Some stuff that helps flavour RP...
All clerics, specialty priests, and monks of Azuth receive religion (Faerûnian) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. All priests of Azuth can cast priest spells faster than other priests. Their casting time on all priest spells of one round or less is reduced by 3 (for example, a casting time of 7 would be reduced to 4). Those spells that take more than one round to cast still take them the usual amount of time. Priest spells cast by priests of Azuth always have a casting time of at least 1.
Azuthan clergy tend to be folk who love magic for its own sake. They do not exeult in power, for that is the tendency of those who enjoy what magic can allow them to do to others, but in in elegance, complexities of dweomer, and deft use of spells. Wizards, clerics, specialty priests, and monks serve in the clergy of Azuth. Within the church hierarchy, 45% of the titled clergy are wizards. Another 30% are clerics, who form the strong right arm of the faith, 20% are specialty priests, and 5% are monks. Relationships between the three groups are good, though there is some resentment against a current trend to promote specialty priests into positions of power. However, because of this trend, more novices of the Azuthan faith have chosen the path of a specialty priest than a cleric. Specialty priests of Azuth are known as magistrati.
In areas where Azuth has temples, shrines, and monastic communities, the ruling (not necessarily the most powerful) clergy member holds the title of "the First" and is addressed as "Revered One." Other clergy members in large clerical communities have expanded on this idea: The most powerful user of alteration magic is called First Transmuter, the leading specialist in divination magic is First Diviner, etc. The First may bestow or revoke such titles within his or her parish. Clergy members of high rank and long years in the church are granted the title of Master. Azuthan clergy eschew most further titles.
Dogma: Followers of Azuth feel that reason is the best way to approach magic, and that it may be examined and reduced to its component parts through study and meditation. Calm and caution are the watchwords of Azuthan clergy members as they strive to avoid mistakes that even magic cannot undo. They are taught to use Art (magic) wisely and to be always mindful of when it is best not to use magic.
Novices in the faith are charged to: "Teach the wielding of magic, and dispense scrolls, items, and spellbooks throughout Taerun that the use and knowledge of magic may spread. Encourage everyone to try their hand at wielding magic. Drive home the lesson that with magical power comes grave responsibility, and live that lesson yourself. Try to gain a copy of every new spell, spell variant, or magical idea you encounter without regard for its worth or importance—and make a copy of that copy for a temple library. Train others in what you know of magic, not hoarding your knowledge for yourself, and encourage creativity in magic in all ways and at all times.
Day-to-Day Activities: Azuthan clergy members very often serve as messengers between mages. They strive to remain above reproach and to be regarded as trusted neutral parties by all. They organize annual Mage Fairs, and at those Mage Fairs they try to settle feuds, curb overly destructive or deceitful magic, and sponsor spellweaving contests. They also give out scrolls of the winning spells from previous years and small, useful magical items as prizes in these contests.
Most wizards see the priesthood as helpful, but members of the church of Azuth may go to great lengths to serve a prime goal that many wizards do not find so pleasing: They try to ensure that no spell or magical item is unique to one mage in Faerûn so that the death of a single wizard does not take any spell or the knowledge of how to construct an item out of the world forever. Azuthan clergy members do this by magical spying (and even temporary thefts), by copying every wizardly writing they can find including command words and cryptic phrases (not just complete incantations), by encouraging the barter of spells, and by organizing tome drives in which wizards are paid handsomely to contribute a spell to the latest folio of the ongoing Azuthan spell syclopedia (a written collection of spells from various mages duplicated magically in bulk, bound, and distributed by the priesthood for a minor fee covering production costs).
Sometimes i feel clerics are played a little bit too much like armoured mages. They are the priests of a god and the gods dogma is a fairly strong guide if they want to keep getting spells. It's a powerful class and perhaps the tradeoff is that it culd have the most RP "requirements" of any i'd say. Certinaly a lot more than just reading a spellbook.
Great opportunities however.
It's also one of the reason some priests make poor PCs. Talosian priests for example i've tried to find a way of playing true to the dogma and description of those rare priests/stormlords without having the PC hunted down and killed or locked up for destroying peoples stuff....but i struggle.
If we had a wizard/sorc in the part i think you'd find it easier (serve and protect!!).
Clerics aren't not paladins or favoured soul (you can even play a reluctant favoured soul!), divine champions or devout warriors.
So after that ramble:
- pray, and not just as part of the sleep/replenish spells cycle
- know the dogma and stuff backwards
- grow the flock, or those with belief in the god (casters who have lost their way and covet badness)
- do things that honour Azuth (orgaisae a mage context, train a orphan to become a mage etc)
- refuse quests that contradict the faith (Gasp!!)
Would you do the stock standard plate wearing divine caster? or would you not out of choice as it is an impediment to magic?
Would you try and convert Magnus the 'barbarian' to not distrust and think of spelcasters as weak and susceptable to evil? (as opposed to amystran who may try and convince him magic itseflf didn;t lead to evil) Would you discount his view as foolish and have little to do with him if you could avoid it?
Would you encourage your group to seek out meanie spellcasters giving wizardy a bad name including necromancers etc? ((compared to a mystran who may hunt out dead/wild magic zones instead))
In your spare time do you try and invent new cantrips and spells within your capacity and then delightedly show as many other casters how it's done?
Do you embody Azuth (a stern but caring father figure...even to mystra!), or are you a bit of a wildcard in the faith and get people to like wizards by cracking funny wizard jokes?...ok that a bit silly
How do you work with wizards of elves, dwarves and humans (all with their own gods of 'magic'....not wizards..i think) to have their
How do you help/advise the various casters in your party bar/barb, FS, ftr/wiz, x/pally, cleric and clr/wiz all work together to get teh best outcome? Do you remind the wizards much about their abilities and other spells they coudl use for situations?
Do you researech lore about particular spellcasters...dragons for example:)...to see if anything can be learned to help human casters?
Does he spend his time crafting intricate mischevious spells the confound his unsuspecting comrades or others?
Does he becomea regular at candlekeep and push his party on missions to discover lost magics to share with others instead of for a 'customer'?
