The Hypocrite

This priest is a smooth talker and an advocate of all the goals of his priesthood and all the virtuous behaviors there are. But, deep down, he doesn't believe in them. He's fooled his superiors in the priestly order, he's probably fooled his adventuring companions, he's certainly fooled his flock . . . but he himself knows the truth.

This is a pretty villainous personality type; when a hypocrite priest isn't a villain, he's merely weak-willed. Either way, such characters are rare among player-character heroes. And they never get away with it forever.

Here are some examples of this character's typical behavior:

He generously gifts coins to city beggars and earns their praise. But on the side, out of sight, he trafficks in stolen goods, perhaps including objects stolen from temples of his order, and uses the respect accorded to priests to smuggle his stolen goods through city gates and inspection lines.

When a beautiful young member of the flock comes tearfully to him with problems, he arranges to see her privately to counsel her. Alone with the troubled young lady, he will seduce her, then abandon her, blackmailing her with the besmirching of her reputation to keep his own reputation clean. And should she, in her grief, decide to commit suicide, he'll be the most anguished of mourners at her funeral (perhaps he will officiate) . . . and then begin to work on the young lady's better-looking friends the same way.

When sinners come to him after doing evil, they'll always find absolution . . . for a hefty price in gold pieces. Such sinners are almost always repeat offenders, and so they are also repeat spenders.

Obviously, this sort of personality is best-suited to non-player characters. But it is always an option for, and can be a challenge to, player-characters as well.

The Hypocrite is limited to lawful neutral, lawful evil, true neutral, and neutral evil character alignments.

In combat situations, the Hypocrite will tend to behave like the priest he's supposed to be. If he can find reason to get out of the way of combat, he will: For instance, if an ally is injured, the Hypocrite will drop behind the lines to heal or doctor him. The Hypocrite is also prone to directing the actions of his teammates in such a way that they take all the risks. If one of them is killed or injured, of course, he will appear to agonize over it.

In role-playing situations, the Hypocrite will be the smoothest and most concerned character around. However, his player will need to communicate, in private consultation with the DM or through secret notes, the Hypocrite's true motives and plans.

Eventually the other characters will catch on, and ultimately they will expose or even kill him. It's up to the player then to decide what the Hypocrite will do (assuming he survives): He could change his name and start over again elsewhere, or pretend to reform and become a little more sophisticated in his tactics, or he could even reform and change personality types.

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