On clerical praying and polytheistic pantheons

[Pyramid Pug]

Sup folks, hope ya’ll are doing well. Pug here with another annoying question.

If you remember previous threads of mine, I’ve been wanting to retire my old character and play with a new one, mostly because I’ve been frustrated with it for quite a bit now. Thing is, I’ve really enjoyed my last two sessions which helped me pinpoint the reason of my previous frustration and came to the conclusion that said frustration has nothing to do with the character or it’s mechanics (it’s due to how my dm ocasionally ignores characters skills and backgrounds due to his imagination or to “force” plot points, but that’s not the point of this thread). Point is, I wanna continue playin’ with my cleric ‘cause I’m a supporter kind of player at heart.

So an interesting situation came up at my table a couple sessions ago, which prompted an interesting discussion.

To give some background, our characters are currently in a penal island, falsely accused of a crime they didn’t commit (cue A-Team theme song). During the trip to the island we did shenanigans (we had been drugged and didn’t knew we had been sentenced, we simply woke up chained on a boat with a bunch other people), which resulted in a crisis of faith for my character and he lost his powers (oddly enough, I wasn’t frustrated with that and actually enjoyed it because it was entirely of my own doing).

Fast forward a bit, and we arrived at the place where we’re to serve the first bit of our sentence. At this point it has been.. some 14 days or so since I’ve lost my powers. It’s a penal colony on an almost sub-tropical jungle and on the hut we’re sleeping there’s an injured prisioner. He wasn’t really plot relevant I think, my DM simply put him there to impress on us the dangers of the jungle. Still I tried to heal him to the best of my abilities. I did some medicine checks (got prof in it), inquired around the camp as much as I could given that I’m a prisioner, checked the wound, checked the dressings and the medicine he was given, as well as the person who did the dressings (shoddy work, wound was infected going on gangrene, medicine was a placebo). No help from the guards was forthcoming. At this point I’m sure my DM decided to flesh out the situation more ‘cause he was enjoying my fuss over the prisioner. I did all I could from a physical standpoint so when night arrived and everyone else was sleeping (and his situation deteriorating) I did the only other thing I could think of and prayed.

My DM then asked me “To whom do you pray”, and this is where it gets interesting. I told him I’d pray to the dwarven godess of healing, and he told me “but that isn’t your god, your’s the god of war, Clangeddin is the one that gives you your powers”. I said yeah, but Faerun is a politheistic society, even within the several pantheons, you pray to Wakeem for a good deal, to Tyr for wisdom in justice, you apease Umberlee for save travels at sea and so on. It doesn’t make sense to me, to pray to the god of war to heal someone. Furthermore I know I don’t have any powers right now and I’m not asking for any for myself, I’m simply asking for this sick person to be healed, so I’ll pray to the dwarven goddess of healing.

He actually liked the answer and let the prisioner be healed. In the morning I ripped part of my uniform to make clean bandages, used my water to clean the wound and to have him drink it, and shared my rations with him.

So this brings me to the question at hand. I’m asking this from a roleplay standpoint, not as some mechanical way to cheese things, is it possible for someone (in say, the Faerun setting which is were I play), to be the cleric of a pantheon instead of a specific deity? Like praying to Clangeddin to strike true, Sharindlar to heal and so on?

(On a side note, is there a list of clerical spells without mats? I kinda only have my breeches at the moment 😂)

[JoeJ]

Great story!

It's certainly possible for a cleric to serve an entire pantheon instead of a single deity if the DM allows it. Not all DMs want their world to work that way, but it sounds like yours is cool with it.

[Chronos]

I once had a cleric who was, shall we say, differently-sane, and conversed personally with the heads of all of the pantheons I could find (including a bunch that nobody else in the party had heard of, resulting in them unfairly judging him for his different-sanity). Point is that, yes, he did pray to different deities for different sorts of spells. Healing spells came from Pelor, light spells came from Ra, protective spells came from Om, divination spells came from Odin, etc.

[Anymage]

Realms has a thing where if you don't devote yourself to one specific god, your afterlife is set to suck. A lot of people strenuously disagree with this bit of authorial fiat.

You can either decide that your primary patron doesn't mind you throwing a side prayer to one of his allies if the request is part of their specialty, decide that tightly knit pantheons are okay with group worship and will take the soul to wherever the group hangs out, or just decide that official word is stupid and overrule it. So strictly speaking it's not allowed, but allowing it makes things cooler with no drawback so I wholeheartedly endorse it.

[Max_Killjoy]

Sup folks, hope ya’ll are doing well. Pug here with another annoying question.

If you remember previous threads of mine, I’ve been wanting to retire my old character and play with a new one, mostly because I’ve been frustrated with it for quite a bit now. Thing is, I’ve really enjoyed my last two sessions which helped me pinpoint the reason of my previous frustration and came to the conclusion that said frustration has nothing to do with the character or it’s mechanics (it’s due to how my dm ocasionally ignores characters skills and backgrounds due to his imagination or to “force” plot points, but that’s not the point of this thread). Point is, I wanna continue playin’ with my cleric ‘cause I’m a supporter kind of player at heart.

So an interesting situation came up at my table a couple sessions ago, which prompted an interesting discussion.

To give some background, our characters are currently in a penal island, falsely accused of a crime they didn’t commit (cue A-Team theme song). During the trip to the island we did shenanigans (we had been drugged and didn’t knew we had been sentenced, we simply woke up chained on a boat with a bunch other people), which resulted in a crisis of faith for my character and he lost his powers (oddly enough, I wasn’t frustrated with that and actually enjoyed it because it was entirely of my own doing).

Fast forward a bit, and we arrived at the place where we’re to serve the first bit of our sentence. At this point it has been.. some 14 days or so since I’ve lost my powers. It’s a penal colony on an almost sub-tropical jungle and on the hut we’re sleeping there’s an injured prisioner. He wasn’t really plot relevant I think, my DM simply put him there to impress on us the dangers of the jungle. Still I tried to heal him to the best of my abilities. I did some medicine checks (got prof in it), inquired around the camp as much as I could given that I’m a prisioner, checked the wound, checked the dressings and the medicine he was given, as well as the person who did the dressings (shoddy work, wound was infected going on gangrene, medicine was a placebo). No help from the guards was forthcoming. At this point I’m sure my DM decided to flesh out the situation more ‘cause he was enjoying my fuss over the prisioner. I did all I could from a physical standpoint so when night arrived and everyone else was sleeping (and his situation deteriorating) I did the only other thing I could think of and prayed.

My DM then asked me “To whom do you pray”, and this is where it gets interesting. I told him I’d pray to the dwarven godess of healing, and he told me “but that isn’t your god, your’s the god of war, Clangeddin is the one that gives you your powers”. I said yeah, but Faerun is a politheistic society, even within the several pantheons, you pray to Wakeem for a good deal, to Tyr for wisdom in justice, you apease Umberlee for save travels at sea and so on. It doesn’t make sense to me, to pray to the god of war to heal someone. Furthermore I know I don’t have any powers right now and I’m not asking for any for myself, I’m simply asking for this sick person to be healed, so I’ll pray to the dwarven goddess of healing.

He actually liked the answer and let the prisioner be healed. In the morning I ripped part of my uniform to make clean bandages, used my water to clean the wound and to have him drink it, and shared my rations with him.

So this brings me to the question at hand. I’m asking this from a roleplay standpoint, not as some mechanical way to cheese things, is it possible for someone (in say, the Faerun setting which is were I play), to be the cleric of a pantheon instead of a specific deity? Like praying to Clangeddin to strike true, Sharindlar to heal and so on?

(On a side note, is there a list of clerical spells without mats? I kinda only have my breeches at the moment 😂)


You've hit on actual polytheistic practice, as opposed to the "this is my god, there are many like it, but this one is mine" approach that a lot of fantasy game settings stumble into. (That latter being henotheism, if you want the term.)

[Rukelnikov]

In Faerun mostly everyone prays to various gods, you may have YOUR god, but unless its a specifically jealous one, there's no problem with praying to other gods, much much much less if they are from the same pantheon or association, like Tyr, Helm and Torm were before their... discrepancies.

Most people in Faerun pray to Shaundakul before a trip, or to Waukeen before making an important transaction.

For Instance my elven wizard was devoted to Oghma, but he still prayed to Mystra and Corellon regularly, and others from time to time, ofc I never prayed to Shar or Gruumsh.

EDIT: It may be somewhat outdated in regards to eachs god current standing, but being a cleric in the realms, try to read 3rd editions Faith and Pantheons if you can, it doesn't matter that its from a different edition, the majority of those gods are still the same, and those that are not anymore still were, and your character knows about them if s/he has knowledge religion.

[Naanomi]

It varies a bit from plane to plane, but in general... many people pray to a whole pantheon; but the special relationship that grants powers to a Cleric is with a single Power (or more rarely a very tightly knit group of powers, but smaller than a whole pantheon)

[Asmotherion]

When you activelly follow a pantheon you venerate the whole package. However being a Cleric of a Specific Deity means you Draw your power from their Portofolio and Domain and you're probably more specific in your preyers to them than the rest of the pantheon in your gratitudes.

But the one who grants you your powers is definitelly specifically the Deity you're a Cleric of and not the whole Pantheon. Reguardless if you're praying to all of them every time you prepare your spells.

[Unoriginal]

Some clerics, especially in a world like Eberron, serve a whole pantheon, rather than a single deity. In certain campaigns, a cleric might instead serve a cosmic force, such as life or death, or a philosophy or concept, such as love, peace, or one ofthe nine alignments. Chapter 1 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide explores options like these, in the section “Gods of Your World.” Talk with your DM about the divine options available in your campaign, whether they're gods, pantheons, philosophies, or cosmic forces. Whatever being or thing your cleric ends up serving, choose a Divine Domain that is appropriate for it, and if it doesn’t have a holy symbol, work with your DM to design one. The cleric's class features often refer to your deity. lf you are devoted to a pantheon, cosmic force, or philosophy, your cleric features still work for you as written. Think of the references to a god as references to the divine thing you serve that gives you your magic

Xanathar's Guide to Everything, p. 18.

So the answer to your question is unambiguously "yes".

[Edenbeast]

I think the point to being a cleric is that you're not just a follower of a certain faith, but a representative of said faith. This faith gives you your powers to do miracles, as in: cast spells. In the Forgotten Realms every person is supposed to chose a patron, whatever their class is. You're right that say, as a farmer, for a good deal you might pray to Waukeen, and for a good harvest you might pray to Chauntea. Even better, go to the respective church and make a donation. I would call these "vague" or "far off" (lack of another definition or word) requests that are at the discretion of the gods. More direct (and general purpose) requests for spells such as a blessing or healing can be asked from a priest or cleric of any faith (basically most cleric spells are available to all clerics, except for domain spells). Now, it's true that a priest could definitely represent an entire pantheon, or a certain philosophy, but this is less common in the Forgotten Realms because of the Wall of the Faithless (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Faithless) (and faithless here means anyone not claiming a patron deity). It's a bit ambiguous what happens if you did follow a pantheon but not clearly a patron, it's then up to your "patron" to decide how faithful you were in life, although if you do not sufficiently follow your patron's dogma, Kelemvor can still judge you to be a False (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/The_False) follower. I think the decision of your DM was cool, and means for your character an opportunity for a change of faith from Clangeddin to Sharinlar.

[Naanomi]

Xanathar's Guide to Everything, p. 18.

So the answer to your question is unambiguously "yes".
Well... unambiguously ‘talk to your GM’ anyways

[Jophiel]

This strikes me as very setting dependent. It seems that most pantheons have some sort of internal alliances or strife so if you're a follower of the God of Honor, the reaction to you tossing a prayer to the Lady of Harvests is going to be different to saying a prayer to the Lord of Torture. Whether or not you can worship a pantheon will really depend on who is in the pantheon and how they get along. If they're all loosely aligned or even family, it might not be a big deal. If they're trying to one up one another or engaged in some contest for the most souls, you might run into the "this god is a jealous god" issue.

In the case of Faerun, as mentioned, you're expected to have one actual deity of choice but it's not a transgression to knock on another deity's door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar. Assuming, again, that you're not throwing out petitions to your god's eternal foe.

[Millstone85]

In addition to Faerûn being a polytheistic society, and both Clangeddin and Sharindlar being dwarven gods, I would note that the dwarven pantheon has a leader, a god of gods, Moradin.

I would assume that, as a cleric of Clangeddin, your character is already expected to pay homage to the All-Father. And so, praying to another of his servants should be all the more okay.

[LibraryOgre]

Lots of ways to approach this. I somewhat like one from Shadowrun, and it's treatment of Voudoun.

You start with your chief loa... the spirit which you have a close relationship to, who gives you much of your power. As you advance, you can gain relationships with other loa, getting their benefits, but every subsequent loa makes getting new ones harder, because of the complex web of relationships between them.

In the case of a dwarven cleric, I'd certainly see no problem with them praying to other members of the pantheon, depending on their need... they may stan Clangeddin, but turning to other deities in their pantheon when they're most appropriate isn't wrong, except maybe Abbathor, who's a bit dark, IIRC.

[Spore]

You post here and you didnt think of the way OotS managed this via inter-deific treaties?

[ShikomeKidoMi]

You've hit on actual polytheistic practice, as opposed to the "this is my god, there are many like it, but this one is mine" approach that a lot of fantasy game settings stumble into. (That latter being henotheism, if you want the term.)

Well, sort of. It's worth remembering that having priests for just part of a pantheon is hardly something unknown in real life. Greeks and Babylonians, for example, both had temples dedicated to single gods and goddesses with priests there to represent those gods in particular, despite having a pantheon. And it's a safe bet that those priests spent more time praying to the gods whose temples they worked in than to the others. Though, of course, they probably did pray to whoever was most appropriate when they couldn't stretch things to make their god fit. This probably the best analogy for D&D clerics.

[Unoriginal]

Well, sort of. It's worth remembering that having priests for just part of a pantheon is hardly something unknown in real life. Greeks and Babylonians, for example, both had temples dedicated to single gods and goddesses with priests there to represent those gods in particular, despite having a pantheon. And it's a safe bet that those priests spent more time praying to the gods whose temples they worked in than to the others. Though, of course, they probably did pray to whoever was most appropriate when they couldn't stretch things to make their god fit. This probably the best analogy for D&D clerics.

Yes, but as Max_Killjoy noted, this way of worship is called henotheism.

[LibraryOgre]

Well, sort of. It's worth remembering that having priests for just part of a pantheon is hardly something unknown in real life. Greeks and Babylonians, for example, both had temples dedicated to single gods and goddesses with priests there to represent those gods in particular, despite having a pantheon. And it's a safe bet that those priests spent more time praying to the gods whose temples they worked in than to the others. Though, of course, they probably did pray to whoever was most appropriate when they couldn't stretch things to make their god fit. This probably the best analogy for D&D clerics.


Yes, but as Max_Killjoy noted, this way of worship is called henotheism.

Not necessarily; consider the Romans.

Pontifexes and augurs were elected positions, allowing one to perform various priestly functions across the pantheon (which, in the Roman case, was very broad). But, individual adults could perform other priestly functions, as well, and you had the special pontifexes, such as the flamen Martialis and the flamen Dialis. Those special pontifexes were ringed round with restrictions to maintain their purity, and served as priests with specific functions and devotions. Being flamen Dialis did not prevent you from worshiping other deities (save that you might not be able to participate in certain ceremonies because of your restrictions), but it did mark you out as being specifically sacred to a given deity.

When dealing with a polytheistic society, I tend to take the Roman model. Specialty priests (i.e. anyone who gains divine power through devotion to a specific deity) and clerics (those who gain divine power from the broad base of deities) are not the same thing, and operate side by side. The specialty priest likely has deeper understanding of their specific deity, but the cleric exceeds the layman in understanding of all deities... lay understanding is 1, clerics are 2, and specialty priests are 3. Clerics are 2 across the board, laymen are 1 across the board, and specialty priests are 3 in their deity, and 1 in most others.

[JoeJ]

In my World of Battersea I'm using a tight pantheon, similar to the Olympians or Asgardians, and nobody prays to just one god. Some temples are devoted to a single deity, but many others honor groups. A priest might feel more affinity toward a certain deity, but they will still pray to the others for matters concerning those other gods' portfolios. In the major cities, priests are usually organized into a single hierarchy and assigned to particular temples. They can be moved around if there is a need.

Clerics, who are not necessarily priests but something more like saints, are called and empowered by one particular deity, but they too would pray to the other gods as well. Once in a while, a god will even have a little job that they want another god's cleric to do for them.

[The Jack]

I've got this mental image of a norse cleric who mostly prays to thor asking Loki for a trickster spell and a conversation in Asgard erupts with 'you ****ing what?'

The only real issue is domains. I mean, you can do the whole 'this is my favourite god of the pantheon and I'm a cleric of X who occasionally asks Y and Z for things because XY and Z are buddies' but like, these gods are of different domains and you're not getting animate dead even if corpsy is best friends, sister and wife to smithsy.

[LibraryOgre]

The only real issue is domains. I mean, you can do the whole 'this is my favourite god of the pantheon and I'm a cleric of X who occasionally asks Y and Z for things because XY and Z are buddies' but like, these gods are of different domains and you're not getting animate dead even if corpsy is best friends, sister and wife to smithsy.

A few ways to view this.

1) The Domain is the way the divine manifests for this character. You have the War Domain? Maybe you were called in a time of war. Maybe you're a warrior at heart. Maybe some severe perversity among the divine resulted in you having the War Domain, despite being a pacifist. It might even represent an area in which the gods want you to grow.

2) The Domain represents your closest deity... the one to whom you have a particular affinity. Sure, you're a pantheon-worshiping kind of guy, but you're also NG and of a sunny disposition, so Lathander and the sun domain are a natural fit for you. He's not your only god, but he is your favorite.

[Max_Killjoy]

I wonder if there's a place for a "generalist priest" "domain".

[LibraryOgre]

I wonder if there's a place for a "generalist priest" "domain".

How about this?

Pantheist Domain

Some priests do not choose a particular deity to worship, and instead embrace the full pantheon of their people. Unlike more specialized priests, these clerics can perform ceremonies for the entire pantheon; they may pray to Kelemvor at a funeral, invoke Lathander upon a birth, bless soldiers in the name of Tempus, and open a harvest festival in the name of Chauntea (or Waukeen, or Llirra, or all three).
Being a Pantheist cleric can be a difficult balancing act, especially for an adventurer. Depending upon their alignment and personality, a pantheist cleric will undoubtedly have certain deities whose philosophies they favor, and others whom they are less sympathetic to. However, pantheist clerics serve an important role in the worship of many deities; while it may be somewhat illegal to worship deities such as Mask, Bane, or Iuz, a pantheist cleric can invoke them as needed, often serving as a link between worshipers and their deity in out of the way places, or serving an isolated community's varied religious needs.

Pantheist Doman Spells
1 Bless, Sanctuary
3 Calm Emotion, Gentle Repose
5 Dispel Magic, Tongues
7 Divination, Freedom of Movement
9 Commune, Hallow

Divine Lorist
At 1st level, you become proficient in Religion, and your proficiency bonus is doubled when using this skill.

Channel Divinity: The Will of the Gods
Starting at 2nd level, you may use your Channel Divinity to inquire of the Gods about a course of action. This is equivalent to the spell Augury, with its attendant difficulties for overuse.

Channel Divinity: Pantheist
Starting at 6th level, the Pantheist can draw upon their relationships with the gods in a more intimate way. They may spend a use of Channel Divinity to consider use Domain spells of any other Domain available to their pantheon as Domain Spells for 10 minutes. The cleric must still expend spell slots for these spells as normal, but they do not need to have them prepared.

Bonus Cantrips
Familiar with the blessings of many gods, Pantheist clerics receive a number of additional cleric cantrips equal to their Wisdom modifier at 8th level.

Friend of the Gods
Beginning at 17th level, Pantheist clerics are able to request the intervention of many different gods. They may successfully request divine intervention a number of times equal to their Wisdom modifier in any given seven day period, with the restriction that they must request the intervention of a different deity each time. If, for example, a cleric of the Faerunian pantheon with a 20 Wisdom successfully requests intervention from Mask, they may successfully request divine intervention only 4 more times before 7 days are out, and then, not from Mask. On the 8th day, they would regain 1 use of Divine Intervention (the one they had previously used for Mask), and could invoke Mask's aid again, if they wished.

[Mith]

My perspective on this is that the Domain is your personal philosophy and approach to your faith. But I am not a particular fan of specifically Aspected deities (most deities in my (limitedly run) homebrew can be War gods, if it suits their cause, for example). But they all have areas of key influences, and you may pray to those you think will give the best results.

[Max_Killjoy]

How about this?

Pantheist Domain

Some priests do not choose a particular deity to worship, and instead embrace the full pantheon of their people. Unlike more specialized priests, these clerics can perform ceremonies for the entire pantheon; they may pray to Kelemvor at a funeral, invoke Lathander upon a birth, bless soldiers in the name of Tempus, and open a harvest festival in the name of Chauntea (or Waukeen, or Llirra, or all three).

Being a Pantheist cleric can be a difficult balancing act, especially for an adventurer. Depending upon their alignment and personality, a pantheist cleric will undoubtedly have certain deities whose philosophies they favor, and others whom they are less sympathetic to. However, pantheist clerics serve an important role in the worship of many deities; while it may be somewhat illegal to worship deities such as Mask, Bane, or Iuz, a pantheist cleric can invoke them as needed, often serving as a link between worshipers and their deity in out of the way places, or serving an isolated community's varied religious needs.

Pantheist Doman Spells
1 Bless, Sanctuary
3 Calm Emotion, Gentle Repose
5 Dispel Magic, Tongues
7 Divination, Freedom of Movement
9 Commune, Hallow

Divine Lorist
At 1st level, you become proficient in Religion, and your proficiency bonus is doubled when using this skill.

Channel Divinity: The Will of the Gods
Starting at 2nd level, you may use your Channel Divinity to inquire of the Gods about a course of action. This is equivalent to the spell Augury, with its attendant difficulties for overuse.

Channel Divinity: Pantheist
Starting at 6th level, the Pantheist can draw upon their relationships with the gods in a more intimate way. They may spend a use of Channel Divinity to consider use Domain spells of any other Domain available to their pantheon as Domain Spells for 10 minutes. The cleric must still expend spell slots for these spells as normal, but they do not need to have them prepared.

Bonus Cantrips
Familiar with the blessings of many gods, Pantheist clerics receive a number of additional cleric cantrips equal to their Wisdom modifier at 8th level.

Friend of the Gods
Beginning at 17th level, Pantheist clerics are able to request the intervention of many different gods. They may successfully request divine intervention a number of times equal to their Wisdom modifier in any given seven day period, with the restriction that they must request the intervention of a different deity each time. If, for example, a cleric of the Faerunian pantheon with a 20 Wisdom successfully requests intervention from Mask, they may successfully request divine intervention only 4 more times before 7 days are out, and then, not from Mask. On the 8th day, they would regain 1 use of Divine Intervention (the one they had previously used for Mask), and could invoke Mask's aid again, if they wished.

I really like that, start to finish.

Captures the idea of a cleric who serves a pantheon and a community as a priest.

[Pyramid Pug]

Sorry for the delay in replying, got caught up between work and an ilustration I’m workin’ on (of our DnD characters in fact).

Thanks a lot for all the replies, it’s been a fascinating read in its entirety, I especially liked the “Generalist” domain, tho I think that lvl 8 feature would give the cleric more cantrips than they can actually choose from 😂 (not that I would complain, I’m a cantripoholic).


I once had a cleric who was, shall we say, differently-sane, and conversed personally with the heads of all of the pantheons I could find (including a bunch that nobody else in the party had heard of, resulting in them unfairly judging him for his different-sanity). Point is that, yes, he did pray to different deities for different sorts of spells. Healing spells came from Pelor, light spells came from Ra, protective spells came from Om, divination spells came from Odin, etc.

You know what they say.. it ain’t cray-cray if the voices in your head are actually real 😂



I've got this mental image of a norse cleric who mostly prays to thor asking Loki for a trickster spell and a conversation in Asgard erupts with 'you ****ing what?'

The only real issue is domains. I mean, you can do the whole 'this is my favourite god of the pantheon and I'm a cleric of X who occasionally asks Y and Z for things because XY and Z are buddies' but like, these gods are of different domains and you're not getting animate dead even if corpsy is best friends, sister and wife to smithsy.

Oh I whole heartdly agree with ya, that’s why I asked the question from a pure roleplay perspective. I don’t want to cheese spells or abilities from other domains!


Ultimately this is something I have to talk about with my DM.

It’s funny tho, I was about to abandon the character and in the last two sessions it was like... an epiphany.. like the whole cleric class concept sudenly crystalizing in my head and I was suddenly having lots of fun and being really effective and creative, especially with my limitations (no weapons, armor or mats). Heck, the matless spell list is pretty solid!

I had something similar happen to me in regards to my artwork in fact, like all the experience suddenly coalescing and connecting.

In any case, the only thing I’m considering is wether to change to the worship of Sharinglar and change my domain to Life, or to remain with Clangeddin and War. I like the support of War, especially with a Barbarian and a Rogue in the party, feels real good to have a +10 to hit on demand(ish) to make sure that supped up inflict wounds hits (oh the look on my DM face last session when I started asking for more d10s 😂). The change to Life.. well it was more of a roleplay thing really.. I mean mechanically Life does what it says on the tin and improves healing, but healing is more of a circunstacial thing in 5th rather than something to make a battle plan around.

I enjoy playin’ the supportive, nurturing kind, but I guess I could remain in the service of Clangeddin and take a more.. paladiny approach I guess.. asking for Sharinglar for the wisdom and the blessing to heal the injured and asking Clangeddin for the wit and the valor to protect them in battle.

I love bouncin’ ideas with ya folks, helps me with conceptualizing stuff 😁

Btw, made a matless spell list, and it’s really solid!

0- Guidance, Toll the Dead, Sacred Flame

1- Cure wounds, Healing Word, Guiding Bolt, Detect Magic, Inflict Wounds, Purify Food & Water

2- *Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Prayer of Healing, Silence

3- *Crusader’s Mantle, Dispel Magic, Create Food & Water, Mass healing word

* Domain spells. The food part is ‘cause we’re in a subtropical jungle and I feel it’s important to have a reliable source of clean water and food. Plus, I got plans to use it as means to create good will among the prisioners.

[Spore]

The food part is ‘cause we’re in a subtropical jungle and I feel it’s important to have a reliable source of clean water and food. Plus, I got plans to use it as means to create good will among the prisioners.

Tangent following but isn't magicking up food and water somewhat making the whole experience pointless?

1) Group is caught on a tropical island struggling to survive.
2) Their only hope of salvation, their cleric has fallen from faith so they have to struggle to feed themselves.
3) Whoops, I guess the cleric has ended his two day weird phase. It's not a phase, mom! Everything is normal again.

If you include a story arc like that, and immediately solve it by switching up your domain, wasn't the whole shebang just pointless to begin with? Clerics are incredibly important servants to their gods. You have to meditate and honor them for years until your training is complete and you are granted their highest blessing, a divine domain.

But there goes this hero, shaking his head at what war has brought him and is instantly accepted by the healing god? I realize a powerless cleric hurts the whole party but the story twist feels somewhat hollow to me.

[Laserlight]

An analogy would be that you work for one department of your government--the highway department, for example. When you have a problem with your taxes, you don't call the head of the highway department, even though it's a government agency and you work there; you call the tax department.

[Rafaelfras]

From sword coast adventure guide

a Typical cleric in Faerum serves a single divine patron, but some individuals feel called to serve a group

So yes you can be a cleric of a whole group, choosing a domain that will align what aspect of that pantheon you want to embody
That said, your answer to your DM was precisely right, people in Faerum choose patrons god who they have a more deep connection, but they pray to other gods when dealing with said god domains
It is also written that the gods answer to prayers, so in your case the goddes of healing has answer to you not as a cleric, but as she would to anyone beseeching her for healing
If you where praying to your patron it would be for him to restore your powers so you could do the healing, because you are a cleric. But any normal dwarf would beseech the goddess of healing



Xanathar's Guide to Everything, p. 18.

So the answer to your question is unambiguously "yes".

Xanathar is not a forgotten realms book, Sword Coast Adeventure Guide is the proper one

Xanathar brings godless clerics who worship philosophies or concepts which specifically do not exist in Faerum

[Azgeroth]

it is totally do-able... just be careful your not playing them off against each other..

oh what? your taking my power (car keys) because of X!?! thats fine, ill just borrow from Y.. f*** you...

I'm not saying this is what you are doing, just to be wary of it, i mean you can totally personally ret-con your character and say, i have totally been worshipping B, C, D, E, and even F this entire time, but i don't describe brushing my teeth do I?

you seem reasonable, and I'm hoping your DM is also reasonable, have a chat!

also, super glad to hear what was becoming a bit of a chagrin, has crystallized in to somewhat of a butterfly. yay!

[Unoriginal]

Keep in mind that in D&D 5e, you don't get Cleric powers because you believe in a god, you get Cleric powers because a god believes in you.

Worshiping a pantheon doesn't mean the whole pantheon is empowering you.

[The Jack]

I think a pantheist or other generalist "domain" would actually be very devoid of subclass features. Instead, they get access to many more cleric spells, but perhaps not as domain spells (IE always prepared)


They would kinda act as the 'pure' clerics, like a wizard; primarily they act as a platform of spells. They might get some minor things, like free proficiency in religion (as they're covering way more legends/gods) and a tool or something like that, but they're really a glorious platform of spells

(really unsure what kind of extra channel devinity feature they should get. Thoughts range from 'they don't' to 'they get to choose from a selection of much milder channel divinities. )


But also I feel that'd be great for me, because a big hurdle for playing a cleric for me is agonizing over which domain to pick.

[Unoriginal]

A god's listed Domains are just suggestions, though. Nothing is really stopping you from being a Tempest Cleric of Moradin, for example (well, aside from your DM if they want to).

[Pyramid Pug]

Tangent following but isn't magicking up food and water somewhat making the whole experience pointless?

1) Group is caught on a tropical island struggling to survive.
2) Their only hope of salvation, their cleric has fallen from faith so they have to struggle to feed themselves.
3) Whoops, I guess the cleric has ended his two day weird phase. It's not a phase, mom! Everything is normal again.

If you include a story arc like that, and immediately solve it by switching up your domain, wasn't the whole shebang just pointless to begin with? Clerics are incredibly important servants to their gods. You have to meditate and honor them for years until your training is complete and you are granted their highest blessing, a divine domain.

But there goes this hero, shaking his head at what war has brought him and is instantly accepted by the healing god? I realize a powerless cleric hurts the whole party but the story twist feels somewhat hollow to me.

Nope, not in the slightest.

I had a similar situation on a previous arc. Through shenanigans our party had found itself against our will in Shadowfell and a couple sessions in, while I was browsing my spells (specifically trying to find something that would let me survive an attack by a shadow dragon) I noticed the tidbit on Banishment that says that it ports people back to their home plane. After managing to survive the dragon attack, I talked to everyone about this (as a player) and we colectivelly decided that since our DM had made all of this and we were having fun, we wouldn’t cheese our way out of it and go through it the “intended” way.

This case is however completely different.

-We aren’t caught in a tropical island tryin’ to survive. We’re in a penal colony of sorts, the guard give us food (if we work). Regardless of what course of action we take, being able to make the food will increase our chances of survival, either by making it easier to survive in an hostile jungle, or by getting good will with the other prisioners.

-I’m not the only hope for salvation, we’re a party, the arc ain’t about me nor the crisis of faith, in fact of all the things that happened, the crisis was the one thing of my own doing and not the DM’s.

- It wasn’t a two day phase MUM! It was several sessions spanning... some 14 in game days. During that time I roleplayed without powers (and rather enjoyed it btw) and at the “end” with the prisioner I regained my powers. Mind you never at any point during that time neither in character or out of it, did I demanded or asked the powers back, nor did I expected them to be back. Again, I already have my powers back, Clangeddin approved of my actions and saw fit to lend me his aid again.

- The domain change is me simply pondering if I want any mechanical changes to the character. This resolution would be a good story point to enact such change should I (and the DM) think it adequate. I’m however inclined to remain with Clangeddin, albeit with a very changed outlook and new apreciation.

-On that subject, Clangeddin is the dwarven god of war but he’s Lawful Good, and his dogma states that out of fighting one should prepare physically, tacticaly and by gathering resources. Given the situation I’m pretty sure my DM, Clangeddin and my team mates would stare, blink their eyes and ask if my head had been hit harder than usual if I’d say “I won’t use create food ‘cause it will cheapen the jungle experience” 😂

Seriously, it’s not just a jungle, it’s a fantasy jungle, it will have it’s very own set of (very dangerous) challenges (we already faced displacer beasts) outside of food and water.

I’m sorry if I gave the impression this was a story arc dedicated or centered on my character, ‘cause it really isn’t. The whole thing wasn’t planned, it happened spontaneously during the sessions and the “resolution” was the same. The prisioner was there to give info about the location and set the dangerous mood of the jungle, and my fuss and roleplay about him developed into me regaining the divine blessings.

I’ll take a more “paladiney” outlook on things. I’ll remain in the war domain, but thank the pantheon as a whole, tempering the valor of War with the wisdom of Moradin and the nurturing of Berronar. To be more of a protector rather than war for the sake of war (that would be Tempus, not Clangeddin).

Hope that clears things up 😁