Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Any Priest
• Ability Requirements: Stamina 13, Willpower 14, Leadership 12
• Alignments: Non-Chaotic
• Starting Cash: By class

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: Specialization (see below)
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: By class

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class, plus Martial
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Alertness, Intimidation, Wild Fighting
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Ancient History, Armorer, Blacksmithing, Blind-Fighting, Chanting, Endurance, Etiquette, Heraling, Heraldry, Herbalism, Inquisitor, Intimidation, Land-based Riding, Modern Languages, Raise Army, Running, Sign Language, Signalling, Spellcraft, Weaponsmithing.
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

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

• Major: All, Charm, Combat, Guardian, Protection, War, Wards
• Minor: Healing

Overview: A war priest is a member of a religion who has been selected to undergo intensive training as a warrior. He is expected to defend his creed at all times, and may be called upon to do so in single combat against an evil monster or members of an enemy religion. They burn with the indignation of their violent gods, wielding weapon and holy symbol in harmony for the faith they believe.

The war priest is a character devoted to spreading his faith. The war priest seeks to defend the faithful of his religion, combat the church’s enemies, and bring his religion to the heathen. Even if they serve chaotic deities, a war priest may not be chaotic, as chaotic characters tend to hold personal freedom to be as important (if not more important) than the teachings the war priest is attempting to spread.

Description: War priests dress in a manner typical of priests of their faith, but will typically wear the best armor allowed by their faith.

Role-Playing: Like Crusaders and Paladins, the war priest sees himself as a holy warrior who stands for a cause. war priests are formidable adventurers, but untrustworthy allies, as they always put interests of their faith ahead of those of their party.

When not actively seeking out enemies of his faith to destroy or non-believers to convert, the war priest can often be found defending the temples and monasteries of his faith. Many such temples maintain armies of warrior-priest and combat-trained laymen for use against rival faiths, or to advance their political views in the outside world. These temple-bound war priests will most often be encountered on some mission for their temple-chasing down fleeing enemies of the faith, uncovering and ending plots against their monastery, or exploring for sites on which to build new temples.

War priests usually attend to the spiritual needs of warriors, considering others as less worthy of their attention. They foretell when the gods want their followers to go to war. They prepare the troops with inspirational sermons and clerical blessings. They fight alongside their followers, bringing the wrath of their gods upon their enemies.

Special Abilities:

• War priests receive a +1 bonus on all saving throws as a boon from their deity.
• Each war priest with Weapon Specialization in a single weapon at 1st level. This choice is often dictated by their religion, such as the warhammer for Tyr or battleaxe for Tempus (consult your DM).
• The war priest begins with a specialized weapon, free of charge. This weapon is specially blessed and acts in all respects as a magical weapon +1; it can even harm monsters that can only be hit by magical weapons. The weapon may have added bonuses when used to attack certain types of monsters, such as undead (consult your DM). The blessed weapon belongs to his church and he is charged with its care. It may never be lent and, if lost, his paramount duty becomes its recovery. A war priest who finds a superior weapon and decides to keep it must return his blessed weapon to the main temple of his religion as soon as he is able.
• When in combat against a member of an opposing religion or philosophy, or in defense of their own religion’s followers, the war priest gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls (this stacks with the bonus for wielding their chosen weapon).
• All war priests possess a religious fanaticism that can cause them to become filled with an almost berserk energy they can use to increase their combat skills. This fanaticism lasts for one turn and can be used once per day. While in this frenzied state, a war priest gains an additional +1 on attack and damage rolls, one additional attack per round, a +1 bonus to AC, the ability to dodge non-magical missile weapons by making a successful saving throw vs. breath weapon, and the ability to continue to fight when below 0 hit points. If already fighting in a fanatic state, he can continue to fight until he reaches -10 hp or the enemy is defeated, whichever comes first. At that point, the war priest collapses and dies.

Special Disadvantages:

• The war priest must service his priesthood first and foremost. He must try to convert or destroy those who oppose his religion, and must defend the follower’s of his faith with his life. If he refuses to accept a challenge or a quest for his religion, he loses all of his special abilities and his religion will send another war priest to reclaim his blessed weapon.
• A war priest must also live by certain religious principles. He must refrain from eating meat and from excesses in personal behavior, such as gluttony, lust, expressions of pain, etc.
• Finally, the character gains full experience points only for defeating opponents in the cause of defending or upholding his religion’s goals or any task assigned to him. All other cases earn the war priest only half experience points.

---

Return to Universal Kits