Bagpuss said:
You say that, yet there is nothing in the Cleric class that actually ties it to a Church Hierarchy, no requirement to attend you temple, or make pilgrimages, pay dues, or even get paid, or perform duties for the people, etc. In fact you don't even have to follow a particular god so why the need for being part of a Church Hierarchy.
You'll note that I prefaced my comments with "IMC" meaning, "In My Campaign." As such, my clerics are tied to a church, in theory if not in actuality. Clerics, for me, are a representation of those ordained priests who are especially blessed by their gods. I think the flavor of the class supports this quite well, if not always the mechanics.
As a side note, clerics who do not worship a particular god instead worship a personified concept. "The Great Good" as an entity, or "the Matrix Supreme" etc.
Considering the adventuring nature of most PC Clerics, and the fact they only really tend to aid a small group of people (the PC's) most of the time I would say the majority of Clerics are outside the Church Hierarchy.
I will not gainsay you in your campaign.
In mine, clerics are more a combination of the wandering friars sent into the wilds to convert heathens, and the warrior-priests of the Middle Ages. They may act independently, far from ecclesiastical authority for the most part, but they
do have an ecclesiastical rank, and a place in the hierarchy of the Church.
Those who are called upon by the gods are Favored Souls.
To look at it from a different angle, the clerics are those who seek out God, who choose to dedicate themselves to His service. They are priests by vocation, and due to their particularly strong faith and conviction, God grants their prayers special puissance.
Favored Souls do not seek out God. Instead, God has chosen
them to serve as vessels for his power. They are similar to paladins in tenor, though the Favored Soul need not be so martial a calling.
