Wizard pretending to be a Cleric? BLASPHEMY!

[Calanon]

This is something I've always wanted to try as a Wizard, which is pretend to be a Cleric

What are common spells that Clerics and Wizards share that a Cleric will cast everyday? Any similarities between the Class will be a great and wonderful help

[Atcote]

A suspiciously focus-shaped holy symbol may help, depending on the edition. A way to 'fake' making food and water, which I think is only a cleric ability, by, say, teleporting it out of another area may be helpful.

[Elemental]

A useful point to remember, is that it should be relatively easy to fool your average person. Particularly if you're in a remote area with few, if any, clerics or wizards.

Another wizard or cleric, of course, would be aware almost instantly. If not, then it should only take a few observations to them to be sure.

[TuggyNE]

I seem to remember a feat called False Casting, which you could combine with wands and sleight of hand to supplement your "cleric" spells.

Also I believe there are some sorc-only spells that actually heal.

[Elemental]

Perhaps some information as to who you are actually trying to fool will help us work out how much effort you're going to have to put into your act.

[PersonMan]

I seem to remember a feat called False Casting, which you could combine with wands and sleight of hand to supplement your "cleric" spells.

Also I believe there are some sorc-only spells that actually heal.

Claim to have an obscure ACF have made a pact with your deity to forsake healing spells of all kinds in exchange for access to different types of clerical magic.

Or just take that feat where you burn a slot to heal HP equal to its level and claim to always roll badly.

[Acanous]

if you are a Master Specialist (Conjuration) the Expanded Spellbook class feature allows you to add any (Conjuration) spell of appropriate level to your spellbook. Cure X Wounds spells are (Conjuration).
Planar Binding can fake Planar Ally if you call something of the same alignment.

Circle of Protection from Alignment is one example of a shared spell both would cast frequently.

[Murphy80]

In 3.5 take Arcane Disciple and the healing domain. Now you can cast healing spells, and only clerics cast those (and rangers, and druids, and paladins, and...).

[Mastikator]

Wear typical cleric outfit, being a wizard doesn't exclude being deeply religious, so if that's possible then it helps.
You'll have to make excuses when people are wondering why you don't cast cure wounds though.

[Calanon]

Perhaps some information as to who you are actually trying to fool will help us work out how much effort you're going to have to put into your act.

In the Campaign I'm in Arcane magic is illegal and I really hate being chased by town guards, thrown in jail and having to plan an escape route without magic so why not pretend to be a divine caster?

A suspiciously focus-shaped holy symbol may help, depending on the edition. A way to 'fake' making food and water, which I think is only a cleric ability, by, say, teleporting it out of another area may be helpful.

I killed a Cleric and stole his Holy Symbol just for this very reason and as for creating food and water I already got that covered from another thread.

Wear typical cleric outfit, being a wizard doesn't exclude being deeply religious, so if that's possible then it helps.
You'll have to make excuses when people are wondering why you don't cast cure wounds though.

Stole a Clerics clothes... Murdered him as well

Claim to have an obscure ACF have made a pact with your deity to forsake healing spells of all kinds in exchange for access to different types of clerical magic.

Or just take that feat where you burn a slot to heal HP equal to its level and claim to always roll badly.

I can claim to have taken Blasphemous Incantations and True Daylight and have my party be mad at me for taking 2 crappy ACF

and just NO at Arcane Toughness... just... no...

Hey look at that first couple comments and already ingenious ideas

[Bavarian itP]

In the Campaign I'm in Arcane magic is illegal

I killed a Cleric and stole his Holy Symbol just for this very reason

Stole a Clerics clothes... Murdered him as well

Suddenly, I like the laws in this place.

[Calanon]

Suddenly, I like the laws in this place.

He got the idea from Dragon Age pretty kick ass really... They do have Wizards that aren't like me... but those Wizards have limited choices towards spells (No Conjuration, Necromancy, No Evocations, limited Transmutation, Abjurations by Andraste's grace they matter as well just castrate the Wizards...)

Any who If my cover is blown as a Cleric I'll be executed so yeah (Cross Class skills in Bluff and Disguise! gotta love it) thankfully my snake familiar gives +3 bluff and the cleric outfit I stole is from a Cleric that worships Asmodeus (So yeah Snakes are good to have on my person)

[JackMage666]

...wait, so the law is totally cool with you being a Cleric of the Lord of the Nine Hells, but cast an arcane spell and you get hung? Their priorities may be eschewed...

[TuggyNE]

...wait, so the law is totally cool with you being a Cleric of the Lord of the Nine Hells, but cast an arcane spell and you get hung? Their priorities may be eschewed...

That was my exact reaction! This place sounds pretty crazy

[Calanon]

...wait, so the law is totally cool with you being a Cleric of the Lord of the Nine Hells, but cast an arcane spell and you get hung? Their priorities may be eschewed...

They justify it as "No power should be greater then that of the serpents" and since Arcane magic can literally do just about everything that Clerical Magic can do (and in some cases much better) they've outlawed it and made it punishable by death Hell in some extreme cases a Cabal of Wizards (With some aid from the Cult of Orcus) went out of there way to perform a ritual that would summon Orcus to the plane to take down the Church of The Serpent, unfortunately the attempt failed due to a raid by the Church... He was very descriptive with the campaigns history, He's been planning for this campaign for years (Way before he met me) Ah well... But soon with the Aid of the Abyss the Wizards will regain there freedom... Or so they think...

EDIT: Incredible Hulk is on so I'll be back when that is over

[Madara]

if you are a Master Specialist (Conjuration) the Expanded Spellbook class feature allows you to add any (Conjuration) spell of appropriate level to your spellbook. Cure X Wounds spells are (Conjuration).
Planar Binding can fake Planar Ally if you call something of the same alignment.

Circle of Protection from Alignment is one example of a shared spell both would cast frequently.

Errata nerfed the Expanded Spellbook. Its only From Sorc/Wiz list now.

[Randomguy]

Wield a skillful mace (complete arcane), which gives you a cleric's BAB and automatic proficiency.

There's an ACF in complete champion that lets you swap the bonus feats you get for the ability to use domain granted powers (but it doesn't actually let you cast the domain spells). Use this to pick up some of Asmodus' domains.

Claim your spellbook is a prize you took from murdering a wizard.

Get more snakes, so it looks like you're surrounding yourself with them rather than just having one that you favour.

This is for 3.5, right?

[Calanon]

Wield a skillful mace (complete arcane), which gives you a cleric's BAB and automatic proficiency.

There's an ACF in complete champion that lets you swap the bonus feats you get for the ability to use domain granted powers (but it doesn't actually let you cast the domain spells). Use this to pick up some of Asmodus' domains.

Claim your spellbook is a prize you took from murdering a wizard.

Get more snakes, so it looks like you're surrounding yourself with them rather than just having one that you favour.

This is for 3.5, right?

Gotcha. Skillful Heavy Mace, Already thought of that ACF and I can't devote myself to Asmodeus for his domains (I already asked my DM on this), the Trophy Spellbook is a brilliant idea, and I won't be staying in the same place for longer then a few days so I wouldn't really need a dozen snakes just to make myself seem more convincing besides that would attract attention to me which I'm trying to avoid.

Needless to say your comment was phenomenally helpful and yes this is 3.5

EDIT: I'm looking over the Orcus that my DM showed me and... him being summoned destroys the world... and I mean like COMPLETELY destroys the world to the point where even the Undead (Sentient or Otherwise) fine it inhospitable... Gotta hand it to Dicefreak... They really know how to annihilate the world...

[Lysander]

Basically, you have to avoid casting spells in front of...

A) Actual clerics
B) Anyone with ranks in Knowledge Religion or Arcana, since those should probably allow for a roll to recognize the type of magic
C) Anyone with ranks in Spellcraft

Nobody else should have any way of knowing the difference, as long as you have a holy symbol and avoid doing anything blatantly wizardly. Depending how common illegal arcane casters are, the police may or may not study these fields as a standard precaution in order to catch them.

Likewise, you should put a lot of points into Knowledge Religion. Bluffing will be easier if you know the right lies.

It would probably also be wise to take Eschew Materials, since all those weird spell components will give you away. Both if you use them in public, or if someone searchers your possessions.

And I'd see if your DM will increase the DC to recognize your magic as arcane if you take Silent Spell and Still Spell. If they only see the result and not the casting, it might be hard to tell what kind of magic it is even if someone does have the appropriate knowledge or spellcraft ranks.

And no. Do not carry a "tropy spellbook". I wouldn't buy that ruse, and neither should guards. Instead make your spellbook look like a prayer book, thanks to Secret Page. You can change every page to perfectly copy the text of whatever religious tome you pretend to follow.

Also, summoning fiendish snakes with Summon Monster I is probably a useful trick to convince people of your faith.

[Calanon]

Spoiler

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Basically, you have to avoid casting spells in front of...

A) Actual clerics
B) Anyone with ranks in Knowledge Religion or Arcana, since those should probably allow for a roll to recognize the type of magic
C) Anyone with ranks in Spellcraft

Nobody else should have any way of knowing the difference, as long as you have a holy symbol and avoid doing anything blatantly wizardly. Depending how common illegal arcane casters are, the police may or may not study these fields as a standard precaution in order to catch them.

Likewise, you should put a lot of points into Knowledge Religion. Bluffing will be easier if you know the right lies.

It would probably also be wise to take Eschew Materials, since all those weird spell components will give you away. Both if you use them in public, or if someone searchers your possessions.

And I'd see if your DM will increase the DC to recognize your magic as arcane if you take Silent Spell and Still Spell. If they only see the result and not the casting, it might be hard to tell what kind of magic it is even if someone does have the appropriate knowledge or spellcraft ranks.

And no. Do not carry a "tropy spellbook". I wouldn't buy that ruse, and neither should guards. Instead make your spellbook look like a prayer book, thanks to Secret Page. You can change every page to perfectly copy the text of whatever religious tome you pretend to follow.

Also, summoning fiendish snakes with Summon Monster I is probably a useful trick to convince people of your faith.

What Brilliant, Blatant, Blasphemous ideas you are the best at bastardizing the line between arcane and divine both completely obliterating, brightening and enlightening me to blessed ways to hide my benign art.

[Lysander]

Also a major worry for you is Detect Magic, since pretty much anyone can cast it and it can give you away as arcane.

But look at this line in the spell:
"Magical areas, multiple types of magic, or strong local magical emanations may distort or conceal weaker auras."

So try to get some incredibly powerful divine magic item, so it can hopefully mask any arcane auras on you.

If you can't do that though, Nondetection can hide your arcane auras. Of course, then someone might wonder why you don't have a divine aura, if they see you using magic. It also costs 50gp per casting. So Nondection is mostly for when you expect Detect Magic, and don't want people to recognize you as a wizard, but you aren't trying to pass as a cleric either. Are ok being a cleric with no trace of recent magic on them.

What's more versatile is Magic Aura, since it can make your arcane items seem either non-magical or divine. You can also cast divine spells auras on non-magical items.

[KillianHawkeye]

Also a major worry for you is Detect Magic, since pretty much anyone can cast it and it can give you away as arcane.

But look at this line in the spell:
"Magical areas, multiple types of magic, or strong local magical emanations may distort or conceal weaker auras."

So try to get some incredibly powerful divine magic item, so it can hopefully mask any arcane auras on you.

If you can't do that though, Nondetection can hide your arcane auras. Of course, then someone might wonder why you don't have a divine aura, if they see you using magic. It also costs 50gp per casting. So Nondection is mostly for when you expect Detect Magic, and don't want people to recognize you as a wizard, but you aren't trying to pass as a cleric either. Are ok being a cleric with no trace of recent magic on them.

What's more versatile is Magic Aura, since it can make your arcane items seem either non-magical or divine. You can also cast divine spells auras on non-magical items.

Actually, detect magic won't differentiate between arcane and divine. It only detects magical auras and, with study, the school of magic that caused it. Since both divine and arcane casters have access to all schools of magic, knowing that won't help say if the spell was arcane or divine. Similarly, the magic aura spell doesn't project an arcane or divine aura, just a magical aura.

There's no discernable difference between a wand of cure light wounds created by a cleric and one created by a bard. (Speaking of which, I've always wanted to try this using a bard instead of a wizard, since they already have healing and more importantly, glibness.)

[Calanon]

Actually, detect magic won't differentiate between arcane and divine. It only detects magical auras and, with study, the school of magic that caused it. Since both divine and arcane casters have access to all schools of magic, knowing that won't help say if the spell was arcane or divine. Similarly, the magic aura spell doesn't project an arcane or divine aura, just a magical aura.

There's no discernable difference between a wand of cure light wounds created by a cleric and one created by a bard. (Speaking of which, I've always wanted to try this using a bard instead of a wizard, since they already have healing and more importantly, glibness.)

Ironically Bards are titled as "Wild Children" they pay a tithe to the local Church and they don't roll up on there base and exterminate all of them. I thought of pretending to be a bard but I feel that would be harder then pretending to be a Cleric, and I'd have to drop 1/4th my WBL per level so the Church doesn't arrest me

Spoiler

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The "Wild Childrens" guild is a consortium of Bards and other practitioners of the arts, despite the religious doctrine stating that Music and any sort of expression is blasphemous the Wild Childrens guild manages to avoid destruction and execution by paying a monthly tithe of 500gp per member; Unfortunately this is quite costly to most artist and membership is often fairly low. They're rumors that the Wild Childrens guild is a cover for the cult of various demon lords banded together in an attempt to eventually rise up and defeat the Church of Asmodeus but this is often classified as impossible due to the unknown number of spies inside the guild...

quite frightening...

[Lysander]

Huh, not sure why I thought detect magic let you determine type of magic. Good point.

Hm, what about taking ranks in Perform Oratory? Could be useful for preaching.

[Slipperychicken]

Take one of the Domain Wizard variants. Now you can pretend to be Divine.

Eidetic Spellcaster (Dragon Mag) to get rid of the Spellbook and familiar.

Eschew Materials to get rid of component pouch.

Focus components... make them look like Divine Foci somehow. Act offended when someone questions your extreme devotion.

At-will item of Nystul's Magic Aura (2,000gp) to hide your auras. For the item itself, either use a 1st level slot, or blow 400gp for a 1/day Nystuls Magic Aura item.

Use Wands because they're more efficient than healing anyway

False Theurgy and Conceal Casting are skill tricks which allow you to pretend to cast different spells than you really are.

Pretend to be an evil cleric, so no one bugs you for healing.

[Deepbluediver]

This sounds like a fun idea, but I think you are going to run into trouble the first time some one asks you for a healing spell, and it's rapidly going to devolve into a sitcom-like situation where you are trying to explain why your patron diety expressly forbids healing spells in it's dogma and among the "faithful".

I think you'd actually have a much easier time going the other way; play a cleric pretending to be a wizard, since there are quite a few cleric-available spells that mimic various arcane schools or similar effects. (summons, illusions, direct damage, etc).

[Coidzor]

^:Healing out of combat?

That's the wand's job.


OP: Well, one option would be to pose as a priest of a god of magic.

Or just be a priest of a god of magic. Nothing says wizards can't be priests, and what I've read on the matter suggests that it's fairly common for Boccob and not uncommon for Wee Jas, and cult leaders are as likely clerics as wizards for Vecna.

Never really looked into Mystra, I'll admit.

[Mephit]

I killed a Cleric and stole his Holy Symbol just for this very reason and as for creating food and water I already got that covered from another thread.



Stole a Clerics clothes... Murdered him as well

I'm looking forward to this completely snowballing out of control with you murdering 2-3 people in every town you pass who uncover your secret.

[Mono Vertigo]

I'm looking forward to this completely snowballing out of control with you murdering 2-3 people in every town you pass who uncover your secret.

You are implying most PCs don't usually murder more NPCs than necessary. Just joking here, guys.

[Prime32]

Try that dwarf PrC in Races of Stone which lets you cast spells in armor.

Or be an archivist, which is essentially a wizard who learns divine magic rather than arcane. (extra-blasphemous! )