Character Concepts: Priests | D&D | Web DM

Are you building a Cleric and want some fresh new ideas? This video is for you! We're exploring unique archetypes for priest-type characters in D&D or any other TTRPG - get pumped to play a character who worships the Gods!
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Time stamps:
2:30 The Chosen One
6:30 The Oracle; Cosmic Truthseeker
11:42 The Spiritual Mediator
17:38 The Restorer of the Gods; Herald of a New God
22:31 The Penitent; The Sin Eater
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg
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Written & Hosted by Jim Davis and Jonathan Pruitt
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Edited by Brandon Fraley
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[@WebDM]

Thanks for watching! Get Dungeon Fog: www.dungeonfog.com/webdm and get 10% off annual subscriptons! Get More Web DM: patreon.com/webdm for bonus podcast, discounts, q&a and more Sign up for our KICKSTARTER mailing list: eepurl.com/gDXzGr

[@ttprophet]

it's like that old adage goes: *"Where the spirit of the lord is, the Baptists get to golden coral first"*

[@fredmartin6637]

Jim's hair is fire 🔥 P-daddies beard game ......... is S T R O N G!

[@Grinnar]

Please do a spell component price speculation episode.

[@Danielsworlds]

Okay the intro Evangelical vs. Baptist joke is amazing and I support this wholeheartedly

[@anthonynorman7545]

Coming from a black Baptist church, I was confused

[@Danielsworlds]

@@anthonynorman7545 in white Baptist Churches praise and worship time is admiratior for God with traditional hymns There I'll be no shenanigans

[@wardpipe]

Came for D&D content, stayed for the religion jokes. Nailed the intro.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@Danielsworlds ah, sounds boring

[@michaelbeal1400]

True, there will be NO shenanigans.... but baptists ARE evangelicals, they're NOT charismatics.... (white) southern baptists are boring. A friend of mine has been preaching in a (mostly) black baptist church since we were in high school. His church don't act like my church.

[@bigfatopinions1338]

Pruitt really channeling his east Texas upbringing in the intro!! Love it!

[@WebDM]

So is Jim 😆

[@EJFreelancer]

As a Baptist, that “were you raised Baptist?” Bit had me rolling.

[@Wimikk]

Something about a highly analytical channel discussing a game with extensive rules, in which story and emotions are built on concrete numbers? Cant see why we Baptists would enjoy that.

[@Honeycutt97]

"We're you raised baptist?" "Yeah" @my dad who at dinner with my moms family never says a single prayer and avoids religious occasions at every opportunity just saying "yeah nah I'm good thanks"

[@thepopemichael]

I grew up with Pentecostal missionary parents. It's kinda like growing up in a D&D world I was traveling to new & strange lands, dealing with snakes & other wild life, and avoiding touchy predators.

[@Darknight4434]

why? baptistes don't pray?

[@Honeycutt97]

@@Darknight4434 for my dad and his brothers they were raised baptist but did not believe baptist. It was an extreme environment and they never bought into it but couldnt really leave until they were teenagers.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

I'm going to start doing this (once I can't just play dumb about religion anymore (I'm an athiest)).

[@mysticwizard1943]

@@thepopemichael "touchy predators" yeah man you gotta watch out for those priests

[@Afrancis1968]

I had a cleric who was an old man who protected a woodland area. His name was Good berry and he was the party's counselor. It was awesome. Miss you Good berry 😢

[@coolnamebro7363]

I remember a quote from the Keanu reeves Constantine film to do with faith. "You 'know' you don't 'believe'"

[@linus4d1]

Constantine is a great character. I feel Keanu represented him well.

[@abouttime837]

whenever you’re feeling down as a priest, remember that Dead Cthulhu at his house at R’lyeh was the Great Priest of the Great Old Ones, and he didn’t let any body get in his way

[@washada]

He's been sleeping on the job for a while, though.

[@Bluecho4]

@@washada For now. In strange aeons, and all that.

[@abouttime837]

@@washada he wanted to sleep and nobody could stop him from doing that. Sleep on your allies in the dungeon. Establish your dominance.

[@washada]

‘’I can’t get up, the stars are not right’’

[@DrPluton]

I had an idea for a character who tried to become a cleric and was raised as an acolyte but couldn't cast any cleric spells. After this was found out, the priests transferred him to a monastery to see if the monks could help. The discipline of the monastery didn't make him into a cleric; it made him into a Sun Soul monk who could channel the deity's energy directly through his attacks.

[@superkeaton9912]

this got me thinking about what a God of Adventurers would be like, and I think their Portfolio would literally be Experience. To seek out new challenges and persevere over struggles for their own sake, regardless of good or evil.

[@WebDM]

Love it!!!!

[@quincykunz3481]

I have a god of misfits, wanderers, and outcasts. My whole party immediately gravitated to him.

[@simonnick8422]

The Dark Eye has this, Aves the Wanderer. Biggest Pen and Paper in the German language by the way.

[@jonleonard1555]

I've been playing a Yuan-Ti named Ray Stantz that is a Divine Sorcerer that has the ambition of becoming a god (neutral god of language), so he dresses as a cleric and acts like he's his own prophet.

[@kaseyprime9284]

Ray, when some asks if you're a god... YOU SAY YES

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

Cleric sent on suicide mission because his crudeness nearly got him excommunicated from the church.

[@Raso719]

I had a Cleric, once, who saw the "supernatural" as merely "natural" and assumed that the gods existed within the natural world as opposed to apart from it and saw that magic, divine and arcane, were all measurable and quantifiable forces within the universe that could be studied and understood. Fun character.

[@anthonynorman7545]

Given the way D&D works, they're the most accurate they could be without realizing they're in a game

[@17joren]

Clerics lend themselves to witchcraft builds too. I had a player who wanted to play a witch, but not the stereotypical hag with broom, cat, and cauldron. So we looked beyond that into the Wiccan priestess type with divination seances, sacred geometry, crystals etc and found the arcana cleric fit amazingly well. She even worships the Greek goddess Hecate; legit patron of magic, witchcraft, protection, vigilance, and others. Really cool!

[@Bluecho4]

The Witch archetype is very flexible, indeed. Cleric, Druid, Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard. Any of them could fit, mechanically. And if the various Witchsonas I see on the internet are any indication, it's a stylistic variety as well.

[@alasanof]

I might've been born Baptist but my cleric Raised me Presbyterian.

[@thepopemichael]

...and all it cost was a diamond worth 1000 gp

[@wastelesslearning1245]

More like “priest-barbarian” lol

[@Screechman19]

I've played 2 Clerics, a war cleric who was a soldier that became a combat physician and was experienced in treating battlefield trauma. The other was a Dark Sun Cleric who believed an unborn god was gestating within the settings moon and she was its chosen oracle, she had to basically create a religion and spread faith in the Unborn God to power it enough so it could be born and repair the world

[@ZYR47]

Monsters as lesser gods and spirits, that solves my issue with running my low fantasy game and yet wanting to use d&d things for my players. Nice.

[@WebDM]

Nice

[@benjaminpaper6122]

Woooooo!!!! Another video for Wednesday!!! My favorite DnD channel on youtube! Another great video like always!!!

[@WebDM]

Thank you Benny Boy/Spoon Man

[@emophobe]

A blessed Wednesday indeed Brother Pruitt

[@WebDM]

Amen!

[@TaberIV]

Amen Brother Yusuke

[@williamozier918]

Cleric idea in my head right now: A halfling cleric of Yondalla. This character is essentially Samwise Gamgee as a religious sect. His holy vestments are a backpack full of usual crap for adventurers, and a frying pan. He has Sacred Flame, and all of his spells are 'cast' by him whipping up something to eat real quick in his frying pan. ALSO he can use his frying pan as a mace in combat. He would also study lore and see puzzles, riddles, and traps. He would basically see everything as a challenge sent by Yondalla, and those who over come these challenges will enjoy a heavenly feast for all eternity upon death.

[@friendlytalbot4050]

I love it.

[@benniek1050]

I've just finished watching vikings and the last kingdom back to back. Father Beocca and Athelstan are firmly cemented in my mind as the quintessential priests I will drag inspiration from.

[@bockree]

The managing the various spirits really had a cabin in the woods vibe to me. A whole campaign about appeasing the spirits before time runs out.

[@WebDM]

Sounds like fun

[@littleshoes3293]

I like the idea of a fighter acolyte, the idea being they are basically a crusader. Maybe there was a religious war and the recruitment slogan was "Fight for us and all your sins shall be forgiven." They don't have any divine powers bestowed upon them, just their sword and their faith.

[@Bluecho4]

I mean, it worked for the actual Crusades. Indulgences offered by the Catholic Church for martial action. Which were pretty controversial at the time, because such indulgences hadn't been offered before in the institution's history (probably for good reason). Would make for an interesting complication to a DnD campaign. Sure, the PC thinks their violence is sanctioned by the religion, but other believers may not agree.

[@azuraben5128]

Your after credits talk is exactly why I am using Karat of diamond, where 1 karat equals 1.000 gold worth of diamonds in terms of spelluse, though those diamonds could easily sell for five times that in certain areas!

[@Magmadu100]

I'm gonna start playing a kobold celestial warlock this weekend and boy I hope she's gonna be mistaken for a cleric because of the healing properties, would save me from a lot of hiding lol

[@matthewjennings7645]

In a Baptist seminary: My pastor's been getting the church to "Amen" lately rather than grunt! It's making a comeback!

[@MrHappyArsonist]

This "thumb nail" made me smile. I want this movie made, such Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Vibe

[@flysteel288]

Aye! My first character is a light cleric! I based him off of the red priests from game of thrones who worship the Lord of Light. In retrospect, I wish I had asked the dm if I could flavour a tempest cleric with fire, or maybe a paladin whose smites do fire damage instead of radiant. I prefer the hammer and shield with some spells over the pure spellcasting that it seems light clerics are designed for. I thought about forge cleric as well, but I didn't really like the abilities they got. Despite all that, still my favorite character

[@markuswelander8551]

Everybody's talking clerics, but the priests with the drip are the bards leading worship.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

Death/Chaos cleric of Demogorgon.

[@charlietango261]

When you all were talking about the cleric who becomes a cleric to "erase the red in their ledger" my mind immediately thought of Shepherd Book from Firefly. His backstory is explained in a comic/graphic novel published after the series and it's almost exactly this concept.

[@WolfHreda]

I finally got around to checking out Matt Mercer's Gunslinger subclass, and after going through the full write-up to learn about it, the very next character I came up with was a Gunslinger/War Cleric multiclass I gave a bunch of Mad Max style nicknames such as the Father of Firearms, the Priest of Powder, the Bishop of Blasting, and the Cardinal of Cordite. I hope I get to play him one day. I imagine he'd have some good fire and brimstone sermons.

[@littlegiantj8761]

"Remember, my brothers! Beer to the dying! Wine to the grieving!"

[@Wimikk]

A discussion and analysis channel about a game’s extensive ruleset for determining story and emotion based on concrete numbers? You made a Baptist trap and we all fell right in.

[@deanospimoniful]

For me the reference I always lean toward with Clerics and other PCs that draw their power from the divine are the prophets of the Old Testament (Moses, Elijah, Samson, etc.). They're just ordinary folks that are called by God into extraordinary circumstances. Absent the power they're given they aren't even the smartest, strongest, or the most heroic. They're just chosen to show off the vastness of the power they were bestowed.

[@lomp1582]

Damn, that thumbnail looks so good

[@WebDM]

Thanks! Back in 2019 the guys dressed up as priests of Ilmater at the D&D live event in LA!

[@steamtasticvagabond474]

What if a Cleric took on a sort of Van Helsing role? They’re a divine hunter chosen to root out evil, channeling power through their holy symbol in a “power of Christ compels you” sort of way

[@WebDM]

Right on, sounds great!

[@supersonicmario2768]

I have a character concept based somewhat on the godmaster dlc from Hollow knight In that he believes every creature is a little god with a flame of divinity which is smaller or bigger based on their power. So through combat one gains stronger and stronger by stealing the divinity from fallen enemies. So in essence he worships himself and his growing power

[@AlexanderBaird]

I love the celestial pact for warlock but I think you could make a solid holy warrior character using the fiend pact. If you just look at the mechanics, you could easily flavor the abilities as coming from a dragon. Extra fire spells, resistances, temp HP. You could totally have been redeemed by a gold dragon and sent out to effect positive change in the world. Basically a Paladin with a different skill set

[@crimsonhawk52]

On the concept of the sin-eater, really cool to think that the average person avoids doing the necessary evils in a world with alignment, waiting for the church to send someone to do the evils for them. Was holding my breath waiting for y'all to mention Heden from Colville's Ratcatchers Priest

[@TaberIV]

There's a cool Sin Eater class for Swords and Wizardry in "Folk Magic of the Haven Isles", but it's a Magic-User as opposed to a cleric.

[@rustyshackle8000]

As someone raised in the South that intro was *mwah* chef's kiss. Also these character concept videos are super helpful! Especially the warrior one, as it helped me iron out my paladin character!

[@andrewthegeek6522]

so it is important to consider a character can be religious without being a cleric for instance i can give a character the acolyte background be raised in a church and go eldrich knight and he can do the will of his diety or get guidance while gaining strength through his own works but that mostly relies on how you rollplay the character and in certain groups it´s not likely to get as much screen time as it probably should

[@WebDM]

Absolutely right! Doesn't need to just be a cleric (though we do mention them specifically in the title because we worship the SEO gods)

[@Bluecho4]

The clergy were often the most well read and educated for much of the middle ages. It's entirely on brand for one to become versed in arcane magic, simply as a matter of education.

[@andrewthegeek6522]

@@Bluecho4 wizard acolyte who never mastered clerical spells and began faking it?

[@malogranatum4914]

I actually have a Fiend warlock with the Acolyte background who made a deal with an arcanaloth. She knew immediately that taking the deal would be incredibly foolish and would go against the ideals of her deity, but a whole series of events that took place right before the deal left her feeling a little desperate and determined. She regrets having taken the deal and tries to alleviate her guilt by reacquainting herself with her god’s teachings and performing acts of devotion while she travels. But now she also “has” to fulfil her obligations to her patron, who provides her with information and resources that help her get a little closer to her (and his) goals. I really enjoy coming up with characters that have some kind of tension between their perceived morality and their actions. With this character specifically, I was really going for a “servant to two masters” kind of vibe and if I ever get to play her for a longer campaign, I hope to really play on the dread/guilt she feels whenever she does even the smallest thing for her patron, knowing that she’s already damned herself and hoping to achieve her goals and find a way out before the other shoe drops.

[@andrewthegeek6522]

@@malogranatum4914 That´s cool but remember you can´t serve to masters because you will either love the first and hate the other or hate the first and love the other... that´s more moral stuff nothing really to do with the character

[@anthonynorman7545]

Spells knowing the cost of a diamond has always bothered me! Does the weave have its own economy!?!

[@WebDM]

Right?!

[@himanshuwilhelm5534]

Tasha's tax.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@himanshuwilhelm5534 so that's how she affords to put everything in her cauldron!

[@himanshuwilhelm5534]

​@@anthonynorman7545 Maybe she puts an arbitrary price on certain spells so people don't spam them too much?

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@himanshuwilhelm5534 why would she care?

[@williamozier918]

Cleric idea in my head right now: He is a cleric if Cuthbert, from a small sect that worships Cuthbert as the Patron Saint of Adventurers. His holy symbol is a torch, so that he can light the way for adventuring as the engage on, what he sees as a holy quest, to delve dungeons and cleanse them of ancient evils. To cast his spells he has to use a torch. His holy sybol is a specially crafted metal torch, that can also be used as a mace, but by holy scripture he can only use it as such when it is lit and the target is evil.

[@pbpbpblt]

I played a skeptic philosopher, knowledge domain cleric in a halloween one shot. The session ended with my character discovering that he was in a game, with very funny descriptions of all the players present as powerful beings playing games with small souls lives. Great opportunity for a meta cleric moment.

[@robertsilvermyst7325]

I play my Light Domain Cleric more akin to Miroku from Inuyasha. He draws upon holy powers to fight demons, perform ceremonies and create protective wards. However, he is a flirt that will fit right in with the perviest of bards.

[@Bluecho4]

There's a lot of material yet to be mined from the concept of the Unwilling Cleric. In the Bible, loads of prophets were normal folk, who didn't ask for divine assignments. The whole reason Jonah got eaten by the whale was because of his refusal to act as a prophet when God wanted him to. Then there's Moses, who definitely didn't want to be the one to arrive at the house he grew up in and tell the Pharaoh - his adoptive brother - that he needed to free some slaves or horrible plagues would descend upon their mutual homeland. Nor did he sign up for wandering through the desert for 40 years, dragging a load of ungrateful people and keep needing to hold God back from smiting them all. (It was a whole thing). Imagine you're a regular person living in a DnD world, just trying to make a living and keep your head down, when one of the gods of your world volunteers you for some holy quest. Maybe you were a farmer, just started a family, have a load of debts and a full harvest coming up, when you get the call. Maybe you're an artisan working in a busy city, trying to perfect your craft or establish yourself within a guild, when you get a vision. Maybe you're a scion of a noble house, trying to jockey for position with your siblings and cousins for the position as heir, when a divine mission calls you away. Maybe you're a soldier, who is obligated to go AWOL in the middle of a campaign, because some angel appears to tell you your battlefield is elsewhere. Maybe you were a criminal on the run, perfectly happy to lay low until a burning bush tells you to return to civilization to preach the good word. No one said divine work had to be convenient. Heck, by definition, adventuring is extremely inconvenient, at the best of times.

[@2xmachina36]

Priest ≠ Clerics... important distinction. Many of them are Warlocks

[@thepopemichael]

I'd 1000% watch a podcast on the D&D economy.

[@QuanChiKombat]

They have an episode on it

[@jacoboverstreet8553]

As a Baptist pastor, that into 🤣🤣

[@jabeck03]

I combined Avatar TLA and Highlander. There are 32 Divine Engines (clerics) and if your cleric kills one you get some of their power and the killed cleric gets reincarnated and starts over.

[@WebDM]

Badass

[@anthonynorman7545]

That's a really intriguing idea! It almost guarantees a fire nation like attack to maintain a sects power.

[@inkblotCrisis]

This is my jam. I'm currently playing a War Cleric that has the Soldier/Gladiator background with Aphrodite Areia as his diety, he provides worship to the goddess through 'Beautiful' deaths. He resuscitates/raises people back from 'crude' or 'unbecoming' deaths because it 'offends his aesthetics'.

[@robertoguedes9280]

Nice

[@valuebrandmelkor5973]

11:05 "is it like the hand of God, hovering above?"

[@matthewmurray8570]

Haven't gotten to watch the episode yet, but just wanted to say that this is the best thumbnail photoshop yet. Shadows and textures are great. I genuinely thought our guys had a bout of extreme piety.

[@TaberIV]

According to their comment, it's not a photoshop. They dressed up like this at D&D Live in 2019

[@TheKodiakDJ]

My favorite D&D character I've made is my Knowledge Cleric Athandyr. His god gives him glimpses of a potential future where everyone is granted the boon of a great education, they no longer need nor desire rulers to govern them, and even those that would end up the lowliest of laborers or the poorest of wretches in Athandyr's time would be liberated by wonders of magic/technology. So Athandyr goes about trying to make that future a reality, spreading knowledge and ending those who would threaten that future.

[@Cheddarcheesemonkey]

Easily my favorite intro yet

[@WebDM]

Thanks!

[@nkaketsis]

Really encourage you guys to read Matt Colville's Priest. Absolutely fantastic book about a very unique priest concept!

[@DrewHerrema]

Or a Kuo-toa style relationship. There is an event and by 1 in a million odds, they survive. The only explanation they can come up with for their survival is a god intervened. This belief creates an entity that bestows power onto them. As good and bad things happen they perceive the entity's motives differently, and as they perceive it differently they change the entity.

[@JnJake]

That intro is GOLD!!

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Our hired npc cleric was very shocked at the world. He was very sheltered. Brother love finally was able to deal out tough love after a few adventures. Brother love found out the world will try to eat you.

[@Grinnar]

Oh dang, I missed this one. Glad I caught it today. Pruitt being an evangelist is great.

[@deaconlasagna8570]

there have been so many times i've wanted to hype the malazan book of the fallen on these videos, and this seems extra pertinent. in the malazan world the gods with large organized followings have a trinatarian high priesthood. made up of a mortal sword, a shield anvil, and a destriant. The destriant (steed) communes directly with the god, wields divine magic, and can be possessed by the god to become an avatar. The mortal sword is the god's divine champion who honors the god through confrontation (as defined by the god's moral outlook) and is blessed with superhuman physical prowess (a little like the 3e divine champion prestige). The shield anvil's entire role is to bless the souls of the faithful dead and guide them back their god's plane, which serves as their afterlife (they also have the horrifying ability to deny blasphemer souls an afterlife). All of these roles would make great DND priest character concepts.

[@deaconlasagna8570]

malazan is the most epic fantasy series and it was world built for decades as a GURPS fantasy setting. written by a former archaeologist/anthropologist. it really seems up jim's alley, probably pruit's too. it's vaguely late antiquity (illiad inspired) but with a heavy dash of vietnam war fiction. the cultures are diverse and realistic, the mages draw power from portals to other planes contained within their bodies, dragons are found crucified by elder gods for mysterious reasons, and there is an ancient race of technologically advanced hive mind dinosaurs that sometimes have swords for hands. and that is the tip of the iceberg.

[@EricVulgaris]

just noticed how cool that webdm logo at the end is

[@WebDM]

So cool we put it on a t-shirt!

[@m.edwardmcnally6802]

Always throws me for a second when I get an ad for "Pruitt's Fine Furniture" on a Web DM video.

[@WebDM]

Haha

[@Drew-qs2wk]

In my homebrew campaign I have a cleric who is (1) a panda with a very cute voice I made up, (2) secretly a death cleric and the necromancer the party is trying to find, (3) not the only necromancer because it’s a death cult, but he’ll be the first one.

[@WebDM]

That's the freaking best

[@BuddaOnDaRoll]

This makes me think of my ranger who was a devout follower of lathander. I think it was super fun because it wasn't the arctypal personality/background for that class. I wonder what other combos like that there are

[@MrIrrationalSmith]

The sin-eater concept is *really* cool.

[@WebDM]

Thank you!

[@grimrider3807]

Fuck yes. Thank you two again for your awesome work.

[@WebDM]

Thanks Grim!

[@Danielsworlds]

I want to see like a warlock or sorcerer or Bard or some definitively not Divine Caster attribute powers to a god incorrectly and pray to them and worship them and act as though they were a cleric. Just entirely misunderstand the source of their powers

[@Bluecho4]

Bard as a Gospel Choir director.

[@Danielsworlds]

@@Bluecho4 he's running around saying if you all believed you can have power just like mine completely misunderstanding where his power comes from none of his disciples ever actually get magic of Their Own

[@kevinbaird6705]

I'm a militant Niner, and never thought to play an initially-reluctant Cleric like Sisko's Emissary mantle. Interesting.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

Chaos Cleric of Loki.

[@asdfsnfw3u4348]

Here’s a character concept, multiclassing with knowledge cleric 1 monster slayer 19. It has a witch hunter flavor when you mess around with feats and skills, tracking and recalling a monster’s background lore

[@crabmaster8174]

Love the Baptist joke! As a Christian its hilarious!

[@DaDunge]

14:00 Animism. I prefer this to the DnD cosmology a lot.

[@surplusvalue5497]

I would love an episode on D&D economics

[@josephtripp1696]

Speaking of the Oracle archetype, I always wanted the Theurgist to get revisited. The UA was too much into the "just take a class and give it subclass features from another class", but the priest-wizard hybrid had a lot of room to come up with a brand for itself, I think.

[@mcbunson]

I like thinking of the upper and lower planes as elemental planes of the alignments. These are not mundane planes with good/evil people in them. Everything in that plane is say lawful good as much as everything in the plane of fire is on fire.

[@keiths81ca]

Omg, that intro was funny

[@iratevagabond204]

I love the historical, historical fiction, and conspiracy Catholic church. Having a socio-political dominate priest caste that has huge influence over a geo-political and cultural sphere. Also loved the Confessors in the "Sword of Truth" series.

[@williamozier918]

Cleric idea...but I do not ever want to play this: A cleric who's god is an Atropol. The cleric has the demeanor and personality of a parent who has been kept up by a screaming baby that throws up on you every time you pick it up. So much like parents just try anything, anything to get their baby to go to sleep the cleric is wandering around all strung out looking for any act of devotion to appease its god so the damned thing will stop crying in his head all the time.

[@packmule1123]

Oh the baptist bit got me

[@WebDM]

Amen

[@andrewthegeek6522]

yeah i am baptist yelling amen during service is quite common

[@packmule1123]

@@andrewthegeek6522 also baptist, not as common here. Could be a regional or subsect thing.

[@packmule1123]

@@WebDM amen!

[@andrewthegeek6522]

@@packmule1123 perhaps

[@bryansmith844]

The Age of Guano has begun!

[@WebDM]

Hahaha oh no

[@MultiLaughingMan]

As alway, good video. Love thefact that you ruminate over roleplay. Most books and channels don't elaborate over this aspect. The first concept reminds me of the invoker class of 4e. A vesself for his god's power, a holy prophet, capable of opposing the official church of his god and their clerics who pray for their power. I love what Baker did with Eberron - the clerical magic comes from the act of faith in something - you can beleive in yourself and do magic. I don;t think that D&D does gods best or most realistic. This distinction goes to Runequest.

[@juliustausch7377]

Touching on godless clerics: I'm actually about to play one! And he's a nasty piece of work. He's basically a sort of medium to the ethereal plane. He was born on a night, where the boundaries were thin and has forever been close to spirits and how to control them. However he's not above killing to add to his collection of spirits, he's a pathological liar and grew up in a ruthless orc tribe with barely any sense of moral. He even looks somewhat ghostly. He's very slim and slight for a half orc. His skin is a light shade of grey and his eyes seem to shimmer with an eerie blue glow. Mechanically, he's a 6th Lvl Phantom Rogue, 3rd lvl Grave cleric with the Charlatan background. His con is moving around towns and villages, offering his service as a healer. But he only cures minor ailments, anything major, that's beyond his capabilities and he takes the easy way to gain a new soul - and poisons the sick. He carries around a whole bunch of holy symbols as part of his maskerade. While he actually casts spells out of his spirit bottles.

[@WebDM]

Fun concept, enjoy!

[@Greenknight3]

The fun thing about a priest, is that not every priest is a cleric. A warlock can be a priest, a paladin, a barbarian, heck even a rogue can be a priest. It's how you play it.

[@WorkingClassic]

Awesome stuff

[@WebDM]

Hallelujah

[@gabrielassaf9229]

Web DM! I summon you to fulfill your oath! In the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay video you said you were going to talk about 40k. I've been recently looking at Only War and was surprised to find a lot of similarities with WFRP's system. Will you eventually do a show on the Warhammer 40k Roleplay system? I would love to hear your thoughts on these games.

[@WebDM]

Gosh.... We'd need to play it again!! Sounds like fun

[@dougsundseth6904]

Most examples of RPG religions are explicitly polytheistic, but most authors treat them as if they were monotheistic. In particular, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" is a core monotheist belief. In polytheistic societies, priests serve (at least sometimes) single gods, but the vast majority of the population gives at least lip service to all of the gods. Note that this is true regardless of the moral leanings of the god or mortal, since one of the main reasons for offerings is to get the bad gods to look at those guys over there rather than "me". Offerings are generally seen as bribes or protection money and it's the job of the local priests to make sure that only the right kind of attention comes to the community. This also implies that there is no particular reason that the priest of an evil god couldn't be good. I could easily see a good priest dedicating his life to making sure the big bad evil god is correctly propitiated. On the other side of the scales, an evil priest could easily serve as a good god's representative, selling the favors of the god for whatever the traffic will bear.

[@ryanulrich2147]

Cadderly, my boy!

[@Darkwintre]

Which would apply to a vestigial deity the result of a Lantern Archon and the soul of an elven woman being bound together with an artefact that's used with a combination of others to create a new deity? The idea is that one part of this set was stolen at a crucial moment denying the bad guy his godhood, but eventually resulted in a new deity a Celestial Archon that serves Sehaine Moonbow a Vestigal Deity of Moonlight. Her Cleric's, Paladin's and Warlock's are called Followers of Kestra or Knights of Kestra depending on their personal choice with the Followers of Kestra commonly being Cleric's and the Knights of Kestra could be any class as its an actual order the only restriction is they serve Kestra (NG deity). Her ultimate objective is to destroy the Regalia of Chaos, which would be the only way to destroy the Orb of Resolve her resting place. This would mean Kestra would die and finally pass on, how this effects her faith isn't known, but as long as the Regalia exists all of creation is in peril and keeping the Orb of Resolve hidden is the only thing they can do for now as it requires the Regalia to be assembled and then its wearer to willingly destroy the Regalia which would also kill the wearer so a variation of Chosen One its just not the kind of fate anyone would expect a Chosen One to be facing. Does that qualify?

[@basementmadetapes]

Fave archetype for this would be Samson. Maybe a warlock dip and a homebrew (giant?) jawbone as a pact weapon

[@Bluecho4]

I see him as a Paladin (Heroism). He's got incredible power, but is bound by oaths he must follow, lest he lose those powers. (Granted, they were oaths sworn _for him_ before his birth, but it still applies).

[@whiskeyhound]

No need to homebrew a weapon, look up donkey jawbone, it's a club.

[@basementmadetapes]

@@Bluecho4 yeah. Could totally play him as a paladin. I see pacts as not that different tho. Just depends on the spin. A barb too but he needs high charisma for all the shit talking he do

[@basementmadetapes]

@@whiskeyhound yeah but I want that 1D8 giant one. Also, I did Google that weapon and all I saw were other homebrews / reflavours which is fine, but I didn't see anything official.

[@whiskeyhound]

@@basementmadetapes I meant an actual donkey jawbone, it's basically a club in a v shape. I'd just use the stats for a club or greatclub, since it's roughly the same size and would do bludgeoning damage like a donkey jawbone. You won't find anything official, even the old d&d books covering myths and religions steer clear of statting heroes like samson and hercules.

[@andrewthegeek6522]

I was relatively recently thinking about the divine and radiant energy and I had the thought of nuclear energy being called radiation. meet my new race the valt folk long ago within the fey wild a race of fey lived and grew some how they obtained the rage of a diety the war with clerics was harsh and the people built new weapons bombs to try and fend off the clerics and built shelters in which they could hide if raids got particularly deadly. clerics responded with the building of weapons channeling radiant energy into blasts (laser guns) and soon made their own bomb one containing an incredible amount of condensed radiant energy (a nuke) those hiding in the valts survived but the entire species was presumed dead. the is very obviously based to some extent off fallout but i´ve tried to make the race unique and interesting basing traditions on pre modern day Mexican culture describing their skin as a gradient of green and purple and any who live close to the valts door wither died or developed psyonics

[@paulh3892]

The Metagaming, 4th wall cleric's book of prayers should be an in-game PHB and your Holy Symbol should be polyhedral shapes. If you're gonna cheese, be the cheesiest!

[@Icagel0]

I'm literally going to play a character tomorrow that disguises as a priest, timing on this couldn't been better lol

[@WebDM]

Sounds fun!

[@Icagel0]

@@WebDM Working out pretty well! Party is a bit suspicious about my intentions but they 100% believe I'm a cleric lol thanks for the tips!

[@the_rose_garden01]

Amen

[@GuardianTactician]

The most important things for me to know when I am making a cleric are what gods exist, and what religions exist.

[@garrettdaly9893]

I want to play a dungeon priest. Leave a goody bag after clearing a dungeon. Small bag 5gp dagger a scroll with my god symbol and jar of preserved food. The god of the dungeon calls me to leave something for the next adventures or misfortunate.

[@MIB000DG]

When I ran Dungeon of the Mad Mage, it was Halaster's goal to become the God of Dungeons.

[@garrettdaly9893]

@@MIB000DG ok that's pretty cool. I haven't played or ran dungeon of the mad mage but I've seen the wild ass map of the dungeon lol

[@XDivi]

As someone playing a nonconventional cleric in our weekly game. This hits perfectly.

[@WebDM]

Nice!! Tell us about your character

[@XDivi]

@@WebDM Oh wow sure! So playing a knowledge cleric as we don't really have a wizard or arcane type of spellcaster, so he already is filling in the "intellectual" of the party that's usually reserved for the intelligence based characters. He's a race that is only just getting into the concept of recording their history and settling in permanent settlements with agriculture. His current goal is to live forever as he caught a glimpse of the afterlife and it scared him near to death. One of his eyes being fake, he uses his glass eye as an orb of scrying and for clairvoyance spells in order to spy on others and gather information. He's a lotta fun playing a brainiac instead of the usual combat orientated characters.

[@michaelbeal1400]

See.... a Pentacostal and a Baptist can get along.

[@Pimp.My.Forklift]

A cleric with trust issues that believes he's actually a warlock being tricked by a patron.