Savage Priest

Description: This is a shaman of a savage tribe. This character is a member of the tribe. The tribe itself is a technologically and culturally primitive one (by the standards and in the opinions of more "civilized" cultures), but is also one which is attuned to the natural forces of the world. The Savage Priest interprets the will of his god and acts as an advisor or leader to the members of his tribe.

This character might be an animal-totem shaman who assigns all the tribal warriors their animal totems. He might be the witch-doctor who insists on the deaths of the adventurers from the outside world. Take a priestess of a nature-god and give her the Savage Priestess kit, and you end up with something very like a nymph. Whether the Savage Priest is good or evil, filthy or clean-limbed depends on the nature of the tribe itself; the DM decides what the tribe is like.

To be a Savage Priest, a character must have a minimum Strength score of 11 and a minimum Constitution score of 13.

In abandoning this kit, the character is renouncing his membership with the tribe and accepting citizenship in some other culture. This frequently happens with Savage Priests who join adventuring parties, stay with them in travels through the world, and learn so much of the outside world that they no longer feel like part of their tribe.

Barred: Priests of the following god and philosophies may not take this kit: Disease, Divinity of Mankind, Evil, Good.

Priests of the following gods are most appropriate to this kit: Animals, Earth, Elemental Forces, Fire, Hunting, Nature, Sky/Weather, Vegetation.

Role: In a campaign, this character usually plays the role of the primitive who finds his world-view shattered by his experiences in the outer world... but who might teach his "civilized" companions something about simple truth and justice as he adventures with them. The DM should insist that the character role-play his tribal origins in the first four or five experience levels, until the character is more used to the outside world; this priest will be baffled by "high-technology" inventions (iron and steel weapons, boats made out of more than a single log, hourglasses, anything more sophisticated than the tools of his tribe), by civilized morals and ethics, and especially by the strangeness and unfairness of the laws of civilized men.

Secondary Skills: The Savage Priest character must take Fisher, Forester, Groom, Hunter, or Trapper/Furrier as his Secondary Skill (player choice, based on the activities of his character's tribe).

Weapon Proficiencies: The Savage Priest is limited to the weapons his actual priest-class permits him, and is further limited (when he is first created) to the following set of proficiencies: blowgun, long bow, short bow, club, dagger, javelin, knife, sling, spear. After he has adventured in the outer world, the character may learn other proficiencies.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus Proficiencies: (General) Direction Sense or Weather Sense (player choice), (Warrior) Endurance or Survival (player choice). Recommended: (General) Animal Handling, Animal Training, Fire-Building, Fishing, Riding (Land-based), Rope Use, Swimming, (Warrior, double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise) Animal Lore, Bowyer/Fletcher, Hunting, Mountaineering, Running, Set Snares, Tracking, (Priest) Healing, Herbalism, Local History, Religion, (Rogue, double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise) Jumping, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling, (Wizard, double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise) Herbalism. The Savage may not take Etiquette or Heraldry when first created.

Equipment: The Savage Priest, with his starting gold, may buy no armor other than leather armor and shield, and may buy no weapon not listed above under "Weapon Proficiencies." He must spend all his gold when he is created, or lose any "change" he has left over.

If you have The Complete Fighter's Handbook, use the Equipment rules for the Savage Warrior Kit instead.

Special Benefits: The Savage Priest has a special Detect Magic ability, resembling the spell of the same name, which he may use once per day per experience level he has (i.e., a 5th-level savage could use his ability five times per day). The rules for this power are:

Detect Magic. The Savage Priest is in tune with nature and can feel when there is something magical in the vicinity. As with the first-level Priest spell, he has a 10% chance per experience level to determine the sphere of the magic.

Special Hindrances: The Savage Priest is imposing and strange, and he worships his gods "all wrong" (i.e., civilized folk and priests recognize that his rites are different, unlike theirs). Therefore, he suffers a -2 reaction adjustment from all civilized folk (NPCs, that is; PCs can decide for themselves how they react to him).

Wealth Options: The Savage starts out with only 3d6x5 gp. After the campaign starts, he will encounter money, and the player may decide either that he likes the stuff or rejects it as a stupid city-human idea.

Races: No special limitations.

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