[Homebrew] In a godless campaign what do you with clerics?

[sunrisekid]

If your campaign world had a different take on the pantheon, how do you handle the cleric class? If there are no gods, then logically there would be no clerics, possibly no paladins. Some players really like these classes but where do you draw a line between a campaign world with a certain story element and what is printed/RAW in the game manuals?

This is not meant to be a cleric-bashing thread, nor about wrong-fun, but more about campaign/story management and player buy-in. Happy to hear your opinions.

 

[abirdcall]

I think if this is where you're going then you need to not have any clerics.

Otherwise 'no gods' is just window dressing. Why bother with the distinction?

 

[cbwjm]

I might run it as tapping into a plane for power. In this case each domain is a specific source of power which people can tap into.

Even without gods, there might still be religious organisation. They could be philosopher priests who gain their power from somewhere. Some of these religions might even have gods but those in the higher orders know that these gods don't truly exist.

I also like just having them as a different kind of spellcaster. The source isn't divine but it is differentiated from the workings of wizardry.

 

[guachi]

I concur with the above. Do you want the 'no gods' thing to be merely cosmetic or not? If not, then I'd suggest banning clerics and paladins and probably druids and rangers. The might also be some subclasses on the chopping block, too.

 

[Bigsta]

Classes are just mechanics, fluff is great but inherently meaningless. If the campaign has wizards then the cleric class just uses a different type of magic. Perhaps nano-machines from an alien civilization reprogram DNA to give certain humanoids strange new powers.

 

[abirdcall]

Classes are just mechanics, fluff is great but inherently meaningless.

Is there meaning to anything?

What is the point of playing the game?

If it is for tactical combat, then it is a really bad game. There are a ton of much better options - really, a starting place is any competitive game.

 

[Tallifer]

I would just refluff Clerics as a different kind of Wisdom based wizard. Or maybe they use the power of all the little and big spirits of trees, mountains, clouds, fire; and those based on abstract concepts like justice draw their power from an aetheric pool of energy generated by the thoughts of thousands of minds. After all, mental and psychic energy and powers are real in D&D.

 

[Tallifer]

Is there meaning to anything?

What is the point of playing the game?

If it is for tactical combat, then it is a really bad game. There are a ton of much better options - really, a starting place is any competitive game.

Fluff is flavour and very meaningful for your world: a better word than meaningless is malleable. Fluff is completely malleable for the DM and the players even. When my friends and I roleplay we roleplay to create stories we enjoy in a world we enjoy with characters we enjoy. If another designer or rulebook has fluff which makes our story unenjoyable, then it is best for us to change it.

 

[Valetudo]

Well, is there no gods, or no religion? Maybe clerics are secret mages with a specialed magic. There are no gods can go a variety of different ways. Darksun has no gods, but does have elemental clerics for example.

 

[Nagol]

In general, any prospective GM should decide what they're going to run including mechanical consequence and pitch it to prospective players. If you get enough interest, run it.

If you have no gods and don't want divine powered classes then pitch no divine powered classes with all the consequence thereof (no clerics, druids, or paladins limited healing/recovery, no resurrection, etc.). Examine the game and determine if there are other modifications you want to make to mitigate some of the changes -- perhaps reduce or eliminate certain monsters or powers.
If you want no gods, but only partial divine powered classes then pitch it with all the consequence thereof ("no gods but people can tap into the energy flows between the material and outer planes" paladins allowed, low level divine magicks are in the world, some access to recovery/raise dead). Examine the game and determine if there are other modifications you want to make to mitigate some of the changes -- perhaps reduce or eliminate certain monsters or powers.
If you want no gods as flavour only then pitch it like that ("no gods, but people of true faith can gain power." Certain spells that specifically require a deity's involvement don't exist or are changed)