Game: Unorthodox Clerics
Publisher: The Le
Series: d20
Reviewer: Wyrdmaster
Review Dated: 14th, December 2004
Reviewer’s Rating: 7/10 [ Good ]
Total Score: 7
Average Score: 7.00
There’s a strong call to action for The Le’s Unorthodox Clerics. For US$2.00 you can download 33 pages of alternative Cleric based classes. That’s the sort of money you could find hiding in the back of the sofa.
If you’re indeed of variant Cleric classes there’s not much to consider here. Is there some catch? Is this a school boy product? Nope and no. The questions are more like; are these classes balanced, are these classes unorthodox (I’m especially keen on seeing classes which push the boat out and so pounce on any suggestion that that’s what I should be getting), are they easy to fit into your game and would you want to fit them into your game?
The first question is a red herring. The controversy will never settle but my two pence states that there’s no such thing as game balance outside the microcosm of your gaming group, in one particular campaign at one particular time. If the Priest class here seems too magical for your game and too magical in comparison to the usual cleric class then it could be ideal for a high magic campaign world were clerics easily have access to extra magic.
There’s a hit and miss scattering when it comes to pushing the boat out. The Inquisitor, for example, is pretty much the stereotypical smite the unbelievers which I suspect many Clerics are role-played as but with perhaps a stronger focus on the surprise and detection. In fact the Inquisitor is filled to hilt with those so very annoying Detect spells. Stick an Inquisitor in your group and you’ll loose heaps of mystery and who dunnit.
The Chosen is the first of the classes that the reader finds. Here we find the archetypical warrior-priest combo. The Chosen does not preach at all or even parlay much. Instead they show the glory of their god through their actions.
Cultists are evil. We take the simple approach here that a cult is a group of fanatics in service to an evil or chaotic god. The D&D alignment system is black and white enough to incorporate that without even missing a step. The class itself is a mix of cleric and rogue. The cultist can wield an unholy dagger and strike from the shadows. The Aspect of the Deity class special can be taken twice and each time can grant a +1 to either Strength, Dex, Con or Charisma or even award an ability like fly. There’s a cost of -1 Wisdom though. One to watch.
The best class – in terms of it being my favourite – in the PDF is the Elementalist. This is an unorthodox cleric as it does not follow a god. The Elementalist pays homage to the elements and the balance of them. To begin with the Elementalist is as balanced as a first level character can be – and has two domains from the elemental list. Later on a third and then a fourth domain is added. There seems to be a slight bias towards Earth when you inspect the Honor The Elements special insofar as you have two Earth abilities and only one for Fire, Water and Air.
The last class in the book is the Priest. These are those religious and spell casting men and women who don’t feel the need to pick up a mace. They’re the mainstay of the religion. They’re also quite magical – can lose any prepared, non-domain spell to cast any other domain spell. They pick up a third domain at level ten. They’re particular good against the undead (there’s no such joy for evil Priests). The Expanded Turning feat is tucked in the end here.
Just when I was getting to enjoy The Le’s game flare for bikini girl art we go and loose it here. Well, the cover is as sexy as ever and the internal art is supplied by Mongoose’s Character Portraits: Fantasy Heroes. Mongoose is known for a bikini girl flare of their own but we don’t really see that here. I quite approve though. Products like Character Portraits and VShane’s Arcane Publishers are just what the new 3rd party d20 publishers need. There’s no excuse to skimp on the art (and it can be very expensive) now.
Over all, Unorthodox Clerics is pretty good. The five classes (so that’s about 6 pages each) are likely to provide something for most high fantasy d20 games. It’s worth paying $2 for just one of them.
