Bacause every Cleric except for one Hard Core Redemchionst has not survived beyound the first combat of the 2nd adventuere in any game I've palyed in or GM'ed they tend to die in either spectulacure or extreamily banal ways, and when they spend or burn Fate things always end up worse for them. the more careful they are the more the dice tend to go against them.

 

I Swaare the only way this could be happining is if some higher power had it in for them.

My character just got his face lasered off, and he's now running around screaming about the EHPERER.  I think you might be on to something here.

Last night the whole party of exprinced characters chiped in for a suit of Stormtrooper carapace for the new Preist, first round of the first fight he took a full auto burst from an Auto Pistol, every round hit, many 10's where rolled on Damage, he was dead three diffrent ways before the 2nd Auto pistol Burst damage was rolled.

It is because they are all-rounders, but because of their iconic imagery, they lean towards melee, they aren't bad at it, just they aren't tough like some classes for melee (Arbites, Guard) and they aren't powerful like some glass cannons (Assassins, Some Psykers) and just lacks the power of a techie (another all rounder). They lack a defining power, focus, etc.

That said, they are great, but I can see why they get so often killed.

It's not bacause they are a bad character type, they just have the dice fall against them with my group.

Well, if you think about it, the Emperor never wanted to be worshipped…

No, no, there is a different lesson here:

Drop Bear 2.0 said:

Your faith is not strong enough! :D

The one time I played a Cleric, he actually survived to the end of the campaign, despite a full-scale Tyranid invasion. His faith protected him. The Armageddon Autogun helped.

Cymbel said:

Yet their characteristic advance tables are pretty stellar, and they get *#$&tons of money.  You're right in that they're not Arbites or Guard, but they're not flimsy either.

 

And don't forget their Faith-Talents! They are "expensive" to use but can create an awesome situation of shining. Just imagine a Black Priest that faces utter corruption with his group. The fight is desperate, the losses of allied forces horrible and then imagine the unthinkable: a greater daemon appears! (Also you do not have a pskyer that is OP and can easily one-shot it^^) Your fellow acolytes tremble in fear but in the emperors name they fight, and how they do! But all they cause are just scratches! They can not bring him down! The Priest raises his hammer, engages the abomination with a desperate prayer on his lips, shouting out all the fury, all the righteous hate a man is able to feel. His hammer hits but the daemon just laughts about this try to harm him and a mighty blow brings the priest down to his knees, gasping for air. All seems lost, the daemon raises his weapon for the final blow but the holy man is not finished yet. All is faith denies the fact that such a thing can defeat a righteous man and a silent prayer is whispered. He raises his head, looks straight into the daemons eyes and what has been the prayer of a dying man becomes a mighty chant that echoes from the walls around, words that are not his own that are born deep in his soul, shouted at the face of this arch enemy of mankind. And with this words a light starts to shine and the cleric places his bare hand on the burning skin of the daemon, the foul flesh that was born in darkness. And with is words spoken in the clearest high gothic, with a so fine and powerfull voice the deamon starts to cry in agony as his parts are engulfed in white light and are ripped apart from him right into the warp he has come from, sealed back into the torture that is his own realm. Such awsome things only can happen to Clerics with their faith talents and yes, I know that you have to spent or even burn a faith-point and still must roll a dice sometimes but hell, this is pure awesomeness.

So….that escalated quickly.

A Cleric is about escalation.^^ A PC with the power of the adeptus ministorum should use it. xD

But only Techpriests have the requisite knowledge to appease the machine spirits of the Escalatus Device!

*shrugs* They have a lot of bonuses, but an all-rounder can suffer with a novice player. Unlike other classes there isn't a clear focus like a guardsman would have. They are a great class, but I can see why people would die playing one.

All my gaming circle have a decade + experiance each, yet any time they paly a cleric the Dice Gods turn on them and the Cleric Character dies horrabaly, just the way of the world I guess.

Just in normal fights or because they tend to bring themself into trouble?