Dissenting Priest

Fanatics and Heretics

Description

   The Dissenting Priest has chosen to place his faith over his
 religion.  Whether because of a divine (?) vision or the simple
 use of logic to examine the tenets of his faith, the Dissenter
 has come to the conclusion that his heirarchy is simply wrong.

   Naturally, this does not endear him to the established order.
 This does not overly concern the Dissident, because he would
 rather be right than popular.

Preferred and Barred Faiths While at first glance, it might seem that Chaotic religions would be rife with dissent, it is actually the Lawful religions that are more likely to demand the sort of absolute control over the dogma of the church that produces the environment which creates this kit. The only real restriction is that the church must have some heirarchy which will correct and even punish heretics. This just refers to a tendency, however--virtually any faith which does not focus very specifically on allowing a diversity of views will eventually produce Dissident Priests.

Role There are two types of Dissident: The extremist takes a particular aspect of his faith's doctrines and focuses on it to the point of diminishing all others. Often, extremists will be part of recognized movements within their churches, one that more mainstream members simply regard as eccentric. For example, while most Priests of Ruffalonna, the Diety of Life and Healing, acknowledge that some death is necessary, an extremist sect might demand that its members be strict vegetarians, even going so far as to require that clothing be made out of plant matter or from animals that died naturally. Heretics, on the other hand, espouse a viewpoint that the church's heirarchy regards as anathema to the faith (or at least to the heirarchy's control of the faith). For example, a Priest of Gero who taught that certain forms of Art should be destroyed or banned "for the greater good" might very well be branded a Heretic, as could a Vegfiran who called for the death penalty. Heretics risk excommunication or even death, depending on the nature of their church. The kit can only be abandoned if the Priest formally renounces the heresy or extreme view. In this case, his former comrades will now view him with the same disdain (and reaction roll penalties) with which the mainstream marked him before, while the mainstream will now only apply half that penalty, rounded down. Furthermore, renunciates are often hunted down, particularly in the case of Heresy (to prevent confessions that name other heretics).

Weapon Proficiencies Dissidents can use whatever weapons are normally alloted to their Priesthoods, unless their issue of dissent would bar them.

Non-Weapon Proficiencies Bonus: Religion Recommended: [G] Etiquette, Languages (Modern) [P] Ancient History, Local History, Read/Write, Oratory [R] Disguise (Heretics only)

Equipment Again, the only restrictions on equipment are those that arise from the Dissident's peculiar beliefs.

Benefits The Dissident has an astounding level of faith, able to withstand the pressures of mockery and oppression. As a result, she is treated as having a higher Wisdom than she really does for the purposes of determining how many spells she receives and her bonus to resist mind-control magic. The size of this faith-bonus is determined by how far the Priest is from the mainstream, and how much she is putting at risk. Extremists are treated as having a Wisdom of one point higher, up to their racial maximum. Heretics who face excommunication (at worst) gain a two-point Wisdom bonus. Again, this is capped by the Priest's racial maximum. Heretics run the risk of being killed for their beliefs gain a 3-point bonus, but with no maximum. Note that this bonus does not affect Non-Weapon Proficiency rolls in any way. Furthermore, this same bonus applies to reaction rolls from others of the faithful who agree with you. Thus, censorship advocates who worship Gerof will have a +2 bonus to their reaction rolls, provided they recognize one another.

Drawbacks Again, the drawbacks depend on just how far the Dissident is from his heirarchy's views. All Dissidents suffer a reaction roll penalty equal to twice their bonus when dealing with mainstream faithful. Extremists only receive half as many followers as usual, and Heretics only receive one-tenth the usual number. Leader-type followers are one level lower for Extremists, and two levels lower for Heretics. Heretics also run the risk of Excommunication or even death if the church's heirarchy learns of their involvement. An excommunicated Priest receives _no_ spells above the second level, and is barred from all church properties. Even lay faithful are barred from dealing with excommunicated Priest. Deaths are usually public and ignoble. The Priest cannot be raised or ressurected, and his soul is immediately cast into eternal torment.

Wealth Starting wealth is unaffected.

Race Dissidents may be of any race (but, in the case of Ascended Dieties, are often of some Race other than that of the Diety).

Return to: People and Professions
The Classes of Gero
The Overview

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