Hidden Priest
Practicing one’s religion is not always legal. For example, most lands outlaw worshiping fiends. But as time has shown again and again, mere laws are poor deterrents to the worship of dedicated members of such faiths, whether they wish to subvert authority, free the spirits of the oppressed, or merely enjoy the right to practice their beliefs. Clerics in these circumstances must conceal their true natures, practice their magic in secret, and always be on guard for betrayal and discovery.
A hidden priest has the following class features.
They must make a skill check (DC 10 + twice the level of the spell) to disguise their casting and successfully cast the spell. The type of skill check depends on the type of caster they pretend to be: Craft (alchemy) for alchemist, Perform for bard, Knowledge (arcana) for sorcerer or wizard. Using Spellcraft to identify the spell works normally, though unless the observer beats the DC by 10 or more, they don’t suspect the source of the magic is divine.
For example, a hidden priest pretending to be an alchemist wants to cast cure light wounds on a wounded townsperson. If they make a DC 12 Craft (alchemy) check, they disguise their spellcasting as the mixing of an alchemical extract or potion (perhaps with the words disguised as reciting an obscure formula or talking themselves through the list of ingredients), which they give to the target. An observer making a DC 16 Spellcraft check can identify their spell as cure light wounds, but doesn’t realize their “alchemical” methods are a sham unless their check result is 26 or higher.
When the hidden priest uses this ability, they must still provide any divine focus components for the spells they cast. However, the divine focus doesn’t need to be an obvious symbol of their faith. It could be a small coin, tattoo, or garment bearing the symbol, whether presented openly, disguised, or hidden within a larger picture.
For example, a hidden priest of a god of dawn or light could use a coin with an ankh or sunburst, a complex tattoo or scar that has an ankh shape hidden within it, a glove with an ankh stitched on the inside of the palm, and so on. They must use this replacement divine focus just as they would their true one (for example, they couldn’t leave the coin in their shoe). If a spell requires a divine focus with a specific or minimum cost, the replacement divine focus must be of similar value to be used as the divine focus.
A hidden priest adds half their class level (minimum +1) on all Bluff skill checks to send secret messages about religious matters, and on all Sense Motive checks to recognize similar messages. They also add this bonus on Perception and Sense Motive checks relating to agents of the laws against their religion (including city guards in lands where these laws are in effect).
This ability replaces one of the cleric’s two 1st-level domain powers (their choice).
This ability replaces one of the cleric’s two 8th-level domain powers (their choice).
A hidden priest has the following class features.
False Arcanist (Ex)
At 1st level, a hidden priest is able to disguise their cleric spellcasting, presenting it as arcane magic of some kind. Typically, this is as alchemist, bard, sorcerer, or wizard magic, and the cleric disguises the words and gestures of the cleric spell with accoutrements appropriate to their apparent profession.They must make a skill check (DC 10 + twice the level of the spell) to disguise their casting and successfully cast the spell. The type of skill check depends on the type of caster they pretend to be: Craft (alchemy) for alchemist, Perform for bard, Knowledge (arcana) for sorcerer or wizard. Using Spellcraft to identify the spell works normally, though unless the observer beats the DC by 10 or more, they don’t suspect the source of the magic is divine.
For example, a hidden priest pretending to be an alchemist wants to cast cure light wounds on a wounded townsperson. If they make a DC 12 Craft (alchemy) check, they disguise their spellcasting as the mixing of an alchemical extract or potion (perhaps with the words disguised as reciting an obscure formula or talking themselves through the list of ingredients), which they give to the target. An observer making a DC 16 Spellcraft check can identify their spell as cure light wounds, but doesn’t realize their “alchemical” methods are a sham unless their check result is 26 or higher.
When the hidden priest uses this ability, they must still provide any divine focus components for the spells they cast. However, the divine focus doesn’t need to be an obvious symbol of their faith. It could be a small coin, tattoo, or garment bearing the symbol, whether presented openly, disguised, or hidden within a larger picture.
For example, a hidden priest of a god of dawn or light could use a coin with an ankh or sunburst, a complex tattoo or scar that has an ankh shape hidden within it, a glove with an ankh stitched on the inside of the palm, and so on. They must use this replacement divine focus just as they would their true one (for example, they couldn’t leave the coin in their shoe). If a spell requires a divine focus with a specific or minimum cost, the replacement divine focus must be of similar value to be used as the divine focus.
A hidden priest adds half their class level (minimum +1) on all Bluff skill checks to send secret messages about religious matters, and on all Sense Motive checks to recognize similar messages. They also add this bonus on Perception and Sense Motive checks relating to agents of the laws against their religion (including city guards in lands where these laws are in effect).
This ability replaces one of the cleric’s two 1st-level domain powers (their choice).
Unseen Devotion (Su)
At 8th level, a hidden priest can apply the Silent Spell and Still Spell feats to a spell they are about to cast. This does not alter the level of the spell or the casting time. They can use this ability once per day at 8th level and one additional time per day for every four additional cleric levels beyond 8th. Even though this ability does not modify the spell’s actual level, they cannot use this ability to cast a spell whose modified spell level would be above the level of the highest-level spell that they are capable of casting. This ability always applies both feats (the cleric cannot use it to just apply one or the other).This ability replaces one of the cleric’s two 8th-level domain powers (their choice).
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