Let me first start off by saying that though this guide is quite extensive, it will not cover every aspect about being a cleric. Gemstone III is a role-playing game and though I can hopefully give player insights into what it is like to role-play a cleric, the purpose of this guide is primarily to suggest a variety of development strategies and to illustrate some solid techniques in resurrecting the dead. Initially this was to be a supplement to the many guides on clerics out there, but it continued to grow from what was a basic outline into a stand alone guide. I have chosen to write this to an audience of people who have had some experience with the game Gemstone III inasmuch as having a general knowledge of the game's mechanics thus there are many simple concepts and formulas missing from these works. If you are new to the world of Gemstone III then I highly suggest you read various other works in addition to this guide. In conclusion, it is my theory and hopes that if a character establishes clear goals then role-playing that character comes naturally, hence this guide. So in essence, you could call this a clerical role-playing handbook.

In the game of Gemstone III, all characters are born out of the character manager. Instead of the more traditional way of using dice and scribing the result onto a piece of paper, we will use this program to roll and record the numbers for us. There are two options on how to roll up a character through the character manager: the Quick method and the Full method. The Quick method is a very basic 'quick and dirty' way of rolling up a character. It simply does the rolling and assigning of the attributes. Since the Quick method allows very little player control or decision in creating a character, it is generally not for the serious player, but for the person who is trying out the game. The serious player uses the Full method to create their character so it is here that we will concentrate.

The 'Full' method will generate 10 numbers that you can then assign individually to the 10 attributes listed below. To exchange these numbers for a new set simply type in a 'g' for generate. The necessity of having a good set of rolls can not stressed high enough. Sit in front of your computer, turn it so you can watch TV, uncork a bottle of wine, and settle in expecting to spend a few hours getting the numbers you need. Of course it might not take that long, but expect the worse. Why is it important to have a good set of rolls? Well, these rolls will make up the backbone of your cleric. Trust me, you are far more prone to stick with something that is not internally flawed then to find out later that you are having a hard time doing anything. There have been many characters whom have made it to Lord or Lady only to retire and start anew. Ok, before getting into what is a good set of numbers, lets take a glimpse at how Gemstone III defines the 10 attributes.

Constitution(CO): General health and well being, including resistance to disease, injury, poison, and other types of damage.

Dexterity(DE): Manual dexterity, litheness, maneuvering; the ability to use tools, missile weapons, and also to evade some attacks. A high dexterity will help you maneuver around the world. Finally, dexterity affects how well you can aim spells.

Discipline(DI): The control of mind over body; the ability to concentrate one's will and being on a goal, or draw upon inner reserves of strength and determination for survival or attainment of an objective.

Logic(LO): Logic is a measure of mental quickness. It is the mental equivalent of the Dexterity stat. Logic is a very important factor in determining how much your character can grasp at a time (in terms of experience points) and thus how quickly you can advance.

Intelligence(IN): The ability to absorb, comprehend and sort information from the world about you for current and future use. It includes the ability to take this information and draw logical, useful conclusions. This stat is one of the factors affecting how quickly your character can absorb field experience into real experience, which is how you gain levels.

Strength(ST): Not only a measure of brute force, this also reflects your ability to use your existing physique and stamina to the greatest advantage. Race, factored in terms of racial bonuses, gives additional advantages along with skill bonuses, but strength is also an indicator of what you do with what you have, compared to others' ability to use their inherent strength. Please note that your character's strength will also determine how much weight can be carried before penalties are applied.

Reflex(RE): A measure of reflexes and conscious reaction time. Your character benefits defensively from good reflexes.

Charisma(CH): Control of your mind and conscious responses; the knack of keeping your wits about you even under the most stressful conditions. Also includes such traits as courage, leadership, self-esteem, bearing, presence, morale and ego.

Wisdom(WI): A combination of luck, genius, ESP, precognition and the favor of higher powers is embodied in this stat. Includes intuition, talent, insight, inspiration. Wisdom bonuses can help you find what is hidden, be it a trap or a thief. In addition, high wisdom is desired for certain spell casting professions (clerics, empaths, rangers and sorcerers).

Aura(AU): The relationship of your character to the universal force that is common to all things natural and supernatural. The degree to which you are in touch with the elemental forces and energy of the worlds around you, seen and unseen. This stat has a direct effect on the power of some spell casting professions (wizards, bards and sorcerers). Note that Arms Sphere characters' mana points also depend on this stat, should they learn any spells. This stat also determines the amount of "life force" or Spirit Points that your character possesses.

So now that we have an idea of where these numbers are going to go, what exactly is a set of good rolls? This varies from person to person, but I would say something in the 640ish range with nothing in the 20s is as fine of a line as any, but this is not gospel. Let's get a little more specific and say 1 roll in the upper 90's, 3 in the 80's and the rest above 40. On top of these rolls, a cleric will automatically get a +10 addition to both the Logic and Wisdom statistics. Since a statistic can not exceed 100, do not put a number greater than 90 into either one of these. Of course, good statistics are not necessary to role-play a cleric or to role-play anything. It is my belief though, that a character with a strong set of attributes which to build upon is far less likely to give you regret in the future.

Ok, now that you have gotten an acceptable set of numbers you will be wanting advice on where to place them, how to spell train, and what skills to train? Sorry, but it is not that simple for there is a few very good options to consider. First you have to ask yourself what type of cleric can you imagine playing and more importantly, you have to have a clear idea in your mind what a cleric is...what YOUR cleric is.

I can not give you a perfect definition of what a cleric is because there is not a single image. To some people a cleric is the promoter of a certain faith or deity worship. Other people might imagine a cleric as a kind unselfish person who spends their days raising people from the dead- never asking anything in return. Still other people would argue that a cleric is a mighty warrior that has mastered the spiritual realm or even a warrior blessed by a deity. Maybe you envision the cleric as a vanquisher of the undead, unparalleled in this task...or perhaps the friendly friar. All these illustrations of a cleric are but generalizations and yet there is more than a hint of truth in each one.

Even though a cleric can have aspects of all of the above, they tend to favor some routes more so then others. Your cleric's strengths, weaknesses, and style slowly evolve through the making of choices and the most critical choice that any cleric must initially make is how they plan to spell train. Clerics tend to be about the same when they reach legend status (level 50) but until that rank, there can be significant differences from one cleric to another. This uniqueness' takes on the form of spells, skills, race, personality (which will hopefully always stay unique) with attributes taking a less noticeable place.

There are 'generally' three different philosophies on spell training. As mentioned above, it is this decision that will have the biggest impact on what direction a cleric will take and how they will continue to train. By now you should have some idea of how you envision your cleric. The choice on how to spell train will open some avenues and perhaps close others. This guide puts clerics into three very broad categories based on common spell training routes. Before I go into these, let me first tell you what the minimum every cleric should have to be successful in their trade.

The 'generic' cleric should always have an Aura of at least 80. This is very important for resurrecting the dead, a subject I will go over in length a bit later. The second thing that all clerics need to have is a mana-share of at least 102 by their 12th year. Without this high of share there is a possibility that the resurrection will be unsuccessful. If this happens, the dead person will not join the living, and will lose another deed on top of the deed initially lost from dying. The third thing is always singly train in weapons and shield. The last thing is to always double train in spells.

Note: Deeds either prolongs or prevents a person's body from decaying permanently after death. If a character's body sits too long it will decay. When a character's body decays and they have a minimum of 3 deeds accredited to them by the gods they reappear at the temple bewildered with a few experience points less then when they died. If a character decays with less then 3 deeds accredited to them, then they lose their soul (back to the character manager). Characters receive deeds by donating a respectable amount of silver or gems to Lorminstra in her temple, when a cleric resurrects many very young adventurers they receive a boon from Lorminstra (a deed), or by donating items at the IceMule Trace temple. It is very wise to have a minimum of three deeds accredited by the gods before adventuring.

The three most common ways to spell train are:

• Have the first three Minor Spirit spells, 201 (Calm) from the Major Spirit circle and both 301 (Hold Undead) and 302 (Repel Undead) from the Clerical Circle by second level (that is 6 spells: 2 at level 0, 2 at level 1, and 2 at level 2) then take from the Major Spirit circle and Clerical circle until 215 is obtained then there is the option of returning to the Minor Spirit, but no matter what you stick to taking prayers (spells) from the Clerical until 325 (Major prayer of repelling) is obtained. This I call the PALADIN Way.

• Have the first three Major Spirit spells, 101 (Spirit Warding) from the Minor Spirit and both 301 (Hold Undead) and 302 (Repel Undead) from the Clerical Circle by second level. Then take from the Minor Spirit and Clerical Circle until at least 318 (Life Restoration) is obtained then there is the option of returning to the Major Spirit, but generally you stay with the Minor Spirit until 120 (Lesser shroud) is Obtained. This I call the PRIEST or PRIESTESS Way.

• Have the first three Minor Spirit spells, 201 (Calm) from the Major Spirit circle and both 301 (Hold Undead) and 302 (Repel Undead) from the Clerical Circle by second level. Then take from the Major Spirit circle and Clerical circle until either 313 or 316 is obtained then train from the Major Spirit circle and Minor Spirit circle until 215 (Heroism) is obtained then double in the Minor Spirit until 120 is reached. This I call the SPIRITUALIST Way.

Elemental spell attacks involve those combative or damage-inducing spells where the caster focuses nearby natural forces such as earth, water, fire, air, lightning, wind, heat, cold, light, etc. through the magic user, aiming at a specific individual target or adversary. Wizards are the primary users of elemental spells, being Pure Elemental Circle users concentrating in this area. Clerics only have one such spell, 111 Fire-spirit. Though this spell can be used offensively, it is not effective unless the cleric has trained heavily in the spell aiming skill and has a reasonable dexterity bonus. In addition to knowing the spell and being able to aim it, the stance that the cleric casts it from is very important inasmuch that the full damage of the elemental bolt will only be delivered from full offensive (leaving the cleric very susceptible from counter attack).

Note: Various wands are imbedded with elemental spells such as Silver and Iron wands = Minor shock, Gold wands = Minor fire, etc. To be able to use these wands the cleric needs to also train in the magical item skill and to use them effectively they still need to have a good dexterity bonus, to train in spell aiming, and cast from offensive stance.

Non-Elemental attack spells are spells that attack an opponent but are not elemental (heat, cold, etc.) in nature. These are resolved with the attacker making an attack roll, then applying the result to a warding roll made by the target. The net warding roll will indicate if the spell has affected the target. Whether it is repelling, binding, blinding, silencing, unbalancing, etc...a cleric depends on their Casting Strength (CS) to over come a target's magical defense (TD).

Stance does not matter when casting a CS based spell, only the CS, the targets TD, CvA (the casting vs armor), and a die roll. If the result is over 100 then the target is effected by the spell.

Note: As the Elemental wands mentioned above, there are CS based wands such as Twisted wands = Mana disruption, Slate wands = disintegration, etc. To be able to use these wands, a cleric only needs to train in magic item use.

So a priest who is 10 years old, has a wisdom bonus of 20, knows 10 minor spiritual spells, 9 clerical spells, and 3 major spiritual spells casts 110 (Unbalance) on a hobgoblin. The priest has a CS = (10x3) + (10) + (6) + 20 = 66 CS. The Hobgoblin has a TD of lets say 9...there are other factors at play such as CvA, but for the main part the priest has a good chance of hurting the hobgoblin.

When one thinks of a paladin, they tend to imagine a chivalrous, highly devout warrior. Some people claim paladins need to have special divine powers while others say they do not. The fantasy novels and role-playing games have presented this image to us. Throwing aside these current images for a second, the word 'paladin' actually has a history. The word Paladin has evolved from 'peers' or 'palace guard' as in the Peers or Palace Guards of King Charlemagne. If my memory serves me correct, there lived 11 peers total, counting King Charlemagne, trouping around on very wild adventures, performing great deeds. You could say, they were all blessed by the one god, maybe...but here is the kicker, they were of a variety of professions anywhere from a rogue, couple monarchs, an archbishop, and even a mage. So to be a paladin, in the loosest sense, you only have to be devote, follow a code of chivalry, be of a questing nature, and a companion to King Charlemagne. Anyway, I shall proceed to bastardize the word 'Paladin', as so many before me, to describe a certain style of cleric that I will go into now.

The Paladin is the undead vanquisher, the warrior of the profession. They have a strong knowledge of the clerical circle that they employ against their undead foes. The paladin can hunt anything, specially, in older years, but finds themselves very comfortable against the minions of darkness. This is where the clerical circle comes in, within this circle are the prayers for holding and repelling the undead creatures. A devotes pious sort of character the paladin is, but no more so then any other type of cleric.

Besides the clerical circle, they also study the major circle until they have claimed 215. The spells 211 (bravery) and 215 (heroism) gives the Paladin a total of +40 to their AS (attack strength) when swinging their blessed weapons. That spiritual strength needed in the slaying of the undead creatures. In later years they will rely heavier on their repelling skills to vanquish the undead, but they will always be deadly with a weapon. Their Strength should be high say in the 80-90s depending on race selection. Wisdom is needed for CS (casting strength) to repel the undead and should be at least in the 80s after the profession bonus. The other rolls can be scattered around with Charisma being the lowest and Discipline following Wisdom (Discipline and Wisdom can be swapped to get more training points). As far as training goes, train in either edged or blunt x1, mana-share x2 until 102, armor x1 until 40 (to be able to wear double leather) or higher (120 to wear Brigandine- note that the higher the armor worn, the more chance of spell failure), Shield x1, first aid x1, spell train x2, and try to take combat maneuvers x1. Some clerics swear by hiding and ambushing their prey, but these are skills to train in after reaching 20th level. There are other skills such as climbing and swimming, but these are not vital in a cleric's early years. Try to train up to 25+ in each by your 20th level.

The giantrace, dwarves, humans, or half-elves all make good Paladins.

Advantages:

• They have the good combat abilities.
  
  
• Their ability to hunt the undead is unmatched.
  
  
• They tend to have the highest CS in repelling the undead compared to their brethren.

Disadvantages:

• They are not as versatile as the Priest or Spiritualist spell-wise or skill-wise (they tend not to have as many training points because of their high strength).
  

The Priests are very social people. They tend to either sit in highly trafficked areas waiting for dead bodies to be dragged in or by using their powers to locate people as they die, they run off to rescue them. The priest makes the majority of their experience off resurrecting the dead. Though all clerics will be able to resurrect the dead, it is the Priest that depends almost solely on resurrecting for experience. There is little that compares to the amount of experience one can be awarded for raising the dead, far more than hunting if the dead are plentiful.

Though they are not as proficient at hunting as their brethren, the Paladins and the Spiritualists, they have access to the Minor Spiritual circle that has many delights such as 'Locate', 'Unbalance', 'Fire Spirit', 'Lesser Shroud' and other nifty spells. Even if they choose to hunt, they can repel the undead as well as the Paladins.

They should have an Aura close to 100, a high Wisdom and Discipline (both in the 80s), with the rest of their statistics scattered between with Charisma being the lowest. The two prime characteristics for determining training points are Aura and Discipline. By choosing to study the Minor Spirit over the Major Spirit, they are essentially saying that hunting with a weapon vice repelling is not as important to them, so why have a high strength other then to help in dragging dead bodies? With a very high Aura/Discipline and a high Wisdom/Logic, the priest will have the training points to indulge in such skills as spell aiming to go with the 'Fire Spirit', perhaps x2 in first aid (for a deader needs to be tended prior to resurrecting), magic item use for the twisted wands, or even more climbing and swimming. They still x1 in Edged or Blunt weapons, x1 in shield, but usually do not go past 40 in armor training.

The halflings and dwarves are the best races for spirit recovery that is very important when rising the dead as we shall see. The giantrace are best when it comes to dragging and they give the best racial bonus to strength, thus compensating for a low statistic placement in this attribute. I really want to see a halfling with a high dexterity, good spell aiming, and throwing fireballs. Scary, uh? Ok, truth be known, the Fire Spirit spell isn't that great of a flame-thrower, but it could be a neat hobby. Because of low spirit recovery, anything besides the elven kind are fine choices (not counting half-elves) to be priests. The elf's extremely slow spirit recovery can cripple a priest's ability to quickly recover from a rez and prepare for the next...it truly ends up being a real pain.

Advantages:

• The ability to locate dead or living people.
  
  
• They can have equal CS to the Paladins and are just as good at repelling the undead.
  
  
• They possess the magic to remove poison and diseases from victims.
  
  
• They have the only offensive spells offered to a cleric (110 Unbalance and 111 Fire Spirit).

Disadvantages:

• They are weaker at swinging a weapon, not having the Major Spirit's 211 and 215.
  
  
• There is less Fame in resurrecting then in hunting.
  
  
• They are more dependant upon tips for their services that are few and not much to survive on.
  

The spiritualist starts off studying the same circles as the Paladin, but branches off roughly after they reach their 13th training. Hunting is a necessity for the Spiritualist so they need to study the Major Spirit (up to 215) and they do not want to give up the ability to resurrect the dead (312), but for some reason they still dream of having the Minor Spirit spells. At their 13th training, or a bit older, they swap out the cleric circle for the Minor Spirit then at their 15th training, or a bit older, they begin doubling in the Minor Circle. They are the versatile cleric which instead of specializing in one type of magic they spread themselves about. The Spiritualist is a 'Jack of all Trades' of sorts which ends up almost as good fighting the living as the undead.

The Spiritualist has the option of placing their rolls and training like the Paladin or copying the Priest. The giantrace and dwarves are most likely best for the Spiritualists since they are primarily hunters and need the racial strength bonus. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a Spiritualist half-elf or human.

Advantages:

• Very versatile spell arsenal. Having access to both the Minor and Major Spirit can be very powerful.
  
  
• Can be the best at combat, even exceeding the Paladins. 217 Spirit Strike adds +75 AS for one strike and they have the additional benefit of the direct attack spell 'unbalance' which can knock a creature down, hurting it, and setting up for a death strike.

Disadvantages

• They tend to have a little less CS then the Paladins and Priests since their spells are spread out over three Spell Circles.
  
  
• They can not repel as high of level of undead since they only study the clerical circle up to 313 or 316.
  
  
• They will not be quite as good at resurrecting as the Priest or Paladin without 318.

The Paladin, Priest, and lastly the Spiritualist will have roughly about the same difficulty making it to their 12th training and at that point they all get the ability to resurrect the dead. This is a big turning point and I will discuss this later, but I do wish to clarify one the limitations, in regard to gaining experience, of the Priest. The Priest after their 12th training relies almost solely on Resurrections (they can repel, but until they hit their upper teens this isn't that effective). This often possesses difficulties to the Priest since both the Paladin and Spiritualist can sit in highly trafficked areas, such as town center raising the dead. The main difference is that the Paladin and Spiritualist can go hunt when the clients are few.

The undead are a special sort of critter in the way that the must be killed by either blessed/sanctified weapons or magical attacks. The cleric has prayers to kill the undead outright but often times they hunt with a blessed/sanctified weapon. So, what exactly is a blessed or sanctified weapon?

A blessed weapon is one that can only temporary harm the undead until it's bless dissipates. A weapon can be either blessed by a cleric (i.e. a cleric casting 304), through Voln's favor (a member of the Order of Voln using their god's favor to bless), a pure potion being poured upon the weapon (these potions can be found in the backrooms of the Cleric shop or through merchants.), or lastly some creatures leave behind Silver Falchions that are blessed for a number of swings. All the above forms of bless dissipates when the numbers of swings are exceeded (hit or miss). The number of swings a bless is good for is based upon the cleric's or Voln's member's level x3 or when pouring a pure potion it is the level x1 for any profession other then cleric. Only non-magical weapons can be blessed with 304 until the cleric studies up to 350 whereupon they can bless weapons made of a magical metal (such as Mithril, Ora, Vultite, etc), but still not weapons with a special ability. When a member of the Order of Voln has reached a high rank they can bless weapons made of a magical metal through favor. Lastly, the pure potions also can be used on weapons made of a magical metal.

A sanctified weapon is one that is permanently blessed, but only in the hands of a cleric. Weapons bought at the Cleric shop in addition to weapons made of Ora and Eonake are all sanctified. Weapons not made out of a magical metal (i.e., pure mace) can be e-bladed by anyone with knowledge of the minor elemental circle up to the 11th rank. This gives the sanctioned weapon a +20 with critical hits.

There is much more to being a cleric then resurrecting the dead. Matter-of-fact, a cleric is forced to hunt for experience at least until they reach their 12th training. So, how does a cleric hunt? Well, there are generally two ways a cleric kills an undead creature. They can either hold it with a prayer then kill it with a weapon or repel it until it dies simply of fear.

The 'Holding' Prayers affect the undead by 'binding' them so they can not move and dropping their DS by 50. Up until the time a cleric or another attacks the undead creature they will be peaceful and will not be able to leave the room, but once they are attacked they anger and then retaliate. Even when angered, the undead will remain in the room with the reduced DS. This is the classic way of hunting in the early years, hold the undead creature and then kill them. The holding spell makes up for the fact that a cleric can only singularly train in weapons.

The 'Repelling' Prayers affect the undead by causing them to flee or by literally scaring them to death. Repelling has the advantage of not costing any mana if the undead creature flees, but in order to kill the creature it has to fail their warding by 50 points. This can be difficult for the young cleric, but as they mature this will become the primary weapon in their arsenal against the undead. Creatures that are scared to death decay quickly, so in order to get its treasure, the creature needs to be searched immediately.

All clerics have the ability to meditate. Meditation is a special, very unsociable act that allows the cleric to absorb experience at an accelerated rate. The cleric slips into a Meditative trace by simply typing 'med' and down on their knees they go, ignoring the world. Any actions on the part of a mediating cleric will result in them coming out of their trace and begin to absorb experience normally. If nothing else, it is a good way to keep to oneself.

Experience is a numerical number that is awarded to the cleric for either killing creatures or raising the dead. It represents the knowledge or 'lesson' that the character learned and when that character's experience exceeds the minimum needed to advance to the next level, then the character is able to further train. When a cleric kills a creature equal to their level then they are awarded 100 experience points. The rewarding of experience is a sliding scale that moves up or down by 10 pts depending on the cleric's level in relationship to the creature's level. For example, if a cleric kills a creature that is 3 levels above them then they will be awarded 130 experience points.

New experience is not immediately absorbed by the character, but instead it takes a little time and the mind 'fills up' in steps. When there is no experience that needs to be absorbed the mind is 'clear as a bell', then moves to 'fresh and clear', 'muddled', 'becoming numb', 'numb', and finally 'can't take any more, must rest'. Very rarely, a cleric absorbs more then a 100% of their mental capacity and their mind hits the state of 'saturated, it is imperative that you rest.' This is a special award given for raising the dead far past your mental threshold. When a character hits the 'must rest' state, then they aren't gaining any more experience from hunting. It is best to stop at that time and settle back at a node (an area where magic and energies naturally gather, i.e., Town Center) to clear one's mind. Logic is the prime stat that determines how 'large' of a threshold before hitting the 'must rest' state and Intelligence is the prime stat for how fast it is absorbed (other stats have a play).

When a cleric reaches their 3rd training they have proved themselves experienced enough to join one of two special groups, the Order of Voln or the Council of Light. This is a very big step and choice for any profession, but as far as clerics go I think the decision is more critical. In a role-playing sense, the cleric represent what their deity stands for and both the Order and Society, represent at least subtly, either the Pantheon of Liabo or Lornon.

The Order of Voln is an honorable organization that has dedicated themselves to releasing the souls of the undead. The lesser deity, Voln, presides over the Order and it's through his favor that new powers can be obtained. The climb to becoming a Voln Master can take a very long time and rarely does a person achieve this rank before their 25th year, but the rewards are great. By the killing of the undead (releasing their souls) and performing small quests, the cleric moves up the ranks gaining new powers, but these powers when called upon uses' favor and slow advancement. So, it is important to use Voln's favor sparingly. The magical symbols received are powerful, but some of them either overlap the cleric's prayers or is not generally of importance to the profession so this is a consideration a cleric must make. There has been great work done by others on the 'Order' and I highly suggest looking into them. The way into the 'Order' is known by the old warrior in town and it's through him that Voln accepts his new members.

The Council of Light (The Society) is a secret organization and because of this I will say very little. Many people call the 'Society' (CoL) evil, but I do not necessarily agree. Regardless, this path is a strong one and should certainly be considered. The way into the 'Society' is known by the Mystic in town and it's through him that the CoL accepts their new members.

Note: The 'Order' and 'Society' presents two great role-playing opportunities. Remember that as a cleric you will not only choose which of these two organizations to follow (if you do choose to join one) but also a deity to worship. Try to be consistent in your role-playing and you will get more out of the game. For example, I would hope there is not a cleric that worships Luukos and is in the Order of Voln, see deities below.

Before a cleric raises a dead body there are three things that firsts need to be closely looked at: the dead body's maximum spirit, the dead body's wounds, and lastly the cleric's own spirit.

Ok, first the cleric appraises the body (app body) and gets the maximum spirit the person had in life (obviously the dead body will have 0 spirit in its current state). The cleric needs to have at least 80% when casting 312 or more than 50% when casting 318 of the dead body's spirit to even consider resurrecting. If the cleric's maximum spirit for example is only 7 and they have only trained to 312, then all dead bodies with 10 spirit must simply be put aside for another cleric. This handicap is depressing for any cleric.

Second, the cleric diagnosis' the dead body for wounds looking for anything 'seeping' blood (diag body full- nothing can be in your hands). If there are any open wounds, such as bleeders, then the person will simply bleed to death again immediately after being resurrected. This is not a good thing to happen, for the person loses yet another deed and it looks very unprofessional on the part of the cleric. These wounds need to be either tended to by the cleric with their first aid skill or healed by an empath. Some wounds are a little confusing and are not really bleeding, but is instead critical damage the person took prior death for example 'Bleeding between the ears'. A cleric learns to recognize these non-bleeders as they come across them.

The last step is for the cleric to check their current spirit and match it to the dead body's. Remember, a cleric needs to currently have 80% of the dead body's maximum spirit when using 312 or more than 50% when using 318. The race of the cleric determines the rate of spirit recovery. After rising the dead, the cleric has to wait for their spirit to build back up to the above stated percentages of the next client. This is why the racial choice is a grave one for any type of cleric and a critical one especially for the Priest.

These three steps should be repeated to reduce the chance of error. Resurrecting a body without the proper spirit is defined as 'over-resurrecting'. Take heed not to over- resurrect for the result is the client will be brought back to life, but at the expense of the immediate death and decay of the cleric, the ultimate sacrifice. Remember, if a cleric decays without having three deeds then they 'lost their soul' and are simply no more...back to the character manager. So...

• Appraise the body; get the deader's maximum spirit.
  
  
• Diagnose the body and check for bleeding wounds; tend or have them healed.
  
  
• Check your current spirit.
  
  
• Lastly do it all again.
  
  
• Raise the body by casting either 312, 318, or 350 at them.

There are many clerics of sufficient experience to resurrect the dead and because of this there are some ground rules on 'whose dead body is who's,' so to speak. There are two reasons for guidelines: 1. When only one cleric is working on resurrecting a body there is far less confusion and chance for something to go wrong. 2. A person over 5 years of age that is brought back from the dead brings in about 700 experience to the resurrecting cleric (roughly the same as killing 7 critters).

In hopes of avoiding confusion there is Rezing Etiquette.

• The cleric that finds a dead body first 'owns' that body. This can be in the wild or lying in town.
  
  
• The cleric, regardless of level, which has been in a room longest 'owns' that room. What this means is that any body that is dragged into the room (other then by clerics) become the room owner's responsibility to decide whether they shall resurrect the body or pass it on to another cleric. Generally the room owner sets up a rotation and calls out what cleric is next 'up to bat.'
  
  
• Any dead body that a cleric drags or fogs into a room, whether another cleric owns that room or not, automatically 'belongs' to that cleric.

These are general guidelines, but for the most part they tend to work. There are a few gray areas that I shall briefly mention below and it is for each cleric to determine if these actions are proper are not.

Sometimes a room owner virtually takes over a room and doesn't 'share the wealth.' Other times' clerics like to drop by a room to do a quick resurrection on the way to a hunt. They will ask if they can raise a body that has just arrived even though the dead has been slim and far between. There will be times a cleric sits in a room a very long time waiting for dead bodies when another cleric happens in and asks to have the next body to arrive. Lastly there are bodies that will be dragged into a rezer's room announcing that another cleric (a friend contacted through instant messages IMs) is coming to raise them (this I highly dislike). None of the above are 'bad' things or even necessarily 'rude,' but again it is for each individual cleric to decide if it is proper or not.

I must stress a few things in regard to etiquette:

• 700 experience is a fair amount. Protect your investment by calling out what body is yours when you drag or fog into a room.
  
  
• Try to always highlight rezer's names. Never assume that you are the only rezer in a room; ask if there are any other rezers when you stumble upon a body and always look at the dragger. After inquiring if there are other rezers allow time for a response, weather (i.e., game lag) can get nasty at times.
  
  
• Keep your dead body from decaying on you. Cast 305 (preservation) on every dead body you see in the wilds or that is dragged into your room.

There is a time in every rezer's life when they are the only cleric surrounded by 10 dead bodies all screaming. First of all, do not panic. There are ways to survive the ordeal. As long as no bodies decay from their LK (life preservation) running out, you do not bring back to life anyone with bleeding wounds that immediately die again, and you do not decay from 'over-rezing', then all will be fine. These are a few ways of controlling a very bad situation:

• Make sure every dead body stays LK'd. Ask other people in the room to help out in the crisis, but it is your responsibility overall to keep the dead from decaying. Also tell the dead bodies to let you know when their LK runs out. It is a good idea to highlight the words 'different' and 'body' if you are using a front-end such as 'Wizard'. When the LK runs out on a dead body that person looks 'different' and this will stand out more in a fast paced situation. Also, the word 'body' is good to highlight because this way the dead bodies in a room stand out and you can see when one is dragged in.
  
  
• Ask the dead people to be quiet and only talk when their LK runs out. The dead screaming in a crowded place only adds to confusion. Understand though, the people worry about decaying so reassure them that you are there to raise them from the dead, it just might take awhile.
  
  
• Begin appraising the bodies to see what spirit they have, it is a good idea to move out the bulk of the dead bodies so you can collect yourself and regain control of the area. This can easily be accomplished by concentrating on the dead people with little spirit first then moving on to the others.
  
  
• Avoid tending wounds that give long RTs (reaction time). Ask the empaths to prepare bodies for resurrecting. If a dead body looks real bad, move on to the next.
  
  
• Get on the Amulet Net and call for help.
  
  
• Keep 215 (heroism) running on yourself. It helps in mana recovery.

Sometimes the environment is not optimum for raising the dead either because of creatures lurking about or perhaps because of the body being on the ice for such a long time. After resurrecting a body, the cleric and 'newly raised' person is both very weak and susceptible to being killed by creatures or weather. Both the cleric and their client are low on spirit and stunned. The newly raised person will even be lying on the ground with very little health. For these reasons, resurrecting in the wilds is somewhat dangerous and calls for special tactics. If a cleric is a 'Fogger' or can cast Major Sanctuary then there is no problem. They simply can teleport off with the dead body to a safe place, but when a Rezer is young they do not have these luxuries. Firsts try dragging the body to a safe place. If the body is too heavy to drag, is on the ice like in the mountains (you can not drag on ice) or a safe place is to far away, it is time to try raising the body anyway.

Ok, if the main fear is creatures there are a few preparations to make to minimize the threat prior to resurrecting.

• Go through your checklist, making sure the body is ready to be resurrected.
  
  
• Tell the dead person when they rejoin the living to stand immediately and ready their weapon and shield in a defensive stance.
  
  
• Cast as many of the following spells that you can: 106 Spirit Fog (+30 DS), 206 Darkness(+20 DS), and 213 Minor Sanctuary (though this spell usually keeps creatures from walking in, it doesn't keep them from being generated in the room so it is the judgement of the cleric based on the creatures in the area whether to use this spell since it often doesn't affect the living. It can be a nasty situation to be in a room where the creatures can attack but the cleric or others can not counter for Minor Sanctuary will automatically affect all characters in the room).
  
  
• If there is anyone else in the room ask them to either help guard against intruders (if Sanctuary is not in effect) or cast defensive spells upon the newly rezed.

Ok, if there is a fear of the new body simply dying again on the ice soon after being raised (i.e. a nasty blast of cold wind hitting a person that has been exposed to the elements for a prolonged period can easily kill them anew) then there is a couple more things to do besides the above mentioned.

• If there is an empath with you, ask them to heal the body up to full health before resurrecting and go with the person until they get in doors.
  
  
• If you are alone with the dead body, drop some acantha leaf (returns' health loss) and tell the dead person to grab and eat when they can.
  
  
• Tell the person to head indoors immediately and recuperate.

Never trust a 'Fogger'...a truly horrible thing to say especially since all clerics sooner or later have the potential to become one. First let me explain the 4 different types of Foggers: Voln symbol of returning, Transference 225, the Traveler's Song 1020, and Spirit Guide 130. The Symbol of Returning, Spirit Guide, and the Traveler's Song takes a person and their group out of danger to either the Order's courtyard, town or to a local tavern in that order. Transference transports one person to another person. Being a 'Fogger' is truly being part of any profession's elite and all professions can obtain one, some or all of these 'fogging' abilities.

So why do I start out saying, 'Never trust a Fogger?' If you are preparing to resurrect a body and another person 'Fogs' in or 'cradles the dead person's hand' you know they have either come for that person to resurrect or are about to fog away with them leaving you 'standing high and dry.' I am sure many people simply think they are rescuing the person or they may not know that you are a rezer, but remember to protect your investment- that 700 experience. There is an old saying that 'Hell is paved with good intentions,' so announce immediately that you are taking care of the body...it is all under control. It is also not a bad idea to tell the dead body to 'close its group' when you arrive to avoid them being spirited away by a third party. There is nothing more irritating then to be the first on the scene, prepare for a resurrection, have another cleric 'pop in,' raise the dead, receive the thanks and then be tipped. Empaths often fog people out also to work on them, worse come to worse, join their group and fog out with them.

Choosing one's deity is a delicate and very important choice for a cleric. Though as of yet, the deity a cleric worships doesn't have any effect on the powers of the cleric, but for role-playing purposes remember that the cleric's prayers supposedly come directly from their god/goddess. The only time that I think the choice matters are when communing, for there does seem to be differences in who is invoked, but I will talk about communing a little later.

Even though the choice of deity doesn't have a direct impact on the cleric's life, this doesn't make the decision any less important! The deity a cleric worships in many ways should determine how the cleric is role-played, how other characters may judge that cleric, size them up, how a cleric might dress, and perhaps even be a cause to fear them. A cleric of Oleani would have a totally different set of ethics then say a cleric of V'tull. These are important concepts for there are many people who look at clerics all the same. For example, the cleric of Oleani might choose to unselfishly sit in the Town Center all day resurrecting the dead people dragged in and perhaps even refuse tips for their services. Very differently, the cleric of V'tull might choose to stay hunting and killing their game no matter how loud people scream on the Amulet Net for help in resurrecting. Though attacking other players is against game policy, there is no rule that says a character needs to go around helping others all the time. There are many people who look at the clerical profession and say it is their 'job' to resurrect or bless other people's weapons upon demand. The role-playing world opens to the true actor and is simply a set of rules to the game player.