Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Screams 03-10-08, 03:12 AM	Do you? Is it a prerequesite?
runestar 03-10-08, 03:22 AM	Yes. The PHB even explicitly states so, IIRC.
zeratulcraft 03-10-08, 03:32 AM	No, to worship one you don't have to be one, to gain power from in the way a cleric or paladin does, yes, you must be of the appropriate race.
Callista 03-10-08, 04:01 AM	I've made exceptions for clerics who are part of elven culture some other way--like they were adopted into an elvish family, or else have abandoned their home culture for some reason. Generally, though, if the deity is dedicated to a race, there's no real reason to be a cleric of that deity if you're not part of that race... the only exception I can think of is if a racial deity is also very much associated with a domain or ideal which the cleric is also dedicated to; but that's almost being a "cleric of a cause" nominally dedicated to a deity because of common purpose.
Neutronium_Dragon 03-10-08, 04:20 AM	It's one of those "requirements" which is then shot full of holes by the number of exceptions which seem to creep into official material. On top of that, it's also partly dependent on the setting. Some don't even have racial deities, per se - Eberron is a prime example. Others have racial deities, but these are then blurred by the fact that the god appears in multiple pantheons (Tymora and Gond in the Forgotten Realms), or the fact that a given racial god is also covering a particular portfolio generally (and thus not necessarily race-specific in the way that the rule assumes them to be). Then there's the fact that racial gods may explicitly allow exceptions on a general basis (quite a few in the Forgotten Realms) and/or allow exceptions on a case-by-case basis (ditto).
Count Arioch the 28th 03-13-08, 11:39 PM	You can't be a cleric of a racial deity per se, but you can be so close that it's irrelevant. A human cleric that has the domains of Chaos and Protection that honors the cause of elvish music, art, and warfare is pretty much identical to a cleric of Colrellon Larethian for all intents and purposes.
PJammaGod 03-14-08, 12:52 AM	Depends on how much of a stickler your GM is. Good old Rule #0 at the end of the day. IF your character truly, deeply and fervantly worships the elven god (perhaps they are half-elven, were raised by elves or have some close connection to elves in general) then maybe the God will answer their prayers. It's an interesting piece of RP if nothing else (especially for fundamentalist elf clerics who don't like the idea that a non-elf can be a priest of an elven god).
Naderion 03-14-08, 11:48 AM	It's something really depending on the setting used, but I can't think of a good reason why you really can't worship a deity because you're not of the mainstream race of it's followers. It might not grant you it's blessing, but you still can pray to it. :D
Kursk 03-14-08, 01:01 PM	Do you? Is it a prerequesite? No. Maybe to be a Cleric. But, you won't get a bolt of lightening thrown at you if you worship.
The Ubbergeek 03-14-08, 01:10 PM	I say, it depends of the setting, the races involved and other possible things. i'd allow it with a good background and reasonable... like, a Cattie-Brie who would be raised by elves instead, or an human elf lover... Incidently, Eberron have not much in the racial religions, FR to a lesser point (there is pantheons, but gods look at souls first so exceptions happens now and then), and the PoL will have racial preferences but no racial cults.
M-bark 03-16-08, 10:10 AM	There apparently are loads of nondragons worshipping dragon gods, so I don't see any reason why nonelves wouldn't be able to worship elf gods.
wjliii3 03-17-08, 03:13 PM	The Ubbergeek makes an excellent point. Cattie-Brie worships Dumathoin, after all.
Jagyr Ebonwood 03-17-08, 03:51 PM	One of my players has a Half-Orc cleric of Corellan Larethian. He's currently 12th level, but he started at 1st. Back then, he wasn't an actual cleric of CL, but he wanted to be. He chose Good and Protection, wore a CL holy symbol, used CL's favored weapon, and tried to hold to CL's ideals as much as possible. His mother (a human) was raped by an orc during an orc raid on her village, and the PC was the resulting child. He was loved and raised by his mother, and, of course, was raised to hate orcs. This set up the character to be very conflicted and self-hating, and he's been played wonderfully! He was attracted to CL after hearing stories of CL cutting out Gruumsh's eye, and being the greatest foe of the orcs. Of course, with the PC not being an elf, he wasn't officially recognized by the church, and CL himself couldn't even see him on the mortal plane. It wasn't until sometime around level 6, when he died and ended up on the same plane as CL, that CL took notice of him. Since then, CL has taken a direct interest in the PC, allowing for a great secondary story arc in my campaign involving the half-orc trying to achieve the total approval of the Elven god. So, short answer to the original question: no. :P
The Ubbergeek 03-17-08, 07:16 PM	Mind you, I see it as a thing between the god/mystery and the cleric.... You may face hostility from the organised clergy, but as not every clergymen is a cleric, not every cleric is a part of the official clergy.
GoukaRyuu 03-17-08, 09:40 PM	Really it is up to the DM but with a good enough back story to explain it the sky's the limit. One of my players has a Half-Orc cleric of Corellan Larethian. He's currently 12th level, but he started at 1st. Back then, he wasn't an actual cleric of CL, but he wanted to be. He chose Good and Protection, wore a CL holy symbol, used CL's favored weapon, and tried to hold to CL's ideals as much as possible. His mother (a human) was raped by an orc during an orc raid on her village, and the PC was the resulting child. He was loved and raised by his mother, and, of course, was raised to hate orcs. This set up the character to be very conflicted and self-hating, and he's been played wonderfully! He was attracted to CL after hearing stories of CL cutting out Gruumsh's eye, and being the greatest foe of the orcs. Of course, with the PC not being an elf, he wasn't officially recognized by the church, and CL himself couldn't even see him on the mortal plane. It wasn't until sometime around level 6, when he died and ended up on the same plane as CL, that CL took notice of him. Since then, CL has taken a direct interest in the PC, allowing for a great secondary story arc in my campaign involving the half-orc trying to achieve the total approval of the Elven god. So, short answer to the original question: no. :P I would love to hear more about this as the story develops.
mrcockatoo 03-18-08, 10:05 AM	No, heck man. I once had a drow cleric of Corellon. Normally DMs would gawk at this idea. But read the elf section in races of the wild and it makes sense. Not all drow are evil, and some even can become good.
Kain_Darkwind 03-18-08, 01:01 PM	You can't worship a racial deity if you aren't a member of that race. If you do, the god uses its Divine blast ability to kill you. If you try to become a cleric of a different race's god, your divine spells prepared (or known, if spontaneous) explode in your head an hour later. Anyone who says differently is wrong. Or a filthy liar trying to drag you into their web of deceit.