Clerical Magic

[Ero Gaki]

One thing that has always attracted me to mages is the overall usefulness of their spells. Not only can you blast your eneimes to dust, but you are capable of flight, creating servants to clean for you, and so many other things. Then I think of cleric magic, and I cringe. I know clerics are good healers, and they can, with the right spell combo, do massive damage, but their spells don't seem all that useful in an everyday manner. That, besides the constant cry of "heal me, cleric" turns me off to playing clerics. I don't like playing a spell caster and not having the versitility.

Am I wrong about this? Have I missed something about the nature of clerical magic? I'm interested because I might end up playing a cleric in an upcoming game, would like to know whether or not I will just be healing and killing.

 

[kenobi65]

Especially now, in 3E, with spontaneous casting of healing spells, I think clerics get sold short by a lot of players.

True, the clerical spell list doesn't have the versatility of the wizard list....but....

- They do get all the Summon Monster spells
- They certainly can fly (Air Walk)
- They have a stronger suite of divination magic than wizards do
- They have a number of "control the environment" spells (e.g., Stone Shape, Control Water, etc.)
- They get a great selection of buff spells, most usable on self or ally
- In addition to their few damage-dealing spells, they also get a number of spells that really make the opponents miserable (e.g., Hold Person, Bestow Curse, Blindness / Deafness)

And, if you're concerned about being nothing but a healing battery, spend 750gp on a wand of Cure Light Wounds.

 

[Henry]

People often forget the edge that clerics get -- their domains. Through domains, clerics get at least once per day spells such as teleport, fly, prismatic wall, power word blindness, stoneskin, etc. in addition to their clerical magic.

While clerics CAN heal, they needn't be tied to it; you might even come to a pre-existing agreement with your party that they need to bring their own healing to the table, whether a wand you'll generous use on their behalf, or their own potions. Then, your healing solely becomes one of healing only during combat, in emergencies, and not to be the "free font" during rest times. The cleric has far more important duties like bless, prayer, augury, bull's strength, entropic shield, divine power, righteous might, inflict wounds, speak with dead, water walk, water breathing, planar ally, etc. on up to control spells such as blade barrier, storm of vengance, holy word, fire storm, and earthquake.

I played a Cleric/fighter a couple of years back (about a 3:1 level split) and my focus was not healing, and the party did not ask it to be; my focus was on buffing up and splitting people in half with a greataxe, which I was VERY, VERY good at.

A cleric is only as limited as the imagination of its player (same as any class, I suppose).

 

[Bardsandsages]

*Divine magic is not subject to armor penalties for casting
*Clerics have more hit points and better fighting skills than wizards

These two things are so important when suddenly your character ends up in close combat. The wizard, unable to wear armor and without any means of defending himself, becomes useless as soon as someone is within sword reach. Its the reason why wizards are the first targets in any mass attack, they are easily nuetralized before they can become deadly.

Clerics, on the other hand, can fend for themselves nicely. While not possessing the sheer marital prowess of a fighter, they can definately hold their own.

 

[werk]

And, if you're concerned about being nothing but a healing battery, spend 750gp on a wand of Cure Light Wounds.

I second that, and play neutral/rebuke undead, so you can't drop for heals.

"Cleric, heal me!"
"I think you're confused..."

 

[Whimsical]

Wizards masters magic to serve them.

Gods gets Clerics to serve them, and grants them the tools to further their will.

A thematic distinction that explains why certain spells aren't on one list or the other.

 

[Haltherrion]

Am I wrong about this? Have I missed something about the nature of clerical magic? I'm interested because I might end up playing a cleric in an upcoming game, would like to know whether or not I will just be healing and killing.

Until 3e, I nearly always played wizards and never played clerics. Since 3e, I've played clerics fairly often and like them a lot. It should be noted that we let clerics free cast (like sorcerers, including limiting known spells). Some people even consider them over powered although I don't see that myself.

Clerics have such a wide range of spells that they can be useful in many situations. And while just a few are outright zap the bad guys spells, they can operate in a wide range of situation. It is true that this rarely puts them in the forefront of things (i.e., it still tends to be a supporting role) but from roleplay situations to sneaking to battles of all types they can do a fair amount.

Anyway, I'd recommend giving them a shot. You may like the new clerics. As others noted, find some fun domains and consider some of the prestige classes. My cleric is a radiant follower of pelor (mod'd for the current setting) and that makes him quite potent against undead and makes the healing even better.