Kerrick
First Post
Something that's really annoyed me about d20 is that clerics are all the same - the same spells, the same abilities (ability, really, since all they get is turn undead), the same role... the only differentiating factors are what god they worship and what domains they get, and those aren't very differentiating.
The sphere system in 2E was great for giving clerics different roles based on their gods' portfolios. A cleric of the god of knowledge probably wouldn't be able to turn undead, but he would get some kind of legend lore power. Spells are thematically linked to the different spheres (with a little overlap), so choosing a god actually had some impact on the cleric's ability and his role. There were a few downsides, though; the largest was, of course, that some spheres were flat-out better than others because they just had more (or better) spells in them. I did a conversion of the sphere system for 3.5, BTW, if anyone's interested; you can find it here (shameless plug).
Anyway, I thought about this a bit recently, and I came up with a new idea - instead of defining clerics by their sphere, define them by role. So I came up with this rough system, which builds off the spheres:
A god's role influences his portfolios and what domains his clerics can choose; it also influences the role his clerics play in the world. The various roles are broken down into four broad categories: combat, healer, support, and utility. A cleric's choice of available spells (and the maximum level for each type of spell) is dependent on his role, as are the class abilities he gains.
Generally speaking, a role's major focus allows spells of any level; a lesser focus allows spells up to 6th level; and a minor focus allows spells up to 3rd level.
Combat: The cleric fights on the front lines in support of his god. Combat clerics are more concerned with smiting their enemies and crusading in support of the church, so their spells are more focused to that end, rather than supporting others; they can heal to some degree, but not nearly as much as a healer or support cleric. Combat clerics have major focus in offensive spells like flame strike and blade barrier, lesser focus in summoning spells, and minor focus in enhancement and healing spells.
A combat cleric gains proficiency with two martial weapons, as well as his god's weapon (if he didn't have it already); he also gains the Weapon Focus feat applied to his god's weapon. Combat clerics are proficient in heavy armor.
Healer: Clerics who fill this role are most often found in shrines and temples serving the populace at large, not out adventuring. They are the ones who raise the dead, cure diseases, remove curses, and perform other services for fees or donations. They alone have access to the most powerful healing spells, but they have very little combat ability.
Healer clerics have major focus in healing spells (as noted above), and lesser focus in divinations and travel spells like astral projection.
Support: Support clerics are just that – clerics who remain in the rear and aid their companions with healing, enhancements, and some summoned/created creatures. They can fight if necessary, though they are not nearly as good as combat clerics; their strength lies in their ability to keep their companions in the fight.
Support clerics have major focus in enhancements and protection and summoning spells, and lesser focus in healing and battlefield control spells.
Utility: Utility clerics have perhaps the broadest role, but the smallest focus on any one aspect. They provide useful skills to a party like lore and divination, lesser enhancements, created/animated undead and summoned creatures, and battlefield control. They have the same combat ability as support clerics and slightly better magical ability.
Utility clerics have major access in divinations, utility spells like find traps, and travel spells like astral projection, and summoning/creation spells, and lesser focus in battlefield control spells like spike stones.
I've even divided the domains by role, though I'm not too sure on these (there might be some overlap):
Combat: Death, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Strength, Sun, War, Water
Healer: Healing, Knowledge
Support: Animal, Chaos, Law, Luck, Magic
Utility: Air, Earth, Knowledge, Plant, Travel, Trickery
So... comments? Criticisms? Do you think it could work? I'm going to attempt to divvy up the spells by role and see how it goes.
The sphere system in 2E was great for giving clerics different roles based on their gods' portfolios. A cleric of the god of knowledge probably wouldn't be able to turn undead, but he would get some kind of legend lore power. Spells are thematically linked to the different spheres (with a little overlap), so choosing a god actually had some impact on the cleric's ability and his role. There were a few downsides, though; the largest was, of course, that some spheres were flat-out better than others because they just had more (or better) spells in them. I did a conversion of the sphere system for 3.5, BTW, if anyone's interested; you can find it here (shameless plug).
Anyway, I thought about this a bit recently, and I came up with a new idea - instead of defining clerics by their sphere, define them by role. So I came up with this rough system, which builds off the spheres:
A god's role influences his portfolios and what domains his clerics can choose; it also influences the role his clerics play in the world. The various roles are broken down into four broad categories: combat, healer, support, and utility. A cleric's choice of available spells (and the maximum level for each type of spell) is dependent on his role, as are the class abilities he gains.
Generally speaking, a role's major focus allows spells of any level; a lesser focus allows spells up to 6th level; and a minor focus allows spells up to 3rd level.
Combat: The cleric fights on the front lines in support of his god. Combat clerics are more concerned with smiting their enemies and crusading in support of the church, so their spells are more focused to that end, rather than supporting others; they can heal to some degree, but not nearly as much as a healer or support cleric. Combat clerics have major focus in offensive spells like flame strike and blade barrier, lesser focus in summoning spells, and minor focus in enhancement and healing spells.
A combat cleric gains proficiency with two martial weapons, as well as his god's weapon (if he didn't have it already); he also gains the Weapon Focus feat applied to his god's weapon. Combat clerics are proficient in heavy armor.
Healer: Clerics who fill this role are most often found in shrines and temples serving the populace at large, not out adventuring. They are the ones who raise the dead, cure diseases, remove curses, and perform other services for fees or donations. They alone have access to the most powerful healing spells, but they have very little combat ability.
Healer clerics have major focus in healing spells (as noted above), and lesser focus in divinations and travel spells like astral projection.
Support: Support clerics are just that – clerics who remain in the rear and aid their companions with healing, enhancements, and some summoned/created creatures. They can fight if necessary, though they are not nearly as good as combat clerics; their strength lies in their ability to keep their companions in the fight.
Support clerics have major focus in enhancements and protection and summoning spells, and lesser focus in healing and battlefield control spells.
Utility: Utility clerics have perhaps the broadest role, but the smallest focus on any one aspect. They provide useful skills to a party like lore and divination, lesser enhancements, created/animated undead and summoned creatures, and battlefield control. They have the same combat ability as support clerics and slightly better magical ability.
Utility clerics have major access in divinations, utility spells like find traps, and travel spells like astral projection, and summoning/creation spells, and lesser focus in battlefield control spells like spike stones.
I've even divided the domains by role, though I'm not too sure on these (there might be some overlap):
Combat: Death, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Strength, Sun, War, Water
Healer: Healing, Knowledge
Support: Animal, Chaos, Law, Luck, Magic
Utility: Air, Earth, Knowledge, Plant, Travel, Trickery
So... comments? Criticisms? Do you think it could work? I'm going to attempt to divvy up the spells by role and see how it goes.
The local Waldenbooks has maybe half a dozen D&D books left (looks like they're selling off their existing stock), and the LGS has nothing but A&EG and the DMG.
