Priest
Following their gods and goddeses with ferverent prayer, in spite of - and sometimes perhaps because of - their distance from their followers on Ravenloft, priests channel the divine blessings proferred them by these divine entities to heal and harm both, and are often looked to by their community for succor - so long as they are not too openly destructive.
- Paths: Cleric, Druid, Healer, Shaman
- Hit Dice: d8
- Skill Points: 6+Int bonus (x2 at first level)
- Saves: Will High, Fortitude Mid, Reflex low
- Attack Bonus: 3/4 progression
- Armour Proficiency: Light, Medium, Shields
Class Progression
Paths
Cleric
Original Tabletop source: Player's Handbook 3.0
Note: This page represents a class abstract which needs rewritten for the setting's specifics.
The handiwork of the gods is everywhere - in places of natural beauty, in mighty crusades, in soaring temples, and in the hearts of worshipers. Like people, gods run the gamut from benevolent to malicious, reserved to intrusive, simple to inscrutable. The gods, however, work mostly through intermediaries - their clerics. Good clerics heal, protect, and avenge. Evil clerics pillage, destroy, and sabotage. A cleric uses the power of his god to make his god's will manifest. And if a cleric uses his god's power to improve his own lot, that's to be expected, too.
Ideally, a cleric's adventures support his god's causes, at least in a general way. A good cleric, for example, helps those in need. If, through noble acts, he can improve the reputation to his god or temple, that's even better. An evil cleric seeks to increase his own power and that of his deity, so that others will respect and fear both.
Clerics sometimes receive orders, or at least suggestions, from their ecclesiastical superiors, directing them to undertake missions for the church. The clerics and their companions are compensated fairly for these missions, and the church may be especially generous with the casting of needed spells or divine magic items as payment. Of course, clerics are people, too, and they may have any or all the more common motivations for adventuring.
Clerics are masters of divine magic, which is especially good at healing. Even an inexperienced cleric can bring people back from the brink of death, and an experienced cleric can bring back people who have crossed over that brink. As channelers of divine energy, clerics can affect undead creatures. A good cleric can turn away or even destroy undead; an evil cleric can bring undead under his control. Clerics have some combat training. They can use simple weapons, and they are trained in the use of armor, since armor does not interfere with divine spells the way it does with arcane spells.
Alignment: Like the gods they serve, clerics can be of any alignment. Because people more readily worship good deities than neutral or evil ones, there are more good than evil clerics. Clerics also tend toward law instead of chaos, since lawful religions tend to be more structured and better able to recruit and train clerics than chaotic ones.
Typically, a cleric is the same alignment as his deity, though some clerics are one step away from their respective deities in alignment. For example, most clerics of Heironeous, the god of valor (who is lawful good) are lawful good, but some are lawful neutral or neutral good. Additionally, a cleric may not be neutral (that is, neutral on both the good-evil axis and the lawful-chaotic axis) unless his deity is neutral.
Every reasonably well-known deity has clerics devoted to him or her, so clerics can be of any religion. The deity most common worshiped by human clerics in civilized lands is Pelor (god of the sun). The majority of nonhuman clerics are devoted to the chief god of the appropriate racial pantheon. Most clerics are officially ordained members of religious organizations, commonly called churches. Each has sworn to uphold the ideals of his church. Some clerics devote themselves not to a god but to a cause or a source of divine power. These characters wield magic the way clerics devoted to individual gods do, but they are not associated with any religious institution or any particular practice of worship. A cleric devoted to good and law, for example, may be on friendly terms with the clerics of lawful and good deities and may extol the virtues of a good and lawful life, but he is not a functionary in a church hierarchy.
Most clerics join their churches as young adults, though some are devoted to a god's service from a young age, and a few feel the call later in life. While some clerics are tightly bound to their churches' activities on a daily basis, others have more freedom to conduct their lives as they please, as long as they do so in accordance with their gods' wishes.
Clerics of a given religion are all supposed to get along, though schisms within a church are often more bitter than conflicts between religions. Clerics who share some basic ideals, such as goodness or lawfulness, may find common cause with each other and see themselves as part of an order or body that supersedes any given religion. Clerics of opposed goals, however, are sworn enemies. In civilized lands, open warfare between religions occurs only during civil wars and similar social upheavals, but vicious politicking between opposed churches is common.
All the common races are represented in this class, since the need for religion and divine magic is universal. The clerics of most races, however, are too focused on their religious duties to undertake an adventurer's life. Crusading, adventuring clerics most often come from the human and dwarf races. Among the savage humanoids, clerics are less common. The exception is troglodytes, who take well to divine magic and are often led by priests, who make a practice of sacrificing and devouring captives.
In an adventuring party, the cleric is everybody's friend and often the glue that holds the party together. As the one who can channel divine energy, a cleric is a capable healer, and adventurers of every class appreciate being put back together after they've taken some hard knocks. Clerics sometimes clash with druids, since druids represent an older, more primal relationship between the mortal and the divine. Mostly, though, the religion of a cleric determines how he gets along with others. A cleric of Olidammara (god of thieves), gets along fine with rogues and ne'er-do-wells, for example, while a cleric of Heironeous (god of valor) rankles at such company.
The cleric serves as a typical group's primary healer, diviner, and defensive specialist. He can hold his own in a fight but usually isn't well served by charging to the front of combat. The cleric's domains and spell selection can greatly affect his role as well.
Druid
Original Tabletop source: Player's Handbook 3.0
Note: This page represents a class abstract which needs rewritten for the setting's specifics.
The fury of a storm, the gentle strength of the morning sun, the cunning of the fox, the power of the bear - all these and more are at the druid's command. The druid however, claims no mastery over nature. That claim, she says, is the empty boast of a city dweller. The druid gains her power not by ruling nature but by being at one with it. To trespassers in a druid's sacred grove, and to those who feel her wrath, the distinction is overly fine.
Druids adventure to gain knowledge (especially about animals and plants unfamiliar to them) and power. Sometimes, their superiors call on their services. Druids may also bring their power to bear against those who threaten what they love, which more often includes ancient stands of trees or trackless mountains than people. While druids accept that which is horrific or cruel in nature, they hate that which is unnatural, including aberrations (such as beholders and carrion crawlers) and undead (such as zombies and vampires). Druids sometimes lead raids against such creatures, especially when they encroach on the druids' territory.
Druids cast divine spells much the same way clerics do, though most get their spells from the power of nature rather than from deities. Their spells are oriented toward nature and animals. In addition to spells, druids gain an increasing array of magical powers, including the ability to take the shapes of animals, as they advance in level.
The armor of a druid are restricted by traditional oaths to the items noted in Weapon and Armor proficiency (below),All other armor is prohibited. Though a druid could learn to wear full plate, putting it on would violate her oath and suppress her druidic powers. Druids avoid carrying much worked metal with them because it interferes with the pure and primal nature that they attempt to embody.
Druids, in keeping with nature's ultimate indifference, must maintain at least some measure of dispassion. As such, they must be neutral on at least one alignment axis (chaotic-lawful or good-evil), if not both. Just as nature encompasses such dichotomies as life and death, beauty and horror, and peace and violence, so two druids can manifest different or even opposite alignments (neutral good and neutral evil, for instance) and still be part of the druidic tradition.
A druid reveres nature above all. She gains her magical power either from the force of nature itself or from a nature deity. The typical druid pursues a mystic spirituality of transcendent union with nature rather than devoting herself to a divine entity. Still, some druids revere or at least respect either Obad-Hai (god of nature) or Ehlonna (goddess of the woodlands).
Though their organization is invisible to most outsiders, who consider druids to be loners, druids are actually part of a society that spans the land, ignoring political borders. A prospective druid is inducted into this society through secret rituals, including tests that not all survive. Only after achieving some level of competence is the druid allowed to strike out on her own.
All druids are nominally members of this druidic society, though some individuals are so isolated that they have never seen any highranking members of the society or participated in druidic gatherings. All druids recognize each other as brothers and sisters. Like true creatures of the wilderness, however, druids sometimes compete with or even prey on each other.
A druid may be expected to perform services for higher-ranking druids, though proper payment is tendered for such assignments. Likewise, a lower-ranking druid may appeal for aid from her higher-ranking comrades in exchange for a fair price in coin or service.
Druids may live in small towns, but they always spend a good portion of their time in wild areas. Even large cities surrounded by cultivated land as far as the eye can see often have druid groves nearby - small, wild refuges where druids live and which they protect fiercely. Near coastal cities, such refuges may be nearby islands, where the druids can find the isolation they need.
Elves and gnomes have an affinity for natural lands and often become druids. Humans and halfelves also frequently adopt this path, and druids are particularly common among savage humans. Dwarves, halflings, and half-orcs are rarely druids.
Few from among the brutal humanoids are inducted into druidic society, though gnolls have a fair contingent of evil druids among them. Gnoll druids are accepted, though perhaps not welcomed, by druids of other races.
The druid shares with rangers and many barbarians a reverence for nature and a familiarity with natural lands. She doesn't much understand the urban mannerism typical of a rogue, and she finds arcane magic disruptive and slightly distasteful. The typical druid also dislikes the paladin's devotion to abstract ideals instead of "the real world." Druids, however, are nothing if not accepting of diversity, and they take little offense at other characters, even those very different from them.
The druid enjoys extraordinary versatility. Though she lacks the sheer healing power of the cleric, she makes up for it with additional offensive power, thanks to her spell selection and wild shape ability. A druid back up by another secondary healer (such as a paladin) can prove extremely valuable to a group of adventurers. Her animal companion also provides valuable melee combat support.
Shaman
'Original Tabletop source: Oriental Adventures
Note: This page represents a class abstract which needs rewritten for the setting's specifics.
Please note: The following class write-up is for a class that is in a beta-testing state and is incomplete on Time of Unparalleled Darkness; expect that it will be changed before it is finalized.
If a cleric's basic creed is that the handiwork of the deities is everywhere, a shaman's simple assertion is that the deities themselves are everywhere. Shamans are intermediaries between the mortal world and the realm of spirits - the vast multitude of living beings that infuse the entire world with divine essence. Shamans play a vital role in the world of Oriental Adventures - communicating with ancestor spirits, demons, nature spirits, and the most powerful of spirits, who might be considered deities. The shaman offers sacrifices, prayers, and services to the spirits, and in return gains the favor of patron spirits who bestow spells and other magical abilities upon him. With the exception of certain Lion clan "spirit talkers" of the Kitsu family, shamans are not found in Rokugan; shugenjas fill this role instead.
Shamans often go on adventures not because of any desire of their own, but as a direct result of their unique relationship with the spirit world. Ancestor spirits often have their own agendas - deeds left undone or wrongs unavenged - and call on their shaman descendants to carry them out. Peasants and nobles alike often summon shamans if evil spirits or undead monsters cause trouble. Even nature spirits, normally unconcerned with the affairs of humanity, might request assistance from a shaman if an evil influence (such as a bajang or buso) troubles the natural world. Shamans who traffic with evil spirits are often driven to commit heinous deeds. Shamans are both blessed and burdened by their gifts, and may sometimes feel like pawns in the games and machinations of the spirit world.
Shamans use divine magic, much like the clerics of the Player's Handbook. In addition to healing, shaman spells naturally include means of contacting and communicating with spirits, winning favors from them, or warding against their influence. Shaman spells are also more strongly oriented toward nature than cleric spells. A shaman's spells are granted by spirits rather than deities.
Shamans have some power over undead, but not as great as clerics have. Nor are they as fearsome in combat as clerics, although they learn unarmed combat techniques as they advance in level.
Most shamans are of good alignment, cooperating with kindly ancestor spirits and opposing evil spirits and undead. A few shamans, however, side with the evil spirits, using the power the spirits bestow to increase their own power in the world.
Individuals are often drawn to the shaman class because they possess a natural gift for dealing with spirits, rather than the other way around. As with sorcerers, this gift typically manifests at puberty, though sometimes even young children display an unusual ability to see and communicate with spirits. The transition from a gifted child or young adult to a powerful shaman, however, is not easy. Typically, a shaman-to-be spends months in the wilderness, fasting and communing with the spirits, until finding two spirits to serve as patrons in a formal and ritualized relationship. These two spirits grant the character his first spells, at which point he truly becomes a shaman.
Shamans are typically found among all the races, although their approach to the spirits may vary. Most shamans are human, because the human race is less in tune with the spirit world and therefore most in need of intermediaries who can communicate with spirits. Hengeyokai and spirit folk consider themselves spirits, and sometimes see little need to venerate the spirits. Hengeyokai shamans, who are quite rare, form partnerships with spirits based more on equal respect than on service and veneration. Spirit folk shamans are somewhat more common, and revere both human ancestors and nature spirits. Vanaras are quite commonly shamans, because they hold the spirit world in great respect. Nezumi and korobokuru shamans are rare, but quite similar to human shamans in their practices.
While no adventurer will begrudge a shaman's power to heal and otherwise help an adventuring party, most adventurers view shamans with at least a hint of fear, awe, or wonder. A shaman's powers are otherworldly, and the spirits that grant those powers often manifest in ways that make mundane-minded fighters and rogues more than a little uncomfortable. The shaman occupies a unique and sometimes dangerous position on the border between the spirit world and the mortal world, and many characters find that position unnerving. For their part, shamans tend to look kindly on members of most other classes, humbly offering their powers for the good of the party as a whole.
