Earth Clerics (EAFW)

Rocks, sand, trees, silt everything of earth is raw material for earth clerics. It is their duty to protect and preserve these, and they constantly strive to enrich and shield the harsh wastes of Athas.
Earth clerics tend to be defensive. Beneath the savage fury of a dark sun, the best defense is usually a good offense—a tactic that these clerics employ. Closely tied to nature, earth priests understand the true nature of the cycle of life. When something dies, its organic material is returned to the soil to provide life for another, and in another form. Therefore, the earth clerics' outlook on life is a utilitarian one. The death of a comrade, though tragic, is simply one stage in nature s endless chain of creation and annihilation.
Earth endures, and like the mountains and the drying plains, earth clerics must bear the brunt of the fight for Athas's survival. Because air, fire, and water all depend on growing things for their enrichment, and because earth alone must sustain itself, it is the earth clerics who must carry on the burden of preventing the environmental holocaust looming over Athas. For, if they do not preserve the land, will not the death of Athas weigh upon their shoulders?
==Initiation==
To become an earth cleric, a petitioner must pass a test. Success makes him one with the land. Failure usually means being driven stark, raving mad.
When a mentor believes that a disciple is ready, the cleric takes the initiate to a place where the land is fertile. These areas are few and far between on Athas, so the trip is often long and hazardous.
When they arrive at the chosen location, they will build a fire and talk about all that the initiate has learned since the apprenticeship began. They will talk through the night and then, just before dawn, the mentor will use the initiation spell to open a hole 6 feet deep and 2 feet wide. The apprentice rests in this bed of earth, and is completely covered with loose earth.
The grounded acolyte requires no food, water, or air because of the spell. He remains buried beneath the surface, speaking with the spirits of the earth and forging his pact until the sun goes down. At this point the spell is canceled and the novice emerges. If he has been accepted by the earth elementals, he surfaces unscathed and empowered with a deeper understanding of the raw material that feeds his patron. If the powers of the earth do not accept him, the student is pushed to just below the surface of the earth and abandoned to escape on his own. While no physical harm ever occurs, most of those who are rejected carry deep emotional scars as a result of their rejection.
Very rarely, a mentor dies or is slain while his pupil is still beneath the earth, and the student becomes trapped. The initiate's unfortunate soul is locked forever in an elemental limbo, and some legends say that a terrible new form of undeath has occasionally been created from these mishaps.
==The Pact of Earth==
The beings that dwell in the Plane of Earth expect their champions to perform certain duties. Earth clerics must always be in opposition to defilers. They may not travel with a known defiler, work with one, or allow a defiler to cast a spell in their presence. Earth elementals know that defiling magic lies beyond the normal boundary of the creation/annihilation chain—what defilers destroy never returns. Therefore, earth clerics try to reform any friendly defilers they meet and may destroy those who refuse to change their robes.
Earth clerics don't usually seek revenge in the same way that druids do, for their opposition to the defilers is purely defensive. When they are up against a known defiler, earth clerics are far more likely to incite others to fight for them, while they continue their silent opposition in the background.
Earth clerics are required to teach the nature of the life cycle: that every living thing must eventually die, and death supports new life. Earth clerics understand this better than anyone, for the raw material of their patron is both the giver and the taker of life.
Perhaps the most important task of an earth cleric is to teach the Athasians proper agricultural techniques. This means they automatically gain the agriculture proficiency and that they seek to teach these methods to all. This skill is in addition to normal proficiencies. Villagers are taught to rotate their crops and to spread their waste over the fields so that it will break down and return to the soil from which it came.
==Weapons and Armor==
Earth clerics may use any type of stone, wood, or metal weapons, so they have no restrictions placed on weapon type.
Armor is not restricted either, and earth clerics are fond of using as much metal as possible in their protective clothing.
==Granted Powers: Major==
An earth cleric may ignore the presence of earth when he reaches the 5th level. The duration of this power is a number of rounds equal to his level, and this may occur only once per day. He may move through stone, wade through an avalanche, and otherwise ignore rock, metal, wood, or any other earth material. If the cleric is still "inside" the rock, metal, or wood, when the duration of his power expires, he is instantly expelled and takes 4d8 points of damage.
This allows an earth cleric to move beneath the surface of the land. In this state his movement rate remains the same as long as he travels in straight lines or descends into the earth. He is treated as if he were walking, but only so long as he remains in earth (not water or air). If he must rise through the material, his movement rate is cut in half. He is in complete control and will not sink or otherwise "drift" when passing through the soil.
A cleric may gate material directly from the elemental Plane of Earth when he reaches the 7th level. The amount is equal to 1 cubic foot for each level above the 6th. The material is always stone, not metal or wood. Nor does the cleric have any control over what kind of stone will appear, though it is usually obsidian or sandstone.
The shape of the stone may be round, square, triangular, or any other basic shape, but cannot be intricate or ornate. A cleric could, for example, form a wall about herself, or in front of a running attacker, but the wall would not be carved or otherwise detailed.
The stone will appear anywhere the priest commands up to a distance of 50 feet, as long as he can actually see the target If the stone materializes above an enemy s head, it falls instantly, causing ld6 points of damage for every cubic foot (or 1 d6 for every level over 6th). A successful saving throw reduces the damage by half.
==Granted Powers: Minor==
In addition to powers common to all priests, the earth cleric may choose one of the following powers at 3rd level, and add another every two levels thereafter. A character may choose a minor granted power at levels 3, 5, 7,9, and 11.
* Eliminate Tracks: This ability functions much like the lst-level spell pass without trace, but with two important limitations. The cleric still leaves a scent, and he cannot exercise this ability in snow or mud. Only sand or hard earth instantly reforms to cover the priest's tracks. The power will function whenever the priest s bare feet are in contact with the earth.
* Encasement: An earth cleric can bury himself beneath loose earth, sand, or top soil for up to eight hours. For each hour spent beneath the earth, the cleric will regain 1 hit point. This is an excellent method of concealment, day or night. Spellcasting is possible if the spell does not require elaborate somatic ox material components. A typical tactic is for a priest to encase himself beneath the earth and then cast plant growth to provide more camouflage for his hiding place. He may not move from the spot without emerging, unless he uses the 5th-level power to ignore the element.
* Meld into Stone: This power functions the same as the 3rd-level priest spell of the same name. The cleric may exercise this ability once per day.
* Enhanced Saving Throw: Earth clerics may chose to take a +2 to all saving throws vs. any spell whose sphere is of earth. The character is now so tied to the earth, however,that he must suffer the loss of 1 additional hit point whenever he loses one to defiling magic by spell or by sacrificing himself for the environment.
* Endure: Earth clerics, more than any others, are dedicated to protecting Athas from the defilers. To use this ability, the cleric must be within the radius of a defiler's magical destruction area X 2, and make a successful Wisdom check. Whenever a spell is cast, the actual area of destruction is halved. The earth cleric channels energy from his surroundings to reduce the defiler's required energy to a smaller patch of earth. Like the mighty oak that bends rather than breaks in the face of a hurricane, the earth cleric realizes that the land must give in order to preserve.
Note: A cleric must be at least 5th level to choose this power.
==Earth Clerics as Wanderers==
This is the role most common for priests of earth. They are constantly seen traveling from settlement to settlement, preaching words of wisdom, and showing all who would learn the proper care of the earth.
==Earth Clerics of the Shrines==
Shrines to the earth powers can be found in the isolated grottos and caverns of the Ringing Mountains, and occasionally atop the ruins of an ancient city now covered by the sands of Athas.
More often than not, earth clerics are friendly to travelers, and may even use their shrines as temporary sanctuaries or hospitals for those in need.
==Earth Clerics in the Cities==
Earth clerics who live in cities typically act as advisors for the farmers of the outlying areas, or they wander the streets and alleyways spreading their message to any who will listen. For the most part, the templars believe the earth clerics to be harmless, and frequently tolerate them because of their devotion to the crops of the nobles.
If the templars listened more closely to the earth priests' tales, they might reconsider this policy.
==Earth Shamans==
Shamans of the sphere of earth are fairly prevalent because of the protective nature of earth and the fact that it is the most common and accessible of all of the elements. This serves the goals of the elemental lords as well as the shaman's village or tribe.
Villages with earth shamans are often located in hidden grottos and ravines, deep within caverns, or beneath the surface in the ruins of the ancients. Others live on the plains, bordered by towering buttes and majestic ridges.
These tribes normally revere the earth and disdain those who harm it, owing to the constant presence of their spiritual leader.