The Earnest Novice

This priest is a young fellow who has newly achieved his priestly rank. (Yes, all first-level priests are appropriate for this personality . . . but not all of them have to take it. Other first-level priests can be a little more sophisticated or world-wise than this fellow.)

The Earnest Novice is naive. He's easily tricked by smooth, polished liars. He is pure in his beliefs, especially those related to his priestly order. He serves as an inspiration for others; no matter how battered he is by life, he seems always just to stand back up and keep on going.

This character is best suited to the range of good alignments (lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good).

In combat situations, this character is prone to be a bit simple. He has very primitive combat tactics, such as "run at the enemy and hit him," or "stand where you are and shoot him;" such things as flanking maneuvers, feints, false retreats, and other military maneuvers are beyond his comprehension.

In role-playing situations, this character expresses cheerful optimism and, usually, a lack of understanding about the way the "real world" (that is, the campaign world) works. It doesn't occur to him to slip a waiter a bribe to get better service: That would be monstrously unfair and unprofessional! The ideas that a colleague might be corrupt, that a judge might render a decision based on how he felt that morning, that a beautiful young lady might not be absolutely virtuous are all alien to him. He'll accept them when his nose is rubbed in them . . . but they'll never occur to him naturally.

Most players who take this personality eventually abandon it; it's nearly impossible to play a character as remaining entirely innocent of the world through adventure after adventure. See "Changing Personality Types" below for more on this.

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