Are the Clerics of Pelor supposed to be celibate?

Question

So, I've rolled up a Dwarf who happened to be raised by humans. I call him "Gilly". At one point in the game I returned to my room at an inn only to find a woman there waiting for me. I started playing it one way (flirting and making jokes and such), but then my DM asked me if I was sure that I, as a cleric, was really going to do what it was that I was going to do? (We won't get into particulars, because after all, this is FUN!)

I ask the community here, would it have cost me anything as a follower of Pelor if I continued on my course of action?

Answer 1

It's Not a Cleric Thing

According to both and Wikipedia's entry on Pelor and Canonfire!'s entry on Pelor--a site which documents a lot of Greyhawk¹ stuff--Pelor requires neither chastity nor celibacy of his worshipers or representatives.

Just in case none of the gods listed on Canonfire! mentioned sexual practices, I searched a little more and found that "[c]elibacy is frowned upon by Atroa, who encourages marriages and pregnancies. Pregnant priestesses of Atroa are considered the holiest of them all." Thus, Atroa, goddess of renewal in the Greyhawk campaign setting, is even more fine with sex than most gods, and no gods--not even Pelor--appear to mandate chastity or celibacy.

This Is Campaign-dependent

It sounds as though the DM is either hoping you'll read his mind or expecting you to add details to the campaign world. Either way, ask the DM, "Is there a right answer? Does my character know any restriction that prohibits this behavior? Should I just make up something?" That's totally an okay thing to do.

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1. Pelor was originally a deity in the Greyhawk campaign setting.

Answer 2

No. Pelor's clerics aren't celibate

• Pelor is "a" sun god, and one of his official nicknames is "The Sun Father".

• Furthermore, Complete Divine has, for example, the following (p.117):

  As befits a sun god, Pelor’s major festivals take place on solstices and equinoxes, and many weddings and rites of passage take place on the cusp of a new season. Blessing of the Sun-Kissed Field is a common rite requested by farmers.

• In DnD4e -- which is not the system you're asking for, but I dare suppose that the designers haven't introduced utterly drastic changes to such an important "NPC" -- Pelor is in a relationship with Erathis, goddess of civilization.

• Pelor's clerics can be chaotic regarding alignment.

Based on all this (without having to dig deeper) it seems quite unlikely that Pelor would demand celibacy, or punish a cleric of his who got involved in some affairs, since he's a god considered to be a life-giving Father, to whom people pray for fertility (crops, weddings, etc), and who is himself involved in a relationship with a goddess.

Since Pelor is often described (afaik) as an advocate of moderation, too many and/or abusive/hurtful relationship are quite likely shunned by him, though.

Here's an official example

Dragon #346 has a long article on Pelor, his faith, etc. In it, there's a sample NPC called Constable Derider Fanshen (a cleric of Pelor, lv13) whose description says the following:

The Constable (as she is still called by most in the city, despite her retirement) is unmarried, but has many male romantic interests.

This, again, shows that clerics of Pelor 1. can get married (if it weren't so, the text wouldn't have emphasized this NPC's marital status so), 2. can be involved in romantic affairs without Pelor frowning on them.

However...

...your campaign and your DM might have other rules and concepts - and, for practical purposes, that's all that matters. So, as others have already said: ask your DM. Ask your DM whether the above holds true in the campaign you're playing in - and if not, ask for specifics, not just hints during gaming.

Answer 3

Ask Your DM

There's nothing in the 3.5 sourcebooks that says the Clerics of Pelor are required to take or follow any kind of vow of celibacy.

But the world that you're playing in is created by your DM, and in that world maybe there is such a rule. You will have to ask him for the answer. We simply can't answer the question.