here is the first of a series of five kits that detail the Hulean priests of the Temple of Chaos. All of these kits are based on the priest kits from "Al Qadim Arabian Adventures", though all have been adapted to the different nature of the Hulean religion (Chaotic rather than Lawful) and of Bozdogan.
Holy Man
by Giampaolo AgostaAt the topmost level of the Hagiarchy government and religious hierarchy, one step below the Master of Hule himself, are the Holy Men, a powerful body of skilled politicians, bureaucrats, advisors and spies.
Holy Men are frequently dual-classed Thieves/Clerics of Bozdogan.
Requirements: To become an Holy Man, hard requirements must be met, including a purely Chaotic Evil alignment, and minimum scores of 12 Wisdom, 12 Charisma, and 9 Intelligence.
Role: Holy Men are the rulers, individuals who have been somehow touched by the Immortals. The Holy Men make up most of the bureaucracy and all of the nation's administration. Holy Men are especially favoured of Bozdogan, and they occupy official positions in Hule's ruling class.
Unmistakable signs help determine who is favoured, such as being incapable of ever uttering the words "yes" and "no," "black" and "white," or "is" and "have," or the inability to use the letter "e" or numbers of any kind, etc.
Weapon Proficiencies: any Thief weapons. Holy Men rarely fight, and are usually armed with concealable weapons, like daggers, or simple staves.
Non-weapon Profs: Bonus: Religion (Temple of Chaos), Ceremony (Bozdogan), Bureaucracy.
Required: Information Gathering, Religion (Theology of the Temple of Chaos), Reading/Writing (Hulean).
Equipment: An Holy Man may don any armour up to Chain Mail, but cannot use a shield. However, Holy Men rarely need or want to fight. Holy Men usually dress in ankle-long, pure white tunics over other white garments.
Access to Spheres: Major: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, Sun (reversed spells only), Chaos, War.
Granted Powers: Undetectable Lie (always active), Detect Lie (3/day), Control Undead, Suggestion (1/day, starting at 4th level).
Special Benefits: an Holy Man will receive food and lodging from any temple, for himself and up to 1 companion per level.
He can also requisition resources up to 100 Liras per level for any use, without getting caught. The amount can be double if the Holy Man is willing to explain the need for the money to his superiors. He may request funds no more than every two months.
The Holy Man can gather fanatic followers, either janissaries or defenders of Bozdogan, for up to 1 day per level. A number of 1st level fighters (3 x level of the priest) will answer his call.
Last, an Holy Man can request an assistant, who may be another lower level Holy Man or a member of the Clergy. The assistant will be at a level equal to 1/2 the Holy Man's own level, up to 4th, and will stay for 1 week per level.
Within Hule, Holy Men rule unchallenged, and can give orders to lower ranking people--that is, anyone but higher ranking Holy Men.
Special Hindrances: Holy Men are members of a strict hierarchy, which conflicts with their chaotic alignment.
To allow the hierarchy to survive, the upper ranks must constantly control their underlings, who are therefore likely to receive frequently orders and difficult jobs to accomplish. Note that while Bozdogan holds lies as holy acts, being caught telling a lie to an Holy Man is instead a great sin.
At the same time, they must be wary of all others Holy Men, as loosing power, or overreacting to some competitor's move would spell doom for any Holy Man.
Holy Men receive a -3 reaction penalty from any non-Hulean, as the reputation of the Hulean clergy has spread nearly everywhere in Brun.
Starting Funds: Holy Men don't have money problems, and start with 3d6 x 10
Liras. They can requisition more money or resources, as specified in the Special Benefits section.