Unboring priests: more than rez dispensers
To their community, the priest provides many services.
They’re a leader, an absolver, a protector and an inspirer.
They’re part doctor, part politician, part administrator and, of course, all spiritual leader.
To the typical adventuring party, they’re less than that. They’re a source of plot hooks and exposition, plus maybe the occasional rez.
They can do those things while being more, though.
The usual rules apply. You can flesh out any NPC by adding fears, motivations, quirks, contradictions and a history.
Why would someone choose to become a priest specifically, though?
Here are a few common motivations. This isn’t an exhaustive list, nor are any of these exclusive. Most priests will have a bit of all of this going on - it’s only a question of what the players see the most of.
Devotion
This is an obvious one.
They’re devoted to their deity, their faith and their community. They seek to serve them all through leading the church or temple.
A priest like this won’t tolerate PCs stomping around, being disrespectful and endangering their people. They will respond well to those who embody (or at least are knowledgeable about) their deity’s teachings.
Duty
Some priests might not like this role. They might not like the responsibility or the blind faith some people put in them.
But someone has to be the priest and there are much worse candidates.
These priests are all about service. They put the needs of others above themselves, using their position of influence to help others.
The phrase “for the good of the community” comes up.
A priest like this will be pragmatic. The party might blaspheme, but that matters less than if they can help the community.
They contrast well with those who are in it for the…
Power
Like all leaders, spiritual leaders come in many forms.
Some act with subtlety, wisdom and restraint. They encourage their followers to find the right answers inside themselves.
Meanwhile, others rule with their full authority.
A priest like this enjoys the power they have - different from a mayor’s political power or a colonel’s military power, but undeniable just the same. They enjoy using fear and anger as weapons, since those only bolster their own influence.
If the party is a threat to the priest, they should watch out. If not, they can enjoy some special treatment.
Fear
Imagine the gods are real, they’re powerful and they’ll let you know when they’re disappointed.
How many people would turn to service and worship out of pure self-preservation?
A priest like this is acting out of fear of authority. While they won’t ever betray their deity, they could be flexible if the party establish themselves as an authority too. A little bit of “might is right” will go a long way with them.
Guilt
They did something bad once upon a time.
Now, they’re spending the rest of their lives making up for it.
If the party knows what the priest did, they have a powerful psychological tool. “Help us or the bad thing you did will happen again” is like rolling a crit on Persuasion. If they don’t know what they did, they could accidentally make an enemy of the priest.
The real trick will be if the party’s reputation precedes them. A priest who failed to save a child won’t take kindly to the group who burned down an orphanage two towns over.
Cynicism
They were probably devout and enthusiastic once.
Now, they wonder what the point is.
They’ve seen too much and know the gods are too distant. They’re just going through the motions because the alternative is to roll over and stop breathing.
Any hint of nihilism makes someone difficult to persuade. They probably won’t raise a hand to stop you doing something, but what can you say to get them to help you? If they’ve stopped caring, there’s not a lot.
It’s not impossible, though. You just need to know how they think.
Speaking of…
If you want to get in the heads of other races and create truly “alien” characters, you should read Call of the Gods. Read that and you’ll easily come up with self-consistent, exotic and varied characters with psyches unlike any human you’ve ever met.
Find it here: