Priesthoods

Below are the priest character classes. The description of each is arranged in this fashion:

Sample Faith Writeup

We start out with a quick explanation of the god's attribute. The first paragraphs talk about what the god's goals may be, what his priest's goals will be.

Next, we discuss what kinds of variations there may be to his attribute. (Example: A god of the arts may be devoted to only one specific kind of art -- painting, for instance).

Sometimes these variations on the god's attribute might change your opinion of what the god's nature and alignment are. (Example: A god of death might be a frightening Grim Reaper sort of deity, or might be a gentle god of a cheerful sort of afterlife.)

We also describe the gender that gods of this attribute usually belong to. This isn't a limitation for your campaign. Any attribute shown below can be represented by a god or goddess, or even by a sexless deity. However, in real-world mythologies, various godly attributes are usually represented by one sex or the other, and so here we describe which one that is.

We also talk about the other types of priests this priesthood is on especially good terms with. (Just because a priesthood isn't mentioned here doesn't mean that there is bad feeling between them, however.)

Alignment: This paragraph describes the usual alignment of such a god, and the alignment choices available to his priests.

Minimum Ability Scores: This text explains what minimum ability scores (always Wisdom, and often one other) the priest must possess to be a priest in the first place.

Races Allowed: This paragraph describes which player-character races may belong to this priesthood.

Nonweapon and Weapon Proficiencies: This paragraph describes which nonweapon and weapon proficiencies a priest must have, and which additional nonweapon proficiencies are recommended for him. The proficiencies required of the priest must be taken from the normal proficiency slots he starts play with; he does not receive extra slots with which to take these proficiencies. Also listed here are the "Nonweapon Proficiency Group Crossovers" for this specific priest-class (see Table 38, Player's Handbook, page 55 for more on the Proficiency Group Crossovers).

Duties of the Priest: This talks about the duties typically demanded of this sort of priest. Almost all priests are supposed to provide Guidance to the flock; generally, that guidance is related to the god's attribute. (In other words, members of the flock come to the priest of the god of love for questions of love, to the priest of the god of justice on questions of revenge, etc.) All priests except for the priests of the god of Death can perform the marriage ceremony, and this is a duty most don't mind performing. Many priesthoods have other duties as well.

Weapon and Armor Restrictions: Here, we talk about which weapons and armor the priest can and cannot use. Mentioned in these paragraphs are some weapons which do not appear in the Player's Handbook. The belaying pin, bo stick, cestus, chain, daikyu, lasso, main-gauche, net, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, stiletto, and swords such as cutlass, katana, rapier, sabre, and wakizashi appear in The Complete Fighter's Handbook. The bill, lasso, maul, net, nunchaku, and scythe appear later in this supplement, in the "Equipment" chapter (note that the bill is the same as the gaff/hook from The Complete Fighter's Handbook; "gaff" and "hook" are its nautical names). Of the armors mentioned, banded mail, brigandine, bronze plate mail, chain mail, field plate, full plate, plate mail, ring mail, scale mail, splint mail, and studded leather constitute metal armor (not all of them are all-metal, but all of them have metal elements); hide armor, leather armor, and padded armor constitute non-metal armor.

Other Limitations: Here, we discuss other limitations and restrictions which are typically placed on this type of priest.

Spheres of Influence: This paragraph describes the priest's access to spells of different spheres of influence. You'll remember from the previous chapter that priesthoods which have Good Combat Abilities tend to get three major accesses (including All) and two minor, that those which have Medium Combat Abilities tend to get five major accesses (including All) and four minor, and that those which have Poor Combat Abilities tend to get seven major accesses (including All) and six minor. In the examples below, not all priesthoods follow those guidelines exactly; some have one major access to few and a couple of minor accesses to many, for instance. But if a priesthood comes up notably short on the number of spheres it can access, it is given extra Granted Powers.

Powers: This paragraph talks about which Granted Powers the priest receives, and when this occurs during the course of his career. Most priesthoods have at least one; some have several. Unless the text says otherwise, each Granted Power is available to the priest at first experience level; some, specifically listed, will become available at other levels.

Followers and Strongholds: Here, we talk about how many followers the priest receives, what they are, when he receives them, and when he is allowed to build his own stronghold. We also describe how many and which of his followers can take with him when adventuring "on the road." Normally, most of the followers are supposed to stay at the priest's temple and operate it for him; in spite of many priest-PCs' preferences, the priest can't just bring along all his followers with him on every adventure. The numbers given here are for the maximum number of followers the priest can take with him on adventures; naturally, he can always take fewer.

Possible Symbols: This is a set of recommendations for the symbols that the priesthood uses. Usually, they're representations of the god's attribute. They are also used upon the priesthood's Holy Symbol.

Notes: Finally, if there are any further items important to the description of this character class, we place them in this paragraph.

Important Notes

Most godly attributes (Love, War, Agriculture, etc.) don't specifically say that they are enemies of Evil. This just means that these attributes are not of themselves distinctly opposed to Evil; some have no relationship with Evil whatsoever (for example, Agriculture). You can assume, unless the text lists Evil among the friends of an attribute, or says that priests of this other god can be evil, that the priests of the other god don't care for the Philosophy of Evil.

We haven't included a paragraph which discusses the rights the priesthood has in the culture. That's because we don't know what sort of culture the DM will be placing the priesthood within. The DM determines what special rights the priesthood has; special rights, as discussed last chapter, include Church Trial, Coronation, Other Confirmations, Tithes, Separation from the Faith, Rule, and being the State Religion.

Also, the guidelines we're providing in this chapter are based on the most common views of these sorts of gods, priests, and races. Any campaign may have a different view of these topics, and so the DM may change these limitations and requirements to suit his campaign. Especially prone to re-interpretation are: races allowed, proficiencies required or forbidden, rights, weapon and armor restrictions, other limitations, and spheres of influence.

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