Homebrew Class: The Friar

zacharythefirst · Post by **zacharythefirst** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:35 am

Per yesterday's discussion on my blog, here's the Friar variant that I'm working on for my campaign. I realize it is a step down in overall power level from the Cleric, but that doesn't bother me a great deal, as I still see a niche for this. I'm very curious to see it playtested--let's hope someone chooses it!

Right now, I've just limited spells to 4th level. I'm not totally satisfied with that, as I want to give him some rough cantrips and lower-level spells, but don't want anything to high-powered in there. Suggestions welcome--oh, and this is for Castles & Crusades system (though you certainly don't need to be fluent in that system to comment--I'd love some outside views!):
Friar

A Castles & Crusades Variant Class (hopefully suitable for other Classic-Style RPGs as well)

While Clerics and Paladins tend more towards larger-than-life holy crusading, it is the Friar that humbly protects the common people of the land. This less-vaunted brother of the church is often found in rough homespun, spreading the word through assistance to the poor, sharing their burden, and, when necessary, stout defense against the wicked.

Friars are generally down-to-earth, practical, and less concerned with doctrine than emotional response. Some may even be illiterate, but still manage to spread the holy scriptures by word and by deed.
Abilities
Spiritual Discernment (Wis):: More instinctual than doctrinal, Friars have a proclivity for discerning the holy or unholy qualities of a person, place, or thing. Upon a successful check, a Friar can tell these qualities, which often come in the form of hunches as off, right, or wrong.
Improvised Weaponry: A friar spends much time with the peasantry, and if defending a village or farm, he must use whatever is at his disposal. To that end, he may use any improvised weapon as its nearest analogue with any penalty (for example, a chair leg would do damage as a club, a boat oar can be used as a staff, and farm implements can be used as is, such as a scythe).
Magic: Only minor magics are the Friars to command, and they mainly follow those of the Cleric. However, even minor magics can have a tremendous affect on the lives of everyday people. They progress as the Friar Spell Progression Chart, listed on this page. They do not have to memorize a spell to cast it, but may cast spontaneously from their strong belief and practical strength.

The Friar chooses spells from the Cleric list.

Prime Attribute: Wisdom

Typical Races: Human, Dwarf

Alignment: By Deity

Starting Gold: 1d4x10. Any unspent is lost.

Hit Die: d8

Weapons: Staff, club, sling, improvised

Armor: Any light or medium. Friars generally wear their rough robes, but are practical enough to know the value of leather or a chain shirt in dangerous times.

Abilities: Spiritual Discernment, Improvised Weaponry, Spells

(Ok, both of the below tables will look like poo. Sorry for the poor formatting).

Friar Level Progression

Level HD BtH EPP

1 D8 +1 0

2 D8 +1 1601

3 D8 +2 3350

4 D8 +2 7601

5 D8 +3 15001

6 D8 +3 30001

7 D8 +4 60001

8 D8 +4 120001

9 D8 +5 240001

10 D8 +5 450001

11 +3 +6 625001

12 +3 +6 800001

Friar Spell Progression (Spell Known/Daily)

Level 0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

1 2

2 3 1

3 3 2

4 3 2 1

5 3 3 2

6 3 3 2 1

7 3 4 3 2

8 3 4 3 2 1

9 3 4 4 3 2

10 4 4 4 4 2

11 4 4 4 4 3

12 4 4 4 4 4
Special thanks to Orlandia and Old Guard Gaming Accoutrements for inspiration:

http://oldguardgamingaccoutrements.blog ... he%20Friar
http://sites.google.com/site/ccorlandia ... ites/friar
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zacharythefirst · Post by **zacharythefirst** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:38 am

I should add I have uploaded this as a pdf, along with my other homebrew class drafts over at our campaign's site:
http://sites.google.com/site/zacksrpgstuff/files
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:45 pm

I like this one. I have always felt there should be varying levels of powers for PC classes, and then everyone else, and I think this is a nice example of such.
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Arazmus · Post by **Arazmus** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:56 pm

Probably going to use this one as an NPC class. I like it.

I should probably post the modified for C&C Sage that I cobbled together for NPC corner as well.
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Joe · Post by **Joe** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:41 pm

looks like an npc class only. If you want others to play them i would keep working on some more class abilities.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:16 pm

Since you are keeping them low level, I would give them much more spell access in exchange for not getting access to the higher powers.

Say by your 12th level chart they be 6 6 6 6 6 instead, plus WIS bonus'?

So they give up power, but have much more versatility.
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AslanC · Post by **AslanC** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:20 pm

I say remove the spells, give them a lay on hands and cure disease and scrollcasting, divine AND arcane
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 9:11 pm

AslanC wrote:
I say remove the spells, give them a lay on hands and cure disease and scrollcasting, divine AND arcane

Kind of like a cross between thief and Paladin?
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AslanC · Post by **AslanC** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:51 pm

Treebore wrote:
Kind of like a cross between thief and Paladin?

Sounds like a middle ages monk to me
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:09 am

If they had scroll casting, it would imply they were always educated and could, at minimum, read which would detract a great deal from their "everyman" feel. Instead, what I would do would be to include, unless it is assumed already, so sort of religious lore... not just of places, but of people, events, items, etc, like that of a bard, but specific to a given faith.
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AslanC · Post by **AslanC** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:21 am

In the real world friars could read. Or is there some precedent for these guys not being able to read?
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:28 am

Read the description in the original post. It makes special notice that some are illiterate, yet manage to do their deeds without books or scrolls...
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AslanC · Post by **AslanC** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:00 am

Yes it says "Some may even be illiterate, but still manage to spread the holy scriptures by word and by deed."

Emphasis mine and it doesn't even mention scrolls or books
Also some does not imply all or even the lion's share.

Though I supppose it would be up to the creator of the class to decide it.
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Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:08 am

I agree with the lay on hands (faith healing!) but disagree with the scroll casting. not because of literacy issues. simply because that isn't where their faith lies. given that they have limited spell casting ability, I cannot see using scrolls as being high on the 'Ooo Ooo' list.

I also disagree with the cure disease. Such things were usually dealt with by the village herb witch, healer, or wise woman. The friar would be there praying or giving last rites.
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zacharythefirst · Post by **zacharythefirst** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:40 pm

AslanC wrote:
Yes it says "Some may even be illiterate, but still manage to spread the holy scriptures by word and by deed."

Emphasis mine and it doesn't even mention scrolls or books
Also some does not imply all or even the lion's share.

Though I supppose it would be up to the creator of the class to decide it.

"May be". I wanted to leave the door open for an allowance of a somewhat itinerant lay clergy as well.

As for power level, I had a player choose this class last night--another player is playing a cleric. It should be interesting, since we do realize the cleric is by default more powerful (but the player didn't care--that's not something our old group cared about that much).

Here's the current write-up. I took the advice on the spell removal (mostly), and added a bit of healing. I do think the class could be tweaked in a number of different directions--we'll see what actual play holds. Thanks for all the advice!

Friar

While Clerics and Paladins tend more towards larger-than-life holy crusading, it is the Friar that humbly protects the common people of the land. This less-vaunted brother of the church is often found in rough homespun, spreading the word through assistance to the poor, sharing their burden, and, when necessary, stout defense against the wicked.

Friars are generally down-to-earth, practical, and less concerned with doctrine than emotional response. Some may even be illiterate, but still manage to spread the holy scriptures by word and by deed.

Abilities

Spiritual Discernment (Wis): More instinctual than doctrinal, Friars have a proclivity for discerning the holy or unholy qualities of a person, place, or thing. Upon a successful check, a Friar can tell these qualities, which often come in the form of hunches as off, right, or wrong.

Improvised Weaponry: A friar spends much time with the peasantry, and if defending a village or farm, he must use whatever is at his disposal. To that end, he may use any improvised weapon as its nearest analogue without any penalty (for example, a chair leg would do damage as a club, a boat oar can be used as a staff, and farm implements can be used as is, such as a scythe).

Healing: Twice a day at first level, the friar may heal a character for 1d8 HP. This is a mix of divine magic and practical medical knowledge. The friar may add one healing attempt per day at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. At level 6, the healing increases to 2d8 daily; at 10th level, 2d10.

Magic: Only minor magics are the Friars to command, and they mainly follow those of the Cleric. However, even minor magics can have a tremendous affect on the lives of everyday people. The Friar begins at first level with 3 0-level spells from the Cleric list. They may learn 1 additional 0-level spell from the Cleric lists at levels 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. At levels 4, 8, and 12, they may learn 1 1st-level Cleric spell. They do not have to memorize a spell to cast it, but may cast spontaneously from their strong belief and practical strength.

Prime Attribute: Wisdom

Typical Races: Human, Dwarf

Alignment: By Deity

Starting Gold: 1d4x10. Any unspent is lost.

Hit Die: d8

Weapons: Staff, club, sling, improvised

Armor: Any light or medium. Friars generally wear their rough robes, but are practical enough to know the value of leather or a chain shirt in dangerous times.

Abilities: Spiritual Discernment, Healing, Improvised Weaponry, Spells

Friar Level Progression

Level HD BtH EPP

1 D8 +1 0

2 D8 +1 1401

3 D8 +2 3050

4 D8 +2 7001

5 D8 +3 14001

6 D8 +3 29001

7 D8 +4 56001

8 D8 +4 112001

9 D8 +5 230001

10 D8 +5 440001

11 +3 +6 615001

12 +3 +6 800001
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Fizz · Post by **Fizz** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:55 pm

Some neat ideas here. But i'm a little fuzzy on Spiritual Discernment ability. Can you provide some examples as to how this would work?

-Fizz

zacharythefirst · Post by **zacharythefirst** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 1:12 am

Certainly. It's like a fuzzier Detect Evil/Detect Good sort of ability--less exact, but Friars in this instance are very good about discerning the base concerns of a person, organization, or artifact. Their time amongst the common people of the land has left them with a very good B.S. filter, in other words.
Example: Friar Cleophas is sent before the Prelate Augus, who is sickly sweet in his explaining his concern is only for the King's health. Cleophas used his spiritual discernment (getting a 15 vs. a 14 target [12+2 modifier]), and sniffs out that something behind Augus' words are insincere or....off. He may not be able to ascertain Augus actually sold his soul to a Dark God, but he knows something isn't right.
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Fizz · Post by **Fizz** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:21 pm

OK, this helps some.

Is it meant to be an active ability? That is, does the player need to state "i'll use my ability"? Does he need to have any indication something is up beforehand (in the same way you don't automatically get a save against an illusion)?

Or is it a passive ability that the CK will roll behind the scenes without the player realizing it?

-Fizz

zacharythefirst · Post by **zacharythefirst** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 2:09 am

Fizz wrote:
OK, this helps some.

Is it meant to be an active ability? That is, does the player need to state "i'll use my ability"? Does he need to have any indication something is up beforehand (in the same way you don't automatically get a save against an illusion)?

Or is it a passive ability that the CK will roll behind the scenes without the player realizing it?

-Fizz

I think it can be played either way. I personally would consider it active if the player was acting in any way interested or curious about the situation.
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Homebrew Class: The Friar

Homebrew Class: The Friar

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