Stay Classy 3 - The OD&D (3LBB) Cleric

 

In the first two episodes of this series I took a look at what makes up the Fighter and the Magic-User in the Original D&D Three Little Brown Books. Today we're diving into the third remaining class, the Cleric.

We are told on page 6 of Volume 1 - Men & Magic that, "There are three (3) main classes of characters." (I am inordinately amused by that emphasis on "three (3)!")

The final class listed and described is 'Clerics,' and we are told that Clerics are limited to Men only.

The full class descriptions follow this.  Clerics get three paragraphs taking up about one-third of page 7. Clerics are described as having some of the advantages of the each of the other two classes. Clerics are allowed the use of magical armor, as well as all non-edged magical weaponry.  As far as I can tell, this is the only point in the original box where it states that Clerics cannot use edged weapons, and then only as pertains to magical items.  However, we know from subsequent releases that their selection of normal weapons also follows this rule.  This also lends credence to my interpretation in the previous post that Magic-Users can use magical daggers, as those are the only normal weapons they can use. Cleric can also use more of the other magic items than Fighters can, but less than Magic-Users.  Clerics can, on reaching the "top" level of "Patriarch" (level 8), build a.stronghold much like a level 9 Fighter, though at half the cost. The followers attracted to their stronghold will serve freely, and the Cleric will also receive "tithes" double the Fighter's "taxes."

Page 10 starts discussing the Ability Scores and how to generate them, and lists Wisdom as the "Prime Requisite" for Clerics, the key ability for the Class. One thing notably absent compared to later editions is any minimum score to be a Cleric - in fact, it is noted that, while a score above 12 in one's Prime Requisite will grant a bonus on Experience earned, a score below 9 will grant a penalty. This is the same across the 3 classes. One could conceivably roll a character with an Wisdom of 6 and still opt to be a Cleric. Other than increasing (or decreasing) a Cleric's Experience, Wisdom has very little mechanical effect in this version. No system is given for chance of spell failure, bonus to Saves, or bonus spells by Wisdom. The description mentions that "Wisdom rating will act much as does that for Intelligence," likely referring to the Intelligence description where it states that "Intelligence will affect referees’ decisions as to whether or not certain action would be taken," but no further explanation of this is given for either Intelligence or Wisdom.

Other Abilities of use to a Cleric would be Constitution for possible bonus hit points, and Charisma for hirelings. Possibly Intelligence, at least for roleplaying purposes, as more languages known gives a Cleric more opportunity to "spread the word."

Pages 16-18 cover level advancement charts. Clerics start on the fastest track, but Magic-Users slowly gain speed, and by level 7, they pass Fighters and tie Clerics. A bonus for Wisdom 13 or higher can help Clerics advance faster. All Classes have a Hit Die of d6 in this version of the rules, with Clerics (and Magic-Users) starting at 1d6, versus 1d6+1 for Fighters. By level 10, Clerics have  7d6+2, Magic-Users have 7d6 Hit Dice, while Fighters have 10d6+1. One major difference to me, as a primarily 2e player, is that Clerics do not get spells until level 2 ("Adept").

Stats are given on these pages as well for using Chainmail combat, something which I still don't entirely understand, but page 19 describes the 'Alternative Combat System,' later and better known as THAC0. All characters start with THAC0 19, but with each advancement on this track, the target number drops by 2 or 3. Clerics advance along this track the slowest, every 4 levels, Magic-Users every 5 and Fighters every 3.

Finally, page 20 gives us Saving Throws. These advance by level at the same rate as the THAC0, but there are some differences again. Clerics start with best Save value for 'Death Ray or Poison,' and 'All Wands - Including Polymorph or Paralyzation,' tied with Fighters for the worst for 'Stone,' tied for the worst with Magic-Users for 'Dragon Breath,' and tied with Magic-Users for the best versus 'Staves and Spells.'

Page 22 has the Cleric's Turn Undead chart. Level 1 Clerics ("Acolytes"), have to roll above a 7 on 2d6 to turn Skeletons, above a 9 for Zombies, and above an 11 for Ghouls.

Spells are described starting on page 23, and it is worth noting that, in these initial 3 books at least, Cleric spells only go up to Spell Level 5, not the 7 we are used to from later (TSR) editions. Page 35 lays out the costs and time commitments for crafting magical items. Spell Books are also briefly described. As worded, apparently both Magic-Users and Clerics use spell books, and "are assumed to acquire books containing the spells they can use, one book for each level." This seems to imply that when you gain access to a new spell level, you automatically acquire a spell book containing all the spells listed for that spell level (a prospect that awes the 2e player in me.)