Priest Defender

This non-hierarchical priest knows something about the dark forces of the ancient past and means to destroy them. He may have learned about them as part of a hierarchical order, then left on his own to combat these great evils, or he may have been a mystic of some kind who stumbled upon the knowledge by accident. Though he begins with little knowledge, he is always certain of his faith and his god’s help. He recognizes the troubling times that modern Alciryan’s are living through and has made a connection between the modern woes and ancient enemies. Never tiring, he seeks to uncover the plots of the enemy and make the populace of Alcirya aware of the dangers of ages past. Unlike a Templar, a priest-defender depends on spells to win the day, not sheer strength of arms.

Role

None

Distinctive Appearance

Priest-defenders care little for their appearance but maintain their tools devotedly.

Special Benefits

A priest-defender can turn undead as a standard cleric of the same level regardless of the limits of their priesthood, and also can turn genies. A priest-defender turns genies as undead of equivalent hit dice. To keep this ability, the priest must not associate with genies and must uphold two or more vows determined by the DM (perhaps fasting twice each week, chastity, silence, poverty, celibacy, preaching to the un-Enlightened and the impious each day, or wandering Alcirya, never settling down). If there is a sha’ir in the PC party, the resulting tension can make for some very interesting role-playing - or it can lead to trouble all around. The priest and the sha’ir may engage in a party power struggle, resulting in bad feelings among the players. To avoid this, before these two characters meet, any party with both a priest-defender and a sha’ir PC should be required to explain why these two will tolerate each other and go adventuring together.

Like Rangers, priest-defenders gain bonuses against a single type of foe (Species Enemy), generally the campaign’s chief villain. Against this opponent, the priest-defender’s spells all operate at maximum effectiveness. The foe could be anything from sahuagin to yak-men to efreet.

After reaching 9th level, a priest-defender gains two 3rd-level Mamluks and 10 1st-level Faris as guards and helpers. If these followers die, they may receive others if the priest-defender seems to have done all he could to prevent the mamluks’ deaths.

Special Hindrances

The priest-defender is driven to exterminate evil, and cannot rest from his labors and vigilance.

The priest-defender may never build a temple or stronghold, though the most charismatic may attract an entourage of hundreds of followers. After 9th level, the henchmen and followers of a priest-defender require no pay, as they serve out of faith and love.