Class: Cleric

Clerics

Religion in Eradain: Quote take from Tao of D&D (his world interpretation of 1st edition Clerics):

• “So long as a cleric does not rise up physically against others of his or her religion, and so long as they do no desecrate the holy articles, shrines and tenets of their religion, the gods care little for the day-to-day actions of their clerics. Many clerics are corrupt, self-serving, greedy, lusting, cruel or callous, without ever affecting their spellcasting abilities. Other clerics of the faith may seek to punish a brother who has made too many enemies… but the gods rarely concern themselves with the quibbles of mortals.”

General Notes:

• Knowledge Religion – Clerics may use their Wisdom or Intelligence bonus, whichever is higher. This skill may also be used for reading and interpreting Portents.
• Clerics that do not select a specific deity are considered eccentric mavericks (at best) or heretics (at worst) and will not receive the same reaction adjustments as clerics of established religions. Clerics of this nature are referred to as Aspect Clerics.
• Deities/Pantheons and Alignment – Each of the deities in the pantheons of Eradain have various lighter or darker aspects and it is part of the internal politics of each religious organization as to which side has dominance over their policies. Certain deities do attract certain types of devotees and you are more likely to encounter an “evil” cleric of a goddess of death than one dedicated to a goddess of love, but even a goddess of love will have a dark side.
• Players of clerics or druids are expected to incorporate their character’s religion in their role play.

Pathfinder Rules

• Aura and Alignment – Clerics do not necessarily possess an Aura as outlined in the rulebook unless they have an Alignment Domain. Please see section on Alignment for details.
• Languages – Standard, Abyssal, Celestial, Infernal (see skills – Linguistics).
• Clerics may spontaneously cast a Cure spell from an open but unprepared spell slot.
• In Eradain among most pantheons, a Cleric’s holy symbol will reveal what domains the cleric has chosen. This may require a successful knowledge religion skill check DC 15.

Churches and Organizations

Church Structure Some churches (especially lawful ones) have rigid hierarchies in which every cleric knows his place and does not stray from it, while others are more like loose networks of clerics and believers with the relationships among them much less structured and rigid. Most structures fall somewhere between these extremes, with a fairly well-established organization but some agents - such as player character clerics - who operate outside the structure to some degree.

No matter how unstructured a church might be, a player character cleric most likely has an immediate superior, a higher-up in the organization who is responsible for the character's training and conduct. The superior's approach to supervision does not have to be oppressive (although it might be, particularly in evil churches) - more often it is a friendly mentorship or cordial working relationship.

The player of a cleric should work with the DM to define the nature of the character's relationship to the church and what role the superior plays in the character's life. Try to address all these questions:

• Is the superior an adventuring cleric like the player character or an established temple cleric?
• What responsibilities does the player character cleric have to his superior? Is he supposed to file reports on his adventures? Is he expected to tell his superior anything he learns that might be of interest to the temple (operations of an enemy church, creation of large numbers of undead, the discovery of certain kinds of monsters)? Or does the superior actually send the character on missions?
• What responsibilities does the superior have to the player character cleric? If the DM requires characters to undergo graining in order to advance in levels or improve skills, is the cleric's superior the one who provides this training? Is it free of charge?

A cleric who rises in levels may acquire underlings of his own in the church hierarchy.

Things to consider:

• Missions for the Church
  • Examples: Slay a powerful undead, infiltrate and break up a cult, find a magic item or artifact holy to the order (or otherwise useful such as a disruption weapon), destroy artifact, find a rare magic scroll or religious oriented item (staff of life), destroy some creature responsible for spreading disease (wererate, etc.), lead a group of clerics and healers into a war zone to establish a hospital, etc.)
• Contacts within the Church
  • Potential allies and sources of information from other members, historical records, gossip, healing spells, etc.
• Church Support
  • Lodging, spellcasting, equipment, money, people and information, support costs