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Showing posts with label cleric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleric. Show all posts

Thursday, July 1, 2021

Divine Moods and Personalities

Someone brought up Gods, Demigods, and Heroes on the OD&D forums, wanting to talk about who has actually used it and how. For myself, I like the monsters, hero, and artifact entries. But the gods?

Let’s start with the kind of gods I want in my game:

  1. Ambiguous desires, plans, and even existence.
  2. Ambiguous source of “divine” displays of power.
  3. Enigmatic miracles and manifestations.
  4. Both player and GM-created religions.

These guidelines are based on two principles:

Create as much as possible through play rather than before play.

Keep the players front in center, not NPCs (including gods, the ultimate NPCs.)

So what kind of “god mechanics” would work for me?

No monster stats for gods. They may or may not be real. Any monster may be a divine incarnation, sending, minion, or hoax.

Start with a zone of divine control, what some versions of the game might call a Sphere. If using a god from mythology, this is the common interpretation of what that god is the “god” of (war, sky, death, life.)

Add a second unrelated zone of control, possibly a narrower one.

Add a profession or social role, if one isn’t obvious. Less likely professions or roles will be more evocative.

Add at least one object or behavior associated with the god. This can be turned into a myth about the god (summarize a story in one or two sentences.)

Examples

  • Tut-Tut, the Warrior-Smith of the Coast, cries as he creates turtle-shell armor and shields in a sea-cave forge on the western shores. (Summary: War, Coastal Areas, Smithing, Turtles, Tears)
  • Lyraine, the Huntress of the Celestial Choir, leads her chorus in battle-songs as she rides a parrot across the night sky. (Summary: Hunting, Stars, Music, Parrot.)

The first time during an adventure where the PCs do anything on grounds sacred to a god, or in the presence of a priest of that god, or involving one of the keywords that “define” the god, make a reaction roll for the god. Only do this once per adventure.

  • Shift Results Down one step (Bad becomes Very Bad) if PCs harm a priest, defile a temple, or otherwise unwittingly “offend” the god.
  • Shift Results Up one step (Good becomes Very Good) if performing rituals or otherwise serving the god.

On a Very Bad result (2 on 2d6) or a Very Good result (12 on 2d6), it seems as if the god is “paying attention”. This might mean the god is real, it might mean someone who worships the god noticed and is acting on the god’s behalf, or it might be the PC’s unconscious guilt or confidence. If the first result roll indicates no divine interest, this will not change for the rest of the adventure.

For the rest of the adventure, track the PCs on the Divine Mood table below, starting at (Dis)favor unless the adjusted roll is 1 or 13, in which case jump to Bad/Good Omen.

Bad / Good Mood Effects
(Dis) Favor Flip near miss or hit
Cursed / Blessed +/-2 on rolls
Doomed / Chosen Next result becomes critical or fumble. Reset.
Enemy / Ally Extra wandering monster roll, seeks vengeance on/alliance with PCs. Reset.
(Bad) Omen Minor spell (half dungeon level) cast against/for PCs. Reset.
(Evil) Sending Wandering monster magically appears to attack/serve PCs. Reset.
Judgment / Miracle Major spell (twice dungeon level) cast against/for PCs. Reset.
(Wrathful) Avatar Monster representing the god magically appears to attack/serve PCs. Reset.

Favors, Blessings, Disfavor, and Curses stay in effect for the rest of the adventure or until the next time the PCs “interact” with the god in some way (break a taboo, perform a ritual, help or harm a divine servant, trigger one of the other key words.) Everything else happens once.

In either case, roll 2d6 and consult the Divine Mood Reset Table. If the result is anything below Cursed/Blessed, delay the new effect until the next interaction with the god.

2d6 Divine Mood Reset Effect
2 Flip Mood (bad to good or vice versa)
3-5 Mood Wanes (shift up one line)
6-8 Reset to (Dis)Favor
9-11 Mood Strengthens (shift down one line)
12 Extreme Shift (down two lines)
13+ Flip Bad Mood to Good, otherwise shift down two lines)

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Monday, June 7, 2021

How Many Miracles Will Your God Grant?

Here’s an expansion of Clerics Without Spells. my rules for using reaction rolls for clerics casting spells on the fly. These days, I assume spells prepared beforehand (“memorized”) can be cast without risk of spell failure. But there’s a couple situations where a cleric prays for spells:

  • When preparing/memorizing those spells,
  • When casting a spell that hasn’t been memorized,
  • When praying for a miracle (higher spell level than they can memorize.)

Religious characters who aren’t clerics can also pray for miracles.

So what if you don’t want to use a crude “all spells granted/no spells granted” approach?

This table should take care of it.

2d6 Roll Reaction Detailed Explanation
2 Fall from Grace No spells granted until character atones at a shrine or temple.
3-4 Divine Wrath If any spells are granted, they are at least two levels below max level.
5-6 Divine Impatience Some spells may be granted, but not those at max level or those one level lower.
7-8 Divine Disfavor Most spells granted, but not those at max level.
9-10 Divine Favor All spells up to max level are approved.
11-12 A Miracle Is Granted Spell one level higher than normal granted on one-time basis. Does not apply to prepared spells.
13+ A Great Miracle Is Granted Spell two levels higher than normal granted on one-time basis. Does not apply to prepared spells.

Max Level refers to the maximum spell level a cleric can prepare beforehand. For example, a 2nd level cleric’s max level is 1, a 4th level cleric’s max level is 2. Max level is half cleric level, rounded down. (officially, OD&D diverges from that after 5th level, and other D&D versions tinker with it, but this is the quick and dirty replacement I use.)

Miracles here are spells that the cleric or worshipper doesn’t cast themselves, but ask to be cast. Any spell above max level is a miracle.

The table is basically the standard reaction roll with the 2 x (cleric level - spell level) formula built into the results already, so no calculation is necessary.

Despite the wording (Favor, Disfavor, Impatience, Wrath,) spells and miracles granted are not considered absolute proof that the cleric or worshipper’s belief in their god is justified. It’s all a matter of faith, not objective truth.

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Monday, May 4, 2020

Shaman Class (Cleric Variant)

Was reminded that I’d done a write-up for a cleric variant class, but never posted it here. It’s the Shaman.

Concept: Semi-professional priest, able to deal with spirits and aid members of their tribe or community, but not part of a religious hierarchy or formal temple.

Alignment: Any.

XP/HD: As Hybrid (Cleric) class. Primary ability is Wisdom.

Saves: As Cleric class.

Weapons and Armor: Trained in any weapons purchased when character is created. Missile weapons are allowed.

Abilities: Cast spells as would a cleric, but remove any spells related to alignment (Protection from Evil is allowed, however.) Instead of turning undead, a shaman can command wild beasts to obey, turning or taming them. Any tame beasts count against Charisma as would a special follower.

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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Liber Zero Hybrid Class Reference Sheet (PDF)

This Liber Zero class reference document took longer than any of the others, but it’s finally done: the Hybrid Class reference sheet! Hybrid, in my class scheme, represent classes that mix Heroic (fighter) and Magic (magician) abilities. They are not as good at fighting as fighters, and more limited in what magic they can use, but the fact that they combine two classes is a huge advantage itself.

The quintessential hybrid class is the Priest, which is what I’ve renamed clerics. I’ve also spun off two variant classes from clerics: Chaotic priests become either Heretics or Diabolists, depending on whether they lose their turn undead ability or replace it with a command undead ability. And I briefly describe another variant, the Beastmaster, which uses the turn undead mechanic on animals instead of undead.

One thing you may notice is that there’s no discussion of alignment. There will be a separate reference sheet for alignment, but it will describe this as an optional system, because I realized while writing the Priest, Heresiarch, and Diabolist descriptions that I didn’t need to rely on alignment to make the distinction. I could make it all about how they handle reversed spells and turning undead.

Releasing this pamphlet means that I now have all the basic classes covered. I still have to do the spell lists, a couple GM reference sheets, and some variant classes, but I’m close to being done with Liber Zero’s core game.

Update: I corrected a couple of spell names and added a brief table of reversed spell names and uploaded the new version. For those who don't want to download another PDF just for a couple small changes, here's what changed:

  • Cleanse Food became Pure Food
  • Heal Minor Wounds became Minor Healing
  • Added Putrid Food
  • Added Circle of Shadow
  • Added Minor Wounding


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Thursday, June 6, 2019

Rituals Gone Wrong

Since the undead project is going along reasonably well (20% of content done, maybe?) and the next big project is the cleric/spirits project, I’ve been thinking a bit about what should go into it. Yes, it’s basically an expansion of Clerics Without Spells, so that will be in there. And yes, at least some of the classes that use the same mechanic will be in there (Druid, Weather-Worker, Beast-Master, Necromancer, Mesmerist.)

But clerics are about more than just that. Priests fulfill a role in society, basically maintaining the social structure. They officiate at social transition moments: rites of passage, weddings, funerals, investitures, christenings, seasonal rites. And these are traditionally avoided by RPGs.

The few times I’ve seen anything about rites performed by priests, it’s presented in one of two ways:
  1. As a narrative device. How to include weddings and funerals in your game to make your campaign feel more alive.
  2. As yet another combat aid. Get a +2 bonus on all rolls if you participated in a wedding within the last week.
But instead of looking at the rites themselves as add-ons, maybe we should be looking at the transitions they mark. When a baby is born, a couple form a relationship, or a person dies, or when farmers are about to plant or harvest, societies see these as important events that need to be surrounded by ritual. If they aren’t, bad things can happen, at least from the viewpoint of tribal, ancient, or medieval cultures. So what happens?

The quick fix is to assume there’s a chance of being cursed every time you pass through a transition. Make a reaction roll, for example the standard 2d6 one from OD&D. On a Very Bad reaction (2, for a 2d6 roll,) everyone involved in the transition is cursed. Or, if it is a land-related event (planting season, harvest,) the land itself is cursed.

The trick is that, if there is no ritual observed, either the result rolled is halved, or the GM rolls half as many dice. This increases the chances of rolling a Very Bad result: for the 2d6 roll, there’s a 1 in 3 chance of rolling a 2 or less.

At the very least, curses should shift any reaction roll down one category, or cause disadvantage for games like D&D 5e. Things can go wrong in other ways, too. For example, weapons can break or be knocked out of a PC’s hand when damage rolled is 1. In Our Undying Neighbors, I make a big deal about Animate Dead and Raise Dead spells having a chance of creating undead when cast under the influence of a curse.

Obviously, this can be fleshed out a lot more. And eventually, that will be my job.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Re-Examining the Cleric Without Spells Gimmick

The thing about the “Cleric Without Spells” concept that I think people are finding intriguing is not the trivial aspect of not having cleric spells. Technically, I didn’t get rid of cleric spells at all when I wrote that post. I used the existing spells as a guide to see how likely it would be for the cleric’s s request for a miracle to be granted.

No, what I think people are looking for is a cleric that feels different from magic-users. Not just another class that has a different spell list, but one that has a different approach to supernatural power.

What I’m wondering, though, as I consider ways to develop the idea further, is: how different do other, similar classes have to be to likewise feel different and not just a retread?

Shortly after the original “Clerics Without Spells”, I did write-ups on a couple other classes that used the reaction roll/turn undead mechanic:
  • Mesmerist (hypnotizes people for mind control/illusion effects)
  • Weather Worker (bargains with spirits for weather changes)
  • Necrocmancer (controls spirits of the dead)
  • Beast Master (charms wild animals, controls animal helpers, shapeshifts)
These classes don’t all use the exact same rules. Mesmerists are the closest to clerics, in the sense that they use a reaction roll + the Illusionist spell list to effect their powers. Weather Workers are similar, but needed some weather-working spells as a guide to what they could do. Necromancers aren’t too far off, but have no special spell list, just using a selection from the M-U list. Beast Masters have no spells, just some rules on how to implement their ability to speak with, charm, or evoke beasts and beast-powers.

But how desirable are these classes, really? Will they feel different enough?

That’s a big question I’m going to need to answer.

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Saturday, January 10, 2015

Clerics, Heretics and Anti-Clerics

A discussion about clerics and anti-clerics, combined with musings about Nicolas's old posts on the topic, lead to some brainstorming about a different way to handle clerics. This assumes that there is some kind of united montheistic religion, or multiple polytheistic cults united behind a few shared principals. The assumption is that God or the Gods are the embodiments of Law, so this won't work if you assume each god has an alignment and each alignment, a god, and that clerics must match the alignment of their chosen god.

Clerics can be Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotiic, even if they belong to the  same sect. Neutral clerics aren't as committed to their beliefs; they are more like village priests, devoted to the community more than to an ideal. They cannot rise above 6th level unless they switch to Law or Chaos. Chaotiic clerics are heretics, religious deviants who believe they have found the True Way and that the others of their faith have it all wrong. If a heretic reaches the 7th level, they become the head of a heretical order, and at 8th level they become a heresiarch and can found their own monastery or temple to attempt to spread their personal vision. Thos who join the heretical order can be of any alignment, and if a Lawful cleric succeeds the heresiarch as head of the order, the heresy becomes an established sect.

Lawful and Neutral clerics can command the undead to depart (Turn Undead.) Chaotic clerics cannot. By default, all clerics, even the Chaotic ones, can cast healing spells. Reversed spells are not normally possible except to a 7th level cleric, and any use of a reversed spell risks corruption. (Make a reaction roll, on a Very Bad reaction, the cleric is corrupted.)

Clerics of less than 7th level can try to "research" reversed cleric spells or other spells not on the spell list. Clerical spell research is really more a matter of seeking divine favor by founding new shrines, instead of reading tomes of lost knowledge, but use the magic-user research rules for the costs, time, and chances of being blessed with a non-standard spell. These new spells are not transferable, but are unique blessings; each cleric must go through their own spell research to acquire the new spell for themselves. Using any spell that isn't a healing or utiliity spell carries the same risk of corruption as a reversed spell.

Corruption turns a cleric's alignment to Chaotic and strips them of healing power or the power to turn undead. They can still cast spells, but are not recognized by the dominant religion as clerics, but as Anti-Clerics or diabolists.  Diabolists coerce or bargain with supernatural forces to increase their own power, for example to replace their lost turn undead power with a command undead power, or a curse power. The process of acquiring new powers that work like Turn Undead again uses the same research rules, although what diabolists actually do for their "research" is left to the imagination of the GM and players, and might be campaign dependent. A very medieval Christian campaign might have diabolists who defile hallowed grounds, while a more polytheistic campaign could have diabolical shrines.

A cleric can be an open heretic and possibly still be considered part of the church, but the heretic, as a Chaotic cleric without the Turn Undead power, might be tempted to secret diabolism to gain other powers. If not immediately discovered, diabolists can conceal their powers and continue to operate within the religious power structure. The eventual unmasking of a diabolist should be a great roleplaying opportunity.

To recap: Both Lawful and Neutral Clerics have the same powers, but Neutral Clerics can't reach 7th level, build a temple/monastery, or collect tithes until they change alignment. Chaotic Clerics can, but they do not have the Turn Undead power. Any cleric tempted by the promise of extra power becomes corrupted and turns to diabolism.

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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Demon Hunters and Reversed Curses

I'm going to be busy on a layout project for someone today (maybe tomorrow?) so I don't have much to say today. Instead, I'll point to two posts about clerics that showed up recently. One's JD's post about reversing all the cleric spells, to create dark-side  versions of the cleric, like the traditional gothic (Satanic) witch. Some of the reversed spells don't quite work, I think, but there are some interesting ideas in there, and the basic idea is something I more or less go with in my version of the witch (basically, M-U who casts spells by brewing potions instead of memorizing incantations and has a familiar instead of a spell book.) I allow the witch to select which spell list to start out with, and that changes the tone of the witch: those that start with reversed cleric spells would be gothic/medieval evil witches, and those that start with Druid spells would be traditional folk witches. I suppose those that started with M-U spells would be New Age witches, perhaps similar to those in Bell, Book and Candle.

The other post is Wayne's post about clerics as demon-hunters, taking the Van Helsing inspiration just one step further. He's combining this cleric-as-demon-hunter idea with the idea of cleric-as-Templar, which doesn't quite sit well with me. A secret society of demon-hunters, maybe, but not a traditional knightly order. Something more like the secret priestly order in The Omen, or in Lucy, Daughter of the Devil.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Turn Undead as Morale Roll

Delta's got a post about turning undead, and there's a recent forum thread or two about turning undead, so I figured I'd revisit the topic. I've previously interpreted it as more of a command ("Depart, foul spirit!") backed by tremendous faith than as a power; but in addition, I've been thinking of it more, lately, as a morale roll. It's the presence of a person of great faith, combined with that command, that shakes the resolve of even the mindless undead, causing them to flee the cleric's presence. It's just like a famous hero telling a bunch of goblins "Flee before my might!". If the goblins know the hero by reputation and it scares them, they flee.

In light of this, here is how I resolve the trouble spots Delta mentions:
What does the cleric actually do?
Anything that makes it clear that the cleric is a cleric.
What does the cleric need to produce the effect?
Nothing in particular. Got a holy symbol? You can present it. Got holy water? You can sprinkle it. Don't feel like doing either? Then don't. All that matters is if the cleric does something obviously cleric-like.
How long does the effect last?
Up to a full day, or until something happens that restores the morale of the undead, like being joined by reinforcements or a command from a leader.
How often can the cleric do this?
Once per incident. If it doesn't work the first time, the undead aren't going to suddenly get scared just because the cleric tried again.
Can it be maintained?
No. What are you going to do? Keep announcing "I'm still a cleric"?
What if the undead can't flee?
Then they can't flee. They cringe, and they stay away from the cleric if the cleric stays away from them.
What if the cleric moves towards the fleeing undead?
It doesn't make them flee more, if that's what you mean. It's exactly like chasing any other fleeing enemy.
What if the cleric is close enough to touch the undead?
The undead are avoiding the cleric where possible. They will not choose to attack the cleric if they can leave or cower in the corner. However, there's nothing preventing them from attacking the cleric, if the cleric attacks them. Again, it's just like cornering frightened goblins.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Cleric vs. Magic-User

Brendan at Untimately has been talking about changing clerical magic in his game. Basically, he's adding a d6 roll, adding competency (Level/2,) and subtracting disfavor, if it exists; the spell only works on a 6, and the cleric gains disfavor if the spell works. That's somewhat similar to what I've described in Clerics Without Spells, except that I frame it as commanding spirits to obey, so I use the 2d6 reaction roll and modify it with 2 x (Cleric Level - Spell Level), and divine displeasure occurs on a bad result instead of a good one. So, my clerics have slightly better odds, don't fall into disfavor so easily, and can pray for miracles beyond what you would think of as their competency.

But that's just the differences between what he wants for his campaign and what I want for mine. I don't really want to address that. Rather, I want to focus on something he adds that I like and I think I will now steal: clerical magic takes longer than arcane magic. He has cleric prayers requiring a full ten-minute turn, which means that clerical magic mostly happens outside of combat and is mostly for support. It does mean that some clerical spells won't work properly (Hold Person.) But it definitely makes clerics feel different.

I think I would set my prayer time at 5 minutes (one move outside of combat) and keep commands to depart (i.e. Turn Undead) at the normal casting time. Also, the 1 to 4 cleric bonus spells would be immediate commands, rather than half-turn rituals.

But! This also helps to distinguish White (and Black) Magicians from both regular magic-users and clerics. These work like magic-users, except that they use the cleric spell list instead of the magic-user spell list... and their spells take 5 minutes to cast unless they prep them as cleric scrolls. (Clerics won't be able to make cleric scrolls, under this set-up; all cleric scrolls come from white magicians.) When a white magician casts a cleric spell, it always works, just like an M-U spell, but if the spell is reversed or  is something like Raise Dead or Commune, make a piety check (reaction roll): on a Bad reaction, they are impious (-1 on reactions from Law or piety checks,) and on a Very Bad reaction, they become Black Magicians (and reversible spells are always cast in their reversed form.)

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Healing Limits

Every once in a while, someone complains that clerics are way overpowered compared to other classes because they can "absorb more damage" by stocking up on healing spells. I don't really agree with that, but I'm not going to address the argument itself. Instead, I'm going to suggest a fix: characters can only be magically healed once per adventure.

There's some precedent for this. The clerical turn undead ability works only once per creature per encounter, at least in some early versions of D&D. It does have the benefit of not requiring any change to the cleric class itself, just to the way Cure Light Wounds and Cure Serious Wounds are interpreted.

This, of course, reinforces the idea of short expeditions with frequent trips back to town. Some people complain about this, too, although I see it as a desirable feature.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Miracles vs. Magic

Here's something I've been mulling over for a while: should magic-users be able to dispel cleric spells?

I've been thinking for a while that they shouldn't. Block them, maybe, but dispel them? No.

For one, if you're sticking to the themes of the original spell list, most cleric spells aren't persistent unnatural effects; they're immediate, natural changes. There are a few exceptions, but they are mostly support/protective effects, like Protection from Evil, Speak With Animals, or Create Food and Water. So most cleric spells don't leave some enchantment floating around that could be dispelled.

For another, we're either talking about divine intervention (standard interpretation) or the work of spirits commanded by a saint (interpretation I've been using.) Either way, that doesn't seem like something a magic-user can undo. Another cleric could, though, with Dispel Evil.

There's also the difference in wording between Dispel Magic and Dispel Evil. The former is "effective in dispelling enchantments of most kinds" (emphasis added.) The latter dispels "any evil sending or spell" (again, emphasis added.) Maybe Dispel Evil should work on every spell, but there does seem to be a superiority over ordinary Dispel Magic. Before the craziness of AD&D, Dispel Evil was also your go-to banishment or exorcism spell.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Bonus Spells for Clerics... Without Spells

I've suggested before that if clerics without spells appeals to you, but you think the random chance of success rolled for every prayer seems too extreme, you could mix the technique with traditional cleric spell preparation. In other words, the cleric gets a small number of spells that work without the need for a reaction roll, after which they have to trust in the gods.

I think I'd like something halfway between "standard cleric plus off-the-cuff miracles" and "roll for every miracle".

So the idea I have now is: At the beginning of an adventure, a cleric can pray at a shrine, church, or temple to pray for a number of "guaranteed divine favors" (bonus spells) equal to half their level, round down. This is over and above the open-ended call for a miracle. Thus, a 1st level cleric is the same as in OD&D (no spells,) but has the possibility of prayers being answered, so the class is slightly better at the low level... but an 8th level patriarch only has four sure-fire spells, with everything else covered by divine whim.

This "spell prep" can't happen during the adventure, unless there's an appropriate shrine, so guaranteed spells don't refresh every day. You use all your bonus spells, you have no guarantees of further aide, although you can still ask. Thus, the bonus spells are more or less per week, rather than per day.

I, personally, would roll for reaction when the cleric has his "shrine time". On a bad reaction, the gods are displeased or the cleric's faith is wavering: the last bonus spell the cleric casts doesn't work, and all requests for aid. On the worst possible reaction, the gods are angry or the cleric has lost faith: the *first* bonus spell the cleric casts will fail, and no other requests for aide will work thereafter until the cleric does penance or performs a selfless service on behalf of the church. The player won't know the result of the roll until crunch time.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Conversion Benefits

A recent thread raised the subject of clerics converting unbelievers to the faith. Unless the character's religion is modeled on a real-world religion that practices conversion, it's not something I see as intrinsic to a cleric's faith; however, if a player chooses to play their character as a missionary, I figure the benefit of making a convert should be a temporary bonus on Turn Undead rolls, or the "clerics without spells" equivalent. Perhaps a bonus 1st level spell for one day under OD&D/CD&D/AD&D standard rules, or a 2nd level spell if the convert is a higher level than the cleric.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Bards Without Spells

Zak once explained that bards suck, mostly because "playing the lute" is a secondary skill, not an adventuring skill. Plus, people who play bards either want to show off their poetic or singing talents (or worse, play the drums) or get stuck with a GM who forces them to do so, in the insane belief that slowing down play improves the adventure.

But I think we can salvage the bard with the "without spells" paradigm.

Concept: The quick-witted, silver-tongued rogue who relies on influencing others: Felimid Mac Fal, Jurgen, Joan of Arc, only one of which is a musician.

XP/HD: Experience as Cleric. Hit Dice as original Magic-User (1 HD every other level,) but saving throws are as Thief.

Weaponry and Armor: Limited to weapons purchased when character is created. Must train (use spell research) to add additional weapon skills. Heavy armor prevents thief abilities, and helms or any other face covering prevents bardic voice abilities.

Abilities: Thief abilities (excluding surprise attack) and the ability to pacify or charm creatures using just the voice. Calm intelligent or semi-intelligent non-supernatural living creatures with a Turn Undead roll, using the creature's HD as a guideline; for a temporary charm, the target HD is the lower of the creature's HD or the spell level (1 for Charm Person, 4 for Charm Monster.) This can only be attempted once per creature per encounter, and only last for an hour (or less, if the bard leaves the creature's presence.) If the bard is three levels higher than the creature's HD, the creature can become a permanent follower, but the bard can't have more followers/henchmen than indicated by Charisma. Creatures that don't understand the bard's language can't be charmed, but other emotional effects (and Hold Person) can be used as long as the creature can hear the bard's voice, or a substitute (musical instrument.)

Bards can use any magical item usable by a thief, or any item associated with charming others or affecting emotions.

(EDIT: Changed the HD progression. As mentioned in the comments below, the thievish Bard should be more like a pre-Greyhawk Thief or a Delving Deeper Thief, with one ability dropped and the charm ability in its place. An alternative would be a warrior Bard that progresses exactly like a Cleric, uses any one-hand melée weapon or any armor, plus the charm ability.)

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Literary Sources of the Cleric

Sometimes, I see people complaining about how the cleric doesn't fit the literary inspirations for D&D. The way they see it, D&D is based on swords & sorcery, and there are no healing priests in swords & sorcery, so the cleric just doesn't fit.

There are a couple problems with this line of thinking. One is that D&D is not based solely on swords & sorcery; there's a big element of Arthurian legend as well, which why the paladin -- even less of a good fit -- exists. So, Howard Pyle is also a literary inspiration for D&D.

The other problem is that people are focusing too strongly on specific additions to the cleric (healing and undead turning.) It's correct to say these don't show up in swords & sorcery. However, holy characters who can deliver the occasional blessing or who are otherwise protected do show up. For example, the Roger Zelazny story "The Bells of Shoredan" has Dilvish teaming up with a priest (or monk) and entering a haunted location. The de Camp and Pratt "Harold Shea" stories (cited by name in Appendix N) has Harold's colleague acting in the role of priest when they visit the worlds of the Faerie Queen and the Castle of Otranto, specifically because a magic-using priest would fit in. The Fritz Leiber story "Lean Times in Lankhmar" features priests; the REH Conan stories and the Michael Moorcock Elric stories feature evil high priests rather than good, protagonist priests, but they are there, none the less. Tanith Lee includes priests of one sort or another in "Odds Against the Gods" and Death's Master/Delusion's Master. There's a priest who's a friend of the family in Poul Anderson's Operation Chaos; he's instrumental in casting the equivalent of a Gate or Plane Shift spell that allows the heroes to rescue their daughter from Hell.

Of these stories, Tanith Lee isn't specifically mentioned in Appendix N, but is a good fit; Zelazny and Anderson are cited for other stories, but the Dilvish stories are clearly swords & sorcery, and Operation Chaos is an obvious inspiration for a couple D&D spells (and, I would argue, for the way elementals work.) The rest are explicitly mentioned in Appendix N, and Leiber, REH, and de Camp & Pratt are said to be the most immediate influences on D&D. The cleric clearly has a literary precedent.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Clerics Without Spells News

Calithena was looking for a last-minute, one-page article on magic, so I did a quick rewrite of "Clerics Without Spells", renamed "Miracles Gone Wild!" because I've been using titles in that format for previous Fight On! submissions. No word on whether it's been accepted or not.

I couldn't include the paladin, druid, or necromancer variants this time around, because of the size constraint, so there may be a future "Miracles Gone Wild! Part Two" follow-up.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Weapon Selection

I mentioned in a comment on the druid post that I'd have to do a post about weapon restrictions. It's also a particularly important question for thieves, since the standard old-school versions of the thief list a bunch of weapons that are hard to characterize. I've been toying with several different ideas on how to handle class restrictions for months, if not years. I've finally reached these conclusions:

Magic weapons are limited as described in the LBBs. A magic sword is not magical when picked up by a cleric. No magical weapon is magical for a magic-user, except for a magic dagger or magic staff.

Only blunt one-hand magical melée weapons are magical when wielded by a cleric. Only magic short swords, magic crossbows, and small magic melée weapons are magical when wielded by a thief.

Zero-level NPCs only get their HD bonus on attacks using weapons they are trained to use: natural attacks (punch, kick, bite) and maybe two weapons, rarely more than two. They can be trained by an employer to use additional weapons.

Clerics, Magic-Users, Thieves, and most other classes are the same: they only get their HD bonus on weapons they've been trained with. Lawful Clerics also have religious vows they must abide by, but in theory could train with other weapons. To make things simple, first level characters are trained in whatever weapons they paid for during character creation; other weapons require training. If they use any other (untrained) weapon, they attack as a zero-level NPC.

Fighters do not need training; they can use any weapon they pick up.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dwarf Cleric

Here's a thought about class limitations for Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings in OD&D. As is well-known, Dwarves and Halflings can only be Fighters, while Elves can only be split Fighter/Magic-Users (pre-Greyhawk.)

Or can they?

Men & Magic, p. 8:
"There is no reason that players cannot be allowed to play as virtually anything..."
p. 9:
"In order for men to change class they must have a score of 16 or better in the prime requisite (see below) of the class they wish to change to, and this score must be unmodified."
AD&D limits dual-classing to humans only, but then AD&D also is less lenient about playing as "virtually anything", per that first rule. So why not require Dwarves, Halflings, and Elves start with the classes as described, because that is what their culture teaches them, but allow them to change class later if they have the 16+ score in the prime requisite for that class? The only restriction would be the same as for humans: once you pick Magic-User or Cleric, you can't choose another spell-casting class.

You might even allow surpassing the racial level limits for those with unmodified scores of 16+, if you're feeling lenient. AD&D did this, to a limited extent.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Examining Archetypes: The Cleric

I really should have focused more on practical matters in yesterday's post about archetypes, so I'm going to do a quick series of posts on each class, starting with the Cleric (because of something Faoladh said that fit with some ideas I had.)

The Cleric is, as I've said, meant to be a representative of the "holy" archetype: a character whose primary motivation is faith, who derives strength from that faith, and is seen to succeed because of that faith. It wasn't exclusively a militant priest, originally. Part of the reason for the Clerics Without Spells article was to allow players more freedom in character conception, so that the Cleric could be used for a traditional missionary, or for Van Helsing, or for Solomon Kane.

The Cleric can be changed further if you recognize that clerical power doesn't (and perhaps shouldn't) necessarily come from a supernatural being, but comes instead from the Cleric's devotion to a supernatural being, or potentially anything else: a megalomaniac, for example, who believes himself to be divine; or a conspiracy theorist, dedicated to revealing the truth. Depending on the setting, these alternative "Clerics" might need other restrictions on or reinterpretations of their abilities, but they provide a little more variety.

Faoladh mentioned the Lover as a possible archetype. There are actually two kinds of "lover": the Don Juan/Cassanova type, able to bed many lovers, and the Lancelot/Romeo type, willing to do anything for their One True Love. The latter can obviously be based on the (spell-less) Cleric, gaining the ability to stare down enemies, persuade the powerful, or even push themselves beyond normal human limits in pursuit of the object of their devotion. Again, they may need restrictions to make them "fit": a Romantic Cleric would not be able to heal others, but might be able to heal himself or dispel fear in order to rejoin his love.

I think the key to adapting the Cleric archetype to non-religious forms is to recognize that the object of their devotion is not really someone or something else, but to some ideal of Loyalty, Fidelity, or Integrity deep in their own character. Replace Piety with one of those three, and subtract a penalty when Very Low results are rolled; Loyalty, Fidelity, or Integrity is slowly restored by selfless acts of devotion (in other words, not expecting a miracle as a result.) For "Clerics" with delusions of divinity, it takes worship or selfless acts by others to restore faith in themselves.