Cleric
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Summary
Clerics are messengers and servants of their god or goddess. They often are a part of their deity's church, a religious organization that upholds the ideals of the deity in question.
Clerics channel the divine power of their diety, granted in the form of the cleric spell list, in return for praying to their patron deity. All clerics share the common cleric spell list, but which spells they use, and how, varies greatly between clerics. A cleric of Ilmater is dedicated to ease the suffering in the world, casting many healing spells on those in need. A cleric of Bane, on the other hand, wishes to advocate tyranny, fear and order, using his spells in quite a different way.
In addition to spells, clerics also get other divine abilities. The most notable of these is the ability to Turn Undead. In Neverwinter Nights, this is the only option. But from a RP point of view, evil clerics can dominate or rebuke undead, instead of making them flee, or destroying them. Lathander and his followers are devoted to the destruction of undead, and will likely use this ability, along with any spells, to rid the world of these unnatural beings. But a cleric of Velsharoon will likely enjoy creating and commanding his own undead army, using spells many good clerics would never use, such as "Create Undead", and the ability to dominate undead.
Clerics are trained in the use of simple weapons, and all armor and shields. Since armor does not interfere with divine magic, clerics often choose the full plate for maximum protection. However, some deities and churches may prefer different adventuring gear for their clerics. Every deity has a "weapon of choice", and sometimes clerics choose to wield the same type of weapon as their patron. This is not a requirement, however.
A cleric can have many motivations for adventuring. Some may be crusaders, temple guardians and warriors like paladins, while others are humble healers. A cleric can be assigned to a mission by his or her superiors in the chruch the cleric is part of. Others travel to learn about the world, their deity, and grow powerful. Some want to spread their patron's faith around the lands. Clerics are as varied as adventurers, in general.
Requirements
Deity
The cleric is a servant of a god or goddess. Therefore, he or she must have chosen a patron deity, and must serve this deity. There are many gods worshipped in Amia, a partial list of which may be found here. The patron may be selected at the time of character creation by typing the name of the god in the Deity field of the character screen. The patron deity may also be chosen later by binding to an idol in-game and may be changed at any time up to 10th level.
Alignment
A cleric is usually the same alignment as his or her patron deity. The cleric can be one step away from his deity on the Alignment Axis, at most. If you follow a Lawful Good deity, and are not Lawful Good yourself, you must either be Lawful Neutral (one step on the good-evil axis) or Neutral Good (one step on the law-chaos axis). Servants whose alignment doesn't match their deity's do not get spells or powers from that deity. provided they meet the alignment requirements. Furthermore, those who do not may find themselves smitten with holy - or unholy - wrath.
Spells
The cleric casts divine spells, and must have a wisdom of 10+(spell level) to cast them. Clerics must pray for their spells, with rituals varying between deities. For example, clerics of Lathander pray for their spells at the first light of dawn.
Domains
A cleric must choose two domains, at least one of which must be a domain of the patron deity; the other can be whatever you wish as long as it makes sense for the character (no "Sun" for a cleric of Velsharoon, and no "Good" for a cleric of Loviatar). This is because Neverwinter Nights lacks many of the domains detailed in various D&D source materials. The choice of domains gives access to special spells and powers including the ability to pray (see below). The domains are detailed in the book "Faiths and Pantheons"; more information may be found by consulting the individual deity pages and the list of domains.
Prayer
An individual may gain certain benefits by identifying themselves as a worshipper of a particular deity; in Amia, they may bind themselves to a god by praying at that god's idol, subsequent prayers to the god may provide a blessing.
Prayers to a deity may be made approximately once per (game) day (i.e. once per real hour). Clerics automatically receive a party-wide alignment-related blessing so long as all party members are in the same area. Non-clerics have a 40% chance to gain a personal blessing. All other characters add twice their Paladin, Ranger, Blackguard or Champion of Torm levels to the 40% base success rate (a level 30 Paladin would thus get an automatic success).
Clerics get an additional party-wide bonus if they have a domain that matches their patron's portfolio. Druids who follow a god with Animal or Plant domains will function as Clerics and receive an automatic party -wide alignment blessing; they do not get any domain blessings as they aren't true clerics and so don't have domains.
The duration of a prayer is 5 turns + 1 turn / 3 Cleric (or Druid) levels. This equals 5 minutes + 20 seconds for every Cleric level.
The prayer is accessed from the Rest menu. This effectively means that you cannot use it in the thick of a fight.
