Clerics, Deities, and change in alignment.

[Xuldarinar]

What would happen, at least in the context of a cleric or similar character, if a deity's alignment changes?

[Ssalarn]

What would happen, at least in the context of a cleric or similar character, if a deity's alignment changes?

The cleric would need to get on board with the alignment change, find a new god, or lose their abilities, assuming the alignment change puts them more than one step off of their deity's alignment.

[jedipilot24]

What would happen, at least in the context of a cleric or similar character, if a deity's alignment changes?

This happened once in the Forgotten Realms with Mystra, who went from Lawful Neutral to Neutral Good due to dying and being reborn in the Time of Troubles. The new Mystra continued to accept Lawful Neutral clerics so as not to alienate the old Mystra's clergy.

[With a box]

This happened once in the Forgotten Realms with Mystra, who went from Lawful Neutral to Neutral Good due to dying and being reborn in the Time of Troubles. The new Mystra continued to accept Lawful Neutral clerics so as not to alienate the old Mystra's clergy.

Isn't AD&D Mystra and 3.X Mystra(Midnight) two different person?

And kick to Lawful Evil clerics

[grarrrg]

What would happen, at least in the context of a cleric or similar character, if a deity's alignment changes?

The same thing that happens if the Cleric's alignment changes.

[hamishspence]

Isn't AD&D Mystra and 3.X Mystra(Midnight) two different person?


Yup - but there may be a bit of "personality bleedover" from the remnants of Old Mystra, that New Mystra (originally the mortal mage Midnight) absorbed.

"Mystryl" was CN, died with Karsus's Avatar being cast, thousands of years before the Time of Troubles, and was reborn, as "Mystra" (LN). Like in the Time of Troubles example - a mortal mage was the vessel:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Mystryl
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Mystra



And kick to Lawful Evil clerics

If you go by 3.0 Faiths and Pantheons, LE and LN clerics of "Old Mystra" still get spells. However, most have either changed alignment or stopped worshipping Mystra.

[Clistenes]

Deities would probably quickly discard clerics with polar opposite alignments to their own (as, a LG deity discarding a CE cleric), but would keep the rest of the clergy for some time (for example, a LG deity keeping N clerics).

I think the deity would keep supplying spells to all the clerics for a time so as not to cripple the church, but it would gradually discard clerics of the wrong alignments once it gets enough priests of the appropiate alignment.

[Xuldarinar]

Expanding upon things:

If a deity changes alignment, its not unlikely they will change domains. How will this effect their clerics? What other effects would a deity changing alignment have?

[Spore]

In our homebrew world, a god recently switched from LN to LG (LG god corrupted and purified). His LE followers instantly lost all power and as his tenets changed, so did a good bunch of hardlining LN clerics. A civil war broke out (with a lot of high level clerics of said deity gone) splitting the empire in two. Basically traditionalists (with no or few clerics) vs. reformers (with more clerics and younger NG ones).

[goto124]

There's also the question of why the god(dess) changed alignment... It's not nearly as easy as a mortal doing the same thing.

[Bullet06320]

Heretic of the Faith Feat from Power of Faerûn would solve any problems

[Milo v3]

There's also the question of why the god(dess) changed alignment... It's not nearly as easy as a mortal doing the same thing.

I think that depends on whether deities are made of alignment or not.