Do You Feel The Cleric Is Balanced?

[A'koss]

IME, it all depends on how the cleric is played. If they are treated like a healing vending machine (which most are) then they're pretty well balanced.

It's when you play your cleric the way you play a wizard - heavy offense/heavy defense where they can prove beyond a doubt that they are the most powerful core class in the game.


Cheers,

A'koss.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Clerics are one of my favorite classes. Though it's because I've largely sapped them out of their "Look at me, I'm in a big Gothic catherdral and I heal people!" image. I think, like with the Monk, it's a case of assumptions limiting the flavor of the class.

For instance, in my current campaign, there is a large city that has a whole lot of philosophical groups with their HQ's there. Not a church, but similar, all playing large roles in the city. There's a lot of philosophical clerics there.

I've played animistic clerics, clerics of philosophies, clerics who worshiped people, and megalomaniacal clerics who worshiped themselves.

All fun.

 

[fusangite]

The reason the cleric is overbalanced is that it is an inconvenience to have the sole or primary responsibility for the group's overall health. I think it's quite reasonable for the rules to give clerics more power than other characters because often, those Sound Bursts and Hold Persons are never even cast because the cleric is running around, pouring hit points into people throughout a combat. I think players should be compensated for this inconvenience and so I'm just fine with clerics being more powerful than anyone else.

 

[tarchon]

The cleric in our campaign is definitely unbalanced.

 

[Gort]

I played a funky cleric of the Sea. He was great.

Prexus Waveshine in his glittering silver scalemail, with his trident and harpoon.

Did I ever tell you about the time I went a bit off target with the harpoon and got it lodged in a friends ribcage? It took me six pulls to get it free!

How we laughed...

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I voted that it was balanced, but to be fair...

...I would not cry if the cleric lost an armor profeciency and gained some skill points.

That IMO is simply a question of flavor, however, rather than actual balance.

Personally I'd like to see heavy armor use be something more specialized. I think it increases the prestige of the fighter when he's the only one who can 'really' use the full plate.

Very much looking forward to Monte's Warmain.

I do think that the power of a Cleric's spells are balanced by the necessity of saving slots for healing. In some ways spontaneous casting is more of a disadvantage than a benefit.

 

[Oni]

I think the cleric is balanced around the idea that he is going to be a team player, and most of the other classes aren't. However this crumbles when the cleric's player decides he doesn't want to be a team player anymore and acts a little more selfishly.

 

[Cloudgatherer]

I voted balanced. In my experience, there needs to be some incentive to play the party healer as well as "answer" to a god. Having someone say "Yeah, but if your god took your powers away, you'd just be like the rest of us, eh?" isn't very appealing....

As long as we stick to core rules, I think the cleric is well rounded.

 

[Marid]

Clerics

It is more powerful and that is how it should be. As one who has played clerics since 1st edition, non-cleric players frequently do not appreciate the burden of the healing role. The pigeonhole of the "healing battery" is a pretty strong balancing element of the class, even if the DM doesn't heavily enforce the RP limitations. Unlike the wizard, there's a good chance the cleric may never get to use all of the nifty spells s/he has. Of course, the cleric could just be a selfish @$$ and hardly ever heal anyone. Then they definitely are the most powerful class by far. But in my experience, those clerics are hated and resented by the rest of the party. Doesn't make for a good overall gaming experience.

I did a poll over at The 3rd edition site on What Class Do People Avoid Playing? and divine casters were the overwhelming #1 choice with 48% of the vote. No other class archetype got even half as many votes. If the cleric were nerfed, I bet they would be played even less.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Cast spells in armour, more spells per day, free choice from entire spell lists (i.e. not limited by "known spells") no requirement for uninterrupted rest before preparing, some of the fiercest spells around (in 3e - harm, blade barrier, destruction, implosion) plus potentially access to the best of arcane spells if a domain is chosen wisely.

Coupled with good hp, good BAB, good armour

An no limitations built in - druids have their spiritual oaths, how much extra work would it have been to require clerics to take an appropriate spiritual oath? If an oath was added to each domain, and clerics had to maintain or abide by that oath in order to keep their power... that would add a much-needed depth to the class IMO.

Won't happen of course.