Cleric

A cleric is a divine servant of one or more gods, serving them with martial might and divine magic fueled by their own strength of faith. As agents of a divine authority, clerics are empowered both by ritual training and their god's particular favor. Relatively rare, clerics inspired both reverence and terror, depending on their aims and who they serve.

Perhaps the best known — and most infamous — cleric on Toril was Fzoul Chembryl before his ascension to godhood. Other well-known clerics are Cadderly Bonaduce, a Chosen of Deneir, and Qilue Veladorn, one of the Seven Sisters and a cleric of Eilistraee.

Culture
Religion is deeply important to the majority of people on Toril, who feel that the gods are a very real and active presence in their lives, something that is not very far from the truth. For this reason, serving the gods is something that most people do as just a regular part of their lives. Clerics are elite agents of gods, empowered beyond the capabilities of regular priests and sworn to follow and obey the tenets of their religion in ways that the average mortal cannot. Some clerics serve primordials or even fiends, offering foul sacrifices in exchange for a portion of the fiend's might, but the majority remain servants of the truly divine. Clerics must be close to the alignment of their patron, usually within one step of the deity's alignment or less.

Gods are as varying as people and, as a result, so are their divine agents, such as clerics, who might be good or evil, lawful or chaotic, dependent on who they worship and why. Good clerics heal and protect, helping those in need while evil clerics terrorize and destroy, increasing the power of their deity and themselves. Generally, non-evil clerics are more common, since good or neutral deities tend to attract more worshipers than evil ones do. However, some evil gods, such as Bane, are popular in their own right, with a large legion of followers and clerics willing to do their bidding. Similarly, though many clerics belong to orderly and structured churches, chaotic gods have clerical servants as well.

Relatively few priests become wandering clerics, leaving for adventure only if they feel compelled to do so for their god, perhaps out of a desire to spread their deity's works or by order of their superiors and the church hierarchy. A few clerics take on the adventuring lifestyle for more mundane reasons. Regardless of motivation, clerics are highly valued companions, serving as healers and occasional leaders to their compatriots. Additionally, clerics may be specialized in ways, based on the deity they worship, that put them on agreeable terms with other adventurers. The most active clerics are typically humans or dwarves, though half-elven, elven, and dragonborn clerics are also relatively common.

Nearly all clerics are ordained members of a religious organization of some kind, though a few operate more independently and even those who are bound to a hierarchy do not necessarily answer to a direct superior. Most clerics make their career choice relatively early in life, though some are compelled to service unwillingly by their god. Churches are often, but not always, tied to a specific god and a few gods preside over more than one church at once, some of which war with one another over differing interpretations of their god's (or pantheon's) dogma.

Abilities
Clerics commonly use light or medium armor, shields, simple weapons, and divine magic as their chief tools while adventuring. Many clerics are also skilled in the use of heavy armor. Clerics augment these spells, also known as prayers, through holy symbols of their deity that they wear or carry with them. Clerics are also experts in casting rituals, enhanced spells that require an incredible amount of time and preparation to use but which often have dramatic effects. Others might instead choose to be trained in preparing alchemical recipes.

Clerics can also learn to directly access the power of their deity through their body in an ability known as Channel Divinity. This power may manifest it in several ways, the most common which being the ability to turn undead, repelling or even destroying the undead. A few clerics learn instead to control the undead, particularly those of an evil nature. A cleric may also gain an individual variant of Channel Divinity based on their domain specialization or the nature of deity they worship. Clerics of Mielikki and Sune, for example, having access to a wildly different variant of Channel Divinity.

Sufficiently experienced clerics can even invoke their deity's intervention directly, without using Channel Divinity. If successfully petitioned, the deity's aid may come in one of several forms, from a spell to something more unusual. Such calls for aid, however, are difficult to make and the gods are disinclined to respond much more than once a tenday.

Clerics are powerful healers thanks to special training and the blessings of their gods, both of which increase the potency of the curative prayers available to them. Many clerics are capable of casting the healing word prayer, while more experienced clerics are often capable of much more. Some clerics are also trained in transforming other prayers into powers of healing or, if the cleric worships a non-good god, into spells of necrotic power.

Some clerics have additional abilities less common among their compatriots. Several clerics have learned, in addition to the gentle repose ritual known to many of them, the ritual of Simbul's conversion, which allows a cleric to convert their prayers into healing energy. A fewer number of clerics, generally evil in alignment, have learned instead to convert this stored energy into negative energy for the purpose of harming enemies.

Many clerics are also fluent in Supernal or Abyssal and their related dialects.

Domain specialization


In addition to the abilities common to all clerics, clerics also access a number of powers through aspects of their god's portfolio known as divine domains. At the beginning of their career, a cleric chooses one - or occasionally two - of the domains associated with their patron deity, giving them access to a number of unique prayers and abilities. These domains allow clerics to prepare domain prayers each day from a list particular to that domain, in addition to their more general prayers.

Each domain also has a number of other benefits associated with it. For example, the Tempest domain allows its clerics to return an enemy attack with thunderous or electrical power. increase their strength for one round per day by a number equal to their cleric level. Similarly, the Life domain makes clerics more adept at casting healing prayers.

While not every cleric specializes in a particular domain, most do. Some of the most commonly accessed domains are listed below.

Knowledge domain
Used commonly by worshipers of scholarly deities such Oghma or Mystra, the Knowledge domain attracts those who believe learning is an end unto itself. Some deities presiding over the Knowledge domain are secretive and jealously guard what they and their followers know, while others promote the spread of knowledge through the construction of libraries and universities. Other gods, like Gond, are more interested in the practical application of knowledge, rather than its research and discovery.

Clerics adhering to the Knowledge domain gain a number of abilities from their training. Some of these new skills are relatively mundane, such as learning another language or two. Others are considerably more powerful though, such as the ability to mentally "read" an object, to discover the details of its recent past.

Life domain
The favorite of healers or those active in the fight against undeath, the Life domain is presided over by a number of diverse powers, from agricultural deities such as Chauntea to the sun god Lathander to deities of healing like Ilmater. The Life domain, which encompasses both healing and radiant-powered prayers, is fueled by the power of positive energy, found in the Positive Energy Plane. As a general rule, non-evil deities prefer this domain to evil ones.

The Life domain provides a number of unique abilities to its practitioners, encompassing both manifestations of positive energy. Among the healing abilities gained by Life domain clerics is the preserve life ability, a form of Channel Divinity that allows the caster to restore a severely wounded creature up to roughly half of its peak potential. In addition, experienced Life domain clerics obtain the ability to infuse their weapons with radiant energy drawn from the Positive Energy Plane.

Light domain
Gods of light such as Helm or Lathander preside over this domain, which represents ideals such as renewal, truth, vigilance, and beauty. Some Light domain gods like Milil are patrons of the arts, while others, such as Helm are stalwarts of duty, devoted to the expulsion of lies and the banishment of darkness. The Light domain is generally favored by non-evil deities.

The abilities of Light domain clerics are generally light or fire-flavored. Among the most basic of these skills gathered is the light cantrip. Additionally, extremely experienced clerics specializing in the Light domain can generate an aura of bright light that lasts for up to a minute, shining into a space of up to 90 feet in radius as well as enhancing any spells cast in the area using fire or radiant power.

Nature domain
While many priests who serve nature deities like Silvanus or Eldath are druids, clerics are also numbered among their servants. Many clerics who do venerate the gods of the wilderness make use of the Nature domain, which grants them some semblance of control over wild animals and plants alike. Whereas their druid compatriots are secretive and reclusive by inclination, clerics in the service of nature take a more active role, championing the cause of their gods by hunting evil monsters, blessing harvests, or bringing a famine upon their enemies.

Clerics specializing in the Nature domain have a number of abilities to claim as their own. One such ability is their ability to calm animals or plants, reducing their hostility for a period of up to a minute or so. With additional training, Nature domain clerics can learn even to control such creatures, commanding them to do as they wish.

Tempest domain
The Tempest domain is the abode of a diverse array of gods, from storm gods like Talos to ocean gods like Umberlee. What all of these gods hold in common is a violent temperament and a penchant for inspiring fear. Clerics who serve these gods are much the same, wielding their powers to strike terror into the faithful, either to force the wicked back to righteousness or in order to compel ritual offerings in exchange for safety.

The abilities granted by Tempest domain deities to their clerics are destructive by their very nature. One such boon is the destructive wrath variation of Channel Divinity, which increases the deadliness of electrical or sonic attacks cast by the cleric. In addition to such deadly powers, the most experienced Tempest domain clerics are also capable of flying, so long as they are neither indoors or underground.

Trickery domain
Not all clerics are inclined to seriousness or self-righteous zeal. The clerics who serve gods of the Trickery domain - a lot which includes Tymora, Beshaba, and Garl Glittergold - are mischievous troublemakers by their very nature, more akin to a rogue than a paladin by temperament. Clerics of this domain mock the powerful and defy tradition, disrupting "polite society" wherever they go. Some are freedom-fighters, some are criminals, and others are just pranksters. Whatever their specific method, these clerics prefer to challenge, rather than accept, the conventional order of things.

Because Trickery domain clerics are more inclined to deception and misdirection than direct conflict, their abilities similarly diverge from some of the more martial characteristics of other priests. For example, many of the spells wielded by such clerics are illusions or enchantments, rather than direct attacks. Likewise, Trickery domain clerics can use a form of Channel Divinity known as invoke duplicity, which allows them to create one or more phantasmal copies of themselves, for the purpose of distraction or remote spellcasting.

War domain
War is a common part of mortal life and so it should come as little surprise that there are many clerics who devote themselves to the gods of war. The nature of such gods varies somewhat, from champions of honor like Torm to pillars of destruction like Gruumsh, but they all hold in common an interest in the act of fighting, watching over those in battle who offer them tribute. Clerics specializing in the [{War domain]] serve these deities.

As might be expected, the abilities of War domain clerics enhance such priests' ability to fight on the front-line. Early on, War domain clerics are trained in the use of heavy armor and martial weapons, giving them additional protection and making them deadlier foes. With more experience, War domain clerics can also use guided strike, a variant of Channel Divinity that allows them to attack with foes with an uncanny degree of precision.

Cleric variants


In addition to (or instead of) specializing a domain, several clerics specialize to some small degree by focusing their training in a certain way. These different forms of cleric training often determine the specific abilities and approaches taken towards clerics in their careers. Most clerics belong to one of the following practices.

Battle cleric
Instead of focusing simply on their role as healers and inspirational icons of their deity, battle clerics prefer to get into the thick of a fight, leading the charge of the faithful. These clerics are almost always physically well-built, building their muscles and fortitude to make them effective melee combatants in their god's service. These clerics still put an emphasis on strong judgment and awareness of both others and oneself, but this is de-emphasized in favor of physical power, as is leadership ability and strength of personality.

Devoted cleric
Devoted clerics take the opposite philosophy of battle clerics and put all of their efforts into becoming the very best ministers of the faithful that their god has to offer. Wholeheartedly loyal to their god and his or her followers, devoted clerics train primarily in prayers that enable or heal their allies. For this reason, devoted clerics feel that wisdom and charisma are of far greater importance than physical strength, though they do not wholly abandon its fruition.

Shielding cleric
Shielding clerics, like devoted clerics, believe that it is more important to protect and shield allies rather than to fight directly. While other clerics often use prayers to both deal damage and inspire their allies, shielding clerics hang back, using their divine gifts to heal and protect others rather to deal attacks. When shielding clerics do strike, it is often from afar, rather than in a melee. For instance, unlike battle clerics and devoted clerics, shielding clerics don't have the ability to use the turn undead prayer. Instead, a shielding clerics channel their deities' divine power through the healer's mercy prayer. Shielding clerics also put a higher emphasis on wisdom and charisma than strength, similar to devoted clerics.