D&D 2E 2E specialty clerics

[Savage Wombat]

I'm getting the impression that everyone here really likes the 2E rules for specialty priests - suggesting that they are desired in 5E.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Sounds nice, but I don't know 2e rules well enough to comment.

Perhaps you could post an explanation as to what you feel makes them mechanically special?

 

[Tallifer]

Fourth Edition builds or Pathfinder domains seem good enough to me. I never even saw this mechanic of which you write (having skipped from AD&D to 4e).

 

[drothgery]

I'm getting the impression that everyone here really likes the 2E rules for specialty priests - suggesting that they are desired in 5E.

Everyone thought they were interesting and flavorful... and that a standard cleric was way more powerful than most of them.

 

[Savage Wombat]

Sounds nice, but I don't know 2e rules well enough to comment.

Perhaps you could post an explanation as to what you feel makes them mechanically special?

Let's see what I remember then.

In 2E, specialty priests differed from standard clerics because their abilities were customized by deity.

A cleric of a ranger-god might have proficiency in ranger-type weapons, but only be able to wear leather armor. He would have access to certain groups of spells, linked thematically (like Animal and Plant spheres) that ordinary clerics did not receive. Like the domain spells for 3E clerics, but without the limited number of spell slots. Instead of turning undead, they might get other abilities. A specialty priest of war might be almost as good at melee as a fighter, while a priest of magic might seem an awful lot like a wizard.

All of this would be tailored by the DM to fit his clerics. The players could choose to be a cleric of the god, or a specialty priest of that god and have different powers.

Basically, it's increased customization options on the DM's end.

 

[gyor]

I believe they plan on splitting the cleric into two classes the tradional cleric and the speciality priest.

 

[Ahnehnois]

In 2E, specialty priests differed from standard clerics because their abilities were customized by deity.

That's what I thought. In that case, I think it's good. The more different characters can be mechanically different, the better. The more specific the religious classes are to their religion, the better.

 

[Scribble]

Everyone thought they were interesting and flavorful... and that a standard cleric was way more powerful than most of them.

Interesting... It seems to me the specialty clerics were more powerful. They had added bonuses with little to no drawbacks.

 

[billd91]

I like specialty clerics a lot, but I think I prefer Domains from 3e/PF and the use of feats and other similar features to differentiate clerics. I find that all a lot easier.

And if a specialty cleric in 2e came across as too powerful or gaining power without drawbacks, it probably meant the person designing the specialty didn't cut back enough on spell sphere access.

 

[Sunseeker]

I think making the whole of cleric abilities dependent upon their gods would simply result in too many variables. If gods have favored weapons and favored armor, and some domain abilities/spells, that's really enough. We don't need every cleric of *god name* to be the same or even every cleric of every god slightly different.

IMO, the cleric should expand to incorporate some of the various lighter-armored divine roles that have been invented over the years, and pass on the more heavily armored roles to the Paladin(giving the paladin back such roles as backup healer).

Variety is nice, but I think 2e's specialty clerics takes it a little too far. If people want to build their cleric into a specialty cleric, there should be options supporting that. But they shouldn't constitute entire classes.