PRIEST-CLERIC Class

Description:  Clerics are priests of the common folk and the blessed and 
ordained voice of their church in the world.  They believe that others can 
easily be shown the true course in life through example and debate.  Not tied to 
any specific hierarchy, these itinerant priests are free to wander far and wide 
from their temples.  Many adventuring priests, seeking to avoid the strictures 
of church hierarchy, choose this kit.  Clerics generally preach tolerance among 
conflicting religions and deities, promoting meditation over religious strife, 
but in all cases the very core of their creed is to serve as missionaries, 
spreading the 'good word' of their faith far and wide.  This is usually best 
accomplished by inspiring words and righteous action (in the eyes of his or her 
faith), but this is not to say that Clerics cannot fight, and they will not 
hesitate to do so when confronted with a threat to themselves, their respective 
faith, or their people.  Clerics enjoy the blessings of their deity in the form 
of a variety of granted powers (often including the ability to turn or command 
undead) and spell spheres, though they must also adhere to certain codes of 
behavior, including restrictions on weapons, armor, and magical items.

Clerics use the Cleric advancement table, have eight-sided hit dice, and use 
priest THAC0 and saving throws.  They begin play with 2 weapon and 4 non-weapon 
proficiency slots, gaining new weapon slots every 4 levels and new non-weapon 
slots every 3 levels.  Clerics can be of any race except for half-ogres and can 
be of any alignment and must have a Wisdom score of at least 9.  

It should be noted that that in addition to these very generic requirements for 
Clerics individual religious faiths may require a wide variety of ability score 
and/or alignment restrictions for entry into the priesthood.  In addition, some 
faiths (especially highly lawful faiths with restrictive moralistic codes of 
behavior) will not have true Clerics per se, but may require their members to be 
Orthodox Priests or Zealots (see below).

Weapons & Armor:  As per the deity in question.

Special Benefits:  A Cleric gains access to spell spheres and granted powers 
(possibly including turning or commanding undead) based on his or her religious 
faith.  These special powers are highly variable, but all Clerics also receive 
the following benefits:

Ceremony:  Clerics undergo training not only in the tenets of the faith but also 
in the ceremonies that accompany them.  As a Cleric advances in level, he or she 
learns the proper forms and gains the right through his or her church to perform 
more and more complicated ceremonies, as described below:

1st	coming of age, burial, marriage
3rd	dedication, investiture, consecrate item
5th	ordination, special vows
7th	consecrate ground
9th	excommunication

  Coming of age is a blessing upon a young male or female indicating full 
     adulthood; the age varies by culture, usually from 12 to 25 for humans
  Burial is a ritual blessing upon a buried corpse
  Marriage joins in the eyes of the church (and often in legal terms) two people 
     in a permanent relationship
  Dedication officially sanctions a new believer as an accepted member of the 
     faith
  Investiture must be done upon a new cleric ready to start 1st level; it also 
     is frequently done when conferring a noble title or a religious or 
     political office
  Consecrate item is performed upon an item to be dedicated to (un)holy use
  Ordination allows a priest to take stewardship of a congregation of believers 
     or to lead others in the faith
  Special vows is like investiture, but is a necessary part of most conferrals 
     of knighthood or for consecrating the services of Paladins of the faith
  Consecrate ground is performed before a holy building or structure is built or 
     to sanctify a graveyard
  Excommunication casts someone forcibly out of the faith and marks them as a 
     traitor to all true believers

Any of these ceremonies requires one full hour to perform, and usually a 
donation is asked for in return for providing these services.  In general terms, 
these ceremonies have no game mechanical effect and are purely symbolic, but at 
the DM's option he or she can require a Ceremony/Ritual proficiency check at the 
time the ceremony is performed, with a successful check indicating a minor 
benefit.  In any case, a Ceremony performed by a priest can be revoked by 
another priest of higher level.

Church Affiliation:  Though a Cleric is not tied to any specific temple or 
monastery, he or she can always request free food and lodging at any temple or 
monastery of his or her faith.  Food and lodging for characters travelling with 
the Cleric can usually also be arranged, either free or for a nominal fee.

A Cleric who elects to establish a place of worship of significant size for his 
or her deity will automatically attract a cadre of dedicated followers (see 
Ceremony) above.  This place of worship can be built at any time, but no 
followers will be attracted unless the Cleric is at least 8th level.  These 
followers will arrive gradually, over the course of several weeks, until a total 
of 20-200 of them have arrived, all of them faithful followers of the Cleric's 
deity and willing to 'spread the good news' from the Cleric's new temple and to 
fight to defend it if necessary.  The Cleric is of course free to hire others to 
assist with temple functions or as troops, but they will not be as loyal as this 
group of nearly fanatical followers.

Note that if a Cleric of 9th level or above chooses to build a stronghold or 
castle, he or she may do so with official approval from the church hierarchy.  
In fact, they will underwrite half the cost of construction of such a fortress, 
assuming that the place is dedicated to the service of the Cleric's deity and 
contains all appropriate trappings of a religious edifice.  Of course, a Cleric 
can hold property or build anything he or she wishes prior to attaining 9th 
level, but such must be done without official church sanction and without their 
direct support.

Inspire:  Once per day, prior to making an attack, a Cleric can spend 2-5 
(1d4+1) rounds boosting the morale of his or her companions with an uplifting 
sermon about the rectitude of their cause and expressions of confidence for 
their success.  The Cleric must make a Charisma check with a +1 bonus for every 
three levels of experience (rounding up) at the end of this time, and if it 
succeeds all affected companions will gain a +2 bonus to morale and saves vs. 
fear for 3d4 rounds and in addition will gain a +2 bonus to their first attack 
roll during this time.  Any dedicated follower of the Cleric's deity (see 
Ceremony above) gains double the normal bonus from this ability.  

A Cleric can Inspire up to one companion per level of experience (dedicated 
followers of a Cleric, including those attracted when building a fortress, do 
not count against this total), and all must be within 10 yards of the Cleric 
while he or she delivers this exhortation.  It cannot be attempted in the midst 
of battle or if the Cleric's companions are distracted or occupied by other 
activity.

A Cleric of 11th level or above can attempt to use this ability to speak with a 
voice of divine authority.  To use this skill, the priest must speak loudly and 
clearly for a full round.  This will automatically Inspire all allies within 10' 
per level of the Cleric.  In addition, it has a 5% chance per level of the 
Cleric over 10 to act as an enthrall spell (no save if fewer than 5 HD/levels, 
otherwise a save vs. spells allowed) with respect to every creature who can hear 
the Cleric's voice, regardless of whether they can understand the Cleric's 
language.  Mindless creatures, undead, creatures immune to charm-type spells, 
and creatures with Wisdom of 19 or higher are unaffected by this; anti-magic 
barriers and magical silence will also block this effect.  The Cleric can hold 
an audience enthralled for up to one hour (see the spell description for 
effects) and can utter a single mass suggestion (q.v.) to all creatures 
enthralled through the use of this power.  No saving throw is allowed, but it 
affects only creatures who have already been enthralled.  In addition, creatures 
must be able to understand the Cleric's language in order to be subject to 
suggestion.  This special enhanced Inspire ability can be attempted only once 
per week.

Special Hindrances:  A Cleric must abide by any and all behavioral strictures or 
codes of conduct demanded by his or her religious faith.  In addition, that 
faith may restrict his or her choices of weapons, armor, magical items, and 
spell use.

A Cleric's 1st and 2nd level spells are gained through ritual prayer and 
faithfulness and can be gained on virtually any plane of existence and require 
only that the Cleric fulfil the letter of his or her obligations and perform a 
reasonable amount of faithful service.  A priest's 3rd through 5th level spells, 
however, are granted through proxies or minions of his or her deity, and these 
spells may or may not be available on certain planes, due to the inability of a 
priest to contact these divine emissaries and request magical aid from them.  In 
addition, Clerics who are perhaps not as faithful as they ought to be or who 
have strayed a bit from the true path may find their access to these spells 
restricted or denied until such time as they have 'gotten their house in order'.

Spells of 6th and 7th level are granted directly by the caster's deity and 
therefore may need to be justified in terms of how their use will advance the 
faith; Clerics misuse such powerful magics at their peril.  Likewise, a Cleric 
who has not been exceptionally devout and fervent in their service to their 
faith should be rightly hesitant about requesting spells of this level, as their 
deity might well punish them severely for their temerity in asking for their 
divine aid while only paying lip service to their calling.  Like 3rd to 5th 
level spells, 6th and 7th level spells are often not available on other planes 
due to the Clerics inability to contact his or her deity.  

In addition to this lack of access to spells on other planes, a Cleric's magical 
powers may also be decreased in effectiveness on other planes due to the 
distance between a Cleric and his or her divine power source.

Required Proficiencies:  Ceremony/Ritual, Religion
Preferred Proficiencies:  Alms, Ancient History, Chanting, Endurance, Healing, 
Herbalism, Languages (any), Local History, Reading/Writing, Spellcraft