Temple Merchant (Apath)
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Temple merchants fulfill a specialized role. In addition to utilizing church power over markets, divine assessors seek out lost, unclaimed, or wrongly seized wealth among tombs and ruins. Temple merchants develop unique powers that afford them the ability to enter dangerous areas where lost treasure can be restored to the light or hidden goods can be returned to their rightful owners. A temple merchant finds the most satisfaction in discovering long-lost treasures hidden in unmarked strongholds, owned by now nameless individuals of the past. A temple merchant can claim such wealth for her own and use it to further the strength of her church.
Class Information
This is a prestige class archetype.
Prestige Class: divine accessor.
Build Classes: cleric
The temple merchant is a cleric concerned with wealth and trade.
Role: A temple merchant can provide anything the market holds, just when it is most needed.
Alignment: A temple merchant must have a patron associated with wealth, trade, and civilization.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills
The temple merchant's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The temple merchant has all oracle class features, except as noted.
Appraising Eye (Ex)
A temple merchant must estimate value quickly and accurately, particularly when in a dangerous environment such as an underground tomb. She gains a +2 sacred bonus to all Appraise checks, and can appraise an item with 1 full-round action, instead of 1 minute. This replaces the revelation gained at level 1. This replaces channel energy and spontaneous casting.
Eloquent Bargainer (Ex)
At 3rd level a temple merchant has sufficient confidence and experience to become an eloquent bargainer. Getting permission to enter treasure-laden ruins sometimes requires talking to the right people and handing around a few coins for bribes, “finder’s fees,” and so on. At 1st level, a temple merchant learns which palms to grease and what promises to make, gaining a +2 bonus to Diplomacy checks when she offers an appropriate bribe (minimum 10 gp × the level of the recipient) during the interaction. In addition, she receives a +2 sacred bonus on Charisma checks made to compel a bound creature to perform a service when using the lesser planar binding and greater planar binding spells.
Bottomless Bag (Su)
At level 5, the temple merchant gains the bottomless bag ability. Sometimes a temple merchant finds an unexpected treasure too large to transport. Once per day she can turn any ordinary sack, backpack, or other container into a bag of holding type II. The container remains a bag of holding for 1 hour per class level; after the duration expires, the container resumes its normal properties, and any items too large to fit within its true dimensions immediately and harmlessly fall out of the opening. Unlike a permanent bag of holding, the bag created by this ability cannot be overloaded or ruptured, nor does it have any special interaction with other kinds of extra-dimensional spaces.
At 11th level, the temple merchant’s bottomless bag increases to the size of a bag of holding type III. Alternately, she can create two bags of holding type II in a day, though their extradimensional spaces are not linked in any way.
At 17th level, the temple merchant’s bottomless bag increases to the size of a bag of holding type IV. Alternately, she can create three unconnected bags of holding type II.
Access the Vault (Su)
At 7th level, a temple merchant gains the power to access a divine planar repository holding perfect versions of every item ever made. Once per week a temple merchant can summon a copy of any one non-magical item (normal or masterwork) as long as its market price is equal to or less than 500 gp per divine caster level and its volume is less than 1 cubic foot per caster level. The item remains with the temple merchant for 1 minute per class level, after which it returns automatically to the vault. Consumable items vanish once used but function for their normal duration or 1 minute per class level, whichever is less. Even if an item is destroyed while in the temple merchant’s possession, a new copy appears in the vault.
At 13th level, a temple merchant can use this ability to summon a magic item from the vault. Items with charges always arrive fully charged, and the price limit applies to this fully charged version (for example, a fully charged wand of cure serious wounds costs 11,250 gp, putting it out of reach of any caster level 22 or lower).
Items taken from the vault are obviously of exceptional quality and radiate magic (even if not normally a magic item, such as a chair or table), and their unearthly perfection is enough to make any intelligent potential buyer suspicious. The faith frowns on selling items from the vault, as it is essentially stealing from the buyer (as the items vanish shortly thereafter), which disrupts faith in fair trade; temple merchants who abuse this ability lose access to the vault until they have atoned for their transgression.
Because there is only one perfect copy of each item in the vault, there is a remote chance (approximately 1%) that the item the character wants is unavailable because another person has just borrowed it. If this happens, it does not expend the temple merchant’s ability, and she may try again next round to summon that or another item.
Some religious scholars theorize that this power does not actually draw items from the vault, the items are actually copies of the perfect items, perhaps placed in another divine vault created for this purpose or as a backup.
This replaces the revelation gained at level 7.
Vault Jump (Sp)
At level 9, the temple merchant learns the vault jump ability. Those who drive hard bargains and search for lost treasures sometimes bite off more than they can chew, and a quick exit is often the only way to escape a bad situation alive. Once per day, a temple merchant can create a one-way portal through the vault, which has one of two effects. First, she may use the portal as if it were a dimension door, but can only travel to areas within range and to which she has been (for example, she cannot use it to get past a sealed door into the unknown room beyond). Second, she may use the portal as if she were casting word of recall, but instead of returning to her sanctuary she always returns to the closest active temple with an altar to his patron. The temple merchant’s caster level for this ability is equal to her divine caster level, and she can bring others with her as defined in the spell descriptions.
Travel through the vault is uncomfortable and disorienting, possibly because the Vault rejects imperfect mortal flesh in an attempt to protect itself, or because the aura of so much perfection is overwhelming to mortal senses. Regardless of the distance traveled, the temple merchant (and anyone traveling with her) arrives 1d4+1 rounds later and is nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds after arriving (Fortitude DC 15 negates).
At level 15, the temple merchant can vault jump twice per day.
As with the temple merchant’s ability to access the vault, some scholars believe this ability transports the user through a space other than the vault. Their reasoning is that, if a temple merchant were mind-controlled or otherwise compromised, this ability might allow thieves to access the vault and steal the priceless, perfect items stored there.
Table: Temple Merchant
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells per Day | |||||||||
| 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Appraising eye, aura, domains, orisons, spontaneous casting | 3 | 1+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | 4 | 2+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Eloquent bargainer | 4 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | 4 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Bottomless bag (type II) | 4 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +5 | 4 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Access the vault (non-magical items) | 4 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +6 | +2 | +6 | 4 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Vault jump | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — | — | — |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +7 | +3 | +7 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | — | — | |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Revelation, bottomless bag (type III) | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — | — |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +8 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | — | |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Access the vault (magic items) | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — | — |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +9 | +4 | +9 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | — | |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +9 | +5 | +9 | Vault jump 2/day | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 | — |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | — | |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Bottomless bag (type IV) | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | 1+1 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +11 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | 2+1 | |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +11 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 3+1 | 3+1 | |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +12 | 4 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | 4+1 | |
Ex-Temple Merchant
A temple merchant who grossly violates the code of conduct required by her god loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons. She cannot thereafter gain levels as a temple merchant until she atones for her deeds (see the atonement spell description).
Summary of Lost Class Abilities
These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:
- Channel energy
- Spontaneous casting