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I just made a post in the paladin folder in reference to this issue and thought I'd migrate some of that discussion over here since it's a shared issue.
There's currently an imbalance within both the cleric and paladin classes in regards to deity-specific effects to spells. Some versions of the spells are completely gimp, some verge on being overpowered. Both results stem from GMs using various crit tables to replicate effects they perceive to be closely tied to the deity in question. This practice results in players either choosing their deity for mechanical advantages, or feeling like they've gimped their character by choosing a deity based on RP. Just fyi: The smite/bane discussion is another can of worms and you guys are on your own.
Some examples of the more comical combos
-Lorminstra cold flares + undead immunity to cold
-Grapple flares for your most powerful attack spell ...really?
-Steam
Given this imbalance I'd suggest the following as a more robust system for handling deity specific effects. Migrate all paladin and cleric spells to use the plasma table for crits, and create new deity-specific crit tables for messaging. It might sound like a lot of work, but doing that would allow the reuse of existing text anytime a new spell is added without having to write the messaging from scratch and it would equalize all members within the same class mechanically.
Dgry
Lorminstra gets plasma. The messaging is cold but the crit is plasma. This is a Lorminstran 319 clip. There is a secondary cold crit for Lorminstra in 317, but the main deity specific crits of Lorminstra are plasma.
...
As you pour your soul into an appeal to Lorminstra, the image of a snow-covered forest with an open ebon gate at its center flashes through your mind, and the cold of winter slowly settles into your bones.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
>
It begins to snow -- small, white, faintly glowing snowflakes that appear immediately overhead and drift delicately down to dissolve as soon as they strike the ground. Several strike your skin, and, instead of melting, they only deepen the icy chill that resides within your marrow. The power of Lorminstra has answered your prayer.
>
As several faintly glowing snowflakes settle upon a niirsha, they ignite with cold white flame.
CS: +152 - TD: +77 + CvA: +25 + d100: +70 == +170
Warding failed!
... and hits for 43 points of damage!
... 25 points of damage!
Intense beam of plasma shears away large chunks of the niirsha's forearm!
The niirsha is stunned!
...
As you pour your soul into an appeal to Lorminstra, the image of a snow-covered forest with an open ebon gate at its center flashes through your mind, and the cold of winter slowly settles into your bones.
Cast Roundtime 3 Seconds.
>
It begins to snow -- small, white, faintly glowing snowflakes that appear immediately overhead and drift delicately down to dissolve as soon as they strike the ground. Several strike your skin, and, instead of melting, they only deepen the icy chill that resides within your marrow. The power of Lorminstra has answered your prayer.
>
As several faintly glowing snowflakes settle upon a niirsha, they ignite with cold white flame.
CS: +152 - TD: +77 + CvA: +25 + d100: +70 == +170
Warding failed!
... and hits for 43 points of damage!
... 25 points of damage!
Intense beam of plasma shears away large chunks of the niirsha's forearm!
The niirsha is stunned!
