I will leave it to the reader's imagination what thread this a response to.
But the point being, to highlight the great new class features Clerics now get:
#1 You might have heard of a non-Core Feat in 3.5 that granted an additional Domain.
Guess what? All Clerics now get this for free at 1st level.
#2 Though their bonus Domain spell is CHOSEN from both their Domains, the additional Domain benefits from BOTH (at 1st & at 4th-8th depending on Domain) are available simultaneously, and scale with level. Stuff like Ranger-equivalent Animal Companion, Teleport & ignoring Difficult Terrain, and lots of spell-equivalent abilities not usually on Cleric list. All without using any of their Spells/day.
#3 Channel Energy. You can keep your buddies happy & topped-up on their HPs between battles, again without straining your Spells/day. Which might mean you have enough Spells now to do something in combat besides suit up like a tank and hit things with your mace. Think back to when you were a little one, when being a CASTER was so grand and majestic: Now you aren't JUST a band-aid (though Healing Domain's free empower on all Healing spells definitely keeps that a strong niche)
#4 Concentration no longer requires constant Skill Ranks to scale with your level, leaving you room to explore the finer side of life. With this extra rank, and perhaps one from Favored Class, the new class skill Sense Motive, as well as Diplomacy and Knowledge skills, much less NON-class skilL (now same cost to advance, just without +3 bonus), are all much more viable to invest in at more than rudimentary levels. Now people might actually want to talk to you, rather than just point to "where it hurts".
#5 And now Domains (along with Wizard Schools and Sorceror Bloodlines) are listed right there in the Class itself. No more flipping to that little section close to the Spells. I just wanted to point this out because I may have issue with other stylistic/editing details, but this is one that was done right and the fans were listened to.
But over all, the new Cleric seems to follow a rather consistent theme of Pathfinder:
New options, but ones that require CHOICES rather than super-gestalt-classes that do it all.
I think the base Cleric now sits rather well in the middle of both the Cloistered Cleric and the Holy Warrior variant.
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Automatic proficiency with the deity's favored weapon is still the single coolest thing they could've gotten, glad it stuck around from the Alpha on... even if some of those weapons are fluff-covered. I'm looking at you Starknife! :P
Still, its been a "mark of prestige" to carry your god's weapon since as far back as I can remember playing. It only makes sense to give them the proficiency.
Very true.
Much better than every cleric being mechanically pushed to using Maces & Plate Mail.
( :-) exaggerating, but you get the idea)
(tangential: Paladins' smite no longer being limited to melee makes Paldins of Erastil (longbow) and Abadar (crossbow) much more evocative and distinct now. yay!)
I just got the book, but failing to see how all clerics (or any) get a third domain? Am I just misinterpretting what you mean somehow?
I think Quandary is under the impression that clerics in 3.5 had only one domain. Of course, they had two, and pathfinder wisely kept that feature "as is".
whoops, yes i was probably confused,
because getting the per/day or other side-benefits of BOTH domains is a big difference to 3.5
#3 Channel Energy. You can keep your buddies happy & topped-up on their HPs between battles, again without straining your Spells/day. Which might mean you have enough Spells now to do something in combat besides suit up like a tank and hit things with your mace. Think back to when you were a little one, when being a CASTER was so grand and majestic: Now you aren't JUST a band-aid (though Healing Domain's free empower on all Healing spells definitely keeps that a strong niche)
This is my favourite change to the cleric, by far. The old turning rules were overly complex and frankly, often pretty useless, considering the disconnect between HD and CR of many undead critters. The new channeling rules add a lot of versatility to the cleric while simplifying the rule set.
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Automatic proficiency with the deity's favored weapon is still the single coolest thing they could've gotten, glad it stuck around from the Alpha on... even if some of those weapons are fluff-covered. I'm looking at you Starknife! :P
Still, its been a "mark of prestige" to carry your god's weapon since as far back as I can remember playing. It only makes sense to give them the proficiency.
Yeah; I like it quite a bit.