Kerrick
First Post
A month or two ago, I posted some ideas on the cleric, but when I stalled on it, I kind of let it sit. Now I'm back to bash at it some more. Here's what I've got. This is just a general concept - the mechanics are, for the most part, unchanged, so I'm not including them here for reasons of space.
A god's role influences his portfolios and what domains his clerics can choose; it also influences the role his clerics play in the world. The various roles are broken down into four broad categories: combat, healer, support, and utility. A cleric's choice of available spells (and the maximum level for each type of spell) is dependent on his role, as are the class abilities he gains (including weapon and armor proficiencies). All clerics, regardless of their role, are proficient with their god's chosen weapon, even if it's a martial weapon.
A given god can have more than one role (and those with several portfolios often do); generally speaking, common portfolios break down as follows:
Corruption, disease, chaos, entropy: Support, utility
Crafting (any): Healer, utility
Destruction, murder, slaughter, chaos, conflict, war: Combat
Knowledge, divination, the arts: Healer, utility
Life, healing: Healer, support
Luck, chance, gambling, trickery: Support, utility
Magic (arcane or divine): Combat, utility
Nature, plants, animals, weather, sun: Healer, support, utility
Protection, guards, wards: Combat, support
Thieves, darkness, secrets: Support, utility
Travel: Support, utility
Undead, necromancy, death: Healer, utility
This is not, of course, an exhaustive list, but it should enable DMs to match other portfolios with roles that most closely match them.
Based on their roles, clerics can have major, lesser, or minor access to spells. Major focus allows spells of any level; a lesser focus allows spells up to 6th level; and a minor focus allows spells up to 3rd level.
Combat: The cleric fights on the front lines in support of his god. Combat clerics are more concerned with smiting their enemies and crusading in support of the church, so their spells are more focused to that end, rather than supporting others; they can heal to some degree, but not nearly as much as a healer or support cleric. Combat clerics have major focus in offensive spells like flame strike and blade barrier, lesser focus in summoning spells, and minor focus in enhancement and healing spells.
A combat cleric is proficient in all types of armor and shields (except tower shields) and all simple weapons; he also gains proficiency with two martial weapons and has the Weapon Focus feat applied to his god's weapon for free.
(At this point, I'm thinking that a Combat cleric is simply a paladin, so I could remove this role and avoid having clerics overpower fighters as they are now.)
Healer: Clerics who fill this role are most often found in shrines and temples serving the populace at large, not out adventuring. They are the ones who raise the dead, cure diseases, remove curses, and perform other services for fees or donations. They alone have access to the most powerful healing spells (major focus), and lesser focus in divinations and travel spells like astral projection.
Healer clerics very little combat ability – they are proficient in light armor and shields, and can use any six simple weapons.
Support: Support clerics are just that – clerics who remain in the rear and aid their companions with healing, enhancements, and some summoned/created creatures. They have major focus in enhancements and protection and summoning spells, and lesser focus in healing and battlefield control spells.
Support clerics fight if necessary, though they are not nearly as good as combat clerics; their strength lies in their ability to keep their companions in the fight. They are proficient in light and medium armor and shields, and all simple weapons.
Utility: Utility clerics have perhaps the broadest role, but the smallest focus on any one aspect. They provide useful skills to a party like lore and divination, lesser enhancements, created/animated undead and summoned creatures, and battlefield control. They have major access in divinations, utility spells like find traps, travel spells like astral projection, and summoning/creation spells, lesser focus in battlefield control spells like spike stones, and minor focus in healing spells.
Utility clerics are second-line fighters like support clerics – they are proficient in light and medium armor and shields, and all simple weapons, but can also choose one martial weapon (besides their god's chosen weapon, if it is martial).
Spontaneous Casting: A cleric can channel stored spell energy into spells from the domains he did not prepare ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any prepared spell that is not a domain spell in order to cast any domain spell from either of his chosen domains of the same spell level or lower.
A god's role influences his portfolios and what domains his clerics can choose; it also influences the role his clerics play in the world. The various roles are broken down into four broad categories: combat, healer, support, and utility. A cleric's choice of available spells (and the maximum level for each type of spell) is dependent on his role, as are the class abilities he gains (including weapon and armor proficiencies). All clerics, regardless of their role, are proficient with their god's chosen weapon, even if it's a martial weapon.
A given god can have more than one role (and those with several portfolios often do); generally speaking, common portfolios break down as follows:
Corruption, disease, chaos, entropy: Support, utility
Crafting (any): Healer, utility
Destruction, murder, slaughter, chaos, conflict, war: Combat
Knowledge, divination, the arts: Healer, utility
Life, healing: Healer, support
Luck, chance, gambling, trickery: Support, utility
Magic (arcane or divine): Combat, utility
Nature, plants, animals, weather, sun: Healer, support, utility
Protection, guards, wards: Combat, support
Thieves, darkness, secrets: Support, utility
Travel: Support, utility
Undead, necromancy, death: Healer, utility
This is not, of course, an exhaustive list, but it should enable DMs to match other portfolios with roles that most closely match them.
Based on their roles, clerics can have major, lesser, or minor access to spells. Major focus allows spells of any level; a lesser focus allows spells up to 6th level; and a minor focus allows spells up to 3rd level.
Combat: The cleric fights on the front lines in support of his god. Combat clerics are more concerned with smiting their enemies and crusading in support of the church, so their spells are more focused to that end, rather than supporting others; they can heal to some degree, but not nearly as much as a healer or support cleric. Combat clerics have major focus in offensive spells like flame strike and blade barrier, lesser focus in summoning spells, and minor focus in enhancement and healing spells.
A combat cleric is proficient in all types of armor and shields (except tower shields) and all simple weapons; he also gains proficiency with two martial weapons and has the Weapon Focus feat applied to his god's weapon for free.
(At this point, I'm thinking that a Combat cleric is simply a paladin, so I could remove this role and avoid having clerics overpower fighters as they are now.)
Healer: Clerics who fill this role are most often found in shrines and temples serving the populace at large, not out adventuring. They are the ones who raise the dead, cure diseases, remove curses, and perform other services for fees or donations. They alone have access to the most powerful healing spells (major focus), and lesser focus in divinations and travel spells like astral projection.
Healer clerics very little combat ability – they are proficient in light armor and shields, and can use any six simple weapons.
Support: Support clerics are just that – clerics who remain in the rear and aid their companions with healing, enhancements, and some summoned/created creatures. They have major focus in enhancements and protection and summoning spells, and lesser focus in healing and battlefield control spells.
Support clerics fight if necessary, though they are not nearly as good as combat clerics; their strength lies in their ability to keep their companions in the fight. They are proficient in light and medium armor and shields, and all simple weapons.
Utility: Utility clerics have perhaps the broadest role, but the smallest focus on any one aspect. They provide useful skills to a party like lore and divination, lesser enhancements, created/animated undead and summoned creatures, and battlefield control. They have major access in divinations, utility spells like find traps, travel spells like astral projection, and summoning/creation spells, lesser focus in battlefield control spells like spike stones, and minor focus in healing spells.
Utility clerics are second-line fighters like support clerics – they are proficient in light and medium armor and shields, and all simple weapons, but can also choose one martial weapon (besides their god's chosen weapon, if it is martial).
Spontaneous Casting: A cleric can channel stored spell energy into spells from the domains he did not prepare ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any prepared spell that is not a domain spell in order to cast any domain spell from either of his chosen domains of the same spell level or lower.
