Hello everyone, and welcome to another in a series of articles focusing on the Cleric Domains in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The goal for each of these is to provide you with a quick overview of your domain powers, spells, and introduce you to a god or goddess from real-Earth mythology who could be a deity using this particular domain.
All that said, welcome to this week’s article on the domain of: Liberation.
The Liberation domain is described as “You are a spirit of freedom and a staunch foe against all who would enslave and oppress.” – so it’s safe to assume that you’re someone who takes the fight for liberty and freedom seriously, and you’re likely to be a bit of a rebel (and probably of chaotic alignment).
The powers granted are “Liberation” – the ability to ignore movement restrictions, similar to freedom of movement (which is described further down under the spell). It’s quite a powerful effect, especially at this level, as you don’t get any similar abilities until much later on in your spellcasting career.
The second power is “Freedom’s Call” – which allows you to make all allies in a 30-foot radius unaffected by the confused, grappled, frightened, panicked, paralyzed, pinned, or shaken conditions. (Though it’s worth noting that this resumes if the ally leaves the radius or Freedom’s Call ends). Again, a very nice ability, since most similar abilities only affect a single target at a time.
Spells:
The spells you get with the Liberation domain are as follows:
Remove Fear
Remove fear gives your target(s) a +4 morale bonus against fear effects. However, more importantly, it suppresses any fear effect that the target is already affected by, for the duration of the spell. Ironically that means that it can be a more powerful spell if cast on a creature with a low saving throw, if chances are that they’ll fail the save, even with the bonus. Then simply wait and apply it afterward.
Remove Paralysis
This spell allows you to provide a number of creatures with a resistance bonus to Will Saves against paralysis magic (or the staggered condition). More importantly, it enables you to remove it from a single creature – which is not possible if you choose to affect multiple creatures. Depending on the situation, either choice could be the most effective.
Remove Curse
Simply put, the best way to remove curses from creatures or objects. Some curses (at the GM’s discretion) might be so powerful, however, that a “mere” remove curse is not enough, such as those of godly origin.
Freedom of Movement
Freedom of movement is, in my opinion, one of the golden gems of spells. It’s potentially enormously powerful due to the phrase of “enables you or a creature you touch to move and attack normally for the duration of the spell, even under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement, such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web. All combat maneuver checks made to grapple the target automatically fail. The subject automatically succeeds on any combat maneuver checks and Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple or a pin.” – Theoretically, that means that the recipient of the spell cannot be imprisoned or restrained in any way (automatically escaping shackles, paralysis and hold spells fail to work, etc. ), becoming as slippery as a greased snail.
Break Enchantment
In many ways break enchantment is an upgraded version of dispel magic, in that it frees the target from all enchantments, transmutations, and curses. Unlike dispel magic it can revert an instantaneous effect, which is normally impossible. That said, it doesn’t affect spells from schools other than enchantment and transmutation, so it cannot affect abjuration or conjuration spells for example.
Dispel Magic, Greater
This spell allows you to dispel all magic effects in an area (though not instantaneous effects like break enchantment), and can even affect curses if you succeed on a caster level check against a set DC. – Unlike the normal dispel magic, it can affect multiple spells if targeted, and will always start with the highest level spell, making it much harder to fool than a normal dispel magic.
Refuge
It is, in effect, a Portal Key from Harry Potter. It allows anyone knowing the command word to be instantly transported to your abode, wherever that may be. It is an excellent escape mechanism for a single creature as they only have to touch it and say the word, which removes some reliance on your spells in a situation where escape is required.
Mind Blank
Probably the strongest anti-scrying magic available, it protects you from all divination magic, and grants you a +8 resistance bonus against mind-affecting spells and effects on top. It’s so strong that it even fools limited wish, miracle, and wish spells.
Freedom
Simply put, the best emergency escape spell. It removes EVERYTHING that restricts movement and can even free someone caught in an imprisonment or maze spell.
New Deity
Libertas
The first Martyr, The Breacher, Rebellion’s Light
Alignment CN
Worshipers revolutionaries, those desiring change, anarchists
Cleric Alignments CG, N, CN, CE
Domains: Chaos, Glory, Liberation, Nobility, Protection, War
Sub-domains: Freedom, Leadership, Martyr, Revolution, Riot, Tactics
Favored Weapon: club or spear (depending on origin)
Symbol: a flaming torch
Lady Liberty is the living symbol of revolution, of overthrowing the old, stale, and tyrannical governments. She is not a builder, but a destroyer of systems. Not a malicious one, but she sees all governments as tyrannical with it only being a matter of time before they turn bad. She is therefore always vigilant to any problems showing in any society, with her followers often mistaking simple traits of the culture as being signs that it’s now gone bad. Once she believes that it’s cracked, she’s willing to step in to tear it down, for someone else to rebuild from the pieces. Somehow she is unable to see the inevitable cycle that she’s a part of, not realizing that she sometimes is part of the problem.
Her priests eschew any kind of order, settling personal grudges as they feel it befits them – sometimes this is through debates, other times drinking contests, and at yet other times it’s outright war and duels between members of the clergy. There is no rhyme or reason to how they do things, as they eschew any attempt at enforcing regularity on them as being the highest form of heresy. They rise whenever they feel like it, and sleep whenever they wish, with each member of the cult offering prayer to Libertas whenever they want. The only commonality that they all share is that they tend to gravitate towards stale societies, hiding amongst the populace, all the while trying to set up change and revolution.
Kim Frandsen
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