The Cleric: Faith and Hope

Back on Tuesday, Spencer revealed most of the aspects we've developed for Classes in general—and The Bard in specific—for the Alpha Playtest. Today, I get to build on that foundation and share with you our current design for The Cleric.

Both Cleric and Wizard presented us with a design conundrum from the get go: they get “extra pages” in the original Dungeon World (DW1) to include their respective spells, separated by arbitrary levels based on, well, tradition.

From a design perspective, though, those are the types of anomalies that make it so some Classes are easy/simple/underpowered (as in having access to fewer options) while others end up being hard/complex/overpowered (as in having access to more options comparatively)… And we didn't want that, to be honest. We share the desire to make all Classes as equally interesting and “powerful” as possible.

So that left us with two alternatives: either making every Class as complex as the Cleric and Wizard… Or to simplify them both.

To help us in our decision process, we looked at Cleric and Wizard Spells in DW1 from a PbtA design perspective. From this viewpoint, they most closely resemble Advanced Moves. And, when you think about it, it doesn't really make sense to give a dozen or so extra Advanced Moves to a couple of Classes, does it? The only reason we accepted it in the first place was because of tradition, I think.

So that's how we came to our current decision: to simplify both Cleric and Wizard, and hopefully opening them up for players interested in the fantasy they represent, but not in overly-complex mechanics.

And with that out of the way, let's start with this Class preview.

Cleric Feature

Deity’s Domains — Name: ___________

Unlock two of the following as the main spheres of influence of your deity; they are your deity’s domains. Each domain grants you access to a specific miracle.

Craft — Unending Provision. Create an item from any Supply type. If empowered, you may increase your Wealth by 1 at the end of the session.

Death — Grave Ward. Safeguard yourself or another from harm. If empowered, you or they also refresh any 1 spent Resistance.

Fate — The All-Seeing Eye. Perceive through magic and deception. If empowered, you also perceive identity, desire, and hidden details.

Knowledge — Eternal Wisdom. Know about an artisan craft or research subject like you've studied it for years. If empowered, you may instead know about a location, person, or path forward.

Life — Healing Hands. Heal someone of an injury, sickness, or extreme emotion. If you Comfort or Support someone, you may roll as if you both have a bond with each other. If empowered, you also heal a chronic condition or disability, or you can sustain the base effect for a scene.

Light — Radiant Beacon. Produce light that drives aways darkness, illusions, enchantments, and curses. If empowered, it also drives back undead, spirits, demons, and other horrors.

Travel — Boundless Voice. Converse with someone beyond language and range. If empowered, you also bypass death and level of intelligence.

War — Divine Scourge. Wield your deity’s preferred weapon until the end of the scene. This weapon is an element or concept chosen when you gain this miracle, such as fire, nature, death, time, justice, etc. While wielding this, you may Fight +Intuitive instead of +Forceful. If empowered, you may instead command the weapon to move or act on its own.

The Cleric feature, as can be expected, has everything to do with the Cleric's deity—the granter of the Cleric's power—and their influence over reality. This influence we’ve divided into 8 Deity’s Domains, and each grants a specific miracle. These miracles have a base version and an empowered one, representing getting more out of your connection with your chosen patron deity.

And speaking of… How do you empower your miracles? Well, that’s the purview of one of this class’ starting moves.

Cleric Starting Moves

Invoke
When you call upon your deity's power, choose one of the miracles you have available, describe how you want to use it, and then roll+Intuitive. On a 7+, the miracle is granted. 🟎On a 10+, choose only one from the list below. 🟎On a 7-9, choose two:

- It comes with an unexpected twist 
- It displeases your deity; mark 1 Dissension
- It draws unwanted attention to you

To empower a miracle, mark 1 additional Dissension, have a fellow PC Assist you and choose the move accomplishes more than normal, or Push Yourself and choose empower your miracle (instead of another benefit).

As you can see, this move makes a Cleric's divine powers always have some kind of cost, risk, or drawback, even when you pull it successfully.

One thing we wanted to do with this Cleric design was to bring to the foreground the relationship between Cleric and deity. To do so, we’ve included a “negative resource” (such as The Bard’s Ennui). Whereas in the case of Ennui it is meant to represent the frustrations and emotional up-and-downs common to many (performing) artists, Dissension embodies the tensions and back-and-forth between a mortal conduit and the piece of the infinite, often alien mind of a god.

Dissension — ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
You have a Bond with your deity that is related to why you follow them. Write it down now: ____________

Your issues with—and separation from—your deity are represented by Dissension. It starts at 0, and if it’s 4 or lower it resets to 0 when you Relax Together successfully. At End of Session, if you did something to please your deity during the session, clear 1 Dissension.

When you Invoke your deity’s help, if your Dissension is higher than your Intuitive, roll any associated move with ᴅɪs.

If Dissension ever reaches 5, you can no longer Invoke until you complete a trial, confront a doubt, or make a sacrifice; choose one and your GM will tell you the details. Once you complete it, you may rewrite your Bond with your deity.

The general, foundational idea of all these “negative resources” is to add tension and drama to “doing your thing” while, at the same time, serving as another incentive to take a rest—i.e. Relax Together—and have more of those interparty buildup scenes.

The tension in this case—as with Ennui—mainly comes, at first, from your Dissension going over your Intuitive and, later, from it reaching 5. If it does, it’ll become a problem that actually needs addressing in the fiction (a “side quest”, if you will) and, if it doesn’t, it’s supposed to maintain a certain level of tension while adventuring until you finally Relax Together.

As an aside: some fans have expressed concerns over the amount of things to track in DW2 (Kinship, Supplies, Conditions, Dissension, etc.). We are listening to that feedback, but the blog posts won't always reflect those.

Finally, we have one more starting move for our Cleric:

Commune
When you Have a Moment, you may also choose “Channel your emotions into prayer and meditation. Ask your deity one question about this discovery and they will answer truthfully.”

This little move allows us to keep on incentivizing the Cleric to think about their relationship with their deity, and how that manifests in everyday activities such as when they Have a Moment. 

Now that we’re done with starting moves, let’s look at this class’ equipment.

Cleric Equipment

Gear
Choose one from each line or write your own (with the GM’s permission):
bloodstained warhammer, innocuous staff, worn mace, ___________
ancient chainmail, prized hide coat, simple robes, ___________
blessed amulet, stolen reliquary, symbolic shield, ___________ 

Supplies — ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
You start with pious supplies.
You also start with either ☐ crafting supplies or ☐ medical supplies.

Nothing much to say here, except to point you to The Bard’s entry in case you want a more detailed explanation about how gear and supplies currently work in DW2.

With that out of the way, now it’s time to take a look at the advanced moves.

Cleric Advanced Moves

Anathema
When you Fight enemies of your deity, you may treat a 6- as a 7+. You may mark 1 Dissension (or spend 1 Kinship) to treat someone as an enemy of your deity for the scene.

As a reminder, advanced Moves that offer options (or have additional costs) in the form of adding negative resources also offer the use of Kinship. Having a tight-knit adventuring party helps PCs to be better at what they attempt, after all.  

Aura of Sanctity
When you Sway someone who shares your faith, values, or purpose (or just saw you perform a miracle), you may roll +Intuitive (instead of +Compelling).

Foresee
At the start of each session, roll+Intuitive. 🟎On a 10+, gain 2 Wyrd until the end of the session. 🟎On a 7-9, only 1. 🟎On a 6-, gain 1 Wyrd but you get ᴅɪs on your next roll. When something terrible happens (your call), you may spend Wyrd as if it was any Resistance to Resist the consequences. At the end of each session, lose all Wyrd.

Remember that anyone can grab Advanced Moves from other Classes, so everyone can get the gift of foresight, if they want! 

Rebuke
When you rebuke a group of your deity’s foes, invoke your deity’s name, title, or display a relic of your faith and roll+Intuitive. 🟎On a 10+, they cannot move past you or they flee for a while (your choice). 🟎On a 7-9, the GM chooses instead.

Gandalf may be a 5th-Level wizard, but he’s also an incarnated angel-like being calling on the power of his creator when he famously shouted, “You cannot pass!”

Shield of Faith
When you summon a sudden divine shield around you, utter your deity’s name and roll+Intuitive. 🟎On a hit, you can Resist without marking a Resistance. 🟎On a 7-9, mark 1 Dissension (or spend 1 Kinship).

If someone Assists you in a way that makes narrative sense and you choose the move accomplishes more than normal, you might be able to shield those around you as well.

Testify
When you address a group of NPCs who care about what you have to say, speak your truth and roll+Intuitive. 🟎On a 10+, choose 3 from the list below. 🟎On a 7-9, only 2:

- One of them is particularly touched by your words; you can Sway them with ᴀᴅᴠ
- There are no hidden threats among them
- They will work together as a group to achieve something you ask them
- You divine the answer to 1 question about their thoughts, feelings, or motivations (as if you had Read Someone)

Many of these moves include triggers that mention “your deity”. When a non-Cleric grabs them through Multiclass, the PC in the fiction will either need to develop a strong connection with a deity, or already have developed one before choosing the advancement. This is the type of reasoning/good faith that we expect from all players at the table, especially so when Multiclassing. We make this explicit in the game’s Player Principles, which we’ll reveal in a later post.

Finally, these are the Advancement options currently available to the Cleric.

Cleric Advancements

When you Level Up, choose one of the following:

☐ ☐ A new advanced Cleric move
☐ Multiclass — An advanced move from another Class
☐ ☐ +1 to any Stat (max. +2)
☐ +1 to two different Resistances
☐ Change to a new Class, then gain another Advancement
☐ Acquire a magic holy symbol, vestments, or book
☐ Acquire another type of supplies
☐ Unlock a new deity domain
☐ Mark another facet of your Backstory

After you Level Up five times, you can also choose from the following list: ☐ ☐ ☐ A new advanced Cleric move
☐ ☐ Multiclass — A new advanced move from another Class
☐ +1 to any Stat (max. +2)
☐ +1 to any Stat (max. +3)
☐ +1 to two different Resistances
☐ Acquire an Artifact Symbol, Vestments, or Book
☐ ☐ Unlock a new deity domain
☐ Resurrect. When you attempt to bring someone back to life, say their name and roll+Intuitive. 🟎On a 7+, they return just as they were—for a while. 🟎On a 7-9, either you or them pay the price; they suffer ᴅɪs on all rolls until they spend some time recovering or you owe Death a debt (GM’s choice). You can’t trigger this move as long as you’re indebted to Death.
When a resurrected PC has to Face Death, they can’t choose to gamble with Death, peek through The Veil, or transform into someone new.

As you probably expected, Resurrection is a classic Cleric staple, but we wanted to make it a bit more dramatic. This version is very powerful—you can basically bring anyone back to life, with almost no limits—but, to balance it out, the next time that PC has to Face Death, they can just choose to get captured! or go out in a blaze of glory. With this we’re hoping to maintain the drama and tension of Face Death.

And that’s about it for today! On Tuesday Spencer will return to reveal all things Fighter.

Until then, happy gaming!

Helena