Initial Proficiencies
Level 1
At 1st level, you gain a number of proficiencies that represent your basic training, noted at the start of this class.
Deity
Level 1
As a cleric, you are a mortal servitor of a deity you revere above all others. The most common deities in Pathfinder appear on pages 437–440, along with their alignments, areas of concern, and the benefits you get for being a cleric of that deity. Your alignment must be one allowed by your deity, as listed in their entry. Your deity grants you the trained proficiency rank in one skill and with the deity’s favored weapon. If the favored weapon is uncommon, you also get access to that weapon.
Your deity also adds spells to your spell list. You can prepare these just like you can any spell on the divine spell list, once you can prepare spells of their level as a cleric. Some of these spells aren’t normally on the divine list, but they’re divine spells if you prepare them this way.
Anathema
Acts fundamentally opposed to your deity’s alignment or ideals are anathema to your faith. Learning or casting spells, committing acts, and using items that are anathema to your deity remove you from your deity’s good graces.
Casting spells with the evil trait is almost always anathema to good deities, and casting good spells is likewise anathema to evil deities; similarly, casting chaotic spells is anathema to lawful deities, and casting lawful spells is anathema to chaotic deities. A neutral cleric who worships a neutral deity isn’t limited this way, but their alignment might change over time if they frequently cast spells or use abilities with a certain alignment. Similarly, casting spells that are anathema to the tenets or goals of your faith could interfere with your connection to your deity. For example, casting a spell to create undead would be anathema to Pharasma, the goddess of death. For borderline cases, you and your GM determine which acts are anathema.
If you perform enough acts that are anathema to your deity, or if your alignment changes to one not allowed by your deity, you lose the magical abilities that come from your connection to your deity. The class features that you lose are determined by the GM, but they likely include your divine font and all divine spellcasting. These abilities can be regained only if you demonstrate your repentance by conducting an atone ritual.
Divine Spellcasting
Level 1
Your deity bestows on you the power to cast divine spells. You can cast divine spells using the Cast a Spell activity, and you can supply material, somatic, and verbal components when casting spells (see Casting Spells on page 302). Because you’re a cleric, you can usually hold a divine focus (such as a religious symbol) for spells requiring material components instead of needing to use a spell component pouch.
At 1st level, you can prepare two 1st-level spells and five cantrips each morning from the common spells on the divine spell list in this book (page 309) or from other divine spells to which you gain access. Prepared spells remain available to you until you cast them or until you prepare your spells again. The number of spells you can prepare is called your spell slots.
As you increase in level as a cleric, the number of spells you can prepare each day increases, as does the highest level of spell you can cast, as shown in Table 3–9: Cleric Spells per Day on page 120.
Some of your spells require you to attempt a spell attack roll to see how effective they are, or your enemies to roll against your spell DC (typically by attempting a saving throw). Since your key ability is Wisdom, your spell attack rolls and spell DCs use your Wisdom modifier. Details on calculating these statistics appear on page 447.
Heightening Spells
When you get spell slots of 2nd level and higher, you can fill those slots with stronger versions of lower-level spells. This increases the spell’s level, heightening it to match the spell slot. Many spells have specific improvements when they are heightened to certain levels.
Cantrips
A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn’t use spell slots. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day. A cantrip is always automatically heightened to half your level rounded up—this is usually equal to the highest level of spell you can cast as a cleric. For example, as a 1st-level cleric, your cantrips are 1st-level spells, and as a 5th-level cleric, your cantrips are 3rd-level spells.
Divine Font
Level 1
Through your deity’s blessing, you gain additional spells that channel either the life force called positive energy or its counterforce, negative energy. When you prepare your spells each day, you can prepare additional heal or harm spells, depending on your deity. The divine font spell your deity provides is listed in the Divine Font entry for your deity on pages 437–440; if both are listed, you can choose between heal or harm. Once you choose, you can’t change your choice short of an ethical shift or divine intervention.
Healing Font: You gain additional spell slots each day at your highest level of cleric spell slots. You can prepare only heal spells (page 343) in these slots, and the number of slots is equal to 1 plus your Charisma modifier.
Harmful Font: You gain additional spell slots each day at your highest level of cleric spell slots. You can prepare only harm spells (page 343) in these slots, and the number of slots is equal to 1 plus your Charisma modifier.
Doctrine
Level 1
Even among followers of the same deity, there are numerous doctrines and beliefs, which sometimes vary wildly between clerics. At 1st level, you select a doctrine and gain the benefits of its first doctrine. The doctrines presented in this book are cloistered cleric and warpriest. Each doctrine grants you initial benefits at 1st level. At 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th levels, you gain the benefits granted by your doctrine’s second, third, fourth, fifth, and final doctrines respectively.
Cloistered Cleric
You are a cleric of the cloth, focusing on divine magic and your connection to your deity’s domains.
First Doctrine (1st): You gain the Domain Initiate cleric feat.
Second Doctrine (3rd): Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to expert.
Third Doctrine (7th): Your proficiency ranks for divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to expert.
Fourth Doctrine (11th): You gain expert proficiency with your deity’s favored weapon. When you critically succeed at an attack roll using that weapon, you apply the weapon’s critical specialization effect; use your divine spell DC if necessary.
Fifth Doctrine (15th): Your proficiency ranks for divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to master.
Final Doctrine (19th): Your proficiency ranks for divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to legendary.
Warpriest
You have trained in the more militant doctrine of your church, focusing on both spells and battle.
First Doctrine (1st): You’re trained in light and medium armor, and you have expert proficiency in Fortitude saves. You gain the Shield Block general feat, a reaction to reduce damage with a shield. If your deity’s weapon is simple, you gain the Deadly Simplicity cleric feat. At 13th level, if you gain the divine defense class feature, you also gain expert proficiency in light and medium armor.
Second Doctrine (3rd): You’re trained in martial weapons.
Third Doctrine (7th): You gain expert proficiency with your deity’s favored weapon. When you critically succeed at an attack roll using that weapon, you apply the weapon’s critical specialization effect; use your divine spell DC if necessary.
Fourth Doctrine (11th): Your proficiency ranks for divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to expert.
Fifth Doctrine (15th): Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success at a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.
Final Doctrine (19th): Your proficiency ranks for divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs increase to master.
Deadly Simplicity
Level 1
Cleric
Prerequisites: deity with a simple favored weapon, trained with your deity’s favored weapon
Your deity’s weapon is especially powerful in your hands. When you are wielding your deity’s favored weapon, increase the damage die size of that weapon by one step.
If your deity’s favored weapon is an unarmed attack (such as a fist, if you worship Irori) and its damage die is smaller than d6, instead increase its damage die size to d6.
Domain Initiate
Level 1
Cleric
Your deity bestows a special spell related to their powers. Select one domain—a subject of particular interest to you within your religion—from your deity’s list. You gain an initial domain spell for that domain, a spell unique to the domain and not available to other clerics. Each domain’s theme and domain spells appear in Table 8–2: Domains on page 441.
Domain spells are a type of focus spell. It costs 1 Focus Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity to pray to your deity or do service toward their causes.
Focus spells are automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. Focus spells don’t require spell slots, nor can you cast them using spell slots. Certain feats can give you more focus spells and increase the size of your focus pool, though your focus pool can never hold more than 3 Focus Points. The full rules for focus spells appear on page 300.
Special You can select this feat multiple times, selecting a different domain each time and gaining its domain spell.
Harming Hands
Level 1
Cleric
Prerequisites: harmful font
The mordant power of your negative energy grows. When you cast harm, you roll d10s instead of d8s.
Healing Hands
Level 1
Cleric
Prerequisites: healing font
Your positive energy is even more vibrant and restorative. When you cast heal, you roll d10s instead of d8s.
Holy Castigation
Level 1
Cleric
Prerequisites: good alignment
You combine holy energy with positive energy to damage demons, devils, and their evil ilk. Heal spells you cast damage fiends as though they were undead.