Domain Domination

[NobleSavage]

In all y'all's humble opinion, what are the best Domains out there? Looking at granted abilities as well as spell list.

I'm putting together an Archivist for a game, and my DM is having me pick a god, though I might just pick an ideal, such as Order or Nature. I'm not sure as to whether or not he is going to give me the powers as well. If I do pick an ideal, I believe I will be able to pick my own domains, so I'm looking for, you know, the best of the best.

[Nohwl]

i dont think archivists get domains, but i could be wrong. for a cleric, i would say go for divine metamagic at an early level. undeath because of extra turning and planning because it gives extend spell. so if you play as a human, you can use divine metamagic at level 1.

if you are using domains as an archivist, i would say planning, and destiny because of its 9th level spell choose destiny.

[NobleSavage]

I don't believe they get it either, RAW, but my DM is handing it to me. Dunno about the granted powers, again. Spell lists are nice, though.

Also, would the Air Domain give access to DMM?

[Nermy]

All domain spells are already on your spell list, unless your DM has house-ruled otherwise.

[Nohwl]

from my understanding of it its undead only. i was making a cleric a few days ago and thought about that too. take a level in sacred exorcist.

[Guy_Whozevl]

Personally, I feel that feats given by domains aren't worth it, such as those given by War, Elf, Dwarf, etc., unless the feat is Extend spell or something. The ones that are most interesting are those that provide bonuses that are solid, but not really level dependant (Tyranny), because I tend to multiclass (thus, the Strength domain looses steam because of the multiclass).
Spell selections are also important, especially when you get neat spells that aren't on your regular class list, like Haste from the Celerity domain.

[RTGoodman]

As Nermy said, you can technically already cast any domain spell if you can find it on a scroll or whatnot. Of course, it doesn't matter if your DM is either limiting the domain spells you can learn or if he's letting you get some domain spells free.

The Magic Domain is considered one of the most powerful, since you can use spell trigger and spell completion items as a Wizard of 1/2 your Cleric level. Since wands don't care about your caster level, you can just grab any Sor/Wiz spell (of 4th level or lower) in a wand.


EDIT: Also, the Celerity domain (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20051202a&page=5) is supposed to be good/broken.

[Starsinger]

I hear Travel and Magic are pretty good in core.

[Triaxx]

Luck and Travel are my favorites. Especially since I get to yell out the name of my god whenever I have to re-roll.

[AslanCross]

I agree with Travel being a good core domain. Luck also does have a pretty good spell list.

[Person_Man]

Tell your DM he's wrong. Archivists (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20051007a&page=3) don't get domains. They get something far far better - the ability to memorize spells from any divine list. This includes EVERY domain, Paladin, Blackguard, Ranger, Druid, etc. So they don't get domain powers, but are generally considered one of the strongest classes in the game (Archivist, Artificer, Druid).

For example, a Archivist 7 can get access to Divine Power, Haste (Time), Flame Blade (Druid), Lion's Charge (Ranger), Holy Sword (Paladin), Invisibility (Trickerty), Fly (Travel), etc. And that's just if you want to Tank. I haven't even bothered with how obscene it is if you go with battlefield control instead.

But assuming I'm wrong (because DMs are always right) how exactly are you handling the Archivist spell list? A Cleric that has to buy spells from just the Cleric list (and its 2 domains?), with medium armor and poor BAB?

[Hal]

You know what would be interesting? A divine caster class who only casts from domain lists.

Of course, I only have a handful of splat books, so I could be totally behind the curve on that one already existing.

[NobleSavage]

Tell your DM he's wrong. Archivists (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20051007a&page=3) don't get domains. They get something far far better - the ability to memorize spells from any divine list.

But assuming I'm wrong (because DMs are always right) how exactly are you handling the Archivist spell list? A Cleric that has to buy spells from just the Cleric list (and its 2 domains?), with medium armor and poor BAB?


So its not so much that he's wrong, is that he is allowing me domains to learn spells from as my character progresses by level. He isn't limiting me to said spell list, as much as giving me a couple extra spells I don't have to hunt down scrolls of. My character will be able to memorize any applicable spells, should he have access to them. I'm guessing he won't give me the granted abilities, but he might, due to some restrictions put on divine casters in this campaign. The reason choosing a domain is important right now is that the campaign starts as pcs (and some npcs) jump through a one way portal to a new world as colonists. Therefore, I don't know what kind of libraries there are going to be, and from the wording, it seems like we're going to run into a lot of low tech level stuff. Also, he seems like a smart DM, and won't allow me to get everything I want, at least without time and the right rping, and I want to make sure I get the best bargain, domain-wise.

[Arakune]

They also get EWP: Whip, +4 bonus to use rope and leather armor proficiency?