Cleric
What do you think about this Character Class in the Dungeon & Dragons system of role-playing? Consider the following:
1. Fighting ability (attack skills, use of weapons)
2. Unique skills (thievery, bless, talk to animals, etc.)
3. Magical skills (ability to use and acquire magic)
4. Tendency to progress (easy to go up in levels)
5. Limitations (cannot carry or use certain objects)
Few characters are as versatile as the Cleric. He can both cast spells and fight fiercely. The limitation of no swords is a small price to pay unless you come across a very tempting magical sword which of course ends up in the hands of the party's strongest fighter. I have always played the role of Cleric in table top RPGs. The heal spell is a great bargaining chip with other players as you can count on them for backup / protection when you need it.
Clerics are not a popular class, like a goaly for a football team, its often the last person who joins who has to play it. It seems to most people that being the Cleric is a bland choice wanting to be causing damage instead of healing it. How wrong they are
JB gives a good description of them but doesn't do them justice.
Firstly you can (in D&D) use weapons such as swords and battle axes all you need to do is pick war as a domain and you get proficeincy in the gods weapon of choice and weapon focus. Now if you decide to worship a God who likes Greatswords and has a war domain then your cleric can use one and gain a focus bonus.
Secondly they are the best against the undead. Turn undead literally decimates them and if you pick the right feats and skills, like extra turning, you will literally make the undead piss themselves with fear. Played a campaign not long ago where I was part of a group fighting to defeat a Lich King and his undead horde. I ended the quest with more then double the kills of the rest of my party combined and I was being restrained so as to let my companions have a chance to kill some.
Finally Clerics have one of the most unbalanced and powerful prestige classes at their disposal, knight of the hospitaller. Basically you get the BAB and extra feats of a fighter while gaining divine power at clerical pace, you basically get the best parts of being a fighter and a cleric with no downsides.
This is in relation to 3.5 ed. D&D I cant say if this is the case with AD&D
QUOTE (Roehug) |
JB gives a good description of them but doesn't do them justice. |
I will admit that clerics are really good characters to have but the main problem is the no swords issue. I'm a lover of the sword plus you are more likely to get a magical sword than a magical mace.
I most often used a dwarven Cleric. Love the hammers! they are very powerful in higher levels. Big mistake in a quest I once was in the bottom of a castle and suspected and evil deity was following us in the wall so I blessed it. The owner had black magic holding it together and it came tumbling down 4 of 6 escaped. I did how ever crush the bad guy in the ruble and got huge exp for that one.
I like to play a duel classed character. One of those two classes is the cleric. I do not mind the none sword issue. A mace or a hammer can do just as much damage as a sword. Plus if your fighting undead it is much better to hit a skeleton with a blunt object than a slashing object (half damage). The ability to turn undead of to scare the cloak off a vampire with blessed water is fun to do. I truly enjoy playing a cleric.
I just noticed we don't have a cleric class in medieval do we?