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On playing clerics in DnD
Dec. 12th, 2018 05:28 pm I just realized why I always find playing clerics (and to a lesser extent, paladins) less fulfilling than it feels like it's going to be at the start of a campaign. It's because what appeals to me about the concept of being a cleric (and other people can have totally different, equally good reasons) is the relationship between a cleric and their god.
There's a real foundation of loyalty and devotion to the god's ideals, but at the same time, gods are embodiments of abstract principles and clerics aren't, so there are going to be times when the cleric and the god want different things. And they need to negotiate that over the weird medium of prayers and powers and dice rolls and so forth. It's an intensely personal relationship with a being you basically never interact with directly. And, not being a religious person IRL, it's not the sort of thing I can get outside of games.
But the problem is, DnD gods are, you know, not real. Worse, they're even less real than the PCs or even the NPCs, who at least get screen time and people controlling them directly. The real Great Powers of the game world are the GM and the other players, none of whom are going to be as interested in the embodiment of an abstract principle as the person who decided to play a cleric. So while the GM might be deciding your god's reactions to things, their decisions will be based (and rightly so!) on what makes sense in the rules, makes for a good story, maintains PC power balance, etc. So there won't really be any there there, and the cleric's player ends up playing both ends of the relationship. Which, if you were looking to experiment with a new way of relating to a being other than yourself, is not really ideal.
There's a real foundation of loyalty and devotion to the god's ideals, but at the same time, gods are embodiments of abstract principles and clerics aren't, so there are going to be times when the cleric and the god want different things. And they need to negotiate that over the weird medium of prayers and powers and dice rolls and so forth. It's an intensely personal relationship with a being you basically never interact with directly. And, not being a religious person IRL, it's not the sort of thing I can get outside of games.
But the problem is, DnD gods are, you know, not real. Worse, they're even less real than the PCs or even the NPCs, who at least get screen time and people controlling them directly. The real Great Powers of the game world are the GM and the other players, none of whom are going to be as interested in the embodiment of an abstract principle as the person who decided to play a cleric. So while the GM might be deciding your god's reactions to things, their decisions will be based (and rightly so!) on what makes sense in the rules, makes for a good story, maintains PC power balance, etc. So there won't really be any there there, and the cleric's player ends up playing both ends of the relationship. Which, if you were looking to experiment with a new way of relating to a being other than yourself, is not really ideal.
