Clerics: Cloth, Light, Medium, or Heavy Armor?
As title states, which armor type do you think fits the Cleric in general? In the Warcraft setting and Final Fantasy games the Priest/White Mage wears robes and is much like a Wizard in that regard. In 2e and 3e Clerics wear heavy armor but in Pathfinder and 5e they use medium armor (though there are ways to gain heavy armor such as through feats or domain choices).
- Clerics: Cloth, Light, Medium, or Heavy Armor?39 votes
- Cloth (Robes)10.26%
- Light Armor (Leather, Padded Armor, Chain Shirt, etc.)5.13%
- Medium Armor (Chainmail, Breastplate, Scale Mail, etc.)30.77%
- Heavy (Full Plate, Half-Plate, Splint mail, etc.)53.85%
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Comments
I wouldn't feel right with my cleric of Tempus wading into battle in robes. But I support the idea that gods of healing such as illmater would probably wear robes and priests of mask would more than likely wear leather.
That being said, it ultimately comes down on the deity itself. Encountering a cleric of Eldath in Full Plate would be as unlikely as witnessing clerics of the Red Knight bashing heads on the battlefield while wearing nothing but a toga. AD&D differentiated between the various specialty priest of deities quite nicely with various arms and armor limitations in that regard.
Of course, the location is also a factor which should be taken into account: clerics of Umberlee who wear heavy armor are more likely to drown than a colleague who wears light armor after all. Yup, I'm a fan of realism in games.
Reasonable armor would probably be medium armor, sufficient to provide ample protection without restricting your movement. Really, any adventure who is thinking clearly should probably not wear more than medium armor; it's lighter and more comfortable to sleep in, and unless you're preparing for a specific battle, it's better to travel light.
In the Might and Magic series, one of the first computerized rpg's, we have clerics restricted to leather or medium armor. Of course, mages can wear leather in that franchise, which breaks tradition.
In Baldur's Gate, when you face an enemy party, the different classes are easily identified by their weapons and armor. The mage will be in robes, the (higher level) fighters will be in plate, and the cleric will have medium armor, a blunt one-handed weapon, and a shield.
I'm kind of glad the trend over time is to get away from some of these kinds of traditions, though, in order to give players more freedom to create the character they want. In Pillars of Eternity, for example, everyone can wear heavy armor, including mages (which was a cause of some complaints). It's up to the player to choose to restrict armor types or weapon types if they desire to do so.
(if you look through Faith's and Avatars the clerics of different gods have all of their adventuring garbs discussed)
After all, if you were going into battle (for whatever reason) and actually could wear heavy metal and weren't precluded from same due to the mechanics of your profession, WOULDN'T you wear the heaviest protection available? People be wielding Swords at your skull and crap. Armor up is what I say.
The one that I have heard bandied about most often is that Arcane magics do not play well with Iron. There's actually quite a bit of lore on the topic, particularly how "Magical beings" are often times slain only by cold iron. In any event, the mythology is that the more iron on or about your person, the more it interferes with your Arcane spells.
Another is that Iron and Armor represent technology but Magic represents, well.. magic. The two are not supposed to intertwine. This is by far not the most popular mythology, but it is one that i've heard more than once.
Divine magics are less 'intricate' and more just having the correct mind set and saying the appropriate chants. Therefore they would be easier to perform in full armor.
And then there's balance issues (always assuming that you don't believe that balance is a unicorn). Since mages have more offensive spells than Clerics, they are made more squishy so as to be pretty much glass cannons. At least that was one theory as to how mages were originally thought of in 1E and 2E. 3E kind of brings up other issues.
I was merely presenting what some have claimed as the 'reason'. If you want to take it to the next level, it is at least in part the iron, but also the restrictive nature of armor versus the gestures and complicated contortions needed to generate the magic. And the counter point of view is "Why not simply not wear sleeves"? It is endless, but then again it is make-believe so...
If not being restricted to DnD, and opening the possibility of having paladins as the divine damage dealers, I would actually prefer to have clerics more caster-oriented rather than tanky. But if that's not an option, and if I look more on DnD, then I like clerics to be the tanks with the best buffs and AC, but hitting seldom but doing huge damage per hit. Smiting their foes with the aid of their deity rather than by the strenght of their arm.
Some might be peaceful non-violent robe wearing healer types, but others might be war clerics who don armour and go into battle (which is one of the many reasons I'm moving away from class-based systems like D&D and more towards things like Warhammer FRP or GURPS).
D&D-wise: I would expect a cleric of Tempus (like Branwen, for example) to look, dress, and act, differently to a cleric of Lathander.
"For me" I think that classes are professions and not in a small way. I personally envisage that learning spells, be they arcane or divine, is analogous to learning to speak a dead language like a native. In other words, years or decades in the making. I'm not a big fan of "Just anyone" being able to pick up spell casting as I think that cheapens the accomplishment of a true Wizard. The same goes with a monk's devotion or even learning a martial skill. Even learning to hide in shadows well enough to fool most normals takes years of practice, not simply 'A weekend annex'. And classes like Sorcerer are part of your DNA and need to be there from the beginning or not at all.
In the same way that anyone can pick up a sword, not everyone can become proficient with them. Allowing for people to 'Dip into' any class or profession with little or no preparation just feels counter-intuitive (again) "To Me personally".
Very old picture of a kobold, which I remember from the first D&D book I got.
Bathrobe, nightdress, official attire, 1-2 normal clothes and most likely if needed, the best fight equip I can get /use/buy.
I think my deity want me alive, a shield with the symbol of my deity looks nice too.
Even as Cleric of Ilmater I would like some heavier protection. ( most likely cheap or donations )
I don`t have to hit but alive you can heal for your deity.