Here's 2 revised versions of the Cleric, balanced up vs the other classes so they sit intermediate between the wizard & sorcerer (weak, powerful spells) on one end, and the Paladin & Ranger (strong, poor spells) on the other.
1. The Battle-Cleric - retains Cleric's combat powers, with reduced spellcasting. Less powerful in combat than a Paladin, with a better spell list.
2. The Priest-Cleric - reduced combat power than the battle-cleric, with full Cleric spellcasting and increased skill points/level.
BATTLE-CLERIC
Alignment: A Battle-Cleric’s alignment must be within one step of his deity’s (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful–chaotic axis or the good–evil axis, but not both). A Battle-Cleric may not be neutral unless his deity’s alignment is also neutral.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills
The Battle-Cleric’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Domains and Class Skills: A Battle-Cleric who chooses the Animal or Plant domain adds Knowledge (nature) (Int) to the Battle-Cleric class skills listed above. A Battle-Cleric who chooses the Knowledge domain adds all Knowledge (Int) skills to the list. A Battle-Cleric who chooses the Travel domain adds Survival (Wis) to the list. A Battle-Cleric who chooses the Trickery domain adds Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), and Hide (Dex) to the list. See Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells, below, for more information.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Table: The Battle-Cleric
———————— Spells per Day1 ——–—————
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Turn or rebuke undead 2 --- — — — — — — — —
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 3 --- — — — — — — — —
3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 4 1+1 --- — — — — — — —
4th +3 +4 +1 +4 5 2+1 --- — — — — — — —
5th +3 +4 +1 +4 5 3+1 --- --- — — — — — —
6th +4 +5 +2 +5 5 3+1 1+1 --- — — — — — —
7th +5 +5 +2 +5 6 4+1 2+1 --- --- — — — — —
8th +6/+1 +6 +2 +6 6 4+1 3+1 --- --- — — — — —
9th +6/+1 +6 +3 +6 6 4+1 4+1 1+1 --- --- — — — —
10th +7/+2 +7 +3 +7 6 4+1 4+1 2+1 --- --- — — — —
11th +8/+3 +7 +3 +7 6 5+1 4+1 3+1 --- --- --- — — —
12th +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 6 5+1 4+1 4+1 1+1 --- --- — — —
13th +9/+4 +8 +4 +8 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 2+1 --- --- --- — —
14th +10/+5 +9 +4 +9 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 3+1 --- --- --- — —
15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +9 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 1+1 --- --- --- —
16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 2+1 --- --- --- —
17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 3+1 --- --- --- ---
18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 1+1 --- --- ---
19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 2+1 --- --- ---
20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 3+1 --- --- ---
1 In addition to the stated number of spells per day for 1st- through 9th-level spells, a Battle-Cleric gets a domain spell for each spell level, starting at 1st.
The “+1” in the entries on this table represents that spell. Domain spells are in addition to any bonus spells the Battle-Cleric may receive for having a high Wisdom score.
SPELLS KNOWN: A Battle-Cleric's spells known are equal to their number of spells/day, without Wisdom bonuses.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Battle-Cleric.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Battle-Clerics are proficient with all simple weapons, with all types of armor (light, medium, and heavy), and with shields (except tower shields).
A Battle-Cleric who chooses the War domain receives the Weapon Focus feat related to his deity’s weapon as a bonus feat. He also receives the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency feat as a bonus feat, if the weapon falls into that category.
Aura (Ex): A Battle-Cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity’s alignment (see the detect evil spell for details). Battle-Clerics who don’t worship a specific deity but choose the Chaotic, Evil, Good, or Lawful domain have a similarly powerful aura of the corresponding alignment.
Spells: A Battle-Cleric casts divine spells, which are drawn from the Battle-Cleric spell list. However, his alignment may restrict him from casting certain spells opposed to his moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells, below. A Battle-Cleric casts spontaneously.
To cast a spell, a Battle-Cleric must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Battle-Cleric’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Battle-Cleric’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Battle-Cleric can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Battle-Cleric. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A Battle-Cleric also gets one domain spell of each spell level he can cast, starting at 1st level. When a Battle-Cleric prepares a spell in a domain spell slot, it must come from one of his two domains (see Deities, Domains, and Domain Spells, below).
Battle-Clerics meditate or pray for their spells. Each Battle-Cleric must choose a time at which he must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain his daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a Battle-Cleric can prepare spells. A Battle-Cleric may know and cast any spell on the Battle-Cleric spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to know when levelling up.
Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: A Battle-Cleric’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. A Battle-Cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to his deity. A Battle-Cleric can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain.
If a Battle-Cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
Each domain gives the Battle-Cleric access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. The Battle-Cleric gets the granted powers of both the domains selected.
With access to two domain spells at a given spell level, a Battle-Cleric prepares one or the other each day in his domain spell slot. If a domain spell is not on the Battle-Cleric spell list, a Battle-Cleric can prepare it only in his domain spell slot.
Spontaneous Casting: As well as the normal number of spells known, a good Battle-Cleric (or a neutral Battle-Cleric of a good deity) can cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name).
An evil Battle-Cleric (or a neutral Battle-Cleric of an evil deity), can cast inflict spells (an inflict spell is one with “inflict” in its name).
A Battle-Cleric who is neither good nor evil and whose deity is neither good nor evil can cast either cure spells or inflict spells (player’s choice). Once the player makes this choice, it cannot be reversed. This choice also determines whether the Battle-Cleric turns or commands undead (see below).
Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A Battle-Cleric can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity’s (if he has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.
Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su): Any Battle-Cleric, regardless of alignment, has the power to affect undead creatures by channeling the power of his faith through his holy (or unholy) symbol (see Turn or Rebuke Undead).
A good Battle-Cleric (or a neutral Battle-Cleric who worships a good deity) can turn or destroy undead creatures. An evil Battle-Cleric (or a neutral Battle-Cleric who worships an evil deity) instead rebukes or commands such creatures. A neutral Battle-Cleric of a neutral deity must choose whether his turning ability functions as that of a good Battle-Cleric or an evil Battle-Cleric. Once this choice is made, it cannot be reversed. This decision also determines whether the Battle-Cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see above).
A Battle-Cleric may attempt to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. A Battle-Cleric with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.
Bonus Languages: A Battle-Cleric’s bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively). These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.
Ex-Battle-Clerics
A Battle-Cleric who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his god loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons. He cannot thereafter gain levels as a Battle-Cleric of that god until he atones (see the atonement spell description).
PRIEST-CLERIC
Alignment: A Priest-Cleric’s alignment must be within one step of his deity’s (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful–chaotic axis or the good–evil axis, but not both). A Priest-Cleric may not be neutral unless his deity’s alignment is also neutral.
Hit Die: d6.
Class Skills
The Priest-Cleric’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Domains and Class Skills: A Priest-Cleric who chooses the Animal or Plant domain adds Knowledge (nature) (Int) to the Priest-Cleric class skills listed above. A Priest-Cleric who chooses the Knowledge domain adds all Knowledge (Int) skills to the list. A Priest-Cleric who chooses the Travel domain adds Survival (Wis) to the list. A Priest-Cleric who chooses the Trickery domain adds Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), and Hide (Dex) to the list. See Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells, below, for more information.
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Table: The Priest-Cleric
———————— Spells per Day1 ——–—————
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Turn or rebuke undead 3 1+1 — — — — — — — —
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 4 2+1 — — — — — — — —
3rd +1 +0 +1 +3 4 2+1 1+1 — — — — — — —
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 5 3+1 2+1 — — — — — — —
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 5 3+1 2+1 1+1 — — — — — —
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 5 3+1 3+1 2+1 — — — — — —
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 6 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 — — — — —
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 6 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 — — — — —
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 6 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 — — — —
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 6 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 — — — —
11th +5 +3 +3 +7 6 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 — — —
12th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 6 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 — — —
13th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 — —
14th +7/+2 +4 +4 +9 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 — —
15th +7/+2 +5 +5 +9 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 —
16th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 —
17th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1
18th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1
19th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1
20th +10/+5 +6 +6 +12 6 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 4+1 4+1
1 In addition to the stated number of spells per day for 1st- through 9th-level spells, a Priest-Cleric gets a domain spell for each spell level, starting at 1st.
The “+1” in the entries on this table represents that spell. Domain spells are in addition to any bonus spells the Priest-Cleric may receive for having a high Wisdom score.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Priest-Cleric.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Priest-Clerics are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with armour or shields.
A Priest-Cleric who chooses the War domain receives the Weapon Focus feat related to his deity’s weapon as a bonus feat. He also receives the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency feat as a bonus feat, if the weapon falls into that category.
Aura (Ex): A Priest-Cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity’s alignment (see the detect evil spell for details). Priest-Clerics who don’t worship a specific deity but choose the Chaotic, Evil, Good, or Lawful domain have a similarly powerful aura of the corresponding alignment.
Spells: A Priest-Cleric casts divine spells, which are drawn from the Priest-Cleric spell list. However, his alignment may restrict him from casting certain spells opposed to his moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells, below. A Priest-Cleric casts spontaneously.
To cast a spell, a Priest-Cleric must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Priest-Cleric’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Priest-Cleric’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Priest-Cleric can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Priest-Cleric. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A Priest-Cleric also gets one domain spell of each spell level he can cast, starting at 1st level. When a Priest-Cleric prepares a spell in a domain spell slot, it must come from one of his two domains (see Deities, Domains, and Domain Spells, below).
Priest-Clerics meditate or pray for their spells. Each Priest-Cleric must choose a time at which he must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain his daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a Priest-Cleric can prepare spells. A Priest-Cleric may know and cast any spell on the Priest-Cleric spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to know when levelling up.
Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: A Priest-Cleric’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. A Priest-Cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to his deity. A Priest-Cleric can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain.
If a Priest-Cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.
Each domain gives the Priest-Cleric access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. The Priest-Cleric gets the granted powers of both the domains selected.
With access to two domain spells at a given spell level, a Priest-Cleric prepares one or the other each day in his domain spell slot. If a domain spell is not on the Priest-Cleric spell list, a Priest-Cleric can prepare it only in his domain spell slot.
Spontaneous Casting: As well as the normal number of spells known, a good Priest-Cleric (or a neutral Priest-Cleric of a good deity) can cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name).
An evil Priest-Cleric (or a neutral Priest-Cleric of an evil deity), can cast inflict spells (an inflict spell is one with “inflict” in its name).
A Priest-Cleric who is neither good nor evil and whose deity is neither good nor evil can cast either cure spells or inflict spells (player’s choice). Once the player makes this choice, it cannot be reversed. This choice also determines whether the Battle-Cleric turns or commands undead (see below).
Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A Priest-Cleric can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity’s (if he has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.
Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su): Any Priest-Cleric, regardless of alignment, has the power to affect undead creatures by channeling the power of his faith through his holy (or unholy) symbol (see Turn or Rebuke Undead).
A good Priest-Cleric (or a neutral Priest-Cleric who worships a good deity) can turn or destroy undead creatures. An evil Priest-Cleric (or a neutral Priest-Cleric who worships an evil deity) instead rebukes or commands such creatures. A neutral Priest-Cleric of a neutral deity must choose whether his turning ability functions as that of a good Priest-Cleric or an evil Priest-Cleric. Once this choice is made, it cannot be reversed. This decision also determines whether the Priest-Cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see above).
A Priest-Cleric may attempt to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. A Priest-Cleric with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.
Bonus Languages: A Priest-Cleric’s bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively). These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.
Ex-Priest-Clerics
A Priest-Cleric who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his god loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons. He cannot thereafter gain levels as a Priest-Cleric of that god until he atones (see the atonement spell description).
?) Utility-wise, wizards tend to rule the roost. Whilst clerics peculiarly get sending a level lower than wizards (one of the most underrated spells in the game), teleportations, polymorphs and illusions are indispensable at mid to high level play...even ignoring those lesser used but still vital divinations such as tongues, comprehend languages and clairvoyance. Wizards also tend to get better 'strategic' spells: Wall of Force is an incredible spell, and Antimagic Shell is phenomenally useful as well (though admittedly certain domains will get this at the same level). Arcane defensive spells also tend to be superior- Shield + Mage Armour gives a very respectable 1st level AC, right up to the unsurmountable Prismatic Sphere (which can only be defeated by...another arcane caster). In terms of buff spells, it's probably a draw, but that's about the only class where a parity can be established.
