Dual-theistic Clerics?

[Wings of Peace]

I'm aware that Clerics aren't allowed to worship deities they are more than one step away from on the alignment meter, but is there an actual rule anywhere that prevents a Cleric from worshiping a set of deities they meet the alignment requirements for instead of just one?

[gkathellar]

I don't know that it's ever made explicit, but it's certainly implicit in the fact that you choose your domains from your Patron deity.

(Anecdotal: A DM once let me run a Cleric of Wee-jas/Olidammara, based on the Dragon article claiming that they're tsundere for each other. My character was such a jerk ... :smallbiggrin:)

[Greenish]

In Eberron you can be a cleric of a pantheon or a smaller grouping of deities (such as Three Faces of War, which has two war gods from Sovereign Host and one from Dark Six).

[Edit]: Of course, Eberron doesn't have alignment restrictions for clerics anyhow, which is how you worship both the LG god of Honour, Sacrifice and Light and NE god of Dishonour, Murder and Terror.

[Urpriest]

I don't know that it's ever made explicit, but it's certainly implicit in the fact that you choose your domains from your Patron deity.

(Anecdotal: A DM once let me run a Cleric of Wee-jas/Olidammara, based on the Dragon article claiming that they're tsundere for each other. My character was such a jerk ... :smallbiggrin:)

Norebo=/=Olidammara, AFAIK. If this is the article I'm thinking of. All gods of rogues are not automatically the same.

And yeah, there are rules for worshipping a pantheon, both in Eberron and earlier (Deities and Demigods, and maybe from the Faerunian local pantheons?). Presumably you can have a pantheon of just two gods, allowing a dual-deity cleric.

[Yora]

I think the main restrictive factor is the setting the campaign takes place in. In Forgotten Realms, all clerics and druids serve a single deity (and must serve a deity), while in Eberron you can serve pantheons.
As long as you take only two domains, there is no mechanical reason not to serve more than one deity. It should just fit with the religions of the deities you serve.

[darksolitaire]

Complete Divine, page 6.

Clerics can serve pantheons and pick their domains from all of the domains from the pantheon. His alignment must match one of the pantheon's gods, and he can only choose alignment domains matching himself.

What does and does not constitute a pantheon is pretty much up to DM in most cases.

[Luckmann]

Depends entirely on the setting.

I think it's entirely reasonable to be a generalist priest of a pantheon, rather than a very specific diety.

[Inferno]

I think it's entirely reasonable to be a generalist priest of a pantheon, rather than a very specific diety.

There's several examples of this in eberron as well, as well as a prc devoted to the entire sovereign host which picks up a whole whack of domains from across the pantheon.

[Ravens_cry]

One way you could do this is to make what is technically an Ideals cleric and pick domains that are from your chosen deities and fluff it as having both as a Patron.
Personally, I've always had good clerics venerate all the gods, worshipping the good and most neutral ones, just giving special attention to their patron deity, the one who gives them the powers.
It's a pantheon after all.

[Wings of Peace]

I think the main restrictive factor is the setting the campaign takes place in. In Forgotten Realms, all clerics and druids serve a single deity (and must serve a deity), while in Eberron you can serve pantheons.
As long as you take only two domains, there is no mechanical reason not to serve more than one deity. It should just fit with the religions of the deities you serve.

Doesn't Faerun have The Triad of Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater? Or do Clerics still only specialize in one of the three?

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Doesn't Faerun have The Triad of Tyr, Torm, and Ilmater? Or do Clerics still only specialize in one of the three?

As far as Faerun goes, the Faiths and Pantheons book actually lists all the pantheons and the gods therein. Of course, those pantheons are pretty broad with the "main" pantheon consisting of basically all nonracial, nonmonstrous deities.:smallamused:

[Silva Stormrage]

It would be similar to championing a "cause" instead of worshiping a god. Only your cause is supporting that group of gods :smallbiggrin:.

[Hiro Protagonest]

In Eberron you can be a cleric of a pantheon or a smaller grouping of deities (such as Three Faces of War, which has two war gods from Sovereign Host and one from Dark Six).

[Edit]: Of course, Eberron doesn't have alignment restrictions for clerics anyhow, which is how you worship both the LG god of Honour, Sacrifice and Light and NE god of Dishonour, Murder and Terror.

What book is that in? I only know you can worship the Sovereign Host as a NG entity. Also, aren't the three war gods siblings? Though I'm pretty sure the evil one is half-brother to the other two.

[Greenish]

What book is that in? I only know you can worship the Sovereign Host as a NG entity. Also, aren't the three war gods siblings? Though I'm pretty sure the evil one is half-brother to the other two.Three Faces of War has it's "pantheon entry" in City of Stormwind, and is mentioned in a few other places, if my memory serves. And yes, Dol Dorn, Dol Arrah and Dol Azur (The Mockery) were siblings.

[Edit]: It's on page 77. The Three Faces is an old sect dedicated to the war deities, and most popular among Rekkenmark's students.

[Callista]

Why not? It'd be mechanically identical to "cleric of a cause". Your deities would have to be allied, of course.

[hamishspence]

I think the main restrictive factor is the setting the campaign takes place in. In Forgotten Realms, all clerics and druids serve a single deity (and must serve a deity), while in Eberron you can serve pantheons.
As long as you take only two domains, there is no mechanical reason not to serve more than one deity. It should just fit with the religions of the deities you serve.

Even in the Realms, there's a certain amount of flexibility. A cleric might be a cleric of one deity, but serving another. In Champions of Valor, there's a cleric of Helm, serving Gorm the dwarven deity (or is it the other way around?)

I think pantheons may be an option as well in some cases (the Mulhorandi pantheon?)

[Wings of Peace]

Why not? It'd be mechanically identical to "cleric of a cause". Your deities would have to be allied, of course.

The difference is that, unless I'm mistaken, A Lawful Neutral Cleric could be both an Initiate of Mystra and an Initiate of Bahamut.

[NecroRick]

What book is that in? I only know you can worship the Sovereign Host as a NG entity. Also, aren't the three war gods siblings? Though I'm pretty sure the evil one is half-brother to the other two.

Sovereign Speaker, Faiths of Eberron. 7/9 divine casting, with an extra domain at each level, and extra domain slots (3/5/7) at 3/6/9.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Sovereign Speaker, Faiths of Eberron. 7/9 divine casting, with an extra domain at each level, and extra domain slots (3/5/7) at 3/6/9.

...What? I was asking where Three Faces of War was.

[TheRinni]

Not quite the same, but:

I once knew a Cleric of Heironeous who simply adored, and loved all the gods. Not every god was his patron, but he paid each one respect and homage. One of my favorite RP moments to date is when he knelt down and prayed Nerull after killing a handful of undead, to thank him for the worthy adversaries.

[dextercorvia]

The difference is that, unless I'm mistaken, A Lawful Neutral Cleric could be both an Initiate of Mystra and an Initiate of Bahamut.



No character can have more than one initiate feat, since such a feat presumes a deep level of commitment to a single deity.

You can worship a Pantheon and be devoted to a single deity, but you can't be consumed by two different deities.

[Ravens_cry]

Not quite the same, but:

I once knew a Cleric of Heironeous who simply adored, and loved all the gods. Not every god was his patron, but he paid each one respect and homage. One of my favorite RP moments to date is when he knelt down and prayed Nerull after killing a handful of undead, to thank him for the worthy adversaries.

I don't think I have gone that far, but I did have a Paladin of Iomedae (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Iomedae) give forth praise unto Desna (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Desna) for giving an artist the inspiration for a mural of surpassing beauty made in Her honour.

[Wings of Peace]

You can worship a Pantheon and be devoted to a single deity, but you can't be consumed by two different deities.

That answers the root of my question, thank you Dexter.

[Alaris]

A character in a game I'm playing in (former character) was a Cleric of Apollo/Aphrodite... and it was quite terrifying.

On the plus side, when he was forced to give up Apollo, he still retained his Cleric powers due to Aphrodite also being his patron deity.

All-in-All, I think there's nothing wrong with it, as long as the two god's Dogmas and whatnot match...