Deities' favoured weapons

[incognito]

3 things:

I play with a DM who insists that all ceric should use thier dieties favored weapon (which I do not).

Yes, the conventional 3E cleric ends up being responsible for the healing, unless you have a party with "other" healing classes. Would it be better to have clerics be more specialized? I don't know. Soemone one suggested having clerics ONLY able to cast thier domain spells! Yikes!

I created a Sorcerer-type cleric that casts on the fly, and whose DCs depend on CHA. I call it the Priest:

Wizard BAB
Will save is the only strong save
Access to ALL the cleric spells + a single domain
spell progression as a std. cleric inlclusing single casting of the domian spell.
Turns/Rebukes undead as std cleric
light armor proficiency (no shield prof)
simple weapon prof
4 skill points/level (Similar skills list as Cleric + sense motive, intimidate, and bluff

 

[Greybar]

Does it make sense that each cleric of even non-martial deities has heavy armour proficiency, as well as proficiency with all simple weapons?
Does the fact that the cleric is designed to be a capable melee combatant, rankle anyone else?

I certainly sympathize your your pain here. In making 3E descriptions for the godesses in my game, I often find the "favored weapon" idea just hard to match.

The goddess of healing and light isn't entirely pacificistic, but I don't see her followers depicting her as wading into combat. Ditto for the goddess of wisdom and knowledge. Both would "wield" their divine power in the form of spells. Their followers would not have any particular preference for one physical weapon over another.

John

 

[Fenris]

I agree!

That is why I liked the way it finally boiled down in 2nd Ed. In the Priest's Handbook it let you customize EACH priesthood for a diety. I had 5 dieties IMC each priethood was different. Some had better access to weapons and armor, some could only wear leather and use lassos and quarterstaves. But the special abilities made up for it and made each priesthood different and special. I really do miss that aspect in 3rd Ed. It is almost a throw back to the old 1st ed, mace carrying, sling wielding cleric. Not every cleric, even adventuring ones should be alike. Dieties, being fickle, should mean that clerics are a more diverse class than they are.

 

[Destil]

Personaly I'm rather big on trading class abilities. Turn undead and heavy armor some times don't make much sense, so I'll generaly allow these to be traded to some degree for something more in line with the class.