Ruins of Adventure
Cleric
The most common type of priest is the cleric. Clerics are the epitome of their faith, gaining their powers and abilities directly from their gods, and are expected to always act in their god’s interests in the mortal realm. The cleric may be an adherent of any religion.
Base Class Statistics:
- Ability Requirements: Intuition 9
- Alignments: Any
- Experience Chart: Cleric
- Hit Dice: d8
- Maximum Hit Dice: 9d8
- Additional Hit Points: +2 per level beyond 9th
- Attack: Priest
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Saves:
- Paralyzation/Poison/Death: as Priest
- Rods/Staves/Wands: as Priest
- Petrification/Polymorph: as Priest
- Breath Weapon: as Priest
- Spell: as Priest
- Proficiencies:
- Allowed Weapons: by Religion
- Allowed Armor: by Religion
Class Features:
All Clerics must belong to a Religion, and gain additional powers, proficiencies, and spells depending on their choice of deity. Many Religions place additional requirements on their Clerics, depending on Race, Alignment, or Ability Scores.
Clerics are sturdy soldiers, although their selection of weapons is limited. They can use a fair number of magical items including priest scrolls, most potions and rings, some wands and rods, staves, armor, shields, and magical versions of any weapons allowed by their order.
Spells are the main tools of the cleric, however, helping him to serve, fortify, protect, and revitalize those under his care. He has a wide variety of spells to choose from, suitable to many different purposes and needs. A cleric’s Spheres are determined by his choice of Religion.
The cleric receives his spells as insight directly from his deity (the deity does not need to make a personal appearance to grant the spells the cleric prays for), as a sign of and reward for his faith, so he must take care not to abuse his power lest it be taken away as punishment (see Edicts and Anathema below). In addition to those spells gained by leveling (see the Table below), the cleric gains a number of bonus spells based on his Intuition score. Bonus spells of a given level are not gained until the cleric could cast at least 1 spell of that spell level normally.
| Priest | Spells | ||||||
| Level | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 10 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 11 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 12 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| 13 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 16 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 17 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 18 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 19 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| 20 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
Clerics, regardless of religion, can always count on assistance from temples of their faith. Assuming a local temple of the appropriate faith is available, a cleric can request and expect the following aid (and perhaps more):
- Safe haven, food, and board within the temple. In exchange, the cleric is expected to help the other clergy present. This hospitality is automatically extended to as many companions as the priest has levels. (A generous and gracious temple may extend it to anyone.)
- A loan. Moneys borrowed may equal up to twice the cleric’s level times a hundred (in gold pieces). The loan must be repaid within 30 days.
- Muscle. An cleirc may request the services of a number of 1st-level fighters equaling twice the priest’s level. All fighters will be equipped with chain mail and the traditional weapon of their faith (i.e. warhammers for Tyr or battle axes for Tempus). The time of service cannot exceed the cleric’s level in days, and the purpose of the mission should somehow advance the cause of the priest’s faith.
- A cleric assistant of the same faith. The helper’s experience level equals half that of the priest served, rounded down; up to a maximum of 4th level. The assistant may be kept for up to one week per level of the priest before having to leave.
Upon reaching 8th level, the cleric automatically attracts a fanatically loyal group of believers, provided the character has established a place of worship of significant size. The cleric can build this place of worship at any time during his career, but he does not attract believers until he reaches 8th level. These followers are normal warriors, 1st-level fighters, ready to fight for the cleric’s cause. The cleric attracts 20 to 200 (2d10 x10) of these followers; they arrive over a period of several weeks. After the initial followers assemble, no new followers trickle in to fill the ranks of those who have fallen in service. The DM decides the exact number and types of followers attracted by the cleric. The character can hire other troops as needed, but these are not as loyal as his followers.
At 9th level, the cleric may receive official approval to establish a religious stronghold, be it a fortified abbey or a secluded convent. Obviously, the stronghold must contain all the trappings of a place of worship and must be dedicated to the service of the cleric’s cause. However, the construction cost of the stronghold is half the normal price, since the work has official sanction and much of the labor is donated. The cleric can hold property and build a stronghold any time before reaching 9th level, but this is done without church sanction and does not receive the benefits described above.
Common Cleric Powers
Turn Undead:
Many clerics are granted power over the undead—creatures that exist in a form of non-life, neither dead nor alive. The cleric is charged with defeating these mockeries of life. His ability to turn undead enables him to drive away these creatures or destroy them utterly. Some of the more common undead creatures are ghosts, zombies, skeletons, ghouls, and mummies.
When encountering undead, a cleric can attempt to turn the creatures. Only one attempt can be made per character per encounter, but several different characters can make attempts at the same time (with the results determined individually).
Attempting to turn counts as an action, requiring one round and occurring during the character’s turn in the initiative order. The mere presence of the character is not enough-a touch of drama from the character is important. Speech and gestures are important, so the character must have his hands free and be in a position to speak. However, turning is not like spellcasting and is not interrupted if the character is attacked during the attempt.
To resolve a turning attempt, look on the Table below. Cross-index the Hit Dice or type of the undead with the level of the character. If there is a number listed, roll 1d20. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than that listed, the attempt is successful. Only one die is rolled regardless of the number of undead the character is attempting to turn in a given round. The result is read individually for each type of undead. If the letter “T” appears, the attempt is automatically successful without a die roll. If the letter “D” is given, the turning utterly destroys the undead. A dash means that a cleric of that level cannot turn that type of undead. A successful turn or dispel affects 2d6 undead. If the undead are a mixed group, the lowest Hit Dice creatures are turned first.
Turned undead bound by the orders of another (for example, skeletons) simply retreat and allow the character and those with him to pass or complete their actions. Free-willed undead attempt to flee the area of the turning character, until out of his sight. If unable to escape, they circle at a distance, no closer than ten feet to the character, provided he continues to maintain his turning (no further die rolls are needed). If the character forces the free-willed undead to come closer than ten feet (by pressing them into a corner, for example) the turning is broken and the undead attack normally.
| Undead Type | Cleric | Level | ||||||||||
| or Hit Dice | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10-11 | 12-13 | 14+ |
| Skeleton (1 HD) | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 |
| Zombie | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 |
| Ghoul (2 HD) | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D2 | D2 | D2 |
| Shadow (3-4 HD) | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D2 | D2 |
| Wight (5 HD) | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D | D2 |
| Ghast | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D | D |
| Wraith (6 HD) | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T | D |
| Mummy (7 HD) | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T | T |
| Spectre (8 HD) | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 | T |
| Vampire (9 HD) | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| Ghost (10 HD) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 7 |
| Lich (11+ HD) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 | 10 |
| Special1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 19 | 16 | 13 |
1 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.
2 An additional 2d4 creatures of this type are turned.
Command Undead:
Some clerics can attempt to command undead creatures instead of Turning them.
This is resolved in the same way as a turning attempt. A maximum of 12 undead can be commanded at any one time. A “T” result means the undead automatically obey the cleric, while a “D” means the undead become completely subservient to the priest. They follow his commands (to the best of their ability and understanding) until turned, commanded, or destroyed by another.
Evil-aligned clerics that have the ability to Turn or Command Undead also have the ability to affect paladins, turning them as if they were undead. However, since the living spirit of a paladin is far more difficult to quell and subvert, paladins are vastly more difficult to turn. An evil priest attempting to turn a paladin does so as if the priest were three levels lower than he actually is. Thus, a 7th-level evil priest would turn paladins on the 4th-level column. He would have only a slim chance of turning a 7th-level paladin (7 HD) and would not be able to turn one of 8th level at all (using the level of the paladin as the HD to be turned). All “D” results against paladins are treated as “T” results.
Edicts and Anathema
Each God in the Realms her their own Edicts and defines certain actions that are Anathema for their Priests. A Priest who acts according to his god’s edicts earns one-and-a-half times the normal number of experience points (150%) from any action associated with enforcing the Edicts.
Contrarily, a Priest who goes against the edicts of his god and performs an action that is Anathema is punished. The gods are pragmatic however, and often allow all but the most corrupt repeat-offenders off with only a series of warnings. Lay followers, are not held to the same high standards as Priests, and are neither punished, nor rewarded, for upholding these tenants.
Each time a Priest performs an action that could be interpreted as Anathema, he immediately loses the highest level spell he has prepared. If he has multiple spells of the same level prepared, the DM will select one at random. Repeat offenses result in further loss of spells.
If the Priest performs an Anathema action when he has no spells prepared (having either cast them all or lost them), he becomes subject to a Ban. A priest under a Ban loses the ability to prepare or cast further spells and to use any of the granted powers of his Religion for the next day (24 hours). If he again performs an Anthema act during this time, the Ban is extended to 1 week. Further violations during the time of the Ban extend the period to 1 month, then 1 season, and finally 1 year.
Changing Religions: A priest who is in good standing with his god is also bound to that god—his soul is not his own, and even should his faith waiver, no other god will accept his service so long as his own god still claims him.
However, a Priest who has been subjected to a Ban due to repeated disobedience is free to seek a new patron. While the Ban is in place, he may seek out a Temple of another god and petition the deity and its clergy to accept him into the fold. This almost always requires some service on the Priest’s part, and proof of his desire to dedicate himself to the new god’s edicts. Once accepted by the new faith, he becomes in all respects as Priest of his new Religion, retaining his present level, but replacing all powers and abilities granted by his old Religion with the new.
Absolute Anathema:
If a fifth violation be performed during the Ban (after the ban has reached a year), the Priest is stripped of all powers by his god. He loses ALL experience and benefits of his Priest class (including hit dice, attack bonuses, saving throws, and even proficiencies). He is reduced to 0 experience points and must select a new Class.
A Priest who has been completely stripped of power by his god is shunned by all the gods. None will accept a Priest who has proven himself so absolutely faithless. All prior experience is lost and he must re-train in a new profession.
The sole exception is those gods who are truly antagonistic to each other (such as The Blessed Afflictor and Duvan’Ku). Such gods will accept the worship of those who so flagrantly insult their nemesis. In such cases, the ex-Priest may be accepted as a Priest by the new religion, but must still start his career anew as a 1st-level Priest with 0 experience.
by:
Brand_Darklight