Unorthodox Clerics
From: The Le Games
Reviewed by: Travis Lee
Unorthodox Clerics is a new Downloadable D20 Sourcebookfrom The Le Games. The Le Games comes to the gaming table with yet another excellent character creation supplement. Unorthodox Clerics provides the usual five alternate character types, this time to add bounce to lifeless religious types.
From page # 2:
“They show the glory of their lord through their actions”
The above text could just as easily describe the Unorthodox Clerics. No fat, no filler, just straight up character expansion. That's the best part of the book; where most D&D; supplements focus on the number crunching, Clerics gives you plenty of personality meat to sink your teeth into. As to the specifics, the five new types are as follows.....
Chosen
Sometimes the Gods just need a few good fanatics. Chosen are kind of like Paladins, but without the sense of humor. Forget preaching or politics, The Chosen show their devotion with wills of iron and cold steel.
Cultists
Speaking of fanatics.....
Cultists are the worst sort of devout worshippers, amoral servants of brutal deities who will use any means necessary to convert or kill all enemies of the faith, and to advance the cause at any price. For the price of their souls (and their Wisdom scores) Cultists gain access to potent supernatural abilities.
Elementalists
Not everyone worships the Gods. Elementalists dedicate their lives to the pursuit of the power of nature. Constantly they walk a tight rope between the powers of earth, air, and water, with the wrong slip ready to drag them down to destruction. Elementalists take the power of the elements directly into their own bodies, gaining benefits as they progress.
Inquisitors
More from the fanatic front, these guys are really scary. Inquisitors are called to lead the unfaithful to their version of the divine. They are absolutely devout and try their absolute best to lead everyone around them to whatever set of morals their God espouses, whether those morals involve peace or absolute slaughter. Of course the methods Inquisitors use depend on the Deity in question, ranging from annoying to lethal.
Priests
While Clerics of all kinds wander the earth slaughtering the infidel and adventuring for personal glory, someone's got to run the temples and minister to the faithful. These are the Priests, and they are the back bone of all religions. Immense levels of knowledge and expanded domains allow Priests to compete with Arcane spell casters and make sure that someone is there to take care of those tempestuous Clerics when they run home from the Dungeon with their tails between their legs.
From page #19:
“Priests are knowledgeable in a multitude of fields due to their years of cloistered study.”
Unfortunately, this phrase doesn't quite describe Unorthodox Clerics. With five options, three of them are varieties of religious fanatics. While the Chosen, Cultist, and Inquisitor are very different entities, it might have been nice to have some different options. However, they are different as stated. And the inclusion of the Elementalist and Priest make up for this fault. The Priest class in particular is a deeply welcome addition; its very nice to finally see a D&D; based cleric type which is actually involved in religious duties beyond whacking infidels on the head.
In conclusion,
Those who want to 'kick ass for the Lord' should definitely pick up this supplement. The nice part is, if you want to do more you can skip to the back and enjoy the options offered by the Priest class. Buy it, Buy it, Buy it.
For more details on The Le Games and their new Downloadable D20 Sourcebook“Unorthodox Clerics” check them out at their website http://http://www.TheLeGames.com, and at RPGNow.com.
(Product Summary)
Unorthodox Clerics
From: The Le Games
Type of Game: Downloadable D20 Sourcebook
Written by: Robert J. Hahn
Cover Art by: Tom Miskey
Additional Art by: Character Portraits: Fantasy Heroes (Mongoose Publishing)
Number of Pages: 25
Retail Price: $ 2 (US)
Email: TheLeGames@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.TheLeGames.com
Reviewed by: Travis Lee
