Sean Merwin

And I am on the socials at Sean Merwin. And the podcast is also on the socials at Mastering D&D. So we've gone through news. We've taken questions. We know all about Gamehole Con and Western, Eastern March. I almost said Western March. It's Eastern Marches. What are we going to do now?

Well, clearly we've got to find the most game-braving combinations across 2024 D&D, 2014 D&D, Tales of the Valiant, Grim Hollow, you name it. We've just got to come up with the most T-Rex, Horde of Pixies turned into T-Rex level stuff.

Well, clearly we've got to find the most game-braving combinations across 2024 D&D, 2014 D&D, Tales of the Valiant, Grim Hollow, you name it. We've just got to come up with the most T-Rex, Horde of Pixies turned into T-Rex level stuff.

That reminds me, I have to make some really broken stuff to put into this new book, and then I'm going to play the character. Yeah. I'm ready. Yeah. Always thinking just not well.

That reminds me, I have to make some really broken stuff to put into this new book, and then I'm going to play the character. Yeah. I'm ready. Yeah. Always thinking just not well.

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Mastering Dungeons. I'm Sean Merwin here with the red and white supporting Santa Clara loving Teos Abadie. Hey Teos, how's it going?

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Mastering Dungeons. I'm Sean Merwin here with the red and white supporting Santa Clara loving Teos Abadie. Hey Teos, how's it going?

Santa Clara is a division one school, right?

Santa Clara is a division one school, right?

Awesome. Awesome. Well, speaking of greatness, we have some really great listeners out there who ask us some really great questions. And in fact, this week we had two really, really great questions that sort of overlapped. So we're going to do a bit of a deep dive into answering these two questions.

Awesome. Awesome. Well, speaking of greatness, we have some really great listeners out there who ask us some really great questions. And in fact, this week we had two really, really great questions that sort of overlapped. So we're going to do a bit of a deep dive into answering these two questions.

The first one is the short version from Paul Bigby via YouTube, who says, where is the subsystem in any WOTC D&D material that anchors the divine-powered character to the goals of the deity. And yes, I know a demon or cleric can make up some narrative answer, but that's table-specific and has no mechanical incentive or consistency.

The first one is the short version from Paul Bigby via YouTube, who says, where is the subsystem in any WOTC D&D material that anchors the divine-powered character to the goals of the deity. And yes, I know a demon or cleric can make up some narrative answer, but that's table-specific and has no mechanical incentive or consistency.

Clerics and druids are, right now, just different flavors of wizards, and paladins are merely a multi-class fighter wizard.

Clerics and druids are, right now, just different flavors of wizards, and paladins are merely a multi-class fighter wizard.

second question yeah second question from michael draper via patreon this is sort of the longer version hi your discussion of gods and planes in the 2024 players handbook touched briefly on how clerics choose their god and how this determines the domains they can use for their spells the act of choosing the god for a cleric character doesn't just affect that character it also alters the setting of the game

second question yeah second question from michael draper via patreon this is sort of the longer version hi your discussion of gods and planes in the 2024 players handbook touched briefly on how clerics choose their god and how this determines the domains they can use for their spells the act of choosing the god for a cleric character doesn't just affect that character it also alters the setting of the game

Specifically, when the player chooses their cleric's god, they are making it canon that this god's power is active in that world. That's not a minor detail they're adding to the setting. That's defining the ongoing presence of a god in their game. How much of their game leans into that in play may vary, but that god's presence is there as long as that cleric is around.

Specifically, when the player chooses their cleric's god, they are making it canon that this god's power is active in that world. That's not a minor detail they're adding to the setting. That's defining the ongoing presence of a god in their game. How much of their game leans into that in play may vary, but that god's presence is there as long as that cleric is around.

This seems like a fertile concept for class design, providing character creation choices that simultaneously define aspects of the character and the setting, and in doing so enhances the setting and the player character's ties to it. Yet only three D&D classes, Clerics and to a lesser extent Paladins and Warlocks, seem to do this.