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Why ever play a cleric?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8115609" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>RE: the OP's original examples...</p><p>Cleric vs. Paladin: Perhaps I don't want to be all that social (low Cha), or want someone who can call on the GREAT miracles and not just use them as a supplement to good ol' smackdowns.</p><p>Cleric vs. Warlock: Because I want a willing and joyful service, not contractual, transactional power exchange. And, again, Wis vs Cha.</p><p>Cleric vs. Wizard: Because the spells are different and are divine.</p><p>Cleric vs. Sorcerer: Because the spells are different and are divine, and again, Wis vs. Cha.</p><p>Cleric vs. EK: Because EK is <em>even less</em> spells than Warlock or Paladin, and the spells might be the main draw, with the gish being a nice bonus.</p><p></p><p>Clerics are <em>theologians militant</em>--ministering to the flock wherever the flock may go. They aren't the impassioned crusaders who raise a flag high (that's Paladins). They're the ones doing the hard and longsuffering work of building a deity's doctrine in the world. That's one of the big reasons you'd play one.</p><p></p><p>If I may be frank? I suspect that being irreligious or at least only minimally religious (the "go to church for Christmas and Easter" type) is a big part of why people don't "get" the Cleric. There is a <em>huge</em> difference between being a knight-missionary (effectively what most Paladins do) and being an armored theologian (<em>definitely</em> what Clerics typically do). Missionary work and theological work are both a big deal, and in a world as dangerous and dynamic as a typical D&D world, doing theological work often sends you into dangerous places (hence the armor). But being a theologian, someone who works on the refined points of doctrine and works to counsel and support those who <em>already have</em> faith, is very, very different from being a missionary, someone who evangelizes, who spreads the good word to those who <em>do not yet have</em> faith.</p><p></p><p>Obviously, there's going to be plenty of highly active religious folks who don't get it. This isn't meant as a "everyone in group X does A, everyone in group not-X does not-A." I just strongly suspect that the overall lack of engagement with organized religion is a significant part of why people don't get the class <em>built around organized religions.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8115609, member: 6790260"] RE: the OP's original examples... Cleric vs. Paladin: Perhaps I don't want to be all that social (low Cha), or want someone who can call on the GREAT miracles and not just use them as a supplement to good ol' smackdowns. Cleric vs. Warlock: Because I want a willing and joyful service, not contractual, transactional power exchange. And, again, Wis vs Cha. Cleric vs. Wizard: Because the spells are different and are divine. Cleric vs. Sorcerer: Because the spells are different and are divine, and again, Wis vs. Cha. Cleric vs. EK: Because EK is [I]even less[/I] spells than Warlock or Paladin, and the spells might be the main draw, with the gish being a nice bonus. Clerics are [I]theologians militant[/I]--ministering to the flock wherever the flock may go. They aren't the impassioned crusaders who raise a flag high (that's Paladins). They're the ones doing the hard and longsuffering work of building a deity's doctrine in the world. That's one of the big reasons you'd play one. If I may be frank? I suspect that being irreligious or at least only minimally religious (the "go to church for Christmas and Easter" type) is a big part of why people don't "get" the Cleric. There is a [I]huge[/I] difference between being a knight-missionary (effectively what most Paladins do) and being an armored theologian ([I]definitely[/I] what Clerics typically do). Missionary work and theological work are both a big deal, and in a world as dangerous and dynamic as a typical D&D world, doing theological work often sends you into dangerous places (hence the armor). But being a theologian, someone who works on the refined points of doctrine and works to counsel and support those who [I]already have[/I] faith, is very, very different from being a missionary, someone who evangelizes, who spreads the good word to those who [I]do not yet have[/I] faith. Obviously, there's going to be plenty of highly active religious folks who don't get it. This isn't meant as a "everyone in group X does A, everyone in group not-X does not-A." I just strongly suspect that the overall lack of engagement with organized religion is a significant part of why people don't get the class [I]built around organized religions.[/I] [/QUOTE]
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