Clerics are zealous warrior priests who dedicate their lives to devout service to a god. They worship and pray to receive the blessings of their deity and for the ability to cast holy spells, channel divine energies, and drive away unholy abominations. They strike out to adventure in search of lost relics and treasures that could be used to enrich the temples and further their cause. They crusade to hunt down heretics and enemies of their faith. They recruit new believers and convert heathens to the one true way.
Hit Dice: Clerics gain +1d8 hit dice per level.
Restrictions: A cleric’s alignment must match that of their god, and straying from this path could result in loss of favor. A cleric’s god may impose restrictions on what types of weaponry may employed against their enemies and enforce other, more specific commandments of their faith.
Choosing a Deity: At 1st level, a cleric chooses which god to swear devotion to, and dedicates the rest of their life to worshiping this god. In doing so, the cleric declares which side of the divine war they are joining, and must immediately change their alignment to match that of the god, if it does not already match. A cleric’s choice of god determines disallowed weapons, as well as spells and some powers. A list of gods can be found here, but players and referees can work to create their own.
Alignment: A cleric’s alignment must match that of their god. A cleric’s connection to their god is severed if their alignment changes for any reason, and may require extreme sacrifice to regain favor.
Lawful clerics choose from a pantheon of benevolent, orderly, wise deities, demi-gods, immortal paragons, anointed saints, prehistoric sphinxes, celestial guardians, and sacred patterns. They seek membership in organized congregations, perform public rites and prayer services, consecrate holy sites, convert heathens, seek lost relics, and gather treasure to build shrines and fill the temple coffers.
Chaotic clerics worship dark gods, demons, infernal fiends, evil godlings, primordial idols of terror, and extradimensional aberrations. They form secretive, clandestine cults, performing wicked rituals to contact their dark gods and appease foul demons. They recruit new members for the cult, amass wealth to build armies, and compete with rival cults to further their god’s agenda while undermining the efforts of their enemies.
Neutral clerics worship gods who have not chosen a side or do not participate in the divine war, for they either favor a balance of the primal forces or are entirely disinterested in the squabble. They create loose and unorganized networks of devotees who all independently work towards maintaining balance or otherwise pursuing the goals of their faith. When called to action, they gather in groups to coordinate their efforts and present a united front.
CLERIC EXPERIENCE LEVEL TABLE
| Level | Title | XP | HD | Attack Bonus |
| 1 | Acolyte | 0 | 1d8 | +0 |
| 2 | Adept | 2000 | 2d8 | +1 |
| 3 | Priest | 4000 | 3d8 | +1 |
| 4 | Vicar | 8000 | 4d8 | +2 |
| 5 | Curate | 16,000 | 5d8 | +3 |
| 6 | Bishop | 32,000 | 6d8 | +3 |
| 7 | Abbot | 64,000 | 7d8 | +4 |
| 8 | Chaplain | 125,000 | 8d8 | +5 |
| 9 | High Priest | 250,000 | 9d8 | +6 |
| 10 | Archbishop | 500,000 | 10d8 | +7 |
CLERIC SAVING THROW TABLE
| Level | Death/Poison | Wand/Rod | Petrify/Poly | Dragon Breath | Spells/Staves |
| 1 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +0 | +1 |
| 2 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +0 | +1 |
| 3 | +5 | +5 | +4 | +1 | +2 |
| 4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +1 | +2 |
| 5 | +6 | +6 | +5 | +2 | +3 |
| 6 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +2 | +3 |
| 7 | +7 | +7 | +6 | +3 | +4 |
| 8 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +3 | +4 |
| 9 | +8 | +8 | +7 | +4 | +5 |
| 10 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +4 | +5 |
CLERIC SPELLS GRANTED PER LEVEL TABLE
| Cleric Lvl | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 |
| 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – |
| 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – |
| 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Special Features
Alignment Language: Clerics can speak a special language known only to clerics of the same alignment.
Fighting the Undead: Against undead creatures, clerics gain +1 to attacks and AC, and add their level to damage inflicted.
Holy Magic: Clerics can cast holy magic spells granted by their deity. The number of spells is determined by the cleric’s experience level; see table above. The cleric must wield a holy symbol of their deity to cast a spell. See Magic & Spells for more information on holy spell casting.
Turning the Undead: The cleric may attempt to drive off all undead creatures within sight using the power of their god and their faith. A turn undead roll is 1d20 + CHA + Cleric Level vs the creature’s Save DC. On a success, the creature is turned. The effects of a successful turning depends on the level of the creature:
- Creatures with HD greater than the cleric: Kept at bay, unable to approach any closer.
- Creatures with equal or less HD than the cleric: Must flee the cleric’s presence at all costs.
- Creatures with less than half HD of the cleric: Instantly destroyed.
At 9th Level: If the cleric controls a stronghold, they attract 5d6x10 initiates to serve as loyal disciples.