Cleric

Clerics in Thule

The priesthoods of Thule’s city-states are influen- tial, wealthy, and above all mysterious. Each temple is a powerful institution that works to guide the city’s rulers in the proper direction, guard against dangerous influences and knowledge, and defend its exalted position at the center of civic life. Most importantly, the temples of the city-states work hard to maintain a monopoly on magical power, safeguarding dangerous artifacts and suppressing unapproved studies of arcane lore. A major temple is a force to be reckoned with in the city’s affairs and a law unto itself, with temple soldiers to arrest wrongdoers and temple inquisitors to pass judgment and carry out sentences.

While temples celebrate their deities’ holy days and often dispense different forms of charity, they do not exist to proselytize for the gods or to look after the population’s spiritual well-being. Thulean priesthoods are more like exclusive societies that are primarily interested in extending their influ- ence, amassing wealth and power, and protecting the population from danger of any sort—includ- ing dangerous ideas or innovations. Few are truly altruistic or “good” institutions, although many individual priests aspire to a higher calling and seek to minister to people in need. In centuries past, the influence of the great temples did not extend far from the cities, but in the last few decades some of the larger barbarian tribes (such as the Ammur or the various Nimothan tribes) have also turned toward the worship of the Nine. Priests from these tribes naturally are much less interested in the in- trigues and power plays of the city-state temples.

Most priests are administrators and scholars who work to advance their temple’s interests, and do not actually wield any form of divine magic. Clerics form a distinct “inner circle” within each temple priesthood, an elite order of leaders and special agents initiated into the deeper secrets of the temple and entrusted with the power of divine magic. Not all clerics eventually rise to the highest ranks of the priesthood, but any high priest is almost certainly ini- tiated into this inner circle and is therefore a cleric.

Since clerics are so closely associated with the inner circles of the temples they serve, choosing a temple for a cleric character is an important part of build- ing that character’s background. Some good choices include:

• The Winged Tower in Katagia (temple of Asura).
• The High Temple of Ishtar in Quodeth.
• The Golden Hall of Mithra in Quodeth.
• The Hall of a Thousand Victories in Lomar (temple of Nergal).
• The Jade Temple in Ikath (temple of Set).
• The Hall of Broken Shields in Nim (temple of Tarhun).

Priests by God

Clerics in the Primeval Thule campaign should select a patron deity from Nine Powers worshiped by humans and demihumans. At the GM’s discretion, you may instead choose one of the Great Old Ones as your character’s patron deity.

5e Domains: Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, War,

The Nine Powers

Deity	AL	Weapon	Pathfinder Domains	5e Domains
Asura	NG	Spear	Fire, Glory, Good, Liberation
Herum	CE	Greatclub	Animal, Destruction, Strength
Ishtar	CN	Light mace	Charm, Community, Knowledge, Trickery
Kishar	LN	Light flail	Community, Earth, Healing, Plant
Mithra	LG	Heavy mace	Law, Nobility, Protection, Sun
Nergal	NE	Longsword	Death, Earth, Evil, War
Set	LE	Short sword	Darkness, Evil, Knowledge, Ophidian^
Tarhun	CG	Battle axe	Air, Strength, War, Weather
Tiamat	CE	Morningstar	Chaos, Destruction, Water, Weather

Great Old Ones

Deity	AL	Weapon	Domains
Cthulhu	CE	Light flail	Death, Destruction, Evil, Water
Dhuoth	LE	Spear	Darkness, Destruction, Plant
Hastur	NE	Heavy mace	Cosmic*, Destruction, Evil, Madness
Ithaqua	CE	Spear	Air, Evil, Weather
Lorthnu’un	NE	Battle axe	Earth, Evil, Strength
Nyarlathotep	CE	Kukri	Chaos, Madness, Magic, Trickery
Tsathoggua	NE	Heavy mace	Charm, Destruction, Knowledge, Magic
Yga-Ygo	NE	Morningstar	Charm, Darkness, Madness
Yog-Sothoth	CE	Scimitar	Chaos, Cosmic^, Knowledge, Travel

^ New domain described below.

New Domains

Ophidian

Deities: Set

Granted Powers: You possess an uncanny affinity for serpents and serpent-related magic. You can magically envenom your attacks.

Envenomed Strike (Su): You gain the envenomed strike power, the supernatural ability to make a single melee or ranged weapon attack that is magically envenomed. (Your weapon must be type S or type P to be enven- omed.) If you hit, the target must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1⁄2 your level + your Wisdom modifier) or take an extra 1d6 poison damage + 1 point for every two cleric levels you possess. You must declare the envenomed strike before making the attack. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Poison Resistance (Ex): At 6th level, you gain resist poison 10. This resistance increases to 20 at 12th level. At 20th level, you gain immunity to poison.

Domain Spells: 1st—serpent fingers*, 2nd—backbiter shield^, 3rd—dominate animal (reptiles only), 4th— poison, 5th—beast shape III (snakes only), 6th—eyebite, 7th—repulsion, 8th—finger of death, 9th—dominate monster.

^ New spell described in Chapter 7.

Cosmic

Deities: Hastur, Yog-Sothoth

Granted Powers: You perceive things others cannot and adapt to unearthly conditions with ease. You also gain access to spells that exploit the hidden weaknesses in the substance of space and time.

Uncontrolled Perception (Sp): As a melee touch attack, you can cause a creature to perceive several different versions of reality at the same time, confusing its senses. The creature touched treats all other creatures as if they had concealment, suffering a 20% miss chance on all attack rolls. The creature also gains the ability to see ethereal creatures and objects. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to 1⁄2 your cleric level (minimum 1). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Adaptation (Su): At 8th level, you gain the ability to magically adapt to hostile environments. You ignore nonlethal damage from cold dangers or heat dangers. In addition, you are surrounded in a shell of fresh air, making you immune to all harmful vapors and gases and allowing you to breathe, even underwater or in vacuum.

Domain Spells: 1st—endure elements, 2nd—see invisibility, 3rd—displacement, 4th—confusion, 5th— teleport, 6th—shadow walk, 7th—insanity, 8th—maze, 9th—etherealness.