Priest (D&D Cleric variant)

Unofficial rules compendium

Thaumaturges are members of a clerical hierarchy, completely focused on service to their patron and community. They study the divine from both an arcane and a spiritual viewpoint, combining both types of magic in one class. This makes them very powerful spellcasters. Unlike regular clerics, thaumaturges are not fighting men. Still, they need not be peaceful - they work towards their goals by inspiring and influencing the faithful or invoking miracles rather than by physical action. They mastery of domains exceeds even that of clerics, letting them delve into the specific powers of their faith. But not all thaumaturges have a patrin deity – some view the divine from an entirely theoretical viewpoint. These scholars of the divine sometimes call themselves astral magicians. Finally, thaumaturges are masters of metamagic, item creation, and divine invocation, gaining bonus feats that let them manipulate divine power in unforeseen ways.

Alignment

A thaumaturges alignment must be within one step of his deity's (that is, it may be one step away on either the lawful-chaotic axis or the good-evil axis, but not both). A thaumaturge may not be neutral unless his deity's alignment is also neutral. Chaotic religions rarely have thaumaturges, but they are not impossible. A thaumaturge that lacks a patron tends to be true neutral or chaotic, an independent thinker and free-willed explorer of the higher realms.

Hit Die

d6.

Class Skills

The thaumaturge's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (The Planes) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The thaumaturge

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

+0

+0

+2

Turn or rebuke undead, domain powers

3

1+1

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2nd

+1

+0

+0

+3

4

2+2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3rd

+2

+1

+1

+3

4

2+3

1+1

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

4th

+2

+1

+1

+4

Bonus feat

5

3+3

2+2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

5th

+3

+1

+1

+4

5

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

—

—

—

—

—

6th

+3

+2

+2

+5

5

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

—

—

—

—

—

7th

+4

+2

+2

+5

6

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

—

—

—

—

8th

+4

+2

+2

+6

Bonus feat

6

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

—

—

—

—

9th

+5

+3

+3

+6

6

4+4

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

—

—

—

10th

+5

+3

+3

+7

6

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

—

—

—

11th

+6/+1

+3

+3

+7

6

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

—

—

12th

+6/+1

+4

+4

+8

Bonus feat

6

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

—

—

13th

+7/+2

+4

+4

+8

6

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

—

14th

+7/+2

+4

+4

+9

6

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

—

15th

+8/+3

+5

+5

+9

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

—

16th

+8/+3

+5

+5

+10

Bonus feat

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

—

17th

+9/+4

+5

+5

+10

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

2+2

1+1

18th

+9/+4

+6

+6

+11

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

2+2

19th

+10/+5

+6

+6

+11

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

3+3

3+3

20th

+10/+5

+6

+6

+12

Bonus feat

6

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

5+5

4+4

4+4

4+4

4+4

In addition to the stated number of spells per day for 1st- through 9th-level spells, a thaumaturge gets an equal number of domain spells for each spell level, starting at 1st. The "x+x" in the entries on this table represents these extra spells. Bonus spells the thaumaturge may receive for having a high wisdom score apply to both regular spells and domain spells separately and is thus applied twice.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the thaumaturge.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Thaumaturges are proficient with the club, sling, and staff but not with any type of armor or shield. A thaumaturge with a patron is proficient in his patron's favored weapon. A thaumaturge that wears armor risks arcane spell failure on his arcane (domain) spells.

Aura (Ex)

A thaumaturge of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity's alignment (see the detect evil spell for details). Thaumaturges who don't worship a specific deity but choose the chaos, evil, good, or law domain have a similarly powerful aura of the corresponding alignment. This aura also provided protection to the Thaumaturge, providing a +4 (force) armor bonus. This does not stack with other armor bonuses.

Spells

A thaumaturge casts both divine and arcane spells, which are drawn from the cleric spell list and from clerical domains respectively. His alignment may restrict him from casting certain spells opposed to his moral or ethical beliefs; see chaotic, evil, good, and lawful spells, below. A thaumaturge must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, a thaumaturge must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a thaumaturge's spell is 10 + the spell level + the thaumaturge's Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a thaumaturge can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The thaumaturge. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Wisdom score. A thaumaturge prepares this many cleric spells each day and this many domain spells each day; in effect, the thaumaturge has two sets of spells and receives Wisdom bonuses to both.

Example: A third level thaumaturge with a Wisdom of 14 can prepare three first-level spells and two second-level divine spells from the cleric list, and the same number of arcane spells from among those gained from his domains.

Thaumaturges meditate for their spells. Each thaumaturge must choose a time at which he must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation to regain his daily allotment of spells. Time spent resting has no effect on whether a thaumaturge can prepare divine spells, but to recover arcane (domain) spells, the thaumaturge must first rest 8 hours. A thaumaturge may prepare and cast any spell on the thaumaturge spell list, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation.

Orisons and Cantrips

Thaumaturges can prepare a number of orisons and cantrips, or 0-level spells, each day, as noted on Table: Thaumaturge under “Spells per day.” These spells are treated like any other spell, but they are not expended when cast and may be used again. A thaumaturge has no access to cantrips.

Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells

A thaumaturge's deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him, and some thaumaturges have no patron at all. Whatver the sorce of their powers, thaumaturges have access to clerical domains, even more son than

Thaumaturges study the divine in unique ways, combining sacred and methodical approaches in their studies. Beside divine spells from the cleric list, they also have access to a number of domains and a separate (but equal) daily limit on arcane domain spells they can prepare. Combine all the spells granted by the thaumaturge's domains; these become his arcane spell list. Thaumaturges do not keep these spells in a spellbook, instead they are granted all these spells directly by study and inspiration. When casting arcane spells, thaumaturges are subject to arcane spell failure just like any other arcane caster.

A thaumaturge with a patron learns to use all the domains belonging to his deity. Some gods give more domains than others. A thaumaturge who serves a monotheistic deity, a dualistic deity, or a pantheon can only receive five domains in this way, and the selection is not an individual matter; it is decided by the sect you are a part of or your position in the church. Decide upon which domains to take together with the DM. A thaumaturge striking out on his own, with no patron or sect to guide him, has 4 domains of his choice.

Each domain gives the thaumaturge access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. The thaumaturge gets the granted powers of all domains he knows.

Channel Energy (Su)

Regardless of alignment, any thaumaturge can release a wave of energy by channeling the power of her faith through her holy (or unholy) symbol. This energy can be used to cause or heal damage, depending on the type of energy channeled and the creatures targeted.

A good thaumaturge (or a neutral thaumaturge who worships a good deity) channels positive energy and can choose to deal damage to undead creatures or to heal living creatures. An evil thaumaturge (or a neutral thaumaturge who worships an evil deity) channels negative energy and can choose to deal damage to living creatures or to heal undead creatures. A neutral thaumaturge of a neutral deity (or one who is not devoted to a particular deity) can channel either positive or negative energy at will.

Channeling energy causes a burst that affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the thaumaturge. The amount of damage dealt or healed is equal to 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two thaumaturge levels beyond 1st (2d6 at 3rd, 3d6 at 5th, and so on). Creatures that take damage from channeled energy receive a Will save to halve the damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the thaumaturge's level + the thaumaturge's Intelligence modifier. Creatures healed by channel energy cannot exceed their maximum hit point total—all excess healing is lost. A thaumaturge may channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Intelligence modifier. This is a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. A thaumaturge can choose whether or not to include herself in this effect. A thaumaturge must be able to present her holy symbol to use this ability.

Bonus Feats

Every four levels (at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level) a thaumaturge gains a bonus feat. At each such opportunity, she can choose a metamagic feat, an item creation feat, or a channeling feat. The thaumaturge must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including caster level minimums.

These bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. The thaumaturge is not limited to the categories of item creation feats, metamagic feats, or channeling feats when choosing these feats.

Bonus Languages

A thaumaturge's bonus language options include Celestial, Abyssal, and Infernal (the languages of good, chaotic evil, and lawful evil outsiders, respectively). These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.

Ex-Thaumaturges

A thaumaturge who grossly violates the code of conduct required by his faith loses all spells and class features, except for weapon and armor proficiency. He cannot thereafter gain levels as a thaumaturge of that god until he atones (see the atonement spell description) or decides to strike out on his own (see Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells above), in which case he commonly loses access to domains.

Notes and Options

Druidic Thaumaturge Option

Certain druidic faiths in advanced societies might have thaumaturges. These would cast spells from the druid spell list rather than the cleric spell list. Domain spells are not affected.

Note on Prestige Classes

Many prestige classes geared for clerics would become too powerful in the hands of thaumaturges if the caster levels simply added up. Prestige classes that grant +1 level of spell ability with divine spells have no effect on the thaumaturge's ability to cast arcane domain spells. The spells per day for domain spells does not improve, except that when you gain a new level of spells, you also gain a single spell per day for domain spells of that level, with no bonus spells for high wisdom score – much as a cleric does. Prestige classes that can advance arcane spellcasting abilities of any kind work normally for thaumaturges, adding to their ability to cast both arcane and divine spells.

Note on Recharge Magic

If using the Recharge Magic option, domain spells and cleric spells are considered two different classes for the thaumaturge, and each recharges separately.