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D&D Older Editions
Are there any role-play differences between Paladin and Cleric?
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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 8995412" data-attributes="member: 2209"><p>Arneson originally created a set of special mechanics for a Van Helsing PC character who was designed as a foil against a specially designed Sir Fang vampire character. I think that is where we get turning undead.</p><p></p><p>Gygax liked the concept and adapted it for core OD&D as a mix of fighting man and magic-user with a lot inspiration using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_Bayeux" target="_blank">Bishop Odo</a> as an archetype. Odo was a brother of William the Conqueror, was part of the invasion and conquering of England, was part of the battle of Hastings, and commissioned the tapestry of Bayeux and is shown there in full armor wielding a club. There is the (now generally discredited) apocrypha about him as a clergyman being forbidden to shed blood so he uses a club instead of a sword which Gygax pulled in as a rule for clerics.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]282255[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Gygax then threw in every Judeo-Christian miracle type thing as specific cleric magic that magic-users did not get for a little flavor distinction, so healing, raising the dead, speaking in tongues, parting water, sticks to snakes, creating food and water, calling down fire from the sky, etc.</p><p></p><p>So we get full armor no bladed weapons religious warriors with holy magic and Van Helsing turning.</p><p></p><p>Being pulp fantasy there is also a secondary mix of pagan god things so Conan's Thulsa Doom the priest-sorcerer of Set is a bit of an influence as well along with some Cthulhu cultists when you have bad guy anti-clerics.</p><p></p><p>So we get full armor no bladed weapons religious church warriors with holy magic and Van Helsing turning connected to polytheistic gods.</p><p></p><p>Later there was <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17177/ODD-Supplement-IV-Gods-Demigods--Heroes-0e?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">OD&D Supplement IV Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes</a> which further established a base of polytheistic pantheons for D&D including a mix of historical such as Greek and Norse along with full fantasy Conan Hyborian and Moorcock Melnibonean pantheons. Greyhawk eventually developed its own pantheon.</p><p></p><p>2e exploded with specialty priests allowing huge variation in priestly class mechanics and flavor including non-theistic philosophy and force clerics, and then 3e being decades in built on these bases for its cleric class.</p><p></p><p>So while a paladin might be based on King Arthur or Lancelot, a cleric is based on an ordained Norman warlord who loopholes religious restrictions with a little bit of vampire hunting doctor and sorcerer priest thrown in.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 8995412, member: 2209"] Arneson originally created a set of special mechanics for a Van Helsing PC character who was designed as a foil against a specially designed Sir Fang vampire character. I think that is where we get turning undead. Gygax liked the concept and adapted it for core OD&D as a mix of fighting man and magic-user with a lot inspiration using [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odo_of_Bayeux']Bishop Odo[/URL] as an archetype. Odo was a brother of William the Conqueror, was part of the invasion and conquering of England, was part of the battle of Hastings, and commissioned the tapestry of Bayeux and is shown there in full armor wielding a club. There is the (now generally discredited) apocrypha about him as a clergyman being forbidden to shed blood so he uses a club instead of a sword which Gygax pulled in as a rule for clerics. [ATTACH type="full"]282255[/ATTACH] Gygax then threw in every Judeo-Christian miracle type thing as specific cleric magic that magic-users did not get for a little flavor distinction, so healing, raising the dead, speaking in tongues, parting water, sticks to snakes, creating food and water, calling down fire from the sky, etc. So we get full armor no bladed weapons religious warriors with holy magic and Van Helsing turning. Being pulp fantasy there is also a secondary mix of pagan god things so Conan's Thulsa Doom the priest-sorcerer of Set is a bit of an influence as well along with some Cthulhu cultists when you have bad guy anti-clerics. So we get full armor no bladed weapons religious church warriors with holy magic and Van Helsing turning connected to polytheistic gods. Later there was [URL='https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17177/ODD-Supplement-IV-Gods-Demigods--Heroes-0e?affiliate_id=17596']OD&D Supplement IV Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes[/URL] which further established a base of polytheistic pantheons for D&D including a mix of historical such as Greek and Norse along with full fantasy Conan Hyborian and Moorcock Melnibonean pantheons. Greyhawk eventually developed its own pantheon. 2e exploded with specialty priests allowing huge variation in priestly class mechanics and flavor including non-theistic philosophy and force clerics, and then 3e being decades in built on these bases for its cleric class. So while a paladin might be based on King Arthur or Lancelot, a cleric is based on an ordained Norman warlord who loopholes religious restrictions with a little bit of vampire hunting doctor and sorcerer priest thrown in. [/QUOTE]
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Are there any role-play differences between Paladin and Cleric?
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