From: dseal@armltd.co.uk (David Seal)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Walking Bandages
Date: 7 Jan 93 15:58:13 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: A.R.M. Ltd, Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambs, UK

In article <1ib3lbINNba9@charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu>
pkralik@ecst.csuchico.edu (Wintermute) writes:

>Greetings!
>
>	I am in the process of creating a campaign, and as I was thinking of
>what I did and didn't like about AD&D, I reached this dilemma...
>
>I often play Clerics, and it seems that every time I do, I wind up in the 
>position of being viewed as the party's walking first aid kit.  I find that
>I am unable to be very creative with my PC's spell selection.  Anytime I take
>a non-healing spell, i.e. one i would like to experiment with, and we come 
>across a combat situation, I feel a little guilty about not having that extra
>CLW for the front line fighters, etc.  ...

Something I've found to be a good idea as a player: simply tell the rest of
the party members that in many cases, there are *better* first level cleric
spells than CLW. The most obvious example is Light: a Light spell cast
against an opponent can save your companions from more hits than a CLW could
possibly restore at a surprisingly low level.

But there are plenty of others. With some opponents, a suitable Command
spell can put the opponent out of action for the rest of the combat,
potentially saving a lot more than 8 hits of damage on your companions. (For
instance, Commanding an opponent to surrender will work well if someone can
tie him up in the next round; another useful option is commanding an
armour-wearing opponent to undress - it will take him a lot longer to put
his armour back on than it took him to take it off :-) If you can get a
Bless in at the start of a combat, it can be very effective. Create Water
can be effective against fiery opponents. Etc., etc., etc.

It can also be far more effective for a cleric to enter combat than to use a
round curing a fighter. After all, a CLW will probably only keep the fighter
in combat for another round or so: a fresh cleric in the front line can last
much longer than that. And if it's a choice between blocking a hole in the
front line or curing the fighter while the opposition start slaughtering
your side's magic-users, there's no contest...

Personally, I've found that the best strategy for clerics of about 5th level
upwards is only to carry 1 or 2 CLWs, which I keep back for emergencies -
i.e. either someone who has to be brought back to consciousness, or a
situation in which the party is in the sort of trouble where even one more
round from a good fighter is extremely valuable. Then I usually add some
good general purpose spells like Light and Command: usually at least one of
them will be useful.

It does help to run a fairly individualist/chaotic cleric when doing this:
it's much easier to be able to say "I am taking these spells, because they
are what *I* think is best for us" rather than e.g. having to persuade a
party leader to allow you to take them.

With regard to what you can do as GM: if a cleric PC starts to become a hit
point battery, have his mentor talk to him about effective use of his
spell-power next time he trains. Also, if you're using clerical spheres of
influence, look at the deity he worships: if it is anything other than a god
or goddess of healing, consider how well the cleric is furthering the aims
of the deity. If the over-emphasis on healing spells isn't really suitable,
deliver a warning or two - possibly starting with something as mild as the
mentor saying "Look, it's all very well helping our side along with cures.
But we worship the god of war: that means we should really be taking direct
action against the other side as well as helping our side. So why not Bless
our side before the fight starts, then take out a key enemy with a Light
spell?". If the hint isn't taken, make it clear the deity is of the same
view by starting to withhold the CLW spell...

Of course, if the deity the PC worships *is* a god of healing, this won't
work. But at least you then know that the player concerned *wants* to run a
hit point battery!

David Seal
dseal@armltd.co.uk

All opinions are mine only...
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd