren’t needed.

Estate of Sunset

Where the sunrise brings on new beginnings, the sunset denotes an ending. Gods who grant the spells of this estate urge their clerics to help in bringing on the natural ending of any cycle, including the circle of life.
3. Gentle Repose: Preserves one corpse.
5. Magic Jar: Enables possession of another creature.
7. Dictum: Kills, paralyses, weakens, or dazes nonlawful subjects.
9. Time Stop: You act freely for 1d4+1 rounds.

Travel Domain

Estate of Pathfinders

This aspect of the travel domain is granted to those clerics who must travel across wild places and through forbidding frontiers. Its spells offer insight into the proper direction to travel and offer some protection from dangerous encounters in the wild.
3. Water Walk: Subject treads on water as if solid.
5. Ethereal Jaunt: You become ethereal for 1 round/ level.
7. Etherealness: Travel to Ethereal Plane with companions.
9. Teleportation Circle: Circle teleports any creature inside to designated spot.

Estate of Discovery

Clerics who take this estate as their own travel the world in search of undiscovered ruins or strange relics that may hold the key to religious insight. The spells of this estate point them in the right direction to begin their search and assist them in unravelling the mysteries they find.
3. Scrying: Spies on subject from a distance.
5. Prying Eyes: 1d4 floating eyes +1/ level scout for you.
7. Vision: As legend lore, but quicker and strenuous.
9. Revelation *: Reveals information about the area to the caster.

Trickery Domain

Estate of Lies

Trickster gods are prone to lying, and their priests must often do the same. This estate provides spells that aid deception in all its forms.
3. Confusion: Makes subjects behave oddly for 1 round/level.
5. Mind Fog: Subjects in fog get -10 Wis, Will checks.
7. Veil: Changes appearance of group of creatures.
9. Sympathy: Object or location attracts certain creatures.

Estate of Illusion

The spells of this estate focus on tricking the mind and the senses, creating illusions to fool the unbeliever and aid the faithful.
3. Invisibility Sphere: Makes everyone within 10 ft. invisible.
5. Permanent Image: Includes sight, sound, and smell.
7. Mass Invisibility: As invisibility, but affects all in range.
9. Screen: Illusion hides area from vision, scrying.

War Domain

Estate of Ambush

Many battles are won before the enemy is aware that it is in danger. The spells of this estate help clerics to strike with stealth and accuracy, bringing woe to their unsuspecting foes.
3. Nondetection: Hides subject from divination, scrying.
5. False Vision: Fools scrying with an illusion.
7. Spellstaff: Stores one spell in wooden quarterstaff.
9. Time Stop: You act freely for 1d4+1 rounds.

Estate of Berserk

There are times when a battle is won through sheer ferocity and disregard for safety. The spells of this estate are used by clerics of war gods to urge their allies into reckless, last-ditch assaults to snatch victory from the slavering jaws of defeat.
3. True Strike: Adds +20 bonus to your next attack roll.
5. Righteous Might: Your size increases, and you gain +4 Str.
7. Destruction: Kills subject and destroys remains.
9. Implosion: Kills one creature/round.

Water Domain

Estate of Drowning

The horror of every sailor, drowning can be visited on the cleric’s enemies regardless of whether or not they are near any water at all. With the spells of this estate, clerics can fill lungs with water or even summon a roaring flood to wash away the unbeliever.
3. Water Walk: Subject treads on water as if solid.
5. Lung Burst *: Fills target’s lungs with water.
7. Oedema *: Water fills the empty spaces of the targets’ bodies.
9. Deluge *: Summoned water floods area.

Estate of Blood

Just as the moon calls to the ocean, so the ocean calls to the blood of men. The spells of this estate affect the red water of the body, forcing it to obey the whims of the cleric.
3. Thin Blood *: Increases vulnerability of target to damage.
5. Slay Living: Touch attack kills subject.
7. Regenerate: Subject’s severed limbs grow back.
9. Energy Drain: Subject gains 2d4 negative levels.