Cloistered Cleric

[orsal]

Which book is the cloistered cleric variant in?

Unearthed Arcana. Also available in some versions of the SRD, such as here.

 

[Greg K]

Which book is the cloistered cleric variant in?

Unearthed Arcana (my favorite WOTC supplement for DND). You can also find it here http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/variantClasses.htm at d20srd.org

 

[Greg K]

okay. looks like someone just barely beat me to it.

 

[Greg K]

Have you seen one in play. Was low AC low BAB cleric too much of a liability?

Not at all unless you are simply playing H&S. It is closer to what I think the cleric should have been and served as an example for tailoring clerics to deity in my game (as I don't think lore and the bonus spells are appropriate for clerics of several
deities).

- more skill points per level (always good as many players complain that 2+int is not enough)
- additional class skills
- Lore (bardic Lore)
- Knowledge domain automatically in addition to their normal domains
- additional spells

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Hrm. I was thinking of the cloistered cleric from Dragon #68 (it was also in one of the "Best of" volumes, but I don't recall which one).

 

[Greg K]

Agreed 100%. This allows you to play an actual clergyman or a 'holy warrior', whereas the current default is squarely 'holy warriror' right out of the gate. More options is good, says I.

Yeah, but now I think I wish the standard cleric had a bard's spell progression (placing it half way between fighter and cloistered cleric) and received some little bennies in return - possibly
- 2 additional skill points per level (placing it half way between fighter and cloistered cleric just like with HD and BAB)
- a few bonus feats (choice of divine or fighter) every 5 levels.
- maybe all martial weapons
- maybe divine grace as paladin

Yeah, this would step on Paladin's toes, but I hate that paladin's don't get spells until level 4. It also allows for holy warriors that more customizeable to their deity and reflects a middle ground of focus on martial prowess and clerical devotion without the hoops of multiclassing..

 

[GQuail]

Am interested to see all the positive words in this thread. I was considering using it as a repalcement for the Cleric in a new campaign I had brewing: one with a more Age of Sail bent, where I felt such a cleric might not feel quite as out of place as the default Knights Templar one. But I was unsure if that would strip the Cleric of all it's fun, relegating them to healing from the back: apparently, not.

To those who have played it, do you find the Knowledge Domain, Lore skill and revised spell list change majorly your role in the party? Does, say, having Identify or all Knowldge skills change how a "core 4" group behaves with this in the party?

 

[Piratecat]

Thanks!

 

[der_kluge]

Am interested to see all the positive words in this thread. I was considering using it as a repalcement for the Cleric in a new campaign I had brewing: one with a more Age of Sail bent, where I felt such a cleric might not feel quite as out of place as the default Knights Templar one. But I was unsure if that would strip the Cleric of all it's fun, relegating them to healing from the back: apparently, not.

To those who have played it, do you find the Knowledge Domain, Lore skill and revised spell list change majorly your role in the party? Does, say, having Identify or all Knowldge skills change how a "core 4" group behaves with this in the party?

My recommendation would be to add Heal and Profession() as class skills to the Cloistered Clerics relatively limited number of class skills. That will make them a bit more rounded out. The class is supposed to be a "bookworm" type character - relegated to a library somewhere, but obviously if they're creating a class, they have to assume that people are gonna play it. Therefore, I would make those changes to even it out. That's about the only real drawback I've seen.

 

[GQuail]

My recommendation would be to add Heal and Profession() as class skills to the Cloistered Clerics relatively limited number of class skills. That will make them a bit more rounded out. The class is supposed to be a "bookworm" type character - relegated to a library somewhere, but obviously if they're creating a class, they have to assume that people are gonna play it. Therefore, I would make those changes to even it out. That's about the only real drawback I've seen.

That seems sensible to me: Profession is one of those "freebie" class skills almost everyone gets, and without Heal you could end up with a party that has all the traditional niches but no-one packing this skill - and especially at low level, that could prove fatal.