Priest Game

Playing a priest is not like playing any of the other classes, except maybe the infiltrator or Adventurer. Priests offer a whole new perspective on the game, and the class and all other aspects of religion will be discussed on this page.

Tom's Own Words on this class. A sort of FAQ about the Priest Class.

List of Religions

Religious Orders

The basic building blocks of religions are religious orders, which technically work much like Guilds. A religious order is more than a grouping of like-minded nobles, however. It has beliefs, gods, scriptures and much more. Many of these are roleplaying elements and do not possess their own game mechanics.

Instead of guildhouses, religions have temples. In order to join a religion, you must visit one of its temples. Every noble can become a follower (the common term for non-priest members) of a religious order. In fact, religious orders require non-priest followers, especially region lords who can construct new temples.

Unlike guilds, every character can only be a follower of one religious order. That is where the politics start...

Temples and Shrines

Temples work similarly to guildhouses, except that they need to be much larger to be effective, because they do not only serve the members of the religious order, but also the common believers of the faith. A size 3 guildhouse is fairly large. For temples, that's where the real fun starts. Smaller temples offer only a reduced set of options.

Also, temples are required to provide for followers. If you have more followers in a region than the temple can provide for, you will lose followers.

Shrines are small places of worship, often small huts or stone buildings, but they come in many shapes. Shrines serve as centres of worship for the common believers and will strengthen the faith. They can be built in addition to temples, but offer none of their features as they serve only the common believers.

Temple Size:	Build Cost	Weekly Maintenance	Number of followers
1 Small Shack	100??	1?	1,500
2 Primitive Temple	200??	3??	4,000
3 Small Temple	250	5??	8,000
4 Medium Temple	500	7??	12,000
5 Large Temple	850	9??	18,000
6 Magnificent Temple	1,200	11??	24,000
7 Vast and Splendid Temple Area	1,600??	13??	32,000??
8 Awe-inspiring Temple District	2,000??	15??	40,000??

Priests

The real blood and soul of a religion lies in its dedicated priests, however. A character class of its own, the priest does not command a unit and can not buy paraphernalia. Yes, that includes the scout.

He does, however, have many special features. For the moment, the fun of discovery shall not be spoiled by listing them. Some are dependant on where he is, or on the presence of temples or shrines, or even on the number of believers in the current region.

Skills

Priests have a special skill only available to them, called "preaching". This skill indicates how well a priest can convince others and is useful both for converting non-believers into followers, and for influencing followers into doing what the priest would like them to do.

Actions

Many actions of priests depend on their skill level, but also on the number and/or percentage of followers in the current region and other factors. Many of those actions are hidden until they become available. So initially, when you switch to priest or start your first religion, it will seem as if there isn't much to do. Don't be fooled by first impressions. More actions will appear over time. Some may even be available only in regions with shrines or temples, or even depending on the faith of the local lord.

Believers

A religion is only as strong as the people who believe in it. Common believers is where it's at, what it's all about, the core of the matter.

Fortunately, peasants are easily impressed. The pure presence of a temple will cause them to convert, albeit at a glacial speed (depending on the size of the temple, of course). To really spread a religion, it will have to send out its priests to preach. Faith also spreads on its own. If many people believe in X, they will talk about it and sometimes this will cause others to follow their lead. This is even slower than the effect of temples, but it can cross region borders. Finally, if the local lord is a member of a religious order, members of his household and anyone else who wants to be in good standing with him might convert, causing a localized effect similar to, but smaller, than that of a temple.

Believers can only believe in one faith. Priests of a different religion can preach to them and convert them again. However, peasants tire of it if there are too many priests preaching about too many things all the time.

Pagans

People always need to believe something. In the absence of player-driven religions, they make up their own local folklore or unspecified pagan gods. In addition, under certain circumstances, they tend to return to these old traditions, so religions must keep an eye on their followers. They might lose them not only to other player religions...

Politics

Where guilds do not usually care about other guilds, and are non-exclusive, religions are very different. They care deeply about each other, mostly because they are exclusive clubs - one can not believe in two different religions at the same time.

It is not only player characters who are limited to one religion: common believers also choose one faith to follow. Religions are thus by design always in rivalry over believers (and, to a lesser extend, player character followers).

Religious Views

Religions have official views on other religions. The details are explained in the in-game context help.

Mundane Politics

Religions also can involve themselves deeply in mundane politics. Priests hold the keys to the hearts of the people, and can help or harm a realm. On the other hand, contributions of the commoners will not normally be sufficient to cover all the upkeep for the temples and shrines. So religions also rely on either enough noble followers who add to the treasury, or official support from one or more realms for their financial survival.

All this is in the realm of player interaction. Due to their special features, there are many things that priests can offer their mundane allies, in return for the needed financial support.

Priests can pledge their oath to a region in return for an income and estate. They can also rule a region, should they have enough support in an election or have good enough connection to be appointed. However they may not hold Government positions.

External links

• BattleMaster Wikimap Generator