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<blockquote data-quote="mlund" data-source="post: 5955214" data-attributes="member: 50304">The Cleric mechanically doesn't have to be part of any organized religion, just spiritual enough to attune to divine power - which may or may not be a personified divinity (depends on the setting and the cleric).Religion is, at least in D&amp;D terms, a social organization formed around a shared spiritual tradition. A church could be a hollowed out political structure with no actual spiritual component but then it wouldn't have Clerics (the character class, not generic clergy).Divine magic comes from an external source in D&amp;D - be it a god in the astral sea, a lord of the Nine Hells, a philosophical conception in the universe, or the primal animus of the planet itself.Being a leader (spiritual or otherwise) is an expression of Charisma. Being attuned to an ineffable higher power to the point where you can shoot lasers from your eyes and pull souls back from beyond the veil of death is an expression of Wisdom.The Paladin is the blunt instrument of the gods, as it were. His primary role is to carry the blessings of a divine source into battle to protect the &quot;good&quot; and vanquish the &quot;evil.&quot; In an organized religion he's typically a lay-person with less religious qualification and authority than a cleric. In a disorganized spirituality he's the one that lives in the moment of the act and doesn't have much time for naval-gazing and meditating on divine mysteries.The Cleric is a more versatile tool, but they can certainly overlap.Spirituality and superstition are not the same thing in D&amp;D. Divine magic is a concrete reality. Superstitions are, by their definition, ineffectual. If a ritual act actual has a deliberate causal relationship with an outcome it isn't superstition. Clerics are, by the very function of their class abilities (divine magical power from on high), convicted rather than superstitious.- Marty Lund</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mlund, post: 5955214, member: 50304"] The Cleric mechanically doesn't have to be part of any organized religion, just spiritual enough to attune to divine power - which may or may not be a personified divinity (depends on the setting and the cleric). Religion is, at least in D&D terms, a social organization formed around a shared spiritual tradition. A church could be a hollowed out political structure with no actual spiritual component but then it wouldn't have Clerics (the character class, not generic clergy). Divine magic comes from an external source in D&D - be it a god in the astral sea, a lord of the Nine Hells, a philosophical conception in the universe, or the primal animus of the planet itself. Being a leader (spiritual or otherwise) is an expression of Charisma. Being attuned to an ineffable higher power to the point where you can shoot lasers from your eyes and pull souls back from beyond the veil of death is an expression of Wisdom. The [b]Paladin[/b] is the blunt instrument of the gods, as it were. His primary role is to carry the blessings of a divine source into battle to protect the "good" and vanquish the "evil." In an organized religion he's typically a lay-person with less religious qualification and authority than a cleric. In a disorganized spirituality he's the one that lives in the moment of the act and doesn't have much time for naval-gazing and meditating on divine mysteries. The [b]Cleric[/b] is a more versatile tool, but they can certainly overlap. Spirituality and superstition are not the same thing in D&D. Divine magic is a concrete reality. Superstitions are, by their definition, ineffectual. If a ritual act actual has a deliberate causal relationship with an outcome it isn't superstition. Clerics are, by the very function of their class abilities (divine magical power from on high), convicted rather than superstitious. - Marty Lund [/QUOTE]

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