This Guide and Information Resources:

Hello brother and sister clerics and/or new players. All of the following information is compiled from advice from other clerics, reading the message boards and my own experience. My experience includes over five years of playing time and a 77th level cleric (plus a few other characters). This is the 4th edition of the guide. (Winter 2002)

I realize that the information in this guide is a lot to absorb. If you are a new player, much of it will make little sense to you as you get started. Try to pick out what you need to know right at the beginning and don't feel overwhelmed by the rest. I have tried to write this guide in a way that presents various viewpoints on being a cleric, but it's impossible to not have our own personal biases show up in such an undertaking.

One of the most valuable resources for new clerics is the Keepers of the Faith and Cleric Spells folders in the Cleric category, found on the Simutronics message board. As you play, you will have questions and the cleric folder is a great place to get them answered. It's also the best way to keep up to date on game changes that will affect you.

My advice to anyone is to read, read and read some more. Download maps, verb lists, monster lists, etc. etc. You cannot get everything from one source, but if you spend the time to read many different guides, you will feel at home more quickly. In addition to the official Simutronics documents another good source of information is player run web sites. There are links to many of them on the Gemstone web site, so spend some time surfing. (Be aware though that many of the sites and guides are extremely outdated.)

Read all guides carefully (including this one) and try to determine if the person sounds like they really know what they are talking about. Normally a guide written by a player of a character at title age or less will not have the needed perspective like one written by an elder who has been playing a long time. Though also keep in mind that just because someone has a high level character, it doesn't mean they know what they are talking about.

Be especially wary of armor guides as almost all of them are outdated (there were major changes to armor in 1998 and again in 2000) and most contain information that was never correct to start with. Armor is one of the more complex systems in the game, and your best bet is to get detailed information from the message boards and not guides. My favorite source for weapon and armor charts is Amerlise's Chambers found at http://www.liquidfish.net/amerlise/frames.htm.

Please keep in mind that the majority of my comments in this guide are talking about average clerics. There are always exceptions to almost anything that can be said. Also keep in mind that I have lived mostly in Wehnimer's Landing, and do not know as much about the other starting towns.
 

I.   WHO IS YOUR CHARACTER?

You need to give this a lot of thought before you play or have played very long. You should at least know the basics. You will probably find as you play, that your character takes on a life of his or her own and will often tell you what he or she is like. Here are some things to consider: What were your parents like? Did they get along with you? Are they still alive? What did they do for a living? Where did you grow up? Why did you come to the town where you start your life of adventure (where your character gens)? Or did you grow up in that town? What made you want to be a cleric? What god(s) do you follow? What is your goal in life? What kind of person are you? How do you treat others? The more of these kinds of questions you have answered in your head, the more quickly you will feel comfortable with your character as a person in the game.

Another important aspect of creating your character is being familiar with the history of Elanthia and the various races. Be sure to read the official information available on the Gemstone website, especially the race info as some of it describing skin and hair color is important to rolling up your character. The museum in the Landing is also an excellent source of history information. Having a baseline knowledge of history and the Arkati (the beings known as gods) will help you to play a more realistic and interesting character.
 

II.   CHOOSING A NAME

Your character name is extremely important. Think of names like faces. It's the first thing people see about you in the game, and just like how people look and dress in real life, people will judge you on it. Your first impulse may be to pick a popular name from fantasy literature or movies. Resist that impulse. Lots of others have done the same thing and it's much much better to have a unique name.

Simutronics can be strict about what names they will allow. Obviously no vulgar names, less obviously, no popular religious, historical, entertainment or political names should be used. Another type of name Simu does not allow are "phrase" names. Your character should have a real name, not something like Bigduck. (Yes, someone actually used that once.) If you do choose a name Simu doesn't allow, you will eventually be tracked down and forced to change it.

The other type of name to stay away from is what I call "dumb names". It may seem to you that it makes total sense when stepping into a fantasy game to come up with something like Doombringer or Darkmystical. What you will find is, they have already been used, and they are stupid names anyway. You need to think of your character in terms of being a real person with a real name. There are some well-known people in the game who have what could be considered dumb names, but they should be seen as the exception and not the rule. (Many of those people are embarrassed by the name they are stuck with, having chosen it before they understood the game.)

People often choose fluffy or silly names for their characters and those are just as bad or worse. Do you really want to be known as Cutecheeks or Flowerblossom or do you want people to take you seriously? And whatever you do, don't pick a profession name. By that I mean, don't choose to be called Holyraiser or something similar. How many people in RL (real life) go around named Supernurse or Taximan? The same can be said for using races in names.

So, how to get a good name? Think of a lesser-known character from one of your favorite books. Pick a name that you have always liked. Look on web sites that have ethnic names. Use one of the RPG (role-playing game) name generators on the web such as the one found at http://spitfire.ausys.se/johan/names/default.htm. Making up names can be fun. Think of various sounds you like and play around with the letters. It's a good idea to also try and make the name fit your race. A good dwarf name probably would not suit an elf and vice versa.

The best thing to do is when you sit down to roll up your character have a list of your favorites. For each one have a couple alternate spellings. If you do not get an alternate spelling in one or two tries, move on to another choice because that is usually a sign of it being a popular name. Again, you want to stand out, not blend in! Just remember above all, the name you pick is the face you present to the rest of the world and will have a great deal to do with how seriously or not other players take your character!
 

III.   GETTING STARTED

When you enter the game for the first time you will be in a blind alley and told a few things by a whispering voice. One of them tells you to type DIR to learn how to get to places. Visit the places in town on that list and you will eventually earn enough experience points to advance to level one and train again. As you visit the various shops around town you can pick up any items you are missing such as a sheath, shield, different weapon, etc. My advice though is to be frugal and pay back as much of your loan as possible right away.

To pay your debt, go to the debtor's or clerk's office and type "pay X", where X is the amount. You can make partial payments if you like. The clerk in that office is also who you will see to get messages to deliver around town. (Type 'ask clerk about job' to get a message.)

When you enter the game and leave the alley, you will come out at Silverwood Manor. This is the home of the Order of Lorekeepers, also known as mentors. Sometimes someone will be onduty in the courtyard when you arrive. In the courtyard there is also a bell. If you ever need help at any time, ring the bell and if a mentor is available at that time, they will answer the ring. If no one comes, you can try again later. As you start adventuring, keep the mentors in mind if you need any help as they can be a good source of information on a wide variety of subjects from Elanthian history, to role-play tips, to training advice to game mechanics. You will also find there are many people around town who will be more than happy to help you out with information. (Just remember, if it's a game mechanics or out of character type question, whisper to people for help, and be polite in how you ask.)

It's a good idea, before you have played very long, to find a quiet place in the game away from people where you won't be disturbed and type HELP. Take the time to read all the help topics as there is a lot of very valuable information there that a lot of new players overlook. Educating yourself about the basics of the game early on will pay off in a big way.
 

IV.   EXPERIENCE & LEVELING

Clerics gain experience by killing creatures and raising the dead. The amount of experience gained from raising is based on a complex formula that players haven't figured out. When hunting, you get 100 experience for each kill of your same level. That amount goes down by ten for each level under you the creature is, or up by ten for each level older, with a max of 150 per creature. (For instance, if you are level 10 and kill something level 6, you will get 60 experience.) You can still learn very well when hunting something that is several levels younger than you as long as they are a frequently generated creature and you can kill them quickly.

When it is time for you to advance to the next level and train, go to any local inn. Type "check in" at the front desk and it will take you to the character management system (often called the mangler) where you can train in skills. The room rate for checking into the inn is 10 silvers. You can either bring it with you, or you will have a debt, which can be paid off later when convenient. Make sure that you carefully follow the instructions on the screen and try not to make any mistakes during training.

If you have to leave the game while in the middle of training, just log out by typing "exit". When you log back into the game you will be taken right back to where you left off in the training process. If you realize you made a mistake, use the "previous" or "abandon" menu options to go back to fix it. Once you use the "done" menu option, there is no way to go back and redo anything. If any mistakes were made or you weren't finished and you typed in "done", the results are now a permanent part of your character.
 

V.   SILVERS

Prepare to be poor. The life of a cleric is one of dedication to the gods. It often doesn't pay well, at least when young. First of all, deliver messages from levels 1-3 as much as you can. It may not be exciting but it does build up your bank account and you will be grateful for how much it helps you learn your way around town. One other thing about messages, be polite and make us clerics look good. Do not go around town asking where the runner or the gypsy are! As you are running around town, make a note of where you see them, so that when you get a message for them, you will know approximately where to look.

The best way to make money when young is to scavenge. Pick up items left lying around by hunters who don't want to carry the weight, and sell them at the furrier and pawnshop. If someone else is already there, ask permission before taking anything, even if it's on the ground. Many people underestimate the value of skins. They see a rat pelt only sells for 24 or so silvers, and just leave them. It's amazing how much you can make by picking them all up. When you are done with your hunt and ready to go rest, scour the hunting area and pick up everything you can carry that is worth anything and you will find your account grows before you know it.
 

VI.   THE COLLECTIVE HOUSES OF ELANTHIA

Something to keep in mind while juggling all the decisions about weapons and that new pocketed cloak you want to buy, there are Houses to join. You must be at least level 5, but older for some of them. Be prepared for the fact you may not have enough silvers to join at level 5. The membership fees and requirements vary from House to House. There are several Houses and which one you decide to join will depend greatly on who your character is, where he/she lives and what is important to him or her.

The main thing is, if you just want to join a House for the larger locker, join Silvergate Inn or House of Paupers. Otherwise, consider your decision and make it fit the goals of your character. There are folders for each official House on the Gemstone message boards where you can get information about House themes, bylaws and membership requirements. Many of the Houses also have websites and links can be found on the Gemstone website.
 

VII.   CHARACTER & GAME INFO

At any time in the game you can type "skill", "info" and "spell" to get the current information about your character stats and training. Typing "exp" gives you information about your level, how far to the next one, and how much mana you have. Though you can also type just "mana". Typing "health" gives you your current status as far as wounds and HP's (health points) go and is also used to check your spirit. When you need accurate information, such as how many spirit points you have, be sure and use "health" and don't just rely on the Wizard Front End (graphics) display. The FE can be inaccurate at times. There are two systems for toggling various things on and off for your character. Type "set" and "flag" to see what these are and how to use them.
 

VIII.   BREAKAGE

At this writing the breakage system is still in development. I am only going to cover the most basic points. To further understand the system please read the Breakage folder in the Weapons and Armor category on the Simutronics message board. Be aware that since it is in testing, what I say here could be changed before the system goes live. All of your combat gear (weapon, armor and shield) is subject to both deterioration and breaking. While engaged in combat you will see messages showing your items clashing with those of your opponent. What you see are the ST/DU numbers of your opponent's item, your item, and an open roll result. ST refers to Strength and DU refers to Durability. (For example: my vultite falchion has the numbers 90/200.)

In a clash the two items are compared. The item with the lower ST number will have an open roll made against it to determine if it breaks or not. If both items clashing have the same ST number, both will have a roll made against them. If the roll is higher than the DU of your item you will get a message that your item is destroyed. The same holds true for creatures, you can break their gear. Clashes will also gradually degrade the integrity of your gear. You can look at your gear (i.e. "look my shield") to get its current integrity value in a percentage.

As the integrity of your gear goes down, it lowers the effective ST and DU. Meaning, it's possible that even if your item has a DU of 200, a roll of 180 could break it if its integrity is lowered enough. There will be both a player and merchant repair system introduced, but at this point we have few details about how repairs will work. While breakage is in development, no gear is actually degrading or breaking. There will be announcements made when the GM's are ready to make the system go live.
 

IX. MSTRIKE

Mstrike is a multiple melee attack that requires training in the multi-opponent combat skill. Currently as implemented, every 5 ranks of MO training allows a swing at an additional creature in a single attack. So 10 ranks of MO would allow you to swing at 3 creatures at once. This is done by typing "mstrike". To target a single creature, 40 ranks of MO is needed to get two swings, and then an additional swing is gained every 20 ranks. So 60 ranks of MO would allow 3 swings at a single creature and can be done by typing "mstrike <target>".

The mstrike attack RT is based on the speed of the weapon you are using. The first extra swing is "free" and then each swing after that tacks on another increment. For example, a falchion is a 5 second weapon. If you swing at three creatures your RT will be 10 seconds, one free swing and then two swings at 5 seconds each. This is important to keep in mind, as swinging at a lot of creatures and/or using a slower weapon such as a greatsword or awl-pike will make for some very long RT's. Targeted mstrike RT is figured the same way.

You cannot specify the number of targets you want to swing at with unfocused mstrike. RT can be longer than the base weapon speed if you are encumbered and/or under trained for your armor. Character stats like Dex and Reflex do not affect mstrike RT.
 

X.   DEEDS

Deeds are what allow you to keep your character going, no matter how many times they may die. Each time you die, you lose at least one deed. If you are successfully raised by a cleric, one deed is all you lose. If you die a spirit death (meaning death is caused by going to zero spirit) or decay before a cleric can raise you, you lose two deeds and you also lose some of the experience points you had previously gained (the max experience penalty is 10K, but lower when younger). Clerics are particularly at risk because of the chance of spirit death when not being careful raising the dead.

What this means is, you always want to have at least three deeds at all times. Otherwise you risk your character going demonic. If that happens, you can get your character name back, but you are forced to start again at level 0 and you lose everything you had owned. (No matter why you went demonic, unless it's an actual game bug, GM's will never restore your character.) Most characters try to keep at least ten deeds at all times for a safety margin, this is especially important during invasions and wars.

How you get deeds is a game puzzle and varies from town to town and place to place. You can usually get fellow adventurers to help you out with this. A hint to get you started, the gods like gifts to prove your worthiness. When you first start playing you get "free deaths" if you don't have any deeds. I think you get 5. Once you hit level two, all the death rules are in place. Deeds get more "expensive" the older you are and the more deeds you have, so it's best to stock up on a few when really young.
 

XI.   CRYSTAL AMULETS

Crystal amulets are magic items found on creatures. If you wear and rub them, they allow you to send your thoughts to others within that area of the Lands. When first rubbed, you are on the grey net, which is the general discussion net. If you then pull the amulet you are on the black net. That is the net you must use for all buying and selling. Turning it takes you to the white net, which is supposed to be for rescues, but people rarely use that one. (If you look at your amulet, the color will tell you which net you are currently thinking on.) To turn off the thoughts in your head, remove the amulet.

To send a thought simply type, "think <message>" and it will go out to everyone within range. You can also send private thoughts to people by typing, "think TO <name> <message>". If what you want to say is of little interest to others or is OOC (out of character) in nature, use private thoughts. Just be careful! It can be very embarrassing to intend to send something private, mess up your typing, and have everyone hear it!

The main reason I wanted to discuss the amulets is because they can be a great tool for both utility and RP (roleplay). But unfortunately many people abuse them, ruining the experience for other players. Please be respectful of others and responsible in your use of the thought networks. Think about what your character can really do when being in mental touch with others.

There is a great deal of debate over what is acceptable on the nets. Some players are very strict and think you should only think words, never using emoticons or other chat room type lingo. People in that camp believe that you can still get across your tone and meaning by your choice of words. For example if you want to be bright and cheery, a "Good morning!" pretty much gets it across. If you want to be sarcastic or are in a bad mood something like this might work, "Gah, another morning,"

Others are middle of the road and think that adding a :) or <chuckle> is acceptable to show the tone of the thought. I am not going to tell you not to use the net that way, but I will say why some people dislike it. Seeing things like :), :::snicker:::, or "how are u?" throws a lot of players immediately out of the fantasy and makes them feel like they are in an online chatroom instead. In other words, it's disconcerting and annoying. If you do use emoticons and things like that, use them sparingly and only when it's important to clarify tone. Sparing use is a lot more acceptable than people who put a :) at the end of every thought they send.

There is a final type of net users and abusers that are widely disliked by both the hard-core and more moderate role-players. These are the kinds of things I am going to tell you not to do. Do not use the net to show actions. You are sending your thoughts, you are not in physical contact with people or sending highly complex mental images. In other words things like ":::smooches Buffy and giggles:::" or " <thwaps Grunt on the head and hides>" are not possible. It is acceptable to think "Hugs!", "If you could see me you would see a big grin on my face" or "I'd smooch you if you were here" as words, and not do it as an action.

Also always keep in mind that the thought nets are not a replacement for chat rooms. It is a form of Elanthian communication between our characters. If you like goofing off and giggling with your friends, there are plenty of places to do that outside of the game or in private in the game away from others. The final no-no is that it is not okay to be OOC on the net. The thought net is an integral part of the whole fantasy atmosphere and is in no way separate from it, this includes the black merchant net.
 

XII.   DANGER, DEATH & CHEATING

Life is dangerous in Elanthia. It is a mistake to assume at any time you are completely safe. There are many places, especially the towns, that are usually safe and you can reasonably let down your guard. But don't be surprised if one day a troll in a bad mood comes and smites you down while you are walking to the pawnshop.

As is to be expected, combat is always dangerous. Danger should be part of the thrill. If the creatures have no chance to wound or kill you, it can get boring quickly. As a cleric, there will be times in your life when your own spell protections make you almost invincible when fighting things your level. There will be other times where even with several spells from people of other professions, you are still at grave risk. The key is to find what is acceptable risk. Never getting hit because you have had three other people stack every spell they know on you rather defeats the purpose of the game. However, if you are hunting near your level and dying every other trip, it's not unreasonable to search out some help.

One of the worst things that can happen in combat (aside from a single blow that kills you outright) is being stunned by a weapon blow or incapacitated by a spell and thus very vulnerable to following attacks. Some people panic and log out of the game when this happens. Be aware, GM's consider this to be cheating. You are abusing game mechanics in order to avoid your fate. Aside from it being cheating from the game designers' point of view, it's also cheating role-play. Your character is a real person in the world of Elanthia and that means there is no "off button". They have to take what comes. People who tend to cheat like that are also cheating themselves. There is nothing more exhilarating than being overwhelmed in battle, coming extremely close to death, and then getting out alive with a great escape. Sure you won't make it every time, but that's part of the adventure. The experiences will give you stories to swap with other battle veterans over a mug of ale.

Once you have died, the rules are a bit different. The GM's have stated that logging out once you are dead is not cheating according to game policy. If you do this though, realize you are making it really hard on people in the game that may be trying to rescue you. If you leave the game, they can't help. It can be really annoying for a rescuer to take ten minutes of their time to go way out of their way to help you, and then you aren't there to help because you got scared and logged out. Decaying is a miserable experience, especially your first time. But it isn't the end of the world. If you log out there is no chance for another hunter in the area to discover your body and give you aid either. You will find there is no one overwhelming viewpoint by people on logging out when dead and about getting help through non-game means (such as IM'ing a friend), but most role-players tend to frown on such things.

I tend to come from the RP purist camp on this issue and never log out when dead or contact people with out of character means, no matter how tempting it is. I don't expect everyone to think the same way on this, but I will point out why I play this way. Anything you can do to make life for your character more real is a good thing. What is more realistic? Logging out and having some friend who could not have really known you were dead come raise you at a prearranged time later, or lying there lost and alone in some wilderness, praying and hoping for rescue? I believe that lying there dead hoping for help is just as integral to the game as anything else. Plus, if you are a ham like I am, you can act out a great death scene, even if the only audience is the orc howling in delight over having bested you. If you do stick it out, you would be surprised at how many times you get help at the last minute. And if you don't get the help and end up on the temple altar, you have a good story to tell at the tavern. Death and decay are part of really experiencing all aspects of an RP game.
 

XIII. BEING AFK

AFK is a term used to refer to being away from your keyboard. Over the years in Gemstone it has become increasingly common for people to just leave their characters sitting in the game unattended while the player goes to fix dinner, take the dog for a walk or watch TV. It's not uncommon to go to a spot to rest for a bit, hoping to strike up a conversation and make some new friends, only to find that most of the characters sitting there are staring zombies. It is very frustrating and it degrades the role-playing atmosphere of the game. If you need to leave your computer for a bit and for some reason don't want to log out, pick a spot away from people where you aren't likely to be seen or hide (even hiding is best done in an out of the way spot so people don't point you out). There are two main reasons for this. The first is so that your character isn't one of those staring zombies ruining other people's gaming experience and the other is, you never know when that troll in a bad mood might pass by while you aren't there to protect yourself.
 

XIV.   ROLE-PLAYING

Gemstone is first and foremost a role-playing game. The gaining of levels is not a way to "beat the game", but the means by which your character learns and becomes more powerful. There are two important aspects to role-playing, one is being IC (in character) at all times and the other is being consistent in how you play your character as far as speech, mannerisms and personality traits go.

In this guide I have used many terms that are OOC (out of character) because I needed to be clear on what I meant. OOC terms are things like RT (round time), AS (attack strength) and HPs (health or hit points). When you are in the game it is never acceptable for your character to use these terms. They are part of the mechanics of the game that are there for the player to understand what is happening. They are not something your character could know. I highly recommend reading the Role Playing category on the Simutronics message board to get advice and participate in discussions about role-playing.

There is almost always some IC way of talking about things without using numbers. Some are creative and some not, but anything is better than saying something OOC out loud. If you are in RT from tending a wound, say you are still working on the bandage and can't move yet. You do not gain levels, you have trained a certain number of times. If you are wounded, act it out or tell the empaths you are bleeding or have lots of cuts. Never say you are bleeding 4 per, your character can't know how much blood is gushing out of the wound. Don’t discuss experience points, just say you expect to train soon or have a ways to go yet.

If you can't think of an IC way to say something, or you feel it's important to use game numbers to be accurate, simply whisper the information. This way you are able to say what you need without disturbing other players around you. It should go without saying that mentioning anything such as email, television or computers is OOC in the extreme and has no place in Elanthia.

Another thing to remember is that you are living in a world, not in a computer chat room. Always use the verbs or act command to show what is going on with your character, not computer emoticons. Instead of saying, "I really whacked that rat! :)"  Type, 'I really whacked that rat!, hit enter, and then type "grin". It makes the world that much more real.

The second aspect of role-playing is much more difficult and comes more naturally to some than others. This is being your character while in the game. It takes a few levels to get your character consistent in how s/he talks, acts and interacts with others. But the time you spend on this will be worth your while and make the game much more enjoyable in the long run.

You will find that whole new dimensions of the game open up to you when you spend time interacting with others consistently as your character. You will hear about unique things happening to other characters such as visits from the gods, being possessed or speaking to visiting dignitaries. Those things happen most often to those who are consistent and focused in their role-playing.

Another thing to keep in mind is the genre or setting of Gemstone. The setting is loosely based on medieval Europe within a fantasy genre. To make your character more believable keep all of that in mind for how your character talks and what they talk about. Your character isn't going to know about modern things like antibiotics or firearms. Your character would not use modern slang terms such as "sweet" or "cool" or phrases such as "put the smack down".

Having said all that, you will find that especially at the lowest levels, OOC is rampant. It can be discouraging to try to stay IC when no one else around you is. Some of them just don't care and some don't know any better. You can often whisper to someone that you will not talk game numbers out loud or mention a better term for them to use. There are some who will be angry with you for trying to stay IC, those people are best left alone. The sad truth is, there are many Lords and Ladies who are terrible OOCers. Just because they are titled does not make it okay.

Do your best to be true to your character and the spirit of the game. You will find as you get older the other RPers will enjoy your company and you will be surrounded by them. It's worth it!
 

XV.   WHAT IS A CLERIC?

Essentially, a cleric is a servant of the gods and a master of spiritual magic, which includes being granted the ability to raise the dead. Because of our spells, some people feel freeing the undead is most central to a cleric's role. Clerics can be effective hunters, but especially when young, will be no match for the fighter classes such as rogues and warriors.

Some clerics are very spiritual and devote their lives to the gods and the people of Elanthia. Some are seekers of power through magic. Some (like my character) see themselves as a warrior who serves the gods. Some raise the dead as a primary interest, some mostly just raise their friends and some don't raise at all.

You can be whoever you want to be. There are really very few limits. The more diversity of characters there are in the game, the more interesting life is in Elanthia. One provision about that though, you can be anyone you want to be as long as it fits into the Gemstone game system and makes sense within the world, history, religion and culture of Elanthia. In other words, pretending you are a cat person when you obviously look like an elf doesn't fit into the game system and saying that you are an immortal from a lost city doesn't fit into the history and religion of Elanthia.
 

XVI.   OUTFITTING YOUR CLERIC

When you first enter the game you will have some basic gear and a loan from the city in your pockets.  The weapon you are given may or may not suit you as it is randomly generated, but it will be good enough to get you started. You will also be wearing things like a backpack, a belt pouch and some light leather. The first two are containers and will serve you well until you can afford to buy more colorful items at the town shops or more interesting looking items from traveling merchants. The light leather is your armor.

You can wear your shield over your shoulder by typing, "wear my shield". You can store your weapon in your backpack, or purchase a sheath at the general store. When putting anything away, always specify "my", as in "put my sword in my backpack". If you don't use "my" you can end up putting your belongings into items left on the ground, and then you most likely have lost it forever.

The two main places in Wehnimer's to buy basic weapons are Tykel's shop and the wagon in a clearing just north of the North Gate. River's Rest has a very nice weapon and armor shop though the prices can be a bit steep. (All towns have basic weapon shops, not all towns have shops with magical metal items.) Drake weapons are great for new adventurers, they are a non-enchanted weapon with fire flares found on treasure carrying creatures. You can often find older adventurers handing them out or the Lorekeepers may have one on hand. For information on different types of weapons use the Gemstone site or Amerlise's chart on her website.

The armory can be a bit confusing for new players. My best advice is to just hang on to the armor you got when starting out and then when you gain more ranks in armor use, find some free replacement armor off one of the creatures you hunt. There is no need to mess around with things like arm greaves and helms until you know more about how armor works and start spending silvers on enchanted armor. If you need a shield and don't have one, you can purchase the reinforced shield.

Some things to remember about outfitting yourself, especially as you get older, everything you wear or carry adds to your encumbrance. (The exception is, a set of armor will not, unless it's heavier than normal.) Giants can carry a lot of weight before it affects their encumbrance. But for many of us, it doesn't take much to slow us down or make us clumsy in maneuvering. Try to keep fluff (jewelry, extra containers, etc.) to a minimum. When using containers, take into consideration how much they hold for how much they weigh. A good example is that pocketed cloaks from the clothier hold about the same as a heavy backpack, but weigh much less. Also keep in mind there are many limits on how many of each kind of item you can wear at once (i.e. 3 items on your belt or 2 rings). You can use the "encumbr" verb to find out if you are weighed down, and if so, how much.
 

XVII. WEAPONS & SHIELDS

For the first few levels, any basic weapon will serve you well. Levels 3 to 10 you will have to make some decisions about your weapons and shields. At level three you are trained enough to use mithril which adds +5, but the cost may put it out of your reach and it isn't sanctified. The only sanctified magic metal typically available in cleric shops is white ora (+10, can be used at level 5). The exception being the elven cities sell sanctified mithglin, which is +15 and can be used at level 8.

You also have to decide what kind of hunting you want to do. If you hunt a lot of undead, the white ora is very important. If you find you like to hunt live monsters, you may want to buy regular (and much cheaper) ora or wait for imflass (+12 and can be used at level 6). Be aware the only ora that is sanctified is the white ora from cleric shops, regular ora weapons that have been dyed white are not.

A sanctified weapon is always blessed, but only in the hands of a cleric. Undead creatures can only be killed with blessed weapons. If you want to buy white ora, chances are you will need to save your silvers, and not get mithril or imflass. There are cleric shops in all the towns except River's Rest and there is even one in the Northern Caravansary. Each has a different selection of weapons available and where you shop will depend on how much you can afford, your personal taste in weapon type and where you live.

You also have to decide whether your character needs a new shield or a weapon more. In offensive stance, your AS (attack strength) will go up each level as long as you train in weapons, but DS (defensive strength) works differently. DS is heavily dependant on the enchants of your armor and shield, along with spells. Your shield training adds a bonus dependent on stance, so that in offensive stance only a very small portion goes to your DS. This means you will not see your DS go up each training.

For information only, I am not saying this is the only or best way to go: I bought my white blade at level 3, my white ora blade at level 6, and my mithril shield at level 7. My 10th training present to myself was my vultite shield. I didn't get enchanted armor until I was about level 13.

Eventually you will want to buy an eonake weapon. They are the prize of any cleric. They have the same magical bonus as vultite (+20, can be used at level 10) but are sanctified. Eonake is only available from traveling merchants. (One thing to be aware of if you decide to use two handed weapons or polearms, sanctified ones can be hard to find.) Because eonake is only sold by traveling merchants, it can be very expensive when bought second hand from other characters.

It is often shocking to young clerics when they first see the price tags on eonake. The same weapon in vultite will usually sell for less than half. Keep in mind that sanctified weapons give you a huge advantage over other professions since you never need to worry about getting a bless. Eonake weapons with any special features such as flares, weighting or extra enchants will be very expensive and are something to dream of for when you are much older.

A good thing to remember, once you are level 10 you can use e-bladed weapons. You must have a plain weapon that has no magical properties in it and then find a person who knows elemental spells to cast on the weapon for you. The spell makes the weapon +20 and adds an elemental flare. If you use a basic cleric shop weapon for this, the weapon will also be sanctified, making it a good stopgap between white ora and eonake. Though just like the bless spell, the e-blade eventually wears off. How long it lasts depends on the level of the caster.
 

XVIII. ARMOR

Armor can be one of the more confusing aspects of the game. For basic information I recommend Amerlise's guide at http://www.liquidfish.net/amerlise/frames.htm for a listing of the armor groups, what parts of the body each type covers, spell hindrances and maneuver penalties.

You can wear armor you are not fully trained to wear. When you do this, it typically adds to your RT (round time) and past double leather, you will have a higher than base spell hindrance rate. Some people think the extra protection is worth it. What is less understood is that all armor has a built-in maneuver penalty which affects you in combat against all creatures that have special attacks (spider webs, clouds, boil earth, coyote bites, etc.) and also affects things like climbing. The higher the armor, the larger the penalty is. There is a certain amount of penalty that can never be trained off but when you are under trained for the armor, that penalty can be much higher. If you wear armor you are not trained for you will find that you get more protection from physical blows, but it can also be a killer.

In 2000 armor underwent a drastic change in regards to casting spells. It basically did not affect clerics up through chainmail. In fact, clerics are now better off in brigandine and chainmail armor than they were before the change. From double chainmail onward, clerics now have to work much harder to be fully trained for the armor, meaning not only have they trained off the round time penalties, they have also trained off the additional spell casting penalties. For details on the penalties, see Amerlise's tables, but here is my quickchart with the armor types and how many ranks it takes for a cleric to be fully trained:

   
 

Armor Type	RT Penalty	Spell Hindrance (%)	Armor Ranks Needed
Light leather	0	0	0
Full leather	1	0	4
Reinforced leather	2	0	8
Double leather	2	0	8
Leather breastplate	2	4	10
Cuirbouilli	4	5	18
Studded leather	6	6	30
Brigandine	6	7	30
Chainmail	7	8	40
Double chain	8	10	70
Augmented chain	8	11	90
Chain hauberk	9	12	110
Metal breastplate	10	14	150
Augmented breastplate	11	16	190
Half plate	12	17	210
Full plate	13	19	250

(Robes are the equivalent of skin. They offer no armor protection at all, the only bonus they grant is whatever enchantment/padding they contain.)

The basic truth of armor is, heavier armor is better, at least where physical combat is concerned. Even clerics who plan to use their weapon little need to give careful consideration to training up in armor classes. There is the "undead gap" in which there are no undead for clerics to Repel and all clerics are forced to raise and/or use their weapons to advance. Trust me when I say you do not want to be wearing double leather during that period.

By training for heavier armor, you don't have to wear it under normal conditions if it doesn't suit your tastes or hunting style, but at least you have the option to wear it when the conditions warrant. Having options is always a good thing! I highly recommend that all clerics train to at least brigandine and those who are primarily weapon users should go higher.

When wearing partial armors, keep in mind it doesn't mean the "uncovered" areas are actually naked, they are protected by the next lower armor group. For example, cuirbouilli is scale armor that covers your torso and arms. Your legs, neck and head are then considered to be covered in leather armor. Adding items on to partial armors moves the armor up to the next ASG (armor sub group). So if you wear cuirbouilli and add on a set of leg greaves, your legs are now considered to also be covered by scale armor and it's like wearing studded leather. You get both the protection and penalties associated with that type of armor. Adding a helm makes the system act as if you are wearing full coverage armor. Add-ons, like helms, made of magical metals do not add to your DS, the metals are simply for looks in those cases.
 

XIX.   HUNTING

Once you have trained for level one, it's probably time for you to see how you fare in combat. The best places for you to start are under the town in either rats or ants.  Be cautious at first to test your strengths and weaknesses. It can be a bit overwhelming your first time. If you prefer, you can always wait outside the entrance to the catacombs and see if you can join a hunting party. It's a great way to meet people and get advice from those who have already been hunting for a while.

To get your equipment ready, always get out your weapon first, then your shield. Gemstone acts as if everyone is right handed, so your weapon must be in your right hand and shield in the left. If you forget and do it backwards, simply type "swap". You can type "glance" to see what's currently in your hands.

To swing your weapon at a creature use the "attack" verb, for example "att rat". Once you have made your first attack, you can just use attack without specifying the creature. This will make sure you continue to attack the same one you started on. Always use at least the first 3-4 letters of the creature name at a minimum. If you type in "attack r" and the rat runs from you just as Randolph enters, you will end up swinging at Randolph and he will be understandably miffed.

There are five combat stances available. These stances determine how much effort you are putting into defending or attacking. The stances are defensive, guarded, neutral, forward, advance, offensive. You should always be in a more defensive stance unless you are actively engaged with a creature.

For comparison sake, at level 3 I had a 40 AS and 34 DS in full offense. I would say this is average for a half-elf cleric, not really good and not really bad. Your defense and offense will depend greatly on your race and stat placements. For example, a giant will most likely attack harder but not defend as well. An elf will most likely be weaker in attacking, but defend better and be quick.

At level 3 I was still strictly hunting rats until older hunters showed me some of the other areas. A lot of that was because I was new to the game. Hopefully you will be a lot more adventurous! (Note: I did still hunt rats until level 5 at times. They are easy and you can still learn well from them, there is nothing wrong with it.) Keep your maps and monster guide at your side and go try out new things and new areas.

You may find that you hunt well at your level, or you may find you need to be a bit more cautious. Levels 3 and 4 are good levels for hunting kobolds, gnomes, goblins and the easier undead in the graveyard. If you are going to hunt undead, you will need to get a sanctified weapon from the cleric shop.

If you want less crowded hunting areas, the caves and the first section of the area near the Citadel in River's Rest are excellent places for a young cleric. There is also some really nice low level hunting available in Solhaven, Icemule and Ta'Vaalor. If you go to RR or Solhaven, be aware that raising clerics and empaths can be much harder to find. Stock up on herbs and know how to use them. Say hello to people in town so they know you are there and will come to help you should you die.

Especially when young, clerics often have to hunt creatures below their level because we can only single train in weapons. If you hunt in a group you can usually hunt your level or higher, because you are not the only target for the monsters and the other hunters help beat them into submission.

When you are young you will have 103 and 202 as your basic defensive spells. 103 is better as it lasts 2 minutes per level, and you will be able to keep it constantly running. Each of those spells adds +10 to DS. You also have 101 to use when you are fighting creatures that cast spells at you. It adds +10 to both your TD (your defense against warding spells) and your DS against bolt type spells. It does not add anything to your regular weapon combat DS, so you only need to worry about using it when confronting spell casters.

At about level 11, a few things come in to play that help your hunting skills. You can learn and use Bravery which adds +15 to your AS (attack strength), you are old enough to keep Warding (spell 303, adds to your DS/TD) running long enough to spend the mana on it, and you can use vultite, e-bladed or eonake weapons.
 

XX.   MANA & SPELLS

How much mana a cleric has at the beginning is determined by the Wisdom stat. You won't get any additional mana when you go from level 0 to 1. (Sometimes because of how the calculations are done, you can actually see a drop in your mana at level 1, especially if you placed Wisdom fairly low.) After that, the additional amount you get at each training may be different every level until your Wisdom stat reaches 100. (Once Wisdom is 100, you get three mana every level.) You will also find that as you get older you regenerate mana faster. You regenerate mana and spirit faster on a node than other places.

You can share mana with other players, either sending it to them or they sending it to you. How much mana gets through is based on both your training and the other person. If both people have 24 ranks (102 bonus) in mana share training, 100% of the mana will get through. To send mana to someone type "send X <name>" where X is the number of mana you want to send.

It is possible, but not usually desirable, to learn spells that you cannot actually cast. You must be the level of the spell number in order to cast it. In other words, to cast spell 304, you need to be level 4. The number of the spell also tells you how much mana it will take to cast it. Spell 304 will take 4 mana. It will take that much mana whether or not the spell is successful. (The exceptions to this are most of the new rank based spells in the cleric list which have a base mana amount and then an additional amount based on creature level or number of spells known in the cleric list.) Always make sure you have enough mana to cast the spell you want to use. If you overcast by too much, you get nerve damage that then prevents you from casting any more spells, searching kills or sharing mana.

To use a spell you must first prepare it by typing "prep 304". (Note: spells also have a "word" that can be used to prep it instead of the number. Learning those words is actually preferable to numbers, as you will make less harmful typos in combat. There's nothing worse than wanting to cast Heroism on yourself and casting Bind instead.) When you prepare a spell and are less than 3 levels above the spell level it will have a 10 second prep time. That means you have to wait 10 seconds before you can cast the spell. When you get to 3 levels above the spell level, your prep time will go down to 5 seconds. When you are 6 levels above the spell level you will have instant prep, and how sweet that is!

To cast the spell type "cast at <target>". If you are casting at yourself do not put in a target. If you are casting at another player, put in their name, if you are casting at a monster, type in the name of the monster. Just like when you are attacking with a weapon, use a minimum of three letters when casting, such as "cast at phan" for a phantom.

If you prep a spell and then for some reason decide not to use it, type, "release". You only lose a small amount of mana that way. If you prep it and never cast, eventually the spell departs from you but costs the full mana.
 

XXI.   THE CLERIC SHOP

When I was a young cleric and new to town I was very excited that we had our own shop. But I wasn't sure about what everything inside actually was. The weapons are sanctified, as discussed earlier, and are used to fight the undead. (Though they work just as well on the living.)  Aside from the weapons, most items in the shop are for role-playing purposes. The special order rings, medallions and sashes are ways to show your devotion to your god. Once you get to know Brother Wuldreth well enough, he will show you to his backroom. (Once you have gained access to the backroom, enter the ordering system, pick the main menu, and then type "b".) That is where the sanctified ora weapons can be found, along with Lorminstra staffs and pure potion. (This is referring to the Landing shop only.)

The staffs hold the Preservation spell, also known as Lifekeep or LK. The staffs require some magic item use training to wave. The pure potion can be used in several ways. If a cleric drinks it, it "casts" the  Heroism spell which is +25 to AS. (For non-clerics it "casts" Bravery.) Poured in a dead person, it acts like a white flask (Lifekeep again). It can also be poured on some magic metal weapons to bless them. A cleric pouring gives 3x the level of the pourer in number of swings. Since the potion is very expensive, people usually only ask post-titled clerics to pour it. As in all shops, when you get a purchase in a package, please throw the wrapping away (type "throw my package"), don't leave it lying on the floor of the shop.

There are now also cleric shops in the other towns. The one in Icemule does not have as many god symbols, but the ones they do have are for Lornon Arkati. The weapons in the Icemule shop are a lot of fun just because of their descriptions and falchions can be purchased there. (Though they are a lot more expensive than the white blades.) If you are looking for more unusual sanctified weapons, check out the shop in the Northern Caravansary, which is a ways south of the Landing.
 

XXII.   MEDITATION

Meditation is an ability only available to clerics. It helps us absorb experience faster when our minds are full of learning. You must be on a node to meditate, and you cannot do anything else while you do it. Anything such as speaking, or looking around will interrupt your meditation. (In order to not get booted from the game when meditating, you can check your experience without it interrupting.) You will find there are many points in your life where you will never need meditation, and others where you meditate frequently. It is not something conducive to group hunting, as the others cannot do it. Also, if you are anything like me, it can be hard to keep your mouth shut long enough to stay in a meditative state. You must be in an offensive stance with an empty right hand to get the full benefit of meditation. (You can also meditate in sanctuaries, but you don't get the node absorption benefits.)
 

XXIII. APPRAISE

Appraise is a verb that anyone in the game can use to see basic information about wounds on another person ("appraise <name>"). Clerics get extra information when they use this verb. Appraise allows a cleric see the spirit status, lifekeep status and linked status of the dead person. (See the section on cleric spells for more information about linking.) Keep in mind that the wound information is not detailed so when you are preparing a body to raise it's always best to use "diagnose full" to get accurate information about bleeding.
 

XXIV.   THE GODS

The greatest strength of being a cleric is the almost limitless opportunity for role-playing. Most of this is connected to following one or more of the gods. As far as game mechanics go, there is no ritual you have to go through, you simply decide for yourself which god or gods you follow and do with that whatever you wish. Some characters never go beyond wearing a symbol. But you can make it as complicated or enriching as you wish. It is totally up to you how devout you are and how much you play out any rituals. Some of the gods also have player run RP groups you can join.

[Update Note: GM Ophion is working on an alignment system that will have a large impact on clerics. No details about the system are known at this time but it has been hinted that which god you serve will impact how some of the cleric spells behave, most especially raising and sanctification. It has also been hinted that rituals will be implemented that must be performed by clerics to remain in good standing with their chosen god.]

There is a file on the Gemstone web page that tells a bit about who the Arkati are and lists the gods and their characteristics. There is also a gods folder in the Role-playing category on the Simu message boards and Arianiss has put together a huge collection of lore, both official and player created, in “The Arkati – Myth or Reality” found on his website at http://home.sprynet.com/~asrial/gemstone/documents/floodgate.html.

You need to choose whom your character follows based on the kind of person they are and what is important to him or her. Don't choose a god because he/she seems in vogue. Choose one that will complete your character and make his or her life as a cleric meaningful. There is no rule you have to choose one of the light gods. Just make sure that if you choose the dark gods you have good reason, not just to be different. (For one thing, it's not that different.) Keep in mind that while the Arkati are split into two pantheons, generally referred to as light and dark, those pantheons are not synonymous with good and evil.

You should always be aware that all of our powers as a cleric come from the gods and the spirits. Most significantly, we do not raise on our own. We channel the power from our god. You don't have to choose a god right away. If you are unsure, wait a few levels until you know whom your character wants to follow, though you should decide before you begin raising.  If you haven't chosen a god yet, think of an RP reason why your character is uncertain or undecided. (If you really think about it though, it makes little sense for a cleric to not be serving a god, since service to the gods is at the heart of our profession. In RP terms, a person would not choose to be a cleric unless serving a god was already important to him or her.)

Some of the gods have their own shrines. There are several temples to the Liabo (light) gods in Solhaven. The temple in Icemule has altars for most of the gods. The Icemule Temple is worth the trip once you are old enough to safely make it. It is a lot of fun to visit the various shrines, even if you are not a follower of that particular god. Some of the shrines are on the other side of some nasty critters for the young and it's best to wait until you are older, or go in a group that can protect you. If your god does not have a shrine, there are various quiet places around the Lands where you can worship in your own way.

I am also going to mention here a pet peeve of a lot of players, including me. Many players refer to the GM's as gods. It makes no sense and is poor roleplay. The Arkati and immortals are the gods to our characters. GM's are Game Masters, and thus something our characters know nothing about. Referring to GM's as the gods in the game is OOC and referring to them as gods out of the game makes no sense at all since as a player you know they are Game Masters. If for some reason you feel the need to refer to something GM's do while you are in the game, either whisper it or think of an IC way to state it. If there is a need for my character to comment on something I will generally make up an IC reference that applies to the topic being talked about, such as mentioning the High Clerics in regards to spell changes or the town officials in regards to some sort of enforcement or change in town. Normally though it's best to just whisper about mechanics, game implementations, etc.
 

XXV.   WEDDINGS & RITUALS

You may be asked at some point to officiate at a wedding. Weddings are strictly role-playing. There is no formula or game mechanic. Just like in RL, the type of ceremony should be based on the couple getting married and it is best if you have attended at least one wedding before you try it yourself. Weddings are lots of fun, and a chance to shine as an RPer, both for invited guests and participants. Make sure that no matter what type of wedding you are performing it fits into the culture and religion of Elanthia.

I do have some tips for people who would like to perform rituals, either private ones for themselves or larger ones that are more public. Write out an outline of what you want to do and the various parts, then fill in the actual words that you want to use. Next either set it up for cutting and pasting into the game from a text file or set up macro keys. I advise against using scripts. They don't allow for any changes needed in timing, reacting to other participants, interruptions, etc. (The exception being, bardic type performances work well with scripts.)

Once you have your ritual all planned out, REHEARSE IT! See how it looks on the screen, make sure it all fits, look for typos to correct, make sure you have the order down, make sure you have the timing down, etc. You don't want to go too fast or too slow, so pacing is very important. Making sure that you don't hit people with a wall of text they can't read fast enough or makes them uninterested is important.

I can't stress how important it is to make sure it all looks good before you actually perform it in front of other people. I have attended weddings where the cleric obviously did not put much time into it and it made me cringe to see botched entries or typo after typo flash on my screen. While most of us are more than willing to cut people some slack for an obvious bungle or an occasional typo, a poorly done ritual totally detracts from the whole experience.

Last of all, props and clothing are important also. Dress in a manner that fits the occasion. One time I might wear a black robe and another I might wear a wreath of flowers in my hair. Props can add a lot, but don't overdo it. They should enhance the experience, not become the central part of the show or become so cumbersome to work with they take away from the flow of the ceremony.
 

XXVI.   ROLLING-UP YOUR CLERIC

For detailed information about the statistical issues of clerics, please refer to Appendix A that has excerpts from Tavarion's cleric guide. He was an expert on the issue and covers those matters much better than I can.

While stat placement is important, with few exceptions, you won't be unviable if you make a mistake here and there. I didn't really understand what I was doing when I rolled up my cleric and she has turned out just fine.

In the Fall of 2001 the character creation process went through a dramatic change. It used to be that you had to "roll up" your character by generating series of semi-random numbers until you finally got a set that satisfied you. That process led to people either being impatient and having horribly rolled characters or taking hours or days holding out for a really high roll. That meant there was a massive discrepancy between characters in the game, making game design sometimes difficult.

The new system for character creation starts with 20 in each of the ten statistics. Then you are given 420 points to distribute among the stats how you see fit. When distributing the rest of the points, three of the stats can be 71-90 and one of those can be 91 or greater. All the other stats can be anything from their base value up to 70.

Keep in mind clerics get a +10 profession bonus to their prime stats of Logic and Wisdom. So if you make Wisdom a 70, it will end up as an 80 after you are done with the character creation process. Stats cannot be higher than 100, so this means you never want to make a prime stat higher than 90 or you waste part of the bonus.

My suggestion is that you will want to use a guide like Tavarion's (see Appendix A) to plan your basic stat placement, and then fine tune how you allot the points between the 10 stats based on your playing interests, the kind of cleric you are making and what sorts of TP's (training points) you will need to meet your training goals.

STAT PLACEMENT PHILOSOPHIES

There are three main stat placement philosophies and the type of person you are and your goals for your character will determine which one you are more likely to follow. The three main concepts are easily playable characters, stat growth optimized characters and "mutant" characters.

The playable character philosophy is generally placing stats in a way that makes the character fun to play at all levels, including the very beginning. What this means is that you will end up with some stats that don't grow very well (creating a weakness) in exchange for making sure that your character has enough mana and is strong enough in battle that it's not a frustration when starting out. This type of character in the long run usually ends up with less total TP's over the levels, and awkward stat growth, but is also usually well balanced and easy/fun to play. Stat placement for playability is usually followed by the average player who just wants to create a viable/fun character and not worry about all the mathematical details.

The stat growth philosophy places stats by how quickly they grow, placing high numbers in slow growing stats and lower numbers in fast growing stats. This type of placement makes for a very strong character at the upper levels, eventually maximizing TP's and skills, but getting there can often be a strain. The optimization for long term can create hardships at the youngest levels when the character is lacking in skills and combat abilities. This type of stat placement is best used by experienced players or those with lots of patience.

The "mutant" philosophy is usually followed by experienced players who enjoy doing odd things with their character training plans. Training plans atypical of a profession usually require a heavy emphasis on certain stats and/or a certain type of TP's. So stats are placed to achieve this end. What it means is that the character is usually very strong in limited areas and quite weak in other areas. These types of characters are designed strictly for player interests and are often not considered long term characters.

STAT BONUSES

I want to explain how the race and profession bonuses work when rolling up your character because it's often confusing for new players. Each character statistic has two parts, the stat number itself, and the bonus. Some game formulas use the stat number and some use the bonuses.

All stats when they reach 100 have a base bonus of 25. Racial modifiers then adjust that, meaning depending on race, your actual bonus may end up being higher or lower than 25. For instance, dark elves get +10 to their Dexterity bonus. This ten is not added to the stat itself, but directly to the bonus. So if you put a 70 roll in Dexterity when choosing dark elf, you will not see the stat go up to 80. As a dark elf, when your Dex stat reaches 100, the final bonus will be 35. Each profession also gets a +10 bonus to their two prime stats. The profession bonuses are added directly to the stat number.

RACE

I am a firm believer that your choice of race should be made primarily for RP reasons. I believe this because race is important to RP within Gemstone. If you want to act like a human, don't pick halfling just to be dexterous and if you don't want to be a gruff bearded dwarf, then don't choose dwarf simply because they are strong. That's not to say you have to RP races within narrow confines, there is plenty of room to play someone atypical of their race.

For instance, when I began seriously designing my character I really wanted to play an elf. But I also wanted to be a weapon swinger and clerics are limited in their weapon ability. Elves get a -5 to their Strength bonus. As a mechanics choice, I chose to go with half-elf (no minus to Strength). That means for role-play, I have to accept that she is a half-breed and not a full elf and play her accordingly. What I didn't do was pick giant simply to get the Strength bonus when I cared nothing about playing a giantkin character.

Every race can be a good choice for a cleric, each having their strengths and weaknesses. While it is important to know what they are when trying to combine both the race you want to RP and the type of cleric you want to RP, don't think you have to be a giant to be a weapon user or a dark elf to be a magically oriented cleric. There are too many successful clerics out there of the "wrong" race to insist that any combination is the "right way".

Generally speaking: halflings and elven races are quick and defend well against melee attacks, but are lacking in strength and blood. Giants and dwarves are strong and tough, but not nimble. Halflings and dwarves defend well against magic. Halflings, giants and dwarves all have good spirit regeneration, elves have very slow spirit regen. Humans are moderate in everything and quite sturdy. Half-elves are sturdier than full elven races and have better spirit regen, but also lack in strength and blood.
 

XXVII.   CLERIC SKILL TRAINING

Always keep in mind that only you know how to train your cleric. All advice given in guides or on the message boards should be filtered through what you want to accomplish and how you envision your cleric.

I tend to break clerics down into three categories, though those categories tend to overlap. The categories I use are physical clerics, magical clerics and rescuing clerics. Some train to be extreme in one direction and others like to be a blend. There really is no wrong way to train (aside from erratic training that has no clear goals) and the cleric class is fairly strong in its diversity. You should pick a training path based on what sounds fun to you and what sort of person your cleric is, not on what seems optimal at this point in time.

One thing to always keep in mind is that Gemstone is an ever-changing game and what may hold true today may not hold true in the future. I play a very physical cleric, but I also have the primary goal of being well rounded so that whatever the future brings, I will hopefully be able to meet it in decent shape. This means that I generally don't sacrifice secondary and tertiary skills in order to be even better at a narrow set of skills.

How you train and what sort of cleric you want to be should be based in part on your RP choices. My cleric is a priestess of Leya. Leya is the patroness of martial arts and amazons. Almost all of my RP and training is connected to this central affiliation. It may be that you choose a god and then pick a training path that seems to reflect how a cleric of that god would be in the world, or you might already have an idea of how you want to train and then pick a god that reflects that sort of cleric.

Almost everyone makes training mistakes or regrets decisions they made, especially with their first character. If that happens, don't get upset and think it's the end of the world. Unless you made a lot of mistakes, long term they will not have a negative affect on your cleric. I know clerics who are post 50th training that forgot to train in spells one level or picked up a few ranks of some skill they never used. They obviously are successful anyway.

Some clerics plan out their training explicitly, using spread sheets and stat growth interval charts, mapping out every TP they are going to spend over the next 50+ levels to maximize their training. This method works well to make the most efficient use of TP’s and to minimize mistakes.

Some of us are not very numbers oriented and/or like to be a bit more flexible in our training. I have always had training goals, but my plans are also fluid. I have my core skills I have dedicated myself to singling every level for life, I have key skills that I dedicate myself to training as regularly as possible and then there are the other skills I pick up as my whims dictate or in response to game changes.

As changes are made to the game, you will probably find that you will want to adjust your training to meet new challenges by training more heavily in a certain skill or even deciding to back off on a skill that you feel will no longer pay off. Being able to adjust to game changes is much more important to long-term viability than being set on a strict training plan.

TYPES OF CLERICS

PHYSICAL clerics take advantage of the fact that cleric training costs tend to be more in line with the semi professions and heavily train in the physical skills as much as possible within TP and cleric training limits. They usually lean towards singling armor and combat maneuvers with added training in ambushing, multi-opps and sometimes hiding. Some even train in two different weapon styles. A physical cleric is mostly interested in weapon combat, with spells seen as an aid, rather than a primary attack form. They choose their spell training path for what helps in weapon combat, rather than what helps with cleric CS (casting strength) or in rescuing.

MAGICAL clerics take advantage of the technical categorizing of clerics as pure spell casters. Training costs for spells and other magic oriented skills such as mana share, spell aiming, scroll reading and magic item use are inexpensive. They train in enough physical skills to get them by, but concentrate on the skills that will enhance their magical prowess. This usually involves heavy training in the cleric spell list and enhancing skills such as mana share and spell aiming. For long term, a magical cleric is the most viable and easiest to advance, though there are creature gaps of undead that will require advancing through other means. The key for magical clerics is to remember to not get too caught up in the pursuit of CS (casting strength) at the expense of other skills.

[Update Note: The Repel Undead spell is going to be replaced with a new different type of spell. Currently no details are known, but the change will most likely make it so that a spell hunting cleric isn't quite as easy as it once was, yet clerics will be able to hunt with spells throughout their entire career, despite an undead gap.]

RESCUING clerics take advantage of the helping nature of our profession and spell lists. They tend to train with the transport and raising spells of primary importance and in skills that allow them to safely travel to all sorts of places. This group is not as clearly defined and overlaps the other two groups, but I separate it because clerics in this group usually have goals outside of combat. A cleric in this group will want to climb well and have good first aid skills while also probably concentrating on magical skills as aids or even on hobby skills. Rescuing clerics also usually hunt frequently for experience and to earn silvers.

Please always remember if you want to be this sort of cleric, dead people are not there to give you experience so you can train. They are people who may or may not want your help and who deserve above all to be treated with respect. There is a fine line between a cleric who wants to serve his or her fellow adventurers and a cleric who is referred to as a vulture. A true rescuer is a cleric who cares about people and who trains and works towards being good at all aspects of rescuing. Know how to be safe in hazardous areas. Know all the tricks of doing field raises. Be well supplied with herbs/ales and well trained in first aid. Do your research and learn your way around the hunting areas, especially learn the hard to reach and non-foggable areas, as this will be where you are in demand.

TRAINING & HOW IT WORKS

When talking about training there are two terms to learn. One is skill and one is rank. Skill refers to the bonus for that item, such as 102 skill in mana share. Ranks refer to how many times you have actually trained in that skill; 102 skill would be 24 ranks. Some game formulas use your skill and some use ranks.

Skills are bought with TP's (training points). At each training you get a new allocation of points based on your statistics. Each skill will list a training cost, such as 0/10 for a spell. That means it costs a cleric 0 physical training points and 10 mental training points. Each skill also has a number of times it can be trained. For each additional time that skill is trained in a level, the point cost doubles. So a second spell then costs 0/20 and a third spell costs 0/40. Each of those must be added up to get the total cost. So training spells three times in one level ends up costing 0/70. Cleric training costs are heavily weighted on the mental side, meaning that you will often feel that you are running out of them too quickly.

You can convert points of one type into another. For example, say you want to get a rank of ambush. The cleric cost is 12/12. (The physical point cost is always listed first.) You probably won't have 12/12 points to spend on it though, you might only have say 6 MTP's (mental training points) but a lot of saved up PTP's (physical training points). You can convert the PTP's at a two for one ratio. So if you have 6 MTP's left, that rank of ambush will cost 24/6.

Any TP's not spent at each training are saved and available the next level. Saving up TP's is how clerics are able to train in more expensive skills such as ambush or a third spell. Most experts on the game in general say that you shouldn't convert points because the conversion ratio wastes the TP's. But for clerics you will find that being strict about this can subvert your skill training goals because of the abundance of physical points and scarcity of mental points.

I'm from the school of thought that while efficient use of TP's is important, meeting your personal training interests is of primary importance. If that means converting points, go ahead and do it. The idea here is to have fun playing your character and part of that fun is gained through learning skills.

SKILLS, WHAT THEY DO & TRAINING SUGGESTIONS

ARMOR (5/1): To start, single this skill until you have 8 ranks to be fully trained for double leather which is the best armor you can wear that doesn't have spell hindrance. Once you are trained for double, you need to decide your armor future. Heavily magical clerics will not be very dependent on armor and will get by just fine in double leather until the undead gap (early 70's). Physical clerics will want to train up to at least brigandine by around 50 at latest. Two handers are especially vulnerable and will most likely single every level for life. Any cleric just starting out that swings a weapon much at all should consider singling or close to singling armor for life.

SHIELD (5/1): If you are a one-handed weapon user, single this skill every level for life. Even magical clerics should try to single shield use, as at the higher levels skill training is the only way to increase your DS. Shield training mostly adds to your DS in stances other than offense, though a small percentage goes to offensive DS, adding one point every few ranks. Even two handers might consider shield training for the protection when not actually engaged in combat, especially against bolt spells and ranged weapons.

COMBAT MANEUVERS (9/4): The majority of clerics say to single this every level. CM helps in several ways. Of primary importance to clerics, you get one additional weapon AS point for every two ranks of CM. If you single that's an additional AS point every other level. When you reach the stage of getting only 1 AS per level from weapon training, it makes a big difference! The AS from CM training is parryable AS, meaning it will add to your DS in all stances other than offense. CM helps with dodging some special creature attacks. CM is also important if you want to aim your weapon attacks in open melee. (The open aiming formula also factors in ambush training.) If you are a physical cleric you will want to miss few, if any, ranks in order to be as good as possible within our training limits. If you are a magical cleric, the TP's may be seen as being better spent elsewhere. I would suggest that even a magical cleric will still want to train in this skill for the variety of benefits.

WEAPONS:

Pick a weapon style when you start out and then stick to it, singling the skill every level. Training in weapons adds to your combat AS and also will add to your parryable DS in all stances other than offensive. This means that even highly magical clerics gain significantly from weapon training. It can't be stressed enough how important it is to keep in mind that any time you miss ranks of a skill that clerics can only single train, you will never have a chance to make it up if you change your mind later. If you are unsure which weapon style sounds best to you, pick the one that makes the most sense for how you want to RP your cleric.

EDGED (6/1) is the most common choice for most professions. The advantage is that you have the protection of a shield and the variety of weapons available is almost endless. The disadvantage currently is that many creatures have lots of "padding" making open melee combat with one-handed weapon an exercise in frustration at times. Without additional skill training, death is caused sometimes by lucky crits, but most usually blood loss. When creatures have a lot of blood and you aren't doing much damage per swing, it can get frustrating indeed.

BLUNT/CRUSHING (5/1) weapons are a very traditional choice for clerics. Their advantage in GS is that they cost less to train and some of the weapons have a high damage factor. Blunt weapons also tend to cost less to purchase than edged weapons. The disadvantages are the same as described above for edged, plus the variety and availability of blunt weapons is much more limited, especially at the high end. It is also difficult to find good blunt weapons that don't puncture, which is a problem on a lot of undead and non-corporeal creatures.

TWO HANDED (13/2) weapons have lots of plusses and minuses. Two-handed weapons, especially claidhmores, are powerful weapons with high damage factors (the claid also having a huge amount of crit weighting). In open melee combat it is much easier to get a stun or critical hit when wielding a two-hander. You can use both blunt and edged two-handed weapons when training in this skill. Clerics can make great two handers because we have such nice DS enhancing spells. The disadvantages are it is an expensive skill to train for clerics, you don't have the protection of a shield and good two handers are expensive, most especially sanctified weapons. It is also important to realize that at the upper levels a two handed cleric will be extremely vulnerable with a relatively low DS.

POLEARM (12/1) weapons, like two-handers, have a lot of plusses and minuses. There are one handed and two handed polearms, the one handed style allowing use of a shield for protection. However, the one-handed polearms are not very good weapons and rarely used. Polearms tend to be weak in breakage numbers and it can be difficult to find good ones. Polearms overall are slow weapons and you need both a good dexterity and reflex bonus to use them well. Two handed polearms give a slight defensive bonus to simulate range. You can use two-handed poles to try and trip your opponent in battle with the trip verb, and this can be a nice way to lower the opponent's AS and DS. The lance is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. You can aim poles in the open with the ambush verb, but you can't use two-handed poles to ambush from hiding.

The other weapon skills are best left to experienced players and I believe it would be mostly impossible to make a two weapon combat cleric that was viable on his/her own.

BRAWLING: (7/2) Brawling is considered a weapon type, but it can also serve other purposes. Normally only experienced players would want to train in brawling as a sole weapon type for a cleric. If your cleric will be in Voln and you want to use the society martial art skills you will need to single train brawling every level to get good use of the symbols. A cleric can be a decent Voln brawler until around level 40 or so, but after that it becomes increasingly difficult to impossible because of being unable to double in the skill.

The other main use for brawling is adding to your defensive capabilities when you are facing creatures and holding nothing in your right hand. You get parry defense when you train in this skill, just like you get from your weapon training. If you are going to be a serious rescuer, you could consider picking up some ranks of brawling to help you defensively for when you drag bodies or have to do risky field raises. Magically oriented clerics could consider training in brawling for RP purposes, allowing you to cast open handed while still getting a defensive bonus. Most clerics however totally ignore this skill.

MULTI-OPPONENT COMBAT (10/4): MO was finally implemented in June 2000. This skill is expensive for clerics to train and will remain mostly in the province of physical clerics. MO training allows multiple attacks at once (see mstrike). I would suggest that any cleric who uses a weapon much will want to at least pick up 5 ranks eventually. Some clerics are really gung-ho about the skill and single it every, or almost every, level.

[Update: It has been announced that the MO skill will be further implemented in the game in regards to defenses when facing more than a single creature. If you are outnumbered by creatures it will adversely affect your stance and DS. Training in MO will be able to counteract this effect. At this time no details are known. But this knowledge should encourage clerics to seriously consider training in MO at least minimally.]

CLIMBING (4/1): Currently, good targets for climbing skill are to have 4 ranks for being able to cross the Dragonspine mountains, about 10 ranks by title (level 20) and about 20 ranks by your 40's, depending on where you want to hunt. (Most climbs in the game take more than just climbing skill into account, dexterity seems to be important and encumbrance is always a factor. Some climbs also have level checks.) After that, being about 25-30% trained for your level is a good standard.

SWIMMING (3/1): Swimming is still an underutilized skill within the game, but this could always change. Get two or three ranks of swimming very early. After that pick up ranks here and there as you are able. Climbing should be a priority, but eventually I believe it will be a good idea to have your swimming equal to your climbing so you are prepared for anything that may come.

DISARMING TRAPS (2/7) & PICKING LOCKS (2/8): These two skills go hand in hand. To safely open boxes you must be able to detect and disarm traps on them. To detect traps you need training in both disarming and perception. To then open a box you need to be trained in picking locks. Box opening is a hobby only for clerics and trained in seriously by very few. If you decide to train this way realize that even if you single, you will not be able to open most boxes from creatures your level.

STALKING & HIDING (5/4): This skill allows you to hide or "blend in with the surroundings", often in front of people and creatures. It also allows you to, once hidden, stalk other characters. When used in combat, attacking from hiding can add to the critical factor of your attack, how much is dependent on your training in the ambush skill. It's a good idea for everyone to pick up a few ranks just for the ability to slip into hiding when you want to remain undetected for a few moments. (Plus it can just be fun to play around with.) The only clerics who should consider serious training in this skill are physical clerics and then only after giving it careful thought.

If you want to go the hiding route, begin picking up ranks as soon as possible. You need to aim for singling as soon as you can, from the beginning is best. Be aware that clerics get limited use from the skill and changes will be made to the game that may make it even less useful for people who are "dabblers". The bottom line is, only train in this skill if you really really want to hide and expect that your TP's spent will not give you much of a return, though it can be a very fun skill to have when you can use it.

PERCEPTION (0/3): The largest use of perception in GS, other than for disarming traps, is to find hidden paths and entrances. It is also factored into searching for treasure on some creatures like kiramon and glacei. (There are often rumors it helps with all treasure, but it's never been confirmed.) It is said that perception can also help spot pick pocketers, but only high amounts of training might help in that area and usually only when coupled with serious training in pick pocketing. (Basically it doesn't help a noticeable amount.) I generally suggest being about half trained in perception at a minimum. This skill could easily become more important in the future, so neglect it at your own risk.

SPELL RESEARCH (0/10): Clerics are classified as pure spell casters, which means we can learn up to three spells each level. I believe that all clerics, including physical clerics, should always learn two spells per level. Physical clerics are as successful as they are because they have the aid of their spells, both in protection spells and in combat helper spells such as Bind. If you don't learn your two spells per level in order to train more heavily in other skills, your casting strength will be lacking against like aged creatures and you will not have the wide menu of options to choose from for the various situations you will face.

For a while there was a steadily growing trend for clerics to heavily triple train in spells. For clerics it was rarely done every level, but often every two or three levels for those most serious about it. A major game change was made in the Spring of 2001 that decreased the possible bonus acquired from triple training in spells in order to keep the gap between a doubler and a tripler under control in order to keep double trainers viable against creatures. What this has done is decreased the value of spending TP's on an expensive third spell for clerics. However, spell training is still the only way, aside from gaining levels, that clerics have to increase their CS and for heavily magically oriented clerics there may still be a desire to save up TP's for a third spell. The key is to keep in mind balancing the bonus gained for the TP's spent and the other skills given up in order to train that way.

SCROLL READING (0/3): Training in this skill allows to you read the spells written on scrolls and to invoke them to cast. The more ranks you have, the higher the spells you can read and the easier it is for you to invoke them. Scroll reading also helps with casting Living Rune (208). This is not a crucial skill, it is merely useful at times. This is the sort of skill you can pick up as TP's allow and as your interests dictate. Note that this tends to be an under utilized skill in GS and thus may be incorporated into more systems in the future, especially for clerics. 24 ranks will allow you to read all the commonly found spells on scrolls.

MAGIC ITEM USE (0/3): This skill allows you to use wands and rods with spells imbedded in them. For most clerics, like scroll reading, it can be picked up occasionally as your interests dictate. The most common use is to get friends to imbed spells for you, you can then wave the embedded wand/rod and "cast" the spell. (Also useful for e-blading your own weapons.) The exception is for magical clerics who wish to actually use wands in combat. With enough ranks you will be able to use wands with sorcerer spells in them. If you single in spell aiming, you will also be able to use wizard wands (gold, aqua, etc. - See spell aiming.)

How well you can use wands is based on your Aura stat bonus and your ranks in training. With a base Aura bonus of 25 you can get by with about 20 ranks of MIU and 37 ranks will give you maximum effectiveness. [Thank you Khirasah and Amery for this information.] It has been said by GM's that in the future MIU will become a required skill in the game for activating more types of magical items. When combined with the fact that clerics are a magical class and changes to our spells or skills can be made at any time, MIU should not be ignored.

MANA SHARE (0/2): Clerics have the cheapest professional cost for mana share training and we can triple it, indicating it is considered an important cleric skill. This skill allows you to send and receive mana from other characters. A 102 skill level allows you to send 100% to another person who has at least 102 skill. Having more than 24 ranks will allow others who are under trained in sharing to get more mana through to you. You must have 102 skill (24 ranks) to safely raise the dead. Share training is also factored into some of our spell formulas such as Living Rune (208), Interdiction (314) and Divine Wrath (319), being a very heavy component to Divine Wrath's power.

While nothing specific has been said, the fact that share training is cheap for clerics, we can triple it, and other classes have seen the incorporation of more skills into their spells, causes me to suspect that it may become more important in the future. With that in mind, I would recommend that most clerics consider being single trained. If it suits your character and it fits into your training plan, doubling is fine. Tripling currently has no advantage in return for the large TP expense.

SPELL AIMING (3/2): With the release of the new cleric spell list in late 1998, this has become a much talked about and controversial skill for clerics. Before the new list, very few clerics trained much or at all in spell aiming. Before, the only spell that required use of this skill was Fire Spirit (111) and it was not considered a powerful or mana efficient enough spell to spend the TP's. The new list now has Holy Bolt (306) on it, which also requires spell aiming to use.

If you want to use 111 and 306, you must single this skill for life and have a good Dexterity bonus as bolt AS uses Dex in the formula. Physical clerics often don't bother with this skill. Others have to decide for themselves. The advantage of bolt spells is that they get past some spell defenses and when a creature "turtles", their bolt DS doesn't change. For clerics the disadvantage is that just like weapons, we can only single train this skill, meaning we will never be able to toss bolts like wizards. If you decide to go the spell aim route, do it with the idea that it will be a combat helper useful in some situations and/or on specific creatures, and not a primary form of attack. It's really nice to have the option as part of your arsenal, but not necessary.

AMBUSH (12/12): Ambush training serves two functions. When aiming at a body part with your weapon from the open, it helps determine how accurate you are (along with CM). When combined with hiding it allows you to increase the critical factor of your hit. This skill should only be considered by heavily physical clerics, as it is horribly expensive.

For a physical cleric, this skill has often been considered a priority and a training plan for picking up ranks is established. I started saving up points and got my first rank at level 14. When I first started ambush training, I got a rank every three levels. In my late 20's to early 30's I moved to every other level. Later on I moved to 2 out of three levels, then 3 out of 4. It's possible to single ambush for a cleric but the cost is so high, it means not being well rounded in your other skills and I don't recommend it.

[4th edition update note to physical clerics on MO vs. Ambush: It is difficult later on to kill creatures through blood loss. Training in ambush increases your ability to target the vital areas of a monster to attempt to get a critical hit. Using ambush from the open does not increase the crit factor of your strike, but if you get a good roll on a shot to the head, you are much more likely to kill what you hit. Thus, being able to accurately aim your blows is extremely valuable in weapon combat. However, ambush will eventually be changed and being under trained in the skill (which all clerics are) will be less valuable. MO training will increase your skill in unaimed blows in the open by upping your ability to take on more than one creature at a time or to eventually cause more blood loss in a single target from a single attack. It should be noted that hitting more than two targets in one attack will dramatically increase your RT.

Both are valuable skills and knowing them both leads to being able to choose the tactical advantage for any given situation. But when forced to choose between them in training you must consider that ambush can be more valuable with MO being cheaper and having quicker returns on TP's spent. MO will be of greatest benefit to clerics by being able to hit a single creature more than once, but that then requires extreme training dedication to get the 40 ranks needed. I can't advise physical clerics on which direction to go, I can only point out the costs and benefits and hope that the information is enough to help others make their own decisions.]

PHYSICAL TRAINING (6/0): This is what will determine how many HP's (hit points) you have (along with your race & Constitution). In order to get more HP's each level, you must train in this skill. HP's are important to max for halflings, elven races and physical clerics. Others can skimp on it a bit if they want to after getting enough HP's to feel comfortable. I like singling until HP's are maxed, but many clerics only train every two or three levels to spread out TP costs. (Don't double.)

FIRST AID (2/1): FA currently affects two things; how well you tend bleeding wounds and how well you skin creatures. It's really personal choice how much you want to dedicate yourself to first aid. I have picked it as one of my skills that I single for life, others pick up only a few ranks (suggested minimum is 10) and some are gung ho doublers. The more ranks of first aid you have, the more severe bleeders you can tend and the more reduced your tending RT becomes. This skill is very important for anyone who does much rescuing. Eventually FA may be added as an important trained skill when it comes to the use of herbs, but at this point that's just rumor.

The new skinning system that was released in March 2000 not only uses your FA skill to determine your success rate in skinning, but it also affects the value of the pelts. The higher your FA skill, the more likely you are to create high quality skins and thus be paid more for them. It should also be noted that the value of the pelts is based on if they have been damaged in combat. If the trophy is a claw for example and you hit the creature in the leg/hand/paw, that claw is in bad shape and won't be worth much, thus increasing the importance of being able to aim your blows if you want to be a good skinner.

TRADING (0/3): This is a fluff skill for clerics. It is only haphazardly implemented in the game. The idea behind it is that you can get lowered prices from merchants, both town shops and traveling merchants. But currently only some merchants take trading into account. It also allows you to get better prices from the pawnshops and gem shops. The only cleric who would want to put serious effort into this skill is someone RPing a penny pincher or greedy type.
[Update note: Trading has now also been incorporated into the new skinning and gem systems. Having enough ranks in trading will allow you to appraise your pelts/gems to see their quality. This ability may be useful for future Artisan Skills.]

PICK POCKETS (3/3):  This skill works two ways. It allows you to be able to pick the pockets of other adventurers and it helps you defend against people trying to pick your pockets. Though even high amounts of training only somewhat increases your chances of catching a thief, and then usually only the less skilled thieves. Most clerics will never train in this skill.
 

XXVIII.   BASIC TRAINING

To get a new cleric started off here is a typical training plan:

Single: armor, shield (for one handers), combat maneuvers, weapon, first aid and physical training (also spell aiming if applicable)

Double: spell research and mana share (you can single share the first two levels and double after that to be able to raise at level 12)

Alternate: perception and swimming/climbing

Pick up other skills as allowed by points on a rotating or occasional basis.

The above will get all clerics through the first few levels, no matter their desired future goals. As you learn more about what you want to do and gain ranks in certain skills, you can decide which ones you want to continue, stop, start or concentrate on.
 

XXIX.   CLERIC SPELLS

(This is not comprehensive. It is in addition to the official spell list put out by Simutronics. To get the actual spell list visit the Gemstone web page.)

PRAYER OF HOLDING (301): Works only on undead. It subtracts 50 DS from the target and "holds" them still. Creatures have a chance to break out of it each round. What this means is, sometimes they are held a long time, but it's not unusual for them to break out soon after you are out of your casting RT. You will often find when older that Bind (214) is a better choice. Holding mana cost is half the level of the creature, with the max cost being 20. (This spell, along with several other cleric spells, has a nice RP effect when cast at items.)

REPEL UNDEAD (302): Works only on undead. This is the mainstay hunting spell of clerics. It is the only combat spell that consistently kills targets. Mana cost works like Holding, with the min cost being 2 and max 25. But you only lose the full mana amount if you fail the spell. If you make the target flee it costs nothing, if you kill it, it costs one mana. If you get an end roll of 101-149, the target usually flees from you. (There are also random kills in that roll range.) If you roll 150+, the target is disintegrated. You only have a few seconds to skin and/or search the kill.

[Update Note: It has been announced that Repel Undead will be replaced with a direct damage spell that will possibly affect the living as well as undead. At this point in time no details are known about how it will work or what it will look like.]

PRAYER OF WARDING (303): First of the cleric defensive spells. This spell adds to both DS (defensive strength) and TD (target/spell defense). It's refreshable, meaning you can cast it again before it wears off and the duration is reset. The spell is rank based, meaning its power (added protection points) and mana cost increases as you train in the cleric list. This is very important to keep in mind, since at younger levels, if you overtrain the cleric list, you will find you might not have the mana to keep these sorts of spells going. The base bonus for the spell when you first learn it is +5, with one additional point for each additional cleric spell known past 303. It maxes at +20. Base mana cost is 3, with +1 for each additional cleric spell known, maxing at 18. (Singling the cleric list maxes this spell at level 18.)

HOLY BLADE (304):  Blesses weapons for use against undead. At first, it only works on plain weapons, meaning those that have no extras to them. Extras include things like enchants or magic metals, e-blades, weighting, flares, etc. Once you learn 25 spells in the cleric list, your bless adds holy water flares to the weapon, but still only works on plain weapons. When you learn 50 cleric spells you add the ability to bless magic metal weapons with no extras. (The bless lasts three swings per your level, making it a high mana cost for little benefit when really young.) One thing to be aware of, if you cast bless at a cursed weapon, the weapon will blow up. This is very good against harbingers who swing cursed claidhmores and very very very bad if you accidentally blow up some other character's prized weapon.

PRESERVATION (305):  Also known as Lifekeep and LK. Used to keep the spirit of a dead person attached to the body. (Prevents decay.) Always cast this spell right away when you see someone who is dead. A person who has been kept has their decay timer stopped. So if the person only has 10 minutes between death and decay, that 10 minute timer is halted wherever it was in the countdown for as long as the lifekeep lasts, then the decay counter starts again. Be sure to watch for lifekeeps to wear off, when they do you need to cast again. The words to look for are "stench of decay" or "body grows darker". (White flasks contain a potion that has this spell. To use one type, "pour my flask into <name>". Even though clerics learn the spell, you should still carry a flask with you at all times.)

HOLY BOLT (306): Bolt spell of holy water. Works best on undead but can be used on living. Only useful if fully singled in spell aiming. Like all bolt spells it's stance dependent, only getting full AS from stance offensive. When in guarded or defensive stance, it becomes an RP spell, as it does not actually cast the bolt. Bravery, Heroism, Spirit Strike and Benediction will all add to your AS when using this spell.

BENEDICTION (307): One of the nicest cleric spells, it affects the entire group. Cast it at the group leader. It adds to both AS and DS. Rank based again, with a base of +5 with an additional point added for every two cleric spells learned, maxing at +15. Base mana cost is 7 with +1 for every two additional cleric spells, maxing at 17. The spell is still maintained by everyone in the party, even if they become unjoined through hiding, etc. If the group becomes separated in different rooms, the spell quickly wears off anyone not joined. (Singling the cleric list maxes this spell at level 27.)

WELL OF LIFE (308):  Allows you to send your spirit to another person. How much is dependent on your mana share skill. With full share, if the person you are sending to has 5 out of 10 spirit, you will send them 5 spirit to "fill them up". It will always leave you with at least one spirit, so you do not have to worry about the spell causing spirit death. (It can be a by product though if you are not careful with other spirit draining things in the game.)

Starting in Spring 2001, it's now required that Well of Life be cast on a corpse before a cleric can raise them in order to establish a spiritual link. Only the cleric creating the link can then raise that person. The dead body has a chance to break the connection using the "unlink" verb. Once the corpse has been raised, the link remains in effect for two minutes. If the recently raised person dies for any reason while the link is active, the gods punish the cleric for his or her carelessness and prevents the cleric from being able to raise again for an hour. There is also a minimum 5 minute wait time after raising someone before the cleric can link to another corpse. Take special note that the link does nothing to preserve the body so Lifekeep still has highest priority.

NEUTRALIZE CURSE (309): Temporarily removes a curse from an item allowing it to be briefly handled or put away/thrown away. How long the curse is removed is level based. This also works for opening the GY (graveyard) gate.

WARDING SPHERE (310): Another very nice spell that works for the whole group. Adds to DS and TD just like 303. It can be used with 303. Group mechanics work just like Benediction. It's rank based with the base being +10 when learned, with an additional point added for each cleric spell learned past 310, maxing at +40. Base mana cost is 10, with +1 for each additional cleric spell known, maxing at 40. (Singling the cleric list will max this spell at level 40.)

BLIND (311): An often used spell by weapon hunting clerics. (Blind was changed from a caster level duration to a warding failure/creature resistance duration.) It stuns the target and subtracts 20 from their DS. It will stun them in whatever stance they are currently in though, so it's best to make sure they are being aggressive before casting the spell. The spell can be removed with Unstun (108). Blinded creatures are easier to hide from. Works on both undead and living. You can gain experience by using this spell even if you don't cause any damage, but you must be present when the creature is killed and searched.

RAISE DEAD (312): The first cleric spell learned to raise the dead. You must have 24 ranks of mana share to safely raise the dead. If not, you can experience backlash, you will have lost your spirit and the person will still be dead from the failed raise. Casting 312 takes 75% of the target's spirit amount from the caster. This means if the dead person's max spirit amount is 10, you will need to have 8 spirit to raise them. You use 7 to raise and keep one for yourself to keep you alive. You can use "appraise" to see the spirit level of the dead person and "health" to check your spirit level. Never depend on what the FE says as it is not always accurate. If you are not careful, you can "over raise" meaning you did not have enough spirit so you die and decay instantly from a spirit death. Most clerics do this at some point in their career and it isn't fun. The spell returns one spirit point and one HP to the person being raised.

Some brief notes about raising: There is a LOT to know in order to raise safely. It is imperative you learn these things BEFORE you start raising the dead. Read what is available in guides, go to any classes offered in the game and read my seminar transcript available on the mentor site (www.mentors.play.net). Go to where clerics are raising and tell an older cleric there who looks like they know what they are doing that you are there to learn and ask for any pointers (when they are not busy of course). Right now raising, according to game mechanics, is just another spell. Keep in mind the spell description though, the cleric is channeling the power of their god to raise the dead person.

PRAYER (313): This spell adds +15 to your TD and also has a "luck" factor. The luck factor helps in maneuver based things within the game, such as dodging special creature maneuvers. It's not a set bonus but rather a chance (most likely random) to dodge better than you normally do. I have not seen that it gives a noticeable amount of aid, but when going against such creatures, I always have it running anyway. Until you are much older, you will rarely need the TD.

INTERDICTION (314): If you successfully cast on a target, it drains their mana in rounds. (The drained mana does not go to the cleric.) How well it does this is based on your mana share. The spell doesn't seem to work on old style creatures. The purpose of the spell is to make it so the creature can't cast. (Silence - 210 - is an alternative way to prevent a creature from casting and works immediately for less mana, though it now often has a very short duration.)

REMOVE CURSE (315): This spell removes a curse from items permanently. The spell description hints that there is room for failure, but currently it appears to work 100% of the time.
[Update Note: It has been talked about that the sorcerer Curse spell will be undergoing some changes. It is likely when that happens Remove Curse will also see some changes. But no cleric details have been given at this time.]

ATONEMENT (316): Not yet implemented at this writing. See the official docs for the spell description.

ZEALOT (317): Very interesting spell that has to be used with great care. This spell adds to AS and subtracts from DS, plus forces the recipient(s) into an offensive stance. You cannot change stance again until the spell wears off. When first learned the spell adds +15 to your AS, with an additional point being added for every two additional cleric spells learned. It maxes at +30 to AS. It does not matter what your AS bonus is with the spell, you will always get -30 to your DS when using Zealot. It has a fixed mana cost of 17. This is a self-cast group spell. What this means is, if you want the group to receive the spell, you must be leading the group. Always ask if everyone wants the spell and explain the drawbacks before casting. If you want to use it and others don't, have someone else lead and cast the spell on yourself. (Singling the cleric list maxes this spell at level 47.)

LIFE RESTORATION (318): This is the second spell for raising. It only takes 50% of the cleric's spirit and returns 10% of the dead person's health to them.

DIVINE WRATH (319): Also an interesting spell that is often hotly debated among clerics. It is an undead only spell that can target more than one creature at a time. It is a warding based spell, and the targets get a warding chance at each attempted strike. It is a very impressive spell as far as the special affects go. It has waves of strikes, the number of waves you get is based on cleric spells known. The power of the spell is based on the caster's mana share training. The biggest drawback to Divine Wrath is that you must wait to cast it again, how long you have to wait seems to depend on how much damage you caused with your first cast. The wait seems to be anywhere from about 5 to 25 minutes. There are some interesting quirks to the spell that I will let you discover for yourself, but I will give two hints. Be in guarded stance before you cast and don't look into the crimson mist unless there is an empath with you. (You don't have to specify a target when casting.)

EXORCISM (320): Not yet implemented at this writing. It will most likely deal with demon summoning when it's eventually implemented.

SANCTIFY (325): Not yet implemented at this writing.
I am pasting here Sage Jessine's post from the cleric message board where she is quoting GM Ophion. "re: sanctify, a cleric will be permitted to create 1 weapon per real-time year. The weapon will have multiple capabilities other than the obvious physical attributes. The process to manufacture the weapon will be painstaking based upon cleric spells known, race, alignment and various other sundries.  Alignment of cleric will affect the capability of the weapon. In the hands of a cleric aligned to the same deity, the weapon will have its full effect. In other folk's wield, the weapon will be simply a normal blessed weapon whose bless will wear off until 'refreshed'. For some folks whose alignment are diametrically opposed to the weapon, the consequences may be more lethal. This weapon would be what I would classify as a potential 'artifact' weapon. Hence the limitation in production.

PRAYER OF COMMUNE (330): This is an RP spell that allows a cleric to attempt to contact their deity directly. This should not be attempted unless the cleric has a good reason and is properly prepared with appropriate rituals and also ready as a player to RP whatever may come their way. This spell depends on GM interaction, so a lot of whether or not a cleric is successful depends on whether or not any GM's have the time to respond. If they do have the time, they will usually observe for a bit without you knowing it. So it's up to you to dazzle them and make them think you are worth their effort to play along with you.

The biggest tip I have for anyone wanting to Commune is to make sure that the bulk of your prayer and ritual is done AFTER casting the spell. A GM will not have seen whatever you did prior to casting, and often not for a while after casting since they have to have time to peek in. Make sure during that time you clearly state the purpose of the Commune and repeat it a few times so the GM knows what you are up to.

It should also be understood that just because you are praying to one god doesn't mean another one won't show up. Oftentimes if you get a response it's not the god him/herself but one of their spirit servants. A cleric usually has a greater chance of success if they cast Commune at an appropriate symbol. Be aware that frequent and repeated attempts are frowned upon and dismissed by the gods and GM's alike. Also be aware that Communes during major storyline events are rarely successful (beyond occasional mass destruction) as the GM's have already decided how they want the storyline to proceed and are not interested in giving "inside info" to an individual cleric or group. While it makes a lot of RP sense for a cleric to want to contact their god during such a time, it has to be given a back seat to the reality of how Commune works.

RESURRECT (350): The highest of the raising spells, it only takes 25% spirit, meaning the cleric will lose 2 spirit at the most. It also returns half spirit and health to the raised person.
 

XXX.  SPELL TRAINING

For most clerics, the very young levels have a set training path. Once you reach level 15, decisions need to be made about which spells to target as priorities since we have to choose among three lists. The type of cleric you play will dictate which spells are most important to you.

I am going to give suggestions based on the different types of clerics, but realize they are only suggestions. If you want to deviate from the suggested paths based on your own interests and goals that is fine.

Level 3 all clerics should know spells 103, 202 and 303.

Level 10 all clerics should know 103, 209 and 310.

Level 11 double train the major list, giving you Bravery (+15 to AS) on time.

Level 12 double the cleric list giving you Raise Dead on time.

Level 15 clerics should know 103, 215 and 314.
(215 is Heroism, +25 to AS, plus added mana and health regeneration, it's important even for magical clerics.)

Decision time. Most clerics will want to keep up in the cleric list for at least a while longer to get more from the rank based spells and to keep up cleric CS. The biggest decision is whether to continue on in the major list or to switch back to the minor list.

A physical cleric should switch back to the minor list working towards getting Lesser Shroud/Alkars (120). A rescuing cleric will usually want to keep on in the majors to get Major Sanctuary (220). The magical cleric can go either way, depending on personal taste.

I am not going to mention magical clerics from here on because the majority of them will at least single the cleric list for life, targeting other spells as their personal interests dictate. Dedicated singling/doubling of the cleric list means getting spells from the other two lists at a slower rate than other clerics. It's only physical and rescuing clerics who will spend significant periods of time away from the cleric base list.

Level 18 physical clerics will have 105, 215 and 318.

Level 18 rescuing clerics will have 103, 217 and 318.

The reason I suggest going to 318 even for physical clerics is you will often stumble over dead bodies while hunting who need your help. Using 318 takes less of your spirit and gets you back out hunting sooner, plus it returns more health to the dead person. Going to 318 even if you haven't trained to be able to raise yet will max the bonus from Warding (303) and keeps your cleric CS in good shape for using Blind, which is the mainstay hunting spell for younger weapon using clerics.

Level 19 - physical clerics usually leave the cleric list and start doubling the Minor list to get Lesser Shroud/Alkars (120). It's one of the best DS/TD spells clerics learn.

Level 19 - rescuing clerics are still working towards 220 in the Major list. They can also continue in the cleric list, or switch to the Minor list to start working towards Locate (116). I suggest switching to the Minor list.

AFTER LEVEL 20

Many rescuing clerics tend to keep going to 225 after getting 220. I think this is a mistake because fogging without being able to locate people is both dangerous and frustrating. If you can't peek before fogging, you might be landing in a wight cloud getting zapped and joining the stack of deaders. It's also possible you could fog there only to find out the dead person doesn't want or need your help because someone is already there. Also realize that if you can locate, you can walk to where the dead person is lying all alone hoping for someone to stumble across them, whereas with 225, you have no idea where they are. If they are in a non-foggable area, you won't know where to go to offer your help.

For rescuing clerics I suggest at level 21 doubling the Minor list up to at least Locate (116), then decide again how to proceed.

I should also mention that spell 130 (Spirit Guide/Word of Return) is actually a better spell to know than 225 (Transference). The problem is, 225 can be learned much sooner and is too tempting for most clerics to pass up in favor of working towards 130 first. I admit I wasn't able to pass up the temptation either. If I had it to do over again though, I would seriously consider learning 130 first, having experienced using both spells.

The key spells for rescuing clerics are 116, 130, 220, 225 and 350.

For Voln clerics your spell priorities may be different than those who are not members. Being in Voln grants you many of the cleric abilities at younger levels so that getting those spells isn't as important.

The key spells to keep in mind for physical clerics are 120 and 150 (Wall of Force). For fun, safety and convenience, 220, 225 and 130 are also good spells to target.

For physical clerics I highly recommend trying to learn Wall of Force (+100 to DS) close to your 50th training, level 52 is a common one. It is extremely mana intensive, but the protection is desperately needed for a very physical cleric. I didn't learn it until 57 and was miserable during my 50's because I took the advice of other clerics and put it off.

It's impossible for me to list which spells each cleric should have at any given level. It will depend so much on your goals and priorities. The best way to figure out what you want to do is write out several lists. Each list should have each level listed and then the possible spells known in all three spell circles for that level. Highlight your target spells and what level you would gain it. Then pick which list most closely fits your interests and use that list each time you train so that you know which spell circles to choose during training.

Rescuing and physical clerics will most likely leave the cleric list for several levels at a time, doubling another list to get a target spell. It has to be done this way to get spells at a time that you really need them for DS or could really use them for safety in the field or for getting yourself or others out of danger. But it should also be realized that leaving the cleric list drawbacks. Your cleric CS will suffer a bit and your bonuses from rank based spells will grow more slowly. So it's best to also spend a series of levels doubling the cleric list in between gaining your Minor/Major target spells.

ADVANCED TRAINING

What about after you know all your spells? For a strictly doubled physical or rescuing cleric you will usually know the highest implemented spells in all three circles at level 62. For highly magical clerics who single in the cleric list every training it will be level 74.

For a physical cleric, going beyond 225 in the Major list helps with Bind CS, which becomes an issue around level 70 or so. The creatures begin having a very high DS and the aid of Bind becomes very important while the TD's become increasingly harder to beat. But it can be very difficult to increase your Major Spirit CS without falling too far behind in the cleric list. I'm mostly mentioning all this because it shows that even after you learn all the implemented spells, there is a l