Moralist (Character Kit)

Cleric of the Faith Moral (Moralist)

The moralist wing of the organized faiths of Zakhara are the heart and fire of their churches, the keepers of the true faith, the sword of their god's vengeance, and the protectors of their people. They are the most militant of their god's worshipers as well as the most fervent, zealous in pursuing the goals of their personal faiths. At best, moralists cannot understand why anyone would choose not to share their beliefs. At their worst, they seek to convert others by fire and sword.

Most organized faiths have a moralist wing, or at least a few moralist individuals mixed in with the ethical hierarchy. Faiths that have a large number of moralist priests tend toward holy crusades and, on a national level, holy wars. The Priests of the Pantheon, for example, are heavily moralistic; as a result, the cities of the Pantheist League are the most repressive to other faiths. (See Chapter 1 for a brief overview of Zakhara's geography.)

Requirements: Moralist clerics must be lawful, though they may be good, neutral, or evil, according to the tendency of the god(s) they worship. Although they may be of any race, organized moralists of a given faith tend to be of a single homogeneous race. Similarly, moralist priests may be of either gender, but men and women are normally segregated, either in different buildings or even separate temples.

Whatever their personal faith, moralists take vows of celibacy and chastity. Their lives are highly structured by the church. (For this reason, most are NPCs rather than PCs.)

Role: Moralists are the most zealous of all the Clerics of Order. To many Zakharans, moralists are also the most dangerous. (Of course, to those who embrace compatible ideals, moralists can be charismatic role- models.) Each moralist believes that his or her own faith is correct. While other Zakharans may be equally devout in their daily lives, few are as intolerant of other religious beliefs as the moralists. To moralists of a given faith, all correct actions are dictated by their god, and all life is encompassed by the worship of that god alone. While they accept pragmatists and ethoists of the same faith, they still look down upon them and are little more than civil. Priests from other faiths are openly disliked, as are hakimas, kahins, and mystics. Characters using strange magics—such as sha'irs, elementalists, and outlanders—are openly despised.

Unless sanctioned by the appropriate god, distractions of earthly concern are pronounced counterproductive, to be avoided at all costs. While moralists are permitted to go out among "ordinary" people, they may do so only when they have specific missions in mind, never for simple pleasure or relaxation. For example, a moralist might be told, "Preach the holy word among the people, and find out what those lazy ethoists in the next town are up to now."

A stern face and a closed mind are the hallmarks of moralists; lightheartedness and an easygoing attitude are not. To others, it often seems that they derive no joy from their faith, or perhaps that their only "pleasure" stems from attempting to remain joyless themselves while squelching the joy in others. Even actions encouraged by the gods may be conducted in a grim and serious manner. For example, priests of a goddess of charity make sure that every dinar they give away is accompanied by a stiff lecture on self-worth. And moralist priests of a certain god of wine tend to be sullen drunks. Insobriety and devoutness might seem incongruous, but moralists can never go too far in the service of their gods; to them, excess in the name of faith is no sin.

Moralists are excellent and profuse record-keepers, since they feel they may be called upon to offer proof for anything they say or do. They are expected to communicate early and often with their higher-ups. That suits the more powerful moralists just fine. But moralists also continually submit long, verbose reports to all higher-ranking clerics in their church, which drives the relatively passive ethoists to distraction, while pragmatists just "lose" the letters, unopened.

Members of this kit are most comfortable with other moralists of the same gender, race, and faith. They realize that they can't help those who are cursed by the "wrong" gender or race. But faith is another matter entirely. Moralists are enthusiastic in their attempts to convert others to their beliefs. They are equally spirited in encouraging those of their own faith to live closer to the "true" tenets of their moralist faction. A moralist can provide lively debate and a bit of fun (for others) in mixed groups—at least until a rival holy slayer drops an adder into the pontificating priest's sleeping roll.

As noted above, few player characters are moralists. (Due to their restrictions and attitude, moralists are difficult to run as PCs.) Meeting NPC moralists can create an interesting encounter. If PCs are of the same faith, the moralists may encourage them to higher goals of propriety. Or the NPCs may serve as opposition from radically different faiths. With like- minded farisan and holy slayers as backup, moralist priests are often selected for difficult missions—especially missions in which they must deal with heretics and infidels. (Remember, they particularly disdain sha'irs and elementalists.)

Weapon Proficiencies: Moralists may take any weapon allowed to priests.

Nonweapon Proficiencies:

• Bonus Proficiencies: Religion, debate.
• Recommended, General: Cooking, etiquette, heraldry, languages (modern), weaving.
• Recommended, Warrior: None.
• Recommended, Priest: Ancient history, bureaucracy, healing, languages (ancient), local history, reading/ writing.
• Recommended, Wizard and Rogue: None.
• Forbidden: All proficiencies that aren't general or priestly in nature. (Explains one moralist, "If the gods had wished for us to know blind-fighting or animal lore, they would have given it to us at the outset.")

Equipment: Clerics of the Faith Moral are always found in their official vestments. Each cleric's church provides the appropriate uniform, but clerics themselves are responsible for upkeep and cleaning. Vestments include the following: robes of a sanctioned solid color (dark colors are usually acceptable, but the proper hues vary from church to church); a matching turban and veil for both genders; sandals; and the priest's holy symbol, which must be prominently displayed. Beneath the vestments, clerics of the Faith Moral usually wear chain armor. If other types of armor are required, they must look appropriate—that is, creating no confusion as to the priest's moralist nature.

Special Benefits: Members of this kit can count on the support of their own temples to a greater degree than pragmatists and ethoists. Specifically, a moralist can request and expect the following aid (and possibly more) from the local church of his or her own faith:

• Safe haven, food, and board within the local temple (or mosque or monastery). The moralist priest is under no obligation to help the other clergy present in the temple, other than to encourage them to live their lives correctly.
• A loan. The priest can borrow up to three times his or her experience level times a hundred, in gold pieces. The money should be repaid within 30 days.
• Muscle. A moralist can request the services of a number of 1st-level fighters equaling three times his or her level. Either askars or farisan will respond. All fighters will be equipped with chain mail and scimitars. The time of service cannot exceed the moralist's level in days, and the purpose of the mission should somehow advance the cause of the priest's faith.
• An assistant who follows the same faith (and who is also a moralist, if available). The assistant is responsible for keeping all papers and notes. The helper's experience level equals half that of the priest served, rounded down, with a maximum of 4th level. The assistant may be kept for up to one week per level of the moralist priest before having to return.
• Clout. The moralist can give orders to lower-level moralist priests of the same faith and expect those orders to be followed to the letter. (An individual who fails to follow a superior's instructions may be cast out of the faith, as described under "Special Hindrances" below.)

Magical Abilities: Moralists may gain spells from the standard spheres as a cleric:

• Major Access: All, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, Summoning, and Sun.
• Minor Access: None.
• Forbidden Spheres: All others, including elemental. (No spells are allowed unless duplicated in one of the permitted spheres listed above.)

Turning Undead. Moralist priests can turn and control the undead like standard clerics in the AD&D® game.

Special Hindrances: Moralists are tightly tied to their hierarchies. An order from a higher-level moralist priest of the same faith is to be followed to the letter. Those who fail to do so are outcast from their church. Outcasts lose all benefits from their church organization until they atone (as for the spell). Even after this effort, the formerly faithful are restored with the organizational benefits of ethoists of the faith, not moralists.

Moralists are expected to tithe 50 percent of all earnings to their church (not to PC members of the religion or other worthy causes). Before the donation is made, the priests gain the usual experience points for acquiring the wealth. Skilled in fund-raising, moralists also encourage others to contribute up to 10 percent of their income to the "correct" church.

Finally, moralists suffer a 3-point penalty to all initial encounter reactions. Moralists are openly hostile toward members of other faiths. Such behavior has earned them a rather poor reputation. (The penalty does not apply to characters who have been outcast or who are hiding their moralist stature. Both are rarities, however.)

Wealth Options: Moralist priests have starting funds of 3d6 x 10 gp each. Should that prove to be too meager, a priest can borrow an equal amount from the church to make further initial purchases. Once purchases are complete, each moralist is allowed to retain only 2 to 3 gp. Any surplus funds must be returned to the church.

Moralists must repay all loans in full within a month. Those who fail to do so are docked that amount again; the balance due is doubled. Repayments are in addition to the 50 percent of income tithed to the church. Hence, within a month the priest must earn at least twice the amount due on the loan in order to repay it in full.

Races: Members of any race may be clerics of the Faith Moral. Each tends to believe that the gods are of the same race, and that their race—whether human, half-elf, or otherwise—was created "in the gods' image." That image is rarely shown, however. Most moralist faiths, regardless of race, believe that any visual representation of a deity is an anathema. Such representations, they say, encourage idol worship, not the veneration of a god's true spirit. Hence, while moralist dwarves believe that the gods are dwarves, too, they never portray their deities as such (or in any manner, for that matter). To do so would be heresy.