PHBR3 - The Complete Priest's Handbook

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo- priest has an additional special god of War, these monks do not live
nus Proficiency: Endurance. Rec- ability. Berserkers normally take and study in ordinary temples of
ommended: (General) Animal ten rounds to go berserk; in the
Handling, Animal ’Raining, Direc- presence of one of their own that god they have their own se-
tion Sense, Fire-Building, Riding priests, then can do it in five. Addi-
(Land-Based), Weather Sense, tionally, if the priest, as part of his cluded monastery away from the
Blind-Fighting, Hunting, Moun- priestly class, has the incite ber-
taineering, Running, Set Snares, normal temples.
Survival, ’Racking, Herbalism, serker rage granted power, then These monks do not confine

Jumping. (Some of these are out- berserkers of his culture in his their war-training to the monas-
side the priest’s Nonweapon Profi- presence can go berserk in one teries, however. They travel the
ciency Group Crossovers and will round. The priest is not required to wide world in order to learn the se-
use his power for this to take place:
cost twice the listed slots if taken; it just happens. crets of life, the world, magic and
see the description of the priest the gods. As an order, they some-
class, and the chart at the bottom Special Hindrances: The times volunteer their services to
ofthe Player’s Handbook,page 55, barbarianlberserker priest has a rulers in times of war, and act as
for more details.) The DM may re- problem in civilized lands: He
quire this priest to take a profi- doesn’trespect the authorities and elite forces against the enemy.
they have learned to be cautious of
ciency in the tribal specialty him. (Thissort of priest keeps free- These monks are most appropri-
(Fishing, Agriculture, etc.). ing his enslaved brethren, and, ate for an oriental-flavored cam-
even if he worships a god known to paign and the DM may wish to
Equipment: With his starting this culture, he does so in a differ- decide that they cannot be used in
gold, the barbarian priest cannot ent way that the locals consider his campaign. Before you create a
buy armor heavierthan splintmail, wrong.) Therefore, the barbarian/ Fighting-Monk character, consult
banded mail, or bronze plate mail. berserker priest receives a -3 re- your DM and ask if he is allowing
action adjustment penalty when the Fighting-Monk kit in his cam-
Once he has adventured in the encountering NPCs in positions of paign.
outer world, he can buy any type of power: Rulers, government offi-
armor his priestly requirements al- cials, etc. In order to be a fighting-monk,
low him to use. With his starting the character must have a Dexter-
gold, he can buy only weapons ap- Wealth Options: No special re- ity of 12 or more.
propriate to his tribe (usuallybattle quirements: this priest gets the
axe, bows, club, daggeddirk, foot- usual 3d6x10 gp as starting If a fighting-monk wants to
man’s flail, mace, or pick, hand/ money.
abandon this kit, he must go
throwing axe, sling, spear, and Races There are no special re- through a difficult process in order
swords): naturally, priestly restric- strictions here. Each individual to do so. He must not use any of his
DM has to decide whether or not unarmed combat techniques for
tions may prevent him from taking his demihumans can live in what three whole experience levels’
are considered barbarian cultures. worth of time. Once he’s reached
some of these. depending on which If they can, then they will have that third experience level, he has
priests among them. forgotten his unarmed combat
god he serves. techniques and may resume the
Special Benefits: Barbarians Fighting-Monk
wearing of armor: and, if he re-
are imposing and dangerous- Description This priest belongs nounced some of his spheres of in-
looking.This tends to make others to an order devoted in large part to fluence when he became a
respect them or at least wish not to the study of fighting styles, espe- fighting-monk, may now resume
make enemies of them. Therefore, cially barehanded martial arts.
barbariadberserker priests re- These monksliveand study in mon- those lost spheres.
asteries devoted to their orders. If, As an example, a fighting-monk
ceive a + 1 reaction adjustment bo- for example,they are pries& of the
priest at 5th level decides to re-
nus when encountering NPCs. nounce his allegiance to the
This becomes a +3 among mem- fighting-monk order. He adven-
bers of his own culture.
tures normally, still not wearing
If the priest‘s culture has many armor but otherwise performing
Berserker warriors, as per The as a normal priest of his priest-
CompleteFighter’s Handbook, the class. He abstains from using his
unarmed combat techniques. At

100

1, he has abandoned his nus Proficiency: ’hmbling. Rec-
techniques and may once ommended: Riding (Land-Based),
Artistic Ability (any), Dancing,
the armor appropriate Readingwriting, Religion.

acter forgets himself and Equipment: See “Special Hin-
unarmed combat techniques drances,” below.

g this process, he must “start Special Benefits: The principal
benefit of being a Fighting-Monkis
It will be three experience that the character receives two
s from his current level, from free weapon proficiency slots
which he must use to take Special-
ch starts out with Poor ization in one of the three styles of
Abilities is barred from Unarmed Combat (Punching,
Wrestling, or Martial Arts). These
le: In the campaign, this were described in greater detail in
t is the philosophical warrior The Complete Fighter’s
se principal duty is self- Handbook, but that information
also appears here, in the “Equip-
enment. He is less con- ment and Combat” chapter. The
with the ordinary priestly Fighting-Monk is the only priest
(such as guidance, mar- who can specialize in an Unarmed
ommunity service) than Combat style. He can specialize in
iests, but will still perform any or all of the three styles, but he
e just won’t go out of his may only specialize in one of them
ook for them, nor will he
y volunteer for them at first experience level.
must ask his help in these As a second benefit, regardless
ters). Such characters are usu-
wanderers, which help make of what it says for the priest‘s class,
appropriate for adventuring the Fighting-Monk has a Non-
s. They do periodically re- weapon Proficiency Group Cross-
to their monasteries, to pass over with all five Proficiency
e learning they have acquired Groups (General, Priest, Rogue,
the road, and to brush up on Warrior, Wizard). No proficiency
their fighting-skills;the rest of the he takes will cost double the usual
time they spend out in the world.
Secondary Skills: This priest number of slots.
may choose or random-roll his sec- The last of the FightingMonk’s
ondary skill, if you are using the
secondary skills system in addi- benefits is this: He doesn’t have to
tion to the weaponlnonweapon spend all his starting Weapon Pro-
proficiencies system. ficiency slots at first level. He can
Weapon Proficiencies: Re- save his unspent proficiencies,
quired: See under “Special Bene- and they do not “go away:’ Later,
fits,”below. Otherwise, the priest
may take any weapon proficien- he can spend them at a rate of one
cies which his specific priest class proficiency per experience level to
allows him: he may not take any improve his martial arts or buy
the class does not allow him.
new martial arts.
Special Hindrances: This priest

cannot wear any sort of armor. Ad-
ditionally,if he’s a priest-classwith
Medium Combat Abilities, he
must ‘‘give up” some of his

The Nobleman Priest is not nec- Secondary Skills: Nobleman shelter from anyone in his own
essarily evil or a bad person. In Priests may choose or random-roll land; he can demand shelter for
fact, he often adheres to a code of their Secondary Skill. two people multiplied by the
chivalric behavior much like a priest‘s experience level (if he’s
knight‘s. But he does have strong Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
quired: None. Recommended: eighth level, he can demand shel-
social prejudices which color his Long sword, bastard sword, lance, ter for himself and a retinue of fif-
thinking. flails (all),maces (all),if allowed by teen mare people).

Important note: A nobleman can the priest‘s actual priest class. Special Hindrances: The Noble-
become a priest and not take the Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo- man Priest is expected to live well.
Nobleman Priest kit. This sort of If he has enough money to do so,
priest lives more frugally, like nus Proficiencies: (General) Eti- he may only buy high-quality
other priests, and does not have to goods, and so must spend at least
have a disdain for the lower social quette, Heraldry, Riding two times the minimum necessary
(Land-Based). Recommended: money for anything he buys. If a
classes: Nobleman Priests do not (General) Animal Qaining, Danc- basic long swbrd costs 15 gp, he
count him among their ranks. ing, (Warrior, double slots unless won’t buy one worth less than 30
the priest class has a nonweapon gp; the extra money goes into qual-
There are no special require- ity, engraving, etc. (He can’t save
ments to be a Nobleman Priest. proficiency group crossover in- money by having a friend or fol-
cluding the Warrior group) Gam- lower buy cheaper things for him:
If a Nobleman Priest player- he’s just not satisfied with any-
character ever decides that he is ing, Hunting, (Priest) Local thing less than good-quality mer-
wrong in his attitudes (which can History, Musical Instrument, chandise.)
occur in especially dramatic fash- ReadingIWriting.
If the priest is broke and cannot
ion if he is affected by the self- Equipment: The Nobleman
.spend this extra money, he can
sacrifice of a commoner who has -Priest may spend his gold as he
then settle for lesser goods. .but
saved him, or if he falls in love with chooses but he has certain mini-
a character of the common social mum standards he cannot violate. the other nobles of his culture, if
classes), he may choose to aban- they see him with shabby accou-
don this kit. If he does this, he will Before s w i n g play, he must buy: trements. will mock him, and he

be ostracized by most of the nobles .(1)A suit of annor (if he is per- does not get his reaction bonus un-
who were previously counted as til once again all his goods are
his friends (theDM can have one or mitted to by his priest-class. .
high-quality goods. In fact, if his
two more broad-minded nobles and, unless his class limits him to gear and possessions look suffi-
still count him a friend, and the ciently shabby (DM’s discretion),
player-characters can make up lesser armor, he cannot buy armor
their own minds on the subject); less protective than brigandine or people may not believe him to be a
he may even be exiled from his scale mail). nobleman at all,and may refuse
own family. As with any kit aban-
donment, he loses all other bene- (2) At least one weapon larger him the shelter he could ordinarily
f i t s and hindrances of the kit. than a dagger (again,if his priest- demand. (Thishappens most often
class so permits him). ifa nobleman priest is robbed of all
Barred:None. his clothes and goods and left to
Role: In the campaign, the No- (3) A horse (at least a riding
fend for himself.)
bleman Priest is an aggravating horse), riding saddle, bit & bridle, As he can demand shelter of oth-
snob (though he might not be
aware of his snobbery).He is a fun horseshoes and shoeing, halter ers, other Nobleman Priests can
role to play, but he’d better have and saddle blanket. demand shelter of him. This can
be expensive if they decide to stay
some redeeming features if the Special Benefits: The Noble- for awhile. This is also a good way
other PCs are to continue to associ- man Priest starts with more gold for the DM to bleed extra money
ate with him. If he does have re- than other priests: see below un- from the priest if he seems to have
deeming features, it‘s very likely der Wealth Options.
that some PCs will try to “reform” too much.
The Nobleman Priest receives a Wealth Options: The Nobleman
him to their own way of thinking. + 3 reaction from any noble of his
own culture, and a +2 from nobles

of other cultures. The DM can ig-

nore this if there is a cultural ha-
tred between those people and the

priest’s culture or the priest‘s god.
When travelling, he can demand

Priest begins play with more gold This priest, in the pursuit of his he thinks that they’ll be a more
than other priests. He gets 225 g p duties, is opposed by other priests ethical group with him around; he
plus the standard 3d6x10 gp. But serving the same god. In addition, may be present to keep them from
he must spend a good portion of if he’s identified himself with an performing acts of brutality or rap-
outlaw or pirate band, he’ll be
1 that on the Equipment required of wanted by the authorities as a ine, which they might undertake
1 him. If the priest abandons this kit, member of that band. were he not present.

‘thatmoney doesn’t magically “go There are no special ability- (2)In the second situation men-
away,” but as part of his social os- score requirements to be an Out- tioned above, the priest is a rogue
tracization the character should law Priest. visionary who thinksthat he must
serve his god in a way not ap-
~ A priest abandons this kit by proved of by the normal priest-
leaving the outlaw band or hood. This character is probably
!suffer some sort of financial loss, opposing/disbandingthe new reli- someone who went through the
gious order, whichever is perti- temple’s normal priestly training,
1 equal to at least 225 gp, as deter- nent. Additionally, by role-playing decided that there was something
wrong or lacking in it, and set out
mined by the DM. (Perhapsa mali- in the campaign, he must answer to found his own order. A classic
all the charges pressed against example of this is the situation
~ him by the authorities (he might where a priesthood bas become
do this by being tried and going to conupt and lazy, and a reformer
cious ex-friend destroys some of prison for a time, or paying repara- priest has appeared to try to return
his property: perhaps a petty- tions, or accepting tasks of pen- the worship of the god to its former
minded business acquaintance be- ance from his temple); if he does honorable state: the corrupt
trays him on a business deal.) not, he will continue to be opposed priests naturally wish to maintain
by his temple and wanted by the the status quo.
~ authorities.
Secondary Skills: The priest
Races: This kit has no special re- Barred: Priests of the gods of can choose his own secondary
Community may not take this kit. skill. If he’s part of a pirate band,
~ Priests of no Philosophy or Force he may wish to choose Sailor,
may take this kit. (They can asso- Shipwright or Navigator. If he’s
quirements for race. The DM may ciate themselves with pirate or part of a landbound outlaw band,
decide that not all races have the outlaw bands, but there is no cen- he might choose Forester, Hunter,
sure within their orders because of or ’Rapper/Funier. He may decide
1 same kind of social snobbery that it, and therefore no disadvantage on none of these and make a deci-
to belonging to such a band.) sion based on his life before he en-
humans do, in which case that tered the priesthood.
race could not take this kit. Role: This sort of priest has one
of two roles, depending on the situ- Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
~ ation. quired: None. Recommended If Pi-
rate, cutlass*, belaying pin*, bill.
1 outlaw Priest (1) With the first situation men- If Outlaw, weapon choices appro-
tioned above, the priest has joined
Description This priest has de- an outlaw or pirate band. In the priate for the outlaw band. (The
cided to become part of some sort campaign, then, he’s the rogue
of outlaw community and serve priest who bas decided that the ”*” symbol refers to weapons in-
that community’s religious needs. band deserves his priestly guid-
ance, and that this is more impor- troduced in The Complete Fight-
the trouble is, for the character to er’s Handbook.)
tant than the demands of his
take this kit, this group or commu- priestly order. The priest either Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
agrees with the band’s outlaw ac- nus Proficiency: Religion.
~ tivities or ignores them: his con-
cern is that they receive the Recommended hoficiencies (Pi-
nity must be sufficiently outlawed blessings of his god. Perhaps, too, rate Priest): Pirate’s Bonus Profi-
that the priesthood in question ciencies: (General) Rope Use,
;does not approve of it. Alterna-
I tively, the priest may have decided Seamanship, Swimming, Weather
that the god’s priesthood is not
serving him in an appropriate way,
and he will have decided to create
his own priestly order serving the
same god. In this case, too, the reg-
ular priesthood does not approve
i of him. In either case, the priest
must believe that he is still serving

~

the god in a fashion that the god
approves of. (The DM, obviously,

’ must agree.)

Friar n c k , the cleric who tended
to Robin Hood‘s Merry Men, is the
classic example of this type of
priest.

Sense, (Warrior, double slots un- try to thwart them (break up reli- easier time of abandoning him if
less priest-class dictates other- they wish):
wise) Navigation, (Priest) giousmeetings, disrupt building of
Engineering (for shipbuilding), his temple, etc.). This priest never (2) When he’s part of a specific
ReadingNViiting (formapmaking), gets to build a temple at cut-rate quest or mission (i.e., they must
(Rogue,double slots unless priest- prices: he must always spend the accompany him and guard him
class dictates otherwise) Apprais- whole amount to build his temple. throughout the quest or it will au-
ing,Set Snares(inassociation with (If he ever abandons his kit, the tomatically fail):or
Rope Use skill), Tightrope Walk- regular priesthood may accept his
ing, Tumbling, (Wizard, double temple as one belonging to the (3)When all the PCs are pacifists
slots unless priest-class dictates priesthood, but will never recom- (thiswould be a very unusual cam-
otherwise) Engineering (for sbip- pen= him half the money it tookto
building), Reading/Writing (for build it.)If the outlaw priest is part paign or quest, indeed...).
mapmaking). of an outlaw or pirate band, he is Note, though, that just because
sought by the same authorities
Recommended Proficiencies that seek that band, and will pay the priest demands peacefulness
(Outlaw Priest): (General) Direc- the same penalties under the law of all around him, his allies don’t
tion Sense, Fire-Building, Riding as they do if he is caught. have to obey. However, it isinevita-
(Land-Based), (Warrior, double ble that in combat situations the
slots unless priest-class dictates Wealth Options: Outlaw priests player of the pacifist priest will feel
otherwise) Animal Lore, Bowyer/ get the standard 3d6x10 g p for left out (he can’t fight): addition-
Fletcher, Endurance, Hunting, starting gold. ally, he’llfeel compelled by his phi-
Running, Set Snares, Survival, losophy to argue with the other
’Racking, (Priest)Healing, Herbal- Races: No special restrictions. PCs, to chide them for their vio-
ism, Local History, (Rogue,double lence, which will get on their
slots unless priest-class dictates Pacifist Priest nerves. Therefore, the DM should
otherwise) Disguise. keep such quests short, 50 that the
Description: This priest is de- pacifist priest doesn’t drive the
Equipment: No restrictions. voted to the cause of peace. He is a other characters to the point that
Within the context of the cam- champion of passive resistance, of they’ll kill him.
paign, if this is a pirate or outlaw achieving one’s ends without re-
band, it‘sa bad idea to wear metal sorting to violence of any kind. Secondary Skills: This priest
armor (banded, brigandine, may choose or random-rollhis sec-
bronze plate, chain, field plate, full There are no special require- ondary skill. It may not be Ar-
plate, plate mail, and ring mail). ments to be a priest of this sort. morer, Hunter, or ’IYapper/Furrier
Metal armor drags pirates down to Nor are there special rules for (if he rolls one of these up ran-
their deaths when they fall over- abandonment of the kit, if the domly, be may re-roll).
board; and it’s noisy when worn by character eventually feels that he
outlaws trying to ambush their needs to be wielding force to Weapon Proficiencies: The Pac-
prey. But this is just a factor the achieve his ends.
DM needs to remember, not a re- ifist Priest may not know any
striction on the kit. Barred: Priests of the following Weapon Proficiency except bow
gods, forces and philosophies may and dart, and may know them
Special Benefits: The main ben- not be Pacifist Priests: Disease, only if his true priest-class allows
efit of this kit is that the priest does Evil, JusticelRevenge, War. them. The priest may only use
not have any superiors. He takes these weapons in competition, as
orders from no superior religious Role In a campaign, this priest described below under “Special
authority (unless the god himself can be a real aggravation to the Hindrances.” The priest still re-
chooses to issue some). more combat-oriented player- ceives all his Weapon Proficiency
characters. Therefore, the DM slots, and if he ever abandons this
Special Hindrances: The out- should allow this priest in only the kit may “spend’ them at a rate of
law priest is opposed by the nor- following situations: two slots every experience level.
mal priestly order serving his god.
When they hear of his plans, they (1) When he’s an NPC, so that Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
the DM doesn’t have to work to nus Proficiency: Etiquette. Rec-
contrive to keep him with the ommended: Languages (Modern).
party all the time (they’ll have an Languages (Ancient),Ancient His-

.__. . .

I, Singing, Musical Instrument, like nonhuman races like orcs, Wealth Options:This priest g&s
ogres and trolls.)
ReadingPNriting. the usual 3d6x10 gp.
Special Hindrances: This priest Races: No special limitations.
Equipment: This priest may not may never wear armor, and may
buy any armor, and may not buy never use weapons, spells or any Peasant hiest
lany weapon except dagger or knife other tactics to harm a human. de-
(foreating only),and bow and dart mihuman, nonhuman, or mon- Description:The Peasant Priest
ster. If he ever violates this decree, is the antithesis of the Nobleman
l(if be has proficiency with them). his god will not punish him (be- Priest above. He’s a champion of
Special Benefits: This priest is the common man, and prefers
cause the pacifist‘s oath is one he servingthe commoner to any asso-
~avery compelling personality. He took for himself, not for his god), ciation with nobles. He has taken a
,receives a +2 to his Charisma vow of poverty; he believes be
score (his Charisma cannot ex- but his own guilt will deprive him should sacrifice his worldly goc >-
ceed 18 from this bonus), and. in to the glory of his deity.
of all magic spells for the span of
addition to any reaction bonus one month. (If the DM wishes, if Note that the Peasant Priesr
that his heightened Charisma the priest is a follower of the god of need not have been born a peas-
Peace, the god can instead punish ant; he could have been born a no-
gives him, he receives a +2 reac- him as a “Betrayal of Goals” from bleman and later abandoned that
the Role-Playing chapter.) Natu- lifestyle and the privileges of his
tion from anyone who is not ut- rally, if he later abandons the kit, class.
he can resume the wearing of ar-
terly opposed to his philosophy. There are no ability-score
mor and use of weapons according
(Beingsopposed to his philosophy to his priest-class.
include priests and devoted ad-
herents of the gods, forces and

philosophies mentioned above
under “Barred,” and certain war-

I

I

I

quirements to be a Peasant Priest. appropriate to a peasant, such as be spent on goods other than
There are no special rules for weapons.
short sword, spear, bow, footman’s
abandonment of this kit. Races: No special limitation
Barred Priests of the following weapons and the like: long swords
Prophet Priest
gods, forces, and philosophies (and bigger blades), horseman’s
may not take this kit: Evil, Good, Description A prophet is one
Prosperity. weapons, exotic polearms, lances, who receives signs, dreams, or
clues about the future from his
Role In the campaign, the Peas- tridents and the like are not. This god. Priests of the god of prophecy
ant Priest devotes himself to the are prophets, but they aren’t the
needs of the common man. If he’s should only be a restriction when only prophets. Priests of other
part of an adventuring party, he gods can receive and pass along
won’t support any plans which en- the character is first created: after- prophecies. However, since this is
danger or exploit the peasants or
serfs, and will try to recommend wards. he can learn any weapon rarer, the DM has the right to ap-
plans which advantage them. (For
example, if the party wants to use his priest-class allows him. prove or disapprove any character
taking this Priest Kit.
the locals to help lure the dragon Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
out of its cave, so that the locals To be a Prophet Priest, the char-
will be the first ones flamed and nus Proficiencies: Agriculture or acter must have a Wisdom of 15or
better.
eaten, the priest will object. But if Fishing (player choice), Weather
A character may not abandon
the locals are to be along as sup- Sense or Animal Lore (player this kit. As long as he is a priest, he
is a Prophet Priest.
port troops, and have information choice).Recommended Any of the
Barred: Priests of the god of
and chances of success and sur- General proficiencies. Prophecy may not take this kit. All
vival at least equal to the player- other priests may. (Priests of phi-
characters’, he won’t have any Equipment: The Peasant Priest losophies or forces don’t receive
such objection.) He’ll insist that their prophecies from a god; their
treasures be shared with the locals has restrictions on the way he prophecies are more like psychic
of the area where the treasure was impressions.)
found. (Assuming that the trea- spends his money. Other than
sure is split into even shares Role In the campaign, the
among party members. he’ll insist weapons, with which he has no Prophet Priest is partly a tool for the
that the local peasant community
receive two shares, for example.) monetary limitation, he may own D M the DM can use the character to
In a greedy or tight-fisted party,
the party might refuse his re- only one object worth as much as supply clues and even red herrings
quests, which doesn’t mean the to the characters. His is often a
priest has to attack them or steal 15 gp, and other than that one ob-
thankless job, and he is often a bit
from them... but this will inevita- ject may own nothing worth more
alienated from the normal folk (see
bly result in the priest becoming than 10 gp. He may never own “Special Hindrances” below).
disillusioned with the party.
more than 75 gp worth of (non- Secondary Skills: The priest
Secondary Skills: The player may choose his own secondary
may choose his priest’s secondary weapon)property at any one time. Sldll.
skill.
If he receivesmoney or gifts which Weapon Proficiencies: Re-
Weapon Proficiencies: The quired: None. Recommended:
player may choose his character’s put him above that limit, he must Any that the priest’s actual
weapon proficiencies, subject to priest-class permits.
the limitations of the priest’s ac- give away money and possessions
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
tual priest-class. The DM may in- until once again he is within the 75 nus Proficiency: Weather Sense.
Recommended: None special.
sist that the character start out the gp limitation.
campaign only with proficiencies Equipment: No special restric-
Special Benefits: The Peasant
tions.
Priest always has shelter when

he’s in his own community: his

own people will shelter him even

from the land’s rightful authori-

ties. Among peasants of other

communities, he cannot count on

this benefit, but he receives a +2

reaction adjustment from all peas-

ants.

Special Hindrances: The Peas-

an& Hero’s great limitation is de-

scribed above under

“Equipment.”

Wealth Options: The Peasant

Priest gets the standard 3d6x10gp

starting money. Of the money he

receives, no more than 75 gp may

SpecialBenefits: The character with somethingvery like anymph. pecially by the strangeness and
eceives the Medium Granted Whether the Savage Priest is good unfairness of the laws of civilized
’ower “Prophecy” from the De- or evil, filthy or clean-limbed de- men.
pends on the nature of the tribe it-
iigning Faiths chapter. However, self:the DM decideswhat the tribe Secondary Skills: The Savage
is like. Priest character must take Fisher,
t‘s more limited than the Proph- Forester, Groom, Hunter, or
c y which is granted to priests of To be a Savage Priest, a charac- llapper/Furrier as his Secondary
he god of Prophecy. With this ter must have a minimum Skill (player choice, based on the
jower, priests may receive visions Strength score of 11 and a mini- activities of his character’s tribe).
rom the god at any time the DM mum Constitution score of 13.
lecides, but may only deliberately Weapon Proficiencies: The Sav-
,ink into a trance in order to re- In abandoning this kit, the char- age Priest is limited to the weap-
,eivea vision once per day. acter is renouncing his member- ons his actual priest-class permits
ship with the tribe and accepting him, and is further limited (when
Special Hindrances: It‘s not citizenship in some other culture. he is first created) to the following
iormal for anyone but priests of This frequently happens with Sav- set of proficiencies: blowgun, long
he god of Prophecy to be age Priests who join adventuring bow, short bow, club, dagger,jave-
zophets. Therefore, normal peo- parties, stay with them in travels lin, knife, sling, spear. After he has
)le are a little edgy around other through the world, and learn so adventured in the outer world, the
xophets, and react to them at a much of the outside world that character may learn other profi-
- 2 reaction adjustment. (This ad- they no longer feel like part oftheir
ustment may never result in a re- tribe. ciencies.
iction worse than Cautious, Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
iowever.) Barred: Priests of the following
god and philosophiesmay not take nus Proficiencies: (General)Direc-
Wealth Options: This priest re- this kit: Disease, Divinity of Man- tion Sense or Weather Sense
:eives the normal 3d6x10 gp start- kind, Evil, Good. (player choice), (Warrior) Endur-
ng gold. ance or Survival (player choice).
Priests of the following gods are Recommended: (General) Animal
Races: No special limitations. most appropriate to this k i t Ani- Handling, Animal ’Raining, Fire-
mals, Earth, Elemental Forces, Building, Fishing, Rding (Land-
Savage Priest
Fire, Hunting, Nature, Sky/ based), Rope Use, Swimming,
Description This isa shaman of Weather, Vegetation. (Warrior, double slots unless the
i savage tribe. This character is a priest-class dictates otherwise)
nember of the tribe. The tribe it- R o l e In a campaign, this char- Animal Lore, BowyerlFletcher.
self is a technologicallyand cultur- acter usually plays the role of the Hunting, Mountaineering, Run-
illy primitive one (by the primitive who finds his world-view ning, Set Snares, ’Racking,(Priest)
;tandards and in the opinions of shattered by his experiences in the Healing, Herbalism, Local History,
nore “civilized” cultures), but is
ilso one which is attuned to the outer world...but who might teach Religion, (Rogue, double slots un-
iatural forces of the world. The less the priest-class dictates other-
hvage Priest interprets the will of his “civilized” companions some- wise) Jumping, Tightrope
lis god and acts as an advisor or thing about simple truth and jus- Walking, mmbling, (Wizard,dou-
eader to the members of his tribe. tice as he adventures with them. ble slots unless the priest-class dic-
The DM should insist that the tates otherwise) Herbalism. The
This character might be an character role-play his tribal ori- Savage may not take Etiquette or
mimal-totem shaman who as- gins in the first four or five experi- Heraldry when first created.
3igns all the tribal warriors their ence levels, until the character is
mimal totems. He might be the more used to the outside world Equipment: The Savage Priest,
witch-doctor who insists on the this priest will be baffled by “high-
ieaths of the adventurers from the technology” inventions (iron and with his starting gold, may buy no
mtside world. B k e a priestess of a steel weapons, boats made out of
nature-god and give her the Sav- more than a single log, hour- armor other than leather armor
ige Priestess kit, and you end up glasses, anything more sophisti- and shield, and may buy no
cated than the tools of his tribe),by weapon not listed above under
civilized morals and ethics, and es- “Weapon Proficiencies.” He must
spend all his gold when he is cre-

ated, or lose any “change” he has charisma, or even trickery than cial Benefits:’ below.
left over. with a weapon. His life is dedicated Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bo-
to the assimilation of knowledge
If you have The Complete FYght- (and, usually, the transmission of nus Proficiency: Reading/
er’s Handbook,use the Equipment that knowledge to new genera- Writing. Recommended (General)
rules for the Savage Warrior Kit in- tions).
stead. Artistic Ability, Etiq-uette, Her-
A scholar priest must have an ln-
Special Benefits: The Savage telligenceability score of 13or bet- aldry, Languages (Modern),
Priest has a special Detect Magic ter. (Priest)Ancient History,Astrology,
ability, resembling the spell of the Languages (Ancient), Local His-
same name, which he may use This kit cannot be abandoned. A tory.
once per day per experience level scholar can break off correspon-
Equipment: The scholar-priest
he has (i.e., a 5th-level savage dence with other scholars, can must always have writing mate-
choose not to teach, can decide not rial, quill and ink with him. If ever
could use his ability five times per to do any studying or writing for as he loses them, he must regain or
day).The rules for this power are: long as he likes, but he can always replace them as soon as possible,
re-enter the academic world. and in the meantime will be re-
Detect Magic. The Savage Priest cording his experiences in any
is in tune with nature and can feel Barred: Priests of the following fashion he can find. Other than
when there is something magical gods, forcesand philosophies can- that, this kit makes no demands
in the vicinity. As with the fmt- not take this kik Competition,Fer-
level Priest spell, he has a 10% tility, Life-Death-Rebirth Cycle, on the way he spends his money.
chance per experience level to de- Strength, and War. Special Benefits: The Scholar
termine the sphere of the magic.
Priests of the following types are Priest can “spend” any of his
Special Hindrances: The Sav- most appropriate for this kit: Arts, Weapon Proficiency slots on Non-
age Priest is imposing and strange, Crafts, Culture, Divinity of Man- weapon Proficiencies instead. He
and he worships his gods “all doesn’t have to; he can adhere to
wrong” (i.e., civilized folk and kind, LiteraturelPoetry, Music1 the normal pattern of proficiency
priests recognize that his rites are Dance, and Wisdom. choice that is appropriate to his
different,unlike theirs).Therefore, priest-class. But if he wishes he
he suffers a -2 reaction adjust- Role: In the campaign, this may turn Weapon Proficiencyslots
ment from all civilized folk (NPCs, priest is motivatedby his desire for into Nonweapon slots and thereby
that is; PCs can decide for them- knowledge. He’ll often be tempted become a very skilled character.
selves how they react to him). hy adventures where he’s likely to Also, the Scholar receives a +3 re-
be able to learn something. If an action bonus from other scholars,
Wealth Options: The Savage adventuring party is going to a admirers of scholastic concerns,
starts out with only 3d6x5 gp. Af- ruin where a famous library once writers, journalists, and people
ter the campaign starts, he will stood, he’lleagerlyjoin on the faint
encounter money, and the player hope that some scrap of that li- who imagine that they are
may decide either that he likes the scholars. Becauseofthis, whenthe
stuff or rejects it as a stupid city- brary still survives. He’ll be part of
human idea. expeditions to visit famoussites or party thinks it is in a situation
ancient beings who might tell him when no one is willing to help, it
Races: No special limitations. stories of the past or solveold mys- may turn out that the mousy clerk,
antagonistic king or homely witch
Scholar Priest teries. He might be part of an ad- they met is an admirer of or even
venture just so that he can correspondent with the Scholar
Description This character is a Priest and will help them.
researcher. He’s most at home chronicleit and preserve its events
when he’s poring over books, in history. Special Hindrances: Many
scrolls, papyri, clay tablets and scholars are egotistical, and de-
other old writings. He’s not forbid- Secondary Skills: The Scholar bates between scholars can be-
den from fighting, but is more Priest must take Scribe as his sec- come very heated and personal.
ondary skill. Whenever the DM rolls a reaction
likely to try to straighten out a bad check from another scholar, he
Weapon Proficiencies: Re- should first roll ld6. On a 1, the
situation with reason, personal quired: None. Recommended:
Any appropriate to the priest’s
actual priest-class.Note: See “Spe-

Priest Kits

player-character scholar gets a -6 play asa priest and takes one of the point, he’s a normal priest of his
reaction adjustment instead of a kits above, and then later changes suecific mvthos for the rest of his
+3,because at some time in the to another class, he does not have playing I&.
past (or even the present) he ar- to abandon the kit. However, he
gued or disagreed with this still may only have one kit. Also, if Modifying and Creatin
scholar’s pet opinion and offended he chooses to abandon the kit Kits
him completely. when he changes class, he may
not then take on a kit from the new The DM should alter the kits
Wealth Options: The Scholar class. The character may only above in order to fit them better
Priest gets the standard 3d6x10 gp have had one kit, ever, as long as into his campaign world.
starting gold. he is played.
For instance, if there are no Sav-
Races No special limitations. Abandoning Kits age races to which the PCs could
belonn. the DM should disallow the
Recording Kits on the A character created with a Priest
Character Sheet Kit might, later in his adventuring If you’d like to create all-new
career, decide that he has to ahan- Priest Kits, refer to the kit creation
To record your priest kit on your don it. For instance, a Pacifist
character record sheet, do the fol- Priest might be crushed when his
lowing: inaction resulted in the death of a
friend, and might decide to aban-
(1) When you write down the don his pacifistic stance.
character’s priest-class, also add
the name of his priest kit there. If The player must tell the DM that
the character were a priest of the he wishes his character to aban-
Norse god of thunder and also a don the kit. If this choice is the re-
peasant priest, you’d write “Priest sult of some traumatic event, as in
of Thoripeasant Priest.” the example above, the character
may simply wish to declare his in-
(2) Where you write down the tent. If the choice is a gradual one,
character’s nonweapon proficien- the DM may want to work it into
cies, add the ones you got freefrom the storyline.
the priest kit, and put an asterisk
beside them to indicate that they The priest abandoning his kit
are free proficiencies provided by will have to role-play out his deci-
the kit. sion and its consequences. He’ll

(3)Wherever you have space for announce his decision.. . and he
notes, mark down the character’s
special benefits and hindrances, must suffer the reactions of his al-
and any other factsyou want to re- lies (and the other members of his
member. order!), whether good or ill.

Multi-Classand He will give up all the kit‘s ho-
Dual-Class Characters nuses and hindrances. The char-
acter does not give up any bonus
Any multi-class priest can take proficiencies, but they are no
one of the Priest Kits above. How- longer “bonuses.” The character
ever, he can only take one kit, to- must “pay” for them by spending
tal. If he has several character the next proficiency slots he re-
classes, he can’t take aseparate kit ceives on them.
for each class.
Once he’s abandoned a Priest
The same is true of dual-class Kit, the character may not take an-
characters. If a character begins other Priest Kit to replace it. At this

Role-Plavina

’\

There’s more to gain special rights or privileges he Earnest Novice k! inaive.
priests than bashing miscreants, for (or merely a lifting of bad or
casting spells, waving holy sym- prejudicial laws from)his people. He’s easily tricked by smooth, pol-
bols and making earnest pro- ished liars. He is pure in his beliefs,
nouncements. In this chapter, This is not such a bad thing especially those related to his
we’re going to talk about the differ- when the Crusader’s goals corres-
ences between priests, even pond to the goals of the adventur- priestly order. He serves as an in-
priests of the same orders, and ing party. That’seasy to sustain for spiration for others: no matter how
about how they relate to the cam- a multi-episode adventure. But battered he is by life, he seems al-
paign world and their deities. when the other player-character
heroes’ attention turns to some ways just to stand back up and
Priest Personalities other matter or enemy, the Cru- keep on going.
sader is less willing to go along. He
No two priests are alike in their may continue on with them for a This character is best suited to
goals, desires, quirks, and preju- time, but his attention always the range of good alignments (law-
dices. It doesn’t matter if they be- turns back to his personal crusade. ful good, neutral good, chaotic
long to the same priest-class, have
the same Priest Kit, are at the The Crusader is best suited to good).
same experience level and have lawful alignments (lawful good, In combat situations, this char-
lawful neutral, lawful evil). He
rolled the same hit points. . . tends to be humorless, but cer- acter is prone to be a bit simple. He
tainly doesn’t have to be stupid. has very primitive combat tactics,
they’re going to be different peo- such as “run at the enemy and hit
ple. In combat situations, the Cru- Him,” or “stand where you are and
sader is a straightforward fighter, shoot him:” such things as flank-
Below are descriptions of sev- all according to the limitations of ing maneuvers, feints, false re-
eral common type of priest char- his priestly class. But if the enemy
acters. All of these personalities is related to his Crusade, he’ll be- treats, and other military
are drawn from priest character come the fiercest and most ener- maneuvers are beyond his com-
stereotypes common to the mov- getic of fighters, sometimes taking prehension.
ies and fiction. Novice role- dangerous risks and going all-out
players should read through these to rid himself of this most personal In role-playing situations, this
descriptions and, if they wish, enemies.
adopt one of these personality character expresses cheerful opti-
types for their priest characters or In role-playing situations, he mism and, usually,a lack of under-
a t least let these descriptions in- doesn’t have to be a boring idiot standing about the way the “real
spire them to work out the details who talks about nothing but his world” (that is, the campaign
of their characters’ personalities. quest. He canhave other goalsand world) works. It doesn’t occur to
Experienced role-players, to interests, too. But the further away him to slip a waiter a bribe to get
whom the creation of personali- he is from his personal crusade,
ties is second nature, should skip and the less he is able to promote better service: Thatwould be mon-
on to “Priest Adventures.” his goals, the more of his attention strously unfair and unprofes-
they will take up in his mind. sional! The ideas that a colleague
The Crusader might be corrupt, that a judge
The Earnest Novice might render a decision based on
The Crusader is a priest with a how he felt that morning, that a
mission. What that mission is, is This priest is a young fellow who beautiful young lady might not be
up to the player and the DM: he has newly achieved his priestly
may wish to convert the heathens, rank. (Yes,ail first-levelpriests are absolutely virtuous are all alien to
to restore a temple to its original
glory, to clean up a corrupt priest- appropriate for this personality. . . .him. He’ll accept them when his
hood, to crush the enemies of his
faith, to destroy a powerful clan, or but not all of them have to take it. nose is rubbed in them.. but
Other first-levelpriests can be a lit- they’ll never occur to him natu-
tle more souhisticated or world-
wise than this fellow. rally.
Most players who take this per-

sonality eventually abandon it: it’s
nearly impossibleto play a charac-
ter as remaining entirely innocent
of the world through adventure af-
ter adventure. See “Changing Per-
sonality Types” below for more on
this.

1 The Hypocrite ways repeat offenders, and so they but he intends to do his temple’s
Ire also repeat spenders. business and see to it that his god’s
This priest is a smooth talker goals are met, with no complaints
and an advocate of all the goals of Obviously, this sort of personal- and no back-talk. He’s a combina-
his priesthood and all the virtuous ity is best-suited to non-player tion of cheerleader and drill ser-
behaviors there are. But, deep zharacters. But it is always an op- geant. He leads by example, and
down, he doesn’t believe in them. tion for, and can be a challenge to, he usually leads. He gets to know
He’s fooled his superiors in the player-charactersas well. the minds of his companions and
priestly order, he’s probably fooled plays upon their own goals and de-
his adventuring companions, he’s The Hypocrite is limited to law- sires to get his accomplished. This
ful neutral, lawful evil, true neu- doesn’t make him a villain like the
certainly fooled his flock. . .but he tral, and neutral evil character Hypocrite: he probably intends
alignments.
himselfknows the truth. this to be to everyone’sbenefit.
This is a pretty villainous per- In combat situations, the Hypo- Like the Crusader, he performs
crite will tend to behave like the
sonality type: when a hypocrite priest he’ssupposed to be. If he can best when he’sheaded in the direc-
priest isn’t a villain, he’s merely find reason to get out of the way of tion of his personal goal:unlike the
weak-willed. Either way, such combat, he will For instance, if an Crusader, he doesn’thave just one
characters are rare among player- ally is injured, the Hypocrite will goal that dominates his life, and
character heroes. And they never drop behind the lines to heal or can add the other player-
get away with it forever. doctor him. The Hypocrite is also characters’goalsto their own. (But
prone to directing the actions of if he does take on someone else’s
Here are some examples of this his teammates in such a way that goal, you can be sure that he’ll be
character’s typical behavior: they take all the risks. If one of unceasing and maybe unbearable
them is killed or injured, of course, in trying to motivate that charac-
He generously gifts coins to city he will appear to agonize over it. ter toward that goal. He won’t let
beggars and earns their praise. But the other character abandon the
on the side, out of sight, he traf- In role-playing situations, the goal. Hejut never gives up.)
ficks in stolen goods, perhaps in- Hypocrite will be the smoothest
cluding objects stolen from and most concerned character This character is suited to any
temples of his order, and uses the around. However, his player will
respect accorded to priests to need to communicate, in private alignment. Obviously, if he’s law-
smuggle his stolen goods through consultation with the DM or ful good, his goals will be the goals
city gates and inspection lines. through secret notes, the Hypo- of his god and his society: if he’s
crite’strue motives and plans. chaotic evil, his goals will be his
When a beautiful young mem-
ber of the flock comes tearfully to Eventually the other characters own, and very destructive ones,
him with problems, he arranges to will catch on, and ultimately they too.
see her privately to counsel her. will expose or even kill him. It‘s up
Alone with the troubled young to the player then to decide what In combat situations, the
lady, he will seduce her, then aban- the Hypocrite will do (assuminghe Motivator charges into the thick of
don her, blackmailing her with the survives): He could change his things and tries to whip up his al-
besmirching of her reputation to name and start over again else- lies into a combat frenzy. He gravi-
keep his own reputation clean. where, or pretend to reform and tates to the center of the skirmish
And should she, in her grief, de- become a little more sophisticated line, and if he’s fit for it will try to
cide to commit suicide, he’ll be the in his tactics, or he could even re- take on the biggest and baddest
most anguished of mourners at form and change personality opponents.
her funeral (perhaps he will offici- types.
In role-playing situations, he’ll
ate). . . and then begin to work on T h e Motivator be a vigorous font of advice and
helpfulness. He tends to be abrupt
the young lady’s better-looking This character is like a grown-up of speech and firmly set in his
friends the same way. version of the Earnest Novice. He opinions (i.e., stubborn), but he’s
knows what the world is all about, usually a good friend to have
When sinners come to him after around.
doing evil, they’ll always find ab-

solution. . .for a hefty price in gold

pieces. Such sinners are almost al-

The Philosopher make the world a better place. But The Politician is best suited to
he goes out of his way to gather fa- lawful and neutral alignments
This character tries to fit each of vors, advise powerful people (and (lawfulgood, lawful neutral, lawful
his adventures and encounters to do so well!), to acquire treasure evil, neutral good, true neutral,
into the grand scheme of the so that he can build great temples neutral evil). If he’s Good, he’ll
meaning of life. He’s not a very ex- and influence the masses, etc. probably eventually understand
citing personality, being more the damage he has done and can
thoughtful and reserved than the The Politician has a weakness, do. If he’s Neutral, he won’t go out
dynamic Motivator or energetic though. Regardless of his motiva- of his way to harm people, but will
Earnest Novice. He often adopts a tions, he sometimes blinds himself not be truly touched by it when
“Let‘s wait and see what happens” to the truth sothat he can continue harm does occur. If he’s Evil. this
or “Maybeit was meant to be” atti- acquiring power and influence. If harm is merely another benefit of
tude. He seldom initiates combat two cities or countries are on the the job.
or aggression, but this doesn’t verge of war, and that war would
make him a pacifist; once he gets benefit him and his power base, he In combat situations, the Politi-
into combat, he can be as formida- might advocate that war be de- cian is like any other priest of his
ble an opponent as any priest of his clared, and blind himself to the specific priest-class. However, if
class. sufferingthis will cause among the there’s an important person
peoplewho have to do the fighting. around to impress, he may fight
The Philosopher is best suited to If a woman comes to him with the more vigorously or risk himself to
lawful and neutral alignments classicdilemma where she isbeing save that person.
(lawfulgood, lawful neutral, lawful told by her family to marry one
evil, neutral good, true neutral, man when she loves another, the In role-playing situations, the
neutral evil). Politician will f r s t consider the in- Politician is continually ferreting
fluence he might gain from these out rumors and news, analyzing
In combat situations, the Philos- respective matches first, and con- information, learning the person-
opher will often hang back for a alities of important people, and
round or so to gauge the situation siders the lovers’and families’feel- lookingat all situations and adven-
and analyze things. In doing so, he ings second. He may not even tures in terms of the power and
may see something the other char- prestige they can bring him.
acters have missed (more enemies realize this. . . but his advice will
creeping out of a secret panel, an Nothing else matters. If someoneis
exit tunnel that would allow them alwaysbe tinged with self-interest. not according due to his god, that
to escape, or the stealthy motions This is also a challenging role to someone is going to experience a
of an enemy thief creeping around religious conversion attempt.
behind one of the heroes). But he play, especially if the character re- (This doesn’t mean that the Prose-
won’t hesitate long, particularly ally isgood at heart and isjust con- lytizer necessarily believes his god
when it could mean life or death to cealing from himself the harm of to be the only god. In a land where
his friends. many gods are worshipped, this is
his course of action. Eventually, an uncommon belief. But if he
In role-playing situations, he finds someone who worships sev-
tends to be very analytical, choos- the DM should confront him with eral gods but excludes his deity,
ing his words carefully, thinking the Proselytizer goes on the job.)
the results of his selfishness: Per-
This is an ambitious priest. He Proselytizerscan be of any align-
wants to have political power haps one of his plans or pieces of ment, but most are dutiful priests
within the community, within the advice results in tragedy, and the of good alignment (lawful good,
temple, or both. This doesn’tmean accusations of the PCs or NPCs neutral good, and chaotic good).
he’s bad: he may be acquiring who see through his motives con-
power because he believes he can vince him that he’s been on the
wield it better than others and wrong path. When this happens,
the Politician might wish to
Zhange to another personality

type. On the other hand, some-

times the Politician is never
:aught at it, or never admits his
xlpability to himself, and just

2ontinues rising up the ladder of
power and influence.

In combat situations, the Prose- Counselor is likely to try to per- ing people. In this case, he could
lytizer acts as any other adven- suade the enemy to surrender, to become embittered and turn into a
turer. He might be more gullible run away, orjust to be reasonable. Hypocrite,playing on his good rep-
when it comes to an enemy who This doesn’t mean that he’s stu- utation, or could tone his approach
pretends interest in his deity and pid, though. Confronted with dan- down and become a Motivator, or
professes a desire to be converted, ger, he can hit just as hard and could achieve a measure of wis-
but this will only occasionallytake defend himself and his friendsjust dom and become a Sage Caun-
place in the campaign. (The en- as fiercely. selor.
emy would have to know him and
his motivations pretty well to In role-playing situations, the The Earnest Novice could wise
make this attempt.) Sage Counselor goesout of his way up and realize that the world is a
to help people; if he sees a sad face more complicated and unfathom-
But in role-playing situations, and has some time available to
the Proselytizer talks about little him, he’ll gravitate to the stricken able place than he thought. If he
other than his god, his temple, and person, kindly ask if he can help, becomes disillusioned by this, he
his personal adventures in service and end up wrapped again in some could turn into a Hypocrite. If he
to his god and his temple. He can other person’s troubles. Inciden- simply matures a bit, he’d be a
be quite insufferable at times, in tally, this is a great way to get the Motivator. If he acquires a specific
fact. character involved on new adven- goal, he could become a Crusader,
tures: The DM need merely run a Politician or Proselytizer. And if he
Ultimately, his adventures may tearful NPC past the priest, and an- simply acquires a bit of wisdom or
convince him that there are other other adventure is on its way. perspective, he could become a
things to lifethan the ongoingcon-
version of non-believers: at this Changing Personality Types Philosopher or Sage Counselor.
time, his player may choosefor the The Hypocrite could change
character to take on a new, differ- Sometimes, as mentioned
ent personality. But even then, the above, it becomes necessary for a his personality if he is confronted
character is likely to remain a bit player to re-think his character’s by the harm he causes and cares
more interested in religious con- personality. Perhaps the character at all about it. (If he doesn’t care,
versions than other examples of has outgrown that personality. he won’t change.) If he does
his new personality are. (The Earnest Novice must eventu- change, he’s likely to become a
ally grow up, for instance.) Per- Crusader (trying to expose and
The Sage Counselor haps dramatic events have forced
the character to re-think his goals eliminate other Hypocrites),a Pol-
This priest is primarily inter- and attitudes. (Thisoften happens itician (so he can gain enough
ested in acquiring wisdom and to the Crusader and the Politician.)
passing it on. He likes to help peo- power to weed Hypocrites out of
ple. And since he’s a priest, people Since these Personality Types his order), or even a Sage Coun-
often come to him with their trou- are not part of an official rule or selor (whocan possibly anticipate
bles: he’s always willing to advise the tactics of other charismatic
them. (Depending on his experi- shouldn’t change his character’s users).
ence and personal wisdom, he personality just because he’s
could be quite good at it, too.) bored with it, though: Events in The Motivator could run out of
the campaign should be the fac-
This personality is best suited to tors which influence this change. energy: after too m
lawful good and neutral good Here are some ways it can come
alignments. (A chaotic good priest about. battering himself
could also try to be a sage coun- wall of a h uncaring world, he
selor, but his advice is likely to be The Crusader might achieve his might tire out. In this case, he’s
more dramatic and less well- life-longgoal, or lead one party too likely to becomea more sedate Phi-
reasoned than that of the other many into death and disaster and losopher or Sage Counselor. He
alignments.) realize that all he’s doing is hurt- could conceivably become embit-
tered and become a Hypocrite.
In combat situations, the Sage
The Philosopher isn’t likely to
change. His personality comes
with maturity, not before it. If he
does change, it will probably be be-

cause he’s grown tired of being
dull and undramatic, and he’s

likely to become a Motivator, one Example: The characters have Priest Adventures
anxious for adventure, combat come to a rickety bridge which
and life in general. spans a gorge. They need to cross The DM may want to slant some
the gorge, but the bridge looks of his campaign’s adventures spe-
The Politician will probably dangerous. Should they cross? cifically to his priest player-
change only if he perceives that characters. It‘snot hard to do that;
he’s doing more than good (and if The character’s Intelligence will he has only to build the adventure
he minds that). In this case, he’ll evaluate the bridge’s chances of around one or more of the priest‘s
probably shy away from real re- holding up while they cross over. duties or responsibilities.
sponsibility in the future and be-
come a Philosopher. The character will lookat the state The priest-oriented plot device
of the wood, ropes, nails, how we use to motivate the priest to
The Proselytizer is likely to re- much and where it sags, where it’s action is called a Hook. ’Ib design
alize that he is not serving his god rotted through, and so on, and an adventure around the priest
best simply by converting others then will try to calculate the an- character, the DM has to provide a
to that god’s worship. He’s likely swer to this question: Will the hook that will bring the priest into
then to become a Crusader, so that bridge hold up if the characters the adventure, and do so in such a
he can avidly pursue one of his way that the adventure doesn’tex-
god’s specific goals;a Motivator, so cross over? If the character thinks clude the other player-characters.
that he can bring energy to other it will. then his reply, regardless of
priests of his order: or a Politician, The hook must address the
so that he can improve the stature the group’s current situation and priest in one of his priestly roles or
of his god’s worship through reor- time available, is Yes: They should duties. Below we present a variety
ganization of the priesthood. of hooks and approaches to this
cross. If the character thinks it sort of adventure.
The Sage Counselor, like the
Philosopher, isn’t likely to change; won’t, then his reply will be No: Advisor of the Faithful
this is a personality that is ac- They shouldn’t.
quired with experience. The priest provides guidance to
The character’s Wisdom will the flock. Followers of the temple
All Sense and N o Brains compare the risk to their need and come to him for advice, and he’s
situation. The risk is that the supposed to gwe it.
And now we’re faced with one of bridge will collapseand kill some-
the commonest questions about one,perhaps a party member dear That advice can’t be correct all
clerics and druids: How do you to everyone. What is their current the time, especiallywhen the faith-
role-play a character who has a ful come to him with no-win situa-
high Wisdom scoreand a low Intel- situation? If the party has little tions. When it goes wrong, the
ligence score? How do you play all priest will probably feel guilty.
sense and no brains within an time and is beingpursued by a su- When it goes disastrously wrong,
perior enemyforce, then the riskis and the injured party comes to the
AD&D” game campaign? necessw, more or less regardless priest for help, the priest will prob-
of what the Intelligence thinks of ably be willing (if not anxious) to
Intelligencedeals more with rea- the bridge’s chances; the charac- clean the situation up.
soning power, calculating ability, ter will say Yes, they must try to
and memory retention. Wisdom cross now. If the party has a good As an example of this hook, let‘s
deals with common sense, under- deal of time, then the risk is not say a doting father comes to the
standing of human nature, and necessary: regardless of how safe priest with this story: His son has
judgement. the Intelligence thinks the bridge come to him and asked for money
so that he can buy weapons and ar-
So when you’re role-playing a is, Wisdom saysnottoriskit. Ahu- mor. His son has heard of a bandit
character with a low Intelligence man life is not worth it. encampment where there is much
and a high Wisdom, try to break treasure to be found. The son is
down the situations they face into This is the kind of decision- sure that with the right weapons
the elements which the charac- making process the character can and armor and a little luck h e can
ter’s Intelligence and Wisdom undertake if he wishes to role-play
would analyze. a high-Wisdom, low-Intelligence

character in a campaign. . . and

obviously it can lead to great argu-
ments between them and their
high-Intelligence, low-Wisdom
counterparts.

sneak into the camp when most of Incidentally, we don’t recom- Defender of the Faithful
the bandits are gone, defeat the mend that you face your PCs with
guards, and make offwith the trea- no-win situations such as the one You read about Libels in the De-
sure. The father doesn’t know above very often. It wouldn’t be signing Faiths chapter, under
where the encampment is; his son fair to do this time and time again; “Dutiesof the Priest,” under “Vigi-
won’t tell him. The son is a good the players would (correctly) as- lance.” (If you didn’t, you should
fighter and knows what he’s talk- sume that they could never do now.)
ing about; on the other hand, he is anything right unless the DM arbi-
youthful and a bit overconfident. trarily wanted them to. When the faithfulare threatened
The father asks “Should I give my
Agent of the Priesthood by such a libel, the priest must
son the money for this equip-
ment?” When the priest is a low-level work against it; if he doesn’t, or if
character, still near the bottom of
If the priest says Yes, the father the totem pole of the priesthoods he fails,his people will suffer more
does so. The son tries the raid but hierarchy, his superiors will fre- prejudice and be in more danger
is captured after killing several quently send him on missions. A from people who believe the libel.
bandits. The bandits send back his mission could be nothing more (Therewill be enough who still be-
bloody, broken sword from their than “ W e this letter over to the lieve the libel if it is proved false; if
mystery encampment, with a ran- priest Aclastion in the next vil- the characters can’t prove it false,
som demand which the father (and lage,” or it could be “There’s sup- there will be many more believers
even the PCs) cannot match. posed to be some horrible monster still.)
menacing our temple in the next
If the priest says No,the father village; do you suppose you could In order to bring the other player-
follows his advice. The son tries it round up some of your more vio- characters in on such a situation,
anyway, and is captured because lent friends and go over there and
he was under-equipped: no ban- destroy it for us?” try this technique: One fine day,the
dits died. Again, the son is ran- priest finds another priest (of the
somed beyond the father’smeans. In the latter case, you have a sit- same temple)dead in his chambers.
uation where the priest character The dead man has been murdered,
If the priest says “Maybe, but is the center of attention, and has tom limb from limb. His chambers
my friends and I would like to get ample reason and opportunity to were barred shut from the inside; a
in on it,” the father will take him to invite his non-priest friends in on thief could not have picked the bars.
talk to the son. The son will sound the action. In the priest‘s hand is part of a page
agreeable to the proposition, but from hisjournal, and the rest of the
will sneak offat first opportunity. Defender of the Faith journal is missing. The scrap of pa-
He doesn’twant anyone else horn- per, written in his hand, is part of a
ing in on his adventure. And be- When the followers of one faith longer chronicle: “in mortal danger.
cause he had to charge off make war on the followers of an- When the [insertthe name of an en-
prematurely, he doesn’t know other, the priests get involved in emy temple] summon the thing, it
enough about the bandit encamp the action. Since these wars tend will kill him and wewill be blamed. I
ment and is caught up in snares to take place between entire cul-
set around its perimeter. Here, tures, the player-character priest know they work from the Citadel of
again, he’s captured and ran- will probably be an ally ofthe other Arbright, but could find out no
player-characters. In this case, his more; I think perhaps they heard
somed. temple superiors are likely to ask me as I listened to their talk. It is
In either of these three cases, the him to round up some capable al- time for me to tell -” There the pas-
lies and go on dangerous missions sage ends, obviously when the
father comes back to the priest to into enemy territories, or to hold a priest was interrupted by his mur-
say, in effect, “Your lousy advice crucial mountain pass during a derer.
got my son captured, and I can’t military campaign.
ransom him! Please save him!” This puts the priest-character
Which the priest will be inclined to and his temple in a delicate situa-
tion.Obviously,the enemy temple
do. . . and he’ll probably want to will summon up some sort of mon-
ster to kill some person, probably
have his friends, the other PCs, an important person, and the
along with him. priest’s temple will get the blame.

Obviously, the summoned thing, mony. If he’s convicted, he might a lot of detail and flavor to a cam-
whatever sort of monster it is, can have to escape jail to avoid execu- paign.
penetrate locked chambers with- tion: he might even choose to ac-
out violating the locks and bars. cept execution in order to The DM shouldn’t sit down and
dramatize the injustice of his work up a lot of rituals for each
The priest and his temple have plight. Or, the court might sen- priesthood in his campaign, and
to know more. But the authorities tence him to some suicidal mis- then keep themjuggling around in
will not allow them to search the sion to atone for the crime he his mind until they emerge, one by
Citadelof Arbright, home of a pow- committed. He isn’t required by one, during adventures. But what
erful local family, on this flimsy the court to go on the mission
and perhaps fabricated evidence. alone, but no NPC adventurers he should do is bring individual
Therefore, the priest must sneak want to march with him into cer- ceremonies and priestly events
in, find out what is to be found out, tain doom. Thus the priest char- into his campaign as adventure
acter is again brought into an and story hooks.
. .and escape. He’ll need the help of adventure because of his faith,
and his friends the other PCs, if For example:
his friends. they truly are his friends, will ac- “Jeriash, your party arrives in
And what they do find out, of company him on this quest. the city on October 30th. Now, you
could head on from there the next
course, is that the Clan Arbright is Servant of the God day,but November 1stis Vine Day,
aiding the enemy temple. They to- which commemorates your god-
gether have found a way to sum- The god himself will sometimes dess stopping her work for the
mon an outer-planar creature into send the PC on missions.Often, he year, winter setting in, wine-
sealed chambers, and they plan to will appear to the PC when he is making ceremonies, and so forth:
do this some night when the High alone, or will appear to him in it sort ofbehoovesyou to volunteer
Priest of the player-character’s dreams,and make his wish known: your help at the local temple for
temple is closeted with the king. “You will travel to the wild lands of
The being will kill the king and the Sylvan Curtain and there find that event. . .”
leave the high priest to take the the artifact known as the Eagle-
blame, resulting in damage, per- Spear.Find it; take it from our ene- The Vine Day celebration, a
haps permanent damage, to the mies, who hold it: bring it back and Mardi Gras-like costumed parade
featuring wine-drinking excesses,
faith.. . unless the priest-PC and install it in your temple. . .” is a good opportunity to inject
some color into the current story-
his friends can thwart the plan. When he investigates the Sylvan line, but that isn’t all it has to be.
Curtain and the EagleSpear, the The DM could wrap an entire story
for priest will find that it‘s certain around it; for example, imagine
death to go there alone. He needs trying to capture a group of ghouls
~.2.r.iest - o _ _-:the rules of adventurers of all descriptions and as they roam these streets strewn
the priestly order might force the with drunken, costumed cele-
priest to undertake some actions . .abilities to help him if be’s to pull brants.
that the local authoritiesjust don’t
understand or approve of. (Seebe- -*this adventure successfully. Though the DM shouldn’t work
low, under “Society’s Punish-
ments,” for more on this.) If the K1’ up alla priesthood’susual ceremo-
priesthood is not protected against
prosecution by the secular (non- ignore one of the priest‘s foremost nies in advance, whenever he does
priestly) authorities, then the functions: He’s also the officiator create one, he should make note of
priest might find himself on trial at lots of rites, rituals, celebrations it. If he doesn’t, and the right time
for any illegal action performed in and ceremonies. of year rolls around again, the
the god’sname. players will inevitably remember
Every faith will have its own rit-
Gods usually don’t appear in uals and other specialevents: care- . .it and wonder why Vine Day isn’t
court as defense witnesses. There- ful, judicious use of these will add
fore, the priest-PC must defend being celebrated this year.
himself through legal means Following are descriptions of a
without the benefit of divine testi-
number of different types of rit-

uals. Each of these can be adapted
to the characteristics of different
faiths and different gods. Not all

cultures and not all gods will fea- rive sins require some sort of sacri- mous feast. Communion with the
ture each of these types of rituals: 'ice (such as donation of a god of Kingship will be a private lit-
the DM should decide which apply :herished object to the gods tem- tle coronation where each house-
to which gods and to which soci- >le)or an act of expiation (the sin- hold leader is acknowledged as the
eties. ier doinghis best to straighten out head of the household. Commu-
:he bad situation he caused). nion with the god of Peace will be a
Atonement quiet meditation. Communion
LOW 01 ~ U U SIMVC Leremonies with the god of Love or Fertility is
When the flock sins, or acts 3ased around the calendar, espe- left as a n exercise for your
against the wishes of the god, the zially agricultural gods. Com- imagination.
faith usually has a way for the sin- munities may have celebrations
ner to reenter the gods good gra- or: of Adulthood
ces. This is an act of atonement.
Usually, the bigger the sin, the The day that marks the start of i n e UM needs to decide when
more extravagant the act of atone- spring: youths are considered to reach
ment must be. adulthood in the culture, and then
The day when planting begins: it's possible to have Confirmations
The first part of this process is The day when harvesting starts: of Adulthood.
usually the confession, a formal The beginning of the grape-
meeting of sinner and priest where stomping season; In a culture, this will be handled
the sinner confesseshis deed. This The official start of winter: one of two ways.
puts the priest in the position of The day that the first trade-ship
having to evaluate that sin and 3f the year is launched; Each youth could have a private
then charge the sinner with a The day that some heroic figure, ceremony on his birthday. Alterna-
course of action which will remove a worshipper of the god, is com- tively, all youths born in the same
the stain of sin. memorated: year could be confirmed on one
The day of thanks for the god's specific day of the calendar.
Remember that each different bounty:
god will have different ideas of The day commemorating some Either way, in the ceremony, the
what constitutes sin. To the god of ancient tragedy: priest will acknowledge the youth
Love, for instance, the greatest sin The day of the dead (just before as an adult, and this will be
is denial of love (particularly,grow- or after the night that the ghosts marked by allowing the youth
ing old without having loved)or in- walk the streets); some activity which only adults
terfering in love (messing up The day commemorating some can perform in the culture (for ex-
someone else's romance). great battle in which the god par- ample, carrying weapons in pub-
ticipated; lic, wearing some garment
Too, you must remember that in reserved for adults, receiving a
a pantheistic society (one which And so on.
worships many gods),it is not usu- cr.rnrA n t r ).
ally a sin to do one gods will at the Comn '
expense of another. If one culture ,v........,80n of Birth
worships both a god of Peace and a This is : eremony where the
god of War, fomenting a war is not With this ceremony,the priest vis-
a sin directed at the God of Peace: participants try to commune with its the newborn child and. in a sim-
it's a boon to the God of War. ple ceremony, asks the god's
the god, to invoke a little of his blessings upon the child. This is al-
To just about any god, an insult spirit, to briefly become more like ways done in the presence of wit-
to the god (includingverbal insults the god. nesses, because it's important in the
or desecration of a temple) is con- culturefor othersto witnessthat the
sidered a sin. Here, too, each god will have a child has been born and that spe-
very different ceremony. Commu- cifk people (the parents) acknowl-
Typical ceremonies of atone- nion with the god of Competition edge the child as theirs. This
ment include fasts and medita- will take the form of athletic
tions where the sinner asks games. Communion with the god becomes important regarding ques-
forgivenes of Prosperity will be a great, enor- tions of inheritance or the succes-
sion of the titles of leadership.

. ~~.

Fast the departed and wish him well on In the days before the actual cel-
his voyage: often, they present ebration, the participants go
This is a quiet sort of ceremony; him with small gifts and tokens of through purification. These rituals
the participants do not eat, usually their friendship. of purification involve fasting, rit-
for the period of a day,asa sacrifice ual baths, and abstinence from
to the god or a commemoration of There is the Interment, where physical pleasures.
some historical time of want. the body is laid to rest, usually
with the presents and a variety of On the day of the celebration,
Feast the person’s belongings. In some the participants dress in clothing
cultures of a type we consider appropriate to the ceremony, usu-
The feast can be assmall or great cruel, the person’s slaves and per- ally in featureless clothing of white
a feast as the DM cares to allow, haps even his wife will also be laid (or a color preferred by the god),
and can celebrate just about any- to rest, even if they aren’tdead yet. usually barefoot. They assemble
thing within the faith. Feasts (Alternatively, the body may be at the temple of the god, and per-
should be one of the most common burned, again depending on the form the oath-taking. A high priest
sorts of celebrations within the culture’s views.) administers the oath, where every
faith, and a great feast is a conven- participant swears that he will
ient place to introduce all sorts of There is the Commemoration, keep what he has seen a secret,
adventure elements (challenges where the moumers exchange sto- and never discuss it with one who
from enemies, assassination at- ries of the dead person: this could be is not also an initiate into the mys-
tempts, mysterious clues left in teries. The participant swears in
the soup, etc.). a very solemn or a very merry
event. In any case, it‘s likely to ac- the god’s name, and could suffer
Funeral the god’spunishment if he breaks
company a feast for the weary, hun- his oath.
Interment of the dead is also a gry mourners and participants.
common ceremony. Note that fu- Next, there is the procession. All
nerals don’t have to be solemn af- Libation
fairs: all this depends on what the the priests and participants pro-
culture thinks happens to the de- Libation is the dedication of alit- ceed in a parade to a site that is
parted spirit and how the culture tle of one’sdrink to the gods. Every holy to the god. This is often a ca-
feelsabout it. The funeral could be time a glass is refilled, the charac- vern or a very secluded glade, be-
a time of mourning, a cheerful cel- ter pours a little to his god, either cause there it is possible to keep
ebration of the departed person’s onto the ground or into a basin the celebration hidden from the
life, a drinking-binge so that the dedicated to the god.
mourners can forget their grief, eyes of non-initiates. The proces-
Meditation sion is led by ranking priests, fol-
and so on. lowed by lesser priests in charge of
This consists of sitting, in pri- sacrifices, followed by musicians
In any case, the ceremony can vate or with other participants, who play during the procession.
have several parts. Then come priestesses, who carry
and trying to achieve a ueaceful small caskets (or draw carts bear-
There is the Wake, which takes ing those caskets):the caskets con-
place before the funeral, where state of exalted awarenese tain artifacts sacred to the god.
participants sit overnight with the (These artifacts aren’t necessarily,
body, exchange stories of the dead Mysteries or even usually, powerful magical
person’s deeds, and (in some set- items desired by greedy adventur-
tings) protect the body from viola- These are involved ceremonies ers. They’re more ordinary items:
tion at the hands of evil spirits, which usually celebrate gods of
who might try to inhabit and reani- nature or rebirth. Celebrated an- The rocksacred to the god, the fos-
mate it, or to steal the not-yet- nually or semi-annually,they tend
departed soul. to have several elements and can silized stone showing the god’s
go on for a full day or more, not footprint, the bone from the feast
There is the Farewell, where the counting the rituals which precede in which the god participated, the
participants speak to the corpse of the actual celebration of the mys- statue the god himself blessed, the
teries. Usually, the pattern is cast-off weapon used by the god in
something like this: some famous event, and so on.)

*-..

Then, there are more functionary Then, the three most important Third, there is the performanc
priests: Priests in charge of the up- elements of the mysteries begin. Priests trained as actors perform
coming feast, priests who lead sac- They all take place at night. play which commemorates th
rificial animals (if sacrificeis a part most famous of the god’s st
of this culture’s worship), and First is the recitation, a series of especially the one which
priests who act as sergeants-at- songs or chants concerning the closely deals with the god
arms (they carry non-lethal weap- god, his deeds, his promises to the mands on and relations with hit
ons such as staffs and use them to faithful, his demands on the faith- worshippers. Regardless of th
keep the disorderly orderly). Fi- ful. The recitation sets the mood quality of this play, it is performe
nally, the faithful (non-priest)fol- for the rest of the ceremonies: the at the end of a lengthy proces
lowers come. listening followers are supposed to worship where the followers
be reverential, at least, and the exposed to many powerful for
Once the procession reaches the priests with the staves are still of the faith, and the onlookers
sacred site, there may be a sacred around to keep order and quell (or all elevated to a state of rapt
get rid of) troublemakers. ’Ikouble- during the performance.
meal. Sacrificial animals will be makers tend to be rare.
sacrificed and cooked, and then At the end, there is the re
the feast eaten. The character of Second, there is the display The Once the performance has ce
the meal depends on the character sacred objects carried in those cas- the lights are doused and the
of the god It could be stern and kets are displayed for the faithful. ful are led in pitch darkness fron
somber for a severe god, wild and Since they actually are magical ob- the area where the play was per
orgiastic for a more free-spirited jects sacred to the god,they tend to formed. Once they arrive at tht
god. The sacred meal ends after inspire the faithful with the es- point of departure,
nightfall. sence of the god.

cession home will begin, the the blessing of the god, often acters (including clerics and
torches or lamps are again lit, and through the recital of an ancient or druids), and if the priest violates
among the faithful this journey in famous prayer or part of a holy some tenet or commandment of
darkness is much like being born text. his god, the DM should see to it
again. that the god punishes the priest.
Note that not all cultures de-
Mysteries are an experience for mand that prayer be performed It‘s easy to be unfair when doing
the spirit, not the mind; this is not from a kneeling position or a pose this, though, so the DM also has to
an educational event, but one of obsequience. Vigorous warrior keep an eye on himself: It‘s all too
which is intended to bring the fol- cultures might perform their pray- easy to say, “You should have
lowers closer to the nature of their ers standing erect and facing the known that your god doesn’t want
god. Even in a culture which wor- skies, for example. you to wear red; I’ve said repeat-
ships many gods, only a very few edly that his favoritecolor is blue!”
will have mysteries as part of their Purification That‘s not justifcation for a pun-
worship. ishment of the priest, unless the
When a person comes in contact DM has explicitly stated that the
For the DM, the mysteries are an with some contamination (a taboo gods priests must always wear
opportunity to introduce dramatic substance),he must be purified. In blue or face divine consequences.
events into the story. During the some cultures, whenever a person
mysteries, it is appropriate for the has killed another honorably, Minor Offenses
god to appear to one of his PC fol- though he is not considered to
lowers and charge that character have sinned, he must be purified of Minor offenses which the god
with an important mission, for in- the killing. This ceremony in- punishes include such things as:
stance. Or it could be that during volves a ritual bathing or washing
the celebration of the mysteries, of the hands (or other contami- Making ajoke about the god (and
one character will receive some nated part) under the supervision even then, it must offend the god;
of a priest, who invokes the god’s some gods have a sense of humor);
sudden insight (agiftfrom the god) blessing during the washing.
Failing to perform all required
into some event which has been Sacrifice priestly duties in a day (for exam-
puzzling or confounding the ple, “not having the time” to listen
player-characters for some time. In some cultures, animals are to the problems of one of the faith-
sacrificed to the glory of the god. fuland offerguidance); and
Naming One god may demand that the
whole animal be destroyed; an- Becoming annoyed with the
This ceremony is often a part of other will demand that the animal gods demands.
the Confirmation of Birth event: be killed for it and some part of it
The child is given his name before destroyedfor him, but that the rest The god punishes such minor of-
witnesses. In some cultures, of the beast can be used asthe wor- fenses by withholding some of the
though, the child might be given a shippers see fit. priest‘s spells on the followingday.
use-name when he is born, and
won’t be given his true name (or Obviously, human sacrifice is Inappropriate Weapon and
will choose his true name) years something demanded only by the Armor U s e
later, when he is old enough to un- most evil or unsympathetic of
derstand its significance. It may be gods. If a priest violates his order’s re-
that in this culture the character’s strictions on weapon and armor
true name is supposed to be kept a Priests and Punishment use, the god will punish him for it.
secret, and the child tells it only to There are two different types of vi-
one priest, so that the god might Priests are servants of their >lationof this restriction, and a dif-
know it. gods, and therefore can’t just do krent punishment for each.
anything they want whenever
Prayer they want. The DM must keep an If the priest deliberately violates
eye on the activities of priest char- h e restriction because he wants to
Prayer is one of the most com- for instance, if he puts on a set of
mon of rituals; it involves asking netal armor when he isn’t sup-
Josed to), this is a willful disobedi-

ence and makes the god very an- night following the betrayal. The important artifact from the god or
gry. He immediately does 2-12 god will sternly ask the character reveal some critical information
(2d6) points of damage to the his motives and order him to re- about the god.
priest and takes away all the spells turn to proper worship.
he granted to the priest today, and When this happens, the god will
doesn’t let the priest have any The third time this happens, the punish the priest (assuming he
more for 1-6(ld6)days. Even then, god will immediately reduce the survives the betrayal, which most
the priest must undergo rituals of character to 1hit point and change gods will).
purification and undertake an act his character class. The priest will
of atonement if he’s to have spells become an ordinary fighter at an The minimum punishment the
again. experience level two lower than priest can expect is the character
the priest’s level (minimum first class change described above.
If the priest violates the restric- level); his normal hit point total
tion for the best of reasons (for in- and possessions will be unaf- A medium punishment the god
stance, if a gargoyle is strangling fected. Until the character under- will bestow is instant death.
his friend, and he must use a for- goes a severe ritual of atonement,
bidden weapon in order to be able the god will despise the character A greater punishment from the
to harm the creature),the god does and plague him with little ills, dis- god involvesthe ruin of the charac-
1-3(ld3) points of damage to the eases, and enemies. Once the char- ter. The god can kill or merely take
priest (after the tight is done) and, acter atones for the deed, the god away the character’s family and
if the priest does not undertake a loved ones, curse him with afflic-
ritual of purification at his earliest forgives him. . . but the character tions such as blindness and lame-
opportunity, will take away the ness, see to it that all his enemies
priest‘s spells on the next day. will still be a fighter. find out about his weaknesses,
Sometimes, a god might deliber- give extra power and weapons to
- :traydlof Goals his enemies, force the priest’s
ately confront the character with a loved ones to betray him, and so
f the priest deliberately violates test of the character’s faith.For ex- on. This doesn’t happen all at
ample: Part of the gods worship once, but every episodefor the rest
the goals of the god, then he‘s in demands that anyone who tram- of the character’s life introduces
ples his sacred flowers be blinded. some new, homble calamity until
real trouble. For instance, if a Then, the god befuddles the the character ismercifully killed or
priest of the god of war advocates priest‘s wife or daughter, and that kills himself. In any case, the char-
peace when war is in the offing, or character stumbles across the sa- acter is no longer a viable one to
if a priest of the god of love tells cred flowers where only the priest play and the player should dispose
young lovers to wise up and forget of him as quickly as possible.
about romance, then the god will can see it. If he conceals the sin,
definitely be offended. At the ultimate level, the god
he’s punished. If, regretfully, he performs the greater punishment
The fmt time this happens, the prepares to cany out the punish- above, and then tortures the char-
ment, the god will be pleased. The acter’s spirit forever in the after-
god will givethe priest an unmistak- god might interrupt the punish- life.
able warning. This could be a heart ment, or wait until it has been car-
attack, costing 50% of the priest‘s ried out and then restore sight to Note that this punishment isn’t
current hit points. It could be a por- the priest’s loved one. just for priests. If a non-priest be-
tentous destructionof a statueof the trays the god in the same fashion,
god while the priest is present. It Divine Retributic i the god will visit the same sort of
could be an earthquake or other punishment on the character.
warning. The warning doesn’thave I t could be that tne priest will be-
to be imrnediatelyafterthe betrayal, tray more than the god’susual dic- Society’s Punishments
hut will be soon after. tates. The priest might turn on the
god, betraying him utterly. This Unless the priesthood is the
The second time this happens, can happen when another deity, State Religion, priests are not im-
the god will appear to the priest. It an enemy god, persuades the mune to the law for their deeds.
doesn’t have to be in person, right priest to serve him instead, and
then; it might he in a dream, the persuades the priest to steal some If, for example, the priest of the
god of Justice and Revenge hears

about some great injustice, wan- his priest the spells the priest Once again, this is a sign that the
ders over to the offender’s house wants. priest cannot act with utter impu-
and kills the offender, then he’s nity. He is dependent on the good
guilty of murder. There’s no ques- In most situations, when the will of his god, and his god will not
tion. He’ll be arrested, tried, and priest prays for his spells, he gets look kindly on a priest who brings
(the efforts of his priesthood not- the ones he desires. But if the god about the deaths of other followers
withstanding) probably convicted and DM wish, he could get differ- of the god. The god who says, “Yes,
the only thing that could save him ent spells on some occasions. my son, kill offmy other followers
would be a declaration from the so that you can have more gold’ is
god, which is usually not forth- There are two usual causes for a foolish god indeed.
coming. this to happen:
Toning Down the Cleric
Therefore, when priests decide If the god is displeased with the
to do something which is illegal in priest for some minor infraction, The cleric class is a very power-
the culture, they should do so cir- he might give the priest spells ful one. He has access to sixteen
cumspectly. If they wish to accom- which dictate the priests’ actions Spheres of Influence (more than
plish the desires of their god when for the day. A fighting-priestmight any other priest-class), good ar-
those wishes are illegal, they’ll emerge from his meditation with mor, and fair weapons. It‘sbeen a
have to do so in a fashion which only healing spells on hand, for in- sign of the cleric’sadvantages that
protects them. stance, a clear sign that the god he is the preferred character class
wants him to act in a supporting of many, many campaigns.
When Priests Renounce Their role today.
Faith If this ultra-efficientcharacter is
Or, if the god knows of a specific too powerful in your own cam-
It’s possible for a priest to re- opponent that the priest will be paign, you might prefer to alter
fighting today, he might give the him. If you want to do this, tell all
nounce his faith - to declare that priest spells appropriate to defeat- the cleric players well ahead of
ing that enemy. time and give them the option to
he is no longer a priest of a particu- convert their clerics to priests of
lar god. When that happens, he In neither case will the god send specific mythoi provided in the
has one of two choices. a telegram explaining why he’s Sample Priesthoods chapter.
done what he’s done. The priest
He can stop belonging to the has to accept what the god hands Then, establish the following
priest-class and start over as a him that day, and has to do so rules about the Cleric class:
rogue, wizard, or priest of another without knowing why.
god, according to the rules for ( 1) Keep his weapon and armor
dual-class characters. Naturally, Priestly Followers limitations exactly as they are.
he loses all his granted powers.
It‘s good to remember that the (2)Establish that the Cleric has
If his priesthood had Good Com- priest‘s followers, the ones who Major Access to only three spheres
bat Abilities, he can lose one expe- come to him around 8th level, are
rience level and become a fighter; not mere spear-carriers or meat for [onemust be All:the other two are
if Medium Combat Abilities, he the monsters. They haven’t shown
can lose two levels and become a up so that they can be thrown to player’s choice) and Minor Access
fighter: if Poor Combat Abilities, thejaws of dragons in order to give to two spheres (player’s choice).
he can start over as a fighter ac- the priest more time to get away. The player must choose his four
cording to the rules for dual-class They’veshown up to serve the god sphere options when the Cleric is
characters. He’ll never again be a and the priest. First created (or converted): it may
priest. not be changed afterwards. Each
That‘s why, in the Designing 3eric may choose a differentset of
When Gods Bestow Spells Faiths chapter, we talked about spheres.
giving them names and person&-
Another effect of the fact that ties, and likewise talked about the Naturally, you should only do
priests are servants of their gods is priest getting fewer and fewer re- this if you personally feel that the
this: The god doesn’t have to give placements if he wastes the fol- deric class is too powerful in your
lowers he has. 2ampaign. If you don’t, don’t
:hange him.

In this chapter, we’ll talk about herit one. Regardless, a priest who stand over an empty water-basin
some ofthe gear that the priest car- reaches 6th level without having and perform a ritual of prayer.
ries and uses in the performance of acquired a copy of the canon will They pray for the gods blessing
his duties, and also about new be viewed with some suspicion by and protection for an entire hour.
weapons and combat styles used commoners and his fellow priests, At the end of that time, they each
by some priests. who will question his devotion. cast a spell, and do so simultane-
ously: One casts create water, the
Priestly Items The priest should carry the can- second casts protection from evil,
non whereverhe travels, and ifit is and the third casts purify food &
The most common and impor- stolen should make every effort to drink. Halfa gallon of holy water is
tant tools of the priest (asfar as his recover it.The canon is not a magi- created.
culture is concerned, anyway) cal work, and does not act as a
aren’t his weapons and armor. Holy Symbol when used to con- (The create water spell can cre-
They are the actual symbols of his front vampires or similar mon- ate up to four gallons of water, but
priesthood. sters. the protection fromevil and purify
food & drink used this way can
Not all of these symbols are use- Not all faithsdo have an individ- only create half a gallon of holy wa-
ful in combat situations, but ual, written canon. Some faiths ter. Therefore, for every two extra
they’re appropriate for role- share a common canon. Some priests, one to cast each of those
playing the priest. Let‘s discuss transmit their canon orally; it is two spells,an extra half-galloncan
them briefly. not written down anywhere. Some be created. Nine priests together
have none at all. can create four gallons.)
The Canon
Holy Symbol The tremendous expenditure of
Many faiths have a canon, or magic and the time involved are
holy book. This work was written Most faiths have a holy symbol, the reasons why a single dose of
at some time in the distant past, ei- some sign which serves as a repre- holy water costs 25 gp to the ad-
ther by the god or by a believer sentation for the god and his faith. venturer. Obviously, any three
obeying the word of the god. This This symbol is usually duplicated priests can create holy water “for
book usually describes important in wood, glass, or precious metals free” so long as they are second
events of the past in which the god and carried by priests of the god. level or higher and are priests of
participated, explains the require- Ordinary followers of the god also the same god.
ments the god makes on his fol- can carry the holy symbol.
lowers, and explains the god’s Holy symbols are enchanted in
philosophy, goals, and concerns. Every priest player should know the same way. Each enchantment
what his holy symbol looks like. takes an hour, requires three
If the faith has a canon, then the The DM can either decide, or let priests (substituting sanctuary for
priest will wish to have one. Books the player of the priest design it. (If create water),and requires a mate-
are expensive commodities: As- he does allow the player to do so, rial component: Some object
suming that it’sa mere 200 sheets the design of the symbol is still carved with the god’ssymbol.
(400pages) in length, according to subject to the DM’s approval.)
the costs in the Player’s Priestly Vestme
Handbook, you’re talking about It’s easy to create symbols for
400 gp in paper alone (2 gp per most deities, and there are sugges- As mentioned in the Designing
sheet): binding will cost another tions for symbols for all the gods Faiths chapter, each priesthood
50 gp, for a total of 450. Sometime represented in the Sample Priest- has its own distinctive costume,
between 3rd and 5th level, the hoods chapter. and priests normally wear these
priest should have saved or accu- priestly vestments whenever they
mulated enough money to com- Holy Water perform their official duties. Some
mission a copy of the canon: must wear them whenever they
perhaps, if he is lucky, someone Holy water, that bane of vam- appear in public.
will gift him with one, or he will in- pires and many other monsters, is
created in the following way: It adds color to a campaign when
the players know what these vest-
In a temple of the god, three
priests of second level or higher

iI
New Weapons List

Speed
Factor

t This weapon is intended for one-handed use, and may not be used two-handed. In the case of nunchaku, t m -

* handed flourishes are common, but blows are struck with one hand only at a time.
This weapon is intended for two-handed use only.

+ The “Type” category is divided into Bludgeoning (B),Piercing (PI,and Slashing ( S ) .This indicates the type of

ments look like. If the DM doesn’t The Maul is a polearm with a priests of nature-orientedgods can
wish to design the priestly vest- heavy bludgeoning head a t the use it.
ments for all the priest player- end. It is therefore a Bludgeoning
characters, he should allow the weapon, and is appropriate for the The Scythe is a large, curving
players to do so (subjectto his final use of clerics and specific priests blade that is sharp only on the un-
approval). who aren’t allowed to use bladed
weapons. When a priesthood al- derside of the blade (the concave
New Weapons lows the use of polearms, this in- edge); the blade is attached to a
cludes the maul (and the twisted pole some 5-6’ in length.
Several new weapons are men- mancatcher, for that matter); but The wielder uses the weapon two-
tioned at various times in this sup- handed. The scythe is a harvesting
plement. Below, we’ll describe when maul alone is listed, the tool used by farmers to cut down
them. priest cannot use the other po- their grain; as a weapon, it is sym-
bolic of gods of agriculture, time,
New Weapons Descriptions learms. and death.
The Net is a weighted combat
The Bill is a short hook on a Unarmed Combat
short cross-handle, and is a net on the end of a rope. Like the
weapon derived from the sort of lasso, it is thrown to spread over a The following material i s repro-
hook used to spear and haul in fish target: if it hits, it can be pulled duced in part from The Complete
or to carry sides of meat around. closed, and the trailing rope used Fighter’s Handbook, so that play-
to pull the victim around. Also like ers of FightingMonkswill have ac-
The Lasso is a rope with a loop the lasso, extensive rules for this cess to the rules for martial arts
at the end: it‘s thrown at targets, weapon’s use appear in The Com- combat.
and on a successful hit the loop plete Fighter’s Handbook.
settles around the target. The Attacking Without Killing
wielder can then pull the rope taut The Nunchaku is an oriental
and seriously inconvenience his Before proceeding, you should
target. Extensive rules for the weapon and only suitable for familiarize yourself with the “At-
lasso appear in The Complete oriental-based campaigns. It con- tacking Without Killing” rules
Fighter’s Handbook. sists of two wooden handles con- from the Player’s Handbook,pages
nected by a short chain or short 97-98,
length of cord. It was originally de-
rived from an agricultural imple-
ment, which is why so many

I

.quipment and Combat

l!\lfi

Knowing Punching, Wrestling, round and with his Martial Arts Descriptions of the
Martial Arts skill in the next.) Maneuvers

As you saw in the Player’s Hand- When attacking with Martial Body-Punch This is a straight-
book, everybody knows how to Arts skill, the character makes a forward punch into the target‘s
punch and wrestle. Any character, normal attack roll against the nor- stomach or chest.
from the doughtiest warrior to the mal Armor Class of the target. (If
spindliest scholar, knows hot to the attacking character has armor Elbow Shot: With this maneu-
on, he doessufferthe “ArmorMod- ver, the attacker plants his elbow
twist someone’sarm or punch him
ifiers For Wrestling” from ’lhble 57 into the target’s chest, side, or
in the jaw. (Naturally,such factors on page 97 of the Player’s Hand- stomach.
as strength, dexterity and experi- book.)Any other normal modifiers
ence level have a remarkable effect are applied to the attack roll (from Graze: This could have started
on how often one hits and how the attacker’s Strength bonus, for out as any sort of maneuver, but it
much damage one does.) example). merely grazed the target: it wasn’t
landed firmly.
Martial Arts are another matter. If the attack roll is successful,
By “MartialArts,’w’e mean generic the attacker consults the table be- Low Kick The attacker kicks
the target in the leg or thigh.
unarmed combat. This isn’t karate, low for the result of the attack. If,
kung fu or tae kwan do: It‘smovie- for instance, the character rolls a Head Bash: The attacker slams
style martial arts with no basis in 13 to hit, the result is a Body- his forehead into the target’s face,
Punch, doing 1 point of damage which is a stout maneuver.
real-worldfighting styles.
(plus the character’s damage ho- Head Punch This is a good,
A character may only know Mar- nus from Strength, if any). strong blow with the fist to the ene-
tial Arts if the DM declares that my’s head, particularly his jaw.
this style is available for charac-
ters to learn. In many campaigns, High Kick The attacker kicks
it won’t he. In most oriental cam-
paigns, it will be. In campaigns Martial Arts Results Table the target in the upper body some-
where the occidental and oriental where: Stomach, chest, back, or
worlds have a lot of contact with
one another, it could easily be. Attack MartialArts Damag.e%KO shoulder.
Roll Maneuver Knee-Shot: The attacker brings
’lb know Martial Arts at its basic
level, the character must spend his knee up into the target’s stom-
one Weapon Proficiency slot on
Martial Arts. That’s all it takes. ach or thigh.
Once he’s spent that proficiency
slot, he can use Martial Arts in the Side Kick With this maneuver,
same way that other people use
Punching and Wrestling, as we’ll 17 VikPunch 2 -1 the attacker has time to prepare
describe immediately below.
5 and launch a very powerful side-
Martial Arts Results
16 HeadBash 2 5 1 ways kick (which may be at the
At its basic level. Martial Arts
skill is used just like Punching and end of a cinematic leap).
Wrestling. Martial Arts combat oc-
curs when a character attacks Vitals-Kick:The attacker kicks
with his bare hands, feet,and even
head. No weapons are used. (A his target at some vulnerable
character can hold a weapon in
one hand and nothing in the other, 11 Graze point: Groin, kidney, neck, solar
attacking with his weapon one 10 Body-Punc.. plexus, etc.

9 LowKick Vitals-Punch:The attacker puts
his fist into one of the vulnerable

points mentioned immediately

above.

- dr less Specializing in Punching

Any priest can specialize in
Punching (orWrestling, or M&tial
Arts). Of all the types of priests,
though, only the Fighting-Monk
can specialize in more t h a n one

1

unarmed combat style. The DM Monk rolls and successfully hits, damage but has a superior chance
may decide for his own campaign as you know, the roll itself deter- of accomplishing a knockout). He
that Priests other than the mines which maneuver was made. changes themaneuverfrom aRab-
bit Punch to a Kidney Punch.
Fighting-Monk may not special- But on a successful hit, the
ized in any unarmed combat, or Punching Specialist can modify Only if a character Specializesin
that certain types of priests (forex- that result. If he has a chart bonus Punching and thus has a chart bo-
ample, of the god of peace) may nus can he affect his punch results
not. of + 1, he can choose the maneu- in this manner.

In order to do specialize in ver one higher or one lower on the Specializing in wrestling
Punching, the Priest must devotea chart.
Weapon Proficiency slot to Punch- The same rules given for Spe-
ing. When he does, he gets the fol- Example: The fighter-monk cializing in Punching also apply to
lowing benefits: Zbshipunchesan orc. Herollsa 18 Wrestling. If a Priest spends one
to hit, and this turns out to be a Weapon Proficiency slot on Wres-
He gains a + 1 bonus to all his at- tling, he is a Wrestling Specialist
tack rolls with Punching; successful hit. On the “Punching
and Wrestling Results” chart, we He gains a + 1bonus to all his at-
He gains a + 1 bonus to all dam- see that thisisaRabbitPunch. But
tack rolls with Wrestling;
age with Punching: and Zbshiisa Punching Specialistwith He gains a + 1 bonus to all dam-
He gains a + 1 chart bonus with
a chart bonus of + 1. He can choose age with Wrestling (that is, all his
all Punching attacks. maneuvers will do 2 points of dam-
The chart bonus is a reflection of instead for the result to be a Wild age plus his Strength bonus, and
Swing (which does less damage
the character’s superior accuracy and has an inferior chance of ac-
with Punching. When the Fighter- complishing a knockout) or a Kid-
ney Punch (which does the same

continued holds cause cumula- As described in the writeup of vers covered by his chart
tively 1 more point of damage for the Fighting-Monkkit, the charac- (seethe example below).
each round they are held): and ter can save some of his Weapon
Proficiencies. A Fighting-Monk, once he
He gains a + 1chart bonus with specialized in a fighting style,
all Wrestling attacks. For example, at first level, he only devote one Weapon
could specialize in Martial Arts, ciency slot to that style per
So if, for instance, he rolls a 9 to then spend another slot at second ence level. Therefore, a flrst-18vel
hit, and that hits, his result would level to specialize in Wrestling, FightingMonk could specialize in
normally be a Leg lock. If he then another at third level to spe- Martial Arts by devoting two sbts
chooses, he can change it to an El- cialize in Punching. to it. He could not devote ano&er
bow smash or a Headlock. slot to it until second level, and
However, if he first specializes in then could not devote another klot
ecializing in Martial Arts Punching or Wrestling, he cannot until third level, and 50 on. 1
specialize in Martial Arts at the
i‘he same rules given for Spe- next experience level. He can only Let’suse thatch
cializing in F‘unching and Wres- spend one slot per experience
tling also apply to Martial Arts, level, meaning that he’ll first gain someone, and that%i
with one exception. No character proficiency with Martial Arts at
knows Martial Arts automatically. one level, then specialize at the a*.
Therefore, the character must first next level.
spend one Weapon Proficiency slot Combat chapter of The C
to know Martial Arts in the first Usually, the character, if he
place, and then must spend one wants to specialize in more than
more to become a MartialArts Spe- one style, will take either Martial
cialist. Arts or Punching, not both, and
then take Wrestling. Martial Arts
As usual, when the character be- and Punching overlapone another
comes a Martial Arts Specialist: somewhat, but Wrestling is useful
when the character is being held.
He gains a + 1bonus to all his at-
____--‘his Aption or--, for
tack rolls with Martial Arts;
Fighting-Monks(andWarrior char-
He gains a + 1bonus to all dam- acters): other Priests may not do
this.
age with Martial Arts; and
He gains a + 1chart bonus with If a Fighting-Monk continues to
devote Weapon Proficiency slots to
all Martial Arts attacks. an unarmed combat style after he
So if he rolls a 15to hit, and the is alreadyspecializingin it, he gets
the followingbenefits.
attack hits, he has performed a
For each additional slot devoted
Side Kick. If he uses his + 1 chart to his art, as before:

bonus, he can change that into an He gains a + 1bonus to all his at-
Elbow Shot or a Head Bash. He’ll
probably choose to change it to a tack rolls with his combat style:
Head Bash, for the improved dam-
age and improved chance of KO. He gains a + 1bonus to all dam-

More Than One Style age with his combat style: and

Only a Fighting-Monk can spe- He gains a + 1chart bonus with
cialize in more than one unarmed
combat style. A Fighting-Monk all attacks in that combat style.
can only specialize in one of the
three unarmed combat styles With chart bonuses of +2 or more,
when he is first created. After first
level, however, he may specialize the character can choose any ma-
;-*heother two. neuver within the range of maneu-

I

127

The following works were help- Lurker, Manfred, Dictionary of
ful in the creation of TheComplete Gods and Goddesses,
Priest Manual: Devils and Demons, Routlege
and Kegan Paul Inc., London
and New York, 1987. Woodstock, New York,
1987.
Meyer, Marvin W., editor, The An- Seltman, Charles, The 'lkelve
cient Mysteries: A Olympians, Thomas Y.
Sourcebook, Perennial Library Crowell Co. (Apollo Editions),
(Harper & Row, New York, 19C
Publishers),