Religious Traits (Greyhawk)

Unofficial rules compendium

Religion offers power not only to divine spellcasters, but to all the devout. These traits are available to all who worship the listed deities. Some will only work for those who have a specific class ability, such as channel energy.

Alluring

You have the art of turning a passing glance into love. You receive a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks with those who find you attractive. You can use daze once per day as a spell-like ability, with a caster Level equal to your character level.

Arcane Depth

Boccob

You have studied the great masters of spellcraft, and your knowledge is exceptional. You gain a trait bonus of either +2 on Spellcraft checks or Knowledge (arcana) checks. Which bonus you receive is chosen when you take the trait and may not be changed.

Battlefield Surgeon

Heal becomes a class skill for you, and you can use the treat deadly wounds aspect of the skill 1 additional time per creature per day.

Blade of Mercy

You know that within the heart of even the most hateful and cruel living creature exists a sliver of shame and hope for redemption. You have trained long on martial techniques to use the weapon of your faith not to kill, but to subdue. When striking to inflict nonlethal damage with your patron's favored weapon, you do not take the normal –4 penalty on your attack roll. You can sneak attack with this weapon and still do stun damage if you choose to.

Broken Mind

Tharizdun

You are used to living with your own madness. You gain a +2 trait bonus on saves against madness and confusion effects.

Centered

Having anchored yourself in your faith and your knowledge of yourself, you make it difficult for others to dominate you. You gain a +1 trait bonus on saves against charms and compulsions, and the DC of any attempts to use the Intimidate skill on you increases by +1.

Child of Spring

Eloina You have spent long months tending a park or other woodland. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks, and Knowledge (nature) is always a class skill for you. You may always make Knowledge (nature) checks as though you were trained in the skill.

Cleansing Light

Your faith is pure and strong, and your positive energy purges undead. When dealing damage to undead with your channel energy, you can reroll any damage die that shows a natural 1.

Cleansing the Twisted

You have studied well the many religious texts that chronicle your patron's never-ending struggle against Tharizdun and his monstrous offspring. Your fighting style works particularly well against aberrations. You gain a +1 trait bonus to weapon damage against all aberrations.

Contract Master

Asmodeus

Your facility with contracts makes you good at understanding dense text and obfuscating your intent. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Linguistics checks, and it becomes a class skill for you.

Deathspeaker

Urgathoa

Your experience gives you a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks when dealing with undead, as well as a +2 trait bonus on Charisma checks made to influence undead (for example, as part of the command undead spell).

Deck Fighter

Besmara

You are accustomed to compensating for the pitch and yaw of ocean-going ships. You gain a +2 trait bonus on attacks of opportunity when fighting aboard a ship.

Defensive Strategist

Torag

Your knowledge of history and religion gives you an excellent mind for defensive strategy and tactics. You are not flat-footed when you are an unaware combatant. This includes a surprise round that you don’t get to act in, and before you get to act at the start of a battle.

Deformed

Lamashtu

You have monstrous deformities. Your deformities grant you a +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks, and Intimidate becomes a class skill for you.

Demonic Persuasion

Demon Lords

Your lord grants you favor when interacting with demonic creatures. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks when dealing with creatures of the demon subtype.

Destructive Blows

Rovagug

You call on your faith to destroy. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Strength checks made to break things, as well as on combat maneuver checks to sunder.

Devotee of Kalistrade

Druma

As an adherent of the Prophecies of Kalistrade, you understand the importance of a good deal. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Appraise checks, and a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks when trying to make a deal with nonbelievers.

Divine Warrior

From an early age, you were trained by a militaristic order of clerics. You are devoted both to their teachings and to spreading those teachings by force. You gain a +1 trait bonus on melee weapon damage when your weapon is under the effect of a divine spell.

Ear for Music

Shelyn

You spent countless hours of your youth in temples, listening to wonderful musicians and singers. You gain a +1 trait bonus on one category of Perform checks and a +2 trait bonus on any Knowledge (local) checks that deal with the local art or music scene.

Empty Heart, Full Heart

Because of the strength of your forbidden love you are more resistant to charms. You gain a +1 trait bonus on all saves against charm effects, and any targets of your own charm spells suffer a –1 on their saves. === Eyes and Ears of the City (Abadar) Daern

Your religious training was entwined with your work serving the city watch of a large city, the primary duty of which was standing sentinel on a city wall. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception checks, and Perception is always a class skill for you.

Flame of the Dawn

You have been raised to view yourself as a blade in the service of your faith, or you have taken that duty on for yourself. Whenever you score a critical hit with your patron's favored weapon, you deal an additional point of fire damage to your target. This damage multiples as normal for the damage from a critical hit.

Guardian of the Forge

Your sacred duties are to protect the faithful, take lessons from the great craftsmen and strategists of the past, and prepare against dark times. You receive a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (engineering) and Knowledge (history) checks. One of these skills (your choice) is a class skill for you.

Hero of the Hall

Olidarma

You've survived many a night of drunken carousing, and even started a few successful adventures there. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Fortitude saves against poison (including alcohol) and on saves against effects that cause the nauseated or sickened condition.

Honeyed Words

Your tact soothes bristling tempers and cools heated blood. You receive a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks. In addition, you receive a +1 trait bonus to the DC of any charm or compulsion that does not provide ongoing control and results in peaceful acts, such as calm emotions, sleep, or a suggestion to lay down arms.

Keeper of Coins

Commerce is the lifeblood of any great city, and grist for the mill. As a faithful servant of your god, you've served in the market, whether as clergy or laity. You've learned to keep a sharp eye out for the best deal, and gain a +1 trait bonus on Perception and Sense Motive checks.

Magic is Life

Your faith in magic allows you to reflexively use the energy of any spell effect on you to save you from death. As long as you are under the effects of any spell, you gain a +2 trait bonus on saving throws against death effects. If you are reduced to negative hit points while you are under the effects of any spell, you automatically confirm stabilization checks to stop bleeding.

Patient Optimist

You know that all things pass in time, and are used to having to repeat arguments multiple times to convince even the most stubborn believer. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks to influence hostile or unfriendly creatures, and if you fail at such an attempt you may retry it once.

Sacred Avenger

You have a special divine connection that enhances your ability to achieve vengeance. Once per month you can declare blood vengeance against a creature as a full-round action. You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage against a creature you have declared blood vengeance on. You can only have one blood vengeance active, and an old one only ends when the target dies.

Slayer's Oath

You have sworn your life to stopping the propagation of the undead; your patron has heard and approved your choice. You gain a +1 trait bonus on weapon damage rolls when battling the undead.

Starchild

Your patron sensed your love of travel and promised you would always be able to find your way home. You can automatically determine where true north is. You can automatically determine where true north is. You gain a +4 trait bonus on Survival checks to avoid becoming lost.

Strength of the Sun

You take solace in the purifying light of the sun. During the day, you gain a +1 trait bonus on all Charisma-based checks.

Under Siege

In order to maintain your devotion to sun goddess in a hostile kingdom and stay alive, you and your fellow worshipers developed a complex system of hand signs and facial gestures to identify yourselves as faithful. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff and Sense Motive checks. One of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Unnatural Presence

Tarizdun, Oerth, Beory, Spirit cults

Your prolonged association with alien forces leaks from your pores. You can use your Intimidate skill to demoralize animals and vermin; Intimidate is a class skill for you.

Ward Enemy

You have learned the secrets of an ancient prayer that wards off the attacks of outsiders.

As a standard action, you can recite a holy chant that affects outsiders of a certain type as if you were under the effect of a sanctuary spell (Save DC equal to 1/2 your Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier). This is a supernatural ability. The kind of outsider you ward depends on your patron.

• Pelor

Wisdom in the Flesh

Your meditation on the nature of strength and speed allows you to focus your thoughts to achieve things your body might not be able to do on its own. Select any Strength, Constitution, or Dexterity-based skill. You make checks with that skill using your Wisdom modifier instead of its normal ability score. That skill is always a class skill for you.

Zealot

You aren’t just faithful to the worship of your patron deity—you are obsessively loyal to all of the faith’s tenets and guidelines. Your devotion is an anchor that keeps you from drifting away into the throes of the Bleaching, and you cling to it like the life raft it is.

Prerequisite: You must match the alignment of your chosen deity exactly.

Benefit: You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks, and that skill is a class skill for you. If you are a gnome, as long as you remain completely faithful to the tenets of your faith (as determined by the GM), you never suffer from the Bleaching.

A Shining Beacon

You carry a burning hatred in your heart for all things demonic, and have studied their weaknesses carefully. You deal an additional point of damage when you score a successful critical hit with a weapon on a demon. This damage is multiplied as normal because of the critical hit.

Ambassador

Your natural abilities at mediation and compromise manifested at a young age. For as long as you can remember, you were always more able to solve disputes and carefully settle violent disagreements than others. You gain a +2 trait bonus to Diplomacy checks.

Battlefield Caster

Your faith protects you even as you unleash spells in the thick of battle. You receive a +2 trait bonus on concentration checks to cast divine spells defensively.

Child of Nature

You have been blessed to be as comfortable in the wilderness as you are at home. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Survival checks to find food and water, and a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (nature) checks. One of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Demon Hunter

Raised in the church, you’ve focused your indoctrinated fervor on the elimination of demons. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks about demons and a +2 trait bonus on Will saves against mind-affecting spells and effects from demons.

Masked in Shadow

Adherents of this faith prefer to conceal their true identities beneath masks. When masked or disguised, you receive a +1 trait bonus on Bluff and Stealth checks. You never risk poisoning yourself when applying poison to a blade or using a poisoned weapon.

Resigned

Existence is little more than unending toil. By laboring unto exhaustion, greatness can be achieved. You receive a +1 trait bonus when retrying a previously failed skill check or ability check, as well as when taking 20 on skill checks and ability checks.

Sacred Prostitute

You worked as a sacred prostitute, and you know how to flatter, please, and (most of all) listen. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Sense Motive checks and Diplomacy checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Synchretist

Greyhawk syncretism

Your knowledge of the gods has given you a broad perspective. You gain a +1 trait bonus on all Knowledge (religion) skill checks, and Knowledge (religion) is always a class skill for you.

Vermin Whisperer

You have toughened your flesh against venom and blessed you with the ability to influence vermin. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison. You may make Diplomacy checks (or wild empathy checks if you are a druid or ranger) to improve a Hostile or Unfriendly insectile vermin’s attitude toward Indifferent.