Granted Powers (CPrH)

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Many types of priests also have special Granted Powers. The basic Cleric, for instance, can turn undead. The Druid starts out with bonuses to specific saving throws and speaks an additional specific language, and gains other granted powers as he gains in levels.
The DM should add at least one Granted Power to the abilities of a priest of a specific mythos; this gives the priest more individual flavor and character. The DM could add several, if this specific priest-class is weak compared to other priests.
Additionally, as with the Druid, the DM can arrange things so that the priest acquires new Granted Powers at certain experience levels, instead of receiving all of them at first level.
Granted Powers come in three levels: High Powers, Medium Powers, and Low Powers.
As with all the priest's special abilities, Granted Powers should be chosen for the priest based on the attributes of the worshipped god. It's not inappropriate to give a water-breathing ability to the priest of an ocean-god, but is quite inappropriate for the priest of a god of the desert winds.
Some Granted Powers may be used any time the priest wishes and when circumstances allow. For example, normal clerics can try to Turn Undead as many times in a day as they wish (but it can only work when they're facing undead, naturally). Other Granted Powers may only be used a certain number of times per day. When the DM first adds a Granted Power to the listing of a priest's abilities, he must define how often and under what conditions the Granted Power may work. 
==High Powers==
High Powers are those which are of great use in situations which arise frequently in the campaign. Here are some examples of High Powers appropriate to various types of priests:
===Charm/Fascination===
This power works just like the third-level Wizard spell suggestion, except that the priest does not have to use material components to the spell.
The DM may define this Power as working one of two ways. Either it can be used in combat (in which case it can be used against only one target at a time), or it cannot be used in combat (in which it can be used against a number of targets equal in HD to two times the Priest's experience level).
In either case, the Priest can use the ability three times per day. If the target makes his saving throw, he may choose to reject the suggestion, but will not recognize that priestly magic was being used against him.
This power is most appropriate to priests of the gods of love, mischief and trickery, music, and peace, but can be given to any priesthood which has an influential position in the society.
===Immunities===
This power gives the priest an automatically-successful saving throw against certain types of damage, attacks, or broad classes of spells.
Examples of appropriate categories for immunity:
Certain types of priests might have automatically successful saves against all Evocation spells. This is a very powerful ability; it means the priest will automatically take half damage from most damaging spells. (Those spells which don't allow a saving throw are not stopped or affected by this immunity.)
Others might have automatic success against all Enchantment/Charm spells. This is equally powerful; it means that the priest will be completely unaffected by most spells of this sort, as well as other powers such as the vampire's hypnotic gaze.
Immunities may be taken against any one wizardly School of Magic, against any one priestly Sphere of Influence, or against all Poisons, as a High Power. There are other, lesser, immunities, discussed below.
Immunities can work against a character, though. Immunity to all priestly Necromantic spells means that the character does not benefit as much from Healing spells. He automatically makes his saving throw against them, whether he wishes to or not, and so gets only half the healing value of the spell.
The Immunity must be appropriate to the attributes of the god being served. The priest of a god of healing might have an Immunity to all poisons, while the priest of the god of love might have an Immunity to Enchantment/Charm spells.
The most important thing to remember about Immunity is that it isn't complete protection. It merely gives the character an automatically-successful Saving Throw. In most cases, this means that he will still take half damage from the attack or spell.
There is no limit on the number of times per day a character can use this ability; whenever he is struck with the appropriate attack, his Immunity helps protect him.
===Inspire Fear===
This power is similar to the wizard's fourth-level fear spell, though the cleric does not have to use material components.
A priest with this power can use it twice per day.
This power is most appropriate to priests of gods with dark or fearsome aspects: Death, for example.
===Shapechanging===
This power is very similar to the druid's shapechanging Granted Power, not to the ninth-level wizard spell; read the description of that power in the Player's Handbook.
The power can be used three times per day; it is the DM's decision whether the priest can change into three different types of animal, each once per day, or only into one specific type of animal three times per day.
This power, though it would seem to be most appropriate to priests of gods of nature, is actually appropriate for any priesthood... if the god in question has an animal symbol or totem. For instance, if the god of the sky has as his symbol the eagle, it's appropriate for his priests to have this power and turn into an eagle three times per day.
===Turning Undead===
This is identical to the cleric's ability. It is most appropriate to priests of the gods of birth, dawn, fertility, fire, good, guardianship, healing, light, love, magic, and the sun. There is no limit to the number of times per day a priest can use this ability.
==Medium Powers==
Medium Powers are those which are of some usefulness in situations which arise frequently in the campaign, or are of great use in situations which only arise occasionally. Here are some examples of Medium Powers:
===Defiance of Restriction or Obstacle===
With this power, the priest can simply ignore some aspect of the physical world which normally slows, impedes, or prevents passage.
For example:
The priest of a nature god might be able to ignore heavy underbrush: He can travel through the thickest undergrowth as fast as he could normally walk, while other humans are slowed or even stopped completely.
The priest of the god of winter or the north wind might not find ice slippery; he could move at a normal rate across the slipperiest frozen rivers or glaciers with no chance of falling.
The priest of a god of wind might be able to walk into the fiercest headwind without being slowed.
The priest of the god of mischief might be able to climb walls and hillsides at his normal walking-speed, and without the need to make a roll for success.
There is no limit to the number of times per day a priest can use this ability.
===Immunities===
You read about Immunities above, under "High Powers." The Medium Powers immunities are not so strong. A single immunity will give a priest an automatically-successful saving throw against:
A narrow category of spells (for example, all Fire spells of the Evocation school);
A narrow category of special powers (all Paralysis, including Hold spells and ghoulish paralysis; or all Energy Drains; or all dragon-breath powers); or
A narrow category of poisons (all snake venoms, for example).
Again, each type of Immunity is appropriate to a different type of priest. Priests of the god of Fire could be immune to Fire spells. Priests of the god of Earth, whose symbol is often the snake, could be immune to all snake venoms.
And, again, Immunity isn't complete protection; it just gives the character an automatically-successful Saving Throw.
===Incite Berserker Rage===
This power allows a priest to inspire a fighter (anyone belonging to the warrior class) to a state like berserker rage. The warrior must be willing to have this war-blessing bestowed upon him.
It takes one round for a priest to incite a single warrior to berserker rage; the rage last six turns. A priest can use this power on any number of warriors per day, one at a time. A warrior may only be incited to berserker rage once per day; even if a different priest tries it on him, it cannot incite a warrior to a second rage in the same day.
The rage isn't identical to the abilities of the true berserker (see the description for the berserker in The Complete Fighter's Handbook). However, it does give the warrior a +2 to hit and damage for the duration of the rage. While enraged, the warrior cannot flee from a fight; he cannot leave the field of battle until no enemies face him. Once he does leave the field of battle, he can choose whether or not he will emerge from the rage or sustain it; a warrior would sustain it if he felt that another fight was likely to take place soon. When he emerges from the rage, the warrior takes no extra damage or ill effects. 
This power is most appropriate to priests of the god of war.
===Language and Communication===
The priest with this power gains one extra language per experience level he gains. This power is often granted only after a certain experience level is attained; for example, with the druid, this power is granted at 3rd level.
If nonweapon proficiency rules are used, then the priest gains one extra nonweapon proficiency slot each level, and must use that slot to acquire a language.
The types of languages learned with this power should be restricted by the DM. Priests of the gods of nature are limited to learning the languages of woodland creatures, while priests of the gods of the earth are limited to learning the languages of serpents, dragons, and other cthonian reptiles; priests of the gods of the sky are limited to the languages of birds and other aerial creatures, while priests of the gods of the seas are limited to the languages of sea-dwelling creatures.
The number of languages learned with this power may likewise be limited. Six to ten extra languages learned this way is a practical limit.
If the campaign is using the optional weapon and nonweapon proficiency rules, then priests might, instead of being limited to languages, receive proficiency slots limited to certain categories of languages, weapon proficiencies, and nonweapon proficiencies pertinent to their faith.
Example: The priest of a specific war-god might, at third level, start receiving one extra weapon proficiency slot every experience level up to 12th.
===Laying On of Hands===
This power is identical to the paladin's ability; the priest can, once per day, heal himself or another for 2 hit points per experience level.
This constitutes a little extra healing ability. It's most appropriate to priests of the god of healing. It's also appropriate to priests who don't have access to healing spells, but who should have a little bit of healing ability anyway.
A reversed version of the power, where the priest lays on his hands and inflicts 2 points of damage per experience level, or 1 point of damage per level if the victim makes a saving throw, is appropriate for priests of the god of disease. A priest cannot have a healing Laying On of Hands that is also reversible to a harmful Laying On of Hands; it must be defined as either healing or harmful.
===Prophecy===
With this power, the priest can sometimes see visions of the future. A priest with the Prophecy power can use it two different ways.
First, the priest may sink into a meditative trance and try to receive visions of the future. This trance lasts ten turns; if the priest is interrupted before the ten turns are done (struck with a weapon, shouted at by someone within six feet of him, or knocked over), the trance is prematurely broken and the priest gets no vision.
Second, visions may just come to the priest, at the DM's discretion. When the priest is hit with such a vision, for a single combat round he no longer perceives the real world; he sees, hears and experiences nothing but his vision.
The priest receives no vision of the future if the DM doesn't have one for him to see. Therefore, the priest who deliberately sinks into a receptive trance gets absolutely no vision if the DM doesn't want him to see one. Therefore, this power is only partly an ability which gives the priest an advantage of future sight; it's primarily a tool for the DM to give the priest clues about the future, clues which guide the adventure without giving the priest an overwhelming advantage in the campaign.
The visions which the priest receives should be short and easy to misinterpret. They may be highly symbolic; if he sees a rat fighting a serpent to the death, the animals may represent mighty armies which bear those creatures on their flags, or may represent two characters with traits similar to those animals.
Also, the DM must decide whether, in his campaign, prophetic visions are changeable or unchangeable. If they're changeable, then the priest will sometimes see events which can be prevented. This tells him which way the winds of fate are currently blowing, but he knows that enough effort can change the future he sees. If they're unchangeable, then nothing he can do will alter this vision; however, it's still possible that the vision is deceptive and not exactly what he thinks it is. (For instance, when he sees his best friend plummeting to his death from a clifftop, he may actually be seeing his friend's twin or doppleganger dying in this manner.) 
This is a particularly tricky power to use within the scope of the campaign. Always remember that it's a tool for the DM to give a slight advantage to the character and to guide the story, and not a weapon for the priest character to use against the DM or the story. The priest character can't sink into a trance, receive no vision, and then immediately sink into another one and expect to receive a vision then. The endowing of visions is strictly at the DM's pleasure, just as, in the campaign, visions are granted to characters strictly at the god's pleasure.
This power is most appropriate to priests of the god of prophecy. However, it's appropriate to priests of any god. In Greek mythology, for example, there were famous prophetic temples devoted to the gods Zeus (a god of the sky, lightning, oaks, and wisdom), Apollo (a god of light, the sun, and music), and Gaea (the ancient earth-goddess).
There is no limit on the number of times per day this power may be used. A character can try to entrance himself several times per day, though this is usually fruitless and annoying. However, the DM can supply a priest-character with visions any number of times per day. To keep prophecy from becoming a dominant part of the campaign, it's best to limit the number of visions received, through either of the two methods, to once or twice per month.
==Low Powers==
Low Powers are those which are of some usefulness in situations which arise occasionally in the campaign, or are of great usefulness in situations which hardly ever arise. Here are some examples of Low Powers:
===Analysis, Detection, Identification===
With this power, the priest can identify a category of persons, places, or things. He must be within 10' of the object in order to identify it correctly; he does not have to see it, and the object can be hidden. In some cases, it could even be buried.
If the DM designs it as part of the ability, the priest can also analyze the object and get additional details about it. The type of information brought about by this analysis varies from object to object, as we'll discuss below.
Here are some examples:
A priest of the god of healing could identify and analyze injury and illness. He could look at an injury and see not just where it hurts, but also if it is infected or poisoned, how long ago it was inflicted, etc. He could look at a sick person and determine which disease afflicts him, what stage of advancement the disease is in, and what the sick person's chances of recovery are.
A priest of the god of good could detect evil , as per the first-level Priest spell; analysis would let him know whether the evil were lawful, neutral, or chaotic in orientation.
A priest of the god of goldsmithing could detect gold , including refined gold that has been hidden or unmined gold still under the earth.
Some of these powers of identification and analysis are especially useful, such as those which duplicate detect good, detect evil , and detect magic spells. These may only be used three times per day. Other powers may be used any number of times per day. These powers are not automatic; the priest must concentrate for a full round in order to use this power.
===Immunities===
As a Low Power, Immunity can act in one of two ways.
A granted Immunity can give the priest an automatically-successful saving throw against one specific type of poison or magic spell. For example, a priest could automatically save against cobra venom, or against the fireball spell.
Alternatively, such an Immunity could give the priest a +2 bonus to Saving Throws against a narrow category of spells; a narrow category of special powers; or a narrow category of poisons. These are the same categories the Medium Power immunities are broken down into; the difference here is that the Low Power immunity only grants a +2 bonus to saves vs. those attacks, instead of providing an automatically successful saving throw.
Therefore, a Low Power immunity could give a priest automatic success against the charm spell; a different one could give the priest automatic success against the paralysis brought on by the ghoul's touch; a different one could provide a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. all enchantment spells; another one would provide a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. any sort of paralysis ability or spell.
===Language and Communication===
As a Low Power, the priest receives one extra language appropriate to the priesthood. If the campaign uses the nonweapon proficiency rules, this power consists of an extra nonweapon proficiency slot which must be used to take one specific extra language.
===Soothing Word===
With this power, the priest can remove the effects of the fear spell or can sway the attitude of a hostile crowd or mob.
The priest can use this power three times per day. A single use can either: Dispel one application of the fear spell on one victim; eliminate one warrior's berserker rage; or momentarily calm down a number of characters or monsters (equal to 2x the priest's experience level in hit dice; therefore an 8th level priest could momentarily calm 16 HD of angry mob, for instance). 
This power is primarily useful for getting the attention of an angry group of people and allowing the priest to address them. The combination of the soothing word , the respect that many cultures have for their priests, and the speaking abilities of many priests can often defuse an angry mob.
As described above, this power is most appropriate to priests of the gods of healing, love, music, peace, and wisdom.
If the DM limits this power still further, it becomes appropriate to other classes of priest. For instance, if the soothing word only works on animals, it becomes appropriate for priests of the gods of animal protection, the earth, fertility, and hunting. If it only works on dwarves, it is appropriate for priests of the god of the dwarven race.
==Other Powers==
Just about any spell can be adapted to a priest's Granted Power.
===Which Spells Can Be Used===
Priest Granted Powers may not be derived from every spell on the books. Some wizard schools and priest spheres are not permitted for adaptation to granted powers. Normally, when a spell belongs to two schools or spheres, where one is permitted and the other is not, the spell can still be adapted to a granted power; but some exceptions are noted below.
Priest Granted Powers may be derived from wizard spells of the schools of Abjuration, Alteration, Charm, Greater Divination, Invocation, Lesser Divination, and Necromancy. They may also be derived from priest spells from the spheres of All, Animal, Charm, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Plant, Protection, Sun, and Weather.
Priest Granted Powers may not be derived from wizard spells of the schools of Conjuration, Summoning, or Conjuration/Summoning; from Enchantment (spells listed as Enchantment/Charm are permissible, but those listed as belonging to Enchantment and any other school are not; for instance, Leomund's Secure Shelter , usable by Alteration and Enchantment, is not allowed); from Illusion or Illusion/Phantasm; from Evocation (if a spell can belong to the school of Evocation, it cannot be taken as a granted power even if it can be used by other schools; for instance, Melf's Minute Meteors, usable by evocation and alteration, cannot be taken as a granted power). 
Neither may they be derived from priest spells of the spheres of Astral, Combat (even if a spell belongs to Combat and one other sphere, as shillelagh belongs to Combat and Plant, it cannot be used to make a Granted Power), Elemental, Necromantic, or Summoning. 
Note that priest spells are listed with wizard-school designations and with spheres of influence (for example, Animal Friendship is shown as an Enchantment/Charm school and of the Animal sphere). When making granted powers from priest spells, ignore the wizardly school and pay attention only to the sphere of influence.
===Maximum Levels===
Granted Powers may not be derived from wizard spells of fifth level or higher, or from priest spells of fourth level or higher.
===Limitations on Use===
The DM must determine limitations on the use of the Granted Power. (There's no call for a priest to be using his power all the time, every day.)
If it's a power which is very useful in a lot of situations (for example, a healing ability), it should be usable once, twice, or three times per day. The more useful it is, the less a priest should be able to use it; thus, a healing power would be usable once per day, while a detection ability might be usable three times per day.
The DM can also choose for the power to take considerable time to use; special powers should take a minimum of one round to use; more commonly, they should take a complete turn.
===High, Medium, or Low===
Once the DM knows which spell the power is derived from and how often and easily it may be used, he can decide whether it is a High, Medium, or Low Power.
High Powers are those which frequently can dramatically affect the course of a combat or otherwise affect an adventure. The examples of High Powers listed above (charms, major immunities, the ability to inspire fear, shapechange, or turn undead) can all have dramatic and powerful effects on an adventure in progress.
Medium Powers are those which frequently give an advantage to the priest, or which occasionally will dramatically affect the course of a combat or adventure. The examples of Medium Powers listed above (defiance of obstacles, medium immunities, inciting berserker rages, enhanced language abilities, laying on of hands, and prophecy) all do these things.
Low Powers are those which only occasionally give an advantage to a priest, but which are also very much in character for the priest and his god. The examples of Low Powers listed above (detection and analysis, minor immunities, minor enhancements to language abilities, soothing word) all meet that definition.
So, when a DM creates a new granted power, he must decide which of these three sets of criteria the power meets, and define the power as High, Medium, or Low.
In any case, this definition is only a rule-of-thumb guideline to how powerful the granted power is. It helps the DM when he's assigning powers to priests of specific mythoi. For instance, if he has created a description of a priesthood and decides that it's just almost powerful enough, and only needs a little bonus (a Low Power) to make it just right, he'll be able to choose from his list of available Low Powers and can ignore his listings of High and Medium Powers, which would make that priesthood too powerful.