Can a cleric take shaman domains? (Oriental Adventures)

[Hirax]

Shamans are basically Rokugan's version of a cleric, but is there anything that overtly says shaman domains are OK for clerics? We've had a lot of gish threads lately and it brought the spell giant size to mind, and the hero domain in OA gets it.

[Morph Bark]

What domains does the shaman get that the cleric does not?

[Cog]

The domains in Oriental Adventures are intended for the OA setting, and are titled Shaman Domains. The OA setting explicitly does not contain clerics, and therefore does not provide support for that class; the domains presented are for shamans alone.

[BlueInc]

Shamans are basically Rokugan's version of a cleric, but is there anything that overtly says shaman domains are OK for clerics? We've had a lot of gish threads lately and it brought the spell giant size to mind, and the hero domain in OA gets it.

What are the other spells and granted powers? It might transition well - with DM approval, of course.

[Urpriest]

They're entirely mechanically different. They happen to share the same name, but there is no reason they should be interchangeable.

[Hirax]

What domains does the shaman get that the cleric does not?

There are a few, I'm not about to go trawling and figure it out though. Many are the same though.


What are the other spells and granted powers? It might transition well - with DM approval, of course.

All are PHB spells, except giant size: divine favor, bull's strength, protection from elements, divine power, righteous might, stoneskin, transformation, giant size, and shapechange. Daily power is 1/day add your shaman level to a single attack roll.


They're entirely mechanically different. They happen to share the same name, but there is no reason they should be interchangeable.

What? As far I can tell domains work exactly the same way for shamans and clerics, and are structured the same way too. And shamans are barely different from clerics, to the extent that I wouldn't be uncomfortable asking a DM if I could apply cleric variants to a shaman. Am I missing something?

Though obviously the replies indicate that it never was printed anywhere that they could be ported (without DM permission, of course), so question answered I suppose.

[Urpriest]

What? As far I can tell domains work exactly the same way for shamans and clerics, and are structured the same way too. And shamans are barely different from clerics, to the extent that I wouldn't be uncomfortable asking a DM if I could apply cleric variants to a shaman. Am I missing something?



Shamans are Clerics+Druids, in terms of class features, so it would in general be rather silly to stack Cleric ACFs on them.

And the domains give a spell list and granted powers. So do mantles. You're not going to argue that a cleric should be able to pick up mantles, are you?

Shamans get an extra domain, and extra domain slots, stuff clerics couldn't get when they were printed. Their domains are fluffed as specific entities, while I have yet to see any sort of alternate fluff for cleric domains in any sourcebook (they pretty much always represent devotion to a concept). Shamans are lacking access to some PHB domains, despite them for the most part being reasonable thematically. It's another domain-esque mechanic, but it functions separately.

[Hirax]

Shamans are Clerics+Druids, in terms of class features, so it would in general be rather silly to stack Cleric ACFs on them.

And the domains give a spell list and granted powers. So do mantles. You're not going to argue that a cleric should be able to pick up mantles, are you?

Shamans get an extra domain, and extra domain slots, stuff clerics couldn't get when they were printed. Their domains are fluffed as specific entities, while I have yet to see any sort of alternate fluff for cleric domains in any sourcebook (they pretty much always represent devotion to a concept). Shamans are lacking access to some PHB domains, despite them for the most part being reasonable thematically. It's another domain-esque mechanic, but it functions separately.

Splitting hairs here, but what the heck, it's horse kickin' time. :smallbiggrin:

Shamans get all a cleric's signature abilities, but only some of a druid's. I'd say cleric is the steak in this meal, druid is the potatoes, paladin is the drink, and monk is the garnish that looked nice to someone, but most people are just going to eat around it, because it doesn't add much. As a terrible thumbsketch I'd say 60% cleric (some cleric spells, domains, turning, and spontaneous healing) 20% druid (some druid spells and animal companion), 10% monk (unarmed strike and bonus feats), and 10% paladin (divine grace clone). You could weigh monk lower due to the usefulness of the feat list.

The domain/mantle comparison is unwarranted, mantles have mechanical differences you'd need to sort through (converting powers to spells). The only thing you need to change with shaman domains is exchanging the word shaman for cleric, which is entirely fluff. Mantles, while similar mechanically, are not identical. Shaman and cleric domains, however, are identical mechanically. I don't see it as an intrusion to Rokugan's concept of spirits, none of the domains would fit poorly with a cleric.