How would you go about playing a Cleric of War without being too edgy about it? He doesn't have to a paragon of virtue, but at the same time he can't just constantly be all "Rip and tear!" all the time either.
I was thinking about maybe having mine have the long-term goal of setting up training centers for the villagers and cityfolk that he comes across, knowing that when war comes to their lands it won't spare the civilians, so they ought to know how to fight so they can be warriors and not victims.
Perhaps he could also take in the orphans of battle and send them to an academy to become Clerics of War themselves, giving them a future and spreading the religion further.
I don't know, I've never done a Cleric of War before so I'm new to this.
A thought that leapt to mind is having him idealise conflict as a way of solving problems. Not necessarily armed conflict, although a duel to settle a dispute is something he'd approve of. But in general encouraging people to challenge themselves and one another, to set their skills against each other and let that determine the victor, small echoes of war that prove the righteousness of the cause of the one who is left in the end. That's something you could flavour as mostly positive and life affirming despite a creepy undercurrent of idealizing events which involve massive loss of life.
Leo Bennett
It's about accepting a few core truths. >war is inevitable >sometimes violence IS the answer >the only thing that stops a bad guy with a sword, is a good guy with a sword >you're not meant to enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's a chore, like any other
use craft skill to uplift the empire by building steal wagons. give tanks, I meant... steal wagons alchemical weapons use them to capture hippogriffs and other war beasts.
take your steal wagons and war beasts and sell them to the empire. or be an edglord and go to war. I don't know it's a character class you play it how you want
Nathan Collins
So make them a Logistical manager? Makes a lot of sense.
So instead of being "WAAAG", he recommends rationing supplies, preparing equipment, ect.
Charles Scott
A Sun Tzu style tactician. One who knows that the most decisive victory is the one without a sword drawn, an arrow loosed, or an ally lost.
Alternatively, play up the healslut part you can do as any Cleric with the martial aspects and be a combat medic devoted to keeping others alive, even if it kills them or others.
Hunter Morales
You could go for the classic Einherjar Valhalla-bound type. Fighting and drinking like it's a party, expecting death to lead to a land of more fighting and drinking. Or tone that down a bit to someone who enjoys the thrill of battle when it's an unavoidable necessity, but still sympathizes with the civilian desire to avoid conflict. Or someone who wages war on behalf of those who are not fit to bear arms, forever siding with the underdog in order to participate in more challenging battles.
Kayden Clark
Emphasis the bond that brothers of battle share. In a world where people hate each other for all kinds of stupid reasons, the War Cleric is willing to become friends with anyone, Elf, Orc, Dwarf, Human, even Kobolds, so long as he can trust them to have his back in the heat of battle.
>A Sun Tzu style tactician. One who knows that the most decisive victory is the one without a sword drawn, an arrow loosed, or an ally lost. This.
The acme of skill is to win without fighting. If one must fight, they should fight in the most effective and efficient manner so as to get it done as quickly and painlessly as possible, as there is no instance of a state benefiting from prolonged warfare.
Robert Gutierrez
>War is inevitable Not if a proper compromise can be arranged.
>sometimes violence IS the answer Not in land of civilized man. Gods gave us language for a reason.
>the only thing that stop a bag guy with a sword is a good guy with a sword Not if we have something he wants.
>You're not meant to enjoy killing No, we are. We used to be predators. It's the language and reasoning that we we're blessed with that separates us from the animals we were.
If you must wage war, wage war on ignorance and barbarism. Fight it with compassion and enlightenment.
Jackson Moore
>Not if a proper compromise can be arranged. And sometimes a proper compromise can't be arranged. Sometimes the enemy doesn't want to compromise. Can you look me in the eye and honestly say that there's even the possibility of there never being a war again in the future?
>Not in land of civilized man The land of all men is governed with violence. Taxes are collected at the tip of the sword, laws are enforced with the threat of the cudgel, and unlawful men are put down with the strength of warriors.
>Not if we have something he wants. We don't negotiate with terrorists. If we give the bad guy what he wants, that only encourages future bad guys to make the same threats in the future.
Plenty of good themes for a War cleric Logistics - knowing and planning for the needs of a body of soldiers Strategy - might work to popularize games like chess, shogi, go, etc Martial prowess - fight trainer/corner man/boxing coach/sifu/sensei and/or referee for duels or other ritualized combats Siegemaster - whether you advise warriors into attacking or defending locations, building machines or fortifications Morale - cleric might specialize in organizing/leading armed peasants in combat or speechifying to bouy soldiers before battle
Jordan Bell
>Cleric of War without being too edgy about it? Who is your war god?
>Athena War is a matter of strategy, tactics, logistics, and diplomacy, to be a skilled warrior is only one facet of warfare, one must be clever, well equipped, and willing to compromise when needed.
>Mars War is a necessary but grim evil, those unwilling to wage war will see their children and wives crushed under the heels of conquerors and tyrants. Thus one must always be ready to lay down to plow and take up the sword and the spear.
>Tyr War is honourable and all that shit, you know the drill single combat, die fighting, don't harm the innocent, etc.
>Ares Yeah not sure how to do this without being edgy
The point being war gods aren't always simple slaughterers, they often represent the good or important parts of war. Tyr is the god of single combat, Mars represents the Roman patriarch willing to march off to war to defend his family, Athena represents the complexities of war.
Odysseus could probably be used as an example of a war cleric of Athena, he wasn't really a cleric but he exemplified the ideals of Athena and was generally supported by her.
Ian Gray
I had a war god that believed...
...war is politics by other means... ...war is not necessarily the best option for a given problem... ...pragmatism over honor most of the time... ... the value of loyalty is a direct function of the value of want a person is loyal to... ... and having said all of the be sure to guard yourself & close friends from being taken for a ride by your own leaders.
This god was CN.
Grayson Hall
>you're not meant to enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's a chore, like any other Mah Dead Horse!
Cameron Morgan
Make him less a Cleric of War, and more a Cleric of Conquests or Unification. It just so happens that the War aspect of his God is the most useful at the moment
Survival of the fittest, but done in a much more uplifting way. Instead of despising the weak despise weakness itself. Rather than looking down on the weak as things to tread upon by the strong, they are to be encouraged to become stronger in order to protect themselves on their own terms (which is similar to the idea you already mentioned).
Also would help to make sure the expectations are reasonable if you don't want to be a complete asshole. You wouldn't demand anyone reach some insane milestone far above their reasonable limit, but anyone who waits and expects someone else to save them is a fool who deserves whatever fate befalls them.
Nicholas Wood
One might focus on mystic or gnostic elements of mental states achieved in the heat of battle. Think something like samurai Zen Buddhism's clarity of thought, or a spiritual take on a berserk warrior. I could see a Kali/Durga type figure with followers seeking transcendence through fury.
What if that something they want is to take our lands and enslave our people? Fucking idiot.
In a world of limited resources, War is an inevitability. War is also the father of all things, as wise Heraclitus observed. The greatest advancements of civilization are due to war. War is the ultimate expression of us and them, of the OTHER. THE OTHER is what creates meaning and gives shape to the world. We cannot understand anything in the world unless we do it through differentiation and distinctions. Black and white, good and right, us and them. War is the ultimate expression of what it means to be human. Those who advocate universal brotherhood and love would have us suffocate in a swamp of stasis, they think themselves gods that can rise above what it is to be human. For they hate humanity, they hate their own flesh, for they cannot revel and become intoxicated with the fullness of life and the danger of its loss.
Josiah Davis
Come to think of it, Joshua Graham is a pretty great LG cleric of war
Evan Perry
I made one who's beliefs basically boiled down to a belief everything boiled down to conflict on some level, and war/battle was that idea distilled. He studied the histories and sought to understand everything there was to war, to turn War into something of a science. I played him almost like a wizard. Every time he encountered a new weapon, technique, spell, or type of combat he'd write it down and muse about how it could be applied. He had a bunch of anecdotes to use for different scenarios. He was kind of a dusty dry researcher, except when fighting personally.
Jaxon Russell
Sergeant Rock. You're an army lifer, you're the toughest man in the battalion, and you always make sure that your boys get home. War is your profession.
Read Garth Ennis' Battlefields and War Stories for a good example.
Being the cleric of anything, assuming one wants to be 'good', means finding the virtues in it. For war, that might be defending your lands and families. The ideals of purpose, strength, and discipline. Warrior traditions that pass down through each generation.
You can delve into a lot of philosophy about strength and power. If the strong have the right to take from the weak. If strength ultimately deters warfare rather than fostering it. If combat betters or weakens a society. Ethics in war, or lack thereof. Endless topics.
Jayden Harris
Doesn't have to be rip and tear or hardcore zealot, just be a cleric who also really happens to like fighting or a pragmatic realist that wants to help but is aware that the world's so shit that war is a pretty good solution.
Josiah Wilson
Came here to post this.
Alexander Reed
Play as this guy. A priest who takes monster killing as part of their clerical duties
My Cleric of war was a simple man. When I saw a fight, if it was a good fight, I would cast Bless upon the combatants. Yes, including my "enemies".
Cameron Reed
>without being edgy about it That is where Apollyon fails.
Charles James
You've been touched by war and, realizing it is unavoidable, decide to set up a group to control war. Be it through the war economy, the military-industrial complex, Metal Gear, or making wars over nothing that keep fighting away from civilians where the violent can fight until none are left.
