When Our Lady of Pain discovered her sister had left the
Land of the Living and taken refuge in the World of the
Dead, her wrath and fury were boundless. She descended to
the Land of No Return, through the caverns and lower
regions known only to this spirits, until she reached the city
of Erkalla itself, ruled by Cyric, the King of the Dead. And
Loviatar approached the gate of the city, known as Ganzir,
and pounded her Flail of Tears on the door, demanding to be
let in, but her command was unanswered, and her screams
resounded through the streets of Erkalla:
"Gatekeeper, I am here at Ganzir before the Walls of
Erkalla. Open these gates for me! I am Loviatar, Maiden of
Pain, Mistress of Sorrow, and I shall smash down this
door if you do not open it! I shall crack open the bolts with
my Flail of Tears and sunder the iron with my Scourge of
Despair. I shall release all the dead from city of Erkalla,
and they shall climb up the stairs of the earth. I shall raise
up the dead, and they shall eat the living: the dead shall
outnumber the living!"
And the Gatekeeper appeared, and he opened the door,
but he would not let Our Lady pass:
"Mighty Loviatar, Maiden of Pain, you cannot enter
Erkalla with your symbols of Power. Leave them with me,
and then you may visit the King."
Our Lady of Pain saw the truth in his words, and at the
gate of the city, she stripped off her talismans. She gave up the
Flail of Tears, surrendered the Scourge of Despair. She
unwrapped her Robe of Severed Hands, and coiled up her
Whip of Countless Afflictions. She unwrapped the spiked
wire from her hair and plucked out the needles from her nails.
And at last Loviatar was finished, and the Gatekeeper
escorted her into Cyric's dismal palace. And the King of
the Dead saw Our Lady humbled, and in his throne room
of glory, he heard her complaint. Cyric made his voice
heard like a gavel of thunder, and he spoke loudly his judgment, with the following words:
"I am Cyric, Lord of Erkalla, and I welcome you to my
pale domain. You have no power here in my most ancient
city: over the dead only I am King. I have heard your
request and will honor it. When you leave, your sister
shall accompany you. But each winter she will come back
and visit me, and I shall return her to your side in the
summer."
Our Lady of Pain heard his pronouncement, and she
left gladly with her sister beside her. Thus Loviatar
ascended from the netherworld, resuming her just punishment of Man.
-"Loviatar's Descent into the Netherworld,"
recounted in the Nycoptic Manuscripts
Long before magicians learned how to practice the
Art, priests were worshipping Death in its varied
forms. In Eastern societies. Death was personified as
an active agent in the world, symbolized by the rise
and fall of a river, in the fury of a raging tempest, or in
the jaws of the crocodile. In Hindu, Death was revered
as Kali, the Black Mother, goddess of Murder and
Destruction. In Nordic society. Death and Pestilence
were personified by Hel, another feminine deity.
In other cultures. Death was merely an impersonal
event, not an active force, and the important necromantic gods were those that presided over the spirits of the
dead in the Afterlife. Nergal (from Mesopotamia), Yeh-Wang-Yeh (from China), Arawn (from Celtic Europe), Mictlantecuhtli (from Mesoamerica), Osiris and Anubis (from Egypt), Hades (from Greece), and Pluto (from Rome) were all gods of the Dead, charged with ruling the netherworld. In particular, the Egyptians - whose society was fairly obsessed with death - had an entire
pantheon of deities who were associated with the dead: gods of Embalming, Entombment, and Final Judgment
in the Underworld.
Modern fantasy has further enriched the concept
of the death priest, dark Ashton Smith, in "The
Charnel God," describes the worship of a ravening
Ghoul God by the name of Mordiggian, a creature
who feasts upon the remains of the dead. Robert
Bloch explored this same theme in "The Brood of
Bubastis," in which he describes the cult of a ghoul
queen as a perverted form of Bast, the Egyptian cat
goddess of pleasure. These writers were expanding a
fictional religious cult of incomprehensibly evil
extraplanar powers, founded by H. P. Lovecraft in
the 1928 story "The Call of Cthulhu." Since then,
countless authors have contributed to the fictional
cult of Cthulhu, creating numerous evil deities of
Death and Madness.
Given the potentially wide range of necromantic
worship, the death priest deserves special attention
set apart from the discussion of wizards in previous
chapters. In this chapter, we basically present an
addendum for the Complete Priest's Handbook (CPrH)
that includes updated information about necromantic priesthoods.
The information in this chapter can also be used to
flesh out the religious background (if any) of necromancer wizards. Finally, we briefly mention a few
religious secret societies that might include priests as
well as necromancers. These secret societies will be
further discussed in Chapter Seven.
Necromantic Priesthoods
For the purposes of this book, a death priest can
include any cleric whose religion embraces one of
the many aspects of death. This priest thus need not
worship death per se. From the CPrH, the priesthoods of Evil (Philosophy), Disease, Life-Death-
Rebirth (Force), and (obviously) Death itself fall into
this general category. In this chapter, we also present
the priesthoods of the Dead, Murder, Pestilence (a
more detailed revision of the Disease priesthood),
Suffering, and Undead. These new priesthoods are
discussed in sufficiently general terms that they can
be transplanted into any campaign world with minimal modification. Also, the new priesthoods include
sufficient detail that the DM need not worry about
assigning individual kits from the CPrH in order to
flesh out a particular priest character.
Unlike the CPrH, we are not interested in exploring priesthoods that would be appealing or useful to
player characters. Even among experienced players,
few besides the DM will enjoy role-playing twisted,
death-worshiping religious fanatics. Unless stated
otherwise in the following descriptions, it is strongly
suggested that death priests, along with necromancers, remain NPCs for the campaign, where they
can serve as unusual advisors, employers, and evil
archvillains.
Most priesthoods outlined in the CPrH gather
priests and followers from among humans and all of
the major demihuman races (dwarves, elves,
gnomes, half-elves, halflings). However, only
humans are admissible to the necromantic priesthoods outlined below, for the same reasons that
necromancy (at least in general) can only be practiced by human wizards (see Chapter One).
Finally, the deities mentioned here can be represented by male, female, or even monstrous powers. In the descriptions that follow, the most likely gender of the various gods has been used for clarity and
convenience; the DM should feel free to modify the
deity's sex to suit the particulars of a campaign.
Table 12: Extended Death Priest Advancement, Spells, and Level Improvements.
| Level
|
Experience
|
Hit Dice
(d8)
|
THACO
|
Spell Levels
|
Proficiencies
|
Saving Throws
|
| 1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
NW
|
W
|
PPDM
|
RSW
|
PP
|
BW
|
S
|
| 1
|
0
|
1
|
20
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
2
|
10
|
14
|
13
|
16
|
15
|
| 2
|
1,500
|
2
|
20
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
2
|
10
|
14
|
13
|
16
|
15
|
| 3
|
3,000
|
3
|
20
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
2
|
10
|
14
|
13
|
16
|
15
|
| 4
|
6,000
|
4
|
18
|
3
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
3
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
15
|
14
|
| 5
|
13,000
|
5
|
18
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
5
|
3
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
15
|
14
|
| 6
|
27,500
|
6
|
18
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
3
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
15
|
14
|
| 7
|
55,000
|
7
|
16
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
3
|
7
|
11
|
10
|
13
|
12
|
| 8
|
110,000
|
8
|
16
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
4
|
7
|
11
|
10
|
13
|
12
|
| 9
|
225,000
|
9
|
16
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
7
|
4
|
7
|
11
|
10
|
13
|
12
|
| 10
|
450,000
|
9+2
|
14
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
-
|
-
|
7
|
4
|
6
|
10
|
9
|
12
|
11
|
| 11
|
675,000
|
9+4
|
14
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
-
|
7
|
4
|
6
|
10
|
9
|
12
|
11
|
| 12
|
900,000
|
9+6
|
14
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
8
|
5
|
6
|
10
|
9
|
12
|
11
|
| 13
|
1,125,000
|
9+8
|
12
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
-
|
8
|
5
|
5
|
9
|
8
|
11
|
10
|
| 14
|
1,350,000
|
9+10
|
12
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
8
|
5
|
5
|
9
|
8
|
11
|
10
|
| 15
|
1,575,000
|
9+12
|
12
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
9
|
5
|
5
|
9
|
8
|
11
|
10
|
| 16
|
1,800,000
|
9+14
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
9
|
6
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
10
|
9
|
| 17
|
2,025,000
|
9+16
|
10
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
5
|
3
|
2
|
9
|
6
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
10
|
9
|
| 18
|
2,250,000
|
9+18
|
10
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
10
|
6
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
10
|
9
|
| 19
|
2,475,000
|
9+20
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
8
|
6
|
4
|
2
|
10
|
6
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 20
|
2,700,000
|
9+22
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
7
|
5
|
2
|
10
|
7
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 21
|
2,925,000
|
9+24
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
2
|
11
|
7
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 22
|
3,150,000
|
9+26
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
6
|
3
|
11
|
7
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 23
|
3,375,000
|
9+28
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
6
|
3
|
11
|
7
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 24
|
3,600,000
|
9+30
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
7
|
3
|
12
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 25
|
3,825,000
|
9+32
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
3
|
12
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 26
|
4,050,000
|
9+34
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
4
|
12
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 27
|
4,275,000
|
9+36
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 28
|
4,500,000
|
9+38
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
6
|
13
|
9
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 29
|
4,725,000
|
9+40
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
7
|
13
|
9
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
| 30
|
4,950,000
|
9+42
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
14
|
9
|
2
|
6
|
5
|
8
|
7
|
NW: Nonweapon Proficiency slots; W: Weapon Proficiency slots; PPDM: Paralyzation, Poison, or Death Magic; RSW: Rod,
Staff, or Wand; PP: Petrification or Polymorph; BW: Breath Weapon; S: Spells.
God of the Dead
This god is the King of the Dead, the Guardian of
the Afterlife, the Protector of the Eternal Pilgrim. He
is also the Patron of Travelers, since journeys and
quests in the world of the living are merely a preparation for the ultimate voyage into the netherworld.
Undead are an abomination to this deity, since they
represent a direct affront or rebellion against his
divine authority.
The God of the Dead is chiefly responsible for
keeping departed spirits completely separated from
the realm of the living. He must directly approve any
raise dead, resurrection, or reincarnation spell in the
campaign, even those cast by priests of other deities
in the same pantheon. Any time one of these spells is
cast, there is a flat 25% chance that a true neutral
deity will cancel it (neutral evil deities will refuse
such requests 50% of the time).
Priests of this god are sometimes called Death
Lords by members of their Order (also "Pales" or
"Deadeyes" among their detractors). They are
charged with maintaining the divinely ordained segregation between the Living and the Dead. Those
who thwart this natural order - specifically undead
creatures or living people who have cheated natural
death too many times - will often be paid a cheerless
visit by these priests, who will seek to restore the
divine balance. The priesthood is also charged with
sheltering travelers, guiding the lost, and assisting
questers, since these attributes are reflected in their
deity and considered to be a preparation for their
role in the afterlife.
Alignment: The God of the Dead is either neutral
or neutral evil. In societies where the god serves as
an impartial judge and ruler of the Dead (like the
Egyptian god Anubis), he will be true neutral. However, when the deity is revered as a cold and pitiless
guardian or incarcerator of the dead (such as the
Greek god Hades), he may be neutral evil. His priests
must be neutral good, neutral, or neutral evil,
although the flock of worshippers may be of any
alignment.
Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 9, Charisma 12.
Weapon Proficiencies: As living ambassadors
from the God of the Dead, Death Lords need to be able to perform their sacred duties, which often
include "retiring" those undead and stubborn mortals who refuse to die. These specialty priests may
thus employ a wide range of weapons, including the
battle axe, dagger/dirk, knife, scythe, sickle, stiletto,
staff, khopesh, scimitar, and short sword.
Dress/Armor Allowed: Normally, the priests wear
only simple traveling clothes or shirts of white, charcoal gray, brown, or black. On ceremonial occasions,
the priests dress in robes of purple or red (the colors
of royalty), covering their faces and hands with
white chalk to make themselves appear like corpses.
They may not employ any form of armor or shield,
though they can use protective magical items, such
as rings of protection, provided that these items are
unadorned.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: netherworld lore (this new wizard proficiency takes 1 slot
only), religion. Recommended: (General) etiquette,
heraldry, singing; (Warrior) any; (Priest) astrology,
musical instrument, reading/writing, spellcraft;
(Wizard) necrology (this takes 1 slot only). Forbidden: all Rogue.
Role: Death Lords live apart from civilization in
secluded fortress-monasteries, separated from the
world of the living. There they pray and meditate for
the dead, occasionally emerging from their religious
community (always in ceremonial garb) to perform an
urgent quest or mission for their divine overlord.
These assignments usually involve laying a troubled
spirit (or perhaps an ancient wizard) to rest. Depending upon the perceived reluctance (and power) of the
individual, anywhere from 1-6 red-robed priests may
be dispatched on such a "retirement" ritual.
As patrons of travelers, the priesthood might also
provide shelter and valuable information for a party
during an adventure or quest. They can also perform
as mentors or guides on a journey into the netherworld, since they are intimately acquainted with
their deity's residence in the Outer Planes (usually
Hades). The priesthood could thus serve as a springboard for extraplanar adventures.
Sometimes, a lone priest will wander the world,
seeking personal enlightenment or on some other
quest. This would provide a good excuse for an NPC
Death Lord to join the party for an adventure or two,
until some important mission has been resolved. It
might also serve as good motivation for a PC Death
Lord, should the DM decide to make this kit available to players.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Astral,
Necromantic, Divination, Protection, Travelers (TOM).
Minor Access to Sun (including reversed spells),
Charm, Combat, Guardian, Healing, and Summoning.
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: invisibility to undead; 2nd: aid; 3rd: death's door, feign death, negative
plane protection, speak with dead, spirit bind/spirit release; 4th: none; 5th: dispel good/dispel evil, slay living/raise dead, drain undead; 6th: none; 7th: destruction/resurrection; Quest: none.
All Death Lords have access to spells with power
over life and death. Priests of neutral good alignment
will only employ the deadly versions of these spells
when on an official "retirement" mission.
Granted Powers: Death Lords have a powerful
ability to turn undead (even priests of evil alignment
will attempt to destroy undead rather than control
them). These priests always affect undead as if they
were three levels higher in ability (thus a 5th-level
Death Lord turns undead as an 8th-level priest).
Upon reaching 5th level, the priest may employ a
heightened version of speak with dead. With this ability
the priest need only know the name of the deceased in
order to summon the spirit, regardless of its time
spent in the netherworld. The shade is not entitled to
a saving throw to resist interrogation, and it must
answer up to six questions truthfully.
Finally, at 12th level, all attempts to raise dead are
automatically granted by the deity.
Other Limitations: All Death Lords must adopt a
Spartan, almost monastic lifestyle. Not only does tills
way of life prepare them for the coming existence in
the afterlife, but it also serves as an example for faithful
followers. Since the dead have no need for wealth, the
priests never retain personal treasure, either donating
the money to their temple or distributing it among
members of their flock. Although the priests can own
personal possessions and magical items, these objects
must have a plain appearance.
Normally, the priests may only eat simply prepared food (the blander, the better) to remind them
of the drab fare in the netherworld. During holy seasons, they must subsist on a diet of flavorless food
(such as rice). In addition, the priests must spend at
least one day of the week in utter seclusion and meditation, completely abstaining from all food, water,
and contact with other living creatures.
These priests may never marry. Upon reaching 5th
level, they must also remain completely celibate.
Possible Symbols: Gates, Gravestone, Tomb,
Path, Road, White Hand, Pale Face.
The Goddess of Murder
This evil deity embraces cold murder as the quintessential act of destruction, symbolic of the primordial chaos and the unpredictable forces of nature that
oppose humanity. This deity is the patron of all
unnatural and premeditated killing, whether it is
inflicted on others or upon oneself. She opposes
order, creation, and all existence.
The male priests of this goddess, sometimes called
Stranglers or Assassins, spread death around the
world by murdering for their Dark Mother, the Queen
of the Noose, our Maid of Despair. Her priests advance
the religion into the heart of civilization, efficiently
eliminating any who speak out against them. Assassination is their most sacred mission, a holy and meritorious enterprise undertaken in the service of their
deity. The priesthood's goal is to subvert societies and
destroy civilizations through strife, terror, and coercion. Because of their evil nature, the DM should only
allow these priests to be NPCs in the campaign.
Alignment: This deity is utterly chaotic and evil.
Her priests and worshippers may be of any evil
alignment, but the majority will match the disposition of their goddess.
Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 9, Dexterity 9.
Weapon Proficiencies: Only high-ranking members of the priesthood (at least 8th level) may shed a
victim's blood. All priests must learn how to wield the
silken cord to strangle their targets. This form of garrote is used to choke a victim to death and is generally
used to strike from behind. Surprise provides a +3
attack roll bonus; no surprise provides a -3 penalty.
Holding a victim in the garrote for 3 consecutive
rounds kills the victim. A THACO roll is needed to hit
the victim on round 1; successful THACO rolls are
needed on rounds 2 and 3 to hold the victim. However, on rounds 2 and 3, the victim's armor class is calculated using only magical armor and Dex bonuses; physical armor offers no protection.
For example, a warrior wearing plate mail and a
cloak of protection +2 has a Dex of 17. Her normal
armor class is -2, but on rounds 2 and 3 of a garrote
attack, her armor class is only considered to be 5.
The silk cord, when wielded in this fashion, has a
speed factor of 2 and inflicts 1-4 hit points of damage
for each round of effective use. The weapon is useless against creatures that are larger than man-sized.
At 1st level, the priest devotes his or her two weapon
proficiency slots to specialize in this weapon, gaining
a +1 to hit/+2 on damage.
At 8th and higher levels, a priest may learn from
among the following weapons: battle axe, club, dagger, knife, lasso, scimitar, khopesh, scythe, sickle,
short sword, long sword, stiletto, dart, javelin, or
bow.
Dress/Armor Allowed: Stranglers intermingle
with every level of society. As such, they are forced
to take great pains to appear as a mundane member
of whichever social class they are trying to infiltrate
during a particular assignment. They can wear any
form of armor and type of dress that is necessary to
complete their disguise.
In ceremonial occasions (assassinations), the
priests dress in pure white robes and hide their faces
behind a white silk mask. Their garb is accented only
by a black or red cord worn about the waist, which
will eventually be used to strangle an unfortunate
victim. The cord is usually left behind as a message
to survivors.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: disguise (this
proficiency takes 1 slot only). Recommended: (General) languages (modem), etiquette, heraldry, rope use;
(Warrior) set snares, hunting, tracking; (Priest) astrology, local history, musical instrument, reading/writing, religion, spellcraft; (Rogue, these take 1 slot only): blind-fighting, reading lips, tightrope walking, tumbling, jumping; (Wizard) any. Forbidden: healing.
Role: Priests of the goddess form a secret society, a
fanatical cult which operates at the heart of many civilizations. Members of this religion lead double lives,
sometimes as dual-classed characters, serving in the
community as respected leaders by day and sneaking
out into the streets by night to exact the dark will of
the goddess. Their chief targets include innocent travelers, government officials, and wealthy merchants
who refuse to contribute to the cult's coffers.
The priesthood uses its own power to extort fabulous wealth from the terrified populace - all for the
greater glory of goddess, who promises earthly riches
and success to her worshippers. Young priests are frenziedy eager to prove their devotion, frequently offering up their own children to her bloodstone altar. These
zealots are only mildly reprimanded for such fanaticism. As their religious ardor matures, Stranglers are
taught to slay only the enemies of the priesthood.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Charm,
Healing (harmful reverse spells only). Necromantic,
and Chaos (TOM). Minor Access to Combat, Divination, Elemental, and Protection.
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: ebony hand, spectral senses; 2nd: aid, hear heartbeat; 3rd: life drain, speak
with the dead; 4th: heart blight, poison; 5th: slay living/raise dead; 6th: asphyxiate; 7th: death pact, destruction/resurrection, energy drain, mindkiller (TOM); Quest: None.
The Goddess of Murder typically only grants
necromantic spells which inflict damage, bring
death, or provide divinatory insight and inspiration
during a holy slaying. On rare occasions, she may
permit a loyal follower to be revived with raise dead, resurrection, or death pact. Granted Powers: In return for their devoted service, Stranglers gain magical abilities from the goddess, making them very difficult to apprehend.
Starting at the 1st level, her priests may move silently
and hide in shadows (in both natural and urban surroundings) as a ranger of the same level. At 10th
level, they may become invisible for up to 1 turn, plus
1 round per level. The priests may exercise this
power only once each week. Stranglers of all levels
can both turn and command undead.
Other Limitations: All members of the priesthood
are male, since the priest and goddess are joined in a
symbolic marriage. Although the priests are thus forbidden from marrying mortal women, they are not
required to be celibate. Indeed, most cults have temple prostitutes as proxies for the goddess during the
seasonal ceremonial rituals and weekly orgies.
However, since worship of the opposite sex is a
central tenet of their religion, Stranglers arc generally
forbidden from harming them. The male priest views
himself as the son, husband, and father of all the
women in the world. To harm any of these relationships would damage his intimate link with the goddess, resulting in an immediate loss of all granted powers and highest level spells until the priest has
suitably atoned for such an outrage (ritual suicide by
strangulation is usually considered to be a suitable
apology). On rare occasions, the goddess may make
exceptions to this rule, but only when specific women
have offended her.
In addition to all women, priests are prohibited
from attacking any males (usually merchants or high
government officials) who have been granted specific immunity by the goddess. These individuals
usually purchase their immunity by making lavish
contributions to the priesthood or swearing to serve
the religion as a mole or spy.
Possible Symbols: The Female Face, the Four-
Armed Woman, the Noose, the Silk Cord, the Curved
Dagger, the Skull.
The God of Pestilence
The merest sigh of this god washes epidemics
across the land; when he exhales from his rotting
lungs, vile with consumption and a thousand other
ills, a fetid cloud of disease-laden filth carrying
uncountable deadly plagues covers the face of the
earth. At his slight irritation, towns fall into ruin and
desolation. His anger can sunder societies. Although
this greater god is a patron to all forms of sickness and
disease, lesser deities abound, each devoted to a separate illness (such as Silver Death and the Magenta
Rasp).
Plague Priests spread disease, death, and ignorance
wherever they may go. They afflict unwary victims
with crippling afflictions and transport plague-ridden
vermin to peaceful, contented cities. They harvest the
festering slime from decayed corpses, greasing the
door knobs and tools of innocents with sickening corruption. These evil priests delight in bringing misery
and despair to healthy and joyous communities. The
DM should only allow these wicked and depraved
clerics to be villainous NPCs.
Alignment: This deity is neutral evil, as are his
priests and followers.
Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 9, Constitution 15.
Weapon Proficiencies: Plague Priests may employ
all types of bows, the dart, scourge, scythe, sickle,
staff, and whip. These priests also favor a curious
form of Y-tipped staff (sometimes called a talon staff)
which they use to transport fallen bodies of victims.
The curving tips of the talon staff slip easily under
the armpits of prone victims, making them easy to
drag.
Dress/Armor Allowed: Plague priests always
dress in a massive mantle with a tall cowl that can be
pulled up over the head to conceal their horrible
faces. The color of the cloth in which they dress
always represents the favored hue of their patron
deity. Priests of the Black Death might wear heavy
cloaks of darkest midnight, while those priests serving the sinister Lord of the Yellow Plague would
favor saffron-hued robes.
High-level priests sometimes wear simple wooden
masks painted a single solid color to match their chosen raiment. Some even go so far as to wrap their
limbs in white bandages, making them appear like
mummies. Besides this ceremonial garb, the priests
can wear any form of armor, favoring enchanted
plate mail.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: herbalism.
Recommended: (General) any; (Priest) ancient history, reading/writing, religion. Forbidden: healing,
any Wizard, Rogue, or Warrior.
Role: Plague priests seek to devastate civilization
and disrupt social order both at the local level and on
the grandest imaginable scale. Unlike the Stranglers,
who attempt to direct their priests to engage in selective ritual murders, the priests of pestilence apply their
art to humanity as a whole. Their victims are peasant
and noble alike, both easily subject to disease and the
ravagings of the worm. The priests are as indiscriminate in their victims as they are in their methods.
Many Plague Priests are allied into a loose and
secret confederation known simply as the Ravens by
some, or as the Scabrous Society to others. This organization embraces the entire pantheon of plague gods,
and all of them are devoted (in principle at least) to the
same goals: decay and dissolution of organized society
and human civilization. The Scabrous Society is further detailed in Chapter Seven and makes for an ideal
long-term nemesis in the campaign.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Animal, Healing (reversed forms of spells only), Necromantic. Summoning, Weather. Minor Access to
Combat, Divination, Protection (reversed forms of
spells only, where applicable).
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: undead alacrity,
ebony hand; 2nd: none; 3rd: animate dead, cause blindness or deafness, cause disease, life drain; 4th: cause
insanity, poison, plague curse; 5th: slay living, scourge; 6th: asphyxiate; 7th: mindkiller (TOM), wither; Quest: none.
Granted Powers: Plague priests are completely
immune to all forms of disease, magical and mundane. They can also lay on hands as a paladin of the
same level, except they can only use this power to
harm, rather than to heal. Thus, a l0th-level priest
can inflict 20 hp of damage with a touch (once per
day, no saving throw allowed). Finally, the priest can
also bestow a fatal disease with a touch (as the 3rd-
level cleric spell cause disease, once per week for
every five levels of experience).
In general. Plague Priests cannot turn or control
undead, except when the undead have been specifically raised from bodies stricken by disease. For
instance, if a necromancer animated the corpses of a
dozen plague victims, then the priests of Pestilence
would be able to turn or command them. Similarly,
Plague Priests can only animate the corpses of those
who have died from disease.
Other Limitations: Priests of Pestilence are reflections of their corrupted deities. Although technically
immune to disease, they have a horrid and disfigured appearance that festers and rots as the priest
advances in power and experience. These clerics suffer a -1 penalty to Charisma for every level they
advance; as their power grows, they come to resemble decayed corpses, symbolizing the very dissolution they try to promulgate. This advancing leprous
condition is viewed by the priests as a sign of divine
favor, the sacred Kiss of their god. Not surprisingly,
they neither marry nor seek intimate relations; their
priesthood is effectively celibate. Their ceremonial
high cowls, masks, linen wrapping, and heavy
incense help them conceal their odious appearance
and odor when they move about in society.
Possible Symbols: Mice, Rats, and other Vermin,
Ravens, the Y-tipped Staff.
The God of Suffering
The lot of humanity is to suffer and shed tears,
and this god embodies all of the pain and misery in
world. A prolonged and agonizing life is merely the
prelude to a long-awaited death that brings final
comfort and release from all sorrows. Although pain
and sadness are almost always viewed as evil or
undesirable aspects of living, the deity who embraces
these symbols has a predominantly benevolent side
and seeks to comfort the afflicted and bring solace to
the sorrowful. He is a god of endurance and compassion, as well as pain and madness.
Priests of the Crying God, most commonly known as
Flagellants, are wandering ministers of pain and consolation. They are attracted like flies to centers of evil, desolation, and natural disaster in the world, where they
either nurture or assuage the sorrow. In a plague-
stricken community that welcomes their priesthood,
they may take on the role of heroes by healing the sick
and raising the dead. But woe to the cruel or ungrateful
town, for their fate shall be even greater pain and hardship under the ministrations of the Flagellants.
Alignment: The Crying God is neutral good, since
he embodies not only sorrow but also endurance and
compassion. His priests however, may be either neutral good, neutral, or neutral evil. Evil Flagellants
form a separate Cult of Pain, largely ostracized from
the mainstream priesthood, which strives to spread
suffering in the world and argues that death is the
only true consolation for the living. The flock of the
Crying God may be of any alignment.
Minimum Ability Scores: Wisdom 12, Constitution 15. Priests with a Constitution of 17 or greater
can use the increased hit point adjustment as if they
were fighters (thus a Flagellant with Con 18 gains +4
hit points per level). This increased tolerance to
physical damage reflects the priest's incredible tolerance for pain.
Weapon Proficiencies: Flagellants may choose
from a wide variety of weapons, including the whip,
scourge, mace (any), staff, club, and flail (any).
Dress/Armor Allowed: Members of the mainstream (neutral or neutral good) priesthood, known
as the Brotherhood of Sorrow, may not wear any
type of armor, nor can they don any form of ceremonial raiment save a simple felt skullcap of white,
gray, or red (depending upon the priest's rank in the
Brotherhood). Aside from the cap, their clothing is
tattered rags or hairshirts, so that all around them
can see the open bleeding wounds on their limbs and
back, symbols of the pain and suffering they must
endure for their religion.
Most high-ranking priests (Master Flagellants) tattoo holy symbols, religious inscriptions, or even
blue-gray tears below an eye as a mark of their devotion. Other Masters, who consider that tattoos do not
cause enough suffering, prefer elaborate body piercings as symbols of their authority.
The evil Cult of Pain accepts this costume as well
for all but the highest members: their Painbringers
(high priests), who direct the hurtful worship services, wear blood red robes (or even red-painted
armor and shield) in addition to their red skullcap.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required (this takes
two slots only): endurance. Recommended: (General) any; (Priest) healing, herbalism, musical instrument, languages (ancient), local history, religion,
spellcraft; (Warrior, this takes one slot only) running.
Forbidden: all Rogue or Wizard.
Role: Flagellants can play either a positive or negative role in the campaign. If the DM wishes to stress
the kind and compassionate nature of their god (perhaps to offset the presence of evil Plague Priests in the
same campaign), the Brotherhood of Sorrow can then
serve as traveling healers of pestilence or as bizarre
mentors with a thorough knowledge of local history.
The priests strive to become tragic, sacrificial figures
whose self-imposed tortures mirror the suffering of
the world and enable them to cure others. They symbolize endurance in the face of adversity and the triumph of life over death. Flagellants welcome all forms
of pain and hardship as tests of their faith.
Despite their good intentions, the Brotherhood is
most often viewed with a strange mixture of horror
and derision in the elite circles of most societies. The
common person, who usually benefits from the Flagellants' cures and always enjoys a good spectacle,
may also have mixed feelings about the priesthood.
Nevertheless, the Crying God and his followers usually find themselves at the crux of countless jokes and
farces, but this ridicule is viewed only as one of life's
many hardships, eagerly borne for their religion.
The evil faction of the priesthood, known as the
Cult of Pain, is a sadistic band of cutthroats, thieves,
and torturers who use their priestly powers and reputation to extort riches from the communities they
visit. As such, they make excellent campaign villains.
Although the Cult of Pain shares many of the same
motives as the priesthood of Pestilence (and possibly
the Scabrous Society), most alliances are usually temporary, lasting until some specific goal has been
accomplished, such as the destruction of a specific
barony. Although the mainstream Brotherhood priests
vehemently denounce the cult's horribly evil activities,
they nonetheless accept its existence as yet another
form of sorrow they must continually endure.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Charm,
Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection. Minor
Access to Combat, Elemental, Summoning, Sun,
Weather, and Travelers (TOM).
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: none; 2nd: aid,
slow poison; 3rd: cause blindness or deafness/cure blindness or deafness, cause disease/cure disease, death's door, feign death, negative plane protection, remove paralysis; 4th: cause insanity/cure insanity, poison/neutralize poison; 5th: slay living/raise dead; 6th: none; 7th: destruction/resurrection, energy drain/restoration, wither/
regenerate; Quest: health blessing (TOM).
Note that only members of the neutral evil faction
will regularly use the harmful spells from the Necromantic (and Healing) spheres.
Granted Powers: All Flagellants gain a +4 bonus
to saving throws that involve any form of endurance
or resistance of pain and suffering. They gain a +2
bonus on all ability checks involving Constitution
(such as swimming, running, or drowning). In addition, Flagellants have the ability to focus the power
of a single healing or harming spell (such as cure or
cause serious wounds). This augmented spell, when
cast by the priest will either cure or inflict maximum
possible damage. This power can only be used once
per day.
Flagellants also have the power to control emotions in others. Starting at 3rd level, they can remove
fear from others and negate the harmful effect of
emotion-based spells or magical items which cause
pain, suffering, or hopelessness. For every level of
experience, a priest can perform this on up to two
persons per day. Recipients of this ability need only
be able to see and hear the priest for it to take effect
(no saving throw).
Starting at 5th level. Flagellants can bestow powerful emotions in others, including courage, hope,
and joy, as well as fear, hate, and sorrow (as the 3rd-
level priest spell emotion control in TOM). They may
use this ability once per day, affecting as many as
two creatures per level of experience who can both
see and hear the priest (subjects are allowed a saving
throw if unwilling).
Finally, the priests of Suffering cannot turn or
command undead.
Other Limitations: Flagellants embrace a lifestyle
of pain, self-mortification and hardship. The Brotherhood relishes none of life's pleasures, for such would
impede their ability to heal its sorrows. They can
keep no wealth and may own no more Spartan possessions than what they can carry themselves. If
there are two paths or choices, the Flagellant will
always take the more difficult of the two. He or she
will always walk before riding, climb mountains
rather than use a cleared pass.
This obstinacy and almost insane impracticality has
been the cause for frequent ridicule by non-believers,
who sometimes derisively refer to the Flagellants as the
"Cult of the Stupid" or the "Brotherhood of the Mad."
Flagellants must remain both chaste and celibate.
In addition to its reputation for fanatical self-denial,
priests of the Brotherhood must engage in ritual flagellation in order to gain spells. Typically, a priest
must inflict one point of damage on him- or herself in
order to be granted a single spell. Of course, this damage may be healed by memorizing curative spells, but
more often, the wounds are merely cleansed so that
they will not fester, and the curing spells are retained
for those not fortunate enough to be blessed with
divine endurance. Even if they are not memorizing
new spells, these priests must engage in ritual flagellation at least once per day. These gruesome rituals are
carried out in public whenever possible (usually in a
town or village square, where they quite often draw
quite a crowd of curious rubberneckers and sometimes gain new converts).
The Cult of Pain takes a somewhat more relaxed
view of these restrictions. The important goal for these
priests is that others are meant to suffer pain and loss.
These priests gain spells by inflicting pain and damage, not by experiencing it themselves. The cult is
organized in a strict hierarchy of sadistic torturers:
highest Painbringers flagellate the lesser priests, who
in turn both whip and beat the few members of the
faithful flock. In the cult, only the Painbringers have
license to amass personal wealth, indulge in physical
luxuries, or marry. Few cult members are entirely sane.
Possible Symbols: The Whip, Scourge, Rack,
Spiked Coffin, Bound Hands.
The Lord of Undead
The King of Ghouls is the deity of the undying. He
represents the desire to persist in the physical world
beyond the grave, the unnatural craving to preserve
one's personality after life. The god symbolizes the
power of the mind over the needs of the spirit and
body. As such, he is the devourer of souls and cannibal of the dead. His dark will first changes and ultimately consumes the human body after death. The
god loves venom, putrefaction and decay; his heralds are the worm, vulture, and hyena.
The priests of this god, also known as Charnelists, worship all undead as an embodiment of their deity.
Even the most humble animated skeleton is a symbol
of his power and must be treated with respect. The
Charnelists are protectors and allies of undead; some
groups chose a single undead form and revere it as a
sacred icon of their god. Others seek to create new
undead to serve their deity, or to convert existing
undead to his worship. Those who refuse to convert
are destroyed, their dust scattered to the winds as a
warning to others. This evil and destructive priesthood is only appropriate for NPCs in the campaign.
Alignment: The God of Undead is lawful evil, but
his priesthood may of any evil alignment (neutral
and lawful types predominate). Worshippers are
usually neutral or evil in alignment.
Minimum Ability Scores: Intelligence 13, Wisdom 14.
Weapon Proficiencies: Charnelists employ bludgeoning weapons common to most priests, preferring the spiked mace and flail in melee (they prefer
to fight two-handed, if Dexterity permits). They may
also leam the warhammer, staff, sling, and club.
Dress/Armor Allowed: These priests favor somber
plum robes, limned in silver thread, worn over blackened plate or chain mail. Instead of a helm, they wear
an ornate silver circlet that is fashioned like a crown of
worms. They may not use any form of shield.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required (this new
wizard skill takes 1 slot only): necrology. Recommended: (General) herbalism (poison manufacture),
etiquette, heraldry; (Wizard) anatomy; (Priest)
herbalism, reading/writing, religion, spellcraft.
(Rogue): disguise, reading lips. Forbidden: none.
Role: The King of Undead, known by some as
Thasmudyan, is only publicly worshiped in a few
cities isolated from mainstream civilization by tall
mountains, the forbidding desert, or the trackless
sea. In these backward locales, the main temple
serves literally as a charnel house where the bodies
of the dead are deposited by the citizens as an offering. There the cadavers rot and decay until they are
consumed by the King's avatar and his fanatical
clergy. These cities almost always have a dark and
sinister reputation, one that is quite well-deserved
for what should be obvious reasons. Worship of the
Ghoul God is strictly forbidden in most civilized
nations, forcing the religion to operate there like a
secret society.
Each separate priesthood of the Lord of Undead
has its own agenda of magical research related to
death and the undead. Despite this division, or perhaps because of it, the individual temples communicate effectively with each other, either by spell or
magical item. Some priesthoods investigate deadly
poisons that will create new forms of undead; others
try to mate and crossbreed humans with other venomous creatures, attempting to create a superior race
of undead beings.
A few temples operate like the Cult of the Dragon
in the Forgotten Realms, which seeks out evil dragons
and converts them into dracoliches, the focus of their
religion. Others, like the Cult of Worms described in
Chapter Nine of this book, strive to spread knowledge
about attaining lichdom to any interested person.
Whatever their specific role, the Charnelists are yet
another potential nemesis for the campaign.
Spheres of Influence: Major Access to All, Astral,
Charm, Necromantic, Summoning, Thought (TOM).
Minor Access to Combat, Divination, Protection, and
Sun.
Granted Necromantic Spells: 1st: invisibility to
undead, skeletal servant, spectral senses, undead alacrity; 2nd: aid, resist turning, slow poison; 3rd: animate dead,
death's door, feign death, life drain, negative plane protection, speak with dead; 4th: cause insanity/cure insanity,
poison/neutralize poison; 5th: dispel good, imbue undead
with spell ability, slay living, scourge, undead regeneration; 6th: asphyxiate, summon undead; 7th: death pact,
destruction, energy drain, mindkiller (TOM), wither; Quest: undead plague (TOM).
Granted Powers: Charnelists have great authority
over any undead they encounter. Starting at first
level, they affect three times the regular number of
creatures per successful turning attempt (this translates to 6d6 undead, plus 6d4 extra creatures when
denoted by a * on Table 47 on page 67 of the DMG).
Once a priest reaches 6th level, he or she gains the
ability to fashion exceptional undead; any skeletons
or zombies which are animated (either by skeletal servant or animate dead) gain an additional +1 hit point
per hit die.
Starting at 9th level, the priests leam all of the secret
rites that create powerful undead. They first leam how
to make ghouls or ghasts (9th level). Then, at 12th level,
they learn to create ju-ju zombies and mummies.
Finally, at 16th level, they learn the secrets of vampirism and lichdom. All of these rites require numerous
sacrifices (from 1-20 fresh corpses) and vast amounts of
wealth in the form of rare components (1,000-20,000
gp). Even if both were available in unlimited quantities,
the ritual can still only be performed once a month and
creates but one undead creature.
Eventually, once a priest has received permission
from his or her deity (usually after performing some
notable deed or quest for the benefit of the religion), the
priest will undergo the process of performing the transformation upon him- or herself, joining the mighty
Lord of Undead in (potentially) everlasting undeath.
This is the ultimate dream for many such priests.
Other Limitations: The Ghoul God is a ravenous
deity, demanding constant sacrifice. Usually dead
bodies (the more recently dead, the better) are preferred, but exhumed cadavers can serve as a substitute in times of need or persecution (which happens
as often as one might come to expect of such a morbid cult).
Thasmudyan's worship is rumored to include several obscene rituals, the least of which includes cannibalism of the dead and necrophilia. Charnelists are
accordingly forbidden from marrying or engaging in
any intimate relations with the living.
Possible Symbols: The Vulture, the Hyena, Skeletal Hand, Crown of Worms.
Other Priestly Resources
Although this chapter stands alone as a concise
discourse on necromantic priesthoods, there are a
number of useful TSR products which serve as
sources of further inspiration on this topic. The Complete Priest's Handbook, a definitive work on creating
priest characters, contains numerous examples of
different pantheons, priesthoods, priest kits, and the
role-playing of priest characters. The DM is referred
to that resource for guidelines on creating believable
and properly motivated priest characters for the
campaign.
For more information about specific death gods,
Legends and Lore summarizes the deities and religions
from eleven historical and fictional pantheons. This
fine book includes details about death priesthoods
and their granted powers.
For campaign-specific information about death
priests, the DM should refer to the FORGOTTEN REALMS®
Adventures hardcover for detailed descriptions of various death gods (Cyric, Bhaal, and Myrkul) and their
specialty priests. The GREYHAWK® Adventures hardcover also contains a description of the death god
Nerull and his priesthood.