7:47 In Pathfinder, some pregnant women or newborns will be adorned with amulets with the name or image of Pazuzu, the Demon Lord of the Sky and Winged Creatures, to keep the child from being developing some deformity. This is because such corruption is often the cause of Lamashtu, the Demon Goddess of Monsters, who is basically Pazuzu's Ex. The best part is that he actually will protect the unborn child, no strings attached, just because he hates Lamashtu so much. This is something even normal people that worship normal gods might do if they feared for their child's safety.
This is one of those insanely hilarious but also fucking amazing bits of lore. This is the kind of shit i wish was in the DM guide. Stuff that really fills out the world between all that fluff. Most campaigns probably won't touch upon this demon lore unless its specifically centered around it. But this way not only do you flesh out the day to day life that gives your world its vibe, this kind of spice allows you to provide a snippet of that lore without it being forced, and if it hooks your players further into your world then its all upside.
There is a cleric NPC in my campaign, he's an advisor to a king and worships a god of war. He vehemently opposes wars, seeing it as a sacred rite that needs to be done only in extreme circumstances. Sort of like "don't take the Lord's name in vain" "Don't invoke the god of war over petty bullshit"
Do you mean sacred rite (as in an action of holy ritual) rather than sacred right (a freedom guaranteed by your god)? Not trying to be difficult, I just got confused part way through the sentence.
Another idea would be a war god who despises war. That when history began and the gods took their responsibilities, one god hated war, but also knew it could never be avoided. So, in an attempt to minimize harm, took the reins of war. Better than some hothead running it. So the god commands his followers to avoid war where feasible, and to end wars as quickly and decisively as possible. This god would also have _Knowledge_ as a domain, as he teaches his followers strategy. Because a war that is won with a strategic victory is one where a bloody battle of attrition is avoided, and one side crushes (and preferably routs) the other. That way, fewer lives are lost and less collateral damage is done overall. "War is hell, so best to end it quickly."
"If you want to start a war, then you Will Know The Name Of WAR!" (crowd cheers) "And ALL Shall Be Brought Low!" (crowd suddenly not so sure about this sort of thing)
One thing that blew my mind when I heard it was, "Priests are not necessarily Clerics, and vice versa". Imagine a Priest of a God that has a huge following, but is not a Cleric. Then when this Cleric of the god shows up he has all this Divine Power. The conflict there is interesting.
I also like the idea of the God(s) choosing someone and bestowing upon them their divine powers, but the individual not really asking for them. So you have this sort of reluctant Cleric who has these Divine Powers, but doesn't pray or follow the God(s) that provide them.
Eberron has an interesting view on Clerics to my understanding. Basically their magic is seen as general magic shaped by faith without gods necessarily having anything to do with it. They believe they do but others will argue they don't. It also explains why none devotees like arcane spellcasters can sometimes mimic Cleric spells. Then there are halflings who less worship their pantheon and more look up to them, seeing them more as distant relatives. You could therefore have a cleric who worships one god but then gains spells from their distant ancestor who just so happens to have a lot of magic to pass around. Theoretically you could have sorcerers and warlocks who work if that same principal.
If you have an understanding of the Abrahamic faiths, their literature and history, this concept is throughout it. Anyone that devotes themselves to the study and teaching others of the texts, cred and dogma is a Rabi, Priest, Mullah, or what ever the sect/denomination they belong to calls such a person. The prophets, seers, revelators, or the catholic Saints, if the stories are believed as an example, those that worked miracles in the name of God and the spreading of the belief in the God of Abraham, those are DnD Clerics. As such a Cleric of a particular god might not always be in good standing with and organized church of a god especially if the mortal organization has drifted over time from what it was supposed to be. The you have Prophets like Jonah, who I would count as a cleric, who got along great with the church of the time and believers but when told by his God to preach to a group of violent nonbelievers tried to nope out of the situation and his god wouldn't let him go anywhere else. A Cleric might loose their faith, or just get so focused on worldly things they stop listening to their god. As a game master this can be dealt with four ways: nothing at all, strip them of devine power, change their domain, or have their god force them to do what it (aka the dungeon master) wants.
YES. This is definitely, without a doubt, one of those instances of "I didn't know I needed this until now" moments. I've shied away from so many classes because I just cant get into the mindset of the class. I tend to stick to a blend of characters I know or a mash up of tropes for a few go-to classes. I get the feeling this series is reeeeeally going to help me broaden my range of characters and classes to choose from.
Also kind of like you. I stayed away from clerics as I only thought one way about them. Being a bad cleric, that follows all gods is pretty amazing. Someone that doesn't preach just one way, but figures out who to get what you want from and if they do preach, its more about who you should pray to (like they do) to get what you want.
Leaving your comfort zone will help you to find new things you like, including classes and ways to roleplay. Tabletop Roleplay is a highly creative hobby, just be creative with a class you wouldnt consider at first and make it your own. Thats how the most interesting characters start existing and bringing new points of view to the table. Like in real life between 1 billion people, all of them have their own mindset.
Yeah in recent years I have expanded my roster a bit, for example when I started out I typically stuck to half-elf and gravitated towards archer or ranger in general because I liked being a Boba Fett-esque character, a sort of lone wolf bounty hunter that would develop over time to learn to care for and work well with his friends/party. Back when I was first introduced to the game, I'd NEVER consider playing some of the more "out there" races like the beasts and whatnot. Hell, even dwarves I had no interest in. Then I played Divinity OS 2 and suddenly I'm itching to play a dwarf. I just recently found a pay per session DM for me and a group of friends and not only am I playing and enjoying the hell out of the wizard class (something I also never would have considered because I thought they had to worry about the safety of their spell books in-battle) but I also have an air genasi monk and a dragonborn sorcerer on standby in case my wizard dies. I've never been, and probably never will be, a religious person so the concept of paladin/cleric always turned me off. And I never cared for the shapeshifting or component needing Druid. Plus no one likes a goody two-shoes in a game like dnd. So I'm excited for this series to try and open my eyes to these classes and hopefully drive me to eventually play some or all of them.
If you wanted to you can make a non-religious paladin, since devoting yourself to a cause you believe in (the paladin oaths) doesn't need you to be religious. Similarly, the paladin's magical abilities can also come from their devotion to their oath and their strength of character (which is why paladins cast spells using their charisma rather than wisdom like a cleric does). You don't even need to be a goody-two-shoes who never breaks the law, as most oath (except the Oath of the Crown) don't require you to follow the law and certain oaths (Vengeance, Conquest) are perfect for a neutral/evil paladin
A halfling Cleric could be good for you since their "gods" are more like distant relatives to them. Basically instead of praying they're calling in a favor from their great, great, great, great, great, great, grand-uncle twice removed.
I always liked the idea Matt Colville suggested in his book “Priest,” where clerics are bound to service in exchange for their powers, a reverse of the Roman idea you touched on. You can ask the gods for a miracle, and it can be granted, but if you ask for too much the god will require you to do tasks for them, like reclaiming lost artifacts or clearing out evil creatures. Which can require you to ask for more miracles, binding you again to their service.
I always enjoy coming up with strange little rituals and practices whenever I play a cleric or other divinely-motivated character. One good example was my half-orc cleric dedicated to Ilmater, the Forgotten Realms god of endurance, suffering, martyrdom, and perseverance. One of his daily prayer rituals involved piercing his hands through the various fleshy parts (where it would hurt and bleed, but not impair his use of them) with a long ceremonial needle. He would then soak a length of white cotton string with his blood and tie the string around one of his wrists. In order to bless things or people, he would take one of these now red strings and burn it in his hands. His particular sect also believed (our DM tweaked the setting so that folks had less direct guidance from the gods, leaving things more open to differing beliefs and interpretations to develop around any particular god) that there was a finite amount of pleasure and pain in the world which ebbed and flowed through the countless souls of the world, and thus believed that by willingly submitting themselves to pain and suffering they could (at least slightly) lessen the pain and suffering that others in the world had to endure.
Seriously, though, how fucking awesome would it be to play a Cleric who got powers from worshipping themselves, especially when the end game was to become a god.
17:00 Pillars of eternity has a great example of this type of character: Durance, Priest of Magran (the goddess of war and fire) is a staunch racist and misogynist. He _hates_ his role as a cleric, knows he's but a disposable tool in a cosmic game and constantly insults his goddess. A truly unpleasant fellow, but when you examine your conversations with him, his approach to how and why he gets his divine power is a really refreshing albeit twisted approach on the classic goody two shoes cleric.
I'm going to assume that Pruit is doing some kind of Dr. Who homage, considering his shirt. Mind you, the scarf really needs to be brighter if that is what he's going for.
I get compliments for that scarf, literally, every time I wear it. I got it at The Muji Store in Seattle last year at Geek Bowl. It is my very favorite piece of clothing. And I was was only wearing it because it was cold as balls during the shoot.
One of my favorite clerics to role play was a straight up "For the Emperor!" Warhammer Inquisitor style light cleric. He was named Thomas de Tarrasque (hilarious Spanish Inquisition reference, if I do say so myself) and oh boy did he get the party into trouble with the natives...
Man, I'm so honored to finally be able to start my journey into this. I was taking a wood workshop class, and usually, I'm super introverted with my AirPods in, but if I feel a connection with someone I can talk to them for days. This one chap I met was super cool but a strong aura so I was intimidated and ignored him listening to my music. But When I got to really know him he was cool as shit, he was subsequently interested in Norse-pagan religion, how he did evocations and stuff. And I'm like WTF?! Who else is interested in literally the exact same shit as me in such a corporate shit hole city? We talked maybe 1.5+hrs cause we had free time after class since we got out early. Maybe a 1hr after I was starting to self talk to myself to try to go home smoke a blunt and enjoy myself. When out of nowhere 2 of his friends rolled up, he introduced me and said do you like D&D? I nearly shit myself like FFFFFFFFF YEA I LIKE D&D hommie. Helped me get hooked up to a boardgaming & roleplaying club. Now I'm starting my first campaign with such awesome people. For all yall introverts and lurkers out there like myself, sometimes just sticking it out in one conversation you're kind of over, can lead to the most amazing journey of your life. Seriously, I know how hard it can be to offer youself out there but toss yourself into the fold and join a local club, or look online for a roll20 group. I know the time, and priorities, and excuses. But I promise you it will be the most cathartic experience of your life. For me, you just can't beat unwinding with actual 3D people in a room sharing a beer experiencing and creating your own journies, experiencing your own glories and devastations. For anyone reading, I really hope you get to enjoy the feeling of elation this roleplaying experience gives me. It's one of a kind. :^)
Brad Guzzardo oh my god! thank you for posting this. I've been having a tough time finding the reason my druid has been reborn as a halfling. Having another God blessing them with a new life would make it so much more cooler than just having a loved one have done it.
I mean we have examples of this in "the real world" as well, depending on how much stock you put in ancient religious texts. Moses is a classic example of a reluctant priest and reluctant leader. He didn't want to be God's chosen one, he didn't want to lead his people out of Egypt, he didn't want to wander through the desert fr the back 2/3rds of his life. But YHWH called and he answered because that's what you do.
PLEASE!!!! Do an episode in moral quandaries, ideas for adjusting monster stat blocks, creating custom/home brew magic items. I would be super happy thank you
I made a light cleric that worships the law. He believes that its the laws of the universe where the true power resides. Without law we end up with the primordial chaos. While he has amulets to both Amaunator and Tyr, he doesn't worship them so much, as deeply respects them. He's basically a half orc Judge Dredd who will burn the law breaker with the illumination of the law. His holy symbol is his light hammer that serves as a judge's gavel.
I like those series more and more ! You covered every major classes and yet hearing you talking about how to "RP them" is what gives me the desire to play them !
i tried that, but it didnt fit my theme. still though, forge cleric with hexblade pact would be kind of interesting, life cleric with undying pact would be hilarious, watching mommy and daddy have a custody battle over the chosen one
I like the concept of a character who is an unwilling cleric of a god/goddess of bad luck. In the typical trope "wherever they go, misfortune follows". The story might start off as the player character seeing themselves as the victim until they realize that they are the tool of misfortune, and therefore use that twist to bring the corrupt to twisted justice. When their power manifests through spells or channel divinity, smoky black antlers appear for a time then fade. I also would like to try to play a Half-Orc cleric of Gruumsh, but doing so would be hard because there's ALWAYS at least one Elf in every player character group. (Goddamn Legolas fanboys....)
I've got an idea for a Cleric of a justice-oriented deity who's a detective. Perhaps his Order is renowned for their investigative acumen and commitment to justice and local authorities are grateful for the help when he shows up, allowing him to get involved in an investigation. I'd probably have to tweak the Acolyte background and replace Shelter of the Faithful with Position of Privilege to represent this kind of access.
Nick Williams I’m playing an Investigator Cleric/Sorcerer right now. He is a Variant Human with the Observant feat. He is a knowledge cleric, but somehow he interacted with the Shadowfell, and became a Shadow Sorcerer.
About your Cleric of Gruumsh: why letting an elf character hold you back? If everyone at the table is a grown-up you can make that a role-playing-opportunity instead of a hindrance. There might be good in-game reasons why those two characters have to work together even though they are religious enemies. Or maybe the elve simply doesn´t care about what "the elvish" gods have with anybody else. In short: don´t be discouraged to play what you want to play by other players characters. Everybody should be mature enough to make it work and fun for everybody else.
I love the way you two bend my thinking on world building. By using your civil services ideas creating societies becomes amazingly simple. And the city council is one made of head priests etc.... love the cat sweater. Miss the drawings in the background.
+Web DM I think the most interesting aspect of divine classes are their relationship with the cosmos, and I appreciate your discution about the direct effect of said relationship in the game, especialy how a religious organization is tied to the narrative. I'll add that alot of players (especially newer ones) tend to dismiss said aspect of the classes, or take it for granted - it's just another stat - just like a Fighter 'knows how to use a sword', but there's ALOT to be roleplayed in the tenets of faith. Cheers. Also, just finished a year long campaign of Dark Heresy in the 40K universe. Yeah, unbelief is a curse and a HERESY that must be PURGED!!!
I played a dwarven war domain cleric who was basically a combat medic (soldier background) - that combo is pretty well baked into any of the dwarven kingdoms in forgotten realms
My clerics tend to be more pacifist and lead the party, too busy healing and buffing to swing a weapon. It works for me. It's also fun rping your cleric talking the party into being more altruistic or merciful.
I've always liked the idea of a cleric given powers by ancestors, like the ghosts in Mulan, picking a chosen family member to wield the ancestral magic, dealing with their bickering in exchange for the divine power
I love playing a Cleric. Over the past year I have played different three clerics across two campaigns and am about to jump into my fourth. As a player who almost exclusively plays Clerics, one of the biggest draws is the sheer amount of options open to you. I have played everything from a happy-go-lucky Life Cleric with a righteous conviction to a reluctant, melancholy, and broken Gunslinger/Death Domain Cleric who only wishes to comfort those who are grieving. The RP opportunities are endless! Thanks for sharing this video with us, I always loving hearing what you guys have to say.
Of all the spellcasters, Cleric and Bard are my favorite, so I hate the misconception that Clerics are healbots, even if your a freaking tempest or war domain cleric. I have a character concept in mind of a Tempest Domain cleric who multiclasses into zealot barbarian. He was a sailor, then (after a few levels) he was attacked and killed, but he came back because Valkur (his deity) made him his avatar and gifted him with divine fury.
As a newbie, these videos have been a godsend, pun kind of intended. I’m middle aged, and my only experience with DnD are games such as Baldur’s Gate I and II, Icewind Dale, etc.. I’ve never gotten to play the pen and paper style. That being said, I’m interested, yet I am admittedly ignorant to the nuances of the game. This is really helping out. Luckily, I live in an area where finding a game isn’t that difficult if you don’t mind getting out and meeting new people. Unfortunately, we’re still in a time of social distancing, so that has all been put on hold, but hey it’s giving me time to research! So once again, thank you for making all of these videos. They’ve been a huge help!
My friends and I figured out a way to play our D&D game by talking over group chat. We don’t even need to have video just audio of some sort. You might be able to group chat over your phone normally or you could download an app that has audio group chat features like Discord or Amino.
Currenting playing a Grave Cleric that was previously a combat medic in a war. Because of the horrors he witnessed in said war he is a borderline pacifist. He hates violence and choices to heal and support others in combat than fight. Of course, if he needs to fight, he can, he just choices not do.
Mo Christie I find them to be interesting and underrated. That healing ability that you get level one (I think) is amazing! Originally I was going to play my character as a Life Domain cleric, but as soon as I read the Grave Domain I fell in love with it! This is also my first time playing a cleric and I’m really enjoying the supporting role!
I'm playing a grave cleric and it is amazing. I focus more on combat abilities over healing, it works great. The roleplaying aspects is really fun too.
Yes, Grave Clerics are really cool, and if I run one I give him/her an ancient monk weapon (forgot what it's called) but it's like half axe half shovel. Shovel for digging graves, axe for fighting bandits. I homebrew it as a 1d8 bludgeoning or 1d8 slashing with two hands.
The Grave domain (along with other domains) can be found under Unearthed Arcana from the D&D Wizards of the Coast page. You might have to go a few pages back, but there should be a page called 'New Cleric Domains' or something to that extent.
Been playing D&D for a few months and me and the guys are totally hooked. We’ve custom built our own board/pieces/enemies/decor. We’ve managed to pull together nearly 17 players split over three sessions a week - the comic store has noticed a massive insurgence of new players since we’ve started it! I normally play a Tiefling Rogue - but after watching your sessions/lessons I honestly can’t wait to start DM’ing. The rules are important, but the vibe you give is an imagination is even more important. I can’t wait to start making entire runs totally off topic to the main quest. Thanks guys x
So first of all. Holt shit that scarf is amazing. Second of all, I was planning on bringing a cleric to my next session in a few days, so this is perfect timing.
I've played two dwarven clerics. My favourite was Erion Stormchaser, Tempest Cleric with the sailor background. In my dm's world there was a cataclysmic eruption that threw the dwarven people out into the world from their mountain home. A sect of them became "Saltbeards", sailors and merchants. The gods are kind of distant in the world, but through the superstitious rituals that his people perform before and during voyages the Stormfather started to return. One major storm through him overboard, and in the water Erion saw the face of the Stormfather, washed up on a shore with a temple to him and found a stone hammer. Now he travels the seas spreading the word of his god, and smashing yuan-ti faces in!
I had a dream where y'all releases an episode on gaming with children at the table and the intro consisted of Jim saying hello to Pruit, Pruit saying hello to Jim, and then a nephew named Jim off camera saying hello to Pruit. Then Pruit and Jim look at the camera and make a 4th wall break glance of confusion. A man can dream.
The way I envision how Clerics do their thing goes back to their most important Ability: Wisdom. Wisdom represents not just faith, but having an understanding of rarified truths. While a Wizard draws power from their understanding of laws and systems, a Cleric (and, for that matter, a Druid) draws power from their understanding of ideas more ineffable. This can mean divinity, or it can mean cosmic concepts or philosophies. In worlds with gods (however active they are), a Cleric garners power not just from their faith in those gods, but in their ability to understand them (even if only slightly). They must, as the Ability implies, be _Wise_ . When they become wise enough, this could attract the especial attention of their deity, moreso if the prospective Cleric adhered to that god's religious ethos and morality. If they become sufficiently fitting, they can be used. Sometimes, however, the gods don't just meet someone halfway, but choose someone to represent them unilaterally. A person is chosen - from the person's perspective, seemingly at random - to represent the deity and wield its power. Usually, this would probably still require a person of some Wisdom (Wisdom 13 minimum needed to BE a Cleric), but if a dullard and fool is given enough divine revelation, they'll _become_ sufficiently wise if they weren't already. Why would a deity choose someone seemingly unfitting? Because for mysterious or ineffable reasons, the god decides that THIS guy, over here, happens to either have qualities that will be useful to the god, or is in the position to do the god's will. Naturally, a newly created Cleric that never pursued religious knowledge may be highly reluctant. The Bible, for instance, is full of prophets (like Jonah) who weren't so enthused about going on some involved mission from God. The aforementioned Jonah had his whole fish adventure because he tried (unsuccessfully) to run from his mission. So a Cleric who is reluctant is not only possible, it can be pretty likely.
Had a halfling who was convinced that he had the support of nearly all the gods...he carried countless amulets bearing their symbols (like Benny from "The Mummy"). Whenever he learned about a new deity, he'd add their amulet to his chain and say, "Welcome to the pantheon!" The reality was; he was a grave-robber, and really had only the support of one goddess...the others were either indifferent or annoyed by his prayers to them (particularly the Raven Queen, who was unimpressed by his grave-robbing). A hermit, he'd been trying to fill his crippling loneliness with the attention of the gods... I'm pretty sure the DM was planning to have a "Divine Intervention" of a totally different sort...the kind where all the gods show up to demand the halfling stop calling them.
Have you guys considered including some of your favorite pop/comic/rpg culture archetypes for each class? I know you give a brief mention here and there, but maybe something more substantial? Either way love your guys stuff. Keep it up.
@@17joren true on both counts. I love being the party cleric. I mostly play war clerics but I have tried tempest domain which was fun and the new night domain has me curious. I have my characters get marked at birth or creation by a deity so that there is a nod to the future adventuring but not really this epic act that you didn't get levels for that makes you wonder why they're so squishy.
I built a character based on an idea Jim talked about a long while ago. There are only so many powerful vessels of divine energy, and gods would try to recruit powerful clerics. This can lead to a character that follows a few different gods w/i the same alignment. It was pretty fun, choosing spells with different sources, and incantations for each of the three gods my character followed.
One of the players at our table played an atheist cleric...he, too, did not believe in the concept of "gods". His "deity" was Bahamut, who manifested as an old man who'd frequently bestow divine gifts when the cleric leveled up. When the party urged the cleric that Bahamut was, in fact, a god, the cleric would just respond: "Nah, man, he's just a dude I know. He's nice, he's powerful, and all...but he's just a guy."
I made a Knowledge cleric once, Dimitri Szasz, who worshipped Vecna. He wasn’t evil, though: he was just a conspiracy theorist who was a little less than sane after having his memory wiped repeatedly.
Lots of great ideas! I also have a healer class that is basically a divine wizard. They have a healer’s tome and must study and write out divine spells, their magic is like arcane in that it tends to come from the source and other energy rather than through a deity. I find it a great option to limit how many divine spells are known at a time while allowing reasons to adventure and can easily be a non deity worshiper or have learned from a master rather than a larger organization. It;s also really easy to understand and implement.
What makes you think they won't lie? A cleric of Velsharoon God of Necromancy isnt gonna walk around like that hes gonna wear plain armor or even wear armor of someone like The Raven Queen or Tyr
I play that I'm trying to convert so my party finds out. I meantion the deity anytime something really good or really bad happens. Survival of a near tpk? Our deity has chosen to favor our survival. Win what should have been a tpk but was a cake walk? It is the will of our deity. So when I summon food/drink when we can't forage our own I say welcome to the blessings of my deity who has provided what we eat. NPCs more so then the party gets to hear the deity and often the maybe once in three games pass at conversion to my faith.
I'm building a cleric for an upcoming game. It'll be my first time playing the class (I've been a rogue 4 out of 5 times), and this video has been invaluable in knowing how to approach it. Thank you.
I have a Dwarf Cleric that I play constantly as a Knowledge Cleric who is now a Forge Domain, but I've always imagined that Knowledge, Forge, or any Domain involving crafting that they act as like Ed and Al from the first part of FMA where they go to town to town and recording notes of great works of craftsmanship. He would always be in search of some relic that would bring him glory and esteem within the Church's hirearchy.
This helpful for the game I'm running. I have been watching your videos for awhile and always seem to find a great deal of inspiration. Thank you for your efforts.
Can you guys do an episode on all the class options in xanathar's? You have mentioned a few of them in passing but I'd like an episode where you go through all of them and give your thoughts and feelings
Ah I love Clerics and the quandries that come with playing a character who is devoted to a god that is known to not only be real, but be partial and have impact on the material plane. I think my favourite Cleric I've played was a Cleric of Kord, God of Strength, who came to realise that the greatest strength was not a physical trait, but internal. How one coped with pressure, how one persevered in the face of adversity, how one survived and kept getting back up again. It was quite the journey as we had a monster strength barbarian in the group who strengthed their way through everything, and moving beyond that feeling of inadequecy (how can you compare 15str to 24?) to a place of understanding and growth. I think I'm really proud that of the 12 or 13 times I got knocked out, I stablised my self every single time, barely failing any death saving throws (like less than 0.5 average). It was a real representation of his passion and drive and his strength of will. Ah, Karn, I miss you buddy.
I'm excited to see the rest of these, especially for the Paladin. As well as the Warlock, as I'm a bit confused at how to RP one. I know how you feel when it comes to glasses. I tend to let mine get real dirty. To end off, that is an amazing scarf.
Max Kraft I created a religion and converted an entire city and the cleric in my team to my religion cuz I kept rolling 20s on religion checks. So now all my characters are part of this religion until I have made the 5 other disciples of this god lol
I like to think about the interaction between the domains too. Life, Light and Nature would seem obvious to have public temples where many would worship. Likely Forge, and maybe even War as well, depending on the culture. But Death and Grave would seem to be more like factions within a more public domain. Knowledge and Arcana domains might be openly practiced, and even received well within the populace, but more nomadic in public and cloistered in study. Trickery would seem to not even have a temple, as even those who practice their faith without harming others would be somewhat outcast and surely wouldn't fit into any hierarchy. That is the beginning of the dynamic between each domain and the other classes and jobs in the world as well. A Forge Cleric might not be personally likeable, but his domain is part of a very necessary skill set and so worshippers WILL seek him out. War Clerics would be derided in public, in many cities, and approached privately for assistance. Certainly Life and Light would be popular in formal armies and power structures.
On the topic of reluctant clerics, I’ve had fun playing a Wood Elf Trickery Cleric with a couple Rogue levels whose backstory was that he was caught after stealing from a shrine to the Mask. Since he actually managed not to get caught until later, he was given the choice between a slow death as an example to others or serving the Mask as part of his clergy for the next 300 years. He went through the motions, prayed for spells, and occasionally leveraged his position to influence a local thieves’ guild, but at first he did so only because it gave him an advantage, but he got more used to it as he went forward.
My one gaming group is going to be starting a new game in the one player's homebrew world where I will be playing an INT-WIS Life cleric (Prot. Aasimar) who is functionally an atheist: a "Cloistered Scholar," she views the gods as powerful entities who often do more harm than good. I am looking forward to how things play out because I do feel like she would be great to RP as a reluctant servant of a god or the gods.
I made that reluctant cleric that you guys mentioned one time in a game. He was a bit jokey, a light cleric whose holy symbol always shined light making it hard for him to sleep at night. I wish that game went on longer than the few sessions it lasted because role-playing him was a lot of fun.
I've got an idea for a Teifling who was originally a Paladin of redemption but due to an event at his coronation, becomes a Cleric early on, probably at his 5th level. Basically his deity expands his journey to redemption and uses his salvation as a testimony to others. If I, a fiendish Teifling can be saved, so can you, kinda deal. I also have another idea for a Cleric I'm calling a Child of Light. A halfling who has been imbued with life cleric power since birth, and healing and whatnot just naturally comes out of him. Enemies seek him out to take advantage of him, adventurers constantly hound him to join up, and all he wants is a normal life that he can't have. Kinda like a reverse Rogue from X-Men where instead of sucking up powers from others, his touch constantly gives healings and blessings. So does his voice and whatever else cleric spells need. He has no say, it just happens. I'm even thinking of a customized background called Blessed where you choose between a few abilities for one you're naturally born with, such as Lay on Hands, or the Lucky feat, or the Shield spell or something like that. In your past, you were divinely blessed. Maybe your parents prayed blessings over your birth. Maybe your family has been cursed for generations and your creation broke that. This would allow even non spellcaster classes a spell, or non halflings a way to get Luck without using a precious feat. Would add flavor without needing to multiclass or whatever. Kinda like a priest in Starfinder that gets one Mystic spell. 👍
The way I like to run the cleric/god/mortal dynamic builds off the "Gods are granted power by worship" but it takes a LOT of power to interact with the material plane which is where clerics come in. The gods basically entrust a "level" of their power to their clerics based on how much they've proved themselves to use as they see fit since the god trusts they will use that power in accordance with their will. The gods don't often directly interact with people because it's a waste of a lot of power to directly talk to someone or directly perform a miracle. The god of knowledge isn't going to talk into your head to tell you where you dropped your key because that same amount of power could be channeled through a cleric to save a burning library or something like that. This lets you have all kinds of different dynamics between gods and their worshipers. Sometimes you have an El/Allah/Yaweh dynamic where the god is their ruler and to survive in a harsh environment full of enemies and drought and famine you must worship that god or he will just let you die if not kill you outright which means that worship is VERY strong so it's fine there's not a whole lot of them, although they try to expand. Since every farmer in the world probably has a little shrine to some fertility god and the clerics probably don't deal with a lot of urgent conflict, it's less trouble for that god to make sure seeds fall into the best spot to grow and that kind of thing.
Fantastic video. You guys are a riot and very knowledgeable. I'm thinking of making the distinction between clerics and priests in my campaign that priests can do a specific set of rituals to invoke some divine magic, including divine intervention, if they are in good graces with the god(s) they worship whereas clerics aren't limited to as narrow a code of conduct and can learn spells. For whatever reason they have been granted special gifts denied to most.
Hey WebDM, Could you guys do an episode on Xanathar's Guide? I noticed you guys mentioned it. And we may like to hear your take. Love this new series! Keep it up!!
Can a God give Cleric Powers to someone who doesn’t want it? Like a Chaotic Neutral Deity who hates his clergy because he thinks their a bunch of sycophants, and noticed one guy who has some grudge against the gods or thinks gods are just really powerful devils, genies, Fey, Celestials, or whatever, and decides to give them clerical powers.
Inquisitor Thomas I think that would be more of a paladin than a cleric. Clerics get their powers because they pray and follow a deity. A paladin is chosen by the god to be an extension of his will on the land.
I love this idea and the cleric doesnt want to admit its a god giving them the power but every time they cast a spell the gods holy symbol shines on their armor even though its not physically there.
yes but you would have to get them to use it which would be tricky if their staunchly against the gods and maybe think everything they touch withers or something
Thank you Web DM for revisiting the classes from a roleplaying angle. You guys are excellent. Any chance we could see a discussion of roleplaying, ‘bleed’, and making the character and player distinct from each other?
Hey guys I'm super into to this new season, its amazing how you guys go over every aspect of a character. Could I suggest that on top of what you guys talked about, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on particular races being Clerics. Like a Goblin Cleric, What would such a chaotic character use that power? What about a Yuan-ti or Tortle. Anyway, hope this gets to you
THANK YOU. I'm a newbie who's only played a ranger - I basically play myself with a lot less introvert. 😆 Now I'm in CoS as a Ranger and realized we didn't have a cleric or paladin, so multi-classed cleric. Just leveled to 1 Ranger 2 life domain cleric and I'm flying by the seat of my pants and trying to not rush up front anymore and keep myself and my players alive. I had a good start since my ranger was healed by Priests of Meilikki so Session 1 payed my respects at a shrine and was gifted with a holy symbol.
Two interrelated things I was wondering about are attempts to convert your other party members to your cleric's faith and your cleric perhaps giving sermons.
Well, have you considered preaching in town while your party is shopping? As a cleric you're rarely without your holy symbol so you're rarely in need of materials for your spells. If youve got nothing you need to buy, or let your party know the things you could use so that they keep your needs in mind while they shop. This will give you plenty of time to spread the good word to the townsfolk, or volunteer at the local temple. As for converting your party members; Are you looking for a more organic transition or a flat out aggressive conversion? Because if its the former it will likely happen within a relatively short time with members of your party who don't worship a particular good. The ones that do worship but aren't dedicated may come around when your god literally brings them back to life. The ones who worship other gods may need to expierence a crisis of faith to convert. A conquest paladin of Erathis may see the folly of his faith when he discovers that the city council is fully aware of the thieves guild in the city and they do nothing about it since the business they bring helps expand the city. He may see a chance to become a paladin of Bahamut instead, taking up a new oath of law to smite criminals who would undo a fair and lawful system. As for the latter? Withold healing and buffs from anyone who doesn't pray to your god. Its a heavy handed way to get converts but nothing says "agree with me" like being on the brink of dearh, face to face with an angry dragon and knowing that healing is just 1 hallelujah away.
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Great video, but the agricultural temple village was goldenfields.
Web DM Oh no, no Half Elf video?!?
I here came here to ask why these awesome chats aren't all in podcast form already :)
Love the show! But I must know...where did you get that amazing cat scarf? I. Must. Have.
7:47
In Pathfinder, some pregnant women or newborns will be adorned with amulets with the name or image of Pazuzu, the Demon Lord of the Sky and Winged Creatures, to keep the child from being developing some deformity.
This is because such corruption is often the cause of Lamashtu, the Demon Goddess of Monsters, who is basically Pazuzu's Ex.
The best part is that he actually will protect the unborn child, no strings attached, just because he hates Lamashtu so much.
This is something even normal people that worship normal gods might do if they feared for their child's safety.
This is one of those insanely hilarious but also fucking amazing bits of lore. This is the kind of shit i wish was in the DM guide. Stuff that really fills out the world between all that fluff. Most campaigns probably won't touch upon this demon lore unless its specifically centered around it. But this way not only do you flesh out the day to day life that gives your world its vibe, this kind of spice allows you to provide a snippet of that lore without it being forced, and if it hooks your players further into your world then its all upside.
That sounds like the perfect setup for a tiefling born off a very religious family or a fiend warlock with the patreon acting like their godfather
Random nerdom: Pazuzu was the demon in The Exorcist. Of course in my headcannon they are the same ppazuzu.
There is a cleric NPC in my campaign, he's an advisor to a king and worships a god of war. He vehemently opposes wars, seeing it as a sacred rite that needs to be done only in extreme circumstances. Sort of like "don't take the Lord's name in vain" "Don't invoke the god of war over petty bullshit"
Do you mean sacred rite (as in an action of holy ritual) rather than sacred right (a freedom guaranteed by your god)? Not trying to be difficult, I just got confused part way through the sentence.
Rite, I meant rite. That does change things though
Another idea would be a war god who despises war. That when history began and the gods took their responsibilities, one god hated war, but also knew it could never be avoided. So, in an attempt to minimize harm, took the reins of war. Better than some hothead running it. So the god commands his followers to avoid war where feasible, and to end wars as quickly and decisively as possible.
This god would also have _Knowledge_ as a domain, as he teaches his followers strategy. Because a war that is won with a strategic victory is one where a bloody battle of attrition is avoided, and one side crushes (and preferably routs) the other. That way, fewer lives are lost and less collateral damage is done overall. "War is hell, so best to end it quickly."
Bluecho4 so instead of ares be like atena
"If you want to start a war, then you Will Know The Name Of WAR!" (crowd cheers)
"And ALL Shall Be Brought Low!" (crowd suddenly not so sure about this sort of thing)
One thing that blew my mind when I heard it was, "Priests are not necessarily Clerics, and vice versa". Imagine a Priest of a God that has a huge following, but is not a Cleric. Then when this Cleric of the god shows up he has all this Divine Power. The conflict there is interesting.
I also like the idea of the God(s) choosing someone and bestowing upon them their divine powers, but the individual not really asking for them. So you have this sort of reluctant Cleric who has these Divine Powers, but doesn't pray or follow the God(s) that provide them.
Eberron has an interesting view on Clerics to my understanding. Basically their magic is seen as general magic shaped by faith without gods necessarily having anything to do with it. They believe they do but others will argue they don't. It also explains why none devotees like arcane spellcasters can sometimes mimic Cleric spells.
Then there are halflings who less worship their pantheon and more look up to them, seeing them more as distant relatives. You could therefore have a cleric who worships one god but then gains spells from their distant ancestor who just so happens to have a lot of magic to pass around. Theoretically you could have sorcerers and warlocks who work if that same principal.
If you have an understanding of the Abrahamic faiths, their literature and history, this concept is throughout it. Anyone that devotes themselves to the study and teaching others of the texts, cred and dogma is a Rabi, Priest, Mullah, or what ever the sect/denomination they belong to calls such a person. The prophets, seers, revelators, or the catholic Saints, if the stories are believed as an example, those that worked miracles in the name of God and the spreading of the belief in the God of Abraham, those are DnD Clerics.
As such a Cleric of a particular god might not always be in good standing with and organized church of a god especially if the mortal organization has drifted over time from what it was supposed to be.
The you have Prophets like Jonah, who I would count as a cleric, who got along great with the church of the time and believers but when told by his God to preach to a group of violent nonbelievers tried to nope out of the situation and his god wouldn't let him go anywhere else.
A Cleric might loose their faith, or just get so focused on worldly things they stop listening to their god. As a game master this can be dealt with four ways: nothing at all, strip them of devine power, change their domain, or have their god force them to do what it (aka the dungeon master) wants.
I can't believe these are 3 years old. I constantly return to this series whenever I build a new character
YES. This is definitely, without a doubt, one of those instances of "I didn't know I needed this until now" moments. I've shied away from so many classes because I just cant get into the mindset of the class. I tend to stick to a blend of characters I know or a mash up of tropes for a few go-to classes. I get the feeling this series is reeeeeally going to help me broaden my range of characters and classes to choose from.
Also kind of like you. I stayed away from clerics as I only thought one way about them. Being a bad cleric, that follows all gods is pretty amazing. Someone that doesn't preach just one way, but figures out who to get what you want from and if they do preach, its more about who you should pray to (like they do) to get what you want.
Leaving your comfort zone will help you to find new things you like, including classes and ways to roleplay. Tabletop Roleplay is a highly creative hobby, just be creative with a class you wouldnt consider at first and make it your own. Thats how the most interesting characters start existing and bringing new points of view to the table. Like in real life between 1 billion people, all of them have their own mindset.
Yeah in recent years I have expanded my roster a bit, for example when I started out I typically stuck to half-elf and gravitated towards archer or ranger in general because I liked being a Boba Fett-esque character, a sort of lone wolf bounty hunter that would develop over time to learn to care for and work well with his friends/party. Back when I was first introduced to the game, I'd NEVER consider playing some of the more "out there" races like the beasts and whatnot. Hell, even dwarves I had no interest in. Then I played Divinity OS 2 and suddenly I'm itching to play a dwarf. I just recently found a pay per session DM for me and a group of friends and not only am I playing and enjoying the hell out of the wizard class (something I also never would have considered because I thought they had to worry about the safety of their spell books in-battle) but I also have an air genasi monk and a dragonborn sorcerer on standby in case my wizard dies.
I've never been, and probably never will be, a religious person so the concept of paladin/cleric always turned me off. And I never cared for the shapeshifting or component needing Druid. Plus no one likes a goody two-shoes in a game like dnd. So I'm excited for this series to try and open my eyes to these classes and hopefully drive me to eventually play some or all of them.
If you wanted to you can make a non-religious paladin, since devoting yourself to a cause you believe in (the paladin oaths) doesn't need you to be religious.
Similarly, the paladin's magical abilities can also come from their devotion to their oath and their strength of character (which is why paladins cast spells using their charisma rather than wisdom like a cleric does).
You don't even need to be a goody-two-shoes who never breaks the law, as most oath (except the Oath of the Crown) don't require you to follow the law and certain oaths (Vengeance, Conquest) are perfect for a neutral/evil paladin
A halfling Cleric could be good for you since their "gods" are more like distant relatives to them. Basically instead of praying they're calling in a favor from their great, great, great, great, great, great, grand-uncle twice removed.
I always liked the idea Matt Colville suggested in his book “Priest,” where clerics are bound to service in exchange for their powers, a reverse of the Roman idea you touched on. You can ask the gods for a miracle, and it can be granted, but if you ask for too much the god will require you to do tasks for them, like reclaiming lost artifacts or clearing out evil creatures. Which can require you to ask for more miracles, binding you again to their service.
Our DM who Art behind the Screen, Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdoms won
Many campaigns run
GriffVicious on the Material, as it is on the Astral.
I love all three of you....
Give us this day our daily xp
and forgive us for de-railing
Codi Wiersma As we forgive those, who railroad us.
this whole comment section is beautiful
I always enjoy coming up with strange little rituals and practices whenever I play a cleric or other divinely-motivated character. One good example was my half-orc cleric dedicated to Ilmater, the Forgotten Realms god of endurance, suffering, martyrdom, and perseverance.
One of his daily prayer rituals involved piercing his hands through the various fleshy parts (where it would hurt and bleed, but not impair his use of them) with a long ceremonial needle. He would then soak a length of white cotton string with his blood and tie the string around one of his wrists. In order to bless things or people, he would take one of these now red strings and burn it in his hands.
His particular sect also believed (our DM tweaked the setting so that folks had less direct guidance from the gods, leaving things more open to differing beliefs and interpretations to develop around any particular god) that there was a finite amount of pleasure and pain in the world which ebbed and flowed through the countless souls of the world, and thus believed that by willingly submitting themselves to pain and suffering they could (at least slightly) lessen the pain and suffering that others in the world had to endure.
“I am a god”
Kanye Domain Cleric
"No one Cleric should have all that power"
“You underestimate my power!”
“POWER! UNLIMITED POWER!!!”
Seriously, though, how fucking awesome would it be to play a Cleric who got powers from worshipping themselves, especially when the end game was to become a god.
fallen aasimar cleric
Perches Lemons
Normally. Though I’d love to play this guy in a setting like FR where the gods are tyrannical dicks.
22:11 "I'm a cleric of war."
That moment when you unwittingly become a cult worshiper of Khorne.
For war I love Kord personally. Though my other Warforged war domain cleric serves Primus but calls him Gizmo.
17:00 Pillars of eternity has a great example of this type of character: Durance, Priest of Magran (the goddess of war and fire) is a staunch racist and misogynist. He _hates_ his role as a cleric, knows he's but a disposable tool in a cosmic game and constantly insults his goddess. A truly unpleasant fellow, but when you examine your conversations with him, his approach to how and why he gets his divine power is a really refreshing albeit twisted approach on the classic goody two shoes cleric.
I’m going to have to watch this again. I can’t concentrate on the content because I can’t stop staring at Pruitt’s scarf. Lol
XIII its a premium scarf. I don't blame you.
Way to fail your Wisdom save
I'm going to assume that Pruit is doing some kind of Dr. Who homage, considering his shirt. Mind you, the scarf really needs to be brighter if that is what he's going for.
I get compliments for that scarf, literally, every time I wear it. I got it at The Muji Store in Seattle last year at Geek Bowl. It is my very favorite piece of clothing. And I was was only wearing it because it was cold as balls during the shoot.
I walk one!
One of my favorite clerics to role play was a straight up "For the Emperor!" Warhammer Inquisitor style light cleric. He was named Thomas de Tarrasque (hilarious Spanish Inquisition reference, if I do say so myself) and oh boy did he get the party into trouble with the natives...
Filthy savages! Unholy spawn of dirt and mud! Filthy, fucking *elves!* Burn in the holy light of the lord you heathens and *pray!*
Really appreciated this: RPing classes is something folks tend not to think about.
Everytime I watch one of their videos, I want to re-watch 13th Warrior...
Man, I'm so honored to finally be able to start my journey into this.
I was taking a wood workshop class, and usually, I'm super introverted with my AirPods in, but if I feel a connection with someone I can talk to them for days. This one chap I met was super cool but a strong aura so I was intimidated and ignored him listening to my music. But When I got to really know him he was cool as shit, he was subsequently interested in Norse-pagan religion, how he did evocations and stuff. And I'm like WTF?! Who else is interested in literally the exact same shit as me in such a corporate shit hole city?
We talked maybe 1.5+hrs cause we had free time after class since we got out early. Maybe a 1hr after I was starting to self talk to myself to try to go home smoke a blunt and enjoy myself. When out of nowhere 2 of his friends rolled up, he introduced me and said do you like D&D? I nearly shit myself like FFFFFFFFF YEA I LIKE D&D hommie. Helped me get hooked up to a boardgaming & roleplaying club. Now I'm starting my first campaign with such awesome people.
For all yall introverts and lurkers out there like myself, sometimes just sticking it out in one conversation you're kind of over, can lead to the most amazing journey of your life. Seriously, I know how hard it can be to offer youself out there but toss yourself into the fold and join a local club, or look online for a roll20 group. I know the time, and priorities, and excuses. But I promise you it will be the most cathartic experience of your life.
For me, you just can't beat unwinding with actual 3D people in a room sharing a beer experiencing and creating your own journies, experiencing your own glories and devastations.
For anyone reading, I really hope you get to enjoy the feeling of elation this roleplaying experience gives me. It's one of a kind. :^)
15:21
"You have two choices. You can either serve your time..."
*Guard shows up*
"... Or pay the court a fine!"
Love your user name Dude.
where is the money shithead?
"THEN PAY WITH YOUR BLOOD!"
unlike real world, in D&D it is very possible that your 'chosen' deity isn't the deity that /you/ choose, but the deity that has instead chosen /you/
Brad Guzzardo oh my god! thank you for posting this. I've been having a tough time finding the reason my druid has been reborn as a halfling. Having another God blessing them with a new life would make it so much more cooler than just having a loved one have done it.
Brad Guzzardo Exception: Jeanne D’Arc
I mean we have examples of this in "the real world" as well, depending on how much stock you put in ancient religious texts. Moses is a classic example of a reluctant priest and reluctant leader. He didn't want to be God's chosen one, he didn't want to lead his people out of Egypt, he didn't want to wander through the desert fr the back 2/3rds of his life. But YHWH called and he answered because that's what you do.
PLEASE!!!! Do an episode in moral quandaries, ideas for adjusting monster stat blocks, creating custom/home brew magic items. I would be super happy thank you
I made a light cleric that worships the law. He believes that its the laws of the universe where the true power resides. Without law we end up with the primordial chaos. While he has amulets to both Amaunator and Tyr, he doesn't worship them so much, as deeply respects them. He's basically a half orc Judge Dredd who will burn the law breaker with the illumination of the law. His holy symbol is his light hammer that serves as a judge's gavel.
I like those series more and more ! You covered every major classes and yet hearing you talking about how to "RP them" is what gives me the desire to play them !
Ooh, now I want to play a multiclass Cleric/Warlock with sort of a two-dates-to-the-prom sort of thing.
i tried that, but it didnt fit my theme. still though, forge cleric with hexblade pact would be kind of interesting, life cleric with undying pact would be hilarious, watching mommy and daddy have a custody battle over the chosen one
I like the concept of a character who is an unwilling cleric of a god/goddess of bad luck. In the typical trope "wherever they go, misfortune follows". The story might start off as the player character seeing themselves as the victim until they realize that they are the tool of misfortune, and therefore use that twist to bring the corrupt to twisted justice. When their power manifests through spells or channel divinity, smoky black antlers appear for a time then fade.
I also would like to try to play a Half-Orc cleric of Gruumsh, but doing so would be hard because there's ALWAYS at least one Elf in every player character group. (Goddamn Legolas fanboys....)
If I was to try that character, I would definitely go Halfling or Lucky Human.
I've got an idea for a Cleric of a justice-oriented deity who's a detective. Perhaps his Order is renowned for their investigative acumen and commitment to justice and local authorities are grateful for the help when he shows up, allowing him to get involved in an investigation. I'd probably have to tweak the Acolyte background and replace Shelter of the Faithful with Position of Privilege to represent this kind of access.
Nick Williams I’m playing an Investigator Cleric/Sorcerer right now. He is a Variant Human with the Observant feat. He is a knowledge cleric, but somehow he interacted with the Shadowfell, and became a Shadow Sorcerer.
About your Cleric of Gruumsh: why letting an elf character hold you back? If everyone at the table is a grown-up you can make that a role-playing-opportunity instead of a hindrance. There might be good in-game reasons why those two characters have to work together even though they are religious enemies. Or maybe the elve simply doesn´t care about what "the elvish" gods have with anybody else.
In short: don´t be discouraged to play what you want to play by other players characters. Everybody should be mature enough to make it work and fun for everybody else.
The only good elf is a dead elf
I love the way you two bend my thinking on world building. By using your civil services ideas creating societies becomes amazingly simple. And the city council is one made of head priests etc.... love the cat sweater. Miss the drawings in the background.
Cleric of the philosophy of rage, cleric of the storm, and cleric of surtur are some of my fav character concepts in general
+Web DM
I think the most interesting aspect of divine classes are their relationship with the cosmos, and I appreciate your discution about the direct effect of said relationship in the game, especialy how a religious organization is tied to the narrative. I'll add that alot of players (especially newer ones) tend to dismiss said aspect of the classes, or take it for granted - it's just another stat - just like a Fighter 'knows how to use a sword', but there's ALOT to be roleplayed in the tenets of faith.
Cheers.
Also, just finished a year long campaign of Dark Heresy in the 40K universe. Yeah, unbelief is a curse and a HERESY that must be PURGED!!!
Y'all never don't kick ass. Been a fan since the beginning. Thanks!
"I smack Fools with my Mace" - Battle Cleric logic
can a Cleric be a Medic?
Yep clerics that are of the Life Domain have bonuses to healing
I played a dwarven war domain cleric who was basically a combat medic (soldier background) - that combo is pretty well baked into any of the dwarven kingdoms in forgotten realms
My clerics tend to be more pacifist and lead the party, too busy healing and buffing to swing a weapon. It works for me. It's also fun rping your cleric talking the party into being more altruistic or merciful.
Matt With one hand I save a life, wit another I take it. (Actually it's the same hand but it doesn't sound as good )
Does a Druid shit in the woods?
I've always liked the idea of a cleric given powers by ancestors, like the ghosts in Mulan, picking a chosen family member to wield the ancestral magic, dealing with their bickering in exchange for the divine power
shinto clerics ftw
There's a Barbarian subclass for that
Also a race if you play kalashtar.
I love playing a Cleric. Over the past year I have played different three clerics across two campaigns and am about to jump into my fourth. As a player who almost exclusively plays Clerics, one of the biggest draws is the sheer amount of options open to you. I have played everything from a happy-go-lucky Life Cleric with a righteous conviction to a reluctant, melancholy, and broken Gunslinger/Death Domain Cleric who only wishes to comfort those who are grieving. The RP opportunities are endless!
Thanks for sharing this video with us, I always loving hearing what you guys have to say.
Of all the spellcasters, Cleric and Bard are my favorite, so I hate the misconception that Clerics are healbots, even if your a freaking tempest or war domain cleric.
I have a character concept in mind of a Tempest Domain cleric who multiclasses into zealot barbarian. He was a sailor, then (after a few levels) he was attacked and killed, but he came back because Valkur (his deity) made him his avatar and gifted him with divine fury.
As a newbie, these videos have been a godsend, pun kind of intended. I’m middle aged, and my only experience with DnD are games such as Baldur’s Gate I and II, Icewind Dale, etc.. I’ve never gotten to play the pen and paper style. That being said, I’m interested, yet I am admittedly ignorant to the nuances of the game. This is really helping out. Luckily, I live in an area where finding a game isn’t that difficult if you don’t mind getting out and meeting new people. Unfortunately, we’re still in a time of social distancing, so that has all been put on hold, but hey it’s giving me time to research! So once again, thank you for making all of these videos. They’ve been a huge help!
Glad to help! Congrats on getting started on the best hobby in the world
My friends and I figured out a way to play our D&D game by talking over group chat. We don’t even need to have video just audio of some sort. You might be able to group chat over your phone normally or you could download an app that has audio group chat features like Discord or Amino.
TURN UP THE HEAT! PRUIT IS FREEZING!
Johnny Mnemonic yeah he looks pretty cool in that scarf
CMDR k2k4 BOOM
But then we don't get the scarf
Currenting playing a Grave Cleric that was previously a combat medic in a war. Because of the horrors he witnessed in said war he is a borderline pacifist. He hates violence and choices to heal and support others in combat than fight. Of course, if he needs to fight, he can, he just choices not do.
Megan Crum how do you find the grave cleric? I’m playing one and I really enjoy them but I don’t see many people playing them
Mo Christie I find them to be interesting and underrated. That healing ability that you get level one (I think) is amazing! Originally I was going to play my character as a Life Domain cleric, but as soon as I read the Grave Domain I fell in love with it! This is also my first time playing a cleric and I’m really enjoying the supporting role!
I'm playing a grave cleric and it is amazing. I focus more on combat abilities over healing, it works great. The roleplaying aspects is really fun too.
Yes, Grave Clerics are really cool, and if I run one I give him/her an ancient monk weapon (forgot what it's called) but it's like half axe half shovel. Shovel for digging graves, axe for fighting bandits. I homebrew it as a 1d8 bludgeoning or 1d8 slashing with two hands.
The Grave domain (along with other domains) can be found under Unearthed Arcana from the D&D Wizards of the Coast page. You might have to go a few pages back, but there should be a page called 'New Cleric Domains' or something to that extent.
This video, like almost all of the WebDM catalog, holds up very well Six years later.
Been playing D&D for a few months and me and the guys are totally hooked.
We’ve custom built our own board/pieces/enemies/decor. We’ve managed to pull together nearly 17 players split over three sessions a week - the comic store has noticed a massive insurgence of new players since we’ve started it!
I normally play a Tiefling Rogue - but after watching your sessions/lessons I honestly can’t wait to start DM’ing.
The rules are important, but the vibe you give is an imagination is even more important. I can’t wait to start making entire runs totally off topic to the main quest.
Thanks guys x
So first of all. Holt shit that scarf is amazing.
Second of all, I was planning on bringing a cleric to my next session in a few days, so this is perfect timing.
Look at Jim rockin' the Maudie's hoodie!
I get healing spells from the war god and fighting spells from the god of health.
Andrew Dunn The glory heals you and the gracy burns.
Best way to heal is to kill the thing that would hurt you. And the war god heals you to make sure you can keep fighting.
I like the idea of dwarf or elvish clerics who are clerics of their entire group's pantheon in an ancestor worship way.
I've played two dwarven clerics. My favourite was Erion Stormchaser, Tempest Cleric with the sailor background. In my dm's world there was a cataclysmic eruption that threw the dwarven people out into the world from their mountain home. A sect of them became "Saltbeards", sailors and merchants. The gods are kind of distant in the world, but through the superstitious rituals that his people perform before and during voyages the Stormfather started to return. One major storm through him overboard, and in the water Erion saw the face of the Stormfather, washed up on a shore with a temple to him and found a stone hammer. Now he travels the seas spreading the word of his god, and smashing yuan-ti faces in!
The scarf-play is strong in this role-play episode.
Another great series idea. And with you guys, I know it'll be done fairly well to perfectly.
Edit: great scarf, Pruitt
I had a dream where y'all releases an episode on gaming with children at the table and the intro consisted of Jim saying hello to Pruit, Pruit saying hello to Jim, and then a nephew named Jim off camera saying hello to Pruit. Then Pruit and Jim look at the camera and make a 4th wall break glance of confusion.
A man can dream.
My favorite day of the week!
Great video, guys. Love the ending bit too. :P
You need to do a collabe with these guys!
The way I envision how Clerics do their thing goes back to their most important Ability: Wisdom. Wisdom represents not just faith, but having an understanding of rarified truths. While a Wizard draws power from their understanding of laws and systems, a Cleric (and, for that matter, a Druid) draws power from their understanding of ideas more ineffable. This can mean divinity, or it can mean cosmic concepts or philosophies.
In worlds with gods (however active they are), a Cleric garners power not just from their faith in those gods, but in their ability to understand them (even if only slightly). They must, as the Ability implies, be _Wise_ . When they become wise enough, this could attract the especial attention of their deity, moreso if the prospective Cleric adhered to that god's religious ethos and morality. If they become sufficiently fitting, they can be used.
Sometimes, however, the gods don't just meet someone halfway, but choose someone to represent them unilaterally. A person is chosen - from the person's perspective, seemingly at random - to represent the deity and wield its power. Usually, this would probably still require a person of some Wisdom (Wisdom 13 minimum needed to BE a Cleric), but if a dullard and fool is given enough divine revelation, they'll _become_ sufficiently wise if they weren't already. Why would a deity choose someone seemingly unfitting? Because for mysterious or ineffable reasons, the god decides that THIS guy, over here, happens to either have qualities that will be useful to the god, or is in the position to do the god's will.
Naturally, a newly created Cleric that never pursued religious knowledge may be highly reluctant. The Bible, for instance, is full of prophets (like Jonah) who weren't so enthused about going on some involved mission from God. The aforementioned Jonah had his whole fish adventure because he tried (unsuccessfully) to run from his mission. So a Cleric who is reluctant is not only possible, it can be pretty likely.
Had a halfling who was convinced that he had the support of nearly all the gods...he carried countless amulets bearing their symbols (like Benny from "The Mummy").
Whenever he learned about a new deity, he'd add their amulet to his chain and say, "Welcome to the pantheon!"
The reality was; he was a grave-robber, and really had only the support of one goddess...the others were either indifferent or annoyed by his prayers to them (particularly the Raven Queen, who was unimpressed by his grave-robbing).
A hermit, he'd been trying to fill his crippling loneliness with the attention of the gods...
I'm pretty sure the DM was planning to have a "Divine Intervention" of a totally different sort...the kind where all the gods show up to demand the halfling stop calling them.
Thats amazing, and I may steal and modify this idea.
I feel like Ilmater might have been chill with it if he was doing enough healing
Have you guys considered including some of your favorite pop/comic/rpg culture archetypes for each class? I know you give a brief mention here and there, but maybe something more substantial? Either way love your guys stuff. Keep it up.
I played a warlock who believed she was a cleric.
That sounds awesome.
I need to hear that story
I mean the only difference between a Cleric and a Warlock is the Cleric gets more spell slots from daddy.
Jacob Ford well the cleric’s daddy is more needy for attention, so they buy better gifts
@@17joren true on both counts. I love being the party cleric. I mostly play war clerics but I have tried tempest domain which was fun and the new night domain has me curious. I have my characters get marked at birth or creation by a deity so that there is a nod to the future adventuring but not really this epic act that you didn't get levels for that makes you wonder why they're so squishy.
I built a character based on an idea Jim talked about a long while ago. There are only so many powerful vessels of divine energy, and gods would try to recruit powerful clerics. This can lead to a character that follows a few different gods w/i the same alignment. It was pretty fun, choosing spells with different sources, and incantations for each of the three gods my character followed.
One of the players at our table played an atheist cleric...he, too, did not believe in the concept of "gods".
His "deity" was Bahamut, who manifested as an old man who'd frequently bestow divine gifts when the cleric leveled up.
When the party urged the cleric that Bahamut was, in fact, a god, the cleric would just respond: "Nah, man, he's just a dude I know. He's nice, he's powerful, and all...but he's just a guy."
Nahamut was definitely having a blast
I made a Knowledge cleric once, Dimitri Szasz, who worshipped Vecna. He wasn’t evil, though: he was just a conspiracy theorist who was a little less than sane after having his memory wiped repeatedly.
Lots of great ideas! I also have a healer class that is basically a divine wizard. They have a healer’s tome and must study and write out divine spells, their magic is like arcane in that it tends to come from the source and other energy rather than through a deity. I find it a great option to limit how many divine spells are known at a time while allowing reasons to adventure and can easily be a non deity worshiper or have learned from a master rather than a larger organization. It;s also really easy to understand and implement.
I always like the idea of worshiping a concept.
creation.
love.
Justice.
and so on
Agreed!
Jim Davis your hair is getting closer to getting where it's going. Looking good!
When you invite a cleric to your party "ALWAYS" ask who there Deity is!
But the surprise is half the fun
What makes you think they won't lie? A cleric of Velsharoon God of Necromancy isnt gonna walk around like that hes gonna wear plain armor or even wear armor of someone like The Raven Queen or Tyr
I play that I'm trying to convert so my party finds out. I meantion the deity anytime something really good or really bad happens. Survival of a near tpk? Our deity has chosen to favor our survival. Win what should have been a tpk but was a cake walk? It is the will of our deity. So when I summon food/drink when we can't forage our own I say welcome to the blessings of my deity who has provided what we eat. NPCs more so then the party gets to hear the deity and often the maybe once in three games pass at conversion to my faith.
I'm building a cleric for an upcoming game. It'll be my first time playing the class (I've been a rogue 4 out of 5 times), and this video has been invaluable in knowing how to approach it. Thank you.
Wow. First time listening live - by total synchronicity - I love you critters
I have a Dwarf Cleric that I play constantly as a Knowledge Cleric who is now a Forge Domain, but I've always imagined that Knowledge, Forge, or any Domain involving crafting that they act as like Ed and Al from the first part of FMA where they go to town to town and recording notes of great works of craftsmanship. He would always be in search of some relic that would bring him glory and esteem within the Church's hirearchy.
This helpful for the game I'm running. I have been watching your videos for awhile and always seem to find a great deal of inspiration. Thank you for your efforts.
Great video guys! I only recently got into D&D and have been powering through all your videos. Keep up the good work!
Ethan should also check out nerdacrchy and Matt cholevile
Cade Carter said it before I could
xptolevel3 and puffin forest are both great
Can you guys do an episode on all the class options in xanathar's? You have mentioned a few of them in passing but I'd like an episode where you go through all of them and give your thoughts and feelings
Ah I love Clerics and the quandries that come with playing a character who is devoted to a god that is known to not only be real, but be partial and have impact on the material plane. I think my favourite Cleric I've played was a Cleric of Kord, God of Strength, who came to realise that the greatest strength was not a physical trait, but internal. How one coped with pressure, how one persevered in the face of adversity, how one survived and kept getting back up again. It was quite the journey as we had a monster strength barbarian in the group who strengthed their way through everything, and moving beyond that feeling of inadequecy (how can you compare 15str to 24?) to a place of understanding and growth. I think I'm really proud that of the 12 or 13 times I got knocked out, I stablised my self every single time, barely failing any death saving throws (like less than 0.5 average). It was a real representation of his passion and drive and his strength of will. Ah, Karn, I miss you buddy.
i actually watched 13th warrior because of how often it comes up on this show. Fantastic movie!
I'm excited to see the rest of these, especially for the Paladin. As well as the Warlock, as I'm a bit confused at how to RP one. I know how you feel when it comes to glasses. I tend to let mine get real dirty. To end off, that is an amazing scarf.
We had a cleric who worshiped one of the other PCs who was the chief of his barbarian tribe....
Wow, that made for some interesting moments.
Max Kraft I created a religion and converted an entire city and the cleric in my team to my religion cuz I kept rolling 20s on religion checks.
So now all my characters are part of this religion until I have made the 5 other disciples of this god lol
Wow, an idea that sounds creative and not totally comedic or "trolly". Thats rare to find in tabletop roleplaying comment sections. I like it
Conrad Korbol that sounds stupid
pruit from 2 years ago makes it look like current pruit went for a dip through the sphere around the time machine from "time machine"
I like to think about the interaction between the domains too. Life, Light and Nature would seem obvious to have public temples where many would worship. Likely Forge, and maybe even War as well, depending on the culture. But Death and Grave would seem to be more like factions within a more public domain. Knowledge and Arcana domains might be openly practiced, and even received well within the populace, but more nomadic in public and cloistered in study. Trickery would seem to not even have a temple, as even those who practice their faith without harming others would be somewhat outcast and surely wouldn't fit into any hierarchy.
That is the beginning of the dynamic between each domain and the other classes and jobs in the world as well. A Forge Cleric might not be personally likeable, but his domain is part of a very necessary skill set and so worshippers WILL seek him out. War Clerics would be derided in public, in many cities, and approached privately for assistance. Certainly Life and Light would be popular in formal armies and power structures.
I’d love to play a Dr. Cox from Scrubs cleric. A begrudging and annoying but effective Life Cleric
Or a pacifist who is a cleric to a god of war or a person who is allergic to most pollens and plants but is a cleric of nature.
I agree with Jim's pronunciation of Sigil.
I have a sudden craving for Tex-Mex. Well played, Jim.
Love the Maudie’s hoodie! Lol
Thanks for this video. I’m creating my first dnd character and this definitely helps!
I was just thinking about playing a cleric and this comes out. A sign from the gods!
My cleric worships the Triad (Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater) along with all good aligned gods just a little below those three.
Yes, more of these please!!!
A blend of criminal and acolyte...? A Crimacolyte if you will...
Noximus Jamaicanus Your average local cult.
criminacolyte?
You mean a HERETIC!
On the topic of reluctant clerics, I’ve had fun playing a Wood Elf Trickery Cleric with a couple Rogue levels whose backstory was that he was caught after stealing from a shrine to the Mask. Since he actually managed not to get caught until later, he was given the choice between a slow death as an example to others or serving the Mask as part of his clergy for the next 300 years.
He went through the motions, prayed for spells, and occasionally leveraged his position to influence a local thieves’ guild, but at first he did so only because it gave him an advantage, but he got more used to it as he went forward.
Oh wow. This is gonna be a cool series.
My one gaming group is going to be starting a new game in the one player's homebrew world where I will be playing an INT-WIS Life cleric (Prot. Aasimar) who is functionally an atheist: a "Cloistered Scholar," she views the gods as powerful entities who often do more harm than good. I am looking forward to how things play out because I do feel like she would be great to RP as a reluctant servant of a god or the gods.
I made that reluctant cleric that you guys mentioned one time in a game. He was a bit jokey, a light cleric whose holy symbol always shined light making it hard for him to sleep at night. I wish that game went on longer than the few sessions it lasted because role-playing him was a lot of fun.
I've got an idea for a Teifling who was originally a Paladin of redemption but due to an event at his coronation, becomes a Cleric early on, probably at his 5th level.
Basically his deity expands his journey to redemption and uses his salvation as a testimony to others. If I, a fiendish Teifling can be saved, so can you, kinda deal.
I also have another idea for a Cleric I'm calling a Child of Light. A halfling who has been imbued with life cleric power since birth, and healing and whatnot just naturally comes out of him.
Enemies seek him out to take advantage of him, adventurers constantly hound him to join up, and all he wants is a normal life that he can't have.
Kinda like a reverse Rogue from X-Men where instead of sucking up powers from others, his touch constantly gives healings and blessings. So does his voice and whatever else cleric spells need. He has no say, it just happens.
I'm even thinking of a customized background called Blessed where you choose between a few abilities for one you're naturally born with, such as Lay on Hands, or the Lucky feat, or the Shield spell or something like that. In your past, you were divinely blessed. Maybe your parents prayed blessings over your birth. Maybe your family has been cursed for generations and your creation broke that.
This would allow even non spellcaster classes a spell, or non halflings a way to get Luck without using a precious feat. Would add flavor without needing to multiclass or whatever.
Kinda like a priest in Starfinder that gets one Mystic spell. 👍
Yet another great show with some great ideas and inspiration.
You guys are truly the very best! I play pathfinder 1ed. But I'm hooked on your channel. I can't get enough.
well this one came out early!
The way I like to run the cleric/god/mortal dynamic builds off the "Gods are granted power by worship" but it takes a LOT of power to interact with the material plane which is where clerics come in. The gods basically entrust a "level" of their power to their clerics based on how much they've proved themselves to use as they see fit since the god trusts they will use that power in accordance with their will. The gods don't often directly interact with people because it's a waste of a lot of power to directly talk to someone or directly perform a miracle. The god of knowledge isn't going to talk into your head to tell you where you dropped your key because that same amount of power could be channeled through a cleric to save a burning library or something like that. This lets you have all kinds of different dynamics between gods and their worshipers. Sometimes you have an El/Allah/Yaweh dynamic where the god is their ruler and to survive in a harsh environment full of enemies and drought and famine you must worship that god or he will just let you die if not kill you outright which means that worship is VERY strong so it's fine there's not a whole lot of them, although they try to expand. Since every farmer in the world probably has a little shrine to some fertility god and the clerics probably don't deal with a lot of urgent conflict, it's less trouble for that god to make sure seeds fall into the best spot to grow and that kind of thing.
Goblin cleric, worships the voice in its head, and belives so much in it that stuff happens
Fantastic video. You guys are a riot and very knowledgeable. I'm thinking of making the distinction between clerics and priests in my campaign that priests can do a specific set of rituals to invoke some divine magic, including divine intervention, if they are in good graces with the god(s) they worship whereas clerics aren't limited to as narrow a code of conduct and can learn spells. For whatever reason they have been granted special gifts denied to most.
Hey WebDM, Could you guys do an episode on Xanathar's Guide? I noticed you guys mentioned it. And we may like to hear your take. Love this new series! Keep it up!!
making a cleric that follows more of an ideal is also fun and some domains lean more in to it than others (death, life, nature, tempest etc.)
God i love Maudie's. I'm so hungry after seeing that hoodie.
Can a God give Cleric Powers to someone who doesn’t want it? Like a Chaotic Neutral Deity who hates his clergy because he thinks their a bunch of sycophants, and noticed one guy who has some grudge against the gods or thinks gods are just really powerful devils, genies, Fey, Celestials, or whatever, and decides to give them clerical powers.
Inquisitor Thomas I think that would be more of a paladin than a cleric. Clerics get their powers because they pray and follow a deity. A paladin is chosen by the god to be an extension of his will on the land.
Its dnd, ofc you can, but i dont think that person cant Dent that its ”patron” is really powerfull
I love this idea and the cleric doesnt want to admit its a god giving them the power but every time they cast a spell the gods holy symbol shines on their armor even though its not physically there.
yes but you would have to get them to use it which would be tricky if their staunchly against the gods and maybe think everything they touch withers or something
the gods ruin everything or somesuch mindset like that
I see that WFRP 2e book on that back shelf. Tis the goods right there
Thank you Web DM for revisiting the classes from a roleplaying angle. You guys are excellent. Any chance we could see a discussion of roleplaying, ‘bleed’, and making the character and player distinct from each other?
Stoked for the rest of this series!
Hey guys I'm super into to this new season, its amazing how you guys go over every aspect of a character. Could I suggest that on top of what you guys talked about, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on particular races being Clerics. Like a Goblin Cleric, What would such a chaotic character use that power? What about a Yuan-ti or Tortle. Anyway, hope this gets to you
WEBDM TODAY? *HELL YEAH!*
THANK YOU. I'm a newbie who's only played a ranger - I basically play myself with a lot less introvert. 😆 Now I'm in CoS as a Ranger and realized we didn't have a cleric or paladin, so multi-classed cleric. Just leveled to 1 Ranger 2 life domain cleric and I'm flying by the seat of my pants and trying to not rush up front anymore and keep myself and my players alive. I had a good start since my ranger was healed by Priests of Meilikki so Session 1 payed my respects at a shrine and was gifted with a holy symbol.
Two interrelated things I was wondering about are attempts to convert your other party members to your cleric's faith and your cleric perhaps giving sermons.
Well, have you considered preaching in town while your party is shopping? As a cleric you're rarely without your holy symbol so you're rarely in need of materials for your spells. If youve got nothing you need to buy, or let your party know the things you could use so that they keep your needs in mind while they shop.
This will give you plenty of time to spread the good word to the townsfolk, or volunteer at the local temple. As for converting your party members; Are you looking for a more organic transition or a flat out aggressive conversion?
Because if its the former it will likely happen within a relatively short time with members of your party who don't worship a particular good. The ones that do worship but aren't dedicated may come around when your god literally brings them back to life. The ones who worship other gods may need to expierence a crisis of faith to convert. A conquest paladin of Erathis may see the folly of his faith when he discovers that the city council is fully aware of the thieves guild in the city and they do nothing about it since the business they bring helps expand the city. He may see a chance to become a paladin of Bahamut instead, taking up a new oath of law to smite criminals who would undo a fair and lawful system.
As for the latter? Withold healing and buffs from anyone who doesn't pray to your god. Its a heavy handed way to get converts but nothing says "agree with me" like being on the brink of dearh, face to face with an angry dragon and knowing that healing is just 1 hallelujah away.