Cleric

Cleric

(Class)

Region

Any

Races

Any

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Iconic character

Kyra

Images of clerics

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 38–48 (1E)
Player Core, pg(s). 108 (2E)

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

A stargazer cleric of Desna.

Clerics are the warrior-priests of Golarion. They seek to spread their faith through conviction, words, and in some cases, war. Unlike lay practitioners of religion, the cleric is called to serve a deity or pantheon through prayer and practice. They receive training in the basics of war at the same time they learn to channel the influence of their deity. Individual clerics vary hugely from each other, especially depending on whom they worship. They could be cloistered clerics who pursue one of their deity's domains in private, or they could be battle-hardened priests who serve in wars that promote the tenets of their god.

Divine spells

Clerics' most potent ability is to draw upon the power of their deity or pantheon to cast divine spells. They use their magic to heal allies, bolster their strength, or otherwise promote the interests and philosophy of their god.

Clerics who practice flexible preparation, also known as ecclesiasts, can both prepare and spontaneously cast spells. Ecclesiasts are often itinerant worshipers who lack a permanent church and practice their faiths in a relatively unorthodox manner.

On Golarion

Together with champions, clerics are the iconic servants of the gods. People see good clerics as symbols of hope, especially in times of hardship.

Clerics are active almost everywhere, with a few notable exceptions. The government of Rahadoum bans the exercise of any religion pursuant to the Laws of Mortality, which were passed in the aftermath of decades of devastating religious civil war. Churches and clerics drawn to minister in Rahadoum must do so in secrecy, risking exile, imprisonment, or worse. The practice of religion is also forbidden in the island nation of Hermea in the Steaming Sea. In the strict theocracy of Razmiran, virtually all citizens are compelled—by means ranging from economic coercion to forced conversion—to worship the false deity Razmir. In contrast, Absalom houses great temples to numerous major deities in the Ascendant Court.

Knights of Lastwall count many clerics and other divine followers in their ranks. The Pathfinder Society's Envoy's Alliance faction attracts many clerics and others who are dedicated to the Society as a whole over their individual goals.

Notable clerics

See also: Category:Clerics

Ancestries

There are no restrictions on the ancestry of a cleric, but dwarf, halfling, empyrean, duskwalker, cambion, shoony, anadi, goloma, and tripkee adventurers often become clerics.

Religion

All clerics receive their special powers from deities and sometimes entire pantheons. Clerics of some religions are open about their affiliation in social settings, while others actively try to keep their worship secret. Clerics can gain their abilities from deities only if they share the same moral disposition, and every deity has edicts: tenets of the faith that must be followed by their faithful—especially the god's clerics—and promoted in the world. Clerics must also strictly avoid their deity's anathema for fear of losing their divine powers until some atonement is made.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.