The Newbie guide to ... Priests

[Hussar]

We've all seen it. Well anyone who's played DnD more than a few times anyway. The group gets together on the chosen night and tonight, it's time to make new characters. The DM has a wonderful story arc prepared that will last you for the next year or so, a beautifully detailed campaign with intrigue and fair maidens to rescue and dungeons to explore. So, you all start rolling, cursing when the dice go badly, crowing when they go well.

Now it's time to figure out who's playing what. You're unsure so you pull out your trusty PHB and start thumbing through the classes. Around you, your friends and comrades-in-arms are busily creating the powerfully built barbarian and the wonderous mage. Time passes and you still haven't figured out what to play. You look up and ask the rest,

"What don't we have?"

A snigger passes over the others. They realize what the party is missing. While the others have made sure you can mess with the best, they've left the job of menial labour to you. No one has made a priest. "A healer!" They cry, telling you that you now have to make a cleric or they'll all die.

Grumbling, you accept. Looking down at your paper, flipping through the PHB, you try to figure out what kind of priest you should be. The stereotypical healer who stands in the back of the party, occasionally gets into a fight and is mostly just a walking battery of hit points? Is that what you want to be? No, I didn't think so.

Welcome to the first installment of what I am calling: "The Newbies guide". Don't let the title mislead you. There are all sorts of goodies packed in here. I want people to come up with great ideas for how to make a memorable priest that is much more than simply Dr. McCoy with a mace. What feats should you take? What domains are best? What equipment? What ideas, concepts and outright dirty tricks do players use when creating a priest that stands out from the rest?

Well, what do you do?

[ShonenSenshiDave]

Let's see....

A healer type I have as a PC in the party I run has he Fire and Fury domains. I don't think she's ever casted a healing spell.... btw, she's CG

I play an amazon-ish type cleric dedicated to Wee Jas. She's very judgmental, much into magic attack spells, and won't cast a healing spell on a woman until she's proven herself, and won't cast a healing spell on any non-regional guy. So in our party, the only male she will heal is the fighter who is a former gladiator since he comes from her part of the world. The other guys get to be healed by our other party cleric. She usually only prepares 1 cure light and 1 cure moderate. That's it. And since she likes melee, she generally uses them on herself <g>. ALN: LN

I've also played a Cleric dedicated to Kord, and he wouldn't heal anyone unless they proved that they were physically able to handle themselves. He got along really well with the dwarves in the party, and never healed an elf as they were archers or mages and never went into direct melee. ALN: CG

I think the huge misconception is that all clerics do is heal. Clerics are storehouses on: Spellcraft, Knowledge (most fields), fighting the undead, etc. They can wear all types of armour, use shileds, and can wield a huge array of weapons. They have a very balanced selection of healing, combat, defense, and miscellaneous spells, IMO. People forget that!

Part of it is that players always expect the clerics to heal; play a LN "judge" type character or a CN cleric and see how fast the party cries when the cleric says "nah".

Also it's the DM's fault, partially. Many DM's expect parties to have clerics, but do not always give the clerics anything to do with their strengths. If you're in a campaign where that is happening, talk to the DM. S/he should be crafting adventures around the abilities of all the PCs. If there's a lot of melee for the fighter, many opportunities for spell use by the mage, and lots of traps for the rogue. Ask for situations where there are undead or outsiders, opponents against which you have an edge. Without the chance to turn and use other clerical skills, you're reduced to a lesser-grade fighter with healing spells.

I guess the point here is be creative. Don't run right to the Healing domain. Pick others. Get funky powers and skills. And most importantly...

IF YOU DON'T STAND UP FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE PREPARING HEALING SPELLS AND NOTHING ELSE. IF YOU ACT LIKE A DOORMAT, EXPECT TO GET WALKED ON!

[Iron Bonny Shades]

when it comes down to it, a priest is often it was what your playing.

gods are as different as people.

planet has asked me to make a primer for the classes for newbies.


Perhaps we should do something similiar here?

[Hussar]

Yah, that was kinda what I was thinking of. I saw that thread over there and thought it might be an idea to have one here. 'S why I chose priests instead of rogues. Figured it might be quicker that way.

[aaronp]

From the Roleplaying side, I think priests/clerics have two advantages that have been overlooked.

1. Leadership
The cleric has great roleplaying potential as a leader and moderator of disputes. When meeting people or NPCs for the first time the cleric(or the bard) are your best shot to create a favorable opinion and avoid combat/get assistance. In addition to this, the cleric can meet people on the middle ground. rouges and fighters are notorius for differences of opinion-the cleric is your natural leader because of the fact that he/she is in the middle ground and aids everybody in some way.
Keeping infighting at a minimum is also another task for the cleric.
Some possible lines to lead/control the party;
"Let us avoid fighting and remember our goal."
"The rogue should take point. If you are hurt I can aid you"
"I do not agree with this slaughter-let us not stray from the path"

2. Contacts
Sharing a religion is a great source of contacts-and reliable contacts-unlike the rogue(whose contacts are fences, thieves and other rogues) and a stop at the local representative church of a cleric can be of great help to a party. NPCs will help you out of shared goodwill and duty to the diety. Information should be reliable and fairly trustworthy.

For example-party needs to sell magical items, go to the church and find a merchant that attends the church. Party needs to hide from the city guard-a devout member of the church offers to hide the PCs. Another example, the party needs to gather information on a local duke that has commisioned them to rid hiim of some troublesome monster. Cleric talks to a follower that also works for the duke-and finds out said duke is notorius for not paying adventurers. The party then wisley asks for money up front..
Churches are very good networking devices. Use them to full advantage. Churches as well as taverns, are gossip hotspots.
Possible lines
"Let me inquire with my brothers of the church. Perhaps there is more to this than is easily seen."
"Brother Wysall, I and my friends need your aid. Remember our bond is greater than any on this dreary world."*exchange secret handshake.
"A tavern is a place for rogues and scoundrels. A chruch is also a place for rogues and scoundrels, but there is a better chance we will see the people again."
"Perhaps some wisley given donations to my brothers in the church will help ensure good negotiations with the duke."
I tried to use this post to enhance the roleplaying and avoid making a killer character-sorry no advice such as "Cleric of Tryyttus with take such and such domains"

What does everyone else think?
If interested I will post some more ideas on roleplaying clerics.

[Hussar]

Very true Aaronp. Apart from possibly rogues, Clerics have the closest ties to the world around them. Everyone talks to priests. Using the church as a source of information about the world around you should be one of the primary motivations of all priests. Good idea.