New and/or Edited Witch Patrons

The Witch is one of the new classes added to the Pathfinder system in the Advanced Player's Guide. It's an interesting arcane-caster class that is, at its heart, very similar to Wizards.

One aspect about playing a Witch is choosing a patron (or rather, a domain that represents the patron). A patron gives the Witch one bonus spell known at each spell level that is not otherwise on the Witch spell list.

The selection of patrons listed in the Advanced Player's Guide is, I feel, very limited and does not cover anywhere near the full realm of possibilities. Further, while the Pathfinder SRD lists several extras, most of these seem to be very poorly-conceived with several spells already on the Witch spell list (one even lists the same spell twice at different levels). It's important to remember that Witches learn and cast spells in almost the exact same way as Wizards and a "bonus" spell that he/she could learn anyway is a convenience, not a bonus.

I've therefore decided to write up a few Witch patrons of my own, as well as redo two on the SRD that I liked (winter and portents). All spells selected are from the Core Rulebook or the Advanced Player's Guide and are not otherwise on the Witch spell list (with one exception which is listed one level lower to retain its "bonusness"). Spells from the Advanced Player's Guide are marked with a *.

Benevolence/Charity:
Written up to be a good counterpart to Malevolence (below).
1st-Bless, 2nd-Aid, 3rd-Prayer, 4th-Grove of Respite*, 5th-Atonement, 6th-Heroes' Feast, 7th-Restoration, Greater, 8th-Euphoric Tranquility*, 9th-Freedom

Harvest:
Mostly Druid spells, as you could imagine.
1st-Goodberry, 2nd-Soften Earth & Stone, 3rd-Plant Growth, 4th-Repel Vermin, 5th-Commune With Nature, 6th-Heroes' Feast, 7th-Animate Plants, 8th-Control Plants, 9th-Shambler

Malevolence/Cruelty:
Many of these are spells I feel should already be on the Witch list and aren't.
1st-Doom, 2nd-Accelerate Poison*, 3rd-Contagion, 4th-Giant Vermin, 5th-Insect Plague, 6th-Disintegrate, 7th-Creeping Doom, 8th-Fire Storm, 9th-Energy Drain

Portents:
One of the extras on the SRD and, in my opinion, a good idea for a Witch patron. However, the SRD incarnation is very poorly done, hence the rewrite.
1st-Doom, 2nd-Whispering Wind, 3rd-Blood Biography*, 4th-Dream, 5th-Nightmare, 6th-Forbiddance, 7th-Phantasmal Revenge*, 8th-Foresight, 9th-Weird

Temptation/Desire:
This one was tough, as Witches already get most of the good spells for this. Still, I feel it makes a good patron, so I wrote it up. A few of the spells are otherwise Bard-only.
1st-Grace*, 2nd-Undetectable Alignment, 3rd-Honeyed Tongue*, 4th-Glibness, 5th-Dream, 6th-Foe to Friend*, 7th-Pied Piping*, 8th-Euphoric Tranquility*, 9th-Imprisonment

Winter:
One of the better-written extras on the SRD. Still, there were choices I had a problem with and since I thought this to be a very good idea for a Witch patron, I decided to rewrite it from scratch.
1st-Endure Elements, 2nd-Chill Metal, 3rd-Elemental Aura (cold only)*, 4th-Wall of Ice, 5th-Control Winds, 6th-Freezing Sphere, 7th-Simulacrum, 8th-Polar Ray, 9th-Clashing Rocks (half damage dealt is cold)*

The Planes: Physical Reality

The Material Plane

The Material Plane is the plane of existence that we all live on. It has a single set of natural laws that all existence abides by. In a standard campaign, it typically functions in the same way our universe does, with clusters of galaxies made of billions of stars, some with planetary systems orbiting them. It is, at least theoretically, infinite.

Because it is what we as players (and as characters) are by far most familiar with, the Material Plane serves as the standard by which all other planes tend to be measured. While this can help make the other planes easy to understand, it is important to remember that only the Material Plane itself (and probably a few demiplanes) actually abide by the natural laws it has in place. Viewing the other planes with a strictly material perspective turns them into impossibilities.

The Material Plane is always unaligned, all elements are represented in the natural order and its laws are static. It therefore becomes easy to assume that the Material Plane is a plane of near-perfect balance (though it does have a slight lawful leaning), especially when its laws are the ones we know; however, while this is mostly true, there is one very important and easily over-looked imbalance in the Material Plane. Positive energy is dominant over negative energy. Don't get me wrong, the Material Plane is ALWAYS completely unaligned. Negative energy is able to exist within the Material Plane just as easily as positive energy; it just doesn't exist in anywhere near the same quantity. This is the reason life is abundant in places and undeath doesn't occur naturally.

Also, for every Material Plane there is an "equal but opposite" unaligned plane where negative energy is dominant over positive (the Plane of Shadows). Furthermore, since these planes coexist (overlap completely), they form a sort of "buffer zone" together where both energies are equal (the Ethereal Plane). These imbalances must exist (and must balance out) in order for a Material Plane to exist at all. Otherwise, it would just be another section of the empty void that is the Astral Sea.

Many campaigns only have one Material Plane. Since it is effectively infinite, it would be sufficient to cover all realms of possibility (under one set of natural laws). However, since the Astral Plane is also infinite, many DMs will say that there are an infinite number of Material Planes. Either way can be correct, and it's up to your DM to decide which is true.

As a DM, when considering if your campaign has one or infinite Material Planes, consider one question. How were they formed? If you decide that there is a chance (however miniscule) that rogue energies in the Astral Plane alone can form the necessary imbalance to create a Material Plane, then there would be infinite Material Planes (since the Astral Plane is infinite). However, if you decide that a Material Plane forming on its own is impossible and divine help is required, then in all likelihood there would only be one. Remember, either way can be correct.

The Planes: An Overview

Planes are without a doubt the most complicated aspect of the D&D game and it's very easy to form misconceptions regarding their exact nature, location, etc. This post and ones to follow will detail (or attempt to) each plane as it exists in the standard D&D world. Your DM, of course, has the final say in the nature of the planes, what planes exist, etc.

Planes can, essentially, be divided into five broad categories: Material, transitive, inner, outer, and demiplanes.

The Material Plane (also called the Prime Material Plane)

The Material Plane is physical reality. Assuming a standard campaign, it is the world that your characters are born and adventure in. To put it in real-world perspective, the Material Plane is Earth, the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, the universe and everything you know to exist.

Well, that pretty much covers everything; why have other planes? Because:
A.) The nature(s) of reality and infinity are fairly malleable and it's not out of the question that other existences could exist.
B.) The nature of reality doesn't cover the things you don't know to exist, such as after-life(s).
C.) It's a fantasy world.

The Transitive Planes

Called such because of their extensive use in travel (either between planes or to different locations on the same plane), the Astral, Ethereal and Shadow Planes are the most confusing and, in my opinion, the most compelling of the planes.

The Astral Plane (also called the Astral Sea)
The ultimate paradox, the Astral Plane consists of infinite existences and infinite nothingness. All planes exist within the Astral Plane. Travelling to any of the other planes (excluding the other transitive planes) involve first travelling through the Astral Plane, as does using teleportation spells. Actually travelling to the Astral Plane (not just through it) is a very difficult, expensive and risky endeavor.

The Ethereal Plane
Serving as the buffer between the Material Plane and the Plane of Shadows, the Ethereal plane is coexistent with both (that is, they overlap completely). A person on the Ethereal Plane experiences reality as if it were an insubstantial ghost. Dreams originate on the Ethereal Plane.

The Plane of Shadows
Not so much a transitive plane as an 'Anti-Material Plane', the Plane of Shadows forms the opposite nature of physical reality. A traveller there would view it as a (often twisted) "reflection" of the Material Plane, where everything is in black-and-white. Spellcasters often use the Plane of Shadows to travel immense distances across the Material Plane or to form quasi-real shadow effects.

The Inner Planes

Consisting of specific elements or types of energy, the Inner Planes form the building blocks of reality. The six Inner Planes are the Elemental Planes of Air, Earth, Fire and Water, as well as the Positive and Negative Energy Planes. It's easy to envision these as being contained by the Material Plane (hence why they are called "Inner" Planes). This is not actually the case; the Material Plane and the Inner Planes do not overlap anywhere.

The Outer Planes

Often called the Upper and Lower Planes (a misnomer, they do not exist above or below anything), the Outer Planes exist beyond both the mortal world and reality itself. The Outer Planes exist along the boundaries of the Astral Plane (which itself is infinite, how can it have boundaries? Well... we'll get into that). The Outer Planes are the realms of the Gods and include the varying after-life(s).

Demiplanes
Demiplanes is a catch-all term for finite extra-dimensional spaces. While all other planes are theoretically infinite in size, a demiplane's size can be measured (though, depending on the plane, it may take a while). Most demiplanes are accessed via the Astral or Ethereal Planes, though some have much more limited means of access.

This may well be raising more questions than are being answered. Rest assured, more detailed posts will follow.

Know Your Deities: Heironeous & Hextor, The Basics

The war gods, Heironeous and Hextor, are half-brothers and arch-enemies. In many ways they are the good and evil sides of the same coin, making them both very similar and diametrically opposed.

Heironeous

Title: The Invincible
Home Plane: Celestia
Symbol: A fist holding a lightning bolt
Portfolio: Valor, Chivalry, Justice, Honor, War, Daring
Alignment: Lawful Good
Domains: Good, Law, War, Glory*, Inquisition*
(*From Complete Divine)
Favored Weapon: Longsword

The good war god, Heironeous promotes justice, valor, chivalry and honor. Temples to Heironeous are typically built like fortified castles, particularly in unsettled areas where they double as fortresses. Even in settled areas, a temple to Heironeous will have a large grassy area where soldiers can drill and knights can joust. The interiors are decorated with blue and silver trappings and often feature stained glass and tapestries of Heironeous standing triumphant. They always have well-stocked armories.

Heironeous is most closely aligned with Bahamut, St. Cuthbert and Pelor, though he considers all who stand against evil and injustice to be allies. He finds Olidammara annoying at times, but has been known to enjoy his charm and humor. He opposes all who spread evil and suffering, especially his half-brother, Hextor.

Appearance
Heironeous appears as a tall human man in a full robe of chainmail. He has coppery skin and auburn hair. His skin is said to be impervious to all but the mightiest of weapons.

Dogma(copied from Deities & Demigods)
Heironeous expects his followers to uphold the highest ideals of chivalry and justice and to treat adversity as a challenge to be met and overcome, just as evil should be overcome. The world is a dangerous place where those who fight for justice and who protect the weak and the innocent face a never-ending series of challenges. He exhorts his followers to act honorably at all times, and to uphold the virtues of justice and chivalry with deeds, not just words. Those who face danger with certainty and calm will prevail against evil, Heironeous advises.

Clergy
The religious order of Heironeous is organized much like a military order, with a clear chain of command. When not battling against Hextor, clerics of Heironeous protect civilized lands from threats of evil. Older clerics often serve as strategists, judges and military instructors. Priestly vestments involve suits of chainmail and blue robes or tabards with silver trim.

Clerics of Heironeous are widely admired, though many find their high ideals and intense devotion to their cause intimidating. This admiration stems mostly from the fact that they battle genuine evils with little concern for monetary gain. "Glory is the reward for defeating evil."

Clerics of Heironeus may be lawful good, lawful neutral or neutral good. Heironeous counts many paladins as followers.

Planar Allies
Typically, Heironeous sends Hound Archons, Trumpet Archons, and Hound Archon Heroes as lesser, regular and greater planar allies respectively.

Pathfinder Conversion
Heironeous has access to the Glory, Good, Law, Nobility and War domains.


Hextor

Title: Champion of Evil, Herald of Hell, Scourge of Battle
Home Plane: Acheron
Symbol: A black gauntlet holding six red arrows
Portfolio: Tyranny, War, Discord, Massacres, Conflict, Fitness
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Destruction, Evil, Law, War, Domination*
(*From Complete Divine)
Favored Weapon: Flail

The evil war god, Hextor commands his followers to reign supreme over all lesser beings. Temples to Hextor take the form of large, forbidding fortresses, built to impress the common-folk of Hextor's power. His temples are typically built at mountain passes, river-crossings or other locations of great strategic importance. These are also often sites where great battles once took place. They often have massive forges to equip entire armies and their armories are always well-stocked.

Hextor has a strong, if often uneasy, alliance with Gruumsh, Nerull, Tiamat and Wee Jas. He utterly despises his half-brother, Heironeous, and has a long-standing rivalry with Erythnul. Otherwise, he opposes almost all other deities (exceptions include Olidammara, whom he finds annoying but tolerates, and Boccob and Vecna, whom he basically ignores).

Appearance
Most of the time, Hextor appears as a horrible, gray-skinned, six-armed humanoid male. He carries a weapon in each hand and wears black scale armor. Sometimes, particularly when portrayed as the god of fitness, he appears as a young, handsome human male with light skin and dark hair.

Dogma(copied from Deities & Demigods)
Hextor seeks to conquer or destroy any that oppose him. He tells his followers that the world is a dark and bloody place where the strong rule the weak, and power is the only reward worth anything. The cruel and unrelenting pursuit of one’s goals is the only reliable path to success. Order must be forged out of chaos and law out of anarchy. Tyranny brings order out of chaos. Dissenters must be oppressed or destroyed lest anarchy reign.

Clergy
Hextor's priesthood is organized in military fashion, with training being very rigorous and harsh (failure is usually fatal). When not battling against Heironeous, clerics of Hextor are often planning or leading attacks against rebels and do-gooders. They are constantly scheming to overthrow regimes that seem likely targets for conquest.

It is often joked that clerics of Hextor know how to say "He must be obeyed!" in every known language.

Hextor's sect is not as secretive as most evil deities, and temples operate openly in many settled areas. Clerics of Hextor may be lawful evil, lawful neutral or neutral evil. They wear scale armor and black or blood-red robes or tabards.

Planar Allies
Typically, Hextor sends Bearded Devils, Barbed Devils, and Horned Devils as lesser, regular and greater planar allies respectively.

Pathfinder Conversion
Hextor has access to the Destruction, Evil, Law, Strength and War domains.

Deity Conversions to Pathfinder

One of the campaigns I play in semi-recently made a conversion from 3.5 to Pathfinder and that's one of the reasons I haven't posted in a while. I've included (and will be including) a small sentence at the end of each deity post detailing what I feel should be their domains under the Pathfinder system, keeping it as close to 3.5 as I feel I can. I will be keeping this in line with the pattern in Pathfinder that every deity gets exactly five domains. Some, like Obad-Hai, will lose a few; others may gain domains they didn't have access to before (for instance, I gave Wee Jas access to Knowledge). Most will probably remain unchanged and I'll only be adding the little bit at the end for consistency's sake.

Shiny Objects For The Gnomish Tinker

It's a shame gnomes are among the least popular choices for player characters. I love gnomes. In this post I will be exploring magic item creation and invention for gnomes. I believe that magic item creation is an art-form; it's a shame when you get players who only create the generic items already presented in the Dungeon Master's Guide without even so much as a personalized name for them. It's a REAL shame when a gnome character does that.

Many races share in a heritage of creating things that last. Dwarves create practical and useful items from metal and stone that will still work millennia from now. The long-lived elves create lasting items with the same grace and delicate beauty common to their race.

Gnomes? Gnomes create items that are often as impractical as they are complicated. Do you really need a remote-controlled orbital laser to chop vegetables for stew? Yes, you do. Will such a thing be as likely to burn your house down as it would be to work properly? Probably, but such mishaps are beneficial because they fuel the invention process. Okay, so the orbital laser idea didn't work, how about a swarm of telekinetic knives or a stew-pot magically enchanted to cast a self-contained (we think) fireball to blow the vegetables up into smaller pieces?

Gnomes are always trying to figure out new ways of doing things. Easier living through magic and technology, that's the gnome way. There's a gnome proverb that goes: "Small, simple machines are made by small, simple minds." The more bells, whistles and (if campaign allows) steam engines attached to a project, the greater likelihood of success.

Above all, gnomes embrace failure. You never know when a mistake with one project will provide an intriguing lead for a completely new project. A pocket-watch enchanted to cast haste on the user when a button is pushed has a 5% chance to instead cause the user to get lost in the time stream, disappearing and reappearing 1d6 rounds later. Congratulations! Your magic item's malfunction inadvertently led you to discover time-travel.

Things to think about when creating magic items:

1. Is there a more creative way of accomplishing your goal? Sometimes generic items are really the only solution to a problem, but don't just always assume that's the case. Boots of striding & springing are nice and would help the gnome overcome some disadvantages of being small. Do you know what else would help you move faster and jump farther? Rocket-boots would. Think about it.

2. The very process of creating a magic item requires the creator to instill some of his/her life-force into the item (that's the idea behind the XP cost). One would think that is enough justification to be attached enough to name the item. Also, remember that gnomes LOVE names. Boots of striding & springing (or even a pair of rocket-boots) could be renamed three-dimensional-area-propulsion-enhancifiers. Goggles of night? Darkness-visibilifying-spectrometers. Don't ever settle for the name the book gives you.

3. Malfunctions are an inevitability of gnomish invention simply because malfunctions are the cause of gnomish invention. Hopefully, your DM will be nice and let you take a deduction in market cost if you add a chance of mishap, but even if he/she doesn't you should still be thinking, "is there a creative way that this item could misfire?" I know, it means the item isn't "as good" as if it worked as intended always, but it also means the item is more fun. Malfunctions should be creative, not just "item doesn't work," think of a way it could "work" but differently. Not all items can really have malfunction chances (like baleful-and-hazardous-momentum-reorganizers (rings of protection)), but ones that can should. It adds flavor and flavor is good.

Know Your Deity: Garl Glittergold, The Basics

Titles: The Joker, The Watchful Protector, The Priceless Gem, The Sparkling Wit
Home Plane: Bytopia
Symbol: A gold nugget
Portfolio: Gnomes, Humor, Wit, Illusions, Gemcutting, Jewelrymaking
Alignment: Neutral Good
Domains: Good, Protection, Trickery, Community*, Creation*
(*From Complete Divine)
Favored Weapon: Battleaxe

Garl Glittergold discovered the gnomes and led them into the world. Since then, he has been their protector. Temples to Garl take the form of small shrines and chapels, built wherever gnomes congregate. Many of these are underground and almost all are magically hidden. Their clerics fill them with beautiful (often golden) things and many have archives of illusion spells, trap designs, jokes and stories. Shrines to Garl will typically include at least one trap to harass unwelcome visitors. These traps are seldom fatal and usually quite whimsical.

Garl Glittergold is most closely allied with Corellon Larethian, Moradin and Yondalla, though he is on good terms with Pelor. Garl is renowned for the pranks he plays on the other deities; however, not all deities laugh off the jests. Garl once collapsed the cave of Kurtulmak (god of kobolds). Since then, gnomes and kobolds have been mortal enemies.

Appearance
Garl Glittergold appears as a handsome, golden-skinned gnome with gems for eyes. He is well-dressed, usually in a silk jacket with long tails. He always wears a lot of gold jewelry and accoutrement.

Dogma(copied from Deities & Demigods)
Garl promotes a doctrine of practicality tempered with humor. Ignorance and complacency are dangerous, warns Garl, and he urges his people to explore not only the world around them but new ways of doing things. Garl also emphasizes brains over brawn, and he teaches that befuddling or embarrassing a foe can be just as complete a victory as slaying or capturing that foe.

Clergy
Clerics of Garl Glittergold combine both a sense of duty towards their community with a mischievous sense of humor. Pranks are a sacrament and clerics with authority never take themselves too seriously. Indeed, it is said the first thing Garl did upon discovering the gnomes was tell a hilarious joke.

Clerics of Garl serve as guardians and teachers in their communities. They maintain a careful vigilance against hostile races (particularly kobolds) and they instruct the young using a mixture of practicality and humor. For garments, clerics of Garl Glittergold prefer gold or the color of their favorite gem(s). They always favor gold jewelry.

Clerics of Garl Glittergold may be of any good alignment and must be gnomes. Gnomes rarely heed the call of paladinhood but many become druids.

Planar Allies
Typically, Garl Glittergold sends Bralani Eladrins, Leonal Guardinals, and Elder Xorns as lesser, regular and greater planar allies respectively.

Pathfinder Conversion
Garl Glittergold has access to the Artifice, Community, Good, Protection and Trickery domains.