Ethoist
Cleric of the Faith Ethical
While the “wandering priest” may be a pragmatic individual, the faithful clerics who maintain the temples and monasteries are a more organized breed. These men and women provide a sense of continuity and permanence to the lives of the believers around them. It is they who make the call for prayers, they who deliver the sermons, they who perform the daily tasks required by the gods. If pragmatists are the hands of the faith, and moralists the heart, then ethoists are the mind.
Role
Ethoists tend to be the most methodical and level-headed Clerics. They manage day-today operations and see to it that needs of the faithful are met, as well as the needs of the deities they venerate. Most organized faiths have ethoist factions. Player characters in need of healing are most likely to find aid from such ethoists. Even so, members of the ethoist branch realize that to grow and develop, individuals should be encouraged to see the world, and to carry the word of the faithful to others. For this reason, young priests are often granted a leave of absence to adventure and explore. A few strictures apply. Before such youths leave, they must declare their plans (e.g., direction, actions, traveling companions). While away, they must keep records of their actions and activities in the nature of the faith. And upon reaching another outpost of their particular faith, they must turn these records over to the local ethoists and sit for interviews, telling their tales and adventures. These oral reports last about an hour for every three days out, and ethoist priests should prepare their schedules accordingly. Upon attaining sufficient level (usually 8th level, when followers show up), ethoists are expected to settle down and set up their own local church, or to aid a larger city temple. Most clerics of the Faith Ethical disapprove of those who worship gods which they do not - even if the “misguided” happen to be ethoists, too. The ethoist world view can be summed up as follows: “Other faiths are all very nice, but they are quite wrong, you know. Only our faith is the one true way. Not that we’re pushing, mind you.”
Distinctive Appearance
None
Special Benefits
Ethoists tend to receive greater assistance from their temples than pragmatists. Assuming a local temple of the appropriate faith is available, an ethical priest can request and expect the following aid (and perhaps more):
- Safe haven, food, and board within the temple (or mosque or monastery). In exchange, the ethical priest is expected to help the other clergy present. This hospitality is automatically extended to as many companions as the priest has levels. (A generous and gracious temple may extend it to anyone.)
- A loan. Moneys borrowed may equal up to twice the ethoist’s level times a hundred (in gold pieces). The loan must be repaid within 30 days.
- Muscle. An ethoist may request the services of a number of 1st-level fighters equaling twice the priest’s level. The time of service cannot exceed the ethoist’s level in days, and the purpose of the mission should somehow advance the cause of the priest’s faith.
- An ethoist assistant of the same faith. The helper’s experience level equals half that of the priest served, rounded down; up to a maximum of 4th level. The assistant may be kept for up to one week per level of the priest before having to leave.
Turn Undead . An ethoist can turn the undead as a standard cleric.
Special Hindrances
Compared to pragmatists, ethoists are more tightly tied to their church organizations. Whether they’re PCs or NPCs, clerics of the Faith Ethical are expected to follow the direction of higher-level ethoist priests within their personal faiths. Of course, some ethoists may choose not to follow such orders, but they’ll be held accountable for their actions by the church - as well as by the god they worship. Ethical priests who fail to follow the directives of their faith lose the special benefits outlined above and are “demoted” to pragmatist status. Further, ethoists who act in a fashion that is blatantly harmful to their personal religion, its followers, its deity, or its priesthood will be cast out of the faith, unable to receive spells, succor, or other benefit until proper atonement (from the spell of that name) is made.
Class
Priest
Attribute Requirements
None
Barred Beliefs
Characters of chaotic alignment are not eligible either. Ethoists may be lawful or neutral in nature, and these alignments may be combined with good, neutrality, or evil, depending on the nature of the god they worship. Either gender is allowed. A married priest is eligible, provided his or her spouse belongs to the same faith.
Race Requirement
Members of any race may be clerics of the Faith Ethical, save those forbidden by the rules to have priests.
Bonus Weapon Proficiencies
None
Required Weapon Proficiencies
None
Recommended Weapon Proficiencies
None
Barred Weapon Proficiencies
None
Bonus Non-Weapon Proficiencies
Recommended Non-Weapon Proficiencies
Cooking, Debate, Etiquette, Heraldry, Language (Modern), Singing, Endurance, History (Ancient), Healing, Language (Ancient), History (Local), Reading/Writing, Spellcraft
Equipment
In Alcirya, clerics of the Faith Ethical are more easily identified than their pragmatic brethren. All ethoists wear a robe adorned with the holy symbol of their particular god, rendered in a precious metal. In addition, they always have shoulder vestments, also marked with the symbol of their particular faith. Beyond these requirements, ethoists dress as they see fit. Most wear black robes while in the city, however, and loose tan or white robes while in the wilderness. Ethoists are allowed to wear any type of armor.
Wealth Options
Ethoists have starting funds of 3d6 x 10 gp. After purchasing initial goods, they must return all remaining funds (except 2 to 3 gp) to the church - which in turn may lend them money when needed. (See “Special Benefits” for details.)
Homeland Terrain
None
Economic System
None