Cleric

The handiwork of the gods is everywhere – in places of natural beauty, in mighty crusades, in soaring temples, and in the hearts of worshipers. Like people, gods run the gamut from benevolent to malicious, reserved to intrusive, simple to inscrutable. The gods, however, work mostly through intermediaries – their clerics. Good clerics heal, protect, and avenge. Evil clerics pillage, destroy, and sabotage. A cleric uses the power of his god to make the god’s will manifest. And if a cleric uses his god’s power to improve his own lot, that’s to be expected, too.

Adventures

Ideally, a cleric’s adventures support his god’s causes, at least in a general way. A good cleric, for example, helps those in need. If, through noble acts, he can improve the reputation of his god or temple, that’s even better. An evil cleric seeks to increase his own power and that of his deity, so that others will respect and fear both.

Clerics sometimes receive orders, or at least suggestions, from their ecclesiastical superiors, directing them to undertake missions for the church. The clerics and their companions are compensated fairly for these missions, and the church may be especially generous with the casting of needed spells or divine magic items as payment.

Of course, clerics are people too, and may have any or all of the common motivations for adventuring as well.

Characteristics

Clerics are masters of divine magic, which is especially good at healing. Even an inexperienced cleric can bring people back from the brink of death, and an experienced cleric can bring back people who have crossed over that brink.

As channelers of divine energy, clerics can affect undead creatures. A good cleric can destroy undead; an evil cleric can heal such creatures under his control.

Clerics have some combat training. They can use simple weapons, and they are trained in the use of armor, since armor does not interfere with their spells the way it does with chromatic and other arcane spells.

Alignment

Like the gods they serve, clerics can be of any alignment. Because people more readily worship good deities than neutral or evil ones, there are more good clerics than evil clerics. Clerics also tend toward law instead of chaos, since lawful religions tend to be more structured and better able to recruit and train clerics than chaotic ones.

Typically, a cleric is the same alignment as his deity, though some clerics are one step away from their respective deities in alignment. For example, most clerics of the Barachiel, god of life, valor, and holiness (who is a lawful good god), are lawful good, but some are lawful neutral or neutral good. Additionally, a cleric may not be neutral (that is, neutral on both the ethical and moral axes) unless his deity is also neutral.

Religion

Every reasonably well-known deity has clerics devoted to him or her, so clerics can be of any religion. The deity most commonly worshipped by human clerics in civilized lands is Meyne (god of goodness). The majority of nonhuman clerics are devoted to the god thought responsible for their race. Most clerics are officially ordained members of religious organizations, commonly called churches. Each has sworn to uphold the ideals of his church.

Background

Most clerics join their churches as young adults, though some are devoted to a god’s service from a young age, and a few feel the call later in life. While some clerics are tightly bound to their churches’ activities on a daily basis, others have more freedom to conduct their lives as they please, so long as they do so in accordance with their gods’ wishes.

Clerics of a given religion are all supposed to get along, though schisms within a church are often more bitter than conflicts between religions. Clerics who share some basic ideals, such as goodness or lawfulness, may find common cause with each other and see themselves as part of an order or body that supersedes any given religion. Clerics of opposed goals, however, are sworn enemies. In civilized lands, open warfare between religions occurs only during civil wars and similar social upheavals, but vicious politicking between opposing churches is common.

Races

All the common races are represented in this class, since the need for religion and divine magic is universal. The clerics of most races, however, are too focused on their religious duties to undertake an adventurer’s life. Crusading, adventuring clerics most often come from the human and dwarf races.

Other Classes

In an adventuring party, the cleric is everybody’s friend and often the glue that holds the party together. As the one who can channel divine energy, a cleric is a capable healer, and adventurers of every class appreciate being put back together after they’ve taken some hard knocks. Mostly, though, the religion of a cleric determines how he gets along with others.

Game Rule Information

Abilities: All clerics are served well by having a high Wisdom, which is the key ability for their spellcasting and therefore determines bonus spells and spell save DCs. A high Charisma assists the cleric’s channel energy ability as well as several skills. Having good Constitution and Strength scores help a cleric in melee combat.

Hit Die: d8.

Starting Gold: 5d4 x 10 gp.

Starting Age: Complex (+40% of adulthood).

Class Skills: The following are the class skills (and the key ability for each) of the cleric class: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Domains and Class Skills: Clerics may gain additional class skills based on their domains. See Deities & Immortals for more information.

Skill Points: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: The Cleric

Level	Base Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Spells, Domain Faith Points, Channel Energy 1d6
2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Clerical Order Ability
3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Channel Energy 2d6
4	+3	+1	+1	+4
5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Clerical Order Ability, Channel Energy 3d6
6	+4	+2	+2	+5
7	+5	+2	+2	+5	Channel Energy 4d6
8	+6/+1	+2	+2	+6	Clerical Order Ability
9	+6/+1	+3	+3	+6	Channel Energy 5d6
10	+7/+2	+3	+3	+7
11	+8/+3	+3	+3	+7	Clerical Order Ability, Channel Energy 6d6
12	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8
13	+9/+4	+4	+4	+8	Channel Energy 7d6
14	+10/+5	+4	+4	+9	Clerical Order Ability
15	+11/+6/+1	+5	+5	+9	Channel Energy 8d6
16	+12/+7/+2	+5	+5	+10
17	+12/+7/+2	+5	+5	+10	Clerical Order Ability, Channel Energy 9d6
18	+13/+8/+3	+6	+6	+11
19	+14/+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Channel Energy 10d6
20	+15/+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Clerical Order Ability

Class Features

The following are the class features of the cleric class:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Clerics are proficient with all simple weapons, with light and medium armors, and shields. Every deity has a favored weapon based on his portfolios (see Domains), and his or her clerics consider it a point of pride to wield that weapon. A cleric who chooses the War domain receives the Weapon Focus feat related to that weapon as a bonus feat. He also receives the appropriate Martial Weapon Proficiency feat as a bonus feat, if the weapon falls into that category.

Aura (Ex)

A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful alignment has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the alignment (see the detect evil spell for details).

Domain

A cleric’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. At 1^st level, a cleric chooses a domain from among those belonging to his deity.

A domain gives the cleric access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1^st on up, as well as a granted power.

At 10th and 19th levels a cleric gains one extra domain from those granted by his deity.

Spellcasting

A cleric casts divine spells, which are drawn from the cleric spell list.

A 1st-level cleric knows all 0-level cleric spells from Player's Handbook and 5 1st-level cleric spells. As soon as he gains access to a new level of spells, he instantly learns 5 spells from that level. A cleric can also learn new spells the same way a wizard does, with the following exceptions:

The cleric pays only half the cost for learning a new spell. That money is used as an offering to a deity (it should not be gold at all, but instead items of value to the deity that cost equal amount of gold). The cleric prays for new spells in a place sacred to his deity. Prayer must take 1 hour per spell level and cannot be interrupted. If it is, it must be performed again, but the offerings are not lost. The cleric does not need to write down the new spell. He simply knows it from now on, just like a sorcerer that gained a new spell known. The cleric needs no teacher, nor can he learn new spells from scrolls or spellbooks.

Similarly to a sorcerer, a cleric can use a scroll or other spell-completion item if he does not know the spell but the spell is on the cleric list.

Whenever a cleric gains a new domain, he automatically learns all spells granted by that domain.

Whenever a cleric gains an ability to cast spells spontaneously, she adds those spells to her spells known. All clerics cast cure spells spontaneously.

Otherwise same as in Player’s Handbook.

Table: Cleric Spells Per Day

Caster Level	Spells Per Day
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1st	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
8th	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-
9th	5	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
10th	5	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-	-
11th	5	5	4	4	3	2	1	-	-	-
12th	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	-	-	-
13th	6	5	5	4	4	3	2	1	-	-
14th	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	-	-
15th	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2	1	-
16th	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	-
17th	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2	1
18th	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	2
19th	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	2
20th	7	7	6	6	5	5	4	4	3	3

Faith Points

Every cleric is a devoted servant of his deity, and draws power from this devotion. The strength of his faith and his deity’s favor is measured with faith points. A cleric has number of faith points equal to half his cleric level + Charisma bonus. He can spend one faith point as a swift action to do one of the following:

- Re-roll a failed Concentration or Heal check.

- Add a +2 divine bonus on a saving throw. This must be done before the save is made.

- Stabilize self when in negative hit points (even if unconscious).

In addition, many cleric abilities require, or allow, the cleric to spend faith points for a variety of effects (such as the Channel Energy ability).

A cleric cannot use the same effect requiring expenditure of faith points more than once per round.

Faith points are recovered on a daily basis, when the cleric’s spells are.

Channel Energy (Su)

Regardless of alignment, any cleric can release a wave of energy by channeling the power of his faith through his holy (or unholy) symbol. This energy can be used to cause or heal damage, depending on the type of energy channeled and the creatures targeted.

A good cleric (or a neutral cleric who worships a good deity) channels positive energy and can choose to deal damage to undead creatures or to heal living creatures. An evil cleric (or a neutral cleric who worships an evil deity) channels negative energy and can choose to deal damage to living creatures or to heal undead creatures. A neutral cleric of a neutral deity (or one who is not devoted to a particular deity) must choose whether he channels positive or negative energy. Once this choice is made, it cannot be reversed. This decision also determines whether the cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see spontaneous casting).

Channeling energy causes a burst that affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the cleric. The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels beyond 1st (2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th, and so on). Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the cleric's level + the cleric's Charisma modifier. Creatures healed by channel energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost. Channeling energy costs 1 faith point. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A cleric can choose whether or not to include himself in this effect.

A cleric must be able to present his holy symbol to use this ability.

Order

At 2^nd level, a cleric must decide what order he belongs to, or in other words, what his position and role within his religion is. This choice determines special abilities the cleric gets at 2^nd level and at every 3 levels thereafter. The orders are: chaplains, exorcists, friars, healers, and zealots.

Chaplain

Chaplains are the clerics who serve in the armed forces of their church. They perform a vital role in battles and holy wars, bolstering troops and protecting them from harm. The chaplain’s place in on the battlefield, and he has many ways to make otherwise feeble combatants strong enough to turn the tide of the battle.

Battle Bless (Su): At 2^nd level, all creatures affected by cleric’s bless spell also gain s +2 morale bonus on Fortitude saves. When casting bless, a cleric can spend 1 faith point to grant fear immunity to the spell’s subjects.

The cleric can cast bless spontaneously.

Blessing of Protection (Su): At 5^th level, all creatures affected by the cleric’s bless or aid spells also gain a +1 morale bonus on all saving throws. When casting bless or aid, a cleric can spend 1 faith point to improve that bonus to +2 for the spell’s duration.

The cleric can cast aid spontaneously.

Live and Let Die (Su): At 8^th level, a cleric is rewarded by his divine patron for helping his allies in battle. For every 10 points of damage a cleric deals to any opponent in a round, a cleric heals all allies within 10 feet of himself for 1 point of damage. If a cleric damages more than one opponent, only the one that took the most damage counts for the purpose of this healing.

The cleric can cast magic weapon spontaneously.

Deliver from Harm (Su): At 11^th level, all creatures affected by the cleric’s bless or aid spells also gain 5 temporary hit points. When casting bless or aid, a cleric can spend 1 faith point to improve that value to 15 hit points.

Ever-Prepared (Ex): At 14^th level, a cleric can spend 1 faith point as a swift action to be able to cast the bless spell without expending any spell slots, but at half of his normal caster level. This ability lasts for 10 minutes.

Ever-Vigilant (Ex): At 17^th level, a cleric can spend 1 faith point as a swift action to be able to cast the aid spell without expending any spell slots, but at half of his normal caster level. This ability lasts for 10 minutes.

Blessing of Immortality (Su): At 20^th level, all creatures affected by the cleric’s bless or aid spells also gain damage reduction 5/-. When casting bless or aid, a cleric can spend 2 faith points to improve this DR to 10/-.

Exorcist

Exorcists turn and banish outsiders, employ protections and wards against otherworldly threats, and free people from mind-controlling magic or monsters.

Free Will (Ex): At 2^nd level, a cleric gains a +4 morale bonus against mind-affecting effects and spells. If under any such effect, a cleric can spend one faith point to make a new Will save in place of the old failed one. He can attempt this activity even if unconscious or under total control (treat it as sort of divine intervention), but no more often than once per round.

Banish the Otherworldly (Ex): At 5^th level, a cleric gains a +4 competence bonus on Spellcraft checks to correctly identity a Conjuration spell cast by an opponent. In addition, a cleric can use any spell to counterspell a spell from the Conjuration school (but the spell used by cleric must be of the same or higher level).

The cleric can spontaneously cast protection from chaos/evil/good/law spells.

Exorcism (Su): At 8^th level, by touching a creature under effects of a mind-affecting spell or effect, or under a possession (see Book of Vile Darkness), a cleric can spend one faith point to allow the creature another Will save. If the effect doesn’t allow a Will save the ability has no effect. Using this ability is a full-round action.

The cleric can spontaneously cast magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law spells.

Expose Lurkers (Su): At 11^th level, a cleric can make ethereal and incorporeal creatures within 60 ft. vulnerable to material world threats. If he spends one faith point as a swift action, all such creatures can be affected by spells and attacks until the end of round as if they didn’t have their respective qualities.

Sphere of Preservation (Ex): At 14^th level, whenever a cleric casts protection from chaos/evil/good/law or magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, he can spend 1 faith point. If he does, the duration and all bonuses granted by that spell are doubled.

Sterilize Planar Boundary (Su): At 17^th level, a cleric makes it hard for other creatures to arrive on his plane. While the cleric is on his native plane, all creatures attempting to enter that plane within 50 feet of the cleric must make a level check (character level or HD + d20) against a DC equal to (cleric’s level +10). If they fail the check, their attempt is unsuccessful (any spells or charges used to do so are expended), and they are forbidden to try again for 1 minute.

Free Will of the People (Su): At 20^th level, a cleric’s bonus from his free will ability expands to all allies within 10 feet. A cleric can spend 2 faith points as an immediate action to give all allies within 10 feet immunity to mind-affecting spells and effects until the beginning of his next turn.

Friar

Friars are the thinkers and philosophers of divine teachings. By studying deific teachings and dogmas, they unlock the wonders of powerful divine magic. Friars spend much time praying, meditating, or otherwise trying to reach their gods.

Piety (Su): At 2^nd level, a cleric gains +2 insight bonus on saves against divine spells and against spell-like abilities of outsiders. He can also spend 1 faith point as a move action to extend this bonus to all allies within 30 feet for 10 minutes. Allies that leave the area lose the effect until they reenter the area.

The cleric can spontaneously cast the resistance spell.

Fasting (Su): At 5^th level, a cleric can deprive himself of food to forge his body and mind into a unfailing tool to his deity’s cause. He gains a +4 divine bonus on saves against poison, fatigue, exhaustion, and fear. He can also spend 1 faith point as a move action to extend this bonus to all allies within 30 feet for 10 minutes. Allies that leave the area lose the effect until they reenter the area.

Aura of Tranquility (Su): At 8^th level, a cleric can stop strife for a short period of time. By spending a faith point as a full-round action, he can force all creatures within 60 feet (including any creature that enters the area) to cease all hostile actions until the beginning of cleric’s next round. Only creatures with divine ranks are immune to this effect.

The cleric can spontaneously cast the calm emotions and sanctuary spells.

True Piety (Su): At 11^th level, a cleric gains spell resistance of 15 + his cleric level against divine spells and against the spell-like abilities of outsiders.

Share Burden (Ex): At 14^th level, whenever a cleric casts a spell with an exp cost on a willing subject, he may pay only half the cost and make the subject pay the other half. If the subject doesn’t decide to pay her share, the cleric takes full cost.

The cleric can spontaneously cast the lesser restoration, restoration and greater restoration spells.

Deific Agent (Su): At 17^th level, a cleric enjoys the great favor his deity expands upon him. When wearing a habit and no armor, the cleric gains a deflection bonus to AC equal to half his cleric level + his Charisma bonus (if positive).

Revelation (Su): At 20^th level, the cleric receives a sudden revelation about his deity’s true nature and goals. By spending one faith point, he can spontaneously cast all domain spells he knows for one minute.

Healer

A healer’s goal in service to his deity is to provide protection and healing. Healers are present in all religions, but more common in those of good alignment, since the compassion is large part of those faiths.

Healing Trance (Su): At 2^nd level, a cleric is rewarded by his deity when helping others. Whenever he successfully casts a spell (or activates a spell-completion item) that heals at least 1 point of damage per cleric level to another character, the cleric gains a +1 morale bonus on all d20 rolls, saves, and AC for the remainder of the encounter. This bonus can stack up to an amount equal to the cleric's Wisdom modifier.

Remedy (Su): At 5^th level, a cleric can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. By spending one faith point and touching a willing subject as a standard action, he heals a number of hit points equal to his total skill bonus in the Heal skill. Remedy can trigger the Healing Trance ability.

Burst of Vitality (Su): At 8^th level, whenever a cleric successfully casts a spell (or activates a spell-completion item) that heals at least 1 point of damage, the cleric instantly recovers a number of hit points equal to his total skill bonus in the Heal skill (including all ability score bonuses, ranks, and miscellaneous bonuses). The Remedy ability cannot activate this ability.

Invigorate (Su): At 11^th level, a cleric is rewarded by his deity when helping others. Whenever he successfully casts a spell (or activates a spell-completion item) that heals at least 1 point of damage per cleric level to another character, the cleric gains a +2 divine bonus on the DC of all spells he casts until the end of the encounter. This bonus can stack up to an amount equal to the cleric's class level.

Time Heal (Su): At 14^th level, a cleric is rewarded by his deity for the time sacrificed to heal others. Whenever he successfully casts a spell (or activates a spell-completion item) that heals at least 1 point of damage to another character, the cleric can spend a faith point to gain an extra standard action in the same round. This standard action can be used to cast another spell.

Greater Healing Trance (Su): At 17^th level, a cleric is greatly rewarded by his deity when helping others. the bonus gained by the Healing Trance ability is increased to +2 instead of +1.

Fountain of Healing (Su): At 20^th level, a cleric’s body becomes so infused with healing energies that they heal him constantly. A cleric gains fast healing 2. He can spend 2 faith points as a swift action to heal himself of all ill effects that can be removed with the heal spell.

Zealot

Zealots are fanatical followers of their faith. They drive themselves to a state of frenzy to destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with their outlook. Zealots are stubborn, ardent, and hardly open-minded. To become a zealot, the cleric cannot be neutral in any alignment axis.

Zeal (Ex)(Su): At 2^nd level, a cleric can enter a fanatical state of mind whenever confronted with a character who disagrees with zealot’s agenda or interferes with his activities. Even if he doesn’t want to enter zeal, a cleric participating in combat must make a Wisdom check (DC 15) each round or activate this ability. While in zeal, a cleric gains a +2 morale bonus to Strength, immunity to mind-affecting spells and effects, damage reduction 3/magic, and spell resistance of 5 + cleric level. Those bonuses are the supernatural part of this ability. Every round in this state, a cleric must attempt to attack (in melee) any creature within 100 feet he perceives as a foe. A zealot who has less than 50% of his hit points may exit the state of zeal as a swift action once per round by spending one faith point, but if does so, he loses the ability to enter zeal for the next 24 hours. Otherwise it ends naturally whenever he runs out of perceived threats.

God Guide My Hand (Ex): At 5^th level, a cleric in zeal gains a +1 morale bonus on all attack rolls. He can spend one faith point as a swift action to improve that bonus to +3 until the end of his round.

Tantrum (Ex): At 8^th level, a cleric doesn’t notice his wounds when in religious fervor. When in zeal, he can act normally when at zero or negative hit points and he ignores the effects of Strength and Dexterity score damage and drain (those abilities are still reduced, but the zealot ignores those reductions as long as he is in zeal). A cleric still dies at negative hit points equal to his Constitution score and still becomes disabled when his Strength or Dexterity reaches 0, as normal.

God Be My Judge (Ex): At 11^th level, a cleric in zeal is immune to all spells and effects that have increased or specific effect against creatures with specific alignment.

God Give Me Strength (Ex): At 14^th level, a cleric in zeal adds +2 to the DC of all his spells. He can spend one faith point as a swift action to improve that bonus to +4 until end of round.

Madman’s Determination (Su): At 17^th level, whenever a cleric in zeal kills an opponent with no fewer than 2 Hit Dice less than his cleric level, he restores one faith point.

Channel Deific Wrath (Su): At 20^th level, a cleric can channel his deity’s anger through a melee attack or a spell to make a devastating strike at a foe. As a swift action and by spending 2 faith points, a cleric chooses a creature within 100 feet and his deity determines if that creature is in conflict with the deity’s religion enough to strike it down (DM’s call). If it is, a cleric adds his class level to attack and damage rolls with his next melee attack against that creature, or he adds ½ of his class level to the DC and level-dependent effects of the next spell he casts that affects that creature (if the spell affects more creatures, this ability makes the spell more potent only against the intended target). If either a melee attack or a spell isn’t performed within 2 rounds, the ability ends.