While many adventuring parties in Pathfinder 2e have a cleric ready to heal and protect their allies, the origin of their power can sometimes be unorthodox. As the prime class for party , a cleric is adept at both keeping their allies alive and weakening their foes. In Pathfinder, players have several options for domains and deities that can enhance those aspects and more, however, this abundance of choices means a cleric’s domain may be a bit more complicated than just simple healing or destruction.
In Pathfinder 2e, a domain is the source of the cleric’s powers and abilities and usually represents their beliefs. Just as Pathfinder fighters have several weapons for character builds, clerics have many domains and deities for different themes and powers. The most common of these domains are those inherently good-natured, like the healing powers of the Sun or the righteous cause of Protection, along with the more nefarious domains, like Destruction or Tyranny. Domains can also represent a facet of existence, such as the elements and disease, as well as worldly pursuits like wealth and knowledge. Then there are those domains that go beyond the expectancies of a typical fantasy setting, providing players with curious but nonetheless entertaining concepts for these pious warriors.
Toil Clerics In Pathfinder onish Those With Idle Hands
Peasantry and laborers are in abundance with Pathfinder, making one of the first oddly specific domains a cleric can represent the Toil domain. Dedicated to hard work and perseverance, these clerics can grant significant bonuses on skill checks and suppress harmful conditions that hinder physical performance. Depending on a Pathfinder character's alignment or the setting a GM (game master) has provided, Clerics who choose the Toil domain could easily be role-played as divine shepherds of the working class flock or become a merciless taskmaster, driving workers into endless labor for the sake of their cruel deity.
Introspection In Pathfinder Grants Atonement Or Therapy
Clerics of the Introspection domain are dedicated to atonement and finding the true self. Focused on mending the mind rather than the body, Introspection clerics can grant fellow Pathfinders clarity by strengthening them against fear effects and alleviating mental conditions. This domain also gives clerics the power to force enemies to confront their past deeds, inflicting significant mental damage.
Although the concept of an Introspection cleric may be a bit advanced for Pathfinder 2e beginners to play with, the themes of mental healing and self-examination can lead to interesting therapeutic role-playing scenarios ranging from anywhere between Dr. Sean Maguire from Good Will Hunting to Hannibal Lecter.
When A Pathfinder Cleric Stares Into The Void…
It's hard to imagine how a cleric can devote themselves to the emptiness of the void, yet the Void domain in Pathfinder presents it as a workable concept. Clerics of this domain use their power to repel harmful emotion-based effects, as well as pull enemies ever closer to the void itself. Clerics of the Void domain present somewhat of an ironic role-playing experience, as there is a certain level of nihilism inherent in the belief that all will return to nothingness, including the gods themselves.
Interestingly, one such cleric exists within the Pathfinder Kingmaker RPG video game, where recruitable hero Harrim, a devout cleric of Groetus, acts as an ambivalent clergyman who believes all things are meaningless due to his failure to achieve greatness in the past.
Some Pathfinder Clerics Are Just Pests
Some clerics in Pathfinder believe that hive minds are the superior way of life, and with how irritating it can be to harm a cleric of the Swarm domain, they might be right. The powers of these vermin-obsessed zealots range from spawning swarms of creatures to sense things through to eventually becoming a living swarm themselves. When clerics achieve this swarm form, they are granted several physical resistances, making them tough to injure with conventional weapons.
Players can choose any tiny creature to act as the cleric’s swarm, allowing a lot of creativity for what theme they wish to use for their cleric. However, it should be noted that the Swarm domain deities in Pathfinder 2e aren’t exactly good by nature, with many of their purviews being rot, insatiable hunger, and pestilence.
These are just a few examples of the stranger domains a Pathfinder cleric can choose, along with a microcosm of ideas associated with roleplaying a cleric. As many of the cleric domains allow for different gods, each domain can be played with a different perspective, whether for good or evil. The tabletop RPG scene is a breeding ground for imagination and creativity, and no matter the class, Pathfinder has plenty of tools to bring even the most unorthodox ideas to life.
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