I've been D&D'D

Faceless · Post by **Faceless** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:43 am

It's finally happened, I'm starting to play D&D on tuesday. I think I'm becoming a cleric, judging by their little hints ("We need a cleric"). But, either way, got any cleric-related tips for D&D? Or just generally D&D tips?

We're playing a mix of 2.5 and some other random rules sets... Whatever works I guess.

Help me!

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:53 am

There's a 2.5?

are you sure you don't mean 3.5? n00b

I reccomend you use your healing powers for leverage to get yourself a better share of the loot:

"you want that leg reeattached, wow...I feel sooo sleepy...maybe if you gave me those boots of awesome +12 I'd wake up a bit."

Also, make sure to convert anyone not of your cleric's religion in the party, Non-believer's don't get spell-buffs.

For serious tips that won't get you cut in half--

Clerics are sturdy and not too bad in a fight, but they're support characters. Unless you're party is real low on fighters your place is behind the front lines, giving out buff spells and healing when needed, so investing in a ranged weapon or two isn't a bad idea.

Faceless · Post by **Faceless** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:59 am

Believe me, I mean 2.5... Thanks for the tips... Hopefully I won't have to be a cleric, I don't think it suits me too well. But, what the hey.

Black Sparrow · Post by **Black Sparrow** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:04 am

Faceless wrote:It's finally happened, I'm starting to play D&D on tuesday. I think I'm becoming a cleric, judging by their little hints ("We need a cleric"). But, either way, got any cleric-related tips for D&D? Or just generally D&D tips?

We're playing a mix of 2.5 and some other random rules sets... Whatever works I guess.

Help me!

*Evil DM grin*

Really, how serious are you guys about it? Will you be playing a full campaign and more with them? Do you have a Player's Manual? ((Okay... That one my just be for us true D&D geeks...))

My advice would be to try to respect your DM and other players. Keep the game on track.

Sorry; as a DM, it's my duty to always put that in.

Try to make an interesting character. Don't just make a "Dwarven Cleric named Gador Anvilarm." Mix it up. Talk to your DM to see if you can use a unique class (apparently with a clerical bent) or race. For example, a drow priestess to an evil deity.

You can never go wrong with drow.

Playing a clerical character is a bit harder than playing a fighter. You've got to keep track of how many spells you use, and which ones you want to memorize with each resting period. Not to mention, you have to keep an eye on the other characters' HP, even though I'm sure they'll start whining to you for bigger spells than you have once their HP gets below 50%. Levelling up is a painful process when you can only use a limited number of certain weak spells at first. Later on, it gets a bit more fun, but you might be stuck with casting "Cure Minor Wounds" for a while...

Does it sound like gibberish yet?

Finally, have fun. This is a character you might be stuck with for a while. If you make a character you can't lose yourself in, the game just isn't going to be fun. D&D is about escaping reality in favor of a fantasy world. Don't think about what friends might say about it. Just do it. It's a blast if you can get into it.

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:07 am

2.5....you're weird, and your friends are primitive with their ancient non-weapon proficiencies and their THACO. my Half-elf half dragon Bard/Paladin/Blackgaurd will totally beat them down.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:21 am

Make sure the DM isn't an arrogant fuckstick. That was my mistake.

CapitanG · Post by **CapitanG** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:23 am

Clerics, all things considered, are one of the most powerful overall characters in D&D. This is because no one wants to be the cleric; there's some sort of stigma surrounding the healing character. In 2nd ed they're among the best fighters and still have some awesome spells. I'm slightly biased, but they're a solid class no matter how you slice it.

As for general tips...? Don't be "that guy." The guy people loathe to play with, be it for general ineptitude or being an asshole. We had a party member a while back who served the party best in death because he was a whore who wouldn't share his loot and hid during every fight, so when he died we all profited. Huzzah, and what not.

Party infighting is, by and large, tedious and boring. It's okay to have tense relations with other characters, but try not to take it too far, unless you have to.

That's far from being it, but I'm done typing for now. Have a good time!

MixedMyth · Post by **MixedMyth** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:38 am

I've only played D&D a little...I generally prefer other RPGs. But the few times I did play it...battle clerics RULE! Rightous Might is da bomb!

Netpoet · Post by **Netpoet** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:56 am

if they'll let you choose your deity and class, and have no restrictions on level, one of my fav characters I ever played was a half-elf ranger/cleric. I chose one of the few dieties that allowed bladed weaponry for her clerics (can't remember which one it is now, since it's been well over a decade since I played last) and rangers were allowed to dual-wield without penalty.

So basically, I had the attack skills of the ranger, used a longsword and a short sword (both of which were magic, though not stupidly so... +1 flametongue and a shortsword +3 if I remember right) and also had healing abilities to boot.

Basically, I played clerics a *LOT*. Your best bet is to get as good of armor as you can get, get a good shield, and hope you find one of those really good clerical weapons before too long. That's the nice things about clerics... heavy armor is fine for em.

.. and I loved flails, I just did.

As someone mentioned before, you should *NOT* be a frontline fighter unless it can't be avoided. Let the idiots... er, I mean the FIGHTERS... wade into battle first, then you get involved when it starts to become either a mop-up or a "Fight or we *ALL* die" situation.

Lots of healing spells, and depending on the DM, lots of anti-curse and/or anti-poison spells are a plus.

>Net

Faceless · Post by **Faceless** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:03 am

PeppermintAfterlife wrote:Make sure the DM isn't an arrogant fuckstick. That was my mistake.

The DM is a nice guy, plays alot of tabletop games. Good guy generally. So, I'm okay.

CapitanG wrote:Clerics, all things considered, are one of the most powerful overall characters in D&D. This is because no one wants to be the cleric; there's some sort of stigma surrounding the healing character. In 2nd ed they're among the best fighters and still have some awesome spells. I'm slightly biased, but they're a solid class no matter how you slice it.

As for general tips...? Don't be "that guy." The guy people loathe to play with, be it for general ineptitude or being an asshole. We had a party member a while back who served the party best in death because he was a whore who wouldn't share his loot and hid during every fight, so when he died we all profited. Huzzah, and what not.

Party infighting is, by and large, tedious and boring. It's okay to have tense relations with other characters, but try not to take it too far, unless you have to.

That's far from being it, but I'm done typing for now. Have a good time!

We already have a "that guy", Foogoo we call him. Not one person likes him. He has some kind of illness in-game from rats the other players are waiting for him to die of... Slowly... Ever so slowly...

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:03 am

netpoet wrote:if they'll let you choose your deity and class, and have no restrictions on level, one of my fav characters I ever played was a half-elf ranger/cleric. I chose one of the few dieties that allowed bladed weaponry for her clerics (can't remember which one it is now, since it's been well over a decade since I played last) and rangers were allowed to dual-wield without penalty.

Here I will prove my nerdity..that was Melliki (probably not spelled right), ranger/clerics of her could use certain bladed weapons.

That is one thing I really like about the change from clerics to 3.5 the whole "no bladed weapons" never felt quite right, especially when you play as a cleric of a god of war or slaughter and you go into the fight with a mace and a sling so as not to shed blood.

3.5 clerics still mace around plenty since it's about the best 1 handed simple weapon, but now they can use other stuff if appropraite.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:05 am

There most assuredly was a 2.5. Back when a real gaming company wrote AD&D. Then Whoremongers of the Coast decided it would be fun to sodomize all us real roleplayers with a big rough stick. Those whose constitutions were too weak for the agony converted to 3.5. And new roleplayers don't know any better.

But I'm not at all still spiteful... *looks over at his $2000 plus in 1.x and 2.x books that fill several shelves* No, not spiteful at all.

That aside. Congratulations on playing AD&D. It's a fun game.

As a cleric, your role will default to the healer of the group. Beyond that, it's all roleplay. Follow the directions of those who have posted above, and you'll do fine.

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:09 am

Heathen! Philistine!

You are simply to hidebound to change with the times! You shall be crushed by the monolithic profit machine!

heh, of course I have several hundred pounds of AD+D books myself, in addition to my 3rd ed. collection.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:28 am

orion wrote:Heathen! Philistine!

You are simply to hidebound to change with the times! You shall be crushed by the monolithic profit machine!

heh, of course I have several hundred pounds of AD+D books myself, in addition to my 3rd ed. collection.

You know, I've been playing D&D since the original, red, blue, and oranged boxed sets came out in the 1970's (has it been THAT long??). I'm really not too old to change - I did it from D&D to AD&D, and from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 2.5.

But WotC has a history of massive change. They deliberately swamped the market with MtG cards to force out dealers like me. I was one of the big dealers in Cleveland, but I was small potatos to them; I fed several stores, but they wanted a big dealer to feed the whole area. Ironically, the name of the first series they swamped us with was "Fallen Empire".

Then, they took over TSR. Instead of making incremental changes to push the direction of AD&D to where they wanted it, they completely scrapped it, and replaced it with a different game that had the same races, theme, and classes as the original.

I'm sure I'll try 3.5. But I will never buy another WotC product again. Spent 20 years playing AD&D, loaning books out, having them stolen, etcetera - it's time someone loaned me a book.

Aster Azul · Post by **Aster Azul** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:30 am

Yes, play a cleric, play a cleric!

There is no more awesome class. You just have to play it right. ^_~
Don't be afraid to take a level of barbarian or fighter if you want to mix it up a little, either.

And 3.5 is pretty good...

You used to be a comic store owner, Ryan? That's pretty cool.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:32 am

Aster Azul wrote:Yes, play a cleric, play a cleric!

There is no more awesome class. You just have to play it right. ^_~
Don't be afraid to take a level of barbarian or fighter if you want to mix it up a little, either.

And again Aster proves he's my arch enemy.

You don't "take a level of barbarian or fighter" in 2.5. That's a 3.5 abomination.

Aster Azul · Post by **Aster Azul** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:34 am

*chuckle*

Netpoet · Post by **Netpoet** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:01 am

rkolter wrote: You know, I've been playing D&D since the original, red, blue, and oranged boxed sets came out in the 1970's (has it been THAT long??). I'm really not too old to change - I did it from D&D to AD&D, and from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 2.5.

Heh.. I still have the BOX for my original Basic D&D set, as well as *EVERY* dice for it, *AND* the crayon that came in the box to color in the indentations in the dice for the numbers.

Played Basic, Expert, AD&D, 2nd edition and stopped there.

I miss it...

>Net

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:07 am

netpoet wrote:
rkolter wrote: You know, I've been playing D&D since the original, red, blue, and oranged boxed sets came out in the 1970's (has it been THAT long??). I'm really not too old to change - I did it from D&D to AD&D, and from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 2.5.
Heh.. I still have the BOX for my original Basic D&D set, as well as *EVERY* dice for it, *AND* the crayon that came in the box to color in the indentations in the dice for the numbers.

Played Basic, Expert, AD&D, 2nd edition and stopped there. I miss it...

>Net

I don't have the crayon... I do have the dice though, and the box, somewhere. You're always welcome to game with us. Move to St. Louis!

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:02 am

rkolter wrote: I'm sure I'll try 3.5. But I will never buy another WotC product again. Spent 20 years playing AD&D, loaning books out, having them stolen, etcetera - it's time someone loaned me a book.

Dude, that's why the internet exists, stealing!!

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