In Defense of the Generic Cleric

Call me really weird, but I think the idea of a generic cleric makes sense.

If you have the standard AD&D with world with a lot of gods all arranged in some sort of a pantheon, then these gods are all going to have their own specialty priests, true. However, one way to think of a generic cleric would be like Father Mulcahey from M*A*S*H* (or just about any Army chaplain in a forward area). While he certainly had a god he looked to for guidance (YWH according to the Catholic Church), he was also prepared to act as a Protestant Minister, and, in one occasion, a rabbi. From an AD&D perspective, he was a generic cleric, able to properly help people in the worship of any of the gods of the pantheon, even though he had his own special patron. (Note that, due to the differences in the worship services of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, I'm counting them as separate gods. A modern Army chaplain in a forward area is also supposed to be familiar with Muslim, Buddhist, and, increasingly, pagan practices, at least enough that he has a background to work from).

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