The reason for the cleric class' lack of popularity?
- Thread starter Gez
- Start date
I don't really understand why Clerics and Healing are so inextricably linked in the minds of the game designers. I let Wizards & Sorcs Heal IMC, if anything it makes Clerics more fun to play since it takes a bit of pressure off them - and when MonsterMash's Cleric Cambyses gets downed for the nth time at least Loren the Wizard is there to Cure Light him again. 
- Maybe this infringes on the Cleric's role, but it both aids party survivability and reduces the Wiz's blasting-power since he' spending slots on cure light (I agree how it's funy how Clerics are given lots of power to _compensate_ for being able to heal!).
As a player I pretty well always play Fighters, Fighters are cool (IMO), even though in 3.0 Clerics were far far stronger, and even in 3.5 a Cleric with good STR CON & WIS is still ahead of a Fighter with good STR CON & DEX.
- Maybe this infringes on the Cleric's role, but it both aids party survivability and reduces the Wiz's blasting-power since he' spending slots on cure light (I agree how it's funy how Clerics are given lots of power to _compensate_ for being able to heal!). As a player I pretty well always play Fighters, Fighters are cool (IMO), even though in 3.0 Clerics were far far stronger, and even in 3.5 a Cleric with good STR CON & WIS is still ahead of a Fighter with good STR CON & DEX.
Razz0putin
Explorer
As for the original question I think the cleric is unpopular because it's a support role as many have said. As for what Gandalf is well lets look at what he does and let me start by saying I don't care what merp says or the dictionary says It ain't a perfect fit and the dictionary definition of a cleric really wouldn't apply to the niche that is D&D. Anyway as far as gandalf's abilities hmm seems to talk to insects and be freinds with animals sounding druidish now isn't he certainly seems to be in touch with nature. Turning the wraith that's a cleric ability looks like he was warding himself against a demon when fighting the balrog could go cleric or mage there tending towards cleric. Did a nifty fiery sword again could go either way. goes around advising people about life and death and the afterlife sounds more like a cleric than a wizard. Frees certain people from control of dark forces sounds more like a cleric than a wizard and as sombody said serves a higher power. Okay he doesn't wear armor you got me there however a lot of characters in fiction fight without armor so I'd just chalk that up to a game neccessity in most cases. So in the end if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck even if somebody in the narrative calls it a witch it's a duck
Clerics unpopular? That's the first thing I hear. In our campaign there was always a cleric on board and now that I play one myself, I can confirm that it's great fun to play one. Don't let the party reduce you to the group healer, take charge of the group and confiscate dangerous magical items with the authority of the gods backing you up 
Playing a cleric of one of those law deities helps in that endeavour
Playing a cleric of one of those law deities helps in that endeavour
Kuld
Explorer
A good reason for the absence of clerics in the original fantasy literature was probably because it was too taboo. Wizards are enough, but try to introduce readers (at the time) to worshipers of fictitious gods, who grant them spells! D&D had a rough start in the beginning for that same reason. (one of the reasons, anyhow) I
I know parents who still won’t let their kids read C.S. Lewis. And he was a religious man.
know parents who still won’t let their kids read C.S. Lewis. And he was a religious
I know parents who still won’t let their kids read C.S. Lewis. And he was a religious man.
know parents who still won’t let their kids read C.S. Lewis. And he was a religious
brehobit
Explorer
Kuld said:
Wow. Around here (academic institution, Evangelic friends) calling C.S. Lewis "a religious man" would be like calling the Pope a "religious man". I've won Biblical arguments around here by quoting C.S. Lewis.
A Christian not letting a kid read CS Lewis is just wierd.
For people who see no strong Western tradition of clerics as heroes, I just want to point out that this is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the 18th century, clerics were arguably the single most frequently depicted heroes in literature. Hagiography (the lives of saints, martyrs, etc.) was the most prevalent subgenre within medieval and early modern heroic literature. This literature, I know, had a hand in the making of D&D -- Saint Cuthbert, after all, makes the Greyhawk deities list.
If people are interested in some inspiration from the past for cleric heroes, there are so many excellent sources of holy men fighting demons, performing miracles, controlling animals, even controlling elements like fire and water. When I did a recent survey of early medieval saints' lives, I discovered about 35% of all D&D spell effects in these stories. Martin of Tours controls fire and makes it attack things; Saint Columban controls water in much the same way; Cuthbert controls animals...
If people are looking for good D&D cleric inspiration in literary tradition, I must recommend the Voyage of Saint Brendan, Life of Saint Columban, Life of Saint Cuthbert and Life of Saint Gall.
If people are interested in some inspiration from the past for cleric heroes, there are so many excellent sources of holy men fighting demons, performing miracles, controlling animals, even controlling elements like fire and water. When I did a recent survey of early medieval saints' lives, I discovered about 35% of all D&D spell effects in these stories. Martin of Tours controls fire and makes it attack things; Saint Columban controls water in much the same way; Cuthbert controls animals...
If people are looking for good D&D cleric inspiration in literary tradition, I must recommend the Voyage of Saint Brendan, Life of Saint Columban, Life of Saint Cuthbert and Life of Saint Gall.
Raven Crowking
First Post
Style of Play
In more years of gaming than I care to count, I've never had a problem finding players who want to play clerics. That said, in some of the campaigns I've been a player in, I wouldn't want to pick the class. I think that the style of campaign a player finds himself/herself in is going to greatly influence which class(es) are preferred.
RC
In more years of gaming than I care to count, I've never had a problem finding players who want to play clerics. That said, in some of the campaigns I've been a player in, I wouldn't want to pick the class. I think that the style of campaign a player finds himself/herself in is going to greatly influence which class(es) are preferred.
RC
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