The Crusader

The Crusader is a priest with a mission. What that mission is, is up to the player and the DM; he may wish to convert the heathens, to restore a temple to its original glory, to clean up a corrupt priesthood, to crush the enemies of his faith, to destroy a powerful clan, or to gain special rights or privileges for (or merely a lifting of bad or prejudicial laws from) his people.

This is not such a bad thing when the Crusader's goals correspond to the goals of the adventuring party. That's easy to sustain for a multi-episode adventure. But when the other player-character heroes' attention turns to some other matter or enemy, the Crusader is less willing to go along. He may continue on with them for a time, but his attention always turns back to his personal crusade.

The Crusader is best suited to lawful alignments (lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil). He tends to be humorless, but certainly doesn't have to be stupid.

In combat situations, the Crusader is a straightforward fighter, all according to the limitations of his priestly class. But if the enemy is related to his Crusade, he'll become the fiercest and most energetic of fighters, sometimes taking dangerous risks and going all-out to rid himself of this most personal enemies.

In role-playing situations, he doesn't have to be a boring idiot who talks about nothing but his quest. He can have other goals and interests, too. But the further away he is from his personal crusade, and the less he is able to promote his goals, the more of his attention they will take up in his mind.

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