Creating an avatar from scratch - help much appreciated! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating an avatar from scratch - help much appreciated! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WombleHunter
07-19-07, 10:02 AM Crossposted to both Deities and the Planes and Epic Level boards, since I'm not sure where would be best.

I'm helping my DM out by creating the statistics for an avatar that our characters are going to summon in-game. The SRD is very useful, but I can't seem to find a few rules that I'd like the answers to - if you guys could help me out, I'd be very grateful!

For the record, the god in question is a DvR 16 deity of the sun in a homebrew setting, with themes of light, fire, and warrior prowess. This means his avatar is a DvR 8 lesser deity equivalent. I can post other details if people want :).

Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction? Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD. Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting? Depending on the answer to the above, what about a deity who has levels in a class that grants bonus domains? Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls. Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA?

I think that's all I would really like help with at the moment. Help appreciated! :)
Mai_ariti
07-19-07, 10:28 AM 1) Ummmm. . .I'm not sure. . .the Outlands would seem to argue that gods are vulnerable to planar magic traits, but the gods probably don't care about mortal attempts to stop them.

2) That ability gives them access to another domain BEYOND what they normally have, and makes it avaliable to their worshipers.

3) Yes.

4) That is the road to insanity. I would assume that the god only has those if it offers those domains seeing as how it couold hardly worship another god. Remember though, most gods dont have PrCs because Divine Salient Abilities are way cooler and more powerful.

5) You are refering to the fact that deities always get the best possible roll? Yes this applies to damage dice also. Remember to roll attacts any way to see if a crit is rolled but overall, they always get the best roll possible.

6) Only if he was Government-us, God of Redundency. . .
No, there is no reason to. Basically, Divine Fire Mastery is for Fire Gods and Extra Immunity (fire) is for the god who never wants to burn himself on the stove again.
WombleHunter
07-19-07, 10:49 AM Thanks for your answers! :cool: 2) That ability gives them access to another domain BEYOND what they normally have, and makes it avaliable to their worshipers.Well, I mean - If there's no limit in the rules to how many domains a deity can grant, then surely there's no reason to take the SDA? If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period. If the deity also happened to grant access to the Air domain, then isn't this just a brute fact rather than something he'd need an SDA for?

Hmm. Maybe the SDA is designed for when a deity increases in power, takes on new portfolio elements, and wants to start granting new domains?

3) Yes.Huh. Does it say that in Deities and Demigods, or in the SRD? I couldn't find reference to it.

4) That is the road to insanity. I would assume that the god only has those if it offers those domains seeing as how it couold hardly worship another god. Remember though, most gods dont have PrCs because Divine Salient Abilities are way cooler and more powerful.I was planning on ignoring it, unless there was a better rule :D. I disagree about gods not taking PrCs, though - it's not like they can't have a PrC and fancy-schmancy SDAs, after all.

5) You are refering to the fact that deities always get the best possible roll? Yes this applies to damage dice also. Remember to roll attacts any way to see if a crit is rolled but overall, they always get the best roll possible.No I wasn't - that rule applies only to Greater Deities (DvR 16+). Rather, the SRD says you add the god's Divine Rank to their attack rolls; elsewhere it is implied that the DvR is also added to damage rolls.

6) Only if he was Government-us, God of Redundency. . .
No, there is no reason to. Basically, Divine Fire Mastery is for Fire Gods and Extra Immunity (fire) is for the god who never wants to burn himself on the stove again.Cool. I wasn't sure whether there would be some kind of hierarchy of immunity/vulnerability.
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20
07-19-07, 11:36 PM Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction? Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD. Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting? Depending on the answer to the above, what about a deity who has levels in a class that grants bonus domains? Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls. Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA?
Howdy, I've played my Dwarven God of fire and glory from 1st level to his astounding apex of 75 character levels. He is currently Divine Rank 20. I've made a ton of deities, my main player character uses his avatars all the time. Nothing kills something quicker than a greater deity and his 20 closest friends divine blasting it. :)
Anyhoosen-
1. It depends, these effects are usually made to destroy items or nullify buffs to a character. Most deities don't have many items, or at least the ones in Deities and Demigods, save one or two artifacts. If you rule that Mordenkainen's Disjunction can alter or destroy an artifact, then yes-they can effect a deity. Dispel Magic and Antimagic Field depends on the situation, but as I said- few deities need magical effects.
Many of our homebrew deities are merely ascended player characters, so they still use many magic items. Most of us use shields of great reflection, which make targeted effects of 9th level spells or lower rebound on the caster. Many deities have awesome spell resistance also, and it can be improved upon using the Increased Spell Resistance salient divine ability. My deital character would hate you, he loves his magic items :)
2.All deities have three domains to start with-"A deity has at least three domains. Deities can have more than three domains if they possess the Extra Domain salient divine ability (deities & demigods 32)." The DiceFreaks rules say that you start with few domains, and gain more as you grow in deital status.
3. Sorry, I don't do the spellcasting thing, but I know people who do. I think your class levels stack with your domain spell-like abilities.
4. If you are Divine Rank 1, or higher, you gain your divine rank as a bonus on saves and attack rolls, but not damage rolls. When you get DR16 you have the "always maximize roll" ability, which allows you to always roll maximum damage.
5.I think its just a waste of a Salient Divine Ability to choose the Extra Immunity ability over Divine Fire Mastery- you can sense people by their body heat( 10 ft per Divine Rank), gain complete control of nonmagical fire,gain immunity to the effects of heat and fire, and can spontaneously duplicate the effect of any spell with the fire descriptor. The Extra Immunity only gives you an immunity- the other gives you an immunity plus cake.:D
Mai_ariti
07-20-07, 10:53 AM If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period. If the deity also happened to grant access to the Air domain, then isn't this just a brute fact rather than something he'd need an SDA for?

But remember, a god only starts with three domains to even get all those above, you would have to take the SDA 6 times (if I can count right).

Hmm. Maybe the SDA is designed for when a deity increases in power, takes on new portfolio elements, and wants to start granting new domains?

This is a function of it also, yes.

Huh. Does it say that in Deities and Demigods, or in the SRD? I couldn't find reference to it.

I just assume that similar class, or innate, abilities stack. . .not unlike a spellweaver taking levels in sorceror. . .

I was planning on ignoring it, unless there was a better rule :D. I disagree about gods not taking PrCs, though - it's not like they can't have a PrC and fancy-schmancy SDAs, after all.

Very true, I was mostly refering to the core gods, mine all take PrCs and are max-min characters (don't tell anyone).

No I wasn't - that rule applies only to Greater Deities (DvR 16+). Rather, the SRD says you add the god's Divine Rank to their attack rolls; elsewhere it is implied that the DvR is also added to damage rolls.

Sorry, this is what happens when you are too lazy to go and get the book out. . .this seems to have been answered though. . .

Cool. I wasn't sure whether there would be some kind of hierarchy of immunity/vulnerability.

Nope.
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20
07-20-07, 11:20 AM As I said, all of our homebrew gods are ascended player characters- we have prestige classes, magic items, and artifacts. Most of the Deities and Demigods or Dicefreaks deities do not have the same amount of magical equipment, though DiceFreaks is slightly more acceptable.
I was also bummed when I learned that you don't get a divine bonus to damage rolls- almost as bummed as I was when I found out you don't get a divine bonus to initiative checks. I suppose you could attempt to boost their damage through the Divine Weapon Specialization salient divine ability- but your question struck me as more of a passing thought than a dedicated search for ways to deal more damage. If you are using the DiceFreaks rules, you get good ability scores, but they can only rise so high. In my group, we use the Divine Array from the official Deities and Demigods FAQ- your deity (or avatar) will have at least a 24 for its strength score using this array, which should help with those damage totals. The divine array is 35, 28, 25, 24, 24, 24- you assign them as you would ability score rolls. The array also gives you a plus one for each divine rank you have, and you decide what ability score to put the point into- it also has the advantage over the DiceFreaks rules because their is no ability score cap.:)
Mirtek
07-21-07, 05:54 PM Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction?
Only to Antimagic Field but against this not only with DvR 1+ but already with DvR 0.
# Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD.
Note that the SRD is incomplete in some parts. There is a rule for how many domains a deity gets for free in DDG (page 32, only three domains for free (regardless of divine rank), all others must be bought with the SDA). For any domain beyond that number the SDA is needed (yes, new WotC supplements all ignore this rule by showing new domains and adding them to the old deities)
If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period.
So if a deity grants access to chaos, good, and war these are all the domains he can grant, period. For each additional domain he has to take the SDA.
Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting?
Good question, I would say yes.
Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls.
No.
Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA?
Flavor. The SDAs are not balanced against each other. Many of them are completly useless and could actually work as an epic (or even normal) feat.
WombleHunter
07-23-07, 08:42 AM I was also bummed when I learned that you don't get a divine bonus to damage rolls- almost as bummed as I was when I found out you don't get a divine bonus to initiative checks.I think you do actually, since and Initiative check is a Dexterity check - to which DvR does apply. I suppose you could attempt to boost their damage through the Divine Weapon Specialization salient divine ability- but your question struck me as more of a passing thought than a dedicated search for ways to deal more damage. If you are using the DiceFreaks rules, you get good ability scores, but they can only rise so high. In my group, we use the Divine Array from the official Deities and Demigods FAQ- your deity (or avatar) will have at least a 24 for its strength score using this array, which should help with those damage totals. The divine array is 35, 28, 25, 24, 24, 24- you assign them as you would ability score rolls. The array also gives you a plus one for each divine rank you have, and you decide what ability score to put the point into- it also has the advantage over the DiceFreaks rules because their is no ability score cap.:)You're right, I'm not worried about boosting damage - only about using the rules correctly. Thanks for the Divine Array, though - I had just made some stats up based on other greater deities. If you get a number of bonus points equal to your DvR though, does that mean that avatars have lower ability scores than their parent deity, since their DvR is halved? The SRD says they have the same stats...

Other than that, it just looks like I'll need to rethink the domains and consequently his SDAs, and talk to the DM about PrC Bonus Domains. Thanks for all your help so far guys! It's really great :)
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20
07-23-07, 12:18 PM I think you do actually, since and Initiative check is a Dexterity check - to which DvR does apply.Well, I didn't see it in Deities & Demigods and when I made the same arguements- the DM (or at least the DM at the time)told me not to get greedy. Our current group is far better, and maybe I should see what they think :)

Thanks for the Divine Array, though - I had just made some stats up based on other greater deities. If you get a number of bonus points equal to your DvR though, does that mean that avatars have lower ability scores than their parent deity, since their DvR is halved? The SRD says they have the same stats...
Yup, they have the same stats- I think its cool that the avatar of a high divine rank deity can out-shine any normal deity with the same divine status as the avatar. You are right, they get the same bonus, including the divine rank bonus, as the parent deity. As another cool side note, my god character defeated his aleax in combat- and therefore had a +2 bonus to his wisdom score. I was overjoyed to discover that this also boosted my avatars' ability scores, even if they didn't get the other sweet bonuses involved with destroying your aleax. :D Thanks for all your help so far guys! It's really great :)No problem, I love making deities. I get almost as many compliments on the boards where people are asking how to build gods as I get insults on boards discussing how to kill them. In other words, its nice to know someone appreciates my help- if you have any other questions, let me know :)
WombleHunter
07-24-07, 08:11 AM Well, I didn't see it in Deities & Demigods and when I made the same arguements- the DM (or at least the DM at the time)told me not to get greedy. Our current group is far better, and maybe I should see what they think :) Well... (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/initiative.htm#initiativeChecks)At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. :D
WombleHunter
07-28-07, 12:50 PM OK guys, new question: what, exactly, is the effect of the Automatic Actions ability in 3.5? Faiths and Pantheons just seems to list skill checks which can be performed automatically, but in 3.5 most of these skills are reactive anyway.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WombleHunter 07-19-07, 10:02 AM	Crossposted to both Deities and the Planes and Epic Level boards, since I'm not sure where would be best. I'm helping my DM out by creating the statistics for an avatar that our characters are going to summon in-game. The SRD is very useful, but I can't seem to find a few rules that I'd like the answers to - if you guys could help me out, I'd be very grateful! For the record, the god in question is a DvR 16 deity of the sun in a homebrew setting, with themes of light, fire, and warrior prowess. This means his avatar is a DvR 8 lesser deity equivalent. I can post other details if people want :). Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction? Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD. Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting? Depending on the answer to the above, what about a deity who has levels in a class that grants bonus domains? Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls. Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA? I think that's all I would really like help with at the moment. Help appreciated! :)
Mai_ariti 07-19-07, 10:28 AM	1) Ummmm. . .I'm not sure. . .the Outlands would seem to argue that gods are vulnerable to planar magic traits, but the gods probably don't care about mortal attempts to stop them. 2) That ability gives them access to another domain BEYOND what they normally have, and makes it avaliable to their worshipers. 3) Yes. 4) That is the road to insanity. I would assume that the god only has those if it offers those domains seeing as how it couold hardly worship another god. Remember though, most gods dont have PrCs because Divine Salient Abilities are way cooler and more powerful. 5) You are refering to the fact that deities always get the best possible roll? Yes this applies to damage dice also. Remember to roll attacts any way to see if a crit is rolled but overall, they always get the best roll possible. 6) Only if he was Government-us, God of Redundency. . . No, there is no reason to. Basically, Divine Fire Mastery is for Fire Gods and Extra Immunity (fire) is for the god who never wants to burn himself on the stove again.
WombleHunter 07-19-07, 10:49 AM	Thanks for your answers! :cool: 2) That ability gives them access to another domain BEYOND what they normally have, and makes it avaliable to their worshipers.Well, I mean - If there's no limit in the rules to how many domains a deity can grant, then surely there's no reason to take the SDA? If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period. If the deity also happened to grant access to the Air domain, then isn't this just a brute fact rather than something he'd need an SDA for? Hmm. Maybe the SDA is designed for when a deity increases in power, takes on new portfolio elements, and wants to start granting new domains? 3) Yes.Huh. Does it say that in Deities and Demigods, or in the SRD? I couldn't find reference to it. 4) That is the road to insanity. I would assume that the god only has those if it offers those domains seeing as how it couold hardly worship another god. Remember though, most gods dont have PrCs because Divine Salient Abilities are way cooler and more powerful.I was planning on ignoring it, unless there was a better rule :D. I disagree about gods not taking PrCs, though - it's not like they can't have a PrC and fancy-schmancy SDAs, after all. 5) You are refering to the fact that deities always get the best possible roll? Yes this applies to damage dice also. Remember to roll attacts any way to see if a crit is rolled but overall, they always get the best roll possible.No I wasn't - that rule applies only to Greater Deities (DvR 16+). Rather, the SRD says you add the god's Divine Rank to their attack rolls; elsewhere it is implied that the DvR is also added to damage rolls. 6) Only if he was Government-us, God of Redundency. . . No, there is no reason to. Basically, Divine Fire Mastery is for Fire Gods and Extra Immunity (fire) is for the god who never wants to burn himself on the stove again.Cool. I wasn't sure whether there would be some kind of hierarchy of immunity/vulnerability.
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20 07-19-07, 11:36 PM	Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction? Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD. Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting? Depending on the answer to the above, what about a deity who has levels in a class that grants bonus domains? Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls. Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA? Howdy, I've played my Dwarven God of fire and glory from 1st level to his astounding apex of 75 character levels. He is currently Divine Rank 20. I've made a ton of deities, my main player character uses his avatars all the time. Nothing kills something quicker than a greater deity and his 20 closest friends divine blasting it. :) Anyhoosen- 1. It depends, these effects are usually made to destroy items or nullify buffs to a character. Most deities don't have many items, or at least the ones in Deities and Demigods, save one or two artifacts. If you rule that Mordenkainen's Disjunction can alter or destroy an artifact, then yes-they can effect a deity. Dispel Magic and Antimagic Field depends on the situation, but as I said- few deities need magical effects. Many of our homebrew deities are merely ascended player characters, so they still use many magic items. Most of us use shields of great reflection, which make targeted effects of 9th level spells or lower rebound on the caster. Many deities have awesome spell resistance also, and it can be improved upon using the Increased Spell Resistance salient divine ability. My deital character would hate you, he loves his magic items :) 2.All deities have three domains to start with-"A deity has at least three domains. Deities can have more than three domains if they possess the Extra Domain salient divine ability (deities & demigods 32)." The DiceFreaks rules say that you start with few domains, and gain more as you grow in deital status. 3. Sorry, I don't do the spellcasting thing, but I know people who do. I think your class levels stack with your domain spell-like abilities. 4. If you are Divine Rank 1, or higher, you gain your divine rank as a bonus on saves and attack rolls, but not damage rolls. When you get DR16 you have the "always maximize roll" ability, which allows you to always roll maximum damage. 5.I think its just a waste of a Salient Divine Ability to choose the Extra Immunity ability over Divine Fire Mastery- you can sense people by their body heat( 10 ft per Divine Rank), gain complete control of nonmagical fire,gain immunity to the effects of heat and fire, and can spontaneously duplicate the effect of any spell with the fire descriptor. The Extra Immunity only gives you an immunity- the other gives you an immunity plus cake.:D
Mai_ariti 07-20-07, 10:53 AM	If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period. If the deity also happened to grant access to the Air domain, then isn't this just a brute fact rather than something he'd need an SDA for? But remember, a god only starts with three domains to even get all those above, you would have to take the SDA 6 times (if I can count right). Hmm. Maybe the SDA is designed for when a deity increases in power, takes on new portfolio elements, and wants to start granting new domains? This is a function of it also, yes. Huh. Does it say that in Deities and Demigods, or in the SRD? I couldn't find reference to it. I just assume that similar class, or innate, abilities stack. . .not unlike a spellweaver taking levels in sorceror. . . I was planning on ignoring it, unless there was a better rule :D. I disagree about gods not taking PrCs, though - it's not like they can't have a PrC and fancy-schmancy SDAs, after all. Very true, I was mostly refering to the core gods, mine all take PrCs and are max-min characters (don't tell anyone). No I wasn't - that rule applies only to Greater Deities (DvR 16+). Rather, the SRD says you add the god's Divine Rank to their attack rolls; elsewhere it is implied that the DvR is also added to damage rolls. Sorry, this is what happens when you are too lazy to go and get the book out. . .this seems to have been answered though. . . Cool. I wasn't sure whether there would be some kind of hierarchy of immunity/vulnerability. Nope.
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20 07-20-07, 11:20 AM	As I said, all of our homebrew gods are ascended player characters- we have prestige classes, magic items, and artifacts. Most of the Deities and Demigods or Dicefreaks deities do not have the same amount of magical equipment, though DiceFreaks is slightly more acceptable. I was also bummed when I learned that you don't get a divine bonus to damage rolls- almost as bummed as I was when I found out you don't get a divine bonus to initiative checks. I suppose you could attempt to boost their damage through the Divine Weapon Specialization salient divine ability- but your question struck me as more of a passing thought than a dedicated search for ways to deal more damage. If you are using the DiceFreaks rules, you get good ability scores, but they can only rise so high. In my group, we use the Divine Array from the official Deities and Demigods FAQ- your deity (or avatar) will have at least a 24 for its strength score using this array, which should help with those damage totals. The divine array is 35, 28, 25, 24, 24, 24- you assign them as you would ability score rolls. The array also gives you a plus one for each divine rank you have, and you decide what ability score to put the point into- it also has the advantage over the DiceFreaks rules because their is no ability score cap.:)
Mirtek 07-21-07, 05:54 PM	Are creatures with divine rank 1+, or their magic, subject to mortal effects like Dispel Magic, Antimagic Field, or Mordenkainen's Disjunction? Only to Antimagic Field but against this not only with DvR 1+ but already with DvR 0. # Why would a deity ever need to take the Extra Domain Salient Divine Ability (SDA)? Don't all deities have access to all domains that they grant? I couldn't find a default limit on the number of domains a deity can grant in the SRD. Note that the SRD is incomplete in some parts. There is a rule for how many domains a deity gets for free in DDG (page 32, only three domains for free (regardless of divine rank), all others must be bought with the SDA). For any domain beyond that number the SDA is needed (yes, new WotC supplements all ignore this rule by showing new domains and adding them to the old deities) If the god grants access to the Chaos, Good, War, Protection, Strength, Glory, Purification, Fire, and Sun domains (to pick some more-or-less at random), then those are the domains he grants, period. So if a deity grants access to chaos, good, and war these are all the domains he can grant, period. For each additional domain he has to take the SDA. Does a deity with Cleric levels automatically treat all the domains it can grant as domains it has access to for the purpose of it's clerical domain spellcasting? Good question, I would say yes. Does a deity's DvR apply to damage rolls? It is stated that it applies to attack rolls, but I've seen only implications that it also applies to damage rolls. No. Assuming that both fit thematically, is there any reason a deity would take the Extra Immunity (Fire) SDA instead of the Divine Fire Mastery SDA? Flavor. The SDAs are not balanced against each other. Many of them are completly useless and could actually work as an epic (or even normal) feat.
WombleHunter 07-23-07, 08:42 AM	I was also bummed when I learned that you don't get a divine bonus to damage rolls- almost as bummed as I was when I found out you don't get a divine bonus to initiative checks.I think you do actually, since and Initiative check is a Dexterity check - to which DvR does apply. I suppose you could attempt to boost their damage through the Divine Weapon Specialization salient divine ability- but your question struck me as more of a passing thought than a dedicated search for ways to deal more damage. If you are using the DiceFreaks rules, you get good ability scores, but they can only rise so high. In my group, we use the Divine Array from the official Deities and Demigods FAQ- your deity (or avatar) will have at least a 24 for its strength score using this array, which should help with those damage totals. The divine array is 35, 28, 25, 24, 24, 24- you assign them as you would ability score rolls. The array also gives you a plus one for each divine rank you have, and you decide what ability score to put the point into- it also has the advantage over the DiceFreaks rules because their is no ability score cap.:)You're right, I'm not worried about boosting damage - only about using the rules correctly. Thanks for the Divine Array, though - I had just made some stats up based on other greater deities. If you get a number of bonus points equal to your DvR though, does that mean that avatars have lower ability scores than their parent deity, since their DvR is halved? The SRD says they have the same stats... Other than that, it just looks like I'll need to rethink the domains and consequently his SDAs, and talk to the DM about PrC Bonus Domains. Thanks for all your help so far guys! It's really great :)
Dwarven_Fighter_DR20 07-23-07, 12:18 PM	I think you do actually, since and Initiative check is a Dexterity check - to which DvR does apply.Well, I didn't see it in Deities & Demigods and when I made the same arguements- the DM (or at least the DM at the time)told me not to get greedy. Our current group is far better, and maybe I should see what they think :) Thanks for the Divine Array, though - I had just made some stats up based on other greater deities. If you get a number of bonus points equal to your DvR though, does that mean that avatars have lower ability scores than their parent deity, since their DvR is halved? The SRD says they have the same stats... Yup, they have the same stats- I think its cool that the avatar of a high divine rank deity can out-shine any normal deity with the same divine status as the avatar. You are right, they get the same bonus, including the divine rank bonus, as the parent deity. As another cool side note, my god character defeated his aleax in combat- and therefore had a +2 bonus to his wisdom score. I was overjoyed to discover that this also boosted my avatars' ability scores, even if they didn't get the other sweet bonuses involved with destroying your aleax. :D Thanks for all your help so far guys! It's really great :)No problem, I love making deities. I get almost as many compliments on the boards where people are asking how to build gods as I get insults on boards discussing how to kill them. In other words, its nice to know someone appreciates my help- if you have any other questions, let me know :)
WombleHunter 07-24-07, 08:11 AM	Well, I didn't see it in Deities & Demigods and when I made the same arguements- the DM (or at least the DM at the time)told me not to get greedy. Our current group is far better, and maybe I should see what they think :) Well... (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/initiative.htm#initiativeChecks)At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. :D
WombleHunter 07-28-07, 12:50 PM	OK guys, new question: what, exactly, is the effect of the Automatic Actions ability in 3.5? Faiths and Pantheons just seems to list skill checks which can be performed automatically, but in 3.5 most of these skills are reactive anyway.