Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Cleric
• Ability Requirements: Intuition 12, Health 14
• Alignments: Neutral (LN, NG, TN, NE, CN)
• Starting Cash: By class

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: Short Bow (Air), Stone-setting Hammer (Earth), Torch (Fire), or Trident (water).
• Allowed Weapons: Dagger, Footman’s Pick, Light Lance, Net, Quarterstaff, Sling, Spear, Whip.
• Allowed Armors: Hide Armor, no shields

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By priest class, plus Survival
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Survival (any one)
• Required Proficiencies: Weather Sense (Air), Direction Sense (Earth), Fire-building (Fire), Swimming (Water)
• Recommended Proficiencies: Agriculture, Ancient History, Animal Handling, Animal Lore, Animal Training, Astrology, Boating, Brewing, Carpentry, Direction Sense, Endurance, Fire-building, Genie Lore, Herbalism, Land-based Riding, Local History, Mountaineering, Religion, Set Snares, Signalling, Spellcraft, Swimming, Tracking, Tumbling, Weather Sense.
• Forbidden Proficiencies: Appraise, Bargain, Begging, Bureaucracy, Haggling.

Priest Spheres: These replace the standard spheres for the priest’s class.

• Major: All, Animal, Combat, Elemental (choose one), Necromantic, Plant, Summoning, Wards
• Minor: Protection, Sun

Overview: Idol Priests, believe that divinity is found in all things, and that through worship of certain items of power, they may come to understand the ebb and flow of mystical power and divinity in the universe. Each idol priest is primarily concerned with learning the power of a specific element (air, earth, fire, or water). Their beliefs apparently predate the worship of the known gods of the Realms, though their records are primarily verbal as opposed to written, kept for generations by other idol priests and sympathetic bards or druids.

Idol priests claim to draw their strength from the basic energy of the land itself, though they do respect gods of the earth, agriculture, and natural forces. Some outlanders mistakenly call them druids, because both groups have similar attitudes, abilities, advancement, and spells. Like druids, idol priests believe that all forces are in balance—but from the idol priests’ viewpoint, they are continually moving against one another. The idol priest symbol is six arrows arranged in an arc, all pointed downward.

Idol priests are particularly common in the Empires of the Sands (Amn, Calimshan, and Tethyr) where they are known as “kahins”, and in the lands of Chondath and Chessenta, where they are known as “legbas”. Idol priests of the different elements are usually on good terms with one another and cooperate with one another to keep evil elemental spirits (such as genies or grue) from amassing too much personal power and thus upsetting the balance.

Idol priests are masters of their element and the creatures who rely upon it. Thus, air legbas are the masters of flying creatures, earth legbas are masters of tunnelling creatures, fire legbas claim mastery over creatures of the desert, and water legbas are masters of the seas and aquatic creatures.

Description: Idol priests who worship a specific deity usually dress in accordance with the traditions of the rest of the religion’s clergy. Those idol priests that do not follow a deity tend to dress in utilitarian garb, often in colors reminiscent of their chosen element—white and gray for air, browns and yellows for earth, red and orange for fire, and green and blue for water. When forced into combat, they wear armor made from the hides of animals over which they have dominion (such as camel-hides for fire legbas or sharkskin for water legbas).

Role-Playing: As eternal balancers, idol priests are more devoted to the land, which is everlasting, than to people, who like matches are struck once and then extinguished. “The land” includes all expanses of nature, from desert to sea, arid waste to verdant valley. In fact, to destroy the desert would be as great a crime to an idol priest as torching a field. For this reason idol proests are often considered obstructions to the growth of cities and consequently to the power of the merchant classes.

Idol priests are wanderers and teachers, instructing men and women to live within their boundaries rather than expanding to excessive lengths. These clerics have the most amiable relationship with others who live in peace with the environment, such as barbarians, druids, mystics, and even some pirates. Kahins are more uneasy with those who are severed from the land and who are by nature city dwellers—-for example, merchants and the organized clergy.

Special Abilities:

• An Idol Priest can prepare wizard spells of his chosen element as priest spells of the same level. The Compiled Wizard Spells includes information on elemental schools of magic.
• At 6th level, the Idol Priest gains the ability to use speak with animals at will for animals associated with his chosen element, these are: birds (air), burrowing creatures (earth), desert animals (fire), and fish (water).
• At 8th level, the Idol Priest can use charm animal (as the spell charm person/mammal) on animals of the type with which he can speak. He can affect a number of hit dice of creatures equal to his one-half his priest level (round down) each day. A normal saving throw vs. spells applies.
• At 10th level, the Idol Priest can summon creatures of the type he can speak with. Each day he may summon up to 1 hit die of creatures per 2 priest levels (round down). Summoned creatures serve the priest until dismissed, slain, or one turn has elapsed.
• At 16th level and at each level gained thereafter, the idol priest gains one of the following benefits:
  • Immunity to one specific type of weapon (e.g., flight arrow, short sword, or horseman’s mace), including conjured and magical versions of that weapon.
  • Immunity to one element (air, earth, fire, or water) and all attacks based on that element. The Aged Master would not be harmed by entering the corresponding elemental plane.
  • Immunity to one creature (e.g., cobra, ghoul, efreeti) provided that the Aged Master makes no attack upon that creature. Once the Aged Master makes such an attack, the immunity is nullified against that individual.
• At 20th level, idol priests are so in tune with their surroundings that they cannot succumb to death by aging or natural causes; however, they still can be slain by a malicious force.

Special Disadvantages:

• Idol Priests cannot turn or command undead.
• Each Idol priest must select a specific element to specialize in. Each element has a required weapon and non-weapon proficiency (see above), which must be taken by the Idol Priest when created.
• Although technically clerics, Idol Priests use the Specialty Priest table for experience advancement. They also follow a hierarchy identical to that of Druids. Idol Priests of 16th level or higher are known as Aged Masters.

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