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I’ve always believed that a wonderful archetype of fantasy was the wise, gentle healer. An elderly fellow monk-like fellow (without the calloused knuckles!) who went out of his way to heal the weak but was fully capable of kicking some evil behind by blasting holy light. I’m afraid the cleric class tries too hard to make a character a mini-version of their god, capable of smacking foes over the head with a mace and fully decked out in shiny armor.
I present the Priest. A base class for those who want to play a clerical type that focuses more on healing and magic than self-buffs for foe-smacking.
“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
The power of faith is not always embroidered in shiny armor and a bloodied sword. One does not need to become an avatar of a deity to do good in this world. For many, hope does not come from brave knights lathered in holy symbols, it comes from the simple and soft-spoken preacher in robes. Sometimes, healing the weak does more good than slaying evil. However, that’s not to say the priest does not excel at blasting her foes from afar with holy fire.
Role: A priest often stays near the back in the party, healing the injured from afar and blasting enemies from even farther away. A priest is often less zealous about her religion as a cleric. A cleric may do good because her deity expects it. A priest uses her religion to do good.
Ability Scores: A priest’s spells rely on Wisdom. Her special abilities like Holy Strike and Lay on Hands depend on Charisma. Due to her use of ranged strikes and her lack of armor, a decent Dexterity score is helpful. A priest of high Intelligence can best utilize her excellent knowledge skills.
Alignment: Any good. A priest’s alignment must also be within one step of her deity/religion, along either the law/chaos or the good/evil axis.
Hit Die: d6
Starting Wealth: As cleric.
Starting Age: As wizard.
Class Skills
The priest’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Saves: Fort-poor, Ref-poor, Will-good
Base Attack Bonus: 1/2 progression
Spells Per Day + Known: As cleric, without bonus Domain spell
1: Aura of Good, Domains, Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 1d6, Orisons, Spontaneous Casting
2: Lay on Hands, Religion Study, Holy Power
3: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 2d6
4: Holy Power
5: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 3d6, Lay on Hands 10'
6: Holy Power
7: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 4d6
8: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 15'
9: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 5d6
10: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 20'
11: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 6d6, Lay on Hands 25'
12: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 30'
13: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 7d6, Lay on Hands 35'
14: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 40'
15: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 8d6, Lay on Hands 45'
16: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 50'
17: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 9d6, Lay on Hands 60'
18: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 70'
19: Holy Arcane, Holy Strike 10d6, Lay on Hands 80'
20: Holy Power, Lay on Hands 100'
Class Features
The following are class features of the priest.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Priests are proficient with the battle aspergillum, club, dagger, light mace, quarterstaff, and wooden stake. Priests are not proficient in any armor or shields.
Aura of Good
The power of a priest’s aura of a good (see the detect good spell) is equal to her priest level.
Spells
A priest casts divine spells which are drawn from the cleric spell list. Her alignment, however, may restrict her from casting certain spells opposed to her moral or ethical beliefs; see Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells. A priest must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a priest must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a priest’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the priest’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a priest can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Priest Spells Per Day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells).
Priests meditate or pray for their spells. Each priest must choose a time at which she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a priest can prepare spells. A priest may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Dogma
A priest’s deity influences her alignment, what magic she can perform, her values, and how others see her. A deity grant dogmas of the same name as the domains they represent. A priest chooses two dogmas from among those belonging to her deity. A priest can select an alignment dogma (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if her alignment matches that dogma. If a priest is not devoted to a particular deity, she still selects two dogma to represent her spiritual inclinations and abilities (subject to GM approval). The restriction on alignment dogma still applies.
Each dogma grants a number of dogma powers, dependent upon the level of the cleric, as well as a number of bonus spells that a priest adds to their list of spells known.
In addition, a priest gains the listed powers from both of her dogma, if she is of a high enough level. Unless otherwise noted, activating a dogma power is a standard action.
Holy Arcane
A priest’s faith grants her extraordinary magic unavailable to most divine casters. Starting at first level and every odd level after, add one spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list to the priest’s list of spells known. Once a spell is chosen, it may not be changed.
Holy Strike
A priest may send out a surge of holy fire through her holy symbol to sear her enemies. As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity a priest may fire a close range ray (25 ft + 5 ft/ 2 levels) that deals 1d6 damage at first level and an additional 1d6 damage every 2 levels after. A priest may holy strike 3 + Cha times per day.
Orisons
Priests can prepare a number of orisons, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Priest Spells Per Day. These spells are treated like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again.
Spontaneous Casting
A priest may “lose” any prepared spell in order to cast a “holy arcane” or domain spell of the same spell level or lower.
Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells
A priest can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to her own or her deity's (if she has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaotic, evil, good, and lawful descriptors in their spell descriptions.
Bonus Languages
A priest’s bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively). These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of her race.
Lay on Hands
Beginning at 2nd level, a priest can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can use this ability a number of times equal to 1/2 her priest level plus her Charisma modifier. With one use of this ability, a priest can heal 1d6 hit points of damage for every two priest levels she possesses. Using this ability is a standard action, unless the priest targets herself, in which case it is a swift action. Despite the name of this ability, a priest only needs one free hand to use this ability.
Alternatively, a priest can use this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures, dealing 1d6 points of damage for every two levels the priest possesses. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. Undead do not receive a saving throw against this damage.
At 5th level, lay on hands is a swift action even when using it on others. In addition, the priest may use this ability as a ranged touch attack with a 10 foot range. With more priest levels, this range continues to increase, as seen on Table: Priest.
Religious Study
A priest gains a bonus on all Knowledge and Linguistics skill checks equal to half of her priest level. In addition, she may make Knowledge and Linguistics skill checks untrained.
Holy Power
At 2nd level and every 2 levels after, a priest may select an altered effect for her holy strike ability. Abilities marked with an (*) asterisk may not be used in the same strike.
Burning Retribution: Targets that are hit by the ray form of holy strike or fail the reflex save against one of the other forms must make a Will save equal to 10 + ½ the priest’s level + the priest’s charisma modifier or take additional divine damage equal to the priest’s level for a number of rounds equal to the priest’s charisma modifier. If cast on a target that’s already taking burning divine magic, the length of the burning simply renews; no additional damage per round is dealt. A priest must be 6th level before taking this holy power.
Careful Strike: The priest may ignore one target in holy explosion, holy blast, or holy spray. She may take this multiple times. Each time she takes this holy power, she may ignore an additional target. She must have Holy Bomb before taking this holy power.
Empowered Blast: Increase the damage die from holy strike by one step to a max of 2d6. (i.e. 1d6 to 1d8 to 1d10 to 1d12 to 2d6) This may be taken multiple times, its effects stack.
Extra Strikes: The priest gains 3 additional uses of holy strike per day. This may be taken multiple times. Its effects stack.
Holy Blast*: The priest releases a holy strike as a line from her holy symbol. All creatures within a 120-foot line from the priest receive a Reflex save to halve the damage. The DC of the save is equal to 10 + ½ the priest’s level + the priest’s charisma modifier.
Holy Bomb*: The priest may direct a holy explosion, holy blast, or holy spray in a spot within close range of the priest (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels). A priest must have holy explosion before taking this ability.
Holy Chain Strike*: After a holy strike hits a target, it immediately leaps to a target within 30 feet, dealing one die less damage. If this second ray hits, it leaps to another target, dealing one die less damage than the target before it. Each consecutive target gains +2 AC versus the ray than the target before it. All targets must be within 30 feet of each other.
Holy Explosion: Holy strike causes a burst centered on the priest that affects all creatures in a 30-foot radius. Instead of a touch attack from the priest, all creatures affected receive a Reflex save to halve the damage. The DC of the save is equal to 10 + ½ the priest’s level + the priest’s charisma modifier.
Holy Shield: A priest may use a charge of holy strike to add her Charisma bonus (if any) to her deflection bonus to AC and CMD for a number of rounds equal to her priest level.
Holy Spray*: The priest’s holy symbol blasts a 60-foot cone. All creatures within a 60-foot cone from the priest receive a Reflex save to halve the damage. The DC of the save is equal to 10 + ½ the priest’s level + the priest’s charisma modifier.
Martyr Strike: The priest deals full dice damage with holy strike, but she takes half damage. If her holy strike affects multiple targets, she takes full damage as if it were a single ray. This self-inflicted damage stacks with damage a priest takes if she is hit with her own strike.
Merciful Strike: A holy strike deals nonlethal damage.
Persisting Shield: A priest’s holy shield’s duration is increased to a number of minutes equal to her priest level.
Permanent Shield: A priest’s holy shield lasts until dispelled. A priest must be level 6 before selecting this holy power.
Quick Strike: Holy strike is treated as an attack action, not as a standard action.
Safe Strike: Holy strike does not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Dogmas
A priest can select any two blessings granted by her
deity. Deities grant dogmas of the same name as the
domains they grant. A priest without a deity may
select any two dogmas (subject to GM approval). If a
dogma’s power duplicates a spell effect, the priest’s
caster level for that power is equal to her priest level.
Air Dogma
Dogma Power: Holy Strike deals +1 lightning damage per die
Dogma Spells: 1st—obscuring mist, 2nd—wind wall, 3rd—gaseous form, 4th—air walk, 5th—control winds, 6th—chain lightning, 7th—elemental body IV (air only), 8th—whirlwind, 9th—elemental swarm (air spell only).
Animal Dogma
Dogma Power: Allies’ animals (summoned, companion, or mount) take no damage from Holy Strike. In addition, these animals are healed +1 damage per die from your healing spells and lay on hands.
Dogma Spells: 1st—calm animals, 2nd—hold animal, 3rd—dominate animal, 4th—summon nature's ally IV (animals only), 5th—beast shape III (animals only), 6th—antilife shell, 7th—animal shapes, 8th—summon nature's ally VIII (animals only), 9th—shapechange.
Artifice Dogma
Dogma Power: Your healing spells and lay on hands can restore hit points to objects and constructs.
Dogma Spells: 1st—animate rope, 2nd—wood shape, 3rd—stone shape, 4th—minor creation, 5th—fabricate, 6th—major creation, 7th—wall of iron, 8th—statue, 9th—prismatic sphere.
Chaos Dogma
Dogma Power: +2 to pierce the spell resistance of Lawful outsiders
Dogma Spells: 1st—protection from law, 2nd—align weapon (chaos only), 3rd—magic circle against law, 4th—chaos hammer, 5th—dispel law, 6th—animate objects, 7th—word of chaos, 8th—cloak of chaos, 9th—summon monster IX (chaos spell only).
Charm Dogma
Dogma Power: Treat caster level as 2 higher for purposes of enchantment spells
Dogma Spells: 1st—charm person, 2nd—calm emotions, 3rd—suggestion, 4th—heroism, 5th—charm monster, 6th—geas/quest, 7th—insanity, 8th—demand, 9th—dominate monster.
Community Dogma
Dogma Power: Treat caster level as 1 higher when casting a spell that benefits every ally within 60-ft.
Dogma Spells: 1st—bless, 2nd—shield other, 3rd—prayer, 4th—imbue with spell ability, 5th—telepathic bond, 6th—heroes' feast, 7th—refuge, 8th—mass cure critical wounds, 9th—miracle.
Darkness Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level while in shadowy illumination or dimmer
Dogma Spells: 1st—obscuring mist, 2nd—blindness/deafness (only to cause blindness), 3rd—deeper darkness, 4th—shadow conjuration, 5th—summon monster V (summons 1d3 shadows), 6th—shadow walk, 7th—power word blind, 8th—greater shadow evocation, 9th—shades.
Death Dogma
Dogma Power: Treat caster level as 2 higher for purposes of reanimating and controlling undead.
Dogma Spells: 1st—cause fear, 2nd—death knell, 3rd—animate dead, 4th—death ward, 5th—slay living, 6th—create undead, 7th—destruction, 8th—create greater undead, 9th—wail of the banshee.
Destruction Dogma
Dogma Power: Deal +1 damage with spells that deal negative energy and with touch of corruption.
Dogma Spells: 1st—true strike, 2nd—shatter, 3rd—rage, 4th—inflict critical wounds, 5th—shout, 6th—harm, 7th—disintegrate, 8th—earthquake, 9th—implosion.
Earth Dogma
Dogma Power: Holy Strike deals +1 acid damage per die
Dogma Spells: 1st—magic stone, 2nd—soften earth and stone, 3rd—stone shape, 4th—spike stones, 5th—wall of stone, 6th—stoneskin, 7th—elemental body IV (earth only), 8th—earthquake, 9th—elemental swarm (earth spell only).
Evil Dogma
Dogma Power: +2 to pierce the spell resistance of Good outsiders.
Dogma Spells: 1st—protection from good, 2nd—align weapon (evil only), 3rd—magic circle against good, 4th—unholy blight, 5th—dispel good, 6th—create undead, 7th—blasphemy, 8th—unholy aura, 9th—summon monster IX (evil spell only).
Fire Dogma
Dogma Power: Holy Strike deals +1 fire damage per die
Dogma Spells: 1st—burning hands, 2nd—produce flame, 3rd—fireball, 4th—wall of fire, 5th—fire shield, 6th—fire seeds, 7th—elemental body IV (fire only), 8th—incendiary cloud, 9th—elemental swarm (fire spell only).
Glory Dogma
Dogma Power: Holy Strike deals +2 damage per die against undead
Dogma Spells: 1st—shield of faith, 2nd—bless weapon, 3rd—searing light, 4th—holy smite, 5th—righteous might, 6th—undeath to death, 7th—holy sword, 8th—holy aura, 9th—gate.
Good Dogma
Dogma Power: +2 to pierce the spell resistance of Evil outsiders
Dogma Spells: 1st—protection from evil, 2nd—align weapon (good only), 3rd—magic circle against evil, 4th—holy smite, 5th—dispel evil, 6th—blade barrier, 7th—holy word, 8th—holy aura, 9th—summon monster IX (good spell only).
Healing Dogma
Dogma Power: Allies heal +1 damage per die from your healing spells and lay on hands.
Dogma Spells: 1st—cure light wounds, 2nd—cure moderate wounds, 3rd—cure serious wounds, 4th—cure critical wounds, 5th—breath of life, 6th—heal, 7th—regenerate, 8th—mass cure critical wounds, 9th—mass heal.
Knowledge Dogma
Dogma Power: Use Wisdom bonus instead of intelligence on knowledge checks.
Dogma Spells: 1st—comprehend languages, 2nd—detect thoughts, 3rd—speak with dead, 4th—divination, 5th—true seeing, 6th—find the path, 7th—legend lore, 8th—discern location, 9th—foresight.
Law Dogma
Dogma Power: +2 to pierce the spell resistance of Chaotic outsiders.
Dogma Spells: 1st—protection from chaos, 2nd—align weapon (law only), 3rd—magic circle against chaos, 4th—order's wrath, 5th—dispel chaos, 6th—hold monster, 7th—dictum, 8th—shield of law, 9th—summon monster IX (law spell only).
Liberation Dogma
Dogma Power: +2 on dispel checks against effects that restrain or constrict.
Dogma Spells: 1st—remove fear, 2nd—remove paralysis, 3rd—remove curse, 4th—freedom of movement, 5th—break enchantment, 6th—greater dispel magic, 7th—refuge, 8th—mind blank, 9th—freedom.
Luck Dogma
Dogma Power: Targets of your lay on hands gain a luck bonus on attack rolls, AC, and saving throws equal to your Wisdom bonus (minimum 1) for 1 round.
Dogma Spells: 1st—true strike, 2nd—aid, 3rd—protection from energy, 4th—freedom of movement, 5th—break enchantment, 6th—mislead, 7th—spell turning, 8th—moment of prescience, 9th—miracle.
Madness Dogma
Dogma Power: Targets of your touch of corruption receives a penalty on either attack rolls, AC, or saving throws equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1) for 1d3 rounds.
Dogma Spells: 1st—lesser confusion, 2nd—touch of idiocy, 3rd—rage, 4th—confusion, 5th—nightmare, 6th—phantasmal killer, 7th—insanity, 8th—scintillating pattern, 9th—weird.
Magic Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level when casting spells gained with holy arcane.
Dogma Spells: 1st—identify, 2nd—magic mouth, 3rd—dispel magic, 4th—imbue with spell ability, 5th—spell resistance, 6th—antimagic field, 7th—spell turning, 8th—protection from spells, 9th—mage's disjunction.
Nobility Dogma
Dogma Power: Add your Wis in addition to your Cha to determine Leadership score.
Dogma Spells: 1st—divine favor, 2nd—enthrall, 3rd—magic vestment, 4th—discern lies, 5th—greater command, 6th—geas/quest, 7th—repulsion, 8th—demand, 9th—storm of vengeance.
Plant Dogma
Dogma Power: You may select from the druid spell list with holy arcane.
Dogma Spells: 1st—entangle, 2nd—barkskin, 3rd—plant growth, 4th—command plants, 5th—wall of thorns, 6th—repel wood, 7th—animate plants, 8th—control plants, 9th—shambler.
Protection Dogma
Dogma Power: Spend a use of Holy Strike to grant an ally a deflection bonus to AC equal to your Wisdom modifier for a number of rounds equal to your level.
Dogma Spells: 1st—sanctuary, 2nd—shield other, 3rd—protection from energy, 4th—spell immunity, 5th—spell resistance, 6th—antimagic field, 7th—repulsion, 8th—mind blank, 9th—prismatic sphere.
Repose Dogma
Dogma Power: Treat your caster level as 1 higher when casting spells of the necromancy school.
Dogma Spells: 1st—deathwatch, 2nd—gentle repose, 3rd—speak with dead, 4th—death ward, 5th—slay living, 6th—undeath to death, 7th—destruction, 8th—waves of exhaustion, 9th—wail of the banshee.
Rune Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level when casting a spell from a scroll.
Dogma Spells: 1st—erase, 2nd—secret page, 3rd—glyph of warding, 4th—explosive runes, 5th—lesser planar binding, 6th—greater glyph of warding, 7th—instant summons, 8th—symbol of death, 9th—teleportation circle.
Scalykind Dogma
Dogma Power: Select one- acid, cold, electricity, and fire. At the beginning of your turn, decide if holy strike deals this damage.
Dogma Spells: 1st—magic fang, 2nd—animal trance, 3rd—greater magic fang, 4th—poison, 5th—animal growth*, 6th—eyebite, 7th—creeping doom (takes the form of Diminutive-sized snakes), 8th—animal shapes*, 9th—shapechange.
* Includes only viper and constrictor snakes
Strength Dogma
Dogma Power: Use your Wisdom score to determine your carrying capacity and on Strength checks (to kick open doors, etc.)
Dogma Spells: 1st—enlarge person, 2nd—bull's strength, 3rd—magic vestment, 4th—spell immunity, 5th—righteous might, 6th—stoneskin, 7th—grasping hand, 8th—clenched fist, 9th—crushing hand.
Sun Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level while in bright light.
Dogma Spells: 1st—endure elements, 2nd—heat metal, 3rd—searing light, 4th—fire shield, 5th—flame strike, 6th—fire seeds, 7th—sunbeam, 8th—sunburst, 9th—prismatic sphere.
Travel Dogma
Dogma Power: +10 movement speed.
Dogma Spells: 1st—longstrider, 2nd—locate object, 3rd—fly, 4th—dimension door, 5th—teleport, 6th—find the path, 7th—greater teleport, 8th—phase door, 9th—astral projection.
Trickery Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level with illusion spells
Dogma Spells: 1st—disguise self, 2nd—invisibility, 3rd—nondetection, 4th—confusion, 5th—false vision, 6th—mislead, 7th—screen, 8th—mass invisibility, 9th—time stop.
Void Dogma
Dogma Power: +1 caster level with summoning spells
Dogma Spells: 1st—feather fall, 2nd—levitate, 3rd—fly, 4th—lesser planar binding, 5th—overland flight, 6th—planar binding, 7th—reverse gravity, 8th—greater planar binding,9th—interplanetary teleport.
War Dogma
Dogma Power: Targets of your lay on hands gain a bonus to damage equal to your Wisdom bonus (minimum +1) for a number of rounds equal to ¼ your priest level (minimum 1).
Dogma Spells: 1st—magic weapon, 2nd—spiritual weapon, 3rd—magic vestment, 4th—divine power, 5th—flame strike, 6th—blade barrier, 7th—power word blind, 8th—power word stun, 9th—power word kill.
Water Dogma
Dogma Power: Holy strike deals +1 cold damage per die
Dogma Spells: 1st—obscuring mist, 2nd—fog cloud, 3rd—water breathing, 4th—control water, 5th—ice storm, 6th—cone of cold, 7th—elemental body IV (water only), 8th—horrid wilting, 9th—elemental swarm (water spell only).
Weather Dogma
Dogma Power: Your holy strike causes gust of wind to those it affects. Holy strike that affects an area also affects the area with gust of wind.
Dogma Spells: 1st—obscuring mist, 2nd—fog cloud, 3rd—call lightning, 4th—sleet storm, 5th—ice storm, 6th—control winds, 7th—control weather, 8th—whirlwind, 9th—storm of vengeance.
Archetypes currently being made:
Dark Priest: Evil, swap touch of corruption for lay on hands, Aura of Evil swapped with Aura of Good
Necromancer: Targets killed by (weaker) holy strikes are raised as undead, lay on hands -> touch of corruption
Warlock-type: More frequent and more powerful holy strikes. Diminished spellcasting. No lay on hands and one dogma.
Grey Priest: No aura, can do both (weaker) touch of corruption and lay on hands, can have conflicting dogmas and spells (ex. evil and good dogmas), perhaps diminished spellcasting
I like this one. Good crunch. Succinct in a way I can't ever pull off... I am a bit worried about your holy lasers of doom, though. Have you considered linking the ability in to a selective number of the channel feats somehow? You'll also need reworked variants of a few magic items.
Look interesting after a quick browse.
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A quite like clerics (especially caster and support clerics over battle clerics) so this class is right up my ally. I also like it quite a bit better than the Priest from Adamant Entertainment, but it's not perfect. Thoughts:
- I don't like how the "default" of the class is Good, and to play other alignments you need archetypes. I get that you want different abilities for different alignments, but I'd prefer for this to be baked into the class. Also, no love for law and chaos?
- Are there any dogma spell lists that are different from their respective domain lists? I didn't check every single dogma, but I couldn't spot any differences as I was browsing through them. If there aren't any, it'd be easier to say "You get the same spell list as that of your respective domain."
- Dogmas overall feel weaker than domains. I don't know if you intended this for balance reasons (since the class also gets Holy Strike, "Holy Arcane" (which would be much better named as Holy Arcana btw), and spontaneous dogma casting), or just because you wanted dogma powers to be more beneficial to a full caster and just made them weaker than domains by accident. It also has the unfortunate problem that dogmas aren't compatible with subdomains: This locks out a lot of really interesting options.
- The Madness dogma refers specifically to the Touch of Corruption ability that Dark Priests get, but there are good-aligned deities that get that domain: Chucaro and Tsukiyo, for example.
- Holy Strike, well... doesn't seem to *fit*, really. It seems like this was an ability designed for a completely different class, that was just stapled onto the Priest just because. It feels like Eldritch Blast, except with a daily limit on its uses for some reason.
- Holy Strike's damage output is really really low: It has the same problem as the Arcanist's blast exploits. At level 19 you'll be doing 40d6 damage assuming you invested in all five Empowered Strikes. At this level, it's hardly even worth the standard action.
- Permanent Shield is weird. It says it lasts until dispelled, but supernatural abilities normally can't be dispelled. So you just get CHA as a Deflection bonus to AC, all day er'ry day? 6th level seems kinda low for that.
- Quick Strike feels really pointless. I assume that by "attack action" you mean that you can full attack with it (since an attack that isn't part of a full attack is still a standard action). Except the Priest gets only half BAB, so that's a maximum of 2 attacks. Whoopdie do.
- Give the lay on hands range improvements a consistent, regular progression instead of making us look it up on a table. It's much easier to remember and apply "10 feet at 5th level, and 5 additional feet for every level afterward" than a table of arbitrary ranges.
Looks fun. No idea how it balances out all in all though.
What happens if I put heavy armor on? Is there anything stopping me from spending two feats and being pretty close to the cleric? Except one less spell, and a lot more goodies?
Thanks all for the responses.
Craft Cheese, my original vision of the class was a good character regardless of their deity (sort of a paladin/cleric/wizard mixup). However, it is pretty restrictive and I'll probably end up using cleric alignment rules in the end.
Dogma spells will be slightly different than domains. I'll be removing any self-buffing spells and replacing them with something more 'priesty.'
I'm actually a bit relieved that Holy Strike is seen as underpowered instead of overpowered. I figured it would make other blasty class features like alchemist bombs seem weak. So perhaps I'm bump it up a bit (at the very least, it'll have unlimited uses like eldritch blast)
I didn't want priests to have a ranged lay on hands at low levels. I also have a separate column on my table to take this easier to read. But perhaps a static progression instead of an exponential growth would seem less silly.
Cheapy, I was debating if I was going to have armor get in the way of casting. I'm not sure if it's against the rules to make divine magic get hindered by armor.
- Dogmas overall feel weaker than domains. I don't know if you intended this for balance reasons (since the class also gets Holy Strike, "Holy Arcane" (which would be much better named as Holy Arcana btw), and spontaneous dogma casting), or just because you wanted dogma powers to be more beneficial to a full caster and just made them weaker than domains by accident. It also has the unfortunate problem that dogmas aren't compatible with subdomains: This locks out a lot of really interesting options.
Dogmas were intentionally meant to be weaker than domains. I figured a mini-avatar of their deity (clerics) should have better domains than priests who simply use their deities to casts spells. (Also, I'll definitely rename Holy Arcane -> Holy Arcana) I also imagine that I'll be making sub-dogmas in the future once I get the kinks of the class itself worked out.
Cheapy, I was debating if I was going to have armor get in the way of casting. I'm not sure if it's against the rules to make divine magic get hindered by armor.
The nice thing about writing your own rules is that you get to break others :)
Overall, I liked what I read. I want to read it in more detail later.
The way I've handled the "armor-less cleric in armor" thing in the past is just say that they have foresaken armor because their faith will protect them, and that if they wear armor, class features X, Y, and Z don't work.
Cheapy's suggested is already used by other classes, so it is well founded. The monk loses many features in any armor, barbarian loses fast movement in heavy, ranger loses combat styles in heavy, I'm sure there are more. Its not quite the same, but any character with a bunch of strength and dexterity based skills applies armor check penalties. I see nothing wrong with this approach. Spell failure is legitimate too, but its more annoying than anything else.
And if you could, please explain your rationale for the alignment restriction.
The nice thing about writing your own rules is that you get to break others :)
Overall, I liked what I read. I want to read it in more detail later.
The way I've handled the "armor-less cleric in armor" thing in the past is just say that they have foresaken armor because their faith will protect them, and that if they wear armor, class features X, Y, and Z don't work.
Haha, fair enough :) I just don't want to stretch the rules in any way that makes people cringe and yell blasphemy.
I certainly like the idea of "my faith shall protect me."Cheapy's suggested is already used by other classes, so it is well founded. The monk loses many features in any armor, barbarian loses fast movement in heavy, ranger loses combat styles in heavy, I'm sure there are more. Its not quite the same, but any character with a bunch of strength and dexterity based skills applies armor check penalties. I see nothing wrong with this approach. Spell failure is legitimate too, but its more annoying than anything else.
And if you could, please explain your rationale for the alignment restriction.
I'm not sure what class features could be lost by armor restrictions. At least with the monk and ranger, it's a bit reasonable to understand what they lose. Besides spell failure chance, I could only see a "connection problem" where Deity N tries channeling divine powers to Priest B but tells the priest, "Sorry, man. I can't give you those powers while you wear that thick armor. My divinity can only go through so much material!"
As for alignment rationale... I wanted the priest to be like the paladin in a sense where only genuinely good people could be the class. And they would receive their powers not because the god sees himself in the caster, but because the priest is just that swell of a guy/gal! However, I've decided that it's a bit ridiculous to restrict Priests, especially for people that see the Priest as a way to play a more castery-cleric. I may just turn Lay on Hands / Touch of Corruption into some common ability that does positive energy for good clerics and negative energy for evil clerics. This way I don't have to worry about splitting the Priest into two Priest/Antipriests type dealio.
I was a bit apprehensive at first. I like it though, at first glance it looks very balanced.
I would, however, take a cue from the spells like Holy Smite on the Holy Strike class feature. Have the holy fire deal untyped damage and deal full damage against evil targets, half damage against neutral targets and be harmless to good targets. You could put in a holy power to have it deal half fire damage and half sacred damage like flame strike if you decide to go that direction.
Or include those as holy powers. Fire is the most resisted element overall.
I like the idea that they lose class features if they wear armor.
Very neat class overall.
You could simply say that Priest spells are subject to arcane spell failure from wearing armor and shields. I have never personally known someone risk that percentage for losing a spell, except one time at a single session game.
I would clarify Holy Strike. Is it a ranged touch attack? Is there a save for half damage? Is the attack simply described as fire or does it deal fire damage? I would be inclined to make it another type, or untyped.
I was a bit apprehensive at first. I like it though, at first glance it looks very balanced.
I would, however, take a cue from the spells like Holy Smite on the Holy Strike class feature. Have the holy fire deal untyped damage and deal full damage against evil targets, half damage against neutral targets and be harmless to good targets. You could put in a holy power to have it deal half fire damage and half sacred damage like flame strike if you decide to go that direction.
Or include those as holy powers. Fire is the most resisted element overall.
I like the idea that they lose class features if they wear armor.
Very neat class overall.
I like the idea of a holy fire that deals full damage to evil, half to neutral, and none to good. But I think I probably should make this class not have an alignment restriction. If I do so, it'd be best if it hurt everyone equally.
You could simply say that Priest spells are subject to arcane spell failure from wearing armor and shields. I have never personally known someone risk that percentage for losing a spell, except one time at a single session game.
I would clarify Holy Strike. Is it a ranged touch attack? Is there a save for half damage? Is the attack simply described as fire or does it deal fire damage? I would be inclined to make it another type, or untyped.
Apologies about a copy and paste (or rather not copy and paste) error. Originally I had the original/ray form of Holy Strike treated as a ranged touch attack with no save. Every other form of Holy Strike such as Holy Explosion has no touch attack, but has a Reflex save for half.
Aye, I'll have Priest spells subject to arcane spell failure chance. If need be, I could reason that it's because they have some arcanic mixing in their divine magic. Even if someone has a spell failure chance as low as 5%, the vast majority of players still won't risk wearing light armor.
Somewhere a while ago (perhaps when I did 3.0 or 3.5) I read that divine magic did untyped damage. So I was going to have Holy Strike deal divine damage... however, I cannot find where I originally saw that. If I go with Holy Strike dealing untyped damage, do I describe it as "untyped damage" in its actual description?
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I'm just gonnnna be honest. This is dumb. Clerics are my favorite class besides a Wizard and M. Theurge. You're making this like a paladin. Why does a priest have to be good, huh??
Your ""Holy Strikes"" are better than an alchemist bomb (untyped damage, infinite, can do more damage, and it's customaizable) AND this class gets 9 levels of spells????
Dogmas are weak. Work on that. Seriously. Domains are better.
And again. Why not call this Paladin-that-wears-dresses-and-shoots-lasers-and-spells? Paizo already has Warpriest. Can't copy names like that, seriously.
And you making it use Charisma AND Wisdom??? What's that supposed to accomplish??
Only reason the cleric that wears robes is a good concept if you make an AWESOME M. Theurge. But this class doesn't get more spells??? It gets less?!!! Talk about not a good dip for M. Theurge, man.
Holy Arcane? Since when do Clerics get arcane spells? No need to make it more CODzilla (not Call of Duty godsilla, lol!)
Seriously. Just gonna be honest Brenguar. I hope you're not printing this 3pp. It's not balanced: Spellcasting worst. Gets arcane (that's for wizards, maguses, you get the point). Lasers (this isn't star trek). Priest is already sounds like Warpriest. Dogmas are worse than Domains. Lay on Hands is , only for paladins. (Clerics get CHANNEL ENERGY). Don't make it Good alignment, nobody wants to play Archetype just to be CHAOTIC NEUTRAL :)
Basically. Just use Adament Gaming Priest. It's better. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/adamant-entertainment/pri est See? More spellcasting. Wears cloth like you like. More SKILLS. CHANNEL ENERGy (not lay on hands!!!). And it gets the Lore ability you probbably ripped from them. And importantly: You can't HAVE to be good! (that's no fun!)
Take a hint from Adament Gaming if your going to do anymore.
[http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/adamant-entertainment/priest] LINK [/url]
Sorry thats the link. Other was broken. See? Its really great. Best for the M. Theurge, yea?
Also, I dont mean to say yours is dumb, my bad. {Like I said though. Not trying to be rude. Just constructive critism} Just needs ALOT of work. Plus there's no point with Adament Gaming Priest (ABOVE LINK} and the Cleric {which is a great class, by the way. I don't know why you even want to change it when it's really great. It can wear heavy armor if you take a feat, and it's good at combat, not to mention spellcasting and domains (not dogmos, lol)
Good your on the boards though. You'll learn alot for next time..
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I have been following this class for awhile, do to the lack of there being a 1/2 bab full divine caster within the pathfinder game. Why this type of class doesn't exist in Paizo's content could be a multitude of reasons, namely. I have typed up a few of my thoughts,
There are a few challenges with making this viable:
First being that for a full divine castor to stand on his own (without being combat oriented like a cleric or oracle, since that is what I perceive is the goal of this the class), the spell list needs to be a bit more up to par with the Wizard list. Adding a limited number of arcane spells for the priest to have at his disposal is probably the best way to shore up some of the weaknesses outside of giving this class it's own list (which is a total pain for 3pp to have to update every time Paizo publishes new spells). Brenguar, I tip my hat to you for innovation.
Second is keeping the class tied to deity's portfolio. Since Domains are ,generally, better suited for characters that wade in and out of melee (something this class doesn't want to do), a new mechanic that works similar to the way domains do, but benefit the priest with powers that are better suited to the casting role, dogma's fit the bill very well, even if they are a bit weaker than what a domain does for a cleric.
The alignment restriction is a little awkward but I see where you are coming from, Lay on Hands is very much a good flavored ability and shouldn't be at the disposal of non-good characters, and it doesn't feel out of place on a good aligned priest at all. Perhaps allowing an evil priest to take Touch of Corruption (as the antipaladin ability) and giving neutral priests the choice between the two (similar to how a cleric gains all the inflict or cure spells) would help with this. I like how this ability can be used at range as well.
Other than that, you have some nice mechanics in here that make this a very flavorful class (something I personally hold in high regards with any class).
One last minor note for your consideration is changing the name of the class from Priest to something like Apostle. Mainly to avoid confusion with the warpriest class that is on it's way.
Keep up the good work Brenguar, and don't let any overwhelmingly negative comments get you down!
Illius
I have been following this class for awhile, do to the lack of there being a 1/2 bab full divine caster within the pathfinder game. Why this type of class doesn't exist in Paizo's content could be a multitude of reasons
Full divine casters should be 3/4 Base attack. If you want to play 1/2 Base attack, play an arcane class. It's what they do. Cloistered Cleric in 3.5 was OP, still able to CODsilla with a 1/2 Base attack, you know?
I'll keep your words in mind, Mystic. I'm not trying to be accusatory or defensive, but it may be best to have future comments that are more tactful. You come off as a bit of a troll by saying statements like, "This is dumb." and "you probably ripped from them." And I apologize if your comments were sincere.
...the spell list needs to be a bit more up to par with the Wizard list. Adding a limited number of arcane spells for the priest to have at his disposal is probably the best way to shore up some of the weaknesses outside of giving this class it's own list (which is a total pain for 3pp to have to update every time Paizo publishes new spells). Brenguar, I tip my hat to you for innovation.Second is keeping the class tied to deity's portfolio. Since Domains are ,generally, better suited for characters that wade in and out of melee (something this class doesn't want to do), a new mechanic that works similar to the way domains do, but benefit the priest with powers that are better suited to the casting role, dogma's fit the bill very well, even if they are a bit weaker than what a domain does for a cleric.
The alignment restriction is a little awkward but I see where you are coming from, Lay on Hands is very much a good flavored ability and shouldn't be at the disposal of non-good characters, and it doesn't feel out of place on a good aligned priest at all. Perhaps allowing an evil priest to take Touch of Corruption (as the antipaladin ability) and giving neutral priests the choice between the two (similar to how a cleric gains all the inflict or cure spells) would help with this. I like how this ability can be used at range as well.
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, Holy Arcane (Holy Arcana in the future) is meant to help a full divine caster stay effective out of melee (without becoming a full-blown wizard).
It seems that everyone's in favor of making Priests similar to the alignment scheme of Clerics, not forced to use an archetype to play a neutral or evil Priest. Therefore, I'll be sure to make Lay on Hands/Touch of Corruption to be more flexible. I'll also make the aura function in the same way as a cleric's, instead of the always-good paladins.
I'll keep my eyes and ears open for a more suiting class name if Priest seems too easily confused with Warpriest.
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I'll keep your words in mind, Mystic. I'm not trying to be accusatory or defensive, but it may be best to have future comments that are more tactful. You come off as a bit of a troll by saying statements like, "This is dumb." and "you probably ripped from them." And I apologize if your comments were sincere.
Sorry. Just speaking my mind. Figured you knew about that, with your username, I know your a skater too. I got a Brenguard board myself.
I'll keep your words in mind, Mystic. I'm not trying to be accusatory or defensive, but it may be best to have future comments that are more tactful. You come off as a bit of a troll by saying statements like, "This is dumb." and "you probably ripped from them." And I apologize if your comments were sincere.Sorry. Just speaking my mind. Figured you knew about that, with your username, I know your a skater too. I got a Brenguard board myself.
Without trying to deviate from the topic about the priest. A brenguar is a bear/cat klingon-type race from a campaign setting. I don't know anything about Brenguard boards. And, not to be rude, I don't wish to discuss them here.
Is there a way to edit my original post to show updates I've done to the class?
I'll keep your words in mind, Mystic. I'm not trying to be accusatory or defensive, but it may be best to have future comments that are more tactful. You come off as a bit of a troll by saying statements like, "This is dumb." and "you probably ripped from them." And I apologize if your comments were sincere.Sorry. Just speaking my mind. Figured you knew about that, with your username, I know your a skater too. I got a Brenguard board myself.Without trying to deviate from the topic about the priest. A brenguar is a bear/cat klingon-type race from a campaign setting. I don't know anything about Brenguard boards. And, not to be rude, I don't wish to discuss them here.
Is there a way to edit my original post to show updates I've done to the class?
Alright Brenguar. Well I still say that if you want to play a casterblaster, you should stick to arcane classes. Especially because you want this ""cleric"" to wear wizard robes. No need for this 3PP
Full divine casters should be 3/4 Base attack. If you want to play 1/2 Base attack, play an arcane class. It's what they do. Cloistered Cleric in 3.5 was OP, still able to CODsilla with a 1/2 Base attack, you know?
Arbitrary restriction. Furthermore Divine Power (the main reason cloistered clerics weren't as crippled in melee as their 1/2 BAB might seem to imply) has been hit with the nerf bat in PF: It's now a scaling luck bonus rather than "BAB = Character Level." A 1/2 BAB Divine caster class is fine.
Arbitrary restriction. Furthermore Divine Power (the main reason cloistered clerics weren't as crippled in melee as their 1/2 BAB might seem to imply) has been hit with the nerf bat in PF: It's now a scaling luck bonus rather than "BAB = Character Level." A 1/2 BAB Divine caster class is fine.
The class will still have the ability to grab [Tenser's] Transformation and the ability to run around with its lasers and lay on hands with that spell up and running.
The dogma power level feels about right given that the lay on hands and the holy lasers are on different resource pools - there's simply too much going on to give two full domains on top of it.
Consider how this goes down.
Every odd level - Spell level, +1 arcane spell known, +1d6 holy strike damage
Every even level - Holy strike talent, +1 lay on hands, +1 Knowledge and Linguistics
Overall, quite a bit of stuff, and it all adds up to fill that rift between arcane and divine quite well. Playtesting may show that the bonus arcane spells should be bumped up one spell level above that of wizard.
Here's what scares me, though.
19 priest / 1 monk
10 Holy Powers
Quick Strike
Safe Strike
Holy Chain Strike
Extra Strike x3
Empowered Blast x4
Operating under the assumption that additional Holy Powers may be purchased as feats, we get a huge pool of holy strikes per day.
Now, our monk priest pops Tenser's transformation, punches a guy, oh, five times, and deals punch damage plus 190d6 untyped damage straight to his face, then 180d6 to another guy, 170d6 to another guy, and so on and so forth. Combine this with the fire and earth domains for 95 fire and 95 acid damage to the first target, 90 of each to the second, and so on. As-is, this character will be able to clear three to four level 20 encounters a day using nothing but his channel energy equivalent class features.
Operating under the assumption that there will be a phylactery item mirroring that of the standard channel energy version, this gets even worse.
At level 11, we're looking at a combo that deals 88d6 instead of 190d6, but it's just as overpowering.
You'll need an asterisk on either Quick Strike or Empowered Blast, particularly since this combo can come online at level 11. You may also want to make your base damage fire instead of untyped and allow a holy power to change it to untyped.
Still, I see a lot of awesome sitting here. Spend the couple of weeks needed to wire everything together and you'll have something iconic on your hands. If you're interested, I'd be happy to help this become a published thing.
Good points above. I certainly wouldn't be as eager to release this class with the power I've given it if Divine Power was still as powerful as it once was.
I think the easiest fix to control any cheese-fest would either be get rid of Quick strike or make it allow 2 uses of Holy Strike as a full-round action (instead of simply replacing an attack roll). If I use the latter option, I'd probably end up specifying that a priest would need to be 11th level to take the Holy Power.
I'll have to wait until playtesting rolls around to see if Holy Arcana needs to be an odd or even level ability. I don't want even levels to become "more important" than odd levels.
Thanks for the kind words. I would be interested in this being published. However, I was planning on (self?)publishing a campaign setting in the next two years and having this as one of the featured classes. If there were some way I could still have the class in my book, I'd be certainly willing to take you up on your offer.
Also, if the holy strike "lasers-of-doom" ends up being too awkward of a mechanic, does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative? I still want this 1/2 BAB divine caster to be able to hold up on its own a bit if it needs to dish some non-melee damage.
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1: I'll have to wait until playtesting rolls around to see if Holy Arcana needs to be an odd or even level ability. I don't want even levels to become "more important" than odd levels.
2: Thanks for the kind words. I would be interested in this being published. However, I was planning on (self?)publishing a campaign setting in the next two years and having this as one of the featured classes. If there were some way I could still have the class in my book, I'd be certainly willing to take you up on your offer.
1: I'm not suggesting even levels. I also see even as hugely powerful - it doesn't need more. What I suggest is Holy Arcana begin at 3rd level and allow the priest to learn a 1st level arcane spell in a 2nd level divine slot and so on. There's just something about one character knowing both wish and miracle that makes me feel awkward. If you wish to follow the notion of spellcasting being unblocked by armor, this helps to balance the arcane spells transformed into divine.
2: I'm not one to offer you a pittance and take all rights to a product. I know a few others do it to grab ahold of the fandom and make a buck from it. In the end, all that does is help to strangle community creativity. We can do the legalistic stuff in private. You'll be my first deal as a publisher, so we'll have to take it slow. :)