If you were playing an RPG with a Chaplain class, what are some abilities you would expect to have?
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/42078497
Hmmm
With the term chaplain, I'm going to expect some kind of blessings, minor heals, and defensive buffs, in a magic setting
If it's non or low magic, I'd want to see morale focused abilities, maybe low grade calming ability via sermons, the skills to read body language and facial expressions, that kind of thing.
If they're also a combatant, then I'd think of them as a paladin without smiting abilities. A support class that's more back line. They might jump on a grenade to save their fellow soldiers, but they wouldn't pick up their rifle and avenge them as a general rule.
This is why IMO class do not work well in rpg, in a more classic system, you could quickly create an archetype using
-Basic soldier skill
-Psychology, negotiations #
-Basic religious scholar skills (History, ancient languages, occultism)
At least that's the kind of skills I would take if playing a chaplain
They'd need to be able to boost our morale with the litanies of hate. I did play in the Deathwatch RPG though which has a Chaplain class.
That entirely depends on the setting. Is this more of a fantasy cleric, a medieval priest, or a starship's chaplain?
What kind of world tech level and range of super weight are you looking at for this?
Basically standard fantasy medieval but with iron age political turmoil. Every few decades some noble family gets annihilated by a dragon or giant, so there's always new abandoned dungeons and strongholds to be rediscovered.
I feel like I should have provided context in my original post, but I more wanted vibes. I'm making a rpg with 5 classes, and I am dead set on the only spellcasting class being the Wizard. So, the clericish class has to have some other role. Settled on something closer to a Bard as the main thing, where you can make an Inspiration pool of d6s that your party can scoop up dice from to add to their attack rolls and skill checks. Most of the obvious stuff that would normally belong to clerics, druids, warlocks, and paladins is all bolted to the sides and corners of the alignment chart. I'm looking for how to flesh out the meat of the class, the core stuff that everyone gets.
If you're curious, these are the 5 classes:
Probably a support character. I'd expect they are good at emotional and physical first aid, morale boosts, and diplomacy.
They probably aren't good at physically fighting, but they'd be good at stopping fights non-violently.