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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 1443181" data-attributes="member: 15999">I realize I did "jump ship" on the idea of playing a cleric once I saw MarauderX's changes... have gone to druid instead, but then I've never played a druid before and I have played clerics in Basic/Expert, 2E, and 3E. Seeing such a large number of changes to the cleric class might lead one to infer that the DM has something against clerics and that this wouldn't be the best game in which to play one.  Although in your case, where the players know you, it might be different.  So, speaking as one who has been deterred from playing a cleric by game adjustments:The existing "simple weapons only unless you spend a feat" seems more logical than "blunt weapons only" when considering the huge range of deities, so I'd recommend sticking with the existing restriction.  Power level aside (it's a trivial difference between a heavy mace and a longsword), I never thought it made any sense that every good pantheon had come to the same arms control agreement on blunt weapons only for their clerics.  You could plausibly reduce the armor proficiency to light and medium, which might mean that someone somewhere actually wears chain mail.Domain and weapon restrictions are not a big deal.  What really killed MarauderX's cleric for me was a specific statement that undead are very rare in the campaign (I love to hate vampires and think Turning and the anti-undead spells are awesome - but none of my clerics have had the opportunity to really cut loose on the living dead since Basic set) and a general statement that most people in the world don't typically consider the will of the gods to be important.  The changes had a minor effect on the class's abilities, but reduced the opportunities for clerics to be useful in a way other than medic.  I would suggest adding more non-cleric healing options - dilute the power of the "medic" function rather than the other functions.  Not anything so complicated as a WP/VP system, but something like certain roots and herbs that provide healing equal to 8 hours bed rest, increasing the effect of the heal skill, or having the party find a rod usable by any class that works as a staff of healing.  Those changes would make the cleric less essential for survival.  Otherwise, if you nerf the cleric too much, nobody wants to play it but somebody still has to.Beef up the other classes slightly.  More skill points for wizards, a few bonus feats for rogues, or unique special abilities for fighters (e.g., take 10 on an attack roll once per day).  I realize it's a bit of power creep, but it's not going to kill your game.  And, actually, to make them compare better with clerics, beef up their weak points, particularly against magic.Finally, don't let the PCs find trustworthy like-minded independent mercenary rogues or wizards of equal level who happen to have some time on their hands.  That's asking a lot of serendipity, isn't it?</blockquote>

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