Clerics recruiting followers for XP?

[Astinus]

There are so many creative minds here when it comes to house ruling, I thought I'd ask for some feedback.

I'm looking to encourage Clerics to recruit followers by rewarding them for it. Something like bonus XP for every new convert to the Cleric's God. Or possibly extra spells or innate spell-like abilities.

My players are XP junkies, so I'm leaning that way. What do people think of giving "x" amount of XP for every convert? As the Cleric went up levels, the XP would mean less, but theoretically the Cleric would be capable of attracting larger numbers of converts, so maybe it would balance out.

Anyone see glaring problems with this, or alternatives to it?

Thanks

Astinus

[Turanil]

I think it's workable. Nonetheless, it shouldn't turn as to be an indirect requirement for all clerics to convert new people to the faith. I mean: in real life not all priests are missionaries, there are recluse priests or parish priests too. So in the game, there would be clerics who would be of the recluse type, crusader type (defending the faith against threats), exorcist type, ecclesiastic type, etc., and then missionary type. Each type of priest-cleric would gain experience for serving their religion in their own way. For the recluse type it could be related to knowledge, where to the missionary type it would be related to converting new people to the faith.

So, all of this lead to this: if the missionary cleric PC gains XP for converting people to the faith, the other PCs will also want their own way to gain additional XP. In the end, I would ask the players what is their own plan for their character, if they have any. Lets say your party consists in a Cleric, Ranger, Knight, Rogue, and Wizard. Here is what I would do:
1) The cleric declares he wants to build a community worshiping his deity, as the problem is that the converted followers must remain converted and have a place of regular worship. So he realizes (CK makes him realize it) that he must have a temple in a village or town, either built from the ground up, or converted from an existing abandoned or conquered temple. So, it's his goal, and if he achieves it he will gain additional XP. Now the knight and ranger realize that this community for thriving need to be protected. So the knight decides to become the local lord and build his own castle and walls around the village. Then, the ranger declares that he will clear the surrounding area of its threats, so the peasants will be safe when working in the fields. So both the knight and ranger should gain additional XP too. On the other hand, the rogue and wizard don't bother to do anything but just continue to adventure and find treasure. So, these two would not gain additional XP...
2) Cleric doesn't have a plan for building a stable community of followers. He will just occasionally try to convert a guy or two here and there, and then leave. I would give that PC just a little additional XP once or twice. And then, no more, as the PC would have to realize (through divine/CK intervention) that the converted followers didn't remain with the faith, or in any case, weren't truly devoted to it. One should realize that you don't convert people to a new faith after drinking a few beers in the tavern. Most likely, the next day the NPC awakes with a headache and quickly forgets about the new god...
At least this is what I would do in my campaign.
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[BASH MAN]

Sounds workable to me-- but the ammount should be small-- like 50xp per convert, to a max of 5 x Level / level. So a 1st level PC could not get more than 250 xp for converts, a 2nd level PC max of 500, a 3rd level PC max of 750 xp, etc.

Now, my main issue with this is-- what are the other players doing during this time? I really hate showing up to a game session to find out that all of the GM's time is being spent on one player resolving their own personal side quests. I ban side-questing in any game I gm, and am not shy about telling people I don't like it in games that I am a player in. A player says that they want to go investigate something on their own? Fine, work it out via email later that week. Don't waste table time with this. The other players will appreciate this.
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[nittanytbone14]

I would reward them by... giving them converts.

Having dedicated fanatics is helpful. Some might be men-at-arms with some combat ability. Others might have construction skills, being able to help build a shrine or temple. Be creative and use this as an opportunity to add meaningful NPCs to the world rather than just creating another XP grinder.

[Astinus]

Thanks everyone. All good points. I think I'll go with a player by player approach. It does depend on what type of cleric you have, and converts are a reward in themselves.

[slimykuotoan]

I'd always viewed the cleric as kinda the warrior class of the church, with priests doing the 'flock ministering'.

Ne'ertheless, I think the 'converting for dollars...er, x.p.s' idea is a swell one.

[BLOOD AXE]

There is pretty involved article in an old Dragon magazine. I can try to find the issue for you if you like. I have that complete Dragon Magazine collection on CD set.

[Astinus]

BLOOD AXE wrote:
There is pretty involved article in an old Dragon magazine. I can try to find the issue for you if you like. I have that complete Dragon Magazine collection on CD set.

I'd be really interested if you can dig up the reference. Thanks!

[BLOOD AXE]

Dragon Magazine #92 December 1984 It has a Wizard and an armored Centaur Knight trying to rescue a woman from a Dragon on a crumbling bridge. I have the actual physical paper issue along with #1-200 on disc. PM me & we'll chat.