Hello everyone, and welcome to the next installment 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 Travel.
The Travel Domain is described as “You are an explorer and find enlightenment in the simple joy of travel, be it by foot or conveyance or magic.” – So, you’re likely one of those people who travel for the journey, rather than the destination. You’re likely to be very much of an explorer, both of new lands and ancient ruins, and you’re unlikely to settle down in one place for long.
So, what does a Cleric with this domain get?
First, they get a base speed increase of 10, which could come in quite handy for things like battlefield movement, but the same goes for overland speeds. If combined with things like monk levels or barbarian levels, you could get to extreme speeds very quickly.
Secondly, you get Agile Feet, which means that for a number of times per day (3+Wisdom modifier) you can ignore difficult terrain and move freely through it for one round. Again, very handy for battlefield movement in crowded areas or areas where your movement would normally be restricted.
Thirdly, you get Dimensional Hop. This allows you to teleport 10 feet per cleric level, per day, as a move action, allowing you to jump to any nearby location as long as it is within line of sight. In effect a short dimension door or teleport spell. Good for getting you (and your friends) out of trouble.
Spells:
The spells you get with the Travel domain are as follows:
Longstrider
This one is simple: Just like your base speed increase from your travel domain, you get a +10-foot enhancement bonus to your base speed, though ONLY your landspeed. (So for most creatures who have the Travel domain, this would take them to a base speed of 50 feet).
Locate Object
This allows you to discern the direction of a well-known or clearly visualized object, though it can only be used for general items (like a sword, rather than a particular sword), unless you have observed a particular item first hand and not through divination. So, for example, if you and your friends were in an abandoned ruin looking for treasure, you might try to use Locate Object for a general type of item that you know is in the treasure, but you won’t be able to track specific ones. Also, if you generalize too much, you might only find your own items, so looking for coins is unlikely to be helpful, whereas looking for statuettes might be.
Fly
One of the most commonly used movement spells, fly gives you a fly speed of 60 and good maneuverability. More importantly though, is that it allows you to reach areas and creatures that you would not normally be able to engage, like the “Fly-By Dragon” for a barbarian character and so on. The spell is versatile enough, and the duration long enough, that you could even use it simply to make the Small characters in your party able to move faster, for a while at least, or the heavily laden fighter in his armor, to be able to keep up. Just be wary of flying around when there are people with dispel magic and antimagic field spells around. You might just come crashing down.
Dimension Door
This is the first of the teleportation sub-schools spells that you’ll get access. It allows you to travel 400 feet + 40 feet/level (meaning a minimum distance of 680 feet) in any direction, which is enough to take you out of any immediate danger (though you’d still be within range of certain ranged weapons, but at that point they would take a significant penalty to hit you). It is important to note that while casting the spell is a standard action, the spell does not allow you to do anything once you go through the portal, so if you have not used your move action that turn, it is lost. This spells also allows you to affect 1 other person per 3 caster levels, so when you first get it, you can move 3 creatures in total (yourself and 2 more).
Teleport
In effect, dimension door writ large, as you now travel hundreds of miles (at the minimum level you can travel 900), with the same creature limitations. Just be wary of trying to move to areas that are not well-known to you, as there are places you do not wish to end up (in the middle of the sea while trying to teleport to a ship comes to mind). While it seems like a transportation spell for you and your friends, it does have offensive purposes. Teleporting someone to a nearby airless planetoid springs to mind as a particularly nasty way to use it. Just be wary of needing that touch attack for it, but it is a remarkably good way to remove high hit point, but low Will save opponents from the battlefield (like some Giants for example).
Find the Path
This enables you to find any specific location (though it must be a prominent one) and it will unerringly lead you there through the most direct physical route. It is a bit of an odd spell at such a high level, but the reasoning is actually simple. This is because it allows the PCs to “skip through the dungeon” and go the most direct route, avoiding as many accidental encounters as possible. In short, it makes adventuring safer, but things a little more boring around the gaming table.
Greater Teleport
This one is simple: It’s teleport but without any risk of it going wrong.
Phase Door
This creates a way for you and one of your allies to move through a solid object, made of wood, plaster or stone. (Though not things like steel). As it is invisible and has a duration based on uses, you’ll be able to create an entry and exit point that other creatures are unlikely to notice is there and will be unable to use, even if they do notice its presence. In many ways, it’s the perfect spell for breaking and entering.
Astral Projection
The ability to travel the planes, using the old theme of the silver lifeline. However, as you get transported back if you’re slain on the other planes, it has an automatic escape clause. Though this costs you two permanent negative levels, the ability to flee if you’re killed is a very good way to retreat if you run into something that you cannot handle. In effect, it lets you (relatively) safely explore places that you would not normally dare to go.
New Deity
Hermes
The Swift, the Messenger, the Traveler, The Thief, God of Commerce
Alignment N
Worshipers travelers, merchants, thieves, explorers, guides and messengers
Cleric Alignments NG, LN, N, CN, NE
Domains: Air, Charm, Community, Luck, Travel, Trickery
Sub-domains: Cooperation, Exploration, Fate, Thievery, Trade, Wind
Favored Weapon: a quarterstaff
Symbol: a caduceus inscribed with the name of all other gods
Hermes is primarily known for being the messenger of the gods, carrying all messages to their destinations, though he’s likely to get sidetracked. He treats all gods as equally as possible, though he sometimes fails in this charge, and he favors those deities of a female bent, especially those who are physically attractive.
He is less well-known for being the patron of merchants and thieves. The former pray to him to ensure that their trades are fruitful, and to keep thieves away from their treasuries, while the latter always pray for the “one big haul” so that they can retire. The faithful of either side have often found that they miraculously end up working together, for example by one of the thieves robbing a competitor. Some suspect that this might be more the doing of the clergy than the fateful hand of the god himself though, as they dabble in these matters.
The normal lay-members of this faith are usually what they appear: Merchants, thieves or messengers, but the clergy is a different matter. Almost all of them have their fingers in illicit deals, always to the betterment of the faith or the faithful, and have been known to work clandestinely as both messengers between rival kingdoms, but also as spies.
Their days have no set rhythm, finding themselves in tune with the people around them, and since they normally don’t stay for more than a year at most, they’re normally able to move on before anyone catches on to their machinations. Their clothing is utilitarian in nature, and often wellworn from traveling, but all carry the caduceus pinned to their clothing or as a symbol of office at all times (unless they’re incognito, in which case the caduceus is hidden from view).
Kim Frandsen
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