D&D 5E The multiclass cleric-cleric (aka the follower of two gods)

Hemlock said:

Henotheism is the norm for clerics in 5E but it's still weird. Just let the cleric be polytheistic and have done. "I beseech Apollo for the blessing of healing, and Diana for swiftness in the hunt." Etc.

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henotheism
ˈhɛnəʊˌθiːɪz(ə)m
noun
adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group.

Interesting.

The oddest thing about something like the Forgotten Realms is that there doesn't appear to be a religion. It's just individual gods people follow with the idea, especially in Adventurers League, that people follow only one god.

It's just really bizarre.

Hemlock said:

Henotheism is the norm for clerics in 5E but it's still weird. Just let the cleric be polytheistic and have done. "I beseech Apollo for the blessing of healing, and Diana for swiftness in the hunt." Etc.

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Anyone else here this jingle when they saw the word Henotheism? +1 for the vocabulary lesson.

I agree with [MENTION=6801311]KahlessNestor[/MENTION] that Magic Initiate is probably the easiest way to represent this mechanic. If the cleric is able to bring other believers 'into the fold' you could swap out some of the Domain spells that the cleric rarely uses for Domain spells of the new god.

And yes, it does seem bizarre that there really isn't a religion if FR and the pantheon is really rather a jumble of gods. I haven't read any of the novels -perhaps it is fleshed out in some detail there. When it comes up in my games (which is almost never), the average citizens typically pay homage to all gods as the situation dictates. It is just clerics and priests who dedicate themselves to serving one god.

From a story perspective, I've always assumed that the D&D gods still formed into rough psuedo-pantheons that had quite a bit of overlap of worshipers -- more like overlapping circles of friends than clubs with secret handshakes. Still, a lost little beetle isn't likely to be part of any of those circles and might cause some rub. I'd be hesitant to allow the cleric to split his attention/worship. Also, pity is far, far different from worship and not likely to be welcomed.

Still, if the Cleric's original god has a compatible sphere of influence, it's possible the beetle god could be seen as a long lost ally and the association welcomed. So, if the Cleric is currently worshiping a god of nature, say, and the beetle represents the cycle of decay and rebirth, then all is good. If the Cleric is worshiping a god of the sun, though, and the beetle is patron to those who toil unseen, there could be a problem. But, the way D&D Cleric mechanics work, maybe the god doesn't get as much say in the hobbies of their worshipers as one might expect.

If you do decide to allow it, I really like the Magic Initiate idea.

Story-wise, the question is whether the Tree god allows for the cleric to also be a faithful clerci of another god. If so, then you need to find the mechanic that fits your story.

Multiclassing cleric-cleric, magic initiate, domains have all been proposed. Or, you could have the cleric have a single class progression, but simply throw in powers and restrictions that represent each god (domains being one incarnation of this). You could also consider whether this weakling god is powerful enough to give powers as a cleric, or if it would not be more akin to warlock pact.

Why not just treat the new god as a magic item? It gives you a limited suite of divine powers, in exchange for the character's worship. It's not really that different than finding a staff.

Ancalagon said:

The players, feeling sorry for the godling, offered it a few sacrifices. Then the player playing the cleric (a slugman following the Memory Tree) wondered if she could also start following this god, as she felt it sort of went hand in hand with her original god. I said, semi-kiddingly "you mean... like multiclassing cleric cleric?". She answered "If I have to".

So now I'm wondering... how would that even work? Obviously it would have to be a different domain, and it would kill your access to high level spells, but... I'm intrigued. Are there huge pitfalls to multi-classing two archetypes?

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So...what about instead of taking Cleric levels, the player enters into a "Pact" with the god and begins taking Warlock levels with the god being the patron? Depending on how far you want to take it, maybe you can even reskin the Warlock class to suit this.

Or, another option, what about using the Favored Soul UA Class? That could also fit while maintaining current Cleric levels.

The simplest way to worship 2 gods is if they get along and grant the same domain.
In that case nothing changes rules wise. each god just contributes a percentage of the power needed for each spell.


If they grant difrent domains it can get more dificult and you can end up with uninteded (broken) results.
I would say when you gain access to a new domain spell you do not get them both, bot have to pick between the spels granted by each domain.
maybe he would get acces to both channel divinity options given at lvl2 of the doains, but no aditional uses of channel divinity just some mopre options to chose from.


But in this case you talk about a god that is very weak maybe even barely capable of granting powers.
so maybe this god would guide him to a special holy simbol, that in efect works as a pearl of power the god being unable to grant more power at this point.

Is there a multiclass that makes sense in another class what is her current domain and what is the other domain