A friend of mine came up with a pretty interesting idea for a cleric character that he wants to play in my campaign, but I'm not sure what subclass would work.
He was a high ranking general in an orcish army, but was left for dead after he lost an arm in a battle. He was pretty pissed, as he thought he was valued by the leader, a powerful dark sorcerer. He was saved by a group of knights who took him in and healed him. Eventually they grew close, and they became the only family he ever had. But their goddess disliked the fact that an orc was in her temple, and told them to abandon him. So they did. The orc, feeling betrayed and angry, killed them in their sleep in a fit of rage. The goddess, instead of killing him, forced him into her servitude, and cursed him so he could never carry a blade again. So basically an unwilling orc cleric with mental issues.
If you have any ideas and suggestions unrelated to subclass, feel free to share! This is his first character btw.
My first thought is this is not the background for a level 1 character, as level 1 and “high ranking general” are basically opposites. Second, I don’t quite understand how someone could be a high ranking general and not have developed camaraderie with other soldiers to the point that a group of randos becomes “the only family he ever had.” The soldiers he served with would have been like a family to him. Third, if a goddess dislikes orcs, it makes no sense for her to then make one a cleric where she’d be giving him powers and spells. Forth, what happened to the missing arm? Regenerate is a level 7 spell, it’s tough to come by, or does he have a prosthetic. Fifth, this doesn’t sound like a cleric story, more like a redemption paladin, or possibly a warlock.
Firstly, he is high ranking in the orcish army for his prowess with a sword. His curse means he wield a blade at all. That's what makes it interesting, he's a violent melee warrior who is forced into a position of magic and healing. Secondly, orcs in my setting don't have friends or family. They are unnatural creatures born from the vats of dark alchemists, and are thrust into a toxic society of violence, cruelty and warfare as soon as they rise from the vat. The knights who took him in quite literally showed him the first act of kindness he's ever seen. As for the goddess, it's hard to explain but basically, in my setting's lore, the knights were the only thing keeping her alive and giving her influence in the material plane. They were her last followers, and now that they're gone she bound herself to the orc so she could survive. It's kind of an unwilling symbiosis. I'm not sure about the arm actually, but I was thinking maybe when the orc was bound to the goddess she manifested what little energy she had left into a magical arm for him, as he wouldn't last long in the world with one left arm, and if he dies, she dies. And your last criticism about classes, well he couldn't be a paladin since he can't wield a blade. But I can see where you're coming from with warlock, the celestial patron especially would make sense. My friend wanted to be a support character though, and the cleric class abilities are what we both had in mind. As well as that, over time he might come to truly worship the goddess. He could be a herald for the end of the Dark Ages (random lore shit).
So yeah, I hope it makes sense now. They were reasonable questions; I probably should've explained a bit more.
Also, any ideas for what subclass he should choose?
Background wise: I assume he's taking Soldier to cover this which would be fine but you need to pop in a time frame for how long it took to heal up, learn to trust the order of knights and get told to vacate the temple. Assuming the battle was a fair distance away from the temple it could well be that it took the knights a bit of time to travel back home and the Orc was along for the ride and it might have taken a little time for the Goddess in question to manifest to her knights once they got home. So you could say all that took a year. Due to the Orc's injuries he lost most of his combat prowess and the lost arm doesn;t mean he got it cut off at the shoulder it might mean his sword hand was cut off at the wrist. This means he's had to relearn how to fight, if he was right handed he now fights left handed or vice versa and if he still has his forearm he can still strap a shield on. The "no blade" curse means he can still use bludgeoning weapons so he still has a few choices available.
Class wise: Subclass/domain for cleric would depend on the realm of influence the Goddess has so is a bit hard to pin down but I would suggest Life domain for a bit more of a support character.
EDIT: as to the curse, give a way to end it. Maybe something along the lines of restoring the slain knights to life or recruiting people to replace them or raising a new temple to the Goddess. That way the player of this Orc Cleric has an idea of what is expected of him to make amends.
As Rob76 points out, the cleric subclass would depend largely on the god. It sounds like you’ve got it pretty fleshed out, so what’s she the god of?
Just as an aside, paladins don’t have to use blades, by RAW. And clerics can use them, also by RAW. Of course, any house rules you have would override that.
The Peace Domain might fit well, if he’s wholeheartedly atoning for his violent past. Or create some role playing opportunities if he feels constrained by his new non-violent ethos and still yearns to give someone a good bashing! I’m not sure how far the Peace Domain would fit his new goddess, if she was previously served by an order of knights, but perhaps she’s also having to adapt her portfolio to her new circumstances. This very strained relationship between Cleric and Deity, entered into from sheer desperation, could be quite fun to play. The goddess could be a more active NPC in the campaign than perhaps the usual distant divinity: a Cleric (grudgingly?) promoting peace in the world around him yet constantly bickering with his goddess?
(Oath of Redemption Paladin would also fit the story, as they have a strong non-violent and support role. You, as the DM, would be able to rule that he can use Divine Smite with his Unarmed Strikes: divine power flowing through the replacement arm granted by his goddess?)
Well in my setting the holy gods are called angels. They aren't embodiments of things and they don't have specific jobs. They all have different personalities though, and use their powers differently. But they disappeared after a band of heroes failed to stop a dark ritual which let dark gods have power in the material plane. No one knows where they went. Some people think that they were killed by the dark gods, or banished from this realm. Others think that they forsook this reality, disgusted and disappointed with the rise of dark sorcery. Whatever happened, it took a toll on the world. Many of the various knightly orders went mad and killed themselves, or tortured themselves and others in an attempt to atone for their sins, hoping the angels would forgive them and come back. Worst of all were the knights who turned to darkness and became the very thing they fought against. In a foul mockery of their oaths to protect and serve, they became devoted servants of the dark lords, the cultists who summoned the evil gods and ascended into powerful forms. This gave them power, but at the cost of their humanity. But not all hope is lost... There is one remaining angel, albeit with a sliver of her former power. The only way she will survive, and keep the dim candle of hope burning, is if the orc turns away from darkness and spreads the light.
That’s a strong story for your setting. Your final sentence brings the Domains of Light and of Twilight into the possibilities. They both carry the “light in the darkness” theme. I tend to think of Light as an invasion force, driving out the darkness; Twilight is the resistance force, trying to cleanse and resanctify the darkness from within.
After reading through the thread I would have to agree that light seems to be the clear choice in terms of subclass. There are many thematic and literal ways that they can bring the light that you'd mentioned.
My first thought is this is not the background for a level 1 character, as level 1 and “high ranking general” are basically opposites. Second, I don’t quite understand how someone could be a high ranking general and not have developed camaraderie with other soldiers to the point that a group of randos becomes “the only family he ever had.” The soldiers he served with would have been like a family to him. Third, if a goddess dislikes orcs, it makes no sense for her to then make one a cleric where she’d be giving him powers and spells. Forth, what happened to the missing arm? Regenerate is a level 7 spell, it’s tough to come by, or does he have a prosthetic. Fifth, this doesn’t sound like a cleric story, more like a redemption paladin, or possibly a warlock.
i second the celestial warlock, hold the eldritch blast. deities are aloof and borderline unresponsive in the best of times, communicating with miracles, omens, and prophets. warlock patrons, on the other hand, seem to like to keep tabs directly and intervene personally whether that's to give orders, drop temptations, or relay threats. with celestial warlocks it's like being a cleric but with a more personal connection, in my opinion. besides, these 'gods' were described more like a bunch of powerful celestials rather than work-a-day manifestations of motherhood, harvests, the sea, etc.
if you're worried about lvl 3 pact boons being 'too warlocky' and not clerical enough, well consider a pact of the tome which could have them hunting for lost knowledge or words of light. maybe a hymn that must be pieced back together from text on the side of fallen statues of gods. or there's pact of the chain which might have a Lantern Archon (see previous editions) familiar tagging along like a lost puppy. or a celestial flavored sprite using of Heart Sight or whatever to identify macguffins. half babysitter, half refugee as the orc tries to keep it out of the clutches of the forces of darkness or those who might take it and hide it away 'to protect it.' and then there's good ole pact of blade which in this case might summon not just a celestial sword (or mace? or, out of stubborn pride, an orcish axe?) but also a sparkly celestial arm to swing it with. something flashy like that might sound cool, but if this orc is trying to blend with a world that's lost it's light then he's going to have some trouble if he just whips that out for any old bandit or bar fight. just how famous / infamous can you get before the goddess's desperate mission becomes impossible? might fit well someone who is there for support but could (reluctantly) turn the battle around in a pinch.
if you want less ranged offensive capability, tell your orc the somatic component of guiding bolt (and such) is singing loud praise of the goddess he's annoyed with. i bet the player would love saving that for only the most clutch moments!
A friend of mine came up with a pretty interesting idea for a cleric character that he wants to play in my campaign, but I'm not sure what subclass would work.
He was a high ranking general in an orcish army, but was left for dead after he lost an arm in a battle. He was pretty pissed, as he thought he was valued by the leader, a powerful dark sorcerer. He was saved by a group of knights who took him in and healed him. Eventually they grew close, and they became the only family he ever had. But their goddess disliked the fact that an orc was in her temple, and told them to abandon him. So they did. The orc, feeling betrayed and angry, killed them in their sleep in a fit of rage. The goddess, instead of killing him, forced him into her servitude, and cursed him so he could never carry a blade again. So basically an unwilling orc cleric with mental issues.
If you have any ideas and suggestions unrelated to subclass, feel free to share! This is his first character btw.
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
My first thought is this is not the background for a level 1 character, as level 1 and “high ranking general” are basically opposites. Second, I don’t quite understand how someone could be a high ranking general and not have developed camaraderie with other soldiers to the point that a group of randos becomes “the only family he ever had.” The soldiers he served with would have been like a family to him. Third, if a goddess dislikes orcs, it makes no sense for her to then make one a cleric where she’d be giving him powers and spells. Forth, what happened to the missing arm? Regenerate is a level 7 spell, it’s tough to come by, or does he have a prosthetic. Fifth, this doesn’t sound like a cleric story, more like a redemption paladin, or possibly a warlock.
Firstly, he is high ranking in the orcish army for his prowess with a sword. His curse means he wield a blade at all. That's what makes it interesting, he's a violent melee warrior who is forced into a position of magic and healing. Secondly, orcs in my setting don't have friends or family. They are unnatural creatures born from the vats of dark alchemists, and are thrust into a toxic society of violence, cruelty and warfare as soon as they rise from the vat. The knights who took him in quite literally showed him the first act of kindness he's ever seen. As for the goddess, it's hard to explain but basically, in my setting's lore, the knights were the only thing keeping her alive and giving her influence in the material plane. They were her last followers, and now that they're gone she bound herself to the orc so she could survive. It's kind of an unwilling symbiosis. I'm not sure about the arm actually, but I was thinking maybe when the orc was bound to the goddess she manifested what little energy she had left into a magical arm for him, as he wouldn't last long in the world with one left arm, and if he dies, she dies. And your last criticism about classes, well he couldn't be a paladin since he can't wield a blade. But I can see where you're coming from with warlock, the celestial patron especially would make sense. My friend wanted to be a support character though, and the cleric class abilities are what we both had in mind. As well as that, over time he might come to truly worship the goddess. He could be a herald for the end of the Dark Ages (random lore shit).
So yeah, I hope it makes sense now. They were reasonable questions; I probably should've explained a bit more.
Also, any ideas for what subclass he should choose?
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
Just to thrust my 2cp worth in....
Background wise: I assume he's taking Soldier to cover this which would be fine but you need to pop in a time frame for how long it took to heal up, learn to trust the order of knights and get told to vacate the temple. Assuming the battle was a fair distance away from the temple it could well be that it took the knights a bit of time to travel back home and the Orc was along for the ride and it might have taken a little time for the Goddess in question to manifest to her knights once they got home. So you could say all that took a year. Due to the Orc's injuries he lost most of his combat prowess and the lost arm doesn;t mean he got it cut off at the shoulder it might mean his sword hand was cut off at the wrist. This means he's had to relearn how to fight, if he was right handed he now fights left handed or vice versa and if he still has his forearm he can still strap a shield on. The "no blade" curse means he can still use bludgeoning weapons so he still has a few choices available.
Class wise: Subclass/domain for cleric would depend on the realm of influence the Goddess has so is a bit hard to pin down but I would suggest Life domain for a bit more of a support character.
EDIT: as to the curse, give a way to end it. Maybe something along the lines of restoring the slain knights to life or recruiting people to replace them or raising a new temple to the Goddess. That way the player of this Orc Cleric has an idea of what is expected of him to make amends.
As Rob76 points out, the cleric subclass would depend largely on the god. It sounds like you’ve got it pretty fleshed out, so what’s she the god of?
Just as an aside, paladins don’t have to use blades, by RAW. And clerics can use them, also by RAW. Of course, any house rules you have would override that.
The Peace Domain might fit well, if he’s wholeheartedly atoning for his violent past. Or create some role playing opportunities if he feels constrained by his new non-violent ethos and still yearns to give someone a good bashing! I’m not sure how far the Peace Domain would fit his new goddess, if she was previously served by an order of knights, but perhaps she’s also having to adapt her portfolio to her new circumstances.
This very strained relationship between Cleric and Deity, entered into from sheer desperation, could be quite fun to play. The goddess could be a more active NPC in the campaign than perhaps the usual distant divinity: a Cleric (grudgingly?) promoting peace in the world around him yet constantly bickering with his goddess?
(Oath of Redemption Paladin would also fit the story, as they have a strong non-violent and support role. You, as the DM, would be able to rule that he can use Divine Smite with his Unarmed Strikes: divine power flowing through the replacement arm granted by his goddess?)
Well in my setting the holy gods are called angels. They aren't embodiments of things and they don't have specific jobs. They all have different personalities though, and use their powers differently. But they disappeared after a band of heroes failed to stop a dark ritual which let dark gods have power in the material plane. No one knows where they went. Some people think that they were killed by the dark gods, or banished from this realm. Others think that they forsook this reality, disgusted and disappointed with the rise of dark sorcery. Whatever happened, it took a toll on the world. Many of the various knightly orders went mad and killed themselves, or tortured themselves and others in an attempt to atone for their sins, hoping the angels would forgive them and come back. Worst of all were the knights who turned to darkness and became the very thing they fought against. In a foul mockery of their oaths to protect and serve, they became devoted servants of the dark lords, the cultists who summoned the evil gods and ascended into powerful forms. This gave them power, but at the cost of their humanity. But not all hope is lost... There is one remaining angel, albeit with a sliver of her former power. The only way she will survive, and keep the dim candle of hope burning, is if the orc turns away from darkness and spreads the light.
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
That’s a strong story for your setting.
Your final sentence brings the Domains of Light and of Twilight into the possibilities. They both carry the “light in the darkness” theme. I tend to think of Light as an invasion force, driving out the darkness; Twilight is the resistance force, trying to cleanse and resanctify the darkness from within.
After reading through the thread I would have to agree that light seems to be the clear choice in terms of subclass. There are many thematic and literal ways that they can bring the light that you'd mentioned.
The thing about light domain is it has some offensive abilities, and I'm trying to minimalize damage and and maximise support.
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
i second the celestial warlock, hold the eldritch blast. deities are aloof and borderline unresponsive in the best of times, communicating with miracles, omens, and prophets. warlock patrons, on the other hand, seem to like to keep tabs directly and intervene personally whether that's to give orders, drop temptations, or relay threats. with celestial warlocks it's like being a cleric but with a more personal connection, in my opinion. besides, these 'gods' were described more like a bunch of powerful celestials rather than work-a-day manifestations of motherhood, harvests, the sea, etc.
if you're worried about lvl 3 pact boons being 'too warlocky' and not clerical enough, well consider a pact of the tome which could have them hunting for lost knowledge or words of light. maybe a hymn that must be pieced back together from text on the side of fallen statues of gods. or there's pact of the chain which might have a Lantern Archon (see previous editions) familiar tagging along like a lost puppy. or a celestial flavored sprite using of Heart Sight or whatever to identify macguffins. half babysitter, half refugee as the orc tries to keep it out of the clutches of the forces of darkness or those who might take it and hide it away 'to protect it.' and then there's good ole pact of blade which in this case might summon not just a celestial sword (or mace? or, out of stubborn pride, an orcish axe?) but also a sparkly celestial arm to swing it with. something flashy like that might sound cool, but if this orc is trying to blend with a world that's lost it's light then he's going to have some trouble if he just whips that out for any old bandit or bar fight. just how famous / infamous can you get before the goddess's desperate mission becomes impossible? might fit well someone who is there for support but could (reluctantly) turn the battle around in a pinch.
if you want less ranged offensive capability, tell your orc the somatic component of guiding bolt (and such) is singing loud praise of the goddess he's annoyed with. i bet the player would love saving that for only the most clutch moments!
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