ezkajii
2015-05-13, 02:32 PM
I never much liked the way deities were handled in D&D; I wanted more real, approachable, relatable deities, sort of like they were portrayed in the God of War series of videogames. To that end, I established a new creature type: Deity, as well as the Deity and Ex-Deity templates. These should function regardless of the methods of acquiring or possessing divinity that one decides to use for their campaign.
Deity Type
Features
20-sized Hit Dice.
Base attack bonus equal to HD (as fighter).
Good Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves.
Rather than gaining skill ranks, a creature with the deity type automatically possesses maximum ranks in all skills as appropriate for their racial or class skills.
Traits
Deities are immune to ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, disintegration, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, nonlethal damage, petrification, poison, polymorphing, sleep, and stunning.
Proficient with any weapon, armor, or shield it has proficiency with due to class levels or a previous creature type, as well as any weapon, armor, or shield it has crafted at least once.
If a deity is slain, it cannot be resurrected by any mortal or divine magic.
Supernatural abilities used or possessed by a deity are treated as artifacts or artifact-originating effects for the purposes of any effect that interacts differently with artifacts, such as antimagic field and disjunction.
Deities do not need to eat, sleep, breathe, or age (though they may choose to do so).
Deity Template - Creating a Deity
"Deity" is a template that can be acquired or inherited (depending on the campaign or circumstances) that can be added to any creature with at least 20 Hit Dice and at least 1 class level, who has attained divinity in some way (or was born into it). A deity uses the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size: The creature's size increases by 5 size categories, to a maximum of Colossal.
Type: The creature's type changes to deity; recalculate base attack bonus and saves gained from existing racial HD.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future HD to d20s. Deities gain maximum hit points for each HD.
Speed: The creature's speed increases appropriately if below the following minimum values:
SizeSpeed
Large30ft/rd
Huge40ft/rd
Gargantuan50ft/rd
[tr]Colossal60ft/rd
Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor equals its HD, and it gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its new Charisma modifier plus 10. In both cases, if the base creature's value would be higher, use that instead.
Special Attacks
Epic Aligned Strike (Su): All attacks made by a deity, whether with natural or manufactured weapons, are treated as being made with epic weapons that are also aligned according to the deity's non-neutral alignment components, for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will, the deity can cast any domain spells of domains it can grant (see Portfolio) of 6th level or lower, plus any two spells of each of these levels of its choice, selected upon gaining the template. It can cast any domain spells it can grant of 7th through 9th level, plus any two spells of each of these levels of its choice, 3/day.
Spontaneous Cleric Spellcasting: The creature gains the ability to cast spells as a cleric whose level equals its HD. It gains no other benefits of the cleric class, and this spellcasting overlaps (does not stack with) any existing cleric casting. Arcane casting and divine casting from other classes is unaffected. In addition, rather than selecting and preparing spells at the beginning of the day like a normal cleric, the deity can cast any spell from the cleric spell list spontaneously.
Special Qualities
Archetypal Form (Su): The exact form of a deity is inimitable. Any attempts to duplicate or imitate the form of a deity with any degree of accuracy (imitating an elf does not qualify as imitating an elf god, for instance) automatically fails.
Divine Body (Su): The deity's body itself is a powerful conduit/source of divine energy. Whenever the deity casts a spell (whether by virtue of the spontaneous cleric spellcasting ability above or other class levels or abilities, such as those possessed by a dragon), it need not provide any material components, arcane focus, or XP cost. Its body functions as a divine focus, holy/unholy symbol, and a literal temple (for functions such as a consecrate spell, or rituals which must be performed at a temple or other sacred place).
Divine Form (Su): A deity has a natural form, but can also choose to take any form it desires. It is constantly under the effects of a shapechange spell, as cast by a wizard of its HD. It can also choose simply to change its size, while maintaining all other aspects of its current form (including Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and natural armor).
Divine Luck (Su): Any time the deity rolls a natural 1 on any die, it may choose to reroll that die, repeating as necessary until a result of 2 or greater is attained.
Blindsense (Ex): The creature gains blindsense to a range of 500ft.
Darkvision (Ex): The creature gains darkvision to a range of 500ft.
Fast Healing (Ex): The deity heals a number of hit points at the beginning of each of its turns equal to its HD.
Greater Arcane Sight (Su): As the spell, constantly active on the deity.
Portfolio: Arguably the most important aspect of a deity's existence is its portfolio. This serves as the thematic concept for the deity's rulership, and is what allows it to grant spells to its followers. To construct its portfolio, the deity must select any four domains; good creatures cannot select the Evil domain, and vice versa, and likewise for chaos and law. These four domains are available for selection by clerics who follow the deity; additionally, the deity permanently possesses the domain-granted benefit for all four domains selected. In addition to the four domains, the deity selects 25 skills, which are forever treated as class skills henceforth; as a creature of the deity type, it immediately gains skill ranks if necessary to possess the maximum ranks in all skills. Finally, the deity gains four bonus feats, which must be relevant in some way to the portfolio described.
Regeneration (Su): A deity possesses regeneration in an amount equal to 3/4 its HD, rounded down. This regeneration can only be bypassed by epic weapons which are aligned opposite at least one of the deity's non-neutral alignment components. If the deity is purely neutral, the weapon need only be epic.
Resistances (Ex): The deity possesses resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic equal to twice its HD (or complete immunity, if the base creature has 50 or more HD).
See in Darkness (Su): All deities can see perfectly in complete darkness, even magical darkness, to the extent of their normal visual range or 500ft, whichever is greater.
Spell Immunity (Su): A deity is immune to any spell whose level is 9th or lower. (Spells of 10th level or higher, including those modified by Improved Heighten Spell, as well as epic spells, are thus the only spells which can affect it.)
Spell Resistance (Ex): A deity possesses spell resistance equal to its HD plus 10.
Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex): A deity can see six times as well as a human in conditions of twilight, moonlight, and other low-light conditions.
Telepathy (Su): Deities can communicate with any creature with an Intelligence score which is located within a one-mile radius.
True Seeing (Su): As the spell, constantly active on the deity.
Saving Throws: Whenever a deity fails its saving throw, it may make a second attempt immediately. This is useable once per saving throw offered.
Abilities: All ability scores increase from the base creature's value by +10. The deity may select a single ability score to receive an additional +10 increase. This can raise a nonability from "-" to 10 or 20, except in the case of granting Constitution scores to constructs of undead, or granting a Strength score to an incorporeal creature that does not possess the ability to manifest.
Epic Feats: The creature gains three bonus epic feats of their choice. It may select ordinary feats instead, if desired.
Environment: Any, typically an outer plane with matching alignment components.
Challenge Rating: As base creature, plus 10, plus an amount equal to its HD. When the deity gains additional HD, this CR adjustment increases by 1, to match the new HD total.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Deities are not suitable for player characters in most campaigns.
Ex-Deities
Sometimes, through great transgression or twist of fate, a deity may lose its status in the pantheon. When this happens, it is sent to the Material Plane, and loses its godly power, in some cases becoming weaker than mortals in some regards.
Creating an Ex-Deity
"Ex-Deity" is an acquired template that can be applied to any creature which already possess the "deity" template. Use all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Decrease size by 4 size categories (thus, a Colossal deity becomes Medium). Type is unchanged
Armor Class: Lose any natural armor and deflection bonuses possessed.
Special Attacks: Lose all divine spellcasting ability.
Special Qualities: Lose all magic sensory abilities, as well as any regeneration, fast healing, and resistance or immunity to elements (except those granted by the cold or fire subtypes).
Abilities: Decrease all ability scores by -10, to a minimum of 1 (or 3 for Intelligence).
Special: Lose all benefits of the "deity" template, except for size (which is modified by this template instead) and type (which is unchanged). Lose all divine ranks (if any) and their granted benefits.
Challenge Rating: See Special.
Level Adjustment: -
Divine Ranks
A newly-created deity has a divine rank of zero. Once it accumulates 5000 mortal followers, it gains divine rank 1. Afterward, additional divine ranks are earned when the number of mortal followers the deity has equals ten times the amount of XP a character would need to gain the same-numbered level. That is, in order to gain divine rank 6, a deity must have an ten times as many mortal followers as a character would need in XP to achieve character level 6. Each divine rank grants the deity one salient divine ability, one epic (or regular) feat of their choice, and a cumulative +1 bonus to base attack bonus, initiative, and all base saves. (This cannot grant the deity more than four attacks with a single full attack action.) Each divine rank also increases the deity's CR by 1.
Optional rule: When a deity slays another, it absorbs a fraction of its power. The killer gains a number of virtual followers, equal to 10x the amount of XP a character whose level equals their divine rank would gain for slaying a creature whose CR equals the divine rank of the slain god. These virtual followers cannot be lost, even if the deity becomes very unpopular, and thus serve as a sort of security for it.
The amount of "divine rank xp" gained my have to be adjusted according to the number of gods in your setting, the level of power you want them to have, and the world population.
Deity Type
Features
20-sized Hit Dice.
Base attack bonus equal to HD (as fighter).
Good Fortitude, Reflex, and Will saves.
Rather than gaining skill ranks, a creature with the deity type automatically possesses maximum ranks in all skills as appropriate for their racial or class skills.
Traits
Deities are immune to ability damage, ability drain, death effects, disease, disintegration, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, nonlethal damage, petrification, poison, polymorphing, sleep, and stunning.
Proficient with any weapon, armor, or shield it has proficiency with due to class levels or a previous creature type, as well as any weapon, armor, or shield it has crafted at least once.
If a deity is slain, it cannot be resurrected by any mortal or divine magic.
Supernatural abilities used or possessed by a deity are treated as artifacts or artifact-originating effects for the purposes of any effect that interacts differently with artifacts, such as antimagic field and disjunction.
Deities do not need to eat, sleep, breathe, or age (though they may choose to do so).
Deity Template - Creating a Deity
"Deity" is a template that can be acquired or inherited (depending on the campaign or circumstances) that can be added to any creature with at least 20 Hit Dice and at least 1 class level, who has attained divinity in some way (or was born into it). A deity uses the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size: The creature's size increases by 5 size categories, to a maximum of Colossal.
Type: The creature's type changes to deity; recalculate base attack bonus and saves gained from existing racial HD.
Hit Dice: Increase all current and future HD to d20s. Deities gain maximum hit points for each HD.
Speed: The creature's speed increases appropriately if below the following minimum values:
SizeSpeed
Large30ft/rd
Huge40ft/rd
Gargantuan50ft/rd
[tr]Colossal60ft/rd
Armor Class: The base creature's natural armor equals its HD, and it gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to its new Charisma modifier plus 10. In both cases, if the base creature's value would be higher, use that instead.
Special Attacks
Epic Aligned Strike (Su): All attacks made by a deity, whether with natural or manufactured weapons, are treated as being made with epic weapons that are also aligned according to the deity's non-neutral alignment components, for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will, the deity can cast any domain spells of domains it can grant (see Portfolio) of 6th level or lower, plus any two spells of each of these levels of its choice, selected upon gaining the template. It can cast any domain spells it can grant of 7th through 9th level, plus any two spells of each of these levels of its choice, 3/day.
Spontaneous Cleric Spellcasting: The creature gains the ability to cast spells as a cleric whose level equals its HD. It gains no other benefits of the cleric class, and this spellcasting overlaps (does not stack with) any existing cleric casting. Arcane casting and divine casting from other classes is unaffected. In addition, rather than selecting and preparing spells at the beginning of the day like a normal cleric, the deity can cast any spell from the cleric spell list spontaneously.
Special Qualities
Archetypal Form (Su): The exact form of a deity is inimitable. Any attempts to duplicate or imitate the form of a deity with any degree of accuracy (imitating an elf does not qualify as imitating an elf god, for instance) automatically fails.
Divine Body (Su): The deity's body itself is a powerful conduit/source of divine energy. Whenever the deity casts a spell (whether by virtue of the spontaneous cleric spellcasting ability above or other class levels or abilities, such as those possessed by a dragon), it need not provide any material components, arcane focus, or XP cost. Its body functions as a divine focus, holy/unholy symbol, and a literal temple (for functions such as a consecrate spell, or rituals which must be performed at a temple or other sacred place).
Divine Form (Su): A deity has a natural form, but can also choose to take any form it desires. It is constantly under the effects of a shapechange spell, as cast by a wizard of its HD. It can also choose simply to change its size, while maintaining all other aspects of its current form (including Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and natural armor).
Divine Luck (Su): Any time the deity rolls a natural 1 on any die, it may choose to reroll that die, repeating as necessary until a result of 2 or greater is attained.
Blindsense (Ex): The creature gains blindsense to a range of 500ft.
Darkvision (Ex): The creature gains darkvision to a range of 500ft.
Fast Healing (Ex): The deity heals a number of hit points at the beginning of each of its turns equal to its HD.
Greater Arcane Sight (Su): As the spell, constantly active on the deity.
Portfolio: Arguably the most important aspect of a deity's existence is its portfolio. This serves as the thematic concept for the deity's rulership, and is what allows it to grant spells to its followers. To construct its portfolio, the deity must select any four domains; good creatures cannot select the Evil domain, and vice versa, and likewise for chaos and law. These four domains are available for selection by clerics who follow the deity; additionally, the deity permanently possesses the domain-granted benefit for all four domains selected. In addition to the four domains, the deity selects 25 skills, which are forever treated as class skills henceforth; as a creature of the deity type, it immediately gains skill ranks if necessary to possess the maximum ranks in all skills. Finally, the deity gains four bonus feats, which must be relevant in some way to the portfolio described.
Regeneration (Su): A deity possesses regeneration in an amount equal to 3/4 its HD, rounded down. This regeneration can only be bypassed by epic weapons which are aligned opposite at least one of the deity's non-neutral alignment components. If the deity is purely neutral, the weapon need only be epic.
Resistances (Ex): The deity possesses resistance to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic equal to twice its HD (or complete immunity, if the base creature has 50 or more HD).
See in Darkness (Su): All deities can see perfectly in complete darkness, even magical darkness, to the extent of their normal visual range or 500ft, whichever is greater.
Spell Immunity (Su): A deity is immune to any spell whose level is 9th or lower. (Spells of 10th level or higher, including those modified by Improved Heighten Spell, as well as epic spells, are thus the only spells which can affect it.)
Spell Resistance (Ex): A deity possesses spell resistance equal to its HD plus 10.
Superior Low-Light Vision (Ex): A deity can see six times as well as a human in conditions of twilight, moonlight, and other low-light conditions.
Telepathy (Su): Deities can communicate with any creature with an Intelligence score which is located within a one-mile radius.
True Seeing (Su): As the spell, constantly active on the deity.
Saving Throws: Whenever a deity fails its saving throw, it may make a second attempt immediately. This is useable once per saving throw offered.
Abilities: All ability scores increase from the base creature's value by +10. The deity may select a single ability score to receive an additional +10 increase. This can raise a nonability from "-" to 10 or 20, except in the case of granting Constitution scores to constructs of undead, or granting a Strength score to an incorporeal creature that does not possess the ability to manifest.
Epic Feats: The creature gains three bonus epic feats of their choice. It may select ordinary feats instead, if desired.
Environment: Any, typically an outer plane with matching alignment components.
Challenge Rating: As base creature, plus 10, plus an amount equal to its HD. When the deity gains additional HD, this CR adjustment increases by 1, to match the new HD total.
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Deities are not suitable for player characters in most campaigns.
Ex-Deities
Sometimes, through great transgression or twist of fate, a deity may lose its status in the pantheon. When this happens, it is sent to the Material Plane, and loses its godly power, in some cases becoming weaker than mortals in some regards.
Creating an Ex-Deity
"Ex-Deity" is an acquired template that can be applied to any creature which already possess the "deity" template. Use all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: Decrease size by 4 size categories (thus, a Colossal deity becomes Medium). Type is unchanged
Armor Class: Lose any natural armor and deflection bonuses possessed.
Special Attacks: Lose all divine spellcasting ability.
Special Qualities: Lose all magic sensory abilities, as well as any regeneration, fast healing, and resistance or immunity to elements (except those granted by the cold or fire subtypes).
Abilities: Decrease all ability scores by -10, to a minimum of 1 (or 3 for Intelligence).
Special: Lose all benefits of the "deity" template, except for size (which is modified by this template instead) and type (which is unchanged). Lose all divine ranks (if any) and their granted benefits.
Challenge Rating: See Special.
Level Adjustment: -
Divine Ranks
A newly-created deity has a divine rank of zero. Once it accumulates 5000 mortal followers, it gains divine rank 1. Afterward, additional divine ranks are earned when the number of mortal followers the deity has equals ten times the amount of XP a character would need to gain the same-numbered level. That is, in order to gain divine rank 6, a deity must have an ten times as many mortal followers as a character would need in XP to achieve character level 6. Each divine rank grants the deity one salient divine ability, one epic (or regular) feat of their choice, and a cumulative +1 bonus to base attack bonus, initiative, and all base saves. (This cannot grant the deity more than four attacks with a single full attack action.) Each divine rank also increases the deity's CR by 1.
Optional rule: When a deity slays another, it absorbs a fraction of its power. The killer gains a number of virtual followers, equal to 10x the amount of XP a character whose level equals their divine rank would gain for slaying a creature whose CR equals the divine rank of the slain god. These virtual followers cannot be lost, even if the deity becomes very unpopular, and thus serve as a sort of security for it.
The amount of "divine rank xp" gained my have to be adjusted according to the number of gods in your setting, the level of power you want them to have, and the world population.