"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Probably because they were trying to attract players from 2e and 3e to the game. I can't speak for 3e quite as much because I never liked it, but in 2e, clerics were generally not a class that people /wanted/ to play, they were something someone got stuck playing. So for 5e, clerics were powered up quite a bit, and given a lot of options so that players would actually WANT to play clerics and not feel like someone was getting stuck with one. 5e clerics are amazing, and definitely one of my favorite classes.
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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.
also you sort of got stuck having a specific god tied to your cleric
under the new 5e system you choose a domain instead and have the freedom of choosing any god that also has that domain
you can even have 2 clerics that choose the same god but have different domains... so they don't step on each others toes so much... and it can still tie the story together (might make more sense to have 2 clerics of the same god in a party)
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"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Probably because they were trying to attract players from 2e and 3e to the game. I can't speak for 3e quite as much because I never liked it, but in 2e, clerics were generally not a class that people /wanted/ to play, they were something someone got stuck playing. So for 5e, clerics were powered up quite a bit, and given a lot of options so that players would actually WANT to play clerics and not feel like someone was getting stuck with one. 5e clerics are amazing, and definitely one of my favorite classes.
Very true. When I played AD&D we usually had one or two NPC characters in the party since there were only usually 3 players plus DM and modules were designed for 4-6 characters. And we took turns controlling the NPCs so the DM didn’t have to. Unless we decided to have the NPC do something stupid lol. One was usually a cleric. Although I do remember having fun playing a cleric/magic-user multiclass back then.
clerics are so much better now. And wizards have 8 in PHB
Probably because they were trying to attract players from 2e and 3e to the game. I can't speak for 3e quite as much because I never liked it, but in 2e, clerics were generally not a class that people /wanted/ to play, they were something someone got stuck playing. So for 5e, clerics were powered up quite a bit, and given a lot of options so that players would actually WANT to play clerics and not feel like someone was getting stuck with one. 5e clerics are amazing, and definitely one of my favorite classes.
Very true. When I played AD&D we usually had one or two NPC characters in the party since there were only usually 3 players plus DM and modules were designed for 4-6 characters. And we took turns controlling the NPCs so the DM didn’t have to. Unless we decided to have the NPC do something stupid lol. One was usually a cleric. Although I do remember having fun playing a cleric/magic-user multiclass back then.
clerics are so much better now. And wizards have 8 in PHB
lol yes.
<Cleric> I cast Flame Stri...
<Party member> You did /not/ memorize something other than heal. Get up there and hit it with your morning star, because you're not cool enough to use one of the spare magic longswords that we're carrying but nobody else actually needs.
<Cleric> *sigh* I move up and swing my morning star. Oh look, a 10, with my crappy THAC0 that's going to hit AC 7.
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.
also you sort of got stuck having a specific god tied to your cleric
under the new 5e system you choose a domain instead and have the freedom of choosing any god that also has that domain
you can even have 2 clerics that choose the same god but have different domains... so they don't step on each others toes so much... and it can still tie the story together (might make more sense to have 2 clerics of the same god in a party)
Or two cleric that have to same domain but worship different Gods
also you sort of got stuck having a specific god tied to your cleric
under the new 5e system you choose a domain instead and have the freedom of choosing any god that also has that domain
you can even have 2 clerics that choose the same god but have different domains... so they don't step on each others toes so much... and it can still tie the story together (might make more sense to have 2 clerics of the same god in a party)
Or two cleric that have to same domain but worship different Gods
But wouldn't that make them step on each other's toes? They would do the same thing
I think it is because there are so many subclasses of cleric IRL: Christians (Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox), Jewish Rabbi, Muslim Imam, Hindu, Confucius, Shinto, Norse, Roman, Greek, and many others which I don't know about.
As for gameplay, I believe it helps open the pantheon to allow a wide selection of associated deities for the players, but also gives the flavor of IRL motivation to proclaim your god the "right way."
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Because deities are vast in number and portfolios. While the Life, Grave, and Death domains could all be covered by one deity, thematically they differ:
Life Domain clerics are concerned with preserving life, and keeping creatures away from an early grave. They are typically against death at the hands of another unless absolutely necessary, because they believe that death should only come after someone has lived a full life.
Grave Domain clerics are concerned with guiding creatures into the afterlife and honouring the sanctity of life being a cycle. They are typically against the fouling of that cycle, such as waking the dead from their eternal rest, because they believe that it would go against everything the natural order has worked for.
Death Domain clerics are concerned with the infinity of death and ensuring the threat of overpopulation is minimised. They are typically against allowing creatures to live again (such as through revivify), as they believe that death is inescapable and sacrosanct, and if someone has died, it's because their time has come.
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Most other classes have two ~ three subclasses in PHB.
Why does cleric have 7 of them???
The gods only know.
Probably because they were trying to attract players from 2e and 3e to the game. I can't speak for 3e quite as much because I never liked it, but in 2e, clerics were generally not a class that people /wanted/ to play, they were something someone got stuck playing. So for 5e, clerics were powered up quite a bit, and given a lot of options so that players would actually WANT to play clerics and not feel like someone was getting stuck with one. 5e clerics are amazing, and definitely one of my favorite classes.
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
also you sort of got stuck having a specific god tied to your cleric
under the new 5e system you choose a domain instead and have the freedom of choosing any god that also has that domain
you can even have 2 clerics that choose the same god but have different domains... so they don't step on each others toes so much... and it can still tie the story together (might make more sense to have 2 clerics of the same god in a party)
Very true. When I played AD&D we usually had one or two NPC characters in the party since there were only usually 3 players plus DM and modules were designed for 4-6 characters. And we took turns controlling the NPCs so the DM didn’t have to. Unless we decided to have the NPC do something stupid lol. One was usually a cleric. Although I do remember having fun playing a cleric/magic-user multiclass back then.
clerics are so much better now. And wizards have 8 in PHB
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
lol yes.
<Cleric> I cast Flame Stri...
<Party member> You did /not/ memorize something other than heal. Get up there and hit it with your morning star, because you're not cool enough to use one of the spare magic longswords that we're carrying but nobody else actually needs.
<Cleric> *sigh* I move up and swing my morning star. Oh look, a 10, with my crappy THAC0 that's going to hit AC 7.
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
Or two cleric that have to same domain but worship different Gods
But wouldn't that make them step on each other's toes? They would do the same thing
D&D is a game for nerds... so I guess I'm one :p
I think it is because there are so many subclasses of cleric IRL: Christians (Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox), Jewish Rabbi, Muslim Imam, Hindu, Confucius, Shinto, Norse, Roman, Greek, and many others which I don't know about.
As for gameplay, I believe it helps open the pantheon to allow a wide selection of associated deities for the players, but also gives the flavor of IRL motivation to proclaim your god the "right way."
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Because deities are vast in number and portfolios. While the Life, Grave, and Death domains could all be covered by one deity, thematically they differ:
Life Domain clerics are concerned with preserving life, and keeping creatures away from an early grave. They are typically against death at the hands of another unless absolutely necessary, because they believe that death should only come after someone has lived a full life.
Grave Domain clerics are concerned with guiding creatures into the afterlife and honouring the sanctity of life being a cycle. They are typically against the fouling of that cycle, such as waking the dead from their eternal rest, because they believe that it would go against everything the natural order has worked for.
Death Domain clerics are concerned with the infinity of death and ensuring the threat of overpopulation is minimised. They are typically against allowing creatures to live again (such as through revivify), as they believe that death is inescapable and sacrosanct, and if someone has died, it's because their time has come.