Disempowered Clerics

[Cheiromancer]

Suppose a cleric irrevocably loses his powers. He is no longer as powerful as a character of his level- how much weaker is he?

To give a specific example, suppose we are talking about a 12th level former cleric. Without his powers, what level character is he equivalent to?

 

[Cheiromancer]

I have two ideas: either reduce his effective level by one for every 3 full levels he had, as follows:

Old level/new level
1..........1
2..........2
3..........2
4..........3
5..........4
6..........4
7..........5
8..........6
9..........6
10..........7
11..........8
12..........8
etc.

Or... make an adjustment to CR (and LA) according to the highest spell level the cleric could cast:

Up to 3rd level: -1 CR
4th level: -2 CR
5th level: -3 CR
6th level: -4 CR
7th level: -5 CR
8th level: -6 CR
9th level: -7 CR

Any thoughts?

 

[TwoSix]

Well, with d8 HD, 3/4 BAB progression, and good armor proficiencies, he'd be most similar to the aristocrat. He's certainly better than the commoner. So, that would put him at -1 CR, or CR 11. Still I'd consider him quite a bit less effective than even an aristocrat of his level, since he has so few skills. Maybe the equivalent of a 9th or 10th level character?

 

[Cheiromancer]

Would you say that a 20th level aristocrat is as effective as a 19th level fighter or rogue? I'd say more like 15th or so.

In general, I think an aristocrat is about equivalent to a PC class 3/4 his level.

 

[comrade raoul]

Would you say that a 20th level aristocrat is as effective as a 19th level fighter or rogue? I'd say more like 15th or so.

In general, I think an aristocrat is about equivalent to a PC class 3/4 his level.

If that. A typical fighter 15 wouldn't want to trade his bonus feats for the skill set of a 20th-level aristocrat. Although 3/4 is probably as good an equivalence as any.

 

[TwoSix]

Would you say that a 20th level aristocrat is as effective as a 19th level fighter or rogue? I'd say more like 15th or so.

In general, I think an aristocrat is about equivalent to a PC class 3/4 his level.

Oh no, I definitely agree with you. Just that in general, encounters with a creature with an NPC class have a CR of the levels of NPC class - 1. I'd agree with the roughly 3/4 equivalence for a NPC class. A 12th level aristocrat (or fallen cleric) has about the effectiveness of a 9th level PC class character.