Barbarian/Berserker Priest

Description: This priest is the priest of a culture halfway between what we think of as civilized and savage. His people live at the very edge of or beyond the borders of the edges of the campaign's main civilization. They tend to be very warlike, fighting battles with neighboring tribes and with intruding imperial troops. Their fighters aren't soldiers; they are warriors, and tend to be deadlier in one-on-one fighting but poorer at formation combat than those of the "civilized" nations. These warriors may, in fact, be berserkers (see The Complete Fighter Handbook). They are still more in touch with nature and the world than the people of civilized lands. They may have very different customs from civilized folk.

Priests of this community perform the same functions as priests of civilized lands. However, barbarians have more respect for the gods than civilized folk, and priests also are well-respected. Kings and war-chiefs of their culture listen to their counsel. In their culture, those who disagree with them do not insult them or their guidance, and it is forbidden for a warrior to attack a priest of his culture (though defending himself from attack is all right... if he can prove that it was defense, not aggression).

There are no ability requirements to be a priest of a barbarian or berserker tribe. The warriors of the tribe must have Strength 15, and priests will be most impressive if they can approximate or match that score... but it's not a requirement of the kit.

As with the Amazon, abandonment of this kit means that the character renounces his allegiance to his tribe or clan and accepts citizenship in some other culture. This means that he must now perform his priestly duties in the fashion of the priests of that culture.

Barred: Barbarian tribes tend to have one or two patron gods, and most of their priests will serve those gods. These tend to be gods of natural forces (Agriculture, Animals, Darkness/Night, Earth, Elemental Forces, Fertility, Hunting, Lightning, Metalwork, Nature, Sky/Weather, Thunder) or other barbarian attributes (Strength, War). Gods of the "softer" attributes (Arts, Love, Music, etc.) would be represented but their priests would be much rarer. No priesthood is barred among the barbarians, however scarce.

Role: In the campaign, the barbarian priest is a spooky, dangerous figure. Like barbarian warriors, he'll be grim and a little alien to his allies from civilized lands. First and foremost, he's a defender of his people, and he'll most often be found wandering in lands other than his own because of some quest set him by the gods or some mystery he's encountered that requires him to travel in order to solve it. When he finds his own tribesmen captured or enslaved in the outer world, which might be a common occurrence, he must do his utmost to free them and return them to his own land, which can imperil other goals he and his player-character allies have . . . but as a leader and protector of his culture, this is a duty he cannot refuse. (If he were to do so, the god would take it as a betrayal of goals; see the Role-Playing chapter.)

Secondary Skills: The main occupation of the barbarian's tribe determines what sort of secondary skill he knows. If the tribe raises and sells horses, then the Groom secondary skill will be known by all tribesmen. Ask the DM what the tribe's main occupation is and that will determine the required Secondary Skill.

Weapon Proficiencies: Required: None. Recommended: Battle axe, sword/bastard, bow (any), sling, warhammer. Naturally, the priesthood may limit the priest's choice of weapons and not allow him to learn all these.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus Proficiency: Endurance. Recommended: (General) Animal Handling, Animal Training, Direction Sense, Fire-Building, Riding (Land-Based), Weather Sense, Blind-Fighting, Hunting, Mountaineering, Running, Set Snares, Survival, Tracking, Herbalism, Jumping. (Some of these are outside the priest's Nonweapon Proficiency Group Crossovers and will cost twice the listed slots if taken; see the description of the priest class, and the chart at the bottom of the Player's Handbook, page 55, for more details.) The DM may require this priest to take a proficiency in the tribal specialty (Fishing, Agriculture, etc.).

Equipment: With his starting gold, the barbarian priest cannot buy armor heavier than splint mail, banded mail, or bronze plate mail. Once he has adventured in the outer world, he can buy any type of armor his priestly requirements allow him to use. With his starting gold, he can buy only weapons appropriate to his tribe (usually battle axe, bows, club, dagger/dirk, footman's flail, mace, or pick, hand/throwing axe, sling, spear, and swords); naturally, priestly restrictions may prevent him from taking some of these, depending on which god he serves.

Special Benefits: Barbarians are imposing and dangerous-looking. This tends to make others respect them or at least wish not to make enemies of them. Therefore, barbarian/berserker priests receive a +1 reaction adjustment bonus when encountering NPCs. This becomes a +3 among members of his own culture.

If the priest's culture has many Berserker warriors, as per The Complete Fighter's Handbook, the priest has an additional special ability. Berserkers normally take ten rounds to go berserk; in the presence of one of their own priests, then can do it in five. Additionally, if the priest, as part of his priestly class, has the incite berserker rage granted power, then berserkers of his culture in his presence can go berserk in one round. The priest is not required to use his power for this to take place; it just happens.

Special Hindrances: The barbarian/berserker priest has a problem in civilized lands: He doesn't respect the authorities and they have learned to be cautious of him. (This sort of priest keeps freeing his enslaved brethren, and, even if he worships a god known to this culture, he does so in a different way that the locals consider wrong.) Therefore, the barbarian/berserker priest receives a -3 reaction adjustment penalty when encountering NPCs in positions of power: Rulers, government officials, etc.

Wealth Options: No special requirements; this priest gets the usual 3d6x10 gp as starting money.

Races: There are no special restrictions here. Each individual DM has to decide whether or not his demihumans can live in what are considered barbarian cultures. If they can, then they will have priests among them.

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