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View Full Version : Cleric Remix 2: The Battle-Priest (3.5 Base Class, PEACH)



RollynT.Glal
2012-02-08, 11:30 AM
Cleric Variant 2: The Battle-Priest


”I follow the will of my god. I am his arm on the earth, his sword to strike down the wicked and his light guides my path” –Theonius, Battle-Priest of Pelor

Alignment: Within one step of your deity

HD: d8

Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Perform (Oratory) (Cha), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Special: Any skill that would be expected to be utilized by the deity may be class skill of the mystic at the DM’s discretion (i.e. a battle-priest of Olidammarra may take Hide (Dex), Move Silently (Dex) and/or Perform (all taken individually) (Cha) in addition to the base list).

Skill points at first level: (2 + Int mod) x 4
Skill points at every other level: 2 + Int mod

The Battle-Priest
{table]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|0-lvl| 1st|2nd|3rd|4th|5th|6th|
1|+0|+2|+0|+2|Clerical Power, Turn or Rebuke Undead|2|-|-|-|-|-|-
2|+1|+3|+0|+3| |3|0+1|-|-|-|-|-
3|+2|+3|+1|+3|General Power 1/day|3|1+1|-|-|-|-|-
4|+3|+4|+1|+4|Combat Power level 1|3|2+1|0+1|-|-|-|-
5|+3|+4|+1|+4| |3|3+1|1+1|-|-|-|-
6|+4|+5|+2|+5|Companion Minor Form, General Power 2/day|3|3+1|2+1|-|-|-|-
7|+5|+5|+2|+5|Domain Focus 1|3|3+1|2+1|0+1|-|-|-
8|+6/+1|+6|+2|+6|Combat Power level 2|3|3+1|3+1|1+1|-|-|-
9|+6/+1|+6|+3|+6| Companion Lesser Form, General Power 3/day|3|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-|-
10|+7/+2|+7|+3|+7||3|3+1|3+1|2+1|0+1|-|-
11|+8/+3|+7|+3|+7||3|3+1|3+1|3+1|1+1|-|-
12|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8|Combat Power level 3, General Power 4/day|3|3+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-|-
13|+9/+4|+8|+4|+8||3|3+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|0+1|-
14|+10/+5|+9|+4|+9|Domain Focus 2|4|3+1|3+1|3+1|3+1|1+1|-
15|+11/+6/+1|+9|+5|+9|General Power 5/day| 4|4+1|3+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|-
16|+12/+7/+1|+10|+5|+10|Combat Power level 4|4|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|2+1|0+1
17|+12/+7/+1|+10|+5|+10||4|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|3+1|1+1
18|+13/+8/+3|+11|+6|+11| Companion Greater Form , General Power 6/day|4|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1|2+1
19|+14/+9/+4|+11|+6|+11| |4|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|3+1
20|+15/+10/+5|+12|+6|+12|Combat Power level 5|4|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1|4+1 [/table]

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the battle-priest.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A battle-priest is proficient with all simple and martial weapons*. The battle-priest is also proficient with light and medium armor and all shields (excluding tower shields).
*A Battle-Priest who chooses the War Domain gains the Weapon Focus (Deity's Chosen Weapon) for all weapons he is now proficient with.

Aura (Ex): A cleric of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity’s alignment. Clerics who don’t worship a specific deity but choose the Chaotic, Evil, Good, or Lawful domain have a similarly powerful aura of the corresponding alignment.

Spells: A battle-priest casts divine spells (the same type of spells available to the druid, paladin, and ranger), which are drawn from the cleric spell list. However, his alignment may restrict him from casting certain spells opposed to his moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells, below. A battle-priest must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, a battle-priest must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (Wis 10 for 0-level spells, Wis 11 for 1st-level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a battle-priest’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the battle-priest’s Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a battle-priest can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A battle-priest also gets one domain spell of each spell level he can cast, starting at 2nd level. When a battle-priest prepares a spell in a domain spell slot, it must come from his chosen domains (see Deities, Domains, and Domain Spells, below).

Battle-Priests do not acquire their spells from books or scrolls, though they may learn new spells from scrolls of aligned deities. But they do not prepare them through study. Instead, they meditate or pray for their spells, receiving them through their own strength of faith or as divine inspiration. Each battle-priest must choose a time at which he must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain his daily allotment of spells. Typically, this hour is at dawn or noon for good battle-priest s and at dusk or midnight for evil ones. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a battle-priest can prepare spells. He must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.

The battle-priest’s spells per day are listed in the table above but the battle-priest’s spells known progression is as follows:
At first level the battle-priest knows 7 0-level spells.
Instead of gaining every spell of every level he can cast the battle-priest instead gains 10+Wis mod new spells at each battle-priest level. The new spells may be chosen from any spell level the battle-priest has the power to cast.
A battle-priest may learn a new spell from a divine scroll, provided it is of an appropriate level and alignment.
A battle-priest may spend Piety Points to learn new spells
Domain spells do not count against this total.

Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: Choose a deity for your mystic. The battle-priest’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. If the typical worshipers of a deity include the members of a race, a cleric must be of the indicated race to choose that deity as his own. (Except for special circumstances that are left at the discretion of the DM).

When you have chosen an alignment and a deity for your battle-priest, choose two domains from among those given for the deity. While the battle-priests of a particular religion are united in their reverence for their deity, each battle-priest emphasizes different aspects of the deity’s interests. You can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) for your battle-priest only if his alignment matches that domain.

Each domain gives your battle-priest access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. Your battle-priest gets the granted powers of the domains selected. With access to a domain spells at a given spell level, a battle-priest prepares one each day in his domain spell slot. If a domain spell is not on the cleric spell list, a battle-priest can prepare it only in his domain spell slot.

For example, Jozan is a 1st-level battle-priest of Pelor. He chooses Good and Healing (from Pelor’s domain options) as his domains. He gets the granted powers of his selected domains.The Good domain allows him to cast all spells with the good descriptor at +1 caster level (as if he were one level higher as a mystic) as a granted power, and it gives him access to protection from evil as a 1st-level domain spell. The Healing domain allows him to cast all healing subschool spells of the conjuration school at +1 caster level as a granted power, and it gives him access to cure light wounds as a 1st level domain spell. When Jozan prepares his spells, he gets two 1st level spells at 2nd-level battle-priest, one bonus 1st-level spell for having a high Wisdom score (15), and one domain spell. The domain spell must be one of which he has access to cure light wounds or protection from evil.

Spontaneous Casting: A good battle-priest (or a neutral battle-priest of a good deity) can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that the battle-priest did not prepare ahead of time. The battle-priest can “lose” any prepared spell that is not a domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name). For example, a good battle-priest who has prepared command (a 1st-level spell) may lose command in order to cast cure light wounds (also a 1st-level spell). battle-priest s of good deities can cast cure spells in this way because they are especially proficient at wielding positive energy.

An evil battle-priest (or a neutral battle-priest of an evil deity), on the other hand, can’t convert prepared spells to cure spells but can convert them to inflict spells (an inflict spell is one with “inflict” in its name). A battle-priest who is neither good nor evil and whose deity is neither good nor evil can convert spells to either cure spells or inflict spells (player’s choice), depending on whether the is more proficient at wielding positive or negative energy. Once the player makes this choice, it cannot be reversed. This choice also determines whether the battle-priest turns or commands undead (see below).

Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A battle-priest can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity’s. For example, a good battle-priest (or a neutral battle-priest of a good deity) cannot cast evil spells. Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su): Any battle-priest, regardless of alignment, has the power to affect undead creatures (such as skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and vampires) by channeling the power of his faith through his holy (or unholy) symbol.

A good battle-priest (or a neutral battle-priest who worships a good deity) can turn or destroy undead creatures. An evil battle-priest (or a neutral battle-priest who worships an evil deity) instead rebukes or commands such creatures, forcing them to cower in awe of his power. If your character is a neutral battle-priest of a neutral deity, you must choose whether his turning ability functions as that of a good battle-priest or an evil battle-priest. Once you make this choice, it cannot be reversed. This decision also determines whether the cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see above).

A battle-priest may attempt to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. A battle-priest with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

Clerical Power: A duty or power that is typical for clerics of that particular deity. The power is usually connected to the General Powers. The Clerical Power should be relatively weak, such as sensing spirits in the area (wandering spirits of the recently dead, not ghosts as the monster). Each deity has a special clerical power that is often seen as a sign that the battle-priest has been touched by the deity. Clerical powers are typically usable at will, as a standard action.

General Power: An ability that aids in non-combat situations, frequency scales over time. General power should be relatively weak and based off of the Clerical Power. An example would be to call forth spirits (recently deceased, not ghosts) to converse with them for a short period of time.

Combat Power: Every deity have a chosen sin that it cannot stand in the world. For example Pelor would probably include a light based power to destroy undead. The series of related powers scale in potency over time.


Companion: The battle-priest may conduct a 24 hour ritual requesting the deity’s permission to recall the soul of a long-lost hero from the deity’s realm, and then bind the soul to the battle-priest. The battle-priest may suggest or request the spirit to perform acts for it, but the spirit has a mind of its own.

At sixth level the spirit is only loosely held to the material realm. It embodies a mist-like form and as such cannot manipulate physical substances. The mist may be invisible or opaque, and occupies an area 2 ft in diameter. Once per day the spirit may use the Chill Touch spell to attack foes. The spirit may interact with the battle-priest through an empathic link out to a distance of up 200 ft. The battle-priest cannot see what the spirit sees, but they can communicate empathically. Because of the limited nature of the link, only general emotional content (such as fear, happiness, curiosity) can be communicated.

The spirit, empowered with its own strength, becomes complete as a ghost taking on the appearance it had in life. At twelfth level it becomes an incorporeal entity. It is still unable to interact with physical objects, but it can now converse with the battle-priest and use a wider array of spell-like abilities.

At 18th level the spirit becomes so powerful that it can command a physical form. This form acts like a golem. The spirit possesses whatever substance is used to make the form and acts appropriate for its makeup. The physical form is of small size and is usually comprised of stone or plant material.

Domain Focus: The cleric is treated as having +1 CL for certain domains, stacks with 1st level chosen domain.


Summary:

Differences Between Battle-Priest & PHB Cleric:


Less Spells Known

Although many people would see this as sacrilege, I do have reasons for this. With even just the PHB and Spell Compendium, every cleric would learn roughly 45-60 new spells as soon as they reach third level. Even with their prepared spell style that is pretty ridiculous, especially when the “clerics learn every cleric spell of every level they can cast, except those of opposing alignment” allows a cleric of Pelor, the god of the sun to cast darkness without any special training.

The “Spells Known” allow the cleric access to more than 3 times more spells than a wizard automatically gets at the same level so the versatility is still there, and they may still learn new spells if they so choose, allowing more character hooks and options. As stated in the Piety Points System, every deity has a list of “chosen spells” that coordinate with its divine energies, allowing for a quick creation style if you don’t want to fully customize a character (for those “hmm… what spells should my three clerics of Gruumsh have?” sort of situations).


Less spells per Day
No 7-9th level spells
Combat Powers
Utility Powers
Piety Points System
Companion