Alternate Cleric - focused powers on being priest(ess) of a given deity

[Lazarus Darkeyes]

Goal: Make the Cleric class more 'I'm a priest of <insert deity they want to worship>'
Background:
-homebrew setting where Alignment is non-existent
-the world is highly versatile and it is fine for each player to create their own custom deity w/ the following rules (no pre-printed deities exist in world)

Core Approach:
-clerics are now spontaneous casters
-when selecting domains, the cleric must select 3 domains. One must be selected as Primary, one as Secondary, and one as Tertiary.
-the spells for these domains comprise the cleric's available spell list
-the cleric does not gain the Domain Powers for the tertiary domain
-the cleric gains +1 spell/spell level on top of what is already listed in the base clerics spell progression
-the 'domain spell' slot can ONLY be used for the Primary Domain spell
-all spell cast from the Primary Domain spell list are treated as though the effective caster level was +1 higher
-option at level 1 to choose to (a) retain Armor Proficiency: Medium & Shield Proficiency OR (b) lose them, but gain any Channel bonus feat of their choice

Options On Top Of That (I'm not sure what of these might result in the best balance):
-for the purposes of casting Primary Domain spells only, the cleric can act as though they have access to all metamagic feats (does not negate the increase of spell slot for use of metamagic feats)
-add 1 additional Secondary Domain (extra spell list, extra domain power)
-add 1-2 additional Tertiary Domains (extra spell list, no extra domain power)
-remove channeling, but gain +1-2 spells/level
-add an extra bonus feat every X (4?5?6?) levels -- this feat must be a Channel Feat

Target Result:
-priest who can really only summon divine powers appropriate for the deity they worship

Much thanks ahead of time!

[Ciaran Barnes]

This does not look fun. Having only three spells per spell level to choose from removes the ability to be versatile. Also, I can't think of single domain that has 9 good spells on it. Most have only a few you'd want. So choosing between three domains you -might- have one good spell per level.

[Lathiira]

I'd probably go through the Core rulebook and make a list of spells that it would be suitable for any cleric to have access to, such as bless, prayer, etc. and add that to their available spells in some way.

[Goth Guru]

Healing/Harming should qualify as universal, except for the alignment factor.

Also there is the chosen factor.
I had an NPC cleric of the god of suffering. Even though the constant pain was supposed to make her try to kill everything she saw, she had been granted the power to tolerate pain.

The chosen of a sun god can emit real sunlight. For balance, maybe it burns them for 1D6 a round of emitting.

To take it as a feat, maybe you must first be a true believer, or a cleric of the deity in good standing.

[LazarX]

You might want to look up Paradigm Press' old Priest class and adapt that.

[Lazarus Darkeyes]

*smacks self in forehead*

I never ever thought about how this invalidated most of the cleric spell list...

I think I'm going to revamp this concept, but grant access for all clerics to all cleric spells that are not part of one of the domains/subdomains... (first brainstorm though)

Will also look into that Priest class that was mentioned...

Thanks all!

[Snorb]

I dunno, this does seem interesting to me. It reminds me of the marabout from Spears of the Dawn. =D

[Ciaran Barnes]

You could also look at the oracle class. Every oracle chooses a "mystery" which is thematically like a domain. Oracles get to choose very few spells that they can cast spontaneously, but in additional to the spells they choose they can also cast "bonus spells" granted by the mystery (1 spell per spell level). I think a mechanic like this could be uses for your class, with some adaptation.

[Atarlost]

You can't limit the cleric until you first eliminate the need for the current cleric. The game as currently written needs a class that can have all the status removing and non-HP healing spells available as needed at the cleric schedule. That class also needs to be able to fill an active roll, and if the status removing and healing comes from the same set of spell slots as her offensive spells she needs to fill her other role in a way that doesn't use many spells. Thus the classic clerical self-buffs.

This is why specialist clerics have gotten no traction since they were briefly tried in 2e.

[Lazarus Darkeyes]

does anyone think the game would break if you allowed wizards/sorcerers to access cleric spells?

then you sort of just have 'spells are spells'...

And THEN the main difference between cleric/sorcerer/wizard spellcasting becomes variations on:
-diversity of spell selection
-spontaneous vs. prepared spells
-immunity to spell failure % or not
-reliance on keeping favor w/ the source of your power
-specialization of spell 'schools'

[Goth Guru]

Clerics can use arcane spells that fall within their domain. They are provided by a deity so they are immune to the spell failure chance.

Sorcerers can use any cleric magic that falls within their bloodline.
A Sorcerer with the Celestial bloodline can use bless once a day.

[Ciaran Barnes]

I don't know if THIS is quite what you had in mind, but here is a spontaneous cleric i whipped up this morning. Only spent an hour. Sorry for typos.