Running clerics as spiritual counselors?

[Jürgen Hubert]

From my impressions, it seems that clerics in D&D campaigns are spellcasters with a focus on healing spells first and foremost. Sure, they have some religious angle, but that's usually limited to following a certain code of behavior, trying to convert others to their faith, or simply as another way of building and interacting with a political power base.

But throughout history, priests have primarily been counselors - people to whom other members of a community turn for advice and mediation. If someone has trouble of any kind, they will talk to the priest about it. If they have a dispute with someone else about property or other issues, they will ask the priest to mediate it.

And I feel that this aspect of priestly duties often comes too short with cleric PCs. How often do the other members of a party come to the cleric for advice - other when they are discussing combat tactics? How often do clerics mediate disputes between party members?


What are your thoughts on this issue?

 

[hong]

The magic 8-ball says: application to killing monsters and taking their stuff hazy. Try again later.

 

[Ender_rpm]

This idea works best if the cleric is a higher level than the rest of the party. And of course, if the player interjects himself into the game in such a way that they bring their own wisdom and experience to bear. Mechanically, divinations and a high CHA help this to work well, as does working with the DM to gain more interaction with NPCs in need of guidance. Once the cleric is seen as asource of valuable info outside of the party, the rest of the party may follow suit. Or he may be, as Jesus said, a prophet without honor in his own country.

 

[hong]

Getting the other PCs to treat the cleric as some sort of wise elder is pushing it, IME. OTOH, there's nothing stopping NPCs from doing so....

 

[RFisher]

Clerics aren't generally priests, IMHO. They're more warrior-monks.

That said, I have known players to treat wizards or clerics in the party as counselors.

 

[Sound of Azure]

I've only had this happen a few times to my Cleric PCs, and mostly it's NPCs that they'll be advising. For the most part, it was due to the transient nature of the adventuring party. Our charaters tended to move around too much. It was only in campaigns where we could put down roots, or at least only roam about in a small area where we could make connections with NPCs for more than a few sessions.

The one major exception was one campaign that was built on the basis of being on a pilgrimage to a holy site. Most of the PCs were believers, with one of the fighters being merely a hireling (but friend of another PC). As a cleric, my PC's role was a bit different to normal, and I was a lot more invested in the story.

As for advising the other PCs, I haven't seen it happen too often, to be honest. Unless you're talking about knowing stuff about the undead, or about different faiths.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Getting the other PCs to treat the cleric as some sort of wise elder is pushing it, IME.

I agree that the other PCs shouldn't be forced to treat the cleric in this way. On the other hand, I feel that if a cleric is role-played properly, they should want to.

The cleric should take the other PCs aside from time to time, and ask them things like:

"Does something trouble you?"

"How do you feel about this mission?"

"Do you have any loved ones/family you had to leave behind? Do you regret doing so?"

Religion doesn't have to enter it at this stage - no "Accept Lathander in your life, and all problems will melt away!" Just taking a genuine interest in the minds and troubles of the other PCs - and helping them with the things that trouble their mind.

Or perhaps two PCs have a public disagreement - then the cleric can talk to each of them in turn and try to both understand their perspective and see the perspective of the other person. That sort of thing. The point is that clerics should take an interest in the well-being of the minds and souls of their fellow party members, and see to it that they can face the challenges of their lives (of which adventurers tend to have many) without dealing with too much inner turmoil.

 

[hong]

I agree that the other PCs shouldn't be forced to treat the cleric in this way. On the other hand, I feel that if a cleric is role-played properly, they should want to.

What is this "properly" crap of which you speak?


Hong, you should know better than to disguise profanity in your posts. - El

 

[pawsplay]

Nothing about clerics, in game or out of game, suggests they are particularly competent in this role. Even if the other PCs are of the same religion, which is unlikely, they have no hiearchical authority.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

What is this "properly" bullsheet of which you speak?

To clarify, I think that trying to enforce that the other PCs treat the party cleric as their spiritual counselor is silly. However, if the cleric is intended to be a spiritual counselor - as most priests in most religions have traditionally been - then role-playing him as one should be effective enough for that purpose.