Priest

“In this temple, I give the orders. I usually ensure my orders don’t conflict too much with Hereward’s politics, as far as those politics are logical and understandable. In this case they are irrational, so I won’t treat them any more seriously than they deserve.”

–Nenneke

Alright, so perhaps I haven’t been as accurate in my descriptions of the magic wieldin’ folk as I coulda been. Heh, Glynnis set me straight on a few things and I suppose I ought to set the record straight myself. While they may not seem all that different to the average folk like myself, priests and druids are worlds apart. Priests are magic users who gain their power from the gods, or at least they say they do. From what Glynnis says, the facts ain’t exactly holdin’ up. But wherever they get the fuel they make the fire in their own special way, heh. Ya see, for a priest it’s all about belief. Belief in yer god, belief in yourself, belief in your message, all that sorta stuff. For some, that belief gets channeled straight down the middle as divine power. These are the preachers ya see managin’ flocks in town squares all over the Continent. Born leaders, whose faith lets ‘em pull off all sorts of magical hijinks. Rumor has it, they even get messages from the gods but I ain’t so sure how much stock I put in that, heh. Then ya got the cultists, the ones who ain’t exactly lucky enough to worship a mainstream deity. Might be death cultists of Coram Agh Terra or just worshipers of Melitele in the South. Either way, their faith’s gotta persevere against a world that wants ‘em gone. You’ll find theses priest in private, hidden shrines, givin’ secret sermons to their followers to bolster their faith and move ‘em to action. The ones ya really gotta watch out for are the fanatics, heh. Sure, they’re convincin’ but that convincin’ usually leads to inquisitions and angry mobs burnin’ down slums, and brothels, and anybody else the priest don’t like. They usually like to keep a cohort of “apostles” nearby too so they ain’t easy to dethrone either.

–Rodolf Kazmer

Defining Skill	Skills	Gear (Pick 5)
Initiate of the Gods	Charisma	100 crowns of components
Vigor Threshold	Courage	Clotting Powder (x5)
2	First Aid	Dagger
Magical Perks	Hex Weaving	Double Woven Gambeson
2 Novice Invocations	Human Perception	Holy Symbol
2 Novice Rituals	Leadership	Hourglass
2 Low Danger Hexes	Ritual Crafting	Jewelry
Starting Coin	Spell Casting	Numbing Herbs (x5)
75 crowns x 2d6	Staff/Spear	Staff
Average: 525	Teaching	Surgeon’s Kit

Initiate of the Gods (EMP)
The churches of the world are often warm and inviting places which aid their communities and welcome new converts. A Priest can roll Initiate of the Gods at a DC set by the GM at churches of the same faith to get free lodging, healing, and other services at the GM’s discretion. Initiate of the Gods also works when dealing with members of the same faith, though they will likely be able to offer less than a fully supplied church. At the GM’s discretion, Initiate of the God will also work with worshipers of related deities.

Cultist	Preacher	Fanatic
Mystagogue (EMP)	Divine Power	Blood Rituals (WILL)
When in a settlement, a Priest can spend a day and roll Mystagogue at a DC based on the settlement to build a shrine to their deity that attracts people and converts them to their religion. The GM determines how many people join. Additionally, while within 20m of this shrine, the Priest can use the shrine as a Focus with a value of 3.	A Priest can become more in tune with their god, gaining 1 point of Vigor threshold per skill level in Divine Power up to level 9. At the 10th level in Divine Power, you raise your Vigor Threshold by 5 bringing it to a total of 16. Divine Power can be trained like any other skill.	A Priest casting a ritual can make a Blood Ritual check against the casting DC of the ritual. If they succeed, they can cast the ritual without required alchemical substances by sacrificing 5 HP in blood per missing unit of alchemical substance. This blood can come from others but must be spilled at the time of the ritual.
Cult Mystery (WILL)	Divine Authority (EMP)	Fervor (EMP)
At higher levels, a Priest is shown the inner workings of their religion and are privy to some of its secrets. The Priest’s cult mystery depends on the type of religion they follow. Refer to the Cult Mystery table to know which one.	The peasants and common folk of the world see Priests as agents of the gods’ will. A Priest can add their Divine Authority to their Leadership checks if they are in an area where their religion is worshiped. Even when outside such areas of worship, a Priest adds half this value, due to their presence	A Priest can roll Fervor against a target’s current INTx3. On a success, the rallying power of the Priest’s words grants 1d6 temporary health for every point rolled over the DC (maximum 5). This lasts for as many rounds as their Fervor x2 and only works once per target per day.
Blessings (WILL)	Precognition (WILL)	Word of God (EMP)
A Priest can bless a group of people through a 1-hour ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, they roll Blessings at a DC:16. For one day afterward, a number of people equal to the Priest’s Blessings level gain bonuses as per the Blessings table.	At the will of the GM, a Priest can be overcome by visions of the future, sending them into a catatonic state for 3 rounds. After this time the Priest can roll Precognition at a DC set by the GM to decipher the visions that they are stricken by. Such visions are composed of symbolism and metaphors.	Priest can roll Word of God to convince people that they are speaking directly for the gods. Anyone who fails to defend with Resist Coercion sees the Priest as a messiah and follows along as an apostle. A Priest can have as many apostles as their Word of God value. In combat, use bandit stats for apostles without stats.

Deities of the Witcher World

Type of Priesthood	Deities
Organized Churches	Eternal Fire, Kreve, Great Sun, Melitele, Prophet Lebioda
Old Gods	Dana Meadbh, Epona, Freya, Lilvani, Morrigan, Nehaleni, Veyopatis
Dark Cults	Coram Agh Tera, Svalblod

Guiding Your Apostles
The apostles gained through the Word of God ability genuinely believe that you are the conduit of whatever deity you follow. While this makes them incredibly loyal it can sometimes be difficult if you try to use them for your own gain as they will expect you to act in accordance with the doctrine and teachings of their deity.

Any time you give a truly strange or uncharacteristic command to your apostles, you must make a Word of God check at a DC set by the GM. If you fail, your apostles will still carry out the command but a seed of doubt has been planted in their minds. On the third consecutive time you are forced to make this check and you fail your apostles become disillusioned and leave you. If your third failure is a fumble your apostles will brand you as a heretic or a false messiah and attack you.

Examples of conflicts of interest include: commanding followers of Melitele to torture or kill seemingly undeserving people, commanding followers of the Eternal Fire to save or aid Elderfolk or mages, commanding followers of the Great Sun to go against the word of the Nilfgaardian Emperor, etc. In most cases, the teachings of each deity is fairly clearly spelled out in their description but if there is any confusion the GM has final say on what is and isn’t a conflict of interest.

Social Standing

Priests are considered Equal by those who respect their deity but are Tolerated by those who don’t and Hated and Feared by those who hate magic and don’t respect their deity.

Settlement Table

Settlement	DC
Hamlet	22
Town	20
Small City	18
Capital	14

Cult Mystery

Type of Priesthood	Cult Mystery
Organized Churches	The Priest has been initiated into the higher workings of your church. They can add their Cult Mystery level to their Initiate of the Gods checks.
Old Gods	The Priest has been shown the ways of old magic. When they craft a ritual, they can roll both a Cult Mystery check and a Ritual Crafting check and take the highest of the two.
Dark Cults	Secrecy is key. When someone tries to discern the Priest’s true faith or their motives through magic, they must roll against the Priest’s Minor Mystery check. If they fail, the Priest makes them believe what they choose. Against non-magical scrutiny, the Priest can add their Cult Mystery level to their Deceit checks.

Blessings

Type of Priesthood	Blessing
Organized Churches	The Priest empowers their followers with the divine authority of their church. On a success, they gain a +4 to Leadership and +4 to Reputation.
Old Gods	The Priest empowers their followers with a blessing that shields their mind and bodies. On a success, they gain a +3 to SP and +2 to Resist Magic.
Dark Cults	The Priest empowers their followers with a blessing of celerity. On a success, they gain a +4 bonus to Stealth and Initiative.