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: Trickery.
The Trickery domain is described as “You are a master of illusions and deceptions.” – that probably means that you’re not likely to be a trusting or trustworthy sort. You’re likely to layer everything you say in multiple levels of confusion, innuendo, and potential misunderstanding. You’re living a life of lies, whether to yourself or to others.
The powers granted are “Copycat,” which allows you to create an illusory clone of yourself, similar in nature to mirror image. Unfortunately, it only has limited effect, in that it can help keep you from being hit in combat, but that can be extremely useful after all. Just don’t expect any potential misleading conversations with yourself, or the ability to manipulate others by thinking you’re in multiple places at once.
The second power granted is “Master’s illusion” which allows you to copy the effect of a veil spell. This lets you change the appearance of yourself and ANY number of allies, for a number of rounds equal to your cleric level. This would be extremely handy for a short-term deception of tricking guards into thinking your adventuring group was another set of guards, or sneaking into any well-defended area. It might even, to some degree protect you against certain types of scrying, provided they’re only looking for your appearance, rather than knowing you outright.
Spells:
The spells you get with the Trickery domain are as follows:
Disguise Self
This allows you to change your appearance within certain limitations. You cannot change your appearance beyond a certain height and weight, it doesn’t change your sound, and you cannot change your race. As such, it makes for an effective disguise, but not one where you’re able to emulate anyone specific, or beyond the parameters of the spell. It, therefore, is somewhat limited.
Invisibility
One of the most iconic spells of the roleplaying game genre, this spell allows you to become invisible, which grants you a +40 bonus to Stealth Checks (+20 if you’re moving). This allows you to either sneak past someone a lot more easily (even if wearing heavy armor and clunking around) or to sneak up and attack them. Since you’re invisible, they’re denied any bonus to armor class from Dexterity, and you can attack them. Just remember that you only get one attack before the invisibility breaks. (I.e. 1 attack, not one full-round attack or anything like that. One attack only).
Nondetection
Nondetection is a strange one, in that it is not a directly defensive spell, and more likely to be used by NPCs than by PCs. This is because it prevents forms of detection and scrying of the recipient, such as by detect evil and detect magic. It is important to note, however, then in the case of the detect X spells for the Game Master to present it as if the recipient simply is not of the alignment detected, so if someone casts detect evil, then play it off as the recipient being neutral or something similar. For other scrying spells, the best tactic is to play it off as if the recipient made their saving throw. After all, most people do not like to be watched.
Confusion
This is one of those spells that a GM might want to avoid. This is due to the fact that you’re taken away player agency. By this, I mean that confusion does not allow for your players to control their own actions, in 75% of the cases. That, to most players, is not FUN, and we’re at the game table to enjoy ourselves. This is one of those very effective spells that you should limit to the players and “end-bosses” only. Otherwise, players are likely to get very tired of their Game Master.
As a PLAYER, however, this is an excellent spell as it gives the opponent only a 25% chance of acting the way they would normally, which can take some strong enemies out of the situation, at least for a while.
False Vision
This allows you to mislead anyone trying to watch you through scrying, crystal balls and the like. You can have the scryer see a scene of your choice, one that you have modified slightly from reality, and with a long duration, you could set someone up for a surprise, having them believe that you’re in one place, doing one thing, but, you’re elsewhere. Do note that, to change the scene, you need to concentrate. In effect, this is like many films where you see a prison cell being recorded on camera, and the hacker playing back a scene of the prisoner sleeping, over and over. This would allow you to do something similar, except that it would affect spells instead.
Mislead
As useful as invisibility, but with the bonus of creating a temporary doppelganger that’ll move away from you. As such you could cast the spell, disappear and have your doppelganger move into a nearby building without anyone being the wiser. A great trick if you wish to lose someone who’s following you.
Screen
Screen is basically a souped-up version of false vision, in that it allows you to alter the scene entirely (instead of having to rely on minor modifications), and you do not need to concentrate on the scene any longer, as it’ll act out as you wished it, though you can no longer change the scene in question. In effect, it plays a pre-recorded scene of your choice, and it lasts for 24 hours.
Mass Invisibility
As invisibility but with more people affected. Need I say more?
Time Stop
This stops the world around you, a bit like the effects that Amenadiel uses in the TV-series Lucifer, or The Flash when you see him trying to hide his speed, but still affect a particular outcome (like the scene in the prison with Big Bill). It allows you to, for a short while, prepare for what’s coming. That could be setting up your defenses or getting out of there, or setting up attacks, as long as your attack spells target areas and have durations (like delayed blast fireball), as you cannot target creatures directly with attack spells. You can buff and heal them however if you so wish.
New Deity
I mean who else could it be, but the great god of trickery?
Loki
God of Mischief, Chaosbringer, Father of Monsters, Serpent-tongue
Alignment CN/CE
Worshipers Thieves, the oppressed, the people who feel out of place, false advisers, people who rely on their wits to survive
Cleric Alignments CG, N, CN, NE, CE
Domains: Chaos, Charm, Destruction, Glory, Lucky, Trickery
Sub-domains: Fate, Hatred, Hubris, Innuendo, Lust, Whimsy,
Favored Weapon: dagger
Symbol: two snakes, circling one another to form an ‘S’ shape, and biting the tail of the other
Loki Is the god of deceit and trickery, and as such he has a complicated relationship with the other deities. Sometimes he’ll ally with them, and at others, he will work to thwart them, but no one, possibly even Loki himself, knows which side he is on at any given time. Loki knows that at the end of things he’ll be punished for his actions, but it frustrates him to no end that he doesn’t know what these actions are, and as such, he struggles endlessly to try to avoid that fate. Ironically, each time he fights against it, it only seems to move him one step closer to that fateful day.
Loki is also not a full-fledged deity and is rather the son of another (unknown) deity and some form of fiendish giant. Loki himself remains silent on the matter, but what is known is that he has sired (and mothered) several offspring, most of which have turned out to be monstrous, such as Jormungandr, Fenris and Hel, but even Odin’s mount, Sleipnir, is one of Loki’s. Again, he has likely sired more than this, but Loki isn’t telling ANYONE.
Loki’s dual nature of working both against and with the gods is reflected in his clergy. None of them act in the open, always hiding their allegiances, either behind the pretense of worshiping another deity (and acting as a priest of that deity) or simply pretending to not be clergy at all. They train other clerics on a 1-on-1 basis, and any gatherings of the faithful inevitably involve masks and disguises so that none of them can recognize each other, once they leave the area of worship. The clergy, however, works in one of two ways beyond that: One side (in fairness the smaller part) works to help the community in any way they can. This means that they disregard laws, customs, and rules in order to help their community gain the advantage over others. This often involves illicit or illegal acts (like smuggling), but they do not care about that part. The ends justify the means.
The other (larger) part of the clergy work to the betterment of themselves. They care not a whit for their fellow worshipers or the community in which they leave, seeing it only as a means to an end. They’d happily burn down the local school, and dance on the ashes, if it meant that they got ahead in life. They only give out teaching and blessings when it has a clear benefit to them.
As they are usually unpopular, the clergy never wears anything that can identify them as a worshiper of Loki, except a (well-hidden) holy symbol. Only in their ceremonies do they wear the garments of the priesthood, loose fitting (and comfortable) clothes, in black and red.
Kim Frandsen
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