I'm pretty new to DND so I'm still getting the hang of it and trying to understand the specifics. I wanted my character to be a a Cleric, probably with the Acolyte Background, and was wondering if the Deity a Cleric character worships has to be 'good' or I could have my character be a follower of an evil one? Or is that not allowed/doesn't make sense?
You can definitely be a cleric for any deity out there. How it works within the world of your campaign is the big question, but alignment is not a limitation.
Your point is friend? It says 'Check with your DM to learn which deities are in your campaign'. Because one campaign might have thor and odin, but another might not. There is no rule against evil cleric which is what I said. But thank you for pointing that rule out so our friend can see it.
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"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
Your point is friend? It says 'Check with your DM to learn which deities are in your campaign'. Because one campaign might have thor and odin, but another might not. There is no rule against evil cleric which is what I said. But thank you for pointing that rule out so our friend can see it.
Unless i misunderstood, the OP wasn't necessarily asking if it could be an evil cleric, but if it could worship an evil deity. Who's telling which deities are available to choose in a campaign is what i was providing quote.
But to be honest, PC aliginment is also often regulated by DM and it's not rare to have campaigns banning evil alignment too.
Your character can follow any deities that exists in the game. As previously mentioned you should check with your DM before creating your character though. "The Death Domain is an additional domain choice for evil cleric" for example is RAW specific for evil characters
My Tempest Domain Cleric worships Umberlee, evil Goddess of the sea. At first, our DM didn't want evil characters but he is enjoying the back-and-forth between me and our Paladin.
Your Cleric can be one alignment shift difference from your Deity's alignment. For example if Your Deity's align is :
Lawful Evil, you can be : Lawful Neutral or Neutral Evil.
Chaotic Evil, you can be : Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil
Neutral Evil, you Can Be : Lawful Evil, Chaotic Evil or just Plain Neutral :D
A true Neutral god can have Neutral Evil, Neutral Good, Chaotic Neutral or Lawful Neutral followers. Here is my personal way how I run my deities.
An example of why this works would be Oghma, the God of Knowledge, a True Neutral deity. (Note, this is only my reasoning how this works, this is NOT canon.)
His Neutral followers are the largest group, these are the scholars who hide away (usually) in libraries and temples, not too concerned about the outside world.
His Lawful Neutral followers could work for temple and others as, you guessed it, Lawyers and arbiters.
His Neutral Good followers could be work as teachers and build schools for the greater community to use. They also tend to be the more "adventurous" of Oghma's followers.
His Chaotic Neutral followers I'd like to think are the ones who have been learning the more "Cthulian" knowledge (Since for Oghma there is no forbidden knowledge, except for his special sound. Basically, driven mad to an extent by the knowledge they've come across.
As for the Neutral Evil... every group has its baddies. Also, your patron has a use for these people too :)
(Also, I read somewhere that Oghma was connected to a Goddess of Assassins and Knowledge (Whose name starts with a "N"), but cannot remember where. Any help with where to find that would be great, though I suspect that is probably someone's homebrew rules for that.)
Your Cleric can be one alignment shift difference from your Deity's alignment. For example if Your Deity's align is :
Lawful Evil, you can be : Lawful Neutral or Neutral Evil.
Chaotic Evil, you can be : Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil
Neutral Evil, you Can Be : Lawful Evil, Chaotic Evil or just Plain Neutral :D
A true Neutral god can have Neutral Evil, Neutral Good, Chaotic Neutral or Lawful Neutral followers. Here is my personal way how I run my deities.
An example of why this works would be Oghma, the God of Knowledge, a True Neutral deity. (Note, this is only my reasoning how this works, this is NOT canon.)
His Neutral followers are the largest group, these are the scholars who hide away (usually) in libraries and temples, not too concerned about the outside world.
His Lawful Neutral followers could work for temple and others as, you guessed it, Lawyers and arbiters.
His Neutral Good followers could be work as teachers and build schools for the greater community to use. They also tend to be the more "adventurous" of Oghma's followers.
His Chaotic Neutral followers I'd like to think are the ones who have been learning the more "Cthulian" knowledge (Since for Oghma there is no forbidden knowledge, except for his special sound. Basically, driven mad to an extent by the knowledge they've come across.
As for the Neutral Evil... every group has its baddies. Also, your patron has a use for these people too :)
(Also, I read somewhere that Oghma was connected to a Goddess of Assassins and Knowledge (Whose name starts with a "N"), but cannot remember where. Any help with where to find that would be great, though I suspect that is probably someone's homebrew rules for that.)
I am pretty sure the one alignment from your god is no longer in effect. I think you can be whatever alignment you wish now in relationship with your god, provided your DM approves and you can justify the relationship.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
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I'm pretty new to DND so I'm still getting the hang of it and trying to understand the specifics. I wanted my character to be a a Cleric, probably with the Acolyte Background, and was wondering if the Deity a Cleric character worships has to be 'good' or I could have my character be a follower of an evil one? Or is that not allowed/doesn't make sense?
You can definitely be a cleric for any deity out there. How it works within the world of your campaign is the big question, but alignment is not a limitation.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
For deity allowed always check with the DM first, some may have restrictions for their campaign, evil ones are sometimes off limit.
It is allowed, there is no rule against it. But as Plaguescarred said check with your DM first, Work it out.
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
The rules specifically say this:
Your point is friend? It says 'Check with your DM to learn which deities are in your campaign'. Because one campaign might have thor and odin, but another might not. There is no rule against evil cleric which is what I said. But thank you for pointing that rule out so our friend can see it.
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
Unless i misunderstood, the OP wasn't necessarily asking if it could be an evil cleric, but if it could worship an evil deity. Who's telling which deities are available to choose in a campaign is what i was providing quote.
But to be honest, PC aliginment is also often regulated by DM and it's not rare to have campaigns banning evil alignment too.
Your character can follow any deities that exists in the game. As previously mentioned you should check with your DM before creating your character though.
"The Death Domain is an additional domain choice for evil cleric" for example is RAW specific for evil characters
7th Member of the High Roller Society
My Tempest Domain Cleric worships Umberlee, evil Goddess of the sea. At first, our DM didn't want evil characters but he is enjoying the back-and-forth between me and our Paladin.
Don't forget,
Your Cleric can be one alignment shift difference from your Deity's alignment. For example if Your Deity's align is :
Lawful Evil, you can be : Lawful Neutral or Neutral Evil.
Chaotic Evil, you can be : Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil
Neutral Evil, you Can Be : Lawful Evil, Chaotic Evil or just Plain Neutral :D
A true Neutral god can have Neutral Evil, Neutral Good, Chaotic Neutral or Lawful Neutral followers. Here is my personal way how I run my deities.
An example of why this works would be Oghma, the God of Knowledge, a True Neutral deity. (Note, this is only my reasoning how this works, this is NOT canon.)
His Neutral followers are the largest group, these are the scholars who hide away (usually) in libraries and temples, not too concerned about the outside world.
His Lawful Neutral followers could work for temple and others as, you guessed it, Lawyers and arbiters.
His Neutral Good followers could be work as teachers and build schools for the greater community to use. They also tend to be the more "adventurous" of Oghma's followers.
His Chaotic Neutral followers I'd like to think are the ones who have been learning the more "Cthulian" knowledge (Since for Oghma there is no forbidden knowledge, except for his special sound. Basically, driven mad to an extent by the knowledge they've come across.
As for the Neutral Evil... every group has its baddies. Also, your patron has a use for these people too :)
(Also, I read somewhere that Oghma was connected to a Goddess of Assassins and Knowledge (Whose name starts with a "N"), but cannot remember where. Any help with where to find that would be great, though I suspect that is probably someone's homebrew rules for that.)
Cats go Moo!
I am pretty sure the one alignment from your god is no longer in effect. I think you can be whatever alignment you wish now in relationship with your god, provided your DM approves and you can justify the relationship.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha