When you create your campaigns, do you prefer to make deities extremely powerful, and have domains etc? Or do you make the deities be nothing but religions, so their 'clerics' are instead nothing but worshippers who have ranks in Profession: Priest or something like that?
I go somewhere in between.
Religions in my setting are cultural constructs. Gods don't walk the earth and provide incontrovertible proof of their existence, so religions are built instead by people with overwhelming faith. If there's proof that a deity exists, faith and belief are pretty unimpressive-- anybody can believe in something when they have proof that it is true.
Rare individuals can and do gain power from their faith, and perform great miracles. But the door is still open for skeptics to say, "that's no different than other magic, so it's still not proof that any of your beliefs are true."
Even I am not answering the question of whether or not the gods actually exist-- I don't think it's important to the setting, and I'd rather have the doubt there, and let characters debate the subject.
While as a designer I can answer that my "gods" do exist, within the context of the setting I, too, prefer to leave that ambigious. Many people in the world do not believe they exist (something that would be nigh impossible in FR).
They do not answer prayers, grant spells, or anything like that. However, the so-called "gods" actually do sometimes walk the world, though not to gather worshippers or build faith, but to persue their own (often dubious) agendas.
Many of the gods worshipped by some cultures are (or were) actually heroes, fey, and mystics whose legends have grown over the ages until people believe them divine. Others are demons that want to be worshipped as gods.
To answer your basic question, priest is just a job. A prestigious one that has political benefits, but no magical powers and no actual line of contact with the deities.
I would tend towards "the Gods are real, but only exert influence through the occasional individual mortal who they guide through the world to achieve specific goals"
One thing I hate is the idea that every priest(ess) in any given faith is a Cleric.
If I were to use the Cleric class, then that character would be a rare individual, favoured by their deity with supernatural powers, and very likely to become at least a minor prophet.
The Cleric would also have a very intimate relationship with their deity, who would probably be quite overbearing (visions, dreams, and even actual manifestations, in order to persuade the Cleric to obey their divine will)
They would also have some sort of set goal to their life, an acheivement which their god wants accomplished, and is thus aiding them towards.
This could then create adventure hooks, as the servants of rival gods may try to assassinate the Cleric and so on.
Most of the human deities in my gameworld are the ancient ancestors of the tribe or nation question. Religion is in some cases a hoax. However there are some beings that can be worshipped. First of all there is the Source of All Life, which is the creation principle/intelligence in my game universe. Second, there are beings like the Tuatha de Danann (Irish myth) or the Aesir which are actually members of another race with powers beyond the human norm that exist on another plane. Demons would also fall into this category. Third there is a form of ancestor worship, which in some cases is very literal as the ancestors in question are undead. Finally there are the hoax religions which have no basis beyond ceremony, superstition and tradition.
As far as clerics go I also would say that clerics with actually spell like powers are relatively rare. For instance, one of the NPCs in my game who leads a cult is actually a magic-user who has a bargain with a particular demon. Actual spell wielding clerics are a sign of extraordinary faith and belief.
Quote from: Golem011When you create your campaigns, do you prefer to make deities extremely powerful, and have domains etc? Or do you make the deities be nothing but religions, so their 'clerics' are instead nothing but worshippers who have ranks in Profession: Priest or something like that?
Powerful, politically-meddling deities with Domains and Agendas!
Altvogge has both powerful gods and amped up clerics to reflect the "hands-on" approach of the gods in that world.
In Nordica, the gods are extremely powerful and present, yet there is no cleric class.
While I own Deities & Demigods and enjoy the rules presented therein very much, I don't use them. I feel that if you've statted out a deity, it destroys the mystery of whether or not they're there (even though you're not a PC and might very well know the truth).
Like Kindling, my use of the Cleric class is sparce and they fill a different role than in standard D&D. Most priests in my churches are simple experts with ranks in Knowledge(Religion), Heal, and other appropriate skills, adepts, or even arcane spellcasters. The cleric's power is a rare touch of otherworldly essence, and not something that every 3rd devotee of the gods should wield.
"those who can, do; those who cant, teach"
in general, i would say that the difference between a priest/ess and a cleric is pretty much the same difference as an extremely accomplished chemist, and a high school chemistry teacher. generally speaking, the cleric/chemist had to, at one point, learn from a priest/teacher, but the priest/teacher didnt have the capability to actually do what the cleric/chemist could do. something (wavering beliefs, shakey hands) holds the priest/teacher back from accomplishments, whereas the cleric/chemist doesnt have those limitations.
in Xiluh, priests dont exist, nor is there any need for them to exist. not only do gods exist, but its its undeniable that they exist. whenver somebody turns and sees a jaguar, stating, "look! a jaguar!", theyve seen the god Jaguar. clerics are the ones who point and say "look! Jaguar is out and lets us see him! that must mean...". in this case, strength of belief isnt an issue, its understanding of the belief thats an issue.