Rage Cleric
Rage Clerics are a Cleric Variant Class for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition found in Dragon Magazine #333. These clerics serve various gods of battle, fury and savagery, such as Kord or Gruumsh - the kind of war-gods particularly associated with holy frenzies, zealotry or berserker fury; if they include Chaos, Strength or War as a Cleric Domain, they probably have a considerable rage cleric following. Lawful war gods may also produce rage clerics, but under the mechanics for alignment, these clerics are mavericks and often walk a tightrope between using their fury and staying in their patron's good graces. Obviously, this barbarian-lite version of the cleric is common in cultures that produce barbarians, and may even engage in barbarian multiclassing.
In the typical D&D world, rage clerics will mostly be associated with savage humanoids and giants, with orcs in particular being known for them; demihuman rage clerics mostly come from the ranks of half-orcs, humans and dwarves.
So, how do they work mechanically? Very simple:
- First, your Alignment cannot be Lawful, but must be within 1 step of your patron god's alignment.
- Secondly, your weaponry & armor proficiencies are: All Simple Weapons, Light Armor, and all Shields except Tower Shields.
- Finally, you trade the Cleric Domain and Turn Undead class features for access to the Rage ability, which functions for you as per a barbarian, including gaining the Greater Rage, Indomitable Will, Tireless Rage and Mighty Rage class features at the same levels as a barbarian. Levels in rage cleric and barbarian stack for determining raging abilities, duration and uses per day.