reading from the ashes, theres a "weapons allowed" (or somthing), that says what weapons do the priest uses.
but..do i have to?
are thoe entries for "speciality" priests, or for any priest of that deity?
i have a priest of heironeous, but i doenst know swords or axes (and he is a little advanced in age, so "old dogs dont learn new tricks" is his thought).
No, Heironeous's 2nd edition weapons are listed as "any." He's a god of war, and he respects all weapon use.
Quote:
are thoe entries for "speciality" priests, or for any priest of that deity?
They're only for specialty priests. Standard clerics use the Players Handbook rules and ignore the ability requirements, spell spheres, special abilities, and weapon and armor restrictions listed for specialty priests. I always thought it was strange to use both kinds of priests in the same campaign, serving the same gods, though. Officially, many gods had both specialty priests and clerics, but I think clerics, as "generic" priests, really ought to have only been seen in "generic" temples (for example, temples to the whole pantheon at once).
Personally I saw the established faiths within the population centers had specialty priests. The jack of all trades "cleric" was found primarily within multi-faith smaller villages.
It helped define the roles better within the gameworld.
Interestingly, PH2 never uses the words "specialty priest."
Instead, the distinction is between "cleric" and "priest of a specific mythos" (druids were one of the latter).
I don't know where the term "specialty priest" was first used.
(Rasgon?)
As described in PH2, "Priesthood in any mythos must be defined in five categories: requirements, weapons allowed, spells allowed, granted powers, and ethos."
The "Weapons allowed" description sometimes uses the words "allowed" (permitido) and sometimes uses "required" (requisto), but the sense is that this is to be worked out by the DM when designing the mythos.
In FtA, Sargent includes a WP section, "weapons which specialty priests of the Power are allowed [permitido] to use" but includes in this an "x first" designation, which is not in the PH2. "x first" means that the weapon in question "must [requisito] be his first weapon proficiency" and that the priest should use the weapon in all situations unless it is "clearly unsuitable".
Sargent's entry for Heironeous says "WP any (battle axe 1st)". So, if you wish to follow FtA to the letter, specialty priests of Hieroneous are permitted to use any weapon, but must take battle axe as their first proficiency and must use the axe in all situations unless another weapon is clearly called for.
A cleric who worshipped Hieroneous would not be bound by this rule, but as a cleric would have to follow the PH2 rule of "allowed to use only blunt, bludgeoning weapons."
So, what does this mean for your priest?
If a cleric, axe would not be expected, and in fact it would not be permitted.
If a specialty priest, axe would be expected at the first opportunity. You mention that the priest is old, but just now encountering this rule? If the character already had weapon proficiencies chosen and LATER became a specialty priest, then it seems that axe would have to be chosen the next time a free WP slot was obtained, and axe would be used thereafter, but not until then. As long as no new WP slot opened up, the specilaty priest could go on with whatever weapon had been used previously.
reading from the ashes, theres a "weapons allowed" (or somthing), that says what weapons do the priest uses.
but..do i have to?
are thoe entries for "speciality" priests, or for any priest of that deity?
i have a priest of heironeous, but i doenst know swords or axes (and he is a little advanced in age, so "old dogs dont learn new tricks" is his thought).
what is your opinion on that?
In 2E you had to buy each weapon proficiency explicitly. There were no weapon groups (except in later options), but you got several weapon proficiency points at 1st level and 1 additional every x levels. So a specialty priest had to buy 2 (or 3?) from the list of allowed weapons at 1st level. He could choose only those weapons that were on the list.
PS: If you play a 2E priest of herioneous check out Bastion of Faith, it has lots of info on the Hieronean and Hextorean clergy in Faiths & Avatars style.
so, if we try to read both FtA and PHB, there would be 2 kinds of priests : the regular, who pray for good, neutral, evil. and the "special" priest, who pray for a specific deity.
so, if we try to read both FtA and PHB, there would be 2 kinds of priests : the regular, who pray for good, neutral, evil. and the "special" priest, who pray for a specific deity.
thats what you guys are saying?
Within the CLASS of PRIEST, there are two choices: regular (CLERIC) or SPECIALTY PRIEST. Druid is one example of a specialty priest, but the DM is free to design as many as desired, by specifying their: requirements, weapons allowed, spells allowed, granted powers, and ethos.
You can have a truly generic cleric (worshiping good or evil), but you CAN also have a cleric who prays to a specific deity, but DOES NOT follow any of the rules for specialty priests. That is, what makes a specialty priest not a cleric is accepting the bonuses, penalties, requirements, and restrictions specific to the DM's design for that specific mythos.
So, you could have a cleric who worships good.
You could have a cleric that worships lawful good.
You could have a cleric that worships all the Oeridian pantheon.
You could have a cleric that venerates the Oeridian pantheon, and has Hieroneous as a special patron, but still uses a mace (as required for a cleric). (This sounds like where your PC would be at)
But at the point at which the priest accepts a certain set of conditions (including preferred WP in battle axe, etc.) he becomes a specialty priest. The decision point is not about the fluff of who the priest worships, but about the crunch of what rules the PC will be played under - cleric (standard PHB base) or specialty priest (designed for a specific mythos with specified requirements, weapons allowed, spells allowed, granted powers, and ethos).
Although it is not covered in the rules, it is conceivable that a PC might switch from cleric to specialty priest. For example, a priest might start out as a cleric and gain levels while worshiping Hieroneous but not meet the requirements for being a specialty priest. At the point at which requirements were met, the PC would have the choice of becoming a specialty priest by accepting the restrictions and benefits of the build.
In that sense, the specialty priest would be a 2E analogy to a prestige class that most PCs take at first level.
My understanding is that the favoured weapon was a point of pride but lets not forget things like schisms and sub-divisions of faith. Could just imagine a sermon such as this in the church of Heironeous:
"And lo! High priest Mestex was locked in deadly combat with that priest of the hated Hextor, and his axe was smashed by the flail. In his time of need, he picked up the longsword of a fallen comerade and I say to you Heironeous did not smite him dead!"
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