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2/18/13 L&L column
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<blockquote data-quote="Balesir" data-source="post: 6091408" data-attributes="member: 27160"><p>As it happens I agree that it can easily be designed this way, but I think the demand that "a party with a cleric should be able to face 5 encounters before resting, a party without a cleric only 4" is queering the pitch. I think if the difference is that marked, then something is awry; but I don't think it has to be so with the cleric still "special".</p><p></p><p>Right - so, it follows, the cleric can do some damage to monsters, too. It has less healing, but greater damage output. Healing is very useful - but so is damage output. Damage output means monsters die sooner, which means the party takes less damage. Get this balance right, and I think you're golden.</p><p></p><p>One issue with 3e, especially, is that, if s/he gets lucky, a cleric alone can take two fighters (using command, hold person and such - with good rolls). It seems to me that two fighters should, with luck, be able to take a cleric and a fighter. Whichever way the battle goes, the winners should be out of resources, all else being equal (i.e. cleric out of spells, fighters out of hit points, or near to).</p><p></p><p>In other words, the cleric should not be clearly superior to the fighter. Able to do different things - sure! One of healing's main benefits is to distribute damage around the party - i.e. the party with a reduced-damage-doer will take a bit more damage, but by healing selected parts of that the damage can be distributed more as they wish. Add to that clerical spells and turning undead and you have some very distinctive capabilities - but not a character that allows the party to hit harder and fight longer without any downsides.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Balesir, post: 6091408, member: 27160"] As it happens I agree that it can easily be designed this way, but I think the demand that "a party with a cleric should be able to face 5 encounters before resting, a party without a cleric only 4" is queering the pitch. I think if the difference is that marked, then something is awry; but I don't think it has to be so with the cleric still "special". Right - so, it follows, the cleric can do some damage to monsters, too. It has less healing, but greater damage output. Healing is very useful - but so is damage output. Damage output means monsters die sooner, which means the party takes less damage. Get this balance right, and I think you're golden. One issue with 3e, especially, is that, if s/he gets lucky, a cleric alone can take two fighters (using command, hold person and such - with good rolls). It seems to me that two fighters should, with luck, be able to take a cleric and a fighter. Whichever way the battle goes, the winners should be out of resources, all else being equal (i.e. cleric out of spells, fighters out of hit points, or near to). In other words, the cleric should not be clearly superior to the fighter. Able to do different things - sure! One of healing's main benefits is to distribute damage around the party - i.e. the party with a reduced-damage-doer will take a bit more damage, but by healing selected parts of that the damage can be distributed more as they wish. Add to that clerical spells and turning undead and you have some very distinctive capabilities - but not a character that allows the party to hit harder and fight longer without any downsides. [/QUOTE]
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