Specialty Priests Class

[Minigiant]

If I am allowed to refine my ideas for the three classes (in 3E terms as they are easiest to understand)

Cleric
d8 HD
3/4 BAB
All armors and shield
Simple weapons & Favored weapon
Up to 9th level spells
Basic heal/inflict/remove spells + domain spells (aka healbot demonkiller spell list)
Minor action heal/inflict spells
Turn Undead

Paladin
d10 HD
Full BAB
All armors and shields
Simple & Martial weapons
No spells
Aura of X
Divine Powers (1 for each ability maybe)

• Smite Evil
• Oath of Enmity
• Divine Heath
• Divine Grace
• Divine Challenge
• Divine Wings
• Lay on Hands
• Remove Disease
• Summon Mount

Priest
d4 HD
1/2 BAB
No armors and shield
Simple weapons
Up to 9th level spells
Normal divine spell list
Spontaneous Caster
Spontaneous/Divine Metamagic

 

[Grazzt]

A long time ago, in a 2e game I ran, there were only specialty priests, often with specialized spell lists. No "generic clerics" at all.

Same here. Worked out well and definitely gave priests of one patron a completely different feel than priests of another. The priest player(s) we had liked it a lot.

 

[Sunseeker]

It's interesting, but I do have to wonder in this case if we really need both the cleric and the paladin.

In pre-4e editions, I would agree. The Cleric can do everything the Paladin can, and often better, especially when it came to healing and such.

I think what I liked about 4e, and the direction Paladin's should take in the future, is a larger focus on the tanking/defendering/striking with minor healing aspects.

Basically what Minigiant said. While I do like the idea of giving one class multiple ways to be played, at some point the overlap needs to be addressed.


or perhaps "Paladin" will be the heavy-armored variants of clerics?

 

[gyor]

I don't believe in force feeding classes into each other just because you can, plus both Paladin and cleric are traditional classes so for many people they are non optional, they have to be classes not themes. Part of the essential feel of d&d.

here is how I see the way to differenate the classes.

Cleric: Divine combat medics, they can fight reasonably well, and they are the best healers. They draw thier magic from a god's basic divinity so as to act as a God's soldiers and healers. Your holy warriors. Very focused on traditional cleric features old school, like turn undead. Possible kits include Archivist, Templar for a more 4e feel, and inquisitor.

Paladins: You are a knight of the realms and a paragon of virtue. You gain your powers from the gods indirectly, through universal virtues or vices. The virtues and vices can grant divine.magic because they are apart of all creatures, including gods. Your virtue grants you a mount, but, your knightly training teaches you to use it. Each Paladin lived by a code of chivalry based on thier virtue. Worship of a gods focuses on that god as an exempalar of thier virtue or vice. I loved the essentials paladins, Blackguards and Cavaliers, they felt more unique. Possible kits include Blackguard, Divine Champion (more charisma based), Glorious Servitor (eyptian style Paladin), and Palatine Guard (trained to guard the G Iod itself or the head of the faith)

Priest: The base line of the priest should be cloth armour, simple weapons. The Priest draws power from thier Gods via thier domains and are concidered closer to the gods then clerics or priests because a priest draws directly from the domains at the heart of a deity, instead of via the basic divine energy the gods give off like clerics or from virtues that act as middle man for Paladins.
This effects the Priests abilities and features as well as role in the party, epecially thier main domain.
So a war domain priest would gain better weapons and armour, a love domain priest maybe would gain features that allow the priest to be the party face, and a undeath domain priest would get an undead companion or a an undead horde. Possible kits include invoker, favoured soul, and fallen Ur-Priests, as well as direct specialty priests with the god as your main domain ala neverwinter.

 

[Hassassin]

I would like to see Cleric be more Paladin-ish and Priest more like Cloistered Cleric in 3e UA. Cleric's spellcasting would be focused on healing and buffs, while the Priest would also summon and/or deal damage depending on the deity.

Also, Cleric could use Cha for casting (and Turn Undead), while Priest used Wis.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

To me the specialty priest was always the cleric, since 2e actively encouraged that all clerics were specialty priests. And 3e and 4e just seemed to carry that forward.

 

[Lord Zack]

I personally think the core cleric should focus on one, or a few related archetypes. Then other divine classes should be based other archetypes, like the invoker being a "blasty cleric". Then there should be ways to customize each of these classes further for specific deities.

 

[Greg K]

Well, I think the Paladin should be moved out of its "Holy Warrior" role (which belongs to the Cleric) and back to the wandering champion of Law/Good like the knights of Arthur or Roland (where it came from).

Well, I think Gygax stated that the Knights of the Round Table were not the inspiration for the Paladin and he did not consider Arthur or Lancelot to be Paladins (His comment on these boards regarding Lancelot "boinking" the queen). I also seem to recall him stating that applying the Paladin to the Arthur and his knights in Deities and Demigods was done by James Ward and he, Gygax, considered it a mistake he would change if he could go back, but my recollection on this last part might be in error.

That said, the only knights that I think the Paladin might apply to are Galahad, Percival, and Bors. Maybe, Lancelot before he "boinks" the Queen. However, in that case, I would like to see a more customizable Paladin class that could handle things which faith could grant depending on the tales (e.g., Strength of ten men) and, yet, be customizable to handle non-Christian inspired Holy Warriors for us home brewers.

 

[gyor]

I don't believe in force feeding classes into each other just because you can, plus both Paladin and cleric are traditional classes so for many people they are non optional, they have to be classes not themes. Part of the essential feel of d&d.

here is how I see the way to differenate the classes.

Cleric: Divine combat medics, they can fight reasonably well, and they are the best healers. They draw thier magic from a god's basic divinity so as to act as a God's soldiers and healers. Your holy warriors. Very focused on traditional cleric features old school, like turn undead. Possible kits include Archivist, Templar for a more 4e feel, and inquisitor.

Paladins: You are a knight of the realms and a paragon of virtue. You gain your powers from the gods indirectly, through universal virtues or vices. The virtues and vices can grant divine.magic because they are apart of all creatures, including gods. Your virtue grants you a mount, but, your knightly training teaches you to use it. Each Paladin lived by a code of chivalry based on thier virtue. Worship of a gods focuses on that god as an exempalar of thier virtue or vice. I loved the essentials paladins, Blackguards and Cavaliers, they felt more unique. Possible kits include Blackguard, Divine Champion (more charisma based), Glorious Servitor (eyptian style Paladin), and Palatine Guard (trained to guard the G Iod itself or the head of the faith)

Priest: The base line of the priest should be cloth armour, simple weapons. The Priest draws power from thier Gods via thier domains and are concidered closer to the gods then clerics or priests because a priest draws directly from the domains at the heart of a deity, instead of via the basic divine energy the gods give off like clerics or from virtues that act as middle man for Paladins.
This effects the Priests abilities and features as well as role in the party, epecially thier main domain.
So a war domain priest would gain better weapons and armour, a love domain priest maybe would gain features that allow the priest to be the party face, and a undeath domain priest would get an undead companion or a an undead horde. Possible kits include invoker, favoured soul, and fallen Ur-Priests, as well as direct specialty priests with the god as your main domain ala neverwinter.

 

[Connorsrpg]

Throughout 2E and 3E all our 'priests/clerics' WERE specialty priests. We always adapted the divine caster class to the deity worshiped.

So some became more rogue-like, others more martial, others got more arcane-type spells.

This was hard to do in 4E as these specialties were done so well, but were not allied to the deity worshiped.