Cleric changing deity?

[PolarOne]

Hi all -

First time poster, but a long time lurker checking out the amazing rules expertise here!

I have a question for all of you that I can't figure out from looking through the books. I know that if a cleric has a massive alignment change or breaks with his deities teachings he loses all clerical abilities (spells, turn undead, domain abilities, ability to use wands/scrolls) until he does some kind of atonement.

What happens if the cleric decides not to do some kind of atonement, but instead starts following another god more appropriate to their new situation (alignment shift/change of philosophy)? Would they have to start over as a 1st level cleric of the new god or would they have to perform an atonement to the new god and then go back to their old level of cleric?

Also I want to confirm that a cleric has to be the exact alignment of their god - it's only worshippers that can be one step removed from the god's alignment right?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Clerics follow the one-step rule as far as alignment goes. Thus, a LG deity can have LN, LG, and NG clerics. A CN deity can have CG, CN, and CE clerics.

Worshippers have no such restriction.

As for what happens when you switch gods, that's campaign dependent. There's nothing in the base rules that describe what you must do, but it is layed out in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Basically, you must receive an atonement from a cleric of the deity to which you are switching, and it is common for them to require a quest before they will grant it.

As soon as you receive that atonment, your clerical abilities are restored (though you must pick your domains from your new deity's list). You most certainly don't have to start over at level 1!

 

[PolarOne]

Thanks! Good to know about the one step for clerics (the pickings at CN are pretty slim otherwise), as that would give me some flexibility.

I guess I'll have to check with the DM then as far as what I can do to select a new god.