Diety favored weapon - is cleric automatically proficient?

[Lasher Dragon]

LMAO Merak

 

[kenobi65]

Actually, everybody's proficient with Simple weapons, right? Even commoners?

Nope; commoners get only *one* simple weapon. Among PC classes, wizards and druids only get proficiency with a specific subset of weapons; they don't get blanket proficiency with all simple weapons.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I would say the Cleric doesn't "automatically" get it, but can get it, whether Exotic, Martial or Simple

Well, of course they can get it. Everyone can acquire proficiency in every weapon.

 

[isoChron]

Among PC classes, wizards and druids only get proficiency with a specific subset of weapons; they don't get blanket proficiency with all simple weapons.

Add monks to that list, too. They are proficient with some of the simple weapons but not all.

 

[taliesin15]

merakspielman:
It just seems odd that while clerics are attending cleric school, they are taught to use tons of other weapons, but not the one their deity would prefer them to use.

[first: looks like I'm probably wrong on the rule]
that's assuming that the campaign in question is oriented this way--IMC, trying to be closer to tribal/mythical verities, there's no such thing as cleric schools, rather one belongs to a tribe where everyone invokes the Gods (from Odin to Loki, perhaps beyond the Norse pantheon too), and if you like Odin you tend to use a War Spear or Thor a War Hammer or Tyr a LongSword or Hel a Bastard Sword--whether you are granted divine powers is kind of a secondary consideration...most learn from their parents how to wield weapons--plus I think the paradigm is more of a one on one thing rather than a school?

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

It just seems odd that while clerics are attending cleric school, they are taught to use tons of other weapons, but not the one their deity would prefer them to use.

Perhaps this is because it is not actually the one weapon that their deity would prefer them to use. Their god may in fact have absolutely no preference for what weapons his clerics wield.

As in, a war god may have his favorite longsword, and songs and stories and epic poems may be written and revered by his church celebrating that famous and most-holy longsword...but this doesn't necessarily mean that when this war god looks down from his lofty castle in the sky, he gets pissed off if his faithful little clerics aren't toting longswords of their own. His portfolio isn't "Waging War with a Longsword," after all...it's WAR. Use a flail or a halberd or a spear or a lance for all he cares, as long as you are showing him the reverence and respect he is due in all matters relating to war, and doing anything else it is that he wants you to do.

Now, clerics being the impressionable little freaks that they are, it's entirely likely that most of them are going to think "I should use a longsword, too!" But that's not a freebie for them: their slavish imitation of their deity is their choice, and not a bonus that their god has granted to them. They can take the proficiency on their own time, with their own resources, because their god has larger and more important concerns.

--
and that goes double for gods who aren't all about the fighting and the killing
ryan

 

[Kae'Yoss]

merakspielman:
that's assuming that the campaign in question is oriented this way--IMC, trying to be closer to tribal/mythical verities, there's no such thing as cleric schools, rather one belongs to a tribe where everyone invokes the Gods (from Odin to Loki, perhaps beyond the Norse pantheon too), and if you like Odin you tend to use a War Spear or Thor a War Hammer or Tyr a LongSword or Hel a Bastard Sword--whether you are granted divine powers is kind of a secondary consideration...most learn from their parents how to wield weapons--plus I think the paradigm is more of a one on one thing rather than a school?

I think in standard campaigns, you learn either in a temple of your god or from a cleric of said god.

In a temple, they will likely have a standard curriculum of basic weapons, weapons that are relatively simple to use (i.e. all simple weapons). This isn't too much of a hassle (simple weapons proficiency is a single feat, after all, but you need one for each martial and exotic weapon unless you get catch-all proficiency from your class), and doesn't distract too much from dweomerworking and religious lore and healing and whatever. If the deity in question favours a simple weapon, that's proably the end of the story as cleric are concerned.
In addition, they'll have some advanced weaponry courses (especially if the deity in question favours a martial or even exotic weapon, or if they are training paladins and other divine champions, too). But since these weapons are harder to use, and clerics aren't fighters, this course isn't mandatory (and costs you a feat to take advantage of)
In the temple of a war god, advanced weapons training with the favoured weapon of the deity is one of the possible "majors" you can choose, not just an additional.


Learning from a fellow cleric in a master-apprentice fashion will probably work much the same, but he will be able to teach you only the stuff he learned by himself, and additional stuff must be self-tought or you'll have to find another instructor for it.



Technical consideration: giving your cleric free use of his god's favoured weapon might not look too bad at first, but some of the gods even use exotic weapons, and considering that clerics already got a lot of stuff, I don't see why they should get a free martial or even exotic weapon proficiency to boot.

 

[Kast]

It's not a bad idea but there has to be quid pro quo. I'd say they could trade all their other wpn profs for their deity's favored weapon prof -- ie they'd only be proficient in the favored weapon. War domain would still get to keep them all of course.