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View Full Version : [3.5] A new way for an archivist to fill his book



Chronos
2009-05-22, 09:12 PM
I've found a new way for an archivist to fill his prayer book with any domain spell he wants (which covers a good chunk of the desirable spells), without having to hunt to the ends of the Earth for cooperative clerics with peculiar domains, or in fact without needing anyone else.

Needed books:
Heroes of Horror
Complete Divine
Complete Champion
Any book that has useful domains in it

Step 1, make an Archivist (HoH) with no particular deity, devoted to a cause instead.
Step 2, dip at least one level into Sacred Exorcist (CDiv), to gain Turn Undead.
Step 3, dip at least one level into any class that grants a bonus domain and doesn't require any particular deity, such as Church Inquisitor or Divine Oracle (both CDiv).
Step 4, learn the spell Substitute Domain (CCham). It's a cleric spell, so you can pick it up as one of your free spells from leveling up.
Step 5, take the feat Domain Spontaneity (CDiv).

Now, cast Substitute Domain to temporarily trade in your domain for some domain that has useful spells in it. You can't actually prepare those spells yet without having them in your book, but you can spend a Turn Undead use to cast them spontaneously, via the Domain Spontaneity feat. Use this ability to scribe a scroll of the spell, then transcribe the scroll into your prayer book. When you've got all of the spells you want from a domain transcribed, cast Substitute Domain again for some other domain, and repeat.

shadow_archmagi
2009-05-22, 09:15 PM
Couldn't you just take a level of artificer, and then roll UMD to "simulate" the spell for the purposes of scribery?

Keld Denar
2009-05-22, 09:46 PM
Or....better yet? Take Scribe Scroll. Cast Substitute Domain (which last DAYS/LEVEL) to get access to a new domain, then scribe those divine scrolls onto a scroll and then directly into your Boccob's Blessed Prayerbook. By the time you get access to high enough level spells, your CL will be high enough to have enough time to scribe the spells. If you really need to, Substitute Domain is only a 2nd level spells, so Extending it would cost a 3rd level slot and last 2 days per CL. Also, nothing stops you from recasting it any any point to refresh the duration while you scribe.

Bam, couple days of down time and you can scribe the whole domain (up to what you can cast) onto scrolls, and then into your prayerbook.

EDIT:
Artificer and Warlock don't work, since they were ruled to be neither Arcane nor Divine. Thus, without a power source, they can not be scribed by either side. They just...are.

Chronos
2009-05-22, 10:10 PM
Or....better yet? Take Scribe Scroll. Cast Substitute Domain (which last DAYS/LEVEL) to get access to a new domain, then scribe those divine scrolls onto a scroll and then directly into your Boccob's Blessed Prayerbook.Isn't that exactly what I said? And Archivists, like Wizards, get Scribe Scroll for free at 1st level.

Also note, by the way, that this method still lets you keep full spellcasting, unlike dipping into artificer or warlock (even if they worked).

Curmudgeon
2009-05-23, 06:57 AM
Basic problem: Substitute Domain explicitly states:
Upon casting substitute domain, you can swap one of your current domains for another that your deity offers. If you don't have a deity, you don't meet the requirements for the spell to function.
If a cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies. There is no mechanism for a "cause" to offer domains. If you don't worship a deity you can pick two domains as a Cleric, and then that's the total of what you're allowed access to. If you go into Church Inquisitor you pick up the Inquisition domain, and you're done with your fixed list of domains. If you go into Divine Oracle you pick up the Oracle domain, and you're also done. At no point do you meet the requirements of Substitute Domain that you have a deity to swap domains among.

Devils_Advocate
2009-05-23, 03:54 PM
Furthermore, while it might be reasonable to house-rule other than above, the sensible ruling would clearly be to give each godless faith/religion/philosophy/cause/whatever its own short list of domains and its own favored weapon, instead of assuming that it gets all of them.

For example, if you wanted to play a cleric of Killing Things and Taking Their Stuff, your DM might make you select from the Chaos, Evil, Destruction, Strength, and Greed domains.

CASTLEMIKE
2009-05-23, 10:11 PM
Pantheon option like the Sovereign Host in ECS or go back to Al-Qadim in Zakhara which had the 10,000.

RTGoodman
2009-05-23, 11:22 PM
Like CastleMike said, the pantheon option is probably a good one.

The Sovereign Host from Eberron, I believe, allows you to take ANY of their domains if you worship the whole Host, and that's a LOT of domains. As in, if the list I found online is right, you can choose from Air, Animal, Artifice, Celerity, Chaos, Charm, Commerce, Community, Competition, Creation, Earth, Family, Feast, Fire, Force, Glory, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Liberation, Life, Luck, Magic, Metal, Mind, Oracle, Pact, Plant, Pride, Protection, Retribution, Spell, Strength, Sun, Trade, Travel, War, Warforged, Wealth, and Weather.

Chronos
2009-05-24, 03:30 PM
The Sovereign Host from Eberron, I believe, allows you to take ANY of their domains if you worship the whole Host, and that's a LOT of domains. As in, if the list I found online is right, you can choose from Air, Animal, Artifice, Celerity, Chaos, Charm, Commerce, Community, Competition, Creation, Earth, Family, Feast, Fire, Force, Glory, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Liberation, Life, Luck, Magic, Metal, Mind, Oracle, Pact, Plant, Pride, Protection, Retribution, Spell, Strength, Sun, Trade, Travel, War, Warforged, Wealth, and Weather.OK, that sounds like a good start. It still misses out on a few, though, like the Hunger domain to get Enervation.

Curmudgeon
2009-05-24, 07:40 PM
OK, that sounds like a good start. It still misses out on a few, though, like the Hunger domain to get Enervation. ... or Decay, Necromancer, or Suffering. But yeah, the Sovereign Host is missing all of these.

Devils_Advocate
2009-05-24, 08:31 PM
Well, then, obviously you need to worship the Dark Six instead of you want to be a naughtybad cleric of soulsucking ickiness.

Wait, this is Eberron we're talking about. Just play a cleric who believes that the two pantheons are really one, and so worships both. It's not like there's no justification for that view. They basically are two factions of one bigger pantheon.

Jack Zander
2009-06-20, 01:45 AM
Wait a second...

Can't you just "research" new divine spells just as a wizard does? All it takes is a few days, some ink and a spellcraft check, right?

Quietus
2009-06-20, 02:17 AM
Wait a second...

Can't you just "research" new divine spells just as a wizard does? All it takes is a few days, some ink and a spellcraft check, right?

Ah, but THAT costs money! And requires a DM willing to say yes!