Brian Gibbons
Explorer
It's easy for it to happen in actual play--all you need are situations where the cleric has the opportunity to fully buff before entering combat, as well as the willingness to expend the lion's share of their resources in one combat.Ridley's Cohort said:I think the general conclusion is that it is theoretically possible for a Cleric to be overpowered, but it is rather rare to see it happen in actual play.
I would expect there to be a high correlation between campaigns with overpowered clerics and campaigns where most meaningful combats begin with a fully-rested party doing a Scry-Buff-Teleport.
It's also not very exciting. Most people don't sit down at a table to play St. Joe the Bureaucrat.Ridley's Cohort said:Buffing the Fighter is just so easy, resource efficient, and tactically versatile.
One of the important concepts to remember in game balance is that the most important balance is not mechanics on paper, but rather the amount of spotlight time each character gets during the campaign.
Having a cleric spend their time in combat healing and buffing other party members may be useful, but it is also completely self-effacing and typically requires little to no actual tactics or player skill, and receives few to no accolades or glory.