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priest_prestige_class

Clergy (Prestige Class)

Storyteller House Rule

It’s possible to find clergyman of every faith in the Verge—including Hatire, Insightful, Human Reformists, Orlamu theocrats, and representatives of most of the Old Earth faiths. Like everyone else in the Verge, local priests and religious authorities were cut off from their parent faiths by the isolation of the Second Galactic War. In the absence of any higher direction, these clergyman carried on with their missions of evangelization and ministry to the poor and unfortunate, learning to rely on their own judgment. With the restoration of contact with the Stellar Ring, each of the major faiths currently finds itself engaged in the delicate process of bringing its long-lost Verger children back into the fold. In some cases, significant questions of doctrine and authority have arisen, since Verge faiths grew in a different direction than their Old Space counterparts. Heroes of the cloth aren’t necessarily faith healers and miracle workers. More often, they're diplomats, missionaries, leaders, and teachers, In same systems, they serve as the voice of these who otherwise could not speak for themselves. Whether or not a clergyman speaks fur a higher power is up to you.

In the Verge: Three major centers of faith exist within the Verge. The Hatire Community's Forest Cathedral is the center-piece of the Brethren settlement on Girith. Bluefall, in the Aegis system, contains the Bastion of Light, a major center of religious and secular power for the Church of Human Reformation. Both of these organizations are native to the Verge and are struggling to rejoin their parent faiths under their own terms. The largest Old Space faith is the Orlamu Theocracy. Operating from their vast shrine aboard the Lighthouse, the Orlamus are working tirelessly to build a network of temples throughout the Verge.

Faith comes in many shapes and forms.

Part and parcel of these belief structures are Clergy – people who guide and comfort the faithful, or, at the very least, work to bring more believers into the fold.

Though Clergy sometimes appear to perform miracles, their “powers” are mainly secular. Their faith in their beliefs guides them through difficulties and lets them set an example to others. The provide inspiration and solace, and just as often, leadership and direction. Of course, some Clergy are little more than charlatans and confidence tricksters, taking advantage of those who need the most protection. Even so, a significant portion of the Stellar Ring’s population places a great deal of trust in their priests, and worthy ones do their best to honor that trust.

Not all who cal themselves “Clergy” need take the Clergy prestige class; this class is for those who derive special benefits from their faith.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Priest, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +4 Skills: Diplomacy 6 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 8 ranks

Feat: Influence

Special: The Clergy must have acquired the inspire confidence ability and must belong to a religious organization.

Game Rule Information

Hit Dice: Priests gain 1d6 vitality points per level. The character’s Constitution modifier applies.

Class Skills

The Priest’s Class skills, and the key abilities for each skill, are as follows.

Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Computer Use (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Treat Injury (Wis)

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following are features of the Priest prestige class.

Bonus Class Skill

At 1st level, a Clergy may designate any one cross-class skill as a class skill. Once designated, the skill is considered a class skill every time the character adds a new level of Clergy. The skill must be one relatively common to the campaign.

Bonus Feat

At 1st and 4th level, the Priest gets a bonus feat. These bonus feats must be drawn from the following list, provided he meets the prerequisites.

Fame, Headstrong, Persuasive, Trustworthy, Worldwise

Authority

The Clergy’s standing within his religious order grants him a certain amount of authority. When dealing with other members of his faith whose character levels do not exceed his own, the Clergy’s Reputation bonus from levels of the Priest prestige class is doubled.

Inspire Faith

Beginning at 3rd level, the Clergy can use oratory to inspire faith in his allies, filling them with confidence that their beliefs can sustain them through adversity. An ally must listen to and observe the Clergy for a full minute for the assurance to take hold. The effect lasts for 10 minutes per Clergy class level. The Priest can inspire a number of allies equal to his Clergy levels. He can inspire faith once per day.

An ally inspired with faith gains a +3 morale bonus on saving throws or a +3 morale bonus on attack rolls. The Clergy chooses which upon commencing the oratory. The Clergy cannot inspire faith in himself. The ability only aids his allies.

Act of Faith

When a Clergy spends a Action Point to roll bonus dice, he adds an extra die to the number of dice rolled. For example, if the Clergy would normally roll 3d6 bonus dice, he rolls 4d6 instead.

LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialDefense BonusReputation Bonus 1 +0 +0 +1 +2 Bonus Class Skill, Bonus Feat +1 +1 2 +1 +0 +2 +3 Authority +1 +1 3 +1 +1 +2 +3 Inspire Faith +2 +1 4 +2 +1 +2 +4 Bonus Feat +2 +2 5 +2 +1 +3 +4 Act of Faith +3 +2

Requirements

To qualify to become a , a character must fulfill the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus:

Skills:

Feats:

Class Information

The following information pertains to the advanced class.

Hit Die: 1d

Action Points: + one-half character level, rounded down, every time the attains a new level in this class.

Class Skills

The ’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are:

Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Computer Use (Int), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Demolitions (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gamble (Wis), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Investigate (Int), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Navigation (Int), Pilot (Dex), Repair (Int), Research (Int), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Treat Injury (Wis), Tumble (Dex)

Skill Points at Each Level: + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following features pertain to the advanced class.

Advancement Table: The

Class LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecialDefense BonusReputation Bonus
1st
priest_prestige_class.txt · Last modified: 2021/12/04 00:39 (external edit)