Cantor (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

"We're on a mission from God." Elwood Blues, Blues Brothers.

Not all bards are arcanists; some derive their special powers from a divine tradition. Nor are all skalds gifted in lore and ancient secrets. Some gain their power from divine worship.

In many primitive cultures, the cantor takes the place of spiritual guide of the people's religious beliefs. Some civilized cultures have developed the singing of hymns and chants into an art, but cantors are usually subservient to clerics a civilized churche.

Class Information

This is a bard and skald archetype.

Alignment: If a cantor has a patron, his alignment must be within one step of his patron's alignment. Cantors have no other alignment restrictions, and can be lawful if their deity allows it.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Features

The cantor has all the standard bard class features, except as noted below.

Armor and Weapon proficiency

A cantor retains his parent class' weapon and armor proficiencies. As a divine spellcaster, a cantor can cast spells in armor.

Class Skills

The cantor's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (Int), and Spellcraft (Int).

Spellcasting

A cantor casts divine spells, which are drawn from the bard spell list. However, his alignment may restrict him from casting certain spells opposed to his moral or ethical beliefs. As a divine spellcaster, the cantor's ability to cast spells in armor is unrestricted.

Add the following spells to the cantor's class spell list:
0 — create water, stabilize;
1st — detect evil/good/law, lesser restoration, protection from chaos/evil/good/law;
2nd — consecrate, desecrate, gentle repose;
3rd magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, prayer;
4th — remove disease, speak with dead, sending;
5th — divination, restoration;
6th — commune, hallow, unhallow, raise dead.

In addition to this, cantors receive spells from their domains (see below).

A cantor can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to her own or her deity’s (if she has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaotic, evil, good, and lawful descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Deity, Domain, and Domain Spells

A cantor's deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. A cantor chooses a domain from among those belonging to his deity. A cantor can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain. If a cantor is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects one domain to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.

The domain gives the cantor access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. Unlike clerics, bards simply add these spells to their list of known spells and to their class spell list - there are no special domain slots. The cantor gets the granted powers the domain selected. Any granted powers that would normally be Wisdom-based become Charisma-based for the Cantor.

This ability replaces the bardic knowledge and loremaster abilities of the bard or skald.

Ex-Cantors

A cantor who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his god loses all spells and class features, except for weapon and armor proficiencies. He cannot thereafter gain levels as a cantor of that god until he atones (see the atonement spell description).

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Class Skills
• Spellcasting
• Bardic Knowledge
• Lore Master

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