Switching Allegiance (Changing Gods)

Switching Allegiance (Changing Gods)




When a cleric, druid, or anyone else capable of
casting divine spells commits himself to a deity,
it is usually for life. The devotion required of a person
so he can receive and cast divine spells is not something
that can be approached lightly. It often takes years of
study and commitment, or an extraordinary occurrence,
before a cleric reaches the point that his deity will
grant him spells. Once he does reach this point, it takes
incredible circumstances for him to turn his back on his
chosen god to follow the path of another deity.
Switching allegiance to another deity is a serious
undertaking, even more so than a Wizard of High
Sorcery changing Orders. Unlike the Orders of
High Sorcery, clerics are not committed to just the
precepts of good, evil, or neutrality. Clerics are also
committed to the interests of their patron deity, be it
nature, commerce, disease, or some other realm. So, in
switching allegiances, a cleric forsakes the interests of
his former deity and embraces the interests of his new
one.

The player of a cleric wanting to switch allegiances
should consult with the Dungeon Master on the
consequences and options available if this choice is
ever under consideration. A Dungeon Master should
recognize and point out any occasions of a character
acting in a manner contrary to the interests of his
patron deity – actions that might make a change
necessary, whether desired or not. Ultimately, it should
be the will of the player character that decides the
matter, though a cleric deliberately played as if he
followed another god’s interests will eventually have to
face the consequences.

It is also possible for a cleric to slowly drift away
from his patron deity in such a way that he slowly
loses the powers granted to him. Whatever the reason,
if cleric begins acting in ways that are frowned on or
prohibited by his patron deity, the god will begin to
withhold spells, supernatural and spell-like abilities, and
any extraordinary abilities that stem from godly benefit.
If this happens, the cleric must atone for his actions (see
the atonement spell, page 201 in the Player’s Handbook),
renounce his allegiance to the god, or continue on in a
kind of false service.

However it happens, once a new allegiance is
declared, the cleric instantly assumes the class features
of a cleric of that god. He will lose any abilities or
powers granted by his former deity, but those will be
replaced by powers and abilities that his new patron
offers to a cleric of his level. This includes domains,
granted powers, and domain spells. The cleric will no
longer have access to his former god’s domains, but will
now have access to the domains of his new god. If the
cleric’s moral alignment changed (from good to neutral,
neutral to evil, etc) his ability to channel positive or
negative energy for the purposes of turning undead or
spontaneous casting will be affected, also.
Until he gains a new level, any cleric who acquires a
new patron deity takes a –20% XP penalty for every step
away from his original alignment the change takes him
(so that a cleric of a good god who becomes a cleric of a
neutral god takes a –20% penalty, but if the same good
cleric became a cleric of an evil god, he would take a
–40% penalty). This penalty stacks with the XP penalty
paid by a multiclassed character with uneven levels.