Clerics

=Overview= Clerics specialize in healing and holy magic. They are the best healers and the only guild capable of resurrection, but only at the highest of skill levels. They're able to heal wounds and diseases, though some have foregone the study of healing to focus on smiting, exorcism, or battling the undead.

Compared to paladins, their holy magic is more potent and direct.

=History= The Clerics are the only class with documentation of their existence prior to the fall of Xumurdad. Back then, they were not magical; they were merely a temple culture that focused on worshipping the leader of the land. The Clerics were the last to deign to eat the fallen piece of their God, and so received the heart of their great lord, and unimaginable power.

The current Vahishta is Duncan Heimdall Jackson.

=Details= Clerics as a combat class are magic-oriented, relying on holy spells to deal damage. They do have limited melee ability, but clerics who choose melee tend to supplement it with buffs and debuffs because their offensive magic is not very melee-oriented. They have several powerful AoEs and single-target spells, but because all of it is holy element, they are largely unable to take advantage of elemental weaknesses.

As a support class, they are healing-oriented, with a small supply of buffs and debuffs. A dedicated buff-support class would be more varied with more powerful buffs, but cleric buffs will suffice if a dedicated buffer can’t be found. They have a wide variety of healing spells, single-target, splash, AoE, and so on, and are capable of removing curses/buffs/debuffs on others, as well as banishing undead/demons. They are also capable of curing disease.

As a dedicated caster class, there is a lot of spell-crossover between builds, and combat/healer hybrids are possible. Typically hybrids will be weak in one area while strong in the other, or average in both.

Clerics are the only class capable of learning resurrection, and this is a secret well-kept by the church. In gameplay terms, it requires completing a quest at level 100. In real-world terms, it requires a high level of trust within the church. In RP terms, your character’s knowledge of resurrection must be mod-approved and all resurrections must be mod-approved.

=The Church= More info about the church can be found on the Everea page for now.

The church hierarchy is modeled after Eastern Orthodox hierarchy. The Vahishta holds the highest rank in the church. Regions are organized into diocese and archdiocese, headed by bishops and archbishops. Archbishop Doukas is the head of the Everea Diocese. Bishops without a diocese of their own are called auxiliary bishops. The highest ranking of these is Dorothy Beauregard, who serves the Vahishta personally.

The church of Xumurdad does not require its clergy to be celibate or forbid them from marrying. They are, however, expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting a representative of the church.

=Members=
 * Vahishta: Duncan Heimdall Jackson
 * Ashtaroth Selah
 * Benedict 'Bene' Conrad (DROPPED)
 * Zachary Bristol

=Headcanon=

Skills
Bless: buff, enchants a target with holy energy, causes damage to undead/unholy enemies that attack the target, single target.

Holy Wave: offensive, expanding wave of holy energy that damages all undead/unholy targets within range, AoE.

Smite: offensive, deals holy damage, increased damage to undead/unholy enemies, single target.

Dragon's Heart: ?
 * Unlocked to all skill builds at level 75
 * Quest-based