Savage Priest

Description

This is a shaman of a savage tribe. This character is a member of the tribe. The tribe itself is a technologically and culturally primitive one (by the standards and in the opinions of more "civilized" cultures), but is also one which is attuned to the natural forces of the world. The Savage Priest interprets the will of his god and acts as an advisor or leader to the members of his tribe.
This character might be an animal-totem shaman who assigns all the tribal warriors their animal totems. He might be the witch-doctor who insists on the deaths of the adventurers from the outside world. Take a priestess of a nature-god and give her the Savage Priestess kit. and you end up with something very like a nymph.
Whether the Savage Priest is good or evil, filthy or clean-limbed depends on the nature of the tribe itself: the DM decides what the tribe is like.
To be a Savage Priest, a character must have a minimum Strength score of 11 and a minimum Constitution score of 13.
In abandoning this kit, the character is renouncing his membership with the tribe and accepting citizenship in some other culture. This frequently happens with Savage Priests who join adventuring parties, stay with them in travels through the world, and learn so much of the outside world that they no longer feel like part of their tribe.

Barred

Priests of the following god and philosophies may not take this kit: Disease, Divinity of Mankind, Evil, Good.
Priests of the following gods are most appropriate to this kit: Animals, Earth, Elemental Forces, Fire, Hunting, Nature, Sky/Weather, Vegetation.

Role

In a campaign, this character usually plays the role of the primitive who finds his world-view shattered by his experiences in the outer world... but who might teach his "civilized" companions something about simple truth and justice as he adventures with them. The DM should insist that the character role-play his tribal origins in the first four or five experience levels, until the character is more used to the outside world; this priest will be baffled by "high- technology" inventions (iron and steel weapons, boats made out of more than a single log, hourglasses, anything more sophisticated than the tools of his tribe), by civilized morals and ethics, and especially by the strangeness and unfairness of the laws of civilized men.

Weapon Proficiencies

The Savage Priest is limited to the weapons his actual priest-class permits him, and is further limited (when he is first created) to the following set of proficiencies: blowgun, long bow, short bow, club, dagger, javelin, knife, sling, spear. After he has adventured in the outer world, the character may learn other proficiencies.

Non-weapon Proficiencies

Bonus Proficiencies

General

Direction Sense or Weather Sense (player choice)

Warrior

Endurance or Survival (player choice)

Recommended

General

Animal Handling, Animal Training, Fire-Building, Fishing, Riding (Land- based), Rope Use, Swimming

Warrior

(double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise)
Animal Lore, Bowyer/Fletcher, Hunting, Mountaineering, Running, Set Snares, Tracking

Priest

Healing, Herbalism, Local History, Religion

Rogue

(double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise)
Jumping, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling

Wizard

(double slots unless the priest-class dictates otherwise)
Herbalism.
The Savage may not take Etiquette or Heraldry when first created.

Equipment

Use the Equipment rules for the Savage Warrior Kit.

Special Benefits

The Savage Priest has a special Detect Magic {Priest Spell} ability, resembling the spell of the same name. which he may use once per day per experience level he has (i.e., a 5th-level savage could use his ability five times per day). The rules for this power are: Detect Magic. The Savage Priest is in tune with nature and can feel when there is something magical in the vicinity. As with the firstlevel Priest spell, he has a 10% chance per experience level to determine the sphere of the magic.

Special Hindrances

The Savage Priest is imposing and strange, and he worships his gods "all wrong" (i.e., civilized folk and priests recognize that his rites are different, unlike theirs). Therefore, he suffers a -2 reaction adjustment from all civilized folk (NPCs, that is; PCs can decide for themselves how they react to him).

Wealth Options

See the Savage kit. After the campaign starts, he will encounter money, and the player may decide either that he likes the stuff or rejects it as a stupid city-human idea.

Races

No special limitations.

[Complete Priest's Handbook]