When traveling with Priests there are usually many benefits due to their high social standing, though there are some darker cults whose prophets are feared and shunned. Regardless of the sect they follow, Priests are respected everywhere for their powers and as the flesh and blood representatives of their divine masters. Though some groups of adventurers are wary of the influence of Priests; few people doubt that there is more to this cosmos then the material world and many more learn that the gods are indeed active in all aspects of life on Aeres. The primary attribute for this class is Wisdom, with Charisma as secondary.
Class Abilities:
Level | Title | Attribute | Class Ability Table |
1 – 4 | Acolyte | Wis: 12
Cha: 10 |
Sacred Blessing 1: A Cleric’s deity provides him a sacred ability, which is dependent on mythos and sect. See Below. |
5 – 8 | Priest | Wis: 13
Cha: 11 |
Sacred Blessing 2: A Cleric’s deity provides him a sacred ability, which is dependent on mythos and sect. See Below. |
9 –12 | High Priest | Wis: 14
Cha: 12 |
Sacred Blessing 3: A Cleric’s deity provides him a sacred ability, which is dependent on mythos and sect. See Below. |
13 – | Patriarch | Wis: 15
Cha: 13 |
Sacred Blessing 4: A Cleric’s deity provides him a sacred ability, which is dependent on mythos and sect. See Below. |
Special Advantages:
Holy Rites
– The Talismans of Priests are a function of calling on the power of the divine. As such they require no material components for casting save their Holy Symbol.
Faith
– With the symbol of his faith held forth boldly and calling upon the power of his deity, the Priest has the ability to either rebuke or command the foul undead and creatures of the Lower or Outer Planes. Whether a Priest can rebuke or command the particular being is dependent on alignment. Those of good alignment repel and destroy these abominations of life, while those of evil alignment repel and dominate the lesser servants of the lower planes, if the Priest is of Neutral Alignment then the secondary characteristic determines the effect with those of Chaotic bent repelling and commanding and those of Lawful bent rebuking and destroying.
Non-Weapon Proficiencies:
The Order of the Priest has taught him some basic things that will be important in the performance of his duties and so he gains these additional skills.
-Education 3
-Etiquette
-Healing
-Theology
-Undead Lore
-Local History
-Rhetoric
Sacred Blessings:
Sacred Blessings are unique abilities or effects that are granted to those found worthy to represent a god by becoming a Priest. These blessings are specific to a deity and usually represent the sphere of influence inside a mythos to which a deity is aligned. These may be permanent effects or effects usable x number of times a day, week, or year. The following tables are examples of the types of Sacred Blessings that Priests might expect to see.
Sacred Blessings Table:
Sphere | Blessing 1 | Blessing 2 | Blessing 3 | Blessing 4 |
Air | Turn Earth Creatures | Obscuring Mist | Wind Wall | Air Walk |
Death | Cause Fear | Animate Dead | Create Undead | Wail of Banshee |
Earth | Turn Air Creatures | Stoneskin | Wall of Stone | Earthquake |
Evil | Protection from Good | Desecrate | Unholy Aura | Blasphemy |
Fire | Burning Hands | Fire Resistance | Fire Shield | Incendiary Cloud |
Good | Protection from Evil | Holy Smite | Holy Aura | Summon Planar Creatures |
Knowledge | Foresight | Divination | Detect Thoughts | True Seeing |
War | Combat as Warrior | Spiritual Weapon | Divine Power | Blade Barrier |
Rebuking the Undead:
Priests of all alignments have the ability to wield their divine power against the undead. Those of good or lawful alignment eventually gain the ability to destroy them, while those of evil or chaotic alignment are able to dominate and command them into service. The Priest may attempt to rebuke or turn undead 3 times + Charisma Reaction Bonus per day. In order to Rebuke the Undead, the Priest must hold forth his Holy Symbol boldly.
To resolve the encounter the player rolls a D20 and compares the result against the Rebuking Undead Table. One roll is made regardless of the number of undead encountered and a successful turn results in 2D6 undead rebuked. If there is a mixed group of undead, the lowest Hit Dice creatures are turned first. As a Priest advances in levels he is able to turn creatures of the lower planes as well as Templars of oppositional alignments. Templars are not forced to retreat but are held in abeyance by the Priest and cannot advance against him or his allies. Templars turn the undead as a Priest two levels below their own.
Rebuking / Commanding Undead Table
Type or HD of Undead | Level of Priest | ||||||||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13+ | |
Skeleton, 1HD | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D | D* | D* | D* | D* | D* |
Zombie | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D | D* | D* | D* | D* |
Ghoul, 2HD | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D | D* | D* | D* |
Shadow, 3-4HD | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D | D* | D* |
Wight, 5-6HD | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D | D* |
Ghast | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D |
Wraith, 6HD | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | T | D |
Mummy, 7HD | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | T |
Spectre, 8HD | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T |
Vampire, 9HD | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
Ghost, 10HD | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
Liche, 11HD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 10 |
Special** | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 13 |
*An additional 2D4 creatures of this type are turned.
**Special creatures include unique undead, free-willed undead of the Negative Material plane, certain Greater and Lesser Powers, and those undead that dwell in the outer planes.
Becoming a Priest:
The way of the Priest is the way of service. Those who enter a particular order or whose families have dedicated them to service at a young age become completely immersed in the life and lifestyle of an acolyte. They spend their time learning the rites, texts, and trials of their faith. Along with this standardized training they will be taught to call the Talismans of their god, as well as any other secret learning particular to that god’s sphere of influence. The Priest must swear oaths of service to their god and dedicate their life to advancing the causes of that god. The character must have a minimum of 12 Wisdom and 10 Charisma.
Advancing as a Priest:
Priests must return to a church or sanctuary of their faith to receive training as they progress in levels. Only other Priests of their faith can teach them, without exception. They will likely be required to turn over most, if not all of their material wealth but conversely all they need to live will also be supplied by their Order. Furthermore, any costs associated with training will be covered by the church.
Experience Table:
Experience | Level | Hit Dice (d8) |
0 | 1 | 1 |
3,000 | 2 | 2 |
6,000 | 3 | 3 |
11,000 | 4 | 4 |
22,000 | 5 | 5 |
44,000 | 6 | 6 |
80,000 | 7 | 7 |
130,000 | 8 | 8 |
210,000 | 9 | 9 |
260,000 | 10 | 10 |
320,000 | 11 | 11 |
395,000 | 12 | 12 |
515,000 | 13 | 13 |
Religious Talismans:
Priests do not cast spells as Mages do, nor is the power they wield the same in its intrinsic nature. Therefore, these manifestations of faith are not called Spells, but rather they are referred to as Talismans. Each level a Priest gains the ability to use a certain number and level of Talismans, which may be adjusted according to his Wisdom score or a potential divine gift. Each morning the Priest must enter prayer and meditation in order to renew his Talismans.
Talisman Table
Priest
Level |
Talisman Level | ||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
1 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
3 | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
4 | 6 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – |
8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – |
9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
10 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
11 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – |
12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – |
13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
14 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
15 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Talisman List
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | |
1 | Bless | Aid | Agility | Cure Disease | Atonement | Animate Object | (Un)Holy Aura |
2 | Command | Alignment | Beauty | Death Ward | Break Enchant. | Banishment | (Un)Holy Word |
3 | Create Water | Augury | Cont. Light | Detect Lie | Commune | Blade Barrier | Astral Form |
4 | Cure L. Wnds | Chant | Create F / D | Divination | Cure C. Wnds | Call Animals | Control Weather |
5 | Death Watch | Detect Charm | Cure Blind | Exorcise | Dispel | Find the Path | Divine Vengeance |
6 | Detection | Endurance | Cure S. Wnds | Holy Weapon | Disrupting Weather | Forbiddance | Earthquake |
7 | Divine Favor | Find Traps | Dispel Magik | Intellect | Flame Strike | Heal | Gate |
8 | Endure Element | Gentle Repose | Feign Death | Lower Water | Locate Person | Part Water | Hallow |
9 | Inv. To Animals | Hold Person | Glyph | Neut. Poison | Mark of Justice | Planar Servant | Regenerate |
10 | Inv. To Undead | Resistance | Locate Object | Obscure | Plague | Spk. w/Monster | Repulsion |
11 | Light | Silence 15’ | Prayer | Protection 10’ | Plane Shift | Stone Tell | Restoration |
12 | Protection | Slow Poison | Remove Curse | Sp. Immunity, L. | Quest | Wind Walk | Resurrection |
13 | Purify F / D | Speak w/ An. | Restoration, L. | Speak w/Plants | Raise Dead | Word of Recall | Sp. Immunity, G. |
14 | Remove Fear | Spirit Weapon | Shield Other | Sticks to Snake | Restoration, G. | Zone of Truth | Succor |
15 | Sanctuary | Status | Speak w/Dead | Tongues | Spirit Wall | Exaction | Symbol |
16 | Shield of Faith | Strength | Vestment | Wisdom | True Sight | Magik Font | Wind Walk |
Talisman Descriptions:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7