Friar O.C.C Palladium 1st ed.

[MantazSectle]

I'm working on a friar class. These 'begging brothers' wander the highways and countryside or live among the common people in the towns and cities. Some rascally friars serve as counselors to bands of outlaws.




FRIAR
IQ 7 PE 6
typically, of a Good or Selfish alignment
O.C.C. skills: Read and Write Native Language (+25%), Speak One Additional Language (+25%), Religious Doctrine (+25%), Prayers
Elective skills: Choose 6 at level one, 3 at level three, 3 at level eight, and 3 at level twelve.
Secondary skills: Choose 8 at level one, 4 at level four, and 4 at level ten.
Elective skills
Disguise
Hand to Hand: Non-Man-at-Arms
Horsemanship: general
Identify Plants/Fruits (+10%)
Identify Tracks (+5%)
Locate Secret Compartments/Doors (+5%)
Medical (+10%)
Prowl (+10%)
Pick Pockets
Scale Walls (+5%)
Trap/skin Small Animals (+5%)
Track
W.P. Blunt
W.P. Staves
W.P. Knives
W.P. Short Bow
W.P. Short Sword
W.P. Small Shield
W.P. Sling
W.P. Spear/fork
Secondary Skills
Any, but the following gain bonuses:
Cook (+5%)
Play Wind Instrument (+5%)
Preserve Food (+5%)
Demon and Devil Lore (+10%)
Faerie Lore (+10%)
Sense of Direction (+5%)
Sing (+6%)
Swim (+4%)
Speak Additional Language (+25%)
Read/Write Additional Language (+25%)

Prayers (details TBD)
Traveler’s Benison: Reduces Chances of getting lost, and increases overland speed on rides or marches.

Bless Food and Drink: Food/drink becomes more nourishing and gives bonuses to recovery from illness or injury.

Footsore Curse: Subject temporarily loses Spd and suffers a penalty to dodge.


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This is supposed to be a relatively mundane and low-powered Clergy option, and I think I will use one of the fast-advancing tracks to offset the lack of spells and full clerical abilities.


Feedback?

[Library Ogre]

Mechanically, they look ok, but is that the full extent of their clerical abilities? No healing, no other prayers other than one to bless food, one to help travelers, and one to hurt travelers?

The essential question, not asked in malice, but why does anyone care about the Friars if they're just wanderers who can't do anything in particular to help people? A priest should serve some practical function (even a social one). Regular priests have healing abilities... a healing touch, removal of curses, exorcism, even resurrection. You welcome them in your town, even if they're not your favorite god, because they are useful to the people there. Sure, I'll give you some gold and offer a prayer to your god in exchange for services. And maybe that brings more people to your specific religion. They're useful.

Why are friars useful? Why are they a thing gods would want, why are they a thing people would want?

[MantazSectle]

Real-world friars can be priests, but most are not. A priest's main roles are sacrificial/sacramental/ritual. He makes offerings to higher (or lower) powers. Palladium represents these things through special clerical abilities and prayers, including miraculous healing. Friars mainly teach, preach, and do charitable works.
I'm not sure whether these guys should truly be a Clergy class or if they fall more into the Optional category, like Peasants and Scholars. The Monk from Old Ones is Clergy or Optional? I'll have to check.
I don't want the Friar to have the usual run of Priest O.C.C. abilities. They aren't priests--or if one is, he can have two O.C.C.s

If I stick with Clergy, what I might do is add some more Prayers and abilities. Thinking of the Friar's orientation to interacting with and helping people in the world, these might include:

Discern Witchcraft
Detecting witches, demons, and devils-- may require Demon/Devil Lore

Peace of Beasts
Percentage chance to calm beasts/animal-like monsters

Graveside Prayer
Protects a grave from scavengers, prevents the cadaver from being animated by magic until next new moon

Inspired Preaching
Boosts public speaking, and teaching ability and may win converts

I want any special effects to be low-key, naturalistic, and not flashy. The ravening wolf breaks off its attack and accepts food from the friar, licking his hands. That sort of thing.

[kiralon]

Maybe having sermons that give group boosts to various things, like bonuses to wilderness/environment skills, maybe reducing random encounters and finding interesting things and then maybe a specialised holistic medicine that then also gives interesting effects like short effect potions and can say be applied to food to calm animals to help people camouflage themselves or be slightly better at defeating sheriffs.

[MantazSectle]

That all sounds good. Library Ogre's points were well-made, and your suggestions are helpful, Kiralon.
I'll whack away at it and post updates or drafts on this thread when I have some additional material.

[kiralon]

Many years ago there was a netbook of herbs, i recommend finding it if you are going to be using holistic medicine a lot.

[Marcethus]

Personally while the OCC looks fine I would take either the warrior monk from the main book or the scholarly monk from the old ones book and tweak some skills to fit the concept.

Is the friar thing a player concept or an NPC?

[MantazSectle]

It's an optional PC class like the monk from Old Ones.

[Marcethus]

It's an optional PC class like the monk from Old Ones.

If a player wants to play a friar-like character, I would just modify the warrior or scholarly monk, depending on their exact concept. For me personally, I don't see the need to create an OCC where minor tweaks to an existing OCC's already cover.

[kiralon]

There is a fair difference between the 1st ed and 2nd ed versions

[Marcethus]

There is a fair difference between the 1st ed and 2nd ed versions

Very true. 1e and 2e PF have alot of differences. My statements are what I would do in 2e. I do not have alot of 1e books, in fact only have one and it's not the main, which I would love to have. All Hail Gersidi!

[MantazSectle]

There is a fair difference between the 1st ed and 2nd ed versions

True.

I strongly prefer 1e. 2E has some nice wordbooks/sourcebooks, though.

[kiralon]

Me too, 1st ed will always be superior in my mind, but i have a lot of house rules to get around the gray areas due to lack of errata.