Finally figured out why I hate D&D novels.

[horacethegrey]

Regarding your spoiler: how many parties have attained that quick a "power jump" as your example has? Quite a few, I'm sure.

Well as I said before, the only FR novels I've read are Salvatore's plus Azure Bonds. So I really wouldn't know many parties that have had vast increases in power and ability as you said.

I don't know if Bob Salvatore made Cadderly into his own "Mary Sue" or not..... He may have been one of RAS' PCs that he put into a novel....

Well he very much strikes me as a Sue, and I don't mean just powerwise. Cadderly for me is one of the most sanctimonious and self righteous characters I've ever come across in fiction. He constant preachiness and egotism just turn me off royally, on how people should follow the righteous path and all that. Plus it just pisses me off how the story unfairly favors him. On more than one occasion he's abused his power all in the name of the greater good, yet each time he gets away with it with no unintended consequences laid on him.

Now reading this little rant of mine you probably all think I have a full hate on goody goody characters like Cadderly. Well, not really. Virtuous individuals in fantasy fiction can be interesting, provided they're given the correct treatment. Some of the best for me have always struck me as the quiet and unassuming type, who are more apt to let actions and not words speak of their heroism, yet at times are a bit conflicted as to what the right choice is(ex. Samwise Gamgee, Jon Snow, Luke Skywalker). Cadderly on the other hand, is a judgemental, heavy handed, egostistical prick who always thinks he's in the right of things.

And if you think that's bad, his wife Danica is even worse.

 

[Staffan]

In the few D&D-based novels I have read, I haven't seen any gimping of clerics. Though those haven't, as a rule, been FR books.

The one FR series I've read was the Avatar trilogy. It had a cleric in it as one of the main characters, but he was gimped by the plot (when the gods were down on Toril, their clerics could only cast spells within a mile or so from them). There were some evil clerics who did cast spells, though.

The main other series I've read was the Prism Pentad, based on Dark Sun. The clerics in it seemed appropriately powerful, even to the point of being more powerful than in the game (especially the Sun/Fire cleric who cast some pretty destructive spells).

Recently, I've read the two first parts of the Dreaming Dark trilogy, based on Eberron. It has a healer character, though his class is a little dubious. He's definitely not a cleric, but a halfling with the Mark of Healing. He also likely has levels of bard or the minis-HB Healer class. The second book also has a villain cleric, who seems pretty nasty.

 

[amethal]

I gave up on Forgotten Realms novels after Black Wizards (or whatever it was called), the sequel to Darkwalker on Moonshae.

That was probably around 1986 .