Cleric
As there are no gods, per se, on Athas, the selection of deities for clerics to worship is quite limited. There are few formal or hierarchical religious organizations on Athas; no grand temples or cathedrals with congregations of followers eager to learn the secrets to redemption or paradise in the afterlife. Athasian clerics tend to worship by themselves or in very small groups. Instead of worshiping traditional deities, they commune with the elements instead, and therefore, they choose one domain or subdomain from the following list and one other non-elemental domain or subdomain.
Required Elemental Domains & Subdomains:
Air, Ash, Caves, Cloud, Day, Earth, Fire, Ice, Light, Metal, Rivers, Smoke, Sun, Water or Wind.
Weapons are also somewhat problematic, as there are no deities to have favoured weapons for. Therefore, the following weapon choices are available as favoured weapons based upon the character’s domain or subdomain:
Air/Cloud/Wind: Weapons that were designed to be fired from range or thrown are suitable weapons for clerics that worship the element of air. This includes bow (any), blowgun, chakram, crossbow (any) dagger, dart, hunga munga, javelin, poison belcher, sling, spear (any), stingchuck, or throwing axe.
Caves/Earth/Metal: Weapons made primarily of wood, metal or stone are acceptable favoured weapons for clerics that worship the earth. As such, earth clerics are typically the best armed of all of the elemental clerics.
Ash/Fire/Smoke: Clerics that worship the element of fire rely upon weapons that are flaming. Favoured weapons include flaming arrows, burning oil, and magical weapons enchanted to burn or scald. Heating metal weapons to cause searing damge is another acceptable, practice for fire clerics. Also, because it was once fused under great heat and pressure, weapons made of obsidian are also favoured weapons for fire clerics.
Day/Light/Sun: The strongest of the elements, the sun both gives life and bears down upon it until it withers away. As such, weapons made of wood, or flaming weapons are allowed as favoured weapons of sun clerics, but sun clerics also favour unarmed strikes. A special note on Sun Clerics: The class abilities and spells of clerics of the sun normally operate
as though the character was one character level higher during daylight hours. However, if the character is underground, if it is during a storm, or if the sun has gone down, their class abilities and spells operate as though they were two character levels lower for the duration, minimum 1st level. There is a special magical tattoo that sun clerics can acquire on their foreheads that mitigates some of the disability, allowing them to operate instead as if their character level was only one level lower – this sun tattoo costs 3,000 ceramic pieces to inscribe, and although it is placed upon the brow of the cleric, it re- quires a free hand to touch the tattoo in order to work.
Ice/Rivers/Water: Water is the life-giver; the originator of everything that grows. It is the ebb and flow of existence on Athas, and its most precious resource. Weapons of organic origin – usually wood or bone are considered favoured weapons to water clerics. They may use bows, clubs, maces, javelins, quarterstaffs, spears, and warhammers.
Channel Energy (Su): At 1st level, Athasian clerics gain Elemental Channel as a bonus feat. They may only use their channel energy ability to activate a variant channeling that matches their chosen element, or to use the Elemental Channel feat. This modifies channel energy.
Elemental Resistance (Ex): Starting at 1st level, Athasian clerics gain resist (energy type based upon your chosen domain; electricity for air, acid for earth, fire for fire, cold for water, etc…) 5. This resistance increases to 10 at 9th level, and immunity at 18th level.
Elemental Bond (Su): At 6th level, you gain the arcane bond feature of the wizard class, using your cleric level as your wizard level, and gain Improved Familiar as a bonus feat. You can only use these abilities to bond with a Small elemental whose subtype matches your primary cleric domain.
Suggested Archetypes: Cloistered Cleric, Crusader, Divine Strategist, Evangelist, Forgemaster, Merciful Healer, Roaming Exorcist, Scroll Scholar, Theologian.