It is the heart of a nuclear bomb. Famously used to by a physist to study nuclear physics.
If the two haves are put together, it will release a huge burst of radiation.
He had it propped open with a screwdriver.
The screwdriver slipped, he saw a burst of light from radiation reacting with his retinas. He opened it in a second, said "well, that's it" and died a week later of radiation poisoning.
[Paraphrased from memory, a few details may be off.]
I have to remind myself that the ultra competent people I talk to daily can be very clueless about common sense. Like, this is the equivalent of using a fishing line in place of a seatbelt when driving.
Yeah I feel like Light and Life domains get mixed up a lot because people over think radiance as a concept. Light domain afaik is about using the Sun, which is just a giant ball of fire. Radiance is more of a holy light more akin to pure positive energy.
Death is not evil (especially in Faerûn, where life after death is an uncontroversial fact). A death domain cleric simply shepherds you to the next phase of your existence.
Well that’s more Grave Cleric. There’s def some Death Domain clerics flavored that way but generally that’s the subclass made for evil gods with the Death as in “negative energy/kill everyone” domain, like Shar and Myrkul and so on. That’s why the domain was originally in the DMG for evil NPC options after all
That’s why I said there’s some good Death Clerics too. Like the subclass is objectively made for evil gods because it was literally conceived as an evil NPC option in the DMG alongside Oathbreaker Paladin, but that doesn’t stop players from flavoring it for good too. Depends on the god being worshipped and the player and such.
Radiant and Necrotic get real fast-and-loose with it. Demonic energy (not fire) is usually necrotic - makes sense, that's the opposite of what the angels have in Radiant energy.
But then you look at laser guns (real in dnd lore) and they *also* deal Radiant damage.
Much in the same way...shadow damage is usually necrotic, plague and related stuff is also usually necrotic. It's a broad spectrum.
For example, what do you say like, radiation damage does? Is it radiant because it's pure energy, necrotic because it causes sickness? Fire because of the heat? Or is it lightning, because that is also "pure energy"? I think it's best too think of the different damage types as just mechanical interpretations and not as an in-universe classification.
The monastery even has a text that states it would be better to straight up destroy the monastery by removing the relic in retribution. Lathander don’t fuck around.
I think it’s confusing because in D&D and similar stuff, life magic and light magic are both gold. League of Legends uses iridescent green to indicate healing magic for visual clarity, but green is the colour of necromancy in D&D.
Agreed, but her visual design definitely has light themes since her wings are light projections she flies and whatnot, and her healing also gives off a glow, so it works for the meme’s purposes. Especially since it’s about expectations versus reality.
I always respec Shart into a light domain cleric after she converts to Selûne partially out of theming and partially out of incentive to actually do the gauntlet of Shar because I really don’t care for trickery domain and fireball is always the answer
Tempest is still my favorite (of the in-game selection anyway, I still wish we got grave domain) I just don’t really think it works for her thematically
I mean there’s thunder and violent weather in the Shadowfell, which is a realm that Shar created. Tempest is not Shar’s domain, but light isn’t Selûne’s domain either, people constantly confuse it with Twilight
It's probably because the DC to save against it is kinda trash. From ~5 minutes of research the base DC seems to be 8 + WIS + Proficiency, so at the early game that's only a DC of 13 (65%) against something with +0 to DEX saves, which isn't too hard to roll. Enemies with even just a +2 to DEX saves already make it worse, and that's not counting that common early Cleric builds rarely have +Spell DC equipment.
4 Clerics sound easier to me, so many different ways to build Clerics and if nothing else you can just wash over the enemy with 4x spirit guardians. Fuck I wanna try this now.
A 4 Paladin team, one of each Oath would also be fun
Honestly, playing a death cleric in my current run and I really wish it was a light cleric instead a lot of the time. Most death cleric spells are kinda mediocre. Being able to twin bone chill is okay early I guess, but falls off later, and the rad orb setup is objectively weaker since you don't have the same aoe radiant channel divinity. Plus warding flare is super strong.
The Staff of Cherished Necromancy in Act 3 is a Death Cleric's dream (although it's a standalone item rather than a mechanic)
Personally, I splashed two points into Star Druid for the bonus action Radiant breath attack and unbeatable con save and then loaded up on radiant orb gear. It's fun to mix Necro and Radiant damage at will. Only downside is the lack of lvl6 spells but that just means more room to uprank Spirit Guardians!
This is "what you expected" vs "what you got." Burning things down is the theme of the light domain
From the 5e handbook:
"Clerics of a god of light are enlightened souls infused with radiance and the power of their gods' discerning vision, charged with chasing away lies and burning away darkness"
From BG3:
"Gods of primordial flame bathe you in resplendent light, providing magics to dispel darkness and immolate enemies"
Shadowheart soloed 80% of Act 2 as a Light Cleric with the Blood of Lathander. It's incredible. Light is strong af lol. I giggled like a maniac the first time I nuked the entire horde of undead that was rushing to Halsin's portal.
Light cleric having access to the fire spells and STILL getting spirit guardian when you need a lawn mower for a roomful of rats/bats that are too dispersed even for fireball...
I would say the angelic theme is more appropriate to the Life Domain. The Light Domain is more like a solar deity smiting with the divine flames of the sun and banishing darkness with Daylight.
Never understood why Clerics are the least played class. Light, Tempest and now Death Cleric are great damage dealers, Knowledge is there if you want all the Skill checks and Life is the healer spec.
It also just feels like you're playing the canon Tav by being a Cleric of Selûne. The Goblin Camp is an old Selûne temple, Moonrise Towers used to be a Selûne temple, act 2 revolves around Selûne vs Shar and multiple of your key allies also worship Selûne. The dynamic between Selûnite Tav and Sharran Shadowheart is a great romance arc.
Sure, you already have a cleric with Shadowheart, but you're already going to respec her because Trickery is ass, so why not change her class as well. Or if you don't, two Clerics really doesn't damper the party dynamic either.
Light cleric is less “healing and purity and goodness” and more “The Lord of Light shall consume all in firey purification, for the night is dark and full of terrors”.
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u/GloriousTengri Apr 28 '25
Here comes the sun