Cleric changing deity: domain change?

[The Shadowdove]

Hey folks,

I ran into a question after one of our sessions that I wanted your opinion on.

The party's cleric was converted to a different deity. Part of this has to do with the fact that his god was killed and the portfolio had yet to be picked up / won by another god.

The problem being that the god he was worshipping was a god of war and destruction. The current god is a deity of intelligence and intrigue.

Would you allow your player to forget all of their class abilities and spells upon taking up the cause and domains of a different deity?

The player, since his characters background and mannerisms were more akin to the new faith anyway, was allowed to change in my game.

He has lost all abilities gained by one domain in exchange for the other. It's like a distant memory to his character, as he adapts to the new ones.

I wouldn't allow this for most other classes. However, due to the nature of how clerics gain their power, we all agreed to let it happen. With the soft rule that a cleric character has to have good reason to do so, and it isn't always going to be an option as it should be a meaningful change of belief and not a habit.

Discuss

Thank you in advance,

Dove

[MasterMercury]

If there is a good in game reason, it think it's a good idea. Especially for Clerics, who derive all of their power from their god. I think you did the right thing.

[Flashy]

This all seems perfectly reasonable to me.

[MinotaurWarrior]

I'd definitely consider it. I also think it sounds like a great adventure hook.

I like randomness, so I might consider making it contingent on divine intervention, and maybe allowing extra rolls in exchange for rolls on the bad part of the WM surge table.

I'd also consider making their old holy symbol an intelligent cursed item.

[Aett_Thorn]

You could also slowly remove abilities over time, switching them out with the new ones. Would be a bit more complicated, but could show a fading of the one deity and the character moving to a different one. Start with replacing the higher level domain spells with those of the new domain. Then maybe the channel divinity. Then the lower level spells. As each one gets phased out, allow the character to have a chance to role-play the loss and the shift. They should certainly be role-playing what led their character to shift from a war god to one of intelligence and intrigue.

[Hrugner]

I'd let the player continue on in their current domain as an avatar of the ideals of their now deposed god. However, if they wanted to change domains it would make sense to support that change as it comes from the story itself.