Oops, all clerics! Implementing party-wide GLOG clerics for mythic fantasy TTRPGs

I feel like I've been reading way too many research papers recently. The [snazzy remark] [content description] format has been branded into my brain.

Before I get into it, no, I didn't write this with AI (ew + I like fun and creativity, actually), and if you don't like reading stuff this way, just skip down to the Results and Discussion, I drop the research paper bit there.

 

Introduction 

Mythic fantasy is a fantasy-fiction subgenre heavily inspired by mythology and folklore, often emphasizing the role of deities, demigods, and spirits in the narrative and as the primary sources and users of magic (Living for Literature 2025, World Foundry). This magic is often of the softer, less straight-forward kind, where the effects (and even the domains) of deities and spirits are rarely laid out (The Valakirian 2026). Mythic fantasy then, is defined by the fantastical being largely A) external and B) nebulous. Within the Old School Renaissance (hereafter "OSR") scene, there is no shortage of mythic fantasy roleplaying games, including widely successful and aptly named titles as Mythic Bastionland (McDowall 2023) and Mazes and Minotaurs (Legendary Games Studio 1972).

Historically, the primary vehicle for player characters to interact with the Divine in old-school tabletop roleplaying games (hereafter "TTRPGs") is through the cleric player class (Black Gate 2013). The Goblin Laws of Gaming (hereafter "GLOG") extends the cleric class for modern OSR roleplaying, and in the process of which, decenters the original cleric's Christian background (Goblin Punch 2013). Following this development, GLOG-based TTRPGs have been continuously developed, though few — notably including MythicGLOG (Hilander 2024) — approach the topic of mythic fantasy, and none utilize clerics as the primary method for instituting the subgenre. As such, this post aims to expand on Kemp's seminal work in the field of GLOG cleric development (Goblin Punch 2013; 2019; 2024; 2026) to explore universal integration of GLOG clerics as a method of producing mythic fantasy roleplaying outcomes.

 

Figure 1. Mythic fantasy TV (and also one of my comfort shows) (Gardner and Jones, et al.)

 

Methods and Materials

The aim of this project is to revise and implement GLOG clerics universally (ie. every player character is a revised GLOG cleric) to support both the mythic fantasy genre and OSR gameplay. To that end, the re-design and application of the cleric is revolved around a few key principles, organized into two categories:

• Genre Support
• Externalization of magic/fantasy ("externalization")
• Nebulosity of magnitude and scope of divine power ("nebulosity")
•  Playability
• Reliance on risk-based decision making and resource management ("gamability")
• Protection of player-game interaction niches ("niche protection")
• Support of the dungeon exploration framework ("dungeoneering") 

 

Materials 

The Universal Revised GLOG Cleric (hereafter, "Universal Cleric") is designed for broad compatibility with GLOG-based TTRPGs, and with the OSR as a whole to a lesser extent. Therefore, constraints and asumptions are based on common features of OSR and GLOG class and system design, primarily drawn from the original GLOG (Kemp 2016), White Box (Finch et al. 2017), and OSRIC 2nd Edition (Marshall 2013), with Muster (Tuovinen 2022) as an additional, non-TTRPG reference.

The constraints determined are as follows:

• The Universal Cleric can:
• Define the size of a hit die (or the rate of HP gain, if no hit dice are used)
• Affect the rate of character level progression
• Impose additional constraints on character creation (eg. equipment kits, backgrounds, etc.)
• Impose additional constraints on character behavior (eg. tenets and oaths)
• Affect saving throw chances and weapon hit chance 
• The Universal Cleric must:
• Have four templates in typical GLOG class format
• Create structure for character niche formation
• Share common traits among resulting subclasses, if any
• For four levels, grow HP linearly and damage logarithmically 
• The Universal Cleric cannot:
• Be a wizard

The system assumptions are as follows:

• The system is level-based, with the first four levels corresponding to four "templates" of class traits in GLOG format
• The system separates attack rolls (d20 base) from damage rolls (d4-d12 based)
• A moderate "bonus" to a roll corresponds to a +2 and a strong bonus to a +4
• The system contains six ability scores, which may or may not have "bonuses" assigned

 

Methods 

The Universal Cleric is primarily based on the GLOG cleric class and continued work on shrines, potions, healing, and clerics published in Goblin Punch. Similar mechanics are utilized, with changes introducd to improve performance on the five base indicators (ie. externalization, nebulosity, gamability, niche protection, and dungeoneering).

 

Core Design Approach

For the purposes of strong gamability, the central mechanic of the Universal Cleric must prompt decision making that A) has uncertain outcomes (ie. is risk-based) and B) manages a limited and recuperable resource. Drawing from the work of Goblin Punch, the Universal Cleric's essential resource is the Faith Die (abbrv. FD). The maximum amount of faith dice grows with the player character's progression. Faith dice can be spent to prompt change in the environment (eg. to heal an ally, injure an enemy, summon food, etc.) and recuperated with the spending of an alternate resource (eg. torches, time, rations, coins, etc.) outside the dungeon.

This resource broadly defines the central mechanic of the Universal Cleric and its method of interaction with the dungeon environment. The resource is both spendable and recuperable, is limited by character progression, and leaves space for further alterations (eg. unspecified die size, constraints on effects and recuperability, etc.) and uncertainty (ie. random roll outcome).

 

Shrines and Dungeon-Based Resource Recuperation

To operate within the dungeon exploration framework, the Universal Cleric's essential resource must be recuperable outside of the dungeon and spendable within it.

Note that the dungeon broadly refers to a constrained geography where danger is present. It may include enclosed above-ground areas (eg. mazes) and open areas with soft constraints on movement (eg. a thick forest, a mountain path) in addition to traditional underground enclosed structures. Additionally, the dungeon space may be interrupted by pockets of non-dungeon space where danger is not present and resources can be spent without incurring risk (eg. peaceful towns in most fantasy-land settings, safe rooms in megadungeons, the crew's ship in space operas). In some cases, player characters may have the ability to create pockets of non-dungeon space themselves (at the expensive of significant resources), such as with strongholds and domains in many OSR TTRPGs. Lastly, it is important to recognize that in most adventuring TTRPGs, the predominant space is dungeon space. Safety is concentrated in "pockets of light" which vary in scope and strength by the intended difficulty of traversing dungeon space in the game.

In the case of Faith Dice and the Universal Cleric, non-dungeon space can be defined by the sacrality of the space. In traditional fantasy-land settings, these spaces are typically shrines, temples, or churches, but when incorporating mythic fantasy tropes, may include sacred springs, groves, and other natural features. Here, safety is ensured, and the resources may be recuperated without incurring risk through exchange of other resources (eg. time, coins, etc.). The specific rate of exchange (eg. resting hours) is presently undefined, but dependent on the expected rate of resource expenditure. 

External, Nebulous Magic

The effect of resource expenditure involves two additional indicators, externalization and nebulosity. The magical power of the Universal Cleric (ie. the effect of spending Faith Dice, among other clerical abilities) must be distinctly externally sourced and nebulous in scope and extent.

In popular mythic fantasy media, divine power is often obtained through pleas of divine interference (eg. Thetis pleading Zeus to punish the Achaeans (Miller 2011)), birthright/prophecy (eg. Arthur's ability to pull the sword from the stone (Malory 1485), Sita's natural talents (Divakaruni 2021)), and bargains (eg. Arthur trading a future boon for Excalibur (Malory 1485), Ram restoring Sugriv's kingdom in exchange for the monkey army (Divakaruni 2021)). The forms by which divine power manifests are various, ranging from weapons and armor (eg. Excalibur, Lord Ram's astras), the involvement of fantastical creatures (eg. the monkey army in the Ramayan, the Hellenic pantheon in the Iliad), and blessings (eg. boons bestowed upon Sita's sons, Achilles' near invulnerability).

Following this system, the Universal Cleric will not cast spells in similar fashion to a traditional GLOG cleric or wizard, but can instead spend faith dice to draw on the power of magic (and mundane) items, recruit / summon fantastical allies, and employ personal abilities.

Examples of such faith die expenditure:

• Smite. Calling upon the name of a god or spirit you revere, strike your foe with divine power. Roll an attack roll as normal. Upon landing a hit, add as many FD as you wish to the total damage dealt.
• Eye in the Sky. Make eye contact with a bird, and whisper a plea to whichever spirit occupies these skies. Roll one or more FD. On a 1-3, this effect fizzles. On a 4-6, you may see from the bird's eyes at will for an hour. On a 7+, you may see from its eyes and hear from their ears in similar fashion.
• Shield of Love. Tie a sacred thread around a friend or lover's wrist. As long as the thread remains on, whenever they are hit with an attack, they may spend your FD to negate damage up to the sum (of FD) rolled. If the thread is ever taken off, even to bathe, this ability ends.
• Nature's Rebuke. When in a vegetated area, if hit by an attack, you may roll one or more FD. On a 1-3, the attack lands as normal. On a 4-6, the enemy trips, and the attack is narrowly avoided. On a 7+, the enemy trips and falls to the ground, where roots and vines tangle around their limbs. The vines may be chopped off or pushed away, but require a turn to do so.

Notably, each of the above examples externalizes the source of magic and involves the inherent randomness of the die roll to imply nebulosity.

To further include nebulosity in the scope of the Divine's power, these uses of faith dice cannot be learned via level progression nor selected from lists. Instead, they must be taught — either by a cleric of a higher level or by a fantastical creature, like a river nymph, ghost, or even a dragon.

 

Subclasses for Niche Protection

Lastly, due to the titular universality of the Universal Cleric, class niches previously occupied by fighters, thieves, and mages must be preserved through subclasses. These subclasses may take on variations that were previously implied by class (eg. hit die size, equipment constraints, beahvioral constraints, level progression rate, etc.) and must cover the niches of dungeon-interaction that each class previously held.

Drawing from White Box and OSRIC, the niches defined by these classes are as follows:

• Fighter — Excel in the combat subsystem. Soak damage from dungeon risks (eg. monsters) and deal damage back. Interact with the dungeon environment through violence.
• Thief — Excel in skills and saving throws. Disarm traps, communicate discretely, acquire intelligence, and enable access to more dungeon space. Interact with the dungeon environment through explorative measures.
• Cleric  — Excel in supporting allies. Ward off danger (eg. poisoned food, monsters) and heal and strengthen allies. Interact with the dungeon environment with heals, buffs, and wards.
• Magic-user — Excel in the fantastical. Locate and maneuver around / subdue monsters. Identify and dispel magic. Interact with the dungeon environment via utility spells.

Following these principles, four subclasses will be designed with:

• A hit die size 
• Template-based abilities
• Restrictions on equipment/behavior

Results

In a partner post, for easy bookmarking reference. 

 

Discussion  

I actually really like how this turned out! Faith dice were a good stand in for the typical MD system, but are really just more externally oriented. I also got tired after writing ten appeals, and kinda just said "make your own!" but I think it's actually for the better. In a discussion with a friend about Frieren (Saitō and Suzuki 2023), we'd realized how magic in that show felt really open and "real" (as opposed to gamist) because the audience is unaware of its extent. After getting tired, I realized that this could have a similar effect - by limiting the players' knowledge of what appeals/spells exist and don't exist (the way D&D 5e does), there's a sense of wonder and curiosity about magic that otherwise wouldn't exist. Or at least, that's my thought process.

Shrines are another thing that kinda just popped into the design and came out nicely. They're based on Awkward Turtle's Waypoints (Turtle 2022) (I swear this is the last reference, they're just too fun), which were in turn based on Breath of the Wild's shrines. After doing a lot of thinking about "dungeon space" and "non-dungeon space" (and danger, risk, resources, where do resources come from? how are they exchanged? how are they limited? etc.) I realized that the typical shrine-in-a-dungeon can be a great place to drop out of dungeon-space and make the area a little more dynamic. I can imagine players in a megadungeon finding a shrine and centering their exploration opportunities around it for the time that they're down there, since it's the only place where FD and HP can be restored. Of course, there are other resources (food, light, etc.) which they'd need to surface for, but the little pocket in the dungeon is a very easy behavior-changing element. And of course, the monsters know this too.

Regarding subclass tempaltes, I think I just had fun with it! There's nothing too crazy going on, and there's not really a clear "balance" (plus I dropped what I was trying to get out of Muster, that whole linear HP, logarithmic damage thing - you just can't balance it nicely with strict niches, not without getting overly granular).

For concept, each subclass was initially a cleric domain/topic (I think I had Glory, Wealth, Lore, and Heart as the original four), but I shifted them into archetypes. These archetypes are somewhat drawn from mythic fantasy fiction, and are kind of a mix of [mythic fiction archetype] [fantasy-land logic] [class concept]. So the Knight is a mix of Arthurian knights, Ram and Lakshman, masked knight vibes, and D&D/OSR fighters and paladins. The Brat is a mix of Faustian vibes, trickster characters, and D&D/OSR thieves. Bookworm is a wizard smashed into Gaius from Merlin, with a side of GLOG Ranger, and Fairy Blooded (my clear favorite) is a bit of the Heart literary archetype, mixed with inspo from a couple different Hearts from fiction and the duties of a cleric/healer.

Anyways, I'm really happy with this! Some part of it might make its way into Jangli, but this is mostly just GLOG posting at the moment.

About future work (blog posts), I've got a couple things in the pipeline. City26 updates (it's slow going), Jangli updates (also slow going, I kinda stalled on progress after the core rules were finalized... and now I'm thinking about adapting in appeals and shrines for more magical options), and various musings. I think the big one there is dungeon principles/philosophy (back to types of space, danger and risk, resource exchange, etc.) and my take on the 1 HP dragon (and the newly popular vibe of total fiction immersion in the NSR space, as opposed to gamist/mechanical stuff).

Okie that's all, cya!

 

References

Black Gate. 2013. "The Cleric and the Crucifix." https://www.blackgate.com/2013/10/15/the-cleric-and-the-crucifix.

Divakaruni, Chitra Bannerjee. 2021. The Forest of Enchantments. Harper Collins India. 

Finch, Matt et al. 2017. White Box. Seattle Hill Games. 

Gardner, Julie and Bethan Jones et al. 2008. "Merlin." BBC One.

Goblin Punch. 2013. "Towards a Better Cleric." https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2013/12/towards-better-cleric.html.

Goblin Punch. 2019. "The Cleric." https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-cleric.html.

Goblin Punch. 2024. "Deconstructing Healing, Potions, and Shrines." https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2024/05/deconstructing-healing-potions-and.html. 

Goblin Punch. 2026. "Be of Good Cheer." https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2026/02/be-of-good-cheer.html.

Hilander. 2024. MythicGLOG. Shadow and Fae.

Kemp, Arnold. 2016. The Goblin Laws of Gaming. Goblin Punch. 

Legendary Games Studio. 1972. Mazes & Minotaurs: The Roleplaying Game of Heroic Adventure in the Mythic Age.

Living for Literature. 2025. "A Study of Subgenres: Mythic Fantasy." https://livingforliterature.home.blog/2025/04/13/a-study-of-subgenres-mythic-fantasy.

Malory, Thomas. 1485. Le Morte d'Arthur. Originally published by William Caxton. 

Marshall, Stuart. 2013. OSRIC: Old School Reference and Index Compilation Updated 2nd Edition. Usherwood Publishing. 

McDowall, Chris. 2023. Mythic Bastionland. Bastionland Press.

Miller, Madeline. 2011. The Song of Achilles. Ecco Press.

Saitō, Keiichirō and Tomohiro Suzuki, et al. 2023. "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End." Madhouse. 

Tuovinen, Eero. 2022. Muster: A Primer for War. Arkenstone Publishing.

Turtle, Awkward. 2022. Waypoints. Itch.io. 

Valakirian, The. 2026. "Mythic Bastionland—The Game that Broke My Players." https://valakirian.blogspot.com/2026/02/thoughts-on-mythic-bastionland.html?sc=1772221346660#c407895889588683770. 

World Foundry. n.d. "Mythic Fantasy." Accessed February 25, 2026. https://www.worldfoundry.co.uk/genre-encyclopedia/mythic-fantasy.