Christian Clerics (part 2)

Obligatory excuse for not posting more frequently: real life. [1] I can't apologise: things have been going really well, and I'm blessed with good fortune.

But back in Barael's Europe, where demons and warlords and spiders carry the day, things have gone stagnant. Let's (try to) get back on track.

In Cleric Part 1, I laid the groundwork for the Christian Cleric in Barael's Europe, but spent most of the post explaining the mechanical differences between Orthodox and Arian varieties. That bit should have been its own topic, but hey, we live in disorganised times.

To clarify, then, here is the meat of the Cleric class, in perhaps a more familiar format:

Cleric

Clerics are Christians devoted to spreading Christ's teachings, protecting the faithful, and serving the Lord. Provided they uphold their faith (i.e., are of Lawful alignment), Clerics can perform miracles in the form of clerical spells. While Clerics are part of the church hierarchy, they are not priests--rather, they are servants of the Church, given adventuring missions by their ordained superiors.

Prime Requisite: WIS (+5% XP with WIS 13+)
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+1hp/level after 9th)
Armour: Any
Weapons: Club, Hammer, Mace (all); Flail, Short Sword, Sling (Arian)
Alignment: Lawful
Base XP: 1,500

Class Abilities

Brackets contain skill point costs; ignore if you are not using the optional Class Skills rules

Convert [1pt]: Clerics may appeal to sentient beings with a religious proclamation relevant to the current situation and delivered by the player. This forces a reaction roll, modified by the difference between the Cleric’s level and the subject’s Hit Die (e.g., a 4th-level Cleric converting a 1HD orc gains +3). If the subject can understand the Cleric, it responds as indicated by the reaction result for the duration of the encounter (conversion is permanent if the reaction roll is 12 or more).

Saving Throw Bonus [0pt]: Clerics gain a +2 bonus on saving throws vs. Paralysis or Poison.

Divine Spells [1pt/spell level]: Clerics receive miraculous powers from a devout acceptance of Christian Trinity (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost). Full faith in God and service to His law are all that the Cleric requires to cast divine spells. Orthodox Clerics have full access to the clericial spell list; Arian Clerics cannot cast spells higher than 3rd-level and must cast them as rituals (i.e., casting time of 1 turn/spell level or cast on consecrated ground).

Politics [1pt; Arian Clerics only]: Arianism enjoys the support of many Western power-brokers in Barael's Europe, as the heresy supports their application of rulership through social stratification. As a result, Arian Clerics gain a +1 bonus to reaction rolls with political leaders. If a given reaction roll results in 12 or more, the leader will act as a political patron (GM discretion as to what exactly this involves--certainly favouritism, but not unconditionally so and definitely not to the point of self-sacrifice).

Career Paths

At 4th-level, the Cleric may select a career path (unless otherwise noted, Class Abilities above are unchanged):

Crusader
Crusaders are members of Christian fighting orders who use force of arms to further God's work: protecting the faithful, recovering lost holy lands and relics, and conversion (or punishment) of the heathen.

Restrictions: Upon selection of this path, the Cleric's prime attribute shifts to Charisma. Like other Clerics, they remain dedicated to God and retain access to miracles, though they are limited to 2nd-level spells.

Special Abilities: Crusaders may use swords and lances if their order allows them. They also project an aura of confidence on the battlefield which manifests as a combat bonus equal to their level, which may be split amongst to-hit, damage, or saving throw rolls of multiple allies within 1" per level each round (e.g., a 5th-level crusader could provide a +3 to-hit bonus, and a +1 damage bonus to each of 2 allies in a single round). Finally, the crusader's CHA adjustment is added to enemy morale rolls.

Prophet
Prophets are itinerant Christian pilgrims. They do not believe in conversion through force, and instead seek willing adherents through religious teachings and miracles.

Restrictions: Because of their wandering, prophets do not establish permanent strongholds or churches. Their outlook precludes wearing armour, and they fight only in self-defence.

Special Abilities: Prophets may cast their level in protection, divination, and healing spell levels each day at no cost (e.g., a 4th-level prophet gains 4 levels per day of protection, divination, and healing spells). Further, prophets add their CHA adjustment to conversion attempts.

Next up, Fighters.
Listening to: Peter Gabriel, So

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1. And isn't it always? I'm not sure why I feel obligated to explain my lack of time spent engaged in a voluntary, not-for-profit hobby. Maybe just to let you all know that my infrequent posting isn't because of something you did ... I'm just sensitive that way.

Christian Clerics (part 1)

In Barael's Europe, Christian clerics come in two flavours: Arian and Orthodox. Originally, I balked at making distinctions, partly because both were Lawful, but mostly because I don't know enough about Christian history to portray such distinctions confidently. Then I realised historic accuracy is already going to take a few lumps in a setting that includes magic swords, ice trolls, and dragons.

That said, I want to lay a Christian foundation that permeates the setting, noting important distinctions through mechanics, all without offending religious convictions held by my readers. I think the best approach is to start with basics and fill in details as they're revealed to me. I agree to do my best if y'all agree to be patient with me.

Christian Cleric

Mechanically, we'll start with the Cleric class as outlined in the S&W Core:

Prime Attribute: Wisdom (+5% XP for WIS 13+)
Hit Die: 1d6 per level (+1hp/lvl after 9th)
Armour: Any
Weapons: Mace, hammer, flail, club
Base XP: 1,500

Christian Clerics have the following basic abilities, starting at 1st-level:

Convert:[1] Clerics may appeal to sentient beings with a religious proclamation relevant to the current situation and delivered by the player. This forces a reaction roll, modified by the difference between the Cleric’s level and the subject’s Hit Die (e.g., a 4th-level Cleric converting a 1HD orc gains +3). If the subject can understand the Cleric, it responds as indicated by the reaction result for the duration of the encounter (conversion is permanent if the reaction roll is 12 or more).

Saving Throw Bonus: Clerics gain a +2 bonus on saving throws vs. Paralysis or Poison.

Divine Spells: Clerics receive miraculous powers from a devout acceptance of Christian Trinity (God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost). Full faith in God and service to His law are all that the Cleric requires to cast divine spells.

Orthodox vs. Heretical Christianity

Orthodox Clerics gain full access to the Clerical spell list. This is due to their understanding of the Trinity and the attendant belief that salvation is possible only when each member of the Godhead is witnessed in equal measure. FrDave provides a wonderful explanation of this arrangement when he relates how Athanasius likens the Trinity to a flowing fountain: the Father is the fountain, the Son is the water that flows from it, and the Holy Spirit is the draught that quenches our thirst for grace. No part of this triumvirate can function out of balance, and therefore salvation cannot be attained when one part is given more significance than the others.

Thus, full participation in the Trinity occurs only when each facet is afforded equal emphasis. If this approach provides complete access to the Clerical spell list, then it follows that unequal emphasis provides limited access. At a high level, this logic could be applied to any of the many Christian heresies (i.e., any non-orthodox view in which salvation is possible through unbalanced participation in the Trinity).

Arianism is one such heresy, and it holds that Christ the Son was created by God the Father. In other words, God the man is separate from God the creator. This stresses the Son's role in salvation over that of the Father's. Athanasius would disagree that salvation could be attained through Christ alone: the fountain does not create the water, though it does make it accessible; we must go to the fountain before we can drink.

Yet Arians are Christians, and they do participate in the Trinity, though not with balance. In game terms, I'm allowing Arian Clerics to cast spells, but with the following limitations:

• Maximum spell level is third, and
• Spells are cast as rituals, which I'm saying requires either 1 turn/spell level spent in preparation or casting on consecrated ground.

This arrangement accomplishes a few things I want to reflect in the campaign: First, Christianity--no matter what the stripe--is Lawful, in recognition of God who created order out of nothing. Second, it decouples spell-casting ability from salvation. In other words, all Christian Clerics can cast divine magic, but being able to do so doesn't necessarily require that the Cleric has the doctrine figured out. Third, it puts mechanical emphasis on how belief affects spell-casting. Orthodox clerics receive their spells directly from the Holy Spirit, and those spells are available when the caster wants. The Arians (and, indeed, any other Christian heresy I want to introduce) have to rely on ritual magic, and so spells are granted on more conditional terms. 

Final Words

One question that does come up: given the spell-casting limitations, why would anyone play an Arian Cleric?

Maybe because the character comes from an Arian Christian country. Or maybe because Orthodox Clerics are saddled with some restriction that I haven't figured out yet.

Not sure if this is the right direction, and before I go further, I'd love for the comments to be filled with your thoughts as to why this is brilliant or blasphemous.

Next Up, Christian Clerics (part 2)
Listening To: Donald Fagen, Morph the Cat
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1. This replaces the traditional Banish Undead ability, which I'm reflecting as the spell Control Undead.

Character Class Overview

Classes in Barael's Europe take one of five flavours: Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, Thief, or Normal Man. I'm going to provide an overview here, which may seem like unfocused thoughts, but I assure you—clarity is nigh, and I'll be following up with class-specific posts to explain the details.

Initial Thoughts

First off, you should know that none of the classes exists exactly as it appears in the S&W Core. This is in large part a result of setting specifics. You can't have a Christian campaign without talking about what it really means to be a cleric, and that's naturally going to impact class description and certain game mechanics.

Second, I had been thinking of "sub-classes," like the ranger (Fighter), the scout (Thief), the astrologer (Magic-user), and others. Initially, I checked the S&W Complete rulebook, which contains certain of these specialists. However, they didn't really fit well—as described—into the campaign I envisioned, plus there were gaps that S&W Complete didn't fill.

Career Paths

My solution is to create "career paths" by taking a page from FrDave's Old School equivalent of prestige classes. The primary advantage is not having to create whole new classes, XP tables, spell matrices, etc. Simply take an existing class, bolt on specialised abilities, balance with some restrictions, and you have your sub-class. Level progression, hit dice, saves, and level limits remain intact—everything else is a matter of what feels right.

I want to stress this last bit. My natural inclination is to figure out some point value for each new ability and disadvantage, apply them so that they zero out, and declare that I have created a "balanced" sub-class. But I don't think that's the right approach.

Both Brendan and Reese correctly point out that a given prestige class really only makes sense when it's attached to a particular setting. That's not only true in terms of which sub-classes the setting supports, but also what those sub-classes can do. In other words, class should be defined by the setting, not the rulebook. If I used some point-value system to balance my career paths, it'd be the same as me telling you how to define a Druid or an Assassin in your campaign.

Instead, I'll just share my thoughts, and you can decide if it's too beaucoup for your campaign (or, just maybe, not enough beaucoup).

Something else about career paths that I should make clear: They aren't available during character generation. Again, I'm taking FrDave's suggestion and stating that PCs don't choose a career path until reaching 4th-level. I like the notion that levels 1-3 represent "apprenticeship" for the fledgling character. In setting-specific terms, ascending to 4th-level is the equivalent of attaining journeyman rank, and thus possessing sufficient "general" knowledge of one's field to specialise in one aspect of it. In game terms, this makes it easier to roll up new characters, because you're not bogging down char-gen with a lot of "prestige class" details.

Races

Pretty much all human, all the time, at least as PCs go. Which brings up two caveats:

1. Demi-humans may show up, but as monsters, and in the Norse Mythology style. So you might encounter dwarfs who turn themselves into a pike and hide out in deep pools, or elves in the light, dark, and swart variety (which may be dwarfs as well, depending on the translation?).
2. There may be human variants that can mimic demi-human abilities (e.g., a dwarf's find stone traps or an elf's find secret doors). I won't necessarily map demi-human abilities to human sub-races, but there will be specialised mannish folk.

I'm prepared to omit halflings—I just can't find a place for them yet (though that could change if anyone can point out a period reference to a realm inhabited by little folk). Gnomes, I hasten to say, are right out.

Next Up, Christian Clerics
Listening To: Orange Goblin, Frequencies From Planet Ten