I don’t care for clerics, despite having played some truly memorable cleric PCs that are among my favorites. I’m just not fond of the general fighter-magic user vibe, without one of those being very much primary and the other very much secondary. Because of that–and other issues–I’m not including clerics in the projects.
I was involved in a reddit discussion some time ago that convinced me that it could be a good thing to include some sort of divine magic, though, especially if it weren’t entirely class-based. Something that other characters could conceivably avail themselves of. I’ve been chewing on that periodically ever since.
The other day, an approach finally clicked into place on that count. I’ve not played around with it thoroughly, yet it seems to be fully viable and fits within my preferences. I was reading another post about orisons on a blog somewhere (was trying to work out what to do with handling undead with clerics) and had an epiphany: I can use a version of orisons to accomplish it all.
Orisons as standard chants/litanies/prayers that anybody can learn. Most of the time, for most people, the orison won’t have any greater effect than soothing the person using it–no mechanical effect and no in-world effect other than that. Some characters, however, by dint of qualifying attributes, can occasionally invoke actual divine favor to accomplish mechanical effects.
I expect to use the channeling system for spellcasting to help regulate it, with the channeling rate lower than that witches and wizards can achieve. Other characters who are sensitive to divine power can assist if they also know the relevant chant. Perhaps even non-sensitive characters can do so.
The power level of orisons is also limited. They’re not a way of channeling divine wrath and striking down monsters, they’re a way of deriving a bit of favor and fortune on a basic level.
This also addresses my need for some way to handle undead without clerics. I can see a class of characters who are sensitive, have trained with many orisons that affect undead and other supernatural entities (demons, et al) and some ability to physically confront (fight) the horrors, too. The class won’t be a top notch fighter, and certainly not a powerful spellcaster. It will be useful, though, and I expect fun to play.
And the orisons will add a nice touch to the priestly class I alread have planned–friars. Those friars who are sensitive (could be most) can occasionally get a slight boost via orisons. The wandering holy helpers get another thing that sets them apart as servants of the pantheon.