Tsalinx (prime)/Tsalinx's Cleric Guide

WORK IN PROGRESS

Clerics are my favorite class. Since the class received a "review" in 2019, they have become extremely powerful, versatile, and fun to play. In 2022 we received a class service, Sanctify, that made playing a cleric extremely lucrative. We are also sought out for rescues since we can bring dead adventurers back to life, providing cleric players with a sense of value and importance. Overall, if you choose to play a cleric, you can't go wrong. Here I will use my experience to provide some advice to help maximize your powers and reap the rewards of the holy (or unholy) life.

My experience: I played a cleric named Tsalin in the 1990s up to roughly level 160 - I believe I was the highest level cleric in the lands when I quit. I returned in 2017 and rolled up a new cleric, Tsalinx, who I capped in about a year. In 2021 I started another cleric, Tsalyn, who I capped in 7 month's time. I have another cleric in his 60's as well. Point being: I have a ton of experience leveling clerics and I hope this guide helps you or someone you know!

First Things First

If you're brand new to the game, make sure to check out the New Players' Guide to learn the basics.

I also recommend you read my Pre Level 20 Leveling Tips for some more general advice, although I will cover some of that here where pertinent.

Choosing a Race

Gemstone is a roleplaying game - so first and foremost, if that matters to you at all, you should choose whatever race you want to be. No race is bad - they all have their strengths and weaknesses. The important thing is to have fun...so pick something fun!

That being said, if you're like me and you think you'll have fun playing any race, here are some considerations:

• Many attacks/setups that clerics use are CS-based. Our CS is modified by our wisdom bonus, and there are only two classes that have a bonus to wisdom: dark elf and forest gnome. Many people choose dark elf because they don't want the -10 strength penalty that forest gnomes receive. All of my modern clerics are dark elves.
• Historically, two other important attributes have been sought after in clerics: being strong for dragging dead bodies and having a high spirit generation rate for Raise Dead. This meant that dwarf and giantman were common cleric races. While they are still excellent choices, dragging dead bodies is less of an issue/concern these days and spirit regen, while helpful, is no longer of huge importance.
• While we do have a diverse set of bolt attacks, which are improved with dexterity, I find them to be the weakest part of our overall toolkit. I would not highly prioritize a dexterity bonus when choosing my race, but if you want to use bolt spells as your primary attack (it's still good!), you may want to take that into consideration. I'll discuss bolting more below.
• If you're rolling up a cleric primary to sell the Sanctify service, you might be interested in a race with a nice influence bonus.