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How to Play a Cleric in Pathfinder

Pathfinder is an adaptation of Dungeons &Dragons 3.5 that is designed to make the traditional character classes--cleric, fighter, thief, paladin and mage--as powerful as some of the specialty classes added by later supplements to the game. The revisions significantly change a priest or cleric from the D&D incarnation into a much more useful part of the game, by adding new powers and making healing easier. Just as in D&D, a cleric is an important part of any gaming group, but in Pathfinder, the cleric is more than just healing magic on the hoof.

Things You'll Need

Pathfinder Alpha Edition
Dice
Dungeons &Dragons Players' Handbook
Character sheet

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a god. The game system has some generic dieties, or you can use any of the gods from any of the Dungeons &Dragons supplements your dungeon master will allow. The important thing to consider in choosing your god is what domains that god grants you. In Pathfinder, instead of giving you an extra spell from your chosen domains, the domains a cleric has give him extra domain abilities.
- 2
  Pick your domains. Every god has several domains in which he has more power, but as a cleric, you can only choose two of your god's domains. In these two, you will receive the granted power of that domain. The Healing domain was always popular in Dungeons &Dragons, but is less powerful in Pathfinder. Among the best domains are Sun and Good. The Sun domain grants clerics the ability to harm the undead more effectively, and the Good domain lets the first-level cleric offer a "luck" bonus to anyone once a day.
- 3
  Start with good feats. Spell-casting proficiency is always a good feat for any spellcaster. For a cleric in Pathfinder, extra turning and quickened turning are very good feats to have. One of the changes in Pathfinder is that clerics can use their turning ability to heal. Instead of just turning undead, the turning ability is now "channel positive energy" and heals all living creatures within the radius of its effect. Since this healing is in addition to healing spells, clerics should maximize this ability.
- 4
  After wisdom, consider charisma as a primary stat. Since the number of times per day that you can channel positive energy is based on your charisma modifier, being a prettier priest means you are able to heal your party more often.
- 5
  Pick a good weapon. Humans are considered to be proficient with all martial weapons, so unless your chosen deity has an exotic weapon, most priests can now swing a weapon much more effectively than in Dungeons &Dragons. While you still don't want your priest to be a front-line fighter, the priest can now hit things, especially at lower levels.

Role Playing Games