A procedure for divine intervention - Conclave Edition
Abstract - Clerics in classic fantasy are defined by their relation to both the divine and the martial, which induces a mild overlap with Paladins. Here you can find an overview on clerics, divine magic and some procedures for OldSchool clergy.
The conclave has started!
And hopefully it still going because I want to publish this before it finishes. Due to Prismatic Wasteland there has been an increase in blogging about Clerics and divine magic, so this post is part of the call for divinity.
When I first saw the depiction of a cleric, it was from the Dungeons and Dragons boardgame. Jozan was the guy's name and, he was wearing fucking metal armor. The cleric is quite an interesting class and it is defined by two main things: first, their relation to religion and the divine; and second, the martial capability of delivering the bonks.
If it cannot fight it is a priest (I concede it could be a cleric, but the idea of all the cardinals being able to resolve the choice of a new pope by punching each other until there is a last man standing is really awkward). On the other hand, if it is not a being of the divine it is a fighter.
What further defines a cleric? Their relation to their god and the manifestation of their magic. If the manifestation of the divine around the character is clearly martial in nature, then, in my opinion, the cleric is not really a cleric.
A procedure for divine intervention
In His Majesty the Worm characters have bonds with each other that are charged by certain actions, and burned in exchange of certain benefits (healing, for instance).
Here is a small procedure for the relation of a cleric (or even a paladin) with respect to their god and some fun divine manifestations
Bonds
- Prayer: Charge this bond if you have prayed today to your god. Burn it if you have not.
- Rite: Charge this bond if you have performed a religious rite today. Burn it if you have not.
- Oaths: When you make an oath to your god charge this bond. Burn it whenever you break the oath.
- Heretic: When you reject your god and embrace a rival divinity charge this bond.
Divine manifestations
- Guidance: If you have at least one charged bond to your god you can ask for guidance and help when praying. Thy god will deliver in mysterious ways.
- Magic channeling: If you have at least two charged bonds to your god, you can cast spells associated with your divinity. Burn a bond to cast a spell outside their domain.
- Marked: If the Heretic bond is charged you cannot use divine manifestations from the god you rejected.
This is just a skeleton, but I think some funny things can be done. For instance, Divine magic could take a more chaotic and inscrutable turn with Guidance
Guidance
When you pray ask your god for some kind of guidance. Based on the request choose one of the following
- Advantage in encounter roll (GM rolls twice and takes the most good for the players)
- Get advantage on the 1d4-th roll from now.
From His Majesty with Love
All in all, I think divine magic benefits from the mystic and mysterious feeling. In addition, the bond system (from His Majesty the Worm) could help to make clerics feel more focused on their relationship with the divine.