What are considered "priests" for customized summons lists?


Pathfinder Society

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The Exchange 5/5

Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

since the custom summon lists are PFS legal, it would be nice to have an official ruling on what constitutes a priest of a particular deity, aside from the old (unofficial) ruling by mark, and the advice of james jacobs (which i love, but isn't pfs legal either)

1/5 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

LazarX wrote:
teribithia9 wrote:


As a veteran of several organized play campaigns, I never buy any supplements (unless I want them for home play, etc.) until they're legal. The supplement that I bought is completely legal; was (and still is) listed in the additional resources page with the expanded summons list available and legal for pathfinder society play. I bought it BECAUSE it was listed as a legal resource for PFS. There's also nothing in that additional resources page which indicates that only clerics have access to the expanded summons list.

If the text of the article only referred to the church of Asmodeus than it's a safe bet that it only applied to clerics. Non-clerical worshipers of Asmodeous like Oracles tend to be outside of church hierarchies.

In actuality, the original text of the article states that the priesthood/church of Asmodeus inludes wizards, sorcerers, clerics, etc. So no offense but it is incorrect to say they lie outside the normal church hierarchy. That is not a reason to refuse access to the summoning lists.

And again James Jacobs has said not just divine casters as has been misstated a few times, but all potential priests (wizards, sorcerers, pig farmers, etc.).

The Exchange 2/5

Danish Trumpter wrote:
LazarX wrote:
teribithia9 wrote:


As a veteran of several organized play campaigns, I never buy any supplements (unless I want them for home play, etc.) until they're legal. The supplement that I bought is completely legal; was (and still is) listed in the additional resources page with the expanded summons list available and legal for pathfinder society play. I bought it BECAUSE it was listed as a legal resource for PFS. There's also nothing in that additional resources page which indicates that only clerics have access to the expanded summons list.

If the text of the article only referred to the church of Asmodeus than it's a safe bet that it only applied to clerics. Non-clerical worshipers of Asmodeous like Oracles tend to be outside of church hierarchies.

In actuality, the original text of the article states that the priesthood/church of Asmodeus inludes wizards, sorcerers, clerics, etc. So no offense but it is incorrect to say they lie outside the normal church hierarchy. That is not a reason to refuse access to the summoning lists.

And again James Jacobs has said not just divine casters as has been misstated a few times, but all potential priests (wizards, sorcerers, pig farmers, etc.).

Yes, but unfortunately James Jacobs statements aren't considered rulings for PFS. Mark's were, at the time he posted and said that priests were clerics for the purpose of PFS. And...I don't know who said this part of your quote:

If the text of the article only referred to the church of Asmodeus than it's a safe bet that it only applied to clerics. Non-clerical worshipers of Asmodeous like Oracles tend to be outside of church hierarchies.

but it wasn't me. Just to clarify.

1/5 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

Yeah sorry I know, should have cut that part. And I know James jacobs isn't in charge of PFS, just saying that it is a legitimate question that only the people in charge of PFS can really answer since as written it is an all-encompassing phrase.they have to decide how it fits into PFS.

Liberty's Edge 4/5

4 people marked this as FAQ candidate. Staff response: no reply required. 1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:
I'll talk with Hyrum about this tomorrow and we'll see if we can't codify some definition for using these within PFS play. Until then, "priest" is cleric only. Wizards and sorcerers or whatever can still cast spells on their spell list that say druid (Gozreh) for example, but until we take a look at them, only a cleric of a specific deity can use alternate summon lists granted by their god in PFSOP.

Please Mark/ now mike. It has been 8 months since you posted this. Can we have a now thought out answer?


Bump, Its now been almost 2 years, and I still have an infernal binder priest of asmodeus Wizard character sheet sitting in my desk.

4/5

Bump!

The Exchange 4/5

I followed Mark's Ruling from forever ago and never summoned these on my wizard.

Shadow Lodge 5/5

1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Would love to see this looked at by the current staff.

4/5

Benrislove wrote:
I followed Mark's Ruling from forever ago and never summoned these on my wizard.

As have I. But I do have an Asmodeus Wizard, so I'd get a little mileage out of this if they change their minds.

The Exchange 2/5

yeah, I canned my nature oracle of Erastil concept all together when they announced this-which was a shame, she was going to be fun.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:

In this context, "priest" means any spellcaster who worships a deity and casts a summoning spell.

We keep it vague because that way it covers spellcasting classes we haven't invented yet, or classes from 3rd party publishers as well.

And yes, this DOES mean that if a wizard worships a deity and is truly devout in his faith, he should be able to access those alternate summon monster lists as appropriate for his deity. Whether or not said religious wizard qualifies for those alternative summons is left to that wizard's GM.

Xin, who brought Lissalan worship to Thassilon is described in the text as being a "priest" even though he was a straight wizard.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

I kind of hope it stays Cleric/divine caster only so that they can have a little something unique. That doesn't mean a Wizard can't take Profession: priest for flavor, however.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DM Beckett wrote:
I kind of hope it stays Cleric/divine caster only so that they can have a little something unique. That doesn't mean a Wizard can't take Profession: priest for flavor, however.

Priest is more of a role than a class.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

Sure, but being a priest is built into the Cleric class.

"Cleric

In faith and the miracles of the divine, many find a greater purpose. Called to serve powers beyond most mortal understanding, all priests preach wonders and provide for the spiritual needs of their people. Clerics are more than mere priests, though; these emissaries of the divine work the will of their deities through strength of arms and the magic of their gods. Devoted to the tenets of the religions and philosophies that inspire them, these ecclesiastics quest to spread the knowledge and influence of their faith. Yet while they might share similar abilities, clerics prove as different from one another as the divinities they serve, with some offering healing and redemption, others judging law and truth, and still others spreading conflict and corruption. The ways of the cleric are varied, yet all who tread these paths walk with the mightiest of allies and bear the arms of the gods themselves."

So, what I was saying was that I think it is better to leave the deity specific extra "priest" spells as Cleric (and sometimes Druid, Paladin, but not Oracle) only, to give them a little diversity based on the their deity, but at the same time allow all classes to play there "mere priest" role if they want, through things like Profession: Priest.

In most cases, a Wizard can already cast those extra spells normally anyway, and because they are not limited by alignment the same way, they already have a larger list of Summon Monster options. I don't know, it seems like to open it up to anyone that says they are a priest cheapens it, while keeping it special makes Clerics of particular deities a little bit different than another.

Shadow Lodge 5/5

Has anyone reviewed the Gods and Magic chronicle lately? In this book, under each God it clearly states what classes are considered priests, and usually it is far from just clerics. And rarely does it have to be just divine casters. Just wondering what others thought of this.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

Well, pretty much that and the individual deity articles, see the 65 response before yours for that answer.

:)

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DM Beckett wrote:

Sure, but being a priest is built into the Cleric class.

Maybe it is... but I've seen precious few clerics that would fit the role of priest. So it's fairly obvious that the two roles are very different from each other.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

How are you defining the role of priest?

Shadow Lodge 5/5

In the Gods and Magic book, priests are specifically defined for each of the primary deities. Their jobs and responsibilities are also laid out as well, as are examples of what classes are typically priests for each specific God. Cleric is the most common, but by far from the only one.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

As they are in the deity articles. No one is really arguing that. And if I recall correctly, it generally says priests, but then goes on to say which class gets what extra spell, and it's generally Divine Casters with the occasional Bard thrown in.

If you are responding to my question about "defining the role of priest", that was also in response to "most clerics don't act like priests", which was also taken under the premise that Clerics = priest (class), others can also be priests (role).

Shadow Lodge 4/5

Let me ask it a different way. What combination of these do you define priest as:

A.) an individual that conducts religious services, sacraments, and similar duties for the faithful on a reoccurring basis and holidays

B.) an individual dedicated to the worship of a single patron deity

C.) an officially sanctioned member of an established faith, (given a rank and certain responsibilities and perks)

D.) something that just anyone can be by simply claiming to be

E.) an individual that lives by some extra religiously induced code, such as an ascetic, monk, or wandering pilgrim above and beyond the generic faithful.

F.) an extremely generic sort of catch-all term for an sort of religious leader/individual from shaman to clergy to sage

G.) something else

I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just asking. :)

Shadow Lodge 5/5

Well, for a home game I would say definitely A, C, F plus B, E and G with rather zealous role play of a single God. As to PFS, I would be fine with the Gods and Magic break down. And, no, I wouldn't allow 'faith-hopping' to take advantage of certain creatures at certain levels. That's why GM's discretion and a little common sense should apply.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
DM Beckett wrote:
How are you defining the role of priest?

A person who is the leader of a congregation of worshipers. an earnest leader may get a blessing or some form of anointment from the diety he or she venerates, which will vary on a case by case basis. Such a role is not confined to the class of cleric, although clerics are frequently found in such a role, oracles and druids, less so. Adventuring PC clerics aren't priests, by because they haven't settled down to lead a congregation... or a cult.

Silver Crusade

Has there been an answer as to what qualifies as a "priest" for PFS? There seem to be a number of resources out there referring to this dilema but no official answer yet. Is it clerics, oracles, divine casters, profession priest, anyone....?

5/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Den-Ton Stormwarden wrote:
Has there been an answer as to what qualifies as a "priest" for PFS? There seem to be a number of resources out there referring to this dilema but no official answer yet. Is it clerics, oracles, divine casters, profession priest, anyone....?

There has been no update to the official answer given in this thread by Mark Moreland. For PFS currently, it is cleric only.

Scarab Sages 1/5

Is it likely for access to this to ever be expanded or that this will remain a cleric only option?

Dark Archive

There appears to still be not official answer I can find so far...I guess I'll have to leave this up to my GM to decide and print off more monster stats and extra ones from Summon Monster 2 that I wasn't thinking of using...

Dark Archive

DM Beckett wrote:

Sure, but being a priest is built into the Cleric class.

"Cleric

In faith and the miracles of the divine, many find a greater purpose. Called to serve powers beyond most mortal understanding, all priests preach wonders and provide for the spiritual needs of their people. Clerics are more than mere priests, though; these emissaries of the divine work the will of their deities through strength of arms and the magic of their gods. Devoted to the tenets of the religions and philosophies that inspire them, these ecclesiastics quest to spread the knowledge and influence of their faith. Yet while they might share similar abilities, clerics prove as different from one another as the divinities they serve, with some offering healing and redemption, others judging law and truth, and still others spreading conflict and corruption. The ways of the cleric are varied, yet all who tread these paths walk with the mightiest of allies and bear the arms of the gods themselves."

So, what I was saying was that I think it is better to leave the deity specific extra "priest" spells as Cleric (and sometimes Druid, Paladin, but not Oracle) only, to give them a little diversity based on the their deity, but at the same time allow all classes to play there "mere priest" role if they want, through things like Profession: Priest.

In most cases, a Wizard can already cast those extra spells normally anyway, and because they are not limited by alignment the same way, they already have a larger list of Summon Monster options. I don't know, it seems like to open it up to anyone that says they are a priest cheapens it, while keeping it special makes Clerics of particular deities a little bit different than another.

Actually I have noticed one or two players who don't worship Asmodeus, using Infernal Healing (most likely cause they don't realise it's religion restricted) but due to these spells requiring you to be of this religion I'd imagine this should be the same for expanded summoning list too.

Again, we'll need an official word and I'd like to message them to see if I get a response...probably won't work, but we'll see.

The Exchange 4/5

As of now, Marks ruling still stands. I have wanted it differsntly, but havnt so far. Infernal healing was republished someehere that removed the worship thing.
The summoning book lets you add hellhounds to 3rd i think.

5/5 5/55/55/5

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Jaquilin Leroung wrote:


Actually I have noticed one or two players who don't worship Asmodeus, using Infernal Healing (most likely cause they don't realise it's religion restricted)

Thats not a rule. Its in the inner sea world guide as regular old [evil] spell for everyone.

Grand Lodge 4/5 **** Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento

Doesn't inner sea gods or somewhere have a line about "this spell is more common among these religions, but others have similar spells." I have vague recollections of something like that.


Are we going to ever get official clarification on this? Divine Anthology just came out and with no PFS mention of what and who qualifies as a priest, we're still left hanging five years after the original question was posted.

Liberty's Edge 4/5 5/55/5 **

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
RPG Guild Guide, pg. 38 wrote:

Clergy: This term refers to a PC with one or more cleric class levels.

....

Priest: See Clergy.

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