Midgard

Cleric Domain: Moon OR Shadow

 

“Let not us that are squires of the night’s body be called thieves of the day’s beauty.
Let us be Her harvesters, gentlefolk of the shade, minions of the moon.”

— Brother Gustave Ersetzen, from his clandestine tavern speeches

Welcome to the other domain of light, that of reflection and obfuscation — of moon and shadow.

This domain completes the quadrumvirate introduced in the Midgard setting book, each of which represent an important concept in Midgard that sets it apart from standard fantasy. Clockwork and Beer domains both point to the early stirrings of industry, from the entry points of engineering and practical alchemy. The Hunger domain adds a darkness and horror borne of the monstrous desire for prolonged survival. The domain of Moon/Shadow exhibits the Grimm folkloric aspects of Midgard, both whimsical and deadly.} Continue reading  

Cleric Domain: Hunger OR Survival

 

“Burning the ground, I break from the crowd;
I’m on the hunt, I’m after you.”

— D’rand ur’An, acolyte of Vardesain

And we’re back! The needs of the dayjob have held this next Cleric-mas installment in ‘draft’ for too long, but finally we arrive at the domain of Hunger or Survival.

This another domain taking direct inspiration from the Midgard setting by Kobold Press. Within Midgard, one of the big powers is the Ghoul Imperium, and at the heart of their culture is the compulsion to feed. So the idea was to design a domain that would both play directly to a living-dead priest but also to clerics and ascetics who are alive — but who put all their devotion to the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Negative Nancy

At first glance, this domain seems a bit anti-cleric. Negative energy? Free bite attacks? Optimized for undead or ghoulish PCs like the darakhul? Indeed. But this domain also encompasses ascetic traditions, as well as the deities who value survival and self-discipline. However the public at large may view their alignment, the Hunger/Survival cleric knows two things: that their path is righteous, and that they will survive.
Continue reading  

Cleric Spell: Summon Saint of Rava

 

You can move mountains;
It all makes sense to you.
You just need the love of a gearforged goddess.

We round out the Clockwork/Artifice domain with the second, champion-tier summoning spell. Once again, this spell uses the expanded and updated summoning rules from 13th Age Monthly, and continues the concept of feats that are dependent upon a cleric’s chosen domains.

Unlike the other clockwork summon spell, the Saint of Rava is explicitly drawn from Midgard, and you can find the original listing for this “monster” in the Midgard Bestiary. The summoned creature is slightly different from the Bestiary version, as it plays off the concept of the Clockwork/Artifice domain never ‘wasting’ move actions. Continue reading  

Cleric Spell: Summon Clockwork Archon

 

You’ve got [CLANG] ssssteam heat
You’ve got [CLANG] ssssteam heat
C’mon, I need your blast to keep away that kobold.

When I was looking at spells related to a cleric of the Clockwork/Artifice domain, I knew I wanted something that would create an interesting scene. The Deep Magic book from Kobold Press has an animate construct spell for arcane magic-users; for the clerics, it seemed more aligned to their class to make it a summon spell. I leave it up to you and your patron deity to envision and describe what a “summon” means to a gearforged god or goddess.

This spell uses the expanded and updated summoning rules from 13th Age Monthly, and continues the concept of feats that are dependent upon a cleric’s chosen domains. Unlike the other clockwork summon spell, the clockwork archon isn’t explicitly drawn from Midgard. That said, many aspects of this summoned creature are directly based off ideas and mechanics from the Midgard Bestiary and Deep Magic.

(Which, by the way, are two fantastic resources for 13th Age mechanics and abilities even if you’re not playing in Midgard.) Continue reading  

Cleric Domain: Clockwork OR Artifice

 

Turn, you tiny engines;
Let your faith be the power that turns the coils of my everwound springs.
Turn, my adventurers!
Turn me on!

Uff da. This has been a big gap between days 1 and 2. Every project hitting deadline at the same time at the dayjob will do that, I guess. In ‘celebration’ of my recent spate of over-working myself, I’m presenting the most industrious of cleric domains for Day 2: Clockwork OR Artifice! Continue reading  

Cleric Domain: Beer OR Sacred Waters

 

On the first day of Cleric-mas, my GM gave to me:
Beer … (in a tree)

Those words, paraphrased from the Wise Brothers McKenzie, open the first day of Cleric-mas. I’ve started with the domain that I created for the Midgard one-shot at ValorCon Chicago, as that’s what got this whole idea moving along. Since most 13th Age cleric domains use two possible descriptors, I’ve done the same here. In addition, I’ve posted a new 1st-level spell, anoint, that fits with the domain’s ability. Continue reading  

Midgard Heroes for 13th Age: Darakhul

 

‘Twas the night before Cleric-mas, camped near the lake,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mist drake;
Except for the party’s darakhul cleric,
Because the living dead never sleep a lick.

Next week begins the ’12 Days of Cleric-mas,’ a series of posts in the vein of 13th Age Monthly, but with a sillier name. Oh, and they’re all focused around new domains, spells, and possibilities for playing clerics in 13th Age.

A couple of the posts reference undead player-characters, due to the fact that I’m drawing from the Midgard setting for inspiration. This setting, published by Kobold Press, is a little more far-flung and Grimm than a lot of Western F20 settings. Its take on deities and how they overlap amongst cultures is what grabbed my attention.

Before I get to the clerics, though, I’m spending a moment on the darakhul, the high-functioning ghouls of Midgard whose subterranean empire is a constant threat to the above-ground world.  Continue reading