Jesus Deity

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I know that DnD does not include real-life religions, but I think it would be cool to play a Cleric with as deity Jesus, a Christian.

What would the class be like?
Alignment, powers?
Which DnD are the most like the Christian religion?

Tell me!

 

Ilmater?

 

Ilmanter is very likely, but not very precise,
Millil would also fit in (worshipping trough music), and many others would fit, like Oghma, god of Wisdom.

there for a mix is required for this class.

 

Ilmater is the best 'comparison' to Jesus yet you have to reailise that in the Forgotten Realms the gods are there to uphold the balance between Law and Chaos unlike the Chrisian religion where there is only one god who is there to... well nobody knows why he's there but we assume him to be a 'good' god who cares little about law and chaos (and so wouldn't seek a balance between the two). However this is assuming you're talking about the Forgotten Realms.

Alignment: Neutral Good - no question there.

I don't think you could actually 'have' a Cleric of Jesus since Jesus did not condone violence as a means of solving problems (much like some Forgotten Realms religions do not have paladins). The character would probably have to be a priest or a non-combat monk.

Jesus has shown some of the traits of multiple of the goodly gods (Ilmater, Lathander and Tyr to name a few) so it would be impossible to make an accurate combination since Jesus shows SOME of the traits of these gods, not all.

 

Polyteism vs monoteism.
Forgotten realms mostly refers to multiple gods, which makes the whole ting more nuanced. But Christianity is monoteism. Chaotic at best, like the human life, neutrality is subject rarly observed, which would make gods like Silvanus and Eldath akind to satan, because of their link to nature. Pan, the greek god of the wilds is a horned goatlike creature, who had aspected of good and evil incorporated in him. This duality was unaccepted to the christianas of that time, so he was the model of the horned goatlike satan.
But staying on topic, Ilmater would be the best comparison, because of his emphasize of easing suffering.

[ September 26, 2004, 06:58: Message edited by: Zurga ]

 

Okay Ilmanter would fit best, but not totally...but which mix would be the best?

and I understand it would be an non-combat priest, although Demons could be fought against, IMO.

 

Of all that has been said and written about the life of Jesus – whether as a man, a prophet, or a messiah – it’s almost never mentioned that he was a Lvl 10 Monk, Lvl 5 Ranger, Lvl 5 Cleric. It’s true.

 

lol, jaguar, that's some feat to prove


Anyway, putting the class aside for a second, i'd like to point out a few feats rather necessary for such a char. Book of Exalted Deeds is a must-have. From there various Vows complement such an idea perfectly. Most notably are Vow of Poverty and Vow of Peace. Both offer terrific bonuses for what you'd be obliged to roleplay in the first place.
Especialy Vow of Peace has a cool ability of Calming Presence (saving throw if agitated) and weapon-shattering skin.

 

Heh... Just thought of the prospect of Jesus taking the feat "Stigmata" from the BoED...

 

Well, I wish I could take the credit for that, but I borrowed it from the RocketNinja store, in the description of their T-shirt: Jesus Saves.

 

Technically, Jesus would have to be a monotheistic deity, meaning He wouldn't fit in any pantheon. Next, you would probably need to reflect the Holy Trinity somehow, making it three persons in one divine essence and focusing your cleric on Jesus.

If you stick to Christian theology, as an omnipotent creator god, God can't be described by an alignment. Quite contrary, in Christian theology, He is the source of all Good and Law (hint: your cleric alignment had best be LG). The Good and Law aspects are joined and often Chaos stands for evil, as opposed to Logos (Law, Order, implied goodness).

Domains would have to be like All. You know, omnipotence. Chief focus would be Good, Law, Life, Creation, Love (charity, not Sune kind of love), Wisdom, Healing, Protection, Sacrifice, Forgiveness (no such domain in D&D rules, you would have to make it up). However, from seafaring to stonecutting, whatever could be granted to your cleric, if in accordance with the faith.

Again, I would specify domain powers etc on your cleric's end and avoid trying to put an infinite deity in some finite brackets of a human-invented game rules system. For my own purposes, if I needed a Christian-like world and would need more or less defined celestial powers, I would go for angels and saints (call them solars or whatever) and leave God alone so far as parameters go.

Between FR churches, most Christians would resemble Ilmatari, Lathanderians or Helmites. Some might be like faithful of Milil (Oghma's aide), some like Tyrians, some like Torm believers (although Torm is more like a saint figure).

 

Christianity is too big to fit all of it into a conventional D&D faith. I guess you could do it, but it just wouldn't be, you know, conventional.

Now, for a simple martyr deity, that's easy: just start with Ilmater and change what you need to.

(And I don't know how far Law, by D&D definition, should be applied to general Christianity. What Law and Chaos are in D&D can be tricky to interpret. But hey, "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.")