Where did all the specialty priests go?

[Al]

Where did you get this? I'd like to have a look at it too.

Can't say I can honestly remember, I'm afraid. Would you like me to email it to you?

You say you have a good write up of what a cleric of Wee Jas would do and be -well bloody well use it. No one is going to stop you. This might only consist of limitations on your abilities, but you want depth and such right? Not freebees? Or is it the high powered freebees of 2nd Ed that you miss? Second Edition specialty priest were by and large overpowered.

Yes, but that doesn't add flavour either. Roleplaying a cleric without heavy armour doesn't make him distinct- it just makes him a cleric without heavy armour. What makes the individual cleric different is because he is genuinely *different*, not simply because he is weaker.

Incidentally, my take on Player's Option was this: good idea, poor execution. The scope for powergaming was such that a PO character would trounce a non-PO character 9 times out of 10. Mind you, I got DM's Option as well, so that brought it back into balance .

 

[buzzard]

Yes, but that doesn't add flavour either. Roleplaying a cleric without heavy armour doesn't make him distinct- it just makes him a cleric without heavy armour. What makes the individual cleric different is because he is genuinely *different*, not simply because he is weaker.

You mean the rules are required to add flavor? You can't simply roleplay the flavor without rules changes?

Come on, fess up. You want free stuff. You want nifty trinckets to make your cleric special. You can't simply play him out as your understanding of the religion would lead you without some form of hard wiring to make it so. The line about 'weaker' does prove my earlier point about the inner power gamer.

By your logic every single cleric, played by every single player nowadays is a carbon copy owing to the lack of specialty priests. I would say this is bunk.

Buzzard

 

[Staffan]

I miss specialty priests from 2e. They made everything and every priest prety much different. But the way i think they should do it in 3e is to make prestige classes(high priests)for each god, and make the restrictions high. It would show more devotion on the part of the cleric, and be a step above the rest of his fellow clerics.

I had a vague idea about doing something like this in 2nd edition: beginner clerics would have low-level access to most spheres because they worshipped the entire pantheon. Eventually, most clerics would choose a specific god to worship, and get greater but more focused powers dealing with that god's area of influence. I never came as far as doing anything rules-wise with it though.

 

[Tewligan]

Kalamar Player's Guide

Have you seen the Kalamar Player's Guide? It has a bunch of powers you can use to replace the clerics turning ability. This might go a considerable distance toward distinguishing clerics of different faiths.

 

[Nightfall]

Personally I'm interested in using some the "Divine Type" Feats from R&R2. Mainly cause you spend Turning checks doing cool stuff.

Oh and I still say my original cleric/barbarian/Horseman of Vangal could kick some serious butt.

 

[Celtavian]

Re

I have to admit, I greatly miss the cleric specialty priests. I liked the way in the FR that specialty priests of certain gods had access to spells that other gods did not. I felt it better illustrated that some gods have dominion over certain types of divine magic by virtue of the portfolio they rule.

I would love to see them have an entire FR book on prestige class specialty priests with certain spells only granted if you follow a certain deity. Some of the domains grant this, but I don't like seeing spells that only clerics of Ilmater or Lathander used to be able to cast being used by everyone. It just doesn't sit right with me and it takes a bit of the advantage of playing the cleric of a particular god away.

 

[Junkheap]

Re: Re

I have to admit, I greatly miss the cleric specialty priests. I liked the way in the FR that specialty priests of certain gods had access to spells that other gods did not. I felt it better illustrated that some gods have dominion over certain types of divine magic by virtue of the portfolio they rule.

I would love to see them have an entire FR book on prestige class specialty priests with certain spells only granted if you follow a certain deity. Some of the domains grant this, but I don't like seeing spells that only clerics of Ilmater or Lathander used to be able to cast being used by everyone. It just doesn't sit right with me and it takes a bit of the advantage of playing the cleric of a particular god away.

Perfectly put. That is exacly what happens in MOF. Also(its been a long time since playing 2e), didn't clerics have minor/major spheres? I sorta liked that idea. You dabbled in it, but not enough to wield as much power as the cleric who god's portfolio it is.

Staffan: That would actually be a cool idea.

I

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Re: Kalamar Player's Guide

Great idea, poor exectution (at least in the Kalamar Player's Guide). There are a number of cool ideas there but most of the abilities are either almost totally useless (for instance, the Knight of the Gods' bonus to saves vs. fear) or ridiculously overpowered (enervation/energy drain (depending upon wisdom bonus) in exchange for turning attempts). IMHO, though, divine feats with alternate uses for positive and negative energy are a great idea for distinguishing priesthoods without a massive and complex reworking of the game system.

Have you seen the Kalamar Player's Guide? It has a bunch of powers you can use to replace the clerics turning ability. This might go a considerable distance toward distinguishing clerics of different faiths.

 

[Celebrim]

"Have you seen the Kalamar Player's Guide?"

Yes, I have. Great ideas. Poor playtesting.

 

[I'm A Banana]

The PHB cleric is pretty good as-is. It just needs a bit of a rename to something like "healer" or something similar. It's a buffer, with the domains adding variety to the buffs it can do, and maybe a bit of punch added along the way.

If you're looking for something more akin to the specialty priests, check out the upcoming Philosophies and Falsehoods, which introduces a class whose powers vary wildly based on what belief they hold. Quite wildly. Heck, two of these class with the same belief probably wouldn't look too much like each other.

Think of how different two fighters can be. That's about how different two of these "specialty priests" can be. I think it fills a flavor niche left by the cleric being basically Captain Heal Me, which is a nessecary role, but not nessecarily a role for the religious.