Fun with Customize Domain

[Elves]

Troacctid put me onto this amazing feat in the FAQ thread. It's from Dragon 325.

Several of the options are great. Even better, the feat says that a spell that's modified to qualify counts as long as it's cast with the appropriate descriptor.

So take a 1-level wizard dip for access to the wizard spell list and replace your familiar with the Aligned Spellcaster ACF from Dragon 357, turning all non-[evil] spells you cast into [good] spells. Then take the Good domain and Customize Domain. You can now freely customize the domain with any spells from the cleric or wizard list.

You can also take the Spontaneous Domain Casting ACF to switch spontaneous cure/inflict for spontaneously casting those spells.

So what would your freeform domain look like?

[nedz]

It depends on the character concept I was aiming for.

For example:

I once looked at the Rogue 1 / Cleric 5 / Spellwarp Sniper 5 / ... build.

The trouble is that there aren't many Cleric spell you can warp.

With Customize Domain you could grab some suitable spells which would have to be from the Wizard list.

You would probably have to go for the Spontaneous Cleric ACF also — to get around the one domain spell per spell level per day issue.

So here we have a Ray-Cleric FWIW.

[Thurbane]

Air Domain, then put Lightning Bolt on there for entry to Hexer.

[Bphill561]

I once took a Wu Gen dip to pick up the giant and minute form spells, plus a bonus metamagic feat.

So how does the forgotten realms Magical Training regional feat with customize domain? Customize domain says you can pick spells from any spell list you have access to. Magical training says you pick 3 level 0 spells from the sorcerer/wizard list. To me it sounds like you have access to those lists, even if you can normally only cast zero level spells. A one level dip in a class only allows zero or first level spells, but I guess you can argue that you could further level the class. Just a thought.

Archivist seems out because it can learn spells but does not necessarily have access to non-clerical lists.

Dreadnecro could add rebuke undead to turn undead, if there is any spells of interest.

A Bard start would grant lots of skills and they have some nice buffs like snowsong, nixie's grace, sprint's grace, etc.

[Elves]

Magical Training should work, you're certainly accessing their spell list. But it means you can't do the Good Domain trick for complete freeform mode and arguably a class level is less valuable than a feat.

[Bphill561]

Magical Training should work, you're certainly accessing their spell list. But it means you can't do the Good Domain trick for complete freeform mode and arguably a class level is less valuable than a feat.

The magic domain also allows any spell, but it gets bumped to one level higher. Magic domain and magical training feats lends well to dweomerkeeper builds. DK's spell mantle would also allow for up to 5 spells to be spontaneously cast which could all be picked from the custom domain. Certainly not as open, but a trick for DK's or nongood casters.

A good aligned level 9 iceberg spell would be pretty fun. I am trying not to pick a spell at every level, I don't want to hit the books for that long.

[Troacctid]

So take a 1-level wizard dip for access to the wizard spell list and replace your familiar with the Aligned Spellcaster ACF from Dragon 357, turning all non-[evil] spells you cast into [good] spells. Then take the Good domain and Customize Domain. You can now freely customize the domain with any spells from the cleric or wizard list.
Doesn't work. Aligned spellcaster doesn't give the spell the descriptor until you cast it. While it's on your spell list, or prepared, or at any other time before it's cast, it's unaligned.

Planar wizard would work, but that requires 10 levels instead of 1.


Air Domain, then put Lightning Bolt on there for entry to Hexer.
Arcane disciple is probably better for this.


So how does the forgotten realms Magical Training regional feat with customize domain? Customize domain says you can pick spells from any spell list you have access to. Magical training says you pick 3 level 0 spells from the sorcerer/wizard list. To me it sounds like you have access to those lists, even if you can normally only cast zero level spells. A one level dip in a class only allows zero or first level spells, but I guess you can argue that you could further level the class. Just a thought.
Magical Training doesn't give you the spell list of a sorcerer or wizard; it just gives you the ability to cast a few of their cantrips. If you were to activate a wand of a sor/wiz spell, for example, Magical Training would not help you (even if it was a wand of a cantrip!).

[St Fan]

There are certainly plenty of options, especially with a level dip, but as Troacctid mentioned, some limits are bound to show up.

I wonder if the feat would work for a Divine Crusader. Only one domain, but with specifically chosen spells...

An archivist wouldn't get much out of the feat, but would love to have cleric cohorts mastering it.

Not to mention a chameleon picking it with the floating feat; a different customized domain each day...

[Elves]

Doesn't work. Aligned spellcaster doesn't give the spell the descriptor until you cast it. While it's on your spell list, or prepared, or at any other time before it's cast, it's unaligned.
Look at the Customize Domain wording:
"Note that certain spells gain descriptors depending on how they're cast; you can choose such a spell as a spell with the descriptor you require so long as you only cast the spell in such a manner as to give it that descriptor."

It's only checked when you actually cast the spell.

[Troacctid]

Look at the Customize Domain wording:
"Note that certain spells gain descriptors depending on how they're cast; you can choose such a spell as a spell with the descriptor you require so long as you only cast the spell in such a manner as to give it that descriptor.

It's only checked when you actually cast the spell.
Aligned spellcaster isn't dependent on how you cast the spell. It applies the descriptor regardless of what mode you choose.

[Elves]

Severe nitpicking. The variance in this case is you casting it. But if you want to get that nitpicky, just take snowcasting.

But "depending on how they're cast" doesn't say there has to be choice involved.

[Vaern]

Look at the Customize Domain wording:
"Note that certain spells gain descriptors depending on how they're cast; you can choose such a spell as a spell with the descriptor you require so long as you only cast the spell in such a manner as to give it that descriptor."

It's only checked when you actually cast the spell.

"certain spells... depending on how they're cast" is referring to things like Summon Monster, with a descriptor of [see text] and whose description indicates which descriptor it gains under which circumstances. These spells appear under existing domains with notes indicating that they can only be cast as a domain spell in a way that gives it the necessary descriptor.

The argument presented here - that all spells become valid [good] spells because the character casts them as [good] - seems tantamount to arguing that a fire elemental savant/cleric could add cone of cold to the fire domain because he casts it as a [fire] spell due to his elemental specialty feature, even though he still technically only knows the spell as a [cold] spell and prepares the spell as a [cold] spell.

[Elves]

Yes, that's explicitly what he could do. The feat checks when cast, not when prepared.

The difference of interpretation here is the difference of one feat (snowcasting), which isn't likely to be a dealbreaker if the spells are important to your build.