dspeyer
2010-09-18, 09:54 PM
A lot of people seem to feel that tier 3 is DND's sweet spot for fun: capable but not world-breaking. This leaves a hole in the divine slot, as there isn't much between Favored Soul and Healer. Enter the Village Priest -- intended to outshine the cleric on rare occasions, without being generally game-breaking.
Village Priest
They also serve, who... serve.
Not everyone who desires to serve a deity can spend years training, learning warfare and memorizing spell-lists. Some have communities that need them immediately. Others cannot find teachers. Some are simply impatient. For them exists the path of the Village Priest. It is path of less glory and power than that of the cleric, but life-affirming Village Priests are welcome anywhere, and the greatest of Priests can be as world-shaping as anyone.
Alignment: Village Priests have the same alignment restrictions as clerics. As this is the path of greater service and lessor power, good Priests are much more common than evil ones, except where racial deities are evil (such as among orcs).
Religion: Village Priests may serve any deity. The chaotic chuches tend to encourage this path more than the lawful ones.
Relations with Other Classes: Some clerics (especially in the church of Hextor) look down on Village Priests, but usually all in the service of the same deity recognize eachother as siblings.
levelbabfortrefwillspecial0123456789
1th+0+0+0+2turn undead64
2th+1+0+0+3improved domain powers65
3th+1+1+1+3663
4th+2+1+1+4devotion664
5th+2+1+1+46653
6th+3+2+2+5advanced learning6664
7th+3+2+2+566653
8th+4+2+2+6devotion66664
9th+4+3+3+6666653
10th+5+3+3+7advanced learning666664
11th+5+3+3+76666653
12th+6/+1+4+4+8third domain6666664
13th+6/+1+4+4+866666653
14th+7/+2+4+4+9advanced learning66666664
15th+7/+2+5+5+9666666653
16th+8/+3+5+5+10devotion666666664
17th+8/+3+5+5+106666666653
18th+9/+4+6+6+11advanced learning6666666664
19th+9/+4+6+6+11greater advanced learning6666666665
20th+10/+5+6+6+12supreme advanced learning6666666666
Class Skills: Concentration, Diplomacy, Knowledge(religion), Heal, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Skill Points: 4+int
Hit Dice: d6
Weapons and Armor: Village Priests are proficient with their deity's weapon as an (su) ability and with one chosen simple weapon as an (ex) ability. They are not proficient with any armor or shields. However, since they do not suffer spell failure and rarely use physical skills or weapons, they often wear heavy armor anyways.
Spellcasting: Wisdom determines what level spells a Village Priest can cast, their save DCs and any bonus spells. Like a beguiler, a Village Priest may cast any spell he knows without preperation, but has little control over which spells he knows. His available spells are the union of five lists:
Orisons: A Village Priest may cast any 0th level spell available to clerics.
Life or Death: A Priest who turns undead has access to the Life list. One who rebukes has access to the Death list. These are spells that are straightforward applications of positive or negative energy.
Life list:
1
Bless: Allies gain +1 on attack rolls and saves against fear.
Bless Water M: Makes holy water.
Cure Light Wounds: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
Remove Fear: Suppresses fear or gives +4 on saves against fear for one subject + one per four levels.
Vigor, Lesser
2
Consecrate M: Fills area with positive energy, making undead weaker.
Cure Moderate Wounds: Cures 2d8 damage +1/level (max +10).
Delay Poison: Stops poison from harming subject for 1 hour/level.
Make Whole: Repairs an object.
Remove Paralysis: Frees one or more creatures from paralysis or slow effect.
Restoration, Lesser: Dispels magical ability penalty or repairs 1d4 ability damage.
3
Cure Serious Wounds: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level (max +15).
Remove Blindness/Deafness: Cures normal or magical conditions.
Remove Curse: Frees object or person from curse.
Remove Disease: Cures all diseases affecting subject.
Vigor, Mass Lesser
Vigor
4
Cure Critical Wounds: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level (max +20).
Restoration M: Restores level and ability score drains.
Neutralize Poison: Immunizes subject against poison, detoxifies venom in or on subject.
5
Break Enchantment: Frees subjects from enchantments, alterations, curses, and petrification.
Cure Light Wounds, Mass: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Raise Dead M: Restores life to subject who died as long as one day/level ago.
Hallow M: Designates location as holy.
Vigor, Greater
6
Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass: Cures 2d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Heal: Cures 10 points/level of damage, all diseases and mental conditions.
Undeath to Death M: Destroys 1d4 HD/level undead (max 20d4).
7
Cure Serious Wounds, Mass: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Regenerate: Subject’s severed limbs grow back, cures 4d8 damage +1/level (max +35).
Restoration, Greater X: As restoration, plus restores all levels and ability scores.
Resurrection M: Fully restore dead subject.
8
Cure Critical Wounds, Mass: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
9
Heal, Mass: As heal, but with several subjects.
True Resurrection M: As resurrection, plus remains aren’t needed.
Death List:
1
Bane: Enemies take -1 on attack rolls and saves against fear.
Cause Fear: One creature of 5 HD or less flees for 1d4 rounds.
Curse Water M: Makes unholy water.
Inflict Light Wounds: Touch deals 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
2
Desecrate M: Fills area with negative energy, making undead stronger.
Hold Person: Paralyzes one humanoid for 1 round/level.
Inflict Moderate Wounds: Touch attack, 2d8 damage +1/level (max +10).
Shatter: Sonic vibration damages objects or crystalline creatures.
3
Animate Dead M: Creates undead skeletons and zombies.
Bestow Curse: -6 to an ability score; -4 on attack rolls, saves, and checks; or 50% chance of losing each action.
Blindness/Deafness: Makes subject blinded or deafened.
Contagion: Infects subject with chosen disease.
Inflict Serious Wounds: Touch attack, 3d8 damage +1/level (max +15).
4
Inflict Critical Wounds: Touch attack, 4d8 damage +1/level (max +20).
Poison: Touch deals 1d10 Con damage, repeats in 1 min.
5
Inflict Light Wounds, Mass: Deals 1d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Slay Living: Touch attack kills subject.
Unhallow M: Designates location as unholy.
Symbol of Pain M: Triggered rune wracks nearby creatures with pain.
6
Antilife Shell: 10-ft. field hedges out living creatures.
Create Undead: Create ghouls, ghasts, mummies, or mohrgs.
Harm: Deals 10 points/level damage to target.
Inflict Moderate Wounds, Mass: Deals 2d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
7
Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass: Deals 3d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Destruction F: Kills subject and destroys remains.
Blood to Water: 2d6 Con damage
8
Inflict Critical Wounds, Mass: Deals 4d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Symbol of Death M: Triggered rune slays nearby creatures.
9
Implosion: Kills one creature/round.
Soul Bind F: Traps newly dead soul to prevent resurrection.
Alignment: A Village Priest is a champion of his alignment(s), and has spells based on it. Some of these spells are based on the priest's alignment and some on the opposite alignment. A priest who is neutral treats both ends of that axis as opposed (so a neutral good priest could cast protection from evil, chaos or law, but could only make a weapon good aligned). Some of these spells come with extra restrictions, limiting them to alignment-based uses.
Alignment list:
1
Detect Opposed Alignment: Reveals creatures, spells, or objects of selected alignment.
Protection from Opposed Alignment: +2 to AC and saves, counter mind control, hedge out elementals and outsiders.
2
Align Weapon: Weapon becomes your alignment
3
Magic Circle against Opposed Alignment: As protection spells, but 10-ft. radius and 10 min./level.
4
Dismissal: Forces a creature to return to native plane, but only if they have opposed alignment as a subtype
5
Atonement F X: Removes burden of misdeeds from subject, but only for a subject who wishes to be of your alignment*
Dispel Opposed Alignment: +4 bonus against attacks.
6
Banishment: Banishes 2 HD/level of extraplanar creatures, but only if they have opposed alignment as a subtype
7
Word of Alignment (aka Blasphemy/Holy Word/Dictum/Word of Chaos): Kills, paralyzes, weakens, or dazes non-agreeing subjects.
8
Cloak/Shield/Aura of alignment F: +4 to AC, +4 resistance, and SR 25 against opposed spells.
9
Miracle, but only for purposes in accordance with alignment*.
* For purposes of Atonement and Miracle, Priests of nature deities may treat reverence for nature as an alignment component.
Domains: A Priest begins with two domains and gains a third at 12th level. They must be from his deity's list, and represent his personal, spiritual focus. All these spells are added to his list.
Advanced Learning: At levels 6, 10, 14, and 18 a priest selects a single spell from the cleric list whose level is less than the highest he can cast. At level 19, he may select one of any level. At level 20, he may select one of any level from any divine list.
Turn Undead
A Village Priest turns or rebukes undead the same way that a cleric does, except that instead of having a daily limit, he must wait a given time between attempts for his internal energy to recover. The delay is determined by his charisma score at time of turning:
chawait time
< 6 1 hour
6 - 9 5 minutes
10 - 11 1 minute
12 - 13 1d8+1 rounds
14 - 15 1d6+1 rounds
16 - 17 1d4+1 rounds
18 - 19 1d3+1 rounds
20 - 21 1d2+1 rounds
22 - 25 2 rounds
> 25 1 round
Effects that would give you additional attempts per day (such as the Extra Turning feat) instead increase your effective charisma score by that amount for purposes of reset time. The time is the same whether the attempt was used on actual undead or for some other purpose (e.g. divine feats).
You may spend two turn attempts at once (to power a feat or special ability) but the recovery time is doubled. You may spend three but the recovery time is quadrupled. You may never spend more than three.
Improved Domain Powers: Each domain carries with it a special ability. For Village Priests, these abilities are enhanced. This applies to both starting domains and to additional domains gained later. The nature of the enhancement depends on the nature of the ability:
If the ability is usable a limited amount per day, a priest can replenish it (allowing another full day's usage) by meditating for five minutes.
If the ability is a numeric bonus, that bonus is increased by 50%, rounding up.
If skills are added to the priest's class list, he also gets a +3 sacred bonus on all checks to them.
If the priest can turn or rebuke non-undead, he gains a +4 bonus to caster level for purposes of those turnings (but not turning actual undead).
If the ability keys of half your class level, it now keys of of 3/4 your class level.
If the ability is a feat whose effects could be described by the preceding, apply the preceding.
If the ability is a feat that cannot be described by the preceding, gain another feat. If possible, the new feat should have the original feat as a prerequisite. If that is not possible, then the new feat should have the same descriptors as the original. If that is not possible, then any feat is permitted.
Devotion: At levels 4, 8 and 16, you gain a devotion feat associated with one of your domains. You need not meet the prerequisites. If you already have all devotion feats associated with your domains, you may instead take any feat for which you do meet the prerequisites.
Village Priest
They also serve, who... serve.
Not everyone who desires to serve a deity can spend years training, learning warfare and memorizing spell-lists. Some have communities that need them immediately. Others cannot find teachers. Some are simply impatient. For them exists the path of the Village Priest. It is path of less glory and power than that of the cleric, but life-affirming Village Priests are welcome anywhere, and the greatest of Priests can be as world-shaping as anyone.
Alignment: Village Priests have the same alignment restrictions as clerics. As this is the path of greater service and lessor power, good Priests are much more common than evil ones, except where racial deities are evil (such as among orcs).
Religion: Village Priests may serve any deity. The chaotic chuches tend to encourage this path more than the lawful ones.
Relations with Other Classes: Some clerics (especially in the church of Hextor) look down on Village Priests, but usually all in the service of the same deity recognize eachother as siblings.
levelbabfortrefwillspecial0123456789
1th+0+0+0+2turn undead64
2th+1+0+0+3improved domain powers65
3th+1+1+1+3663
4th+2+1+1+4devotion664
5th+2+1+1+46653
6th+3+2+2+5advanced learning6664
7th+3+2+2+566653
8th+4+2+2+6devotion66664
9th+4+3+3+6666653
10th+5+3+3+7advanced learning666664
11th+5+3+3+76666653
12th+6/+1+4+4+8third domain6666664
13th+6/+1+4+4+866666653
14th+7/+2+4+4+9advanced learning66666664
15th+7/+2+5+5+9666666653
16th+8/+3+5+5+10devotion666666664
17th+8/+3+5+5+106666666653
18th+9/+4+6+6+11advanced learning6666666664
19th+9/+4+6+6+11greater advanced learning6666666665
20th+10/+5+6+6+12supreme advanced learning6666666666
Class Skills: Concentration, Diplomacy, Knowledge(religion), Heal, Sense Motive, Spellcraft
Skill Points: 4+int
Hit Dice: d6
Weapons and Armor: Village Priests are proficient with their deity's weapon as an (su) ability and with one chosen simple weapon as an (ex) ability. They are not proficient with any armor or shields. However, since they do not suffer spell failure and rarely use physical skills or weapons, they often wear heavy armor anyways.
Spellcasting: Wisdom determines what level spells a Village Priest can cast, their save DCs and any bonus spells. Like a beguiler, a Village Priest may cast any spell he knows without preperation, but has little control over which spells he knows. His available spells are the union of five lists:
Orisons: A Village Priest may cast any 0th level spell available to clerics.
Life or Death: A Priest who turns undead has access to the Life list. One who rebukes has access to the Death list. These are spells that are straightforward applications of positive or negative energy.
Life list:
1
Bless: Allies gain +1 on attack rolls and saves against fear.
Bless Water M: Makes holy water.
Cure Light Wounds: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
Remove Fear: Suppresses fear or gives +4 on saves against fear for one subject + one per four levels.
Vigor, Lesser
2
Consecrate M: Fills area with positive energy, making undead weaker.
Cure Moderate Wounds: Cures 2d8 damage +1/level (max +10).
Delay Poison: Stops poison from harming subject for 1 hour/level.
Make Whole: Repairs an object.
Remove Paralysis: Frees one or more creatures from paralysis or slow effect.
Restoration, Lesser: Dispels magical ability penalty or repairs 1d4 ability damage.
3
Cure Serious Wounds: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level (max +15).
Remove Blindness/Deafness: Cures normal or magical conditions.
Remove Curse: Frees object or person from curse.
Remove Disease: Cures all diseases affecting subject.
Vigor, Mass Lesser
Vigor
4
Cure Critical Wounds: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level (max +20).
Restoration M: Restores level and ability score drains.
Neutralize Poison: Immunizes subject against poison, detoxifies venom in or on subject.
5
Break Enchantment: Frees subjects from enchantments, alterations, curses, and petrification.
Cure Light Wounds, Mass: Cures 1d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Raise Dead M: Restores life to subject who died as long as one day/level ago.
Hallow M: Designates location as holy.
Vigor, Greater
6
Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass: Cures 2d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Heal: Cures 10 points/level of damage, all diseases and mental conditions.
Undeath to Death M: Destroys 1d4 HD/level undead (max 20d4).
7
Cure Serious Wounds, Mass: Cures 3d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
Regenerate: Subject’s severed limbs grow back, cures 4d8 damage +1/level (max +35).
Restoration, Greater X: As restoration, plus restores all levels and ability scores.
Resurrection M: Fully restore dead subject.
8
Cure Critical Wounds, Mass: Cures 4d8 damage +1/level for many creatures.
9
Heal, Mass: As heal, but with several subjects.
True Resurrection M: As resurrection, plus remains aren’t needed.
Death List:
1
Bane: Enemies take -1 on attack rolls and saves against fear.
Cause Fear: One creature of 5 HD or less flees for 1d4 rounds.
Curse Water M: Makes unholy water.
Inflict Light Wounds: Touch deals 1d8 damage +1/level (max +5).
2
Desecrate M: Fills area with negative energy, making undead stronger.
Hold Person: Paralyzes one humanoid for 1 round/level.
Inflict Moderate Wounds: Touch attack, 2d8 damage +1/level (max +10).
Shatter: Sonic vibration damages objects or crystalline creatures.
3
Animate Dead M: Creates undead skeletons and zombies.
Bestow Curse: -6 to an ability score; -4 on attack rolls, saves, and checks; or 50% chance of losing each action.
Blindness/Deafness: Makes subject blinded or deafened.
Contagion: Infects subject with chosen disease.
Inflict Serious Wounds: Touch attack, 3d8 damage +1/level (max +15).
4
Inflict Critical Wounds: Touch attack, 4d8 damage +1/level (max +20).
Poison: Touch deals 1d10 Con damage, repeats in 1 min.
5
Inflict Light Wounds, Mass: Deals 1d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Slay Living: Touch attack kills subject.
Unhallow M: Designates location as unholy.
Symbol of Pain M: Triggered rune wracks nearby creatures with pain.
6
Antilife Shell: 10-ft. field hedges out living creatures.
Create Undead: Create ghouls, ghasts, mummies, or mohrgs.
Harm: Deals 10 points/level damage to target.
Inflict Moderate Wounds, Mass: Deals 2d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
7
Inflict Serious Wounds, Mass: Deals 3d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Destruction F: Kills subject and destroys remains.
Blood to Water: 2d6 Con damage
8
Inflict Critical Wounds, Mass: Deals 4d8 damage +1/level to many creatures.
Symbol of Death M: Triggered rune slays nearby creatures.
9
Implosion: Kills one creature/round.
Soul Bind F: Traps newly dead soul to prevent resurrection.
Alignment: A Village Priest is a champion of his alignment(s), and has spells based on it. Some of these spells are based on the priest's alignment and some on the opposite alignment. A priest who is neutral treats both ends of that axis as opposed (so a neutral good priest could cast protection from evil, chaos or law, but could only make a weapon good aligned). Some of these spells come with extra restrictions, limiting them to alignment-based uses.
Alignment list:
1
Detect Opposed Alignment: Reveals creatures, spells, or objects of selected alignment.
Protection from Opposed Alignment: +2 to AC and saves, counter mind control, hedge out elementals and outsiders.
2
Align Weapon: Weapon becomes your alignment
3
Magic Circle against Opposed Alignment: As protection spells, but 10-ft. radius and 10 min./level.
4
Dismissal: Forces a creature to return to native plane, but only if they have opposed alignment as a subtype
5
Atonement F X: Removes burden of misdeeds from subject, but only for a subject who wishes to be of your alignment*
Dispel Opposed Alignment: +4 bonus against attacks.
6
Banishment: Banishes 2 HD/level of extraplanar creatures, but only if they have opposed alignment as a subtype
7
Word of Alignment (aka Blasphemy/Holy Word/Dictum/Word of Chaos): Kills, paralyzes, weakens, or dazes non-agreeing subjects.
8
Cloak/Shield/Aura of alignment F: +4 to AC, +4 resistance, and SR 25 against opposed spells.
9
Miracle, but only for purposes in accordance with alignment*.
* For purposes of Atonement and Miracle, Priests of nature deities may treat reverence for nature as an alignment component.
Domains: A Priest begins with two domains and gains a third at 12th level. They must be from his deity's list, and represent his personal, spiritual focus. All these spells are added to his list.
Advanced Learning: At levels 6, 10, 14, and 18 a priest selects a single spell from the cleric list whose level is less than the highest he can cast. At level 19, he may select one of any level. At level 20, he may select one of any level from any divine list.
Turn Undead
A Village Priest turns or rebukes undead the same way that a cleric does, except that instead of having a daily limit, he must wait a given time between attempts for his internal energy to recover. The delay is determined by his charisma score at time of turning:
chawait time
< 6 1 hour
6 - 9 5 minutes
10 - 11 1 minute
12 - 13 1d8+1 rounds
14 - 15 1d6+1 rounds
16 - 17 1d4+1 rounds
18 - 19 1d3+1 rounds
20 - 21 1d2+1 rounds
22 - 25 2 rounds
> 25 1 round
Effects that would give you additional attempts per day (such as the Extra Turning feat) instead increase your effective charisma score by that amount for purposes of reset time. The time is the same whether the attempt was used on actual undead or for some other purpose (e.g. divine feats).
You may spend two turn attempts at once (to power a feat or special ability) but the recovery time is doubled. You may spend three but the recovery time is quadrupled. You may never spend more than three.
Improved Domain Powers: Each domain carries with it a special ability. For Village Priests, these abilities are enhanced. This applies to both starting domains and to additional domains gained later. The nature of the enhancement depends on the nature of the ability:
If the ability is usable a limited amount per day, a priest can replenish it (allowing another full day's usage) by meditating for five minutes.
If the ability is a numeric bonus, that bonus is increased by 50%, rounding up.
If skills are added to the priest's class list, he also gets a +3 sacred bonus on all checks to them.
If the priest can turn or rebuke non-undead, he gains a +4 bonus to caster level for purposes of those turnings (but not turning actual undead).
If the ability keys of half your class level, it now keys of of 3/4 your class level.
If the ability is a feat whose effects could be described by the preceding, apply the preceding.
If the ability is a feat that cannot be described by the preceding, gain another feat. If possible, the new feat should have the original feat as a prerequisite. If that is not possible, then the new feat should have the same descriptors as the original. If that is not possible, then any feat is permitted.
Devotion: At levels 4, 8 and 16, you gain a devotion feat associated with one of your domains. You need not meet the prerequisites. If you already have all devotion feats associated with your domains, you may instead take any feat for which you do meet the prerequisites.