Help picking domains and favored weapon.

[Dalebert]

So I'm making a new cleric and I was wondering if people had suggestions for how I could somehow get Trade (Travel sub) and Trickery under a particular philosophy that would also somehow include a necromancy flair. He would take the Command Undead and Undead Master feats. In case that isn't complicated enough, I'm picturing this character as being basically a good guy who generally wants to help the innocent but is perhaps vigilante-ish toward those who "deserve" it. I'm not certain the DM will let me take a philosophy instead of a deity but there's a decent chance.

The DM has declared this an alignment-free game. Any restrictions based on alignment become irrelevant. I think he's encouraging characters with complex motivations. However, I guess he'd be kind of chaotic goodish if he did have an alignment. He might use necromancy in the line of thinking that it's just a tool and it's a good strategy to turn evil on itself and that bodies are just objects when it comes to the mindless undead. He's morbid but not evil.

BTW, he's a grippli (little frog man). Also, any suggestions for a favored weapon (and reasoning)?

[Greenish]

Could you pick a pantheon instead of a single deity to worship? That tends to get you more freedom in picking domains.

As for a weapon, well, unless you're going melee (as a lil' grippli), it doesn't much matter. Reach is good though. For trade/trickery, maybe something concealed/not-obviously-weapon? If PF swordcane wasn't so terrible, I'd recommend it.

[Benthesquid]

I'm assuming that this is Pathfinder, as most of your other recent questions have been?

Well, even more than most things, this is a "Work with your GM."

(Literally, the Rules As Written say, "Work with your GM if you prefer [a divine concept] to selecting a specific deity.")

That being said, Travel and Trickery work together fairly well. Hermes, for example, was a god associated with both. I'd imagine such a character would be on the road a lot, and would not be above supplementing his income with carefully weighted games of chance. Look at travelling soldiers in Stone Soup or various other fairy tales for inspiration.

The tie into the undead is a bit trickier (no pun intended). I'd probably fluff it as being mostly a matter of his devotion to trickery, with him either tricking the bodies into thinking they're alive again, or tricking Death itself (as a couple of the aforementioned soldiers (http://archive.org/stream/soldierdeathruss00ransiala/soldierdeathruss00ransiala_djvu.txt) did).

Of course, with all of these fairy tale references, you'll want to make sure to be kind to any elderly beggar women or distressed animals you come across.

As far as favored weapons for a Grippli traveler- something like a Quarterstaff makes the most thematic sense for a Travel philosophy or deity, but if you want to emphasize the trickery aspect, I would lean more towards something like the Bladed Scarf.

[Dalebert]

or tricking Death itself (as a couple of the aforementioned soldiers (http://archive.org/stream/soldierdeathruss00ransiala/soldierdeathruss00ransiala_djvu.txt) did).

Of course, with all of these fairy tale references, you'll want to make sure to be kind to any elderly beggar women or distressed animals you come across.

I like it. I saw that story on that muppet fairy tale show narrated by John Hurt.

Never mind about a favored weapon. Apparently you don't get one with a philosophy.

[Benthesquid]

I like it. I saw that story on that muppet fairy tale show narrated by John Hurt.


Ah, the Storyteller. A personal favorite show of mine. There are certainly worse places to draw inspiration for a travelling trickster.

[Dalebert]

Ah, the Storyteller. A personal favorite show of mine. There are certainly worse places to draw inspiration for a travelling trickster.

Modified slightly, your story makes for the perfect inspiration for a tricky and clever do-gooder traveling necromancer. My original concept for this was that he believes the souls of undead are trapped in the mortal realm and need a chance for redemption to move on. Otherwise they just keep returning in one form or another of undead. So service to him in the process of doing good deeds for those in need is an opportunity for that redemption that may finally free their souls.