Most notably they know how to lead and inspire, preaching from the front line as they charge into battle.AD&D 1e DMG, PHB, MM, FF, Deities and DemigodsĢe PHB, MM, Players Option: skills and powers, GM Option: High level campaigns, Planescape and most (all?) the planar supplementsģ.5 DMG, PHB, MM. Clerics are trained in a wide variety of abilities, and can turn thier hand to pretty much anything.
They are charismatic and capable leaders, as well as respected figures of authority. Suffer not the soulless in thy ministry, for they make doors for dangerous forces."Ĭlerics are the priests of the Emperor, members of the vast organisation known as the Ecclesiarchy. "A man without faith is a without a soul. Some see it as a form of penance others view Inquistors with awe and unthinkingly follow these most worthy of the Emperor's servants the more zealous see service with an Inquistor as a way of fighting heretics up close, the chance to purge the galaxy of foul deviants too much of an opportunity to ignore. From a Cleric's point of view his reasons for shunning the duties of the Ministorum and becoming an agent of the Inquisition can be manifold. Inquistors find Clerics useful Acolytes as thier abilities to interact with, and influence, the local population have proved valuable on many occasions. Although never acknowledged publicly, it has been rumoured that occasionally these orders have gone to war with each other, though open bloodshed is rare. Over the years, this has spawned numerous different orders within the Ecclesiarchy the majority of clerics belong to one of the different orders and this has a profound effect on how the clergyman performs his duties and preaches to the masses. Although all have the common theme of Him-On-Earth, it is in the details of how to pursue that faith where such disagreements and inconsistencies arise. This breeds such diverse clergy from overly suspicious zealots, who see hersey around every corner and stir up entire populations to burn innocents on a buring pyre, to those who will steep themselves in ancient lore, spending years in great dusty catacombs studying ageing scrolls on pointless intricacies of ceremonies and rituals.ĭespite many attempts by numerous Ecclesiarchs, the Ministorium has gained many disparate groups and ideals. Still, there are those within the Ministorum that follow a path long after others have moved on to learn a new lesson. However, such a broad base of skills means that they rarley specialise. On many occasions the Imperium has used such men to rouse populations to action at a critical moment of a foul xenos invasion or to flush out a deep-rooted Chaos cult.Ī Cleric has many skills, he is an orator, can hold his own in combat and is wise. They are charismatic men and great orators, able to incite and inspire common folk with thier speeches, commanding loyalty, respect and wonder in the Emperor and His ordained servants. Unlike the cardinals and pontifex that scurry around the ancient corridors of the great cathedrals of Ancient Terra and Ophelia IV, the spiritual homes of the Ecclesiarchy, the clerics and other such clergy live and work amongst the population, It is here that they preach the word, spread the faith and sheperd the human race, for if they were negligent in such duties Chaos would take hold.Ĭlerics are fiery individuals, who lead from the front. Yet the Ministorum endures, guiding humanity in its superstitious and dogmatic worship of the Emperor.Īt the forefront of this vast church are the clerics, preachers, confessors and missionaries. In the past this has led the Eccleisarchy into abuses of power and outright civil war, such as the Age of Apostasy. Nevertheless, the Ecclesiarchy is a vast and powerful institution comprising of millions of clergymen hundereds of thousands of dioceses spread across the far reaches of Imperial space. It is completely seperate from the Adeptus Terra, concerned with looking after mankind's spirtiual needs rather than maintaining a galaxy-spanning. The Adeptus Ministorum, or Ecclesiarchy, tends to the religious needs of the Imperium. "By the Saints and the Sigilite himself! If you don't move, I'll take this hammer to your head!"