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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1238007" data-attributes="member: 10201">The latter.  Sorry for the lack of clarity: in AD&D2 terms, "generic cleric" is redundant, 'cause that's the only kind of cleric there was.  The class group was called "priest", and if you were a priest but not a cleric, you were a "specialty priest" or "priest of a specific mythos"--"cleric" was only used to describe that one, specific class.  Obviously, i should've been more specific in the context of this thread.Um, the druid *is* a specialty priest.  That's the whole point of its inclusion: as an example.  Also, it *did* give you guidelines on constructing specialty priests, they just weren't very rigorous.  3E clerics are different from 2e specialty priests in that, by the book , much less of the class is altered in the customization process: just which domains are granted.  All D&D3E clerics turn or rebuke undead, all are excellent warriors with significant armor and weapon proficiencies, all can spontaneously cast cure/inflict spells, and ~90% of their spelllists are identical.Probably a DM generous with healing potions.  I know that was the case in the game i ran: despite a plethora of priests, we often didn't have any that were good at healing (and even had a few that couldn't cast any healing spells at all).Hmmm...that might be.  It'd certainly explain the apparent dirth of clerics, historically, in D&D games, since of the 4 core classes it's the only one with RPing strings attached.  OTOH, i think it might just be with strings they don't want attached that is the problem.  Like i said, given the ability to select the deity and powers and all that, i had no problem getting people to play priests.  Most of those people who played priests in my game probably wouldn't have played clerics even if they were an option (they weren't), and wouldn't've played them if they were the only divine character choice.  I say this because most of them ended up playing characters who were nothing like the cleric in capabilities.  The closest we ever got was a priest of teh god of war, who was a powerful spellcaster and warrior--but no undead or healing abilities, so that player might've chosen a paladin, fighter/mage, or something else over a cleric or fighter/cleric if there had been no specialty priests.Similarly, i chose not to play a rogue in the D&D3E campaign because of all the strings that came attached, from my POV: I wanted a skilled, stealthy character, not one good at fighting.  So i certainly agree that, at least sometimes, players are driven away from the class that has the elements they want because it also has other elements they don't want.</blockquote>

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