Clerics are moral and spiritual leaders, warriors of faith who preach the will of the gods, interpret omens and portents, and strike down the evil or unfaithful. Most clerics have a patron deity, but some are champions of a particular moral alignment, venerating all deities of that alignment in addition to a patron deity, and yet others are the servants of a particular pantheon of deities. In a world of swords and sorcery, force of arms often speaks louder than moral suasion, and clerics are trained to do battle against the enemies of their gods. Some clerics are fanatics, zealously seeking new converts or hunting heretics. Others seem almost burdened by an inconvenient or even oppressive relationship with the divine forces. Evil clerics - sinister villains who prey upon fear and jealousy - sow discord in the world and gather converts for their demonic masters.
Clerics play an important support role for an adventuring party. Most clerical spells are oriented toward healing, strengthening, and defending others. However, when the need arises the cleric is fully capable of taking a place in the line of battle and smiting down infidels and foes. Clerics employ their holy symbols rather than spell books as a focus for their meditation. Cleric spells are automatically acquired as the cleric gains levels and no check is necessary to ensure they are understood; thus clerics may normally memorise any spell appropriate to their level. However, in some circumstances the powers the cleric serves may intervene and grant different spells to those requested; it is suggested that this is only done in extreme cases (such as when the cleric has been guilty of an alignment transgression of some kind, for example; more serious transgressions may result in fewer spells being granted, or even none at all). Some GMs may permit clerics of specific deities to have slightly different abilities from those described here.
*Constitution hp adjustments no longer apply after the ninth level of experience. Each level gained thereafter grants +2 hit points.
Spellcasting. Clerics may memorise and cast clerical spells in accordance with the tables provided hereafter.
Prepared Spells. A cleric may prepare a number of spells each day equal to their available spell slots plus their Wisdom modifier.
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| 11 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 13 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 15 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — |
| 16 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 17 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 18 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
| 19 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 20 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Bonus Spells. These are awarded to clerics with high wisdom. They are not cumulative and are awarded by level; hence “2/2/1/1” means the cleric is granted 2-1st level, 2-2nd level, 1-3rd level, and 1-4th level bonus spells.
| Wisdom Score | Bonus Spells | Chance of Spell failure (d%)* |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 0 | 15 |
| 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 11 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | 2/1 | 0 |
| 16 | 2/2 | 0 |
| 17 | 2/2/1 | 0 |
| 18 | 2/2/1/1 | 0 |
| 19 | 3/2/1/1 | 0 |
*Clerics with low wisdom may fail to cast a spell.
Turning Undead. Clerics can “turn” the undead, making them flee from the cleric’s holiness (or, in the case of an evil cleric, bringing them to heel as servants and minions). Rules of turning the undead are found later in this book.
High Priest(ess). When a cleric attains ninth level, he or she has accumulated sufficient divine favour and mortal renown to found a temple/stronghold. Such places are normally carved from the wilderness, in the same manner as a fighter establishes a freehold. For a cleric to assume the leadership of an existing temple, the details are left to the discretion of the GM; a level somewhat higher than ninth might be required. Whether the cleric establishes a stronghold or a temple, followers and acolytes will flock to the cleric’s banner.
| Level | Aimed Magic Items (e.g., rod, staff, wand) | Breath Weapons | Death, Paralysis, Poison | Petrifaction, Polymorph | Spells for unlisted categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| 4-6 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
| 7-9 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 12 |
| 10-12 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| 13-15 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| 16-18 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| 19+ | 6 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 |