TEXT: World Gorean Society 
  Page 1 
  Table of Contents 
  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 
  SECTION ONE: ...............................................................................................................................................................5 
  SECTION TWO: ..............................................................................................................................................................5 
  SECTION THREE: ............................................................................................................................................................5 
  SECTION FOUR: .............................................................................................................................................................5 
  SECTION FIVE: ...............................................................................................................................................................5 
  SECTION ONE: DUTIES OF THE CLERIC .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 
  DEVOTIONS: .................................................................................................................................................................6 
  GUIDANCE: ...................................................................................................................................................................6 
  MARRIAGE: ..................................................................................................................................................................6 
  MISSIONS: ...................................................................................................................................................................6 
  OMEN-READING: ...........................................................................................................................................................7 
  HOW THEY DO IT ...........................................................................................................................................................7 
  WHAT THEY'RE DOING ....................................................................................................................................................7 
  THEY'RE RECEIVING THE WORD OF THEIR GOD: ................................................................................................................................ 7 
  THEY'RE FOLLOWING RITUAL INTERPRETATION: ................................................................................................................................ 7 
  THEY'RE ANALYZING BASED ON THEIR KNOWLEDGE: ......................................................................................................................... 7 
  THEY'RE TELLING THE AUDIENCE WHAT IT WANTS TO HEAR: .............................................................................................................. 7 
  THEY'RE WORKING FOR GAIN: ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 
  BUT ARE THEY RIGHT? ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 
  VIGILANCE: ...................................................................................................................................................................8 
  THE AGENT PROVOCATEUR: .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 
  CORRUPTION IN SPECIFIC ORDERS .................................................................................................................................................. 8 
  LIBELS: ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
  SECTION ONE: RIGHTS OF THE CLERIC .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 
  CHURCH TRIAL: .............................................................................................................................................................9 
  CORONATION: ...............................................................................................................................................................9 
  OTHER CONFIRMATIONS: ............................................................................................................................................... 10 
  TITHES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10 
  SEPARATION FROM THE FAITH: ........................................................................................................................................ 10 
  RULE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11 
  THE STATE RELIGION: .................................................................................................................................................... 11 
  SECTION ONE: RESTRICTIONS ON THE CLERIC ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11 
  COMMEMORATION: ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 
  PHILOSOPHY ............................................................................................................................................................... 11 
  SACRIFICE ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 
  ARMOR: .................................................................................................................................................................... 12 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 2 
  CELIBACY: .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 
  CHASTITY: .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 
  CLOTHING: ................................................................................................................................................................. 12 
  CONTAMINATION: ........................................................................................................................................................ 13 
  HIT POINTS: ................................................................................................................................................................ 13 
  MAGICAL ITEMS: ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 
  MUTILATION: .............................................................................................................................................................. 13 
  WEAPONS: ................................................................................................................................................................. 14 
  SECTION TWO: AMAZON PRIESTESS .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 
  DESCRIPTION: ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 
  BARRED: .................................................................................................................................................................... 14 
  ROLE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 14 
  WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: ............................................................................................................................................... 15 
  EQUIPMENT: ............................................................................................................................................................... 15 
  SPECIAL BENEFITS:........................................................................................................................................................ 15 
  SPECIAL HINDRANCES: ................................................................................................................................................... 15 
  WEALTH OPTIONS: ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 
  SECTION TWO: BARBARIAN BERSERKER ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 
  DESCRIPTION: ............................................................................................................................................................. 15 
  BARRED: .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  ROLE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 
  WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: ............................................................................................................................................... 16 
  EQUIPMENT: ............................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  SPECIAL BENEFITS:........................................................................................................................................................ 16 
  SPECIAL HINDRANCES: ................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  WEALTH OPTIONS: ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  RACES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  SECTION TWO: FIGHTING-MONK ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 
  DESCRIPTION: ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 
  BARRED: .................................................................................................................................................................... 17 
  ROLE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 17 
  WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: ............................................................................................................................................... 17 
  EQUIPMENT: ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 
  SPECIAL BENEFITS:........................................................................................................................................................ 17 
  SPECIAL HINDRANCES: ................................................................................................................................................... 17 
  WEALTH OPTIONS: ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 
  RACES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17 
  SECTION TWO: ORACLE ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 
  DESCRIPTION: ............................................................................................................................................................. 18 
  BARRED: .................................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 3 
  ROLE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18 
  WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: ............................................................................................................................................... 18 
  EQUIPMENT: ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  SPECIAL BENEFITS:........................................................................................................................................................ 18 
  SPECIAL HINDRANCES: ................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  WEALTH OPTIONS: ....................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  RACES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  ORACLE PROPHECY POWER ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 
  SECTION TWO: SAVAGE CLERIC ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 
  DESCRIPTION: ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 
  BARRED: .................................................................................................................................................................... 19 
  ROLE: ........................................................................................................................................................................ 19 
  WEAPON PROFICIENCIES: ............................................................................................................................................... 20 
  EQUIPMENT: ............................................................................................................................................................... 20 
  SPECIAL BENEFITS:........................................................................................................................................................ 20 
  SPECIAL HINDRANCES: ................................................................................................................................................... 20 
  WEALTH OPTIONS: THE SAVAGE STARTS OUT WITH ONLY 3D6X5 GP. AFTER THE CAMPAIGN STARTS, HE WILL ENCOUNTER MONEY, AND THE 
  PLAYER MAY DECIDE EITHER THAT HE LIKES THE STUFF OR REJECTS IT AS A STUPID CITY-HUMAN IDEA. ................................................ 20 
  RACES: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 20 
  SECTION THREE: CLERIC PERSONALITIES (ROLE-PLAY) .................................................................................................................................................................... 20 
  THE CRUSADER: ........................................................................................................................................................... 20 
  THE EARNEST NOVICE: .................................................................................................................................................. 21 
  THE HYPOCRITE: .......................................................................................................................................................... 21 
  THE MOTIVATOR: ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 
  THE PHILOSOPHER: ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 
  THE POLITICIAN: .......................................................................................................................................................... 23 
  THE PROSELYTIZER: ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 
  THE SAGE COUNSELOR: ................................................................................................................................................. 24 
  SECTION FOUR: CLERIC’S AND PUNISHMENT ................................................................................................................................................................................. 24 
  MINOR OFFENSES: ....................................................................................................................................................... 24 
  INAPPROPRIATE WEAPON AND ARMOR USE: ...................................................................................................................... 24 
  BETRAYAL OF GOALS: .................................................................................................................................................... 25 
  DIVINE RETRIBUTIONS: .................................................................................................................................................. 25 
  SOCIETY'S PUNISHMENTS: .............................................................................................................................................. 26 
  WHEN CLERICS RENOUNCE THEIR FAITH: ........................................................................................................................... 26 
  SECTION FIVE: CLERICAL ITEMS ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 
  THE CANON: ............................................................................................................................................................... 26 
  HOLY SYMBOL: ............................................................................................................................................................ 26 
  HOLY WATER: ............................................................................................................................................................. 27 
   
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 4 
   
   
  This product uses the OSRIC™ System (Oldschool System Reference and Index Compilation™). The OSRIC™ 
  system text may be found at http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/. The OSRICTM text is copyright of Stuart 
  Marshall. "OSRIC™" and "Oldschool System Reference and Index Compilation™" are trademarks of Stuart 
  Marshall and Matthew Finch and may be used only in accordance with the OSRIC™ license. 
   
       Text © Ricc Willett or contributing author 2010 and used with permission - see the Open Game License 
  section 15. 
       Illustrations and maps © respective artists 2006-2010, used with permission “OSRIC”, “Osric” and 
  “O.S.R.I.C.” are trademarks of Matthew Finch and Stuart Marshall 
  Final Author and Editor in Chief of this book: Ricc Willett 
   
       The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude, admiration and respect to Gary Gygax and Dave 
  Arneson, who originally created this hobby and devised many of the algorithms used in the OSRIC game and 
  this manual; and to the regulars at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse for much support, including but not limited 
  to Leaf and jgbrowning (from the Dragons foot forums: www.dragonsfoot.org) for help in formatting the table 
  of contents. 
   
       Legal Note: The authors of this document are not affiliated in any way with Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  (WOTC); any use of a trademark of WOTC or any other party is unauthorized, inadvertent, and is not intended 
  to infringe upon the intellectual property rights of such parties. Nothing in this document is to be construed as 
  legal advice. For legal questions you should retain a solicitor or attorney to advise you. 
   
       Play testers: Joe Vegsund, Sarah Vegsund, Andrew Wardenaar, Angelique Downing, and Brian Hoff. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  FOR FREE UPDATES, ERRATA AND OTHER OSRIC SUPPORT, VISIT: 
  http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 5 
  How to use this book 
   
  First, to make this book easier to understand, we want to mention a few things about how to read this 
  book. It, in truth, is fairly intuitive and easy to use. To help you get the most out of this book, we have 
  separated the reading into a system we believe will help you add flavor and mechanics to your OSRIC™ game 
  without adding a huge workload to your GM or player paperwork. Remember, in the end, only your group can 
  decide if the addition of this system is for you. Please read the below about how to use this book 
   
       Section One: This section gives duties for the cleric specifically to aid in role play, including duties, rights and 
  restrictions 
   
       Section Two: This section gives you 5 more subclasses of Clerics to play. No longer to you have to just play 
  the “standard” cleric 
   
       Section Three: This section is full of different cleric-like personalities to help you with role play. 
   
       Section Four: Even clerics make mistakes. This section tells you what to expect from your God and your 
  community when that happens. 
   
       Section Five: Gear suggestions and ideas for your cleric! 
   
       This Book: Was meant to add flavor and fun mechanics to your OSRIC™ game, not to bog you down. We 
  believe that we have accomplished that. To that end, we have eliminated some “flavor” text from this book 
  (for the most part) so that you have a concise set of mechanics to add life to your game. All the same, we hope 
  you find this book an enjoyable read even if we have boiled most of the book down to just needed 
  information, mostly lacking in art and flavor-type-text.  
   
       Please: If you enjoy this book, watch for more publications, many more are in the works, and as always, are 
  compatible with both the OSRIC™ game system and this book. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 6 
  Section One: Duties of the Cleric 
   
  Now, we get to a topic which adds a lot of color to the cleric-hood and the campaign world. All cleric-
  hoods have certain duties to perform, duties to the god and duties to the community or civilization. The DM 
  needs to decide what each Cleric’s duties are, and will often be able to use those duties to tie the cleric 
  character in to specific adventures and role-playing situations. Following are some sample ideas for clericly 
  duties. The DM can use as few or as many of these as he wants when designing a new cleric-hood; he can also 
  invent new ones to suit his campaign. 
   
  Devotions: These are ordinary prayers and rituals which the cleric conducts on a regular basis. They 
  might include the leading of prayers at specific times of the day, upon observation of specific incidents or 
  natural phenomena, and so forth. The DM can decide what these are and when they're undertaken, but the 
  campaign shouldn't devote a lot of time to them; it's annoying and disconcerting to interrupt the adventure 
  every so often so that the clerics can pull out their holy symbols, kneel to the sun, and lead the faithful in 
  prayer. Just knowing that they do this sort of thing on a regular basis is enough for most players. 
   
  Guidance:  In most civilizations, clerics are supposed to act as counselors to everyone in need of advice. 
  Therefore, the cleric character should not be surprised when he finds NPCs seeking him out and consulting 
  him on troubling moral and ethical problems. These are good role-playing opportunities; they are often leads 
  to specific adventures; and, with especially knotty problems, they can be difficult puzzles for the players to 
  solve, all without using their swords and maces. Often, clerics are posted to specific noble leaders in order to 
  be their personal advisors. Naturally, this is only done when those noble leaders desire it, are willing to allow 
  it, or (because of the cleric-hood's political strength) cannot afford to refuse it. This is a way to establish some 
  sort of bond between new player-characters: The cleric player-character could be assigned as advisor to the 
  noble player-character. 
   
  Marriage: In many human cultures, only the cleric can perform marriages, so the DM may wish for this 
  to be a duty of clerics in his campaign. The DM will need to decide for his campaign whether or not marriages 
  require the ministrations of clerics, and might make a different choice for each sentient race. If humans 
  require clerics for marriage, do dwarves? (Perhaps they use advocates and notaries instead.) Do elves? 
  (Perhaps their marriages are performed by bards, who write songs commemorating the event as a sort of 
  "marriage certificate.") Do Halflings? (Perhaps they prefer ceremonies presided over by sheriffs or judges.) 
  Also, the DM can always decide that clerics of certain faiths cannot perform marriages. What, for example, 
  does the god of weapon making have to do with marriage? On the other hand, it's equally appropriate for 
  clerics of any god to be able to perform marriages. This is especially true if, in the campaign, marriage 
  constitutes permission or recognition from "higher forces," and any god, including those with attributes 
  unrelated to marriage, and may bless a marriage. 
   
  Missions: The duties of cleric-hood often involve going on missions important to the welfare of the god 
  or the cleric-hood in general. One of the most common missions involves going somewhere and trying to 
  convert the local population to worship of the cleric's god. Usually, this involves religious education and what 
  amount to social services; sometimes, it involves conquering that culture and ruthlessly suppressing all signs 
  of its old religion. Other, more exciting missions can involve recovery of artifacts, transportation of persons or 
  goods (such as temple money) through dangerous territory, interpretation of phenomena in distant places, 
  and holy war with the followers of another god. It's important for the DM to remember that the god himself 
  isn't the only one who sends clerics out on missions. For most missions, it's the upper ranks of the cleric-hood 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 7 
  who do the assigning, and clerics are supposed to follow the orders of their superiors. So it's possible for any 
  cleric-hood to have a "bad egg," a cleric who issues orders which are contradictory to the tenets of the faith or 
  designed to promote only his personal power. This should, however, be a very rare campaign event, unless the 
  campaign revolves around uncovering and purging a corrupt element of the sect. 
   
  Omen-Reading: In some campaigns, clerics will be charged with the duty of reading omens for the 
  future. If a campaign's clerics have that duty, the DM has to decide how they do it, what it is they're actually 
  doing, and who they're doing it for. 
   
  How They Do It Omen-Reading always requires some sort of ritual, usually a public one. The clerics may 
  sacrifice animals and examine their entrails for clues to the future. They may read tea-leaves. They may inhale 
  dangerous fumes and prophesy while under their influence. They may listen to whispering in the trees, 
  babbling of brooks, or the singing of birds and interpret that noise. They may enter meditative states and wait 
  for inspiration from the gods. Each cult could do it a different way, and the DM can choose the method which 
  he feels will add the most appropriate color to the cult in question. 
   
  What They're Doing Then, the DM has to figure out what it is the clerics are actually doing when 
  prophesying. Here are some choices: 
   
  They're Receiving the Word of Their God: The clerics are actually receiving some inspiration from their 
  deity. Naturally, such omens are usually clouded in imprecise terminology and symbolism, so that it's easy for 
  the recipient of an omen to misinterpret the results. 
   
    
  They're Following Ritual Interpretation: The clerics have a set of techniques of interpretation which 
  they follow rigidly. These techniques may or may not have any basis in campaign reality; they might have been 
  granted by the god, or created through ignorance. 
   
  They're Analyzing Based On Their Knowledge: The clerics aren't actually prophesying at all, but 
  supplying answers based on their understanding of the situation and of the ways of the world. If they are then 
  pretending that their answers come from a higher source, they are obviously being dishonest; only a corrupt 
  branch of cleric-hood will do this. However, it's possible for such a method to be very accurate, especially if it 
  concerns itself mostly with questions of warfare and human nature. 
   
  They're Telling the Audience What It Wants to Hear: The clerics are acting primarily as cheerleaders 
  and telling the people precisely what they want to hear: That they'll win the war, they're always right, they've 
  done no wrong, and love conquers all. Again, clerics acting in this manner are being dishonest to their flocks, 
  but it will often be difficult to convince the flocks of that. 
   
  They're Working for Gain: Some very corrupt sects or branches of sects manipulate their answers to 
  gain in power or money. This usually takes one of two methods. In the first, the clerics supply answers which 
  favor their purposes. If representatives of one city ask, "When we attack our enemies, will we prevail?" the 
  clerics then decide whom they want to win that war. If they want the attackers to win, they answer "Yes." 
  Then, the attackers will be encouraged by the reply, and the defenders discouraged, which weighs the war in 
  the attackers' favor. If they want the defenders to win, they answer "No," with precisely the opposite effect; 
  the discouraged attackers might not even launch the attack. In the second, the clerics accept bribes in order to 
  put their god's stamp of approval on the activities of certain men. For instance, a king might secretly pay the 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 8 
  clerics a lavish amount, then publicly approach the oracle and ask, "Shall I not execute the traitor so-and so 
  now without benefit of trial?" or "Should I marry so-and-so against her wishes?" or any other such question. 
  The answer he receives, of course, will be the one he paid to get, and because the god has "made his wishes 
  known," the citizens will probably not dispute the choice. In both these approaches, the god may eventually 
  notice that one branch of his cleric-hood is corrupt, and set about correcting matters, either through his own 
  intervention or by alerting other branches of the cleric-hood. On the other hand, a particularly disinterested 
  god might never notice. 
   
  But Are They Right? As part of deciding what they're doing, the DM has to decide how often they're 
  right. The clerics will often be right if they're receiving the word of their god; this word may be misinterpreted, 
  but it's always correct. They could have any sort of accuracy the DM decides if they're following some pattern 
  of ritual interpretation; perhaps the ritual is effective, perhaps it is not. If they're analyzing the situation based 
  on their current knowledge, then their accuracy depends mostly in their interpretive abilities; cleric-hood 
  might have enough knowledge of the world and human nature to be able to supply consistently-correct 
  answers to supplicants. If they're telling the audience what it wants to hear, they could be very accurate for a 
  time, especially if they're prophesying for a warlike state which is on the rise and mostly asking about 
  upcoming victories. Eventually, however, the tides of fate will turn and the prophecies will become unreliable, 
  which will disillusion the populace. If they're working for gain, they could be very successful for quite a while. 
  Eventually, though, the scandal will break, and the population will learn the truth . . . which could be very bad 
  for those greedy prophets. 
   
  Who it’s For: Finally, the DM has to decide who is able to receive these prophecies. Here are some 
  typical choices: 
  Anyone: Anyone who asks a question will receive some sort of reply. 
  Anyone with the Means: Some temples require a sacrifice of animals or wealth in order for the 
  supplicant to receive a prophecy. (This isn't necessarily a sign of corruption; it's often just a means of ensuring 
  the temple's upkeep and the faith's continuing secular, or worldly, power.) 
  Nobles Only: In this arrangement, only members of noble houses can ask questions of the oracle. The 
  DM can also make more peculiar choices for specific oracles. An oracle might only be for slaves, for 
  adventurers, for people who have at least once travelled to a specific holy site, for people of specific 
  alignments, for members of one race, etc. 
   
  Vigilance: Finally, clerics have to be vigilant against powers or elements which threaten their faith or 
  their followers. These powers and elements don't usually take the direct approach, such as attacks by armies 
  or monsters. The cleric needs to be vigilant against more subtle intrusions, including: 
   
  The Agent Provocateur: This is someone who falsely joins the cleric-hood, spends a long time becoming 
  a trusted member or even a leader of it, and then persuades members of the faith to perform actions which 
  will get the faith into trouble. For example, in times when the cleric-hood is in conflict with another faith, the 
  Agent Provocateur might encourage outright war with that faith. When a conflict with the local rulers could be 
  sorted out by calm diplomacy, the Agent Provocateur will instead recommend or issue ultimatums and 
  demands. And, naturally, the Agent will keep his true masters apprised of the cleric-hood's secret movements 
  and activities at all times. 
   
  Corruption in Specific Orders: Sometimes clerics go bad and use the cleric-hood for their own gain. In 
  addition to methods mentioned above, they may also secretly defy requirements of their cleric-hood, steal 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 9 
  temple funds, use their duties of guidance to influence others to profit these clerics, etc. No such corruption 
  goes unnoticed forever, but the unwillingness of people to believe that they've put their faith in crooks and 
  thieves can ensure that this corruption can go on for a long, long time. 
   
  Libels: At times, members of rival cleric-hoods will persuade their followers that other cleric-hoods 
  perform acts which are profane and evil. In a culture where religious prejudice is a strong factor, this is often 
  easy to do. For instance, it might prove simple to convince one's flock that the clerics of a more despised faith 
  are kidnapping young women (only women of the libeler’s faith, of course) to serve as unwilling temple 
  concubines, then killing them. It's especially easy to do when the libeler secretly arranges for the kidnapping 
  and murder of several young women in his own faith. When this sort of thing goes on, it's vital that the clerics 
  of the accused faith prove the truth. They can't do it just by giving local authorities a tour of their temple to 
  show there are no unwilling concubines here -- and even if they do, a particularly clever enemy will have 
  concealed the body of one of the kidnapped girls there for the authorities to find! It requires capture of the 
  killers and demonstration that they were serving someone else . . . all of which is a good basis for a cleric-
  oriented adventure. 
   
  Obviously, it's the duty of faithful clerics to combat all these situations these when they're noticed. 
  However, it's a characteristic of the greatest cleric-heroes to notice these trends well ahead of the time that 
  they become critical, and to deal with them early in their development, before they can result in serious harm 
  to the cleric-hood. 
   
  For the DM, this is a good way to give the PC cleric an opportunity for rapid advancement in his cleric-
  hood: If he's the first to notice such a trend and is able to spearhead the movement to correct it, he will be 
  well-regarded by his peers. This is also a good way to establish that an NPC cleric is a hero of his faith, if he, in 
  the past, has thwarted such situations. 
  Section One: Rights of the Cleric 
   
  At the DM's discretion, cleric-hoods can have special rights and powers, too. These rights usually 
  depend on the amount of influence the cleric-hood wields in the campaign setting; a minor cleric-hood may 
  not enjoy any of these benefits, while a dominant one could have all of them. 
   
   
  Church Trial: In some cultures, the secular (non-clerical) authorities cannot put clerics on trial for any 
  sort of crime. That doesn't mean a cleric can perform a crime and laugh at the law, however: Most clerical 
  orders police themselves, and will try (or punish without trial) transgressions. Clerical orders don't ordinarily 
  flaunt this power in order to defy secular authorities. When clerics commit crimes, cleric-hoods usually punish 
  them. Exceptions occur when the cleric was acting at the cleric-hood's behest, particularly when the god 
  requires actions which are against the law of the land. In these cases, the cleric sometimes goes unpunished; 
  sometimes he receives a "slap on the wrist" punishment to quiet the secular authorities. The DM, not the 
  player, gets to decide whether clerics have the right to church trial. 
   
  Coronation: The most powerful cleric-hood in a given land will probably have the right to crown kings 
  when they ascend the throne. The DM has to decide whether this is merely an honor bestowed on the cleric-
  hood, or whether it is a right which the cleric-hood can use to influence the throne. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 10 
  If it's the former, then the chief cleric is accorded the right to officiate at the coronation ceremony. However, 
  if the cleric refused to officiate, the crowning will take place anyway; the king can choose cleric-hood for the 
  honor, or he can be crowned without the cleric-hood's sanction. If it's the latter, then the cleric-hood can deny 
  someone the right to take the throne by refusing to crown him. This is a very powerful right, and through it 
  the cleric-hood can exert considerable influence on the nation. 
  That's not to say that, by refusing to crown a certain candidate, the cleric-hood can stage a bloodless 
  coup and choose the king. Let's assume cleric-hood does such a thing and refuses the chief candidate for the 
  throne, then spreads the word they will support a certain other candidate. The refused candidate may decide 
  to mount a war against the cleric-hood. The new candidate, if crowned, may find that none of the other 
  nobles in the nation support his kingship. All of this can result in a bloody civil war which could tear the nation 
  apart and wreck the cleric-hood's power. 
  Therefore, when the cleric-hood decides to exercise this power, it does tend to make compromises, to 
  negotiate secretly with the parties involved, to plan things carefully so that trouble is kept to a minimum. Only 
  the most arrogant of cleric-hoods would try to take for itself the full right to choose the king . . . and such 
  cleric-hoods are likely to lead their nation into war or chaos. 
   
  Other Confirmations: It could be that confirmations other than coronation are the special province of 
  one cleric-hood. For example, in one nation, any cleric might perform marriages for commoners, but only the 
  clerics of a specific god might perform marriages for nobles. This would give that cleric-hood great power, 
  because by collectively deciding or refusing to marry certain couples, this cleric-hood has the power to 
  influence which families unite and which do not. Again, abuse of this right could lead to harm, but careful 
  application of it would allow the cleric-hood to affect the growth and development of the nation. 
   
  Tithes: Some cleric-hood, the most powerful ones in a culture, is able to demand tithes of their 
  followers. A tithe is an amount of money, often represented as a fraction of the money-earner's regular wage, 
  which the follower is required to pay to the cleric-hood. 
  Theoretically, it is used for upkeep of churches and temples, purchase of supplies and equipment for 
  the clerics, etc. Some cleric-hood also use these moneys for influence with the government; a very few corrupt 
  clerics dip into it for personal gain. In an Urth campaign Setting© game, only the religion of a monotheistic 
  state, or the state religion, will be able legally to demand tithes of its followers. Such tithes will usually run 
  from 5% to 15% of the character's income, with 10% being most common. 
  Cleric-hoods of other faiths will ask their followers to tithe a like amount. Naturally, not all their 
  followers will tithe and so such religions bring in less tithed income than those who can demand it. Player-
  character clerics don't get to see that money; it is recorded by church accountants, stored in church treasures, 
  and distributed or spent by superior clerics. 
   
  Separation from the Faith: Some cleric-hood can exert considerable influence on their followers by 
  being able to separate them from the faith. If, for instance, all followers are promised a certain role in the 
  afterlife and separation from the faith would deny them that role (and replace it with something far more 
  frightening or ghastly), then the followers of the faith are likely to obey the cleric-hood. 
  Naturally, most cleric-hoods visit this punishment only on those followers who most flagrantly defy the 
  requirements of the faith. Just as naturally, the occasional corrupt cleric would threaten followers with this 
  punishment unless they are blindly, absolutely obedient to him. 
  However, this punishment doesn't work so well in a culture which worships many gods and which has a 
  separate, independent cleric-hood for each god. If you threaten a follower of the war-god with separation, he 
  might be just as happy to switch over to worship of the sea-god. This is a balancing factor which helps keep 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 11 
  down abuse of this right in many cultures. However, monotheistic cultures (those which worship only one god) 
  don't have this balancing factor; they have to rely on the honesty of the cleric-hood. 
   
  Rule: Some cultures are theocracies, which mean they are ruled by their clerical classes. Naturally, in 
  such a culture, one cleric-hood will be dominant; the culture may worship only one god, or may tolerate other 
  worships but be mainly devoted to one specific god. 
  In a theocracy, the nation may be ruled by a board of clerics from the state religion, but it's more 
  common for it to be ruled by a single king who is also a cleric and the head of his cleric-hood. Such an 
  arrangement may be benevolent, with a wise cleric ruling the land; or it may be particularly nasty, with a 
  power-mad cleric or the cleric of an evil god in charge. 
  Many "lost worlds" (i.e., nations hidden away from the rest of the world, secluded in a lost valley or 
  cavern or other distant place) are theocracies ruled by evil clerics; adventurer-heroes stumbling into such 
  cultures often find themselves having to stir up revolution and cast down these rulers so that justice can 
  return to these lands. 
   
  The State Religion: For any culture, the DM will have to decide if there is a State Religion. The State 
  Religion is the official faith of the nation, as sanctioned by the government. Its cleric-hood will have the 
  following rights: Right to church trial, right to coronation (though not necessarily the right to deny coronation 
  to the chief candidate), right to demand tithes. If the culture is monotheistic, the State Religion will also have 
  the right to separate offenders from the faith. The DM can assign other rights to the State Religion as he sees 
  fit. State Religions are not limited to big nations. Any independent city or city-state could have its own state 
  religion. Thus, cities mere miles apart might have different state religions. This could cause trouble if both are 
  monotheistic, or both belong to enemy cleric-hoods; on the other hand, the cleric-hoods could be neutral or 
  friendly to one another, causing no such trouble. 
  However, a nation does not have to have a state religion. In fact, the most powerful faith in a nation 
  will not necessarily be a state religion; it will just exert considerable influence.  
  Section One: Restrictions on the Cleric 
   
  Cleric-hoods are also restricted, usually by decree of the god himself. Below are examples of many 
  typical sorts of restrictions: Note that most cleric-hoods will only have a few of these restrictions, and each 
  faith may employ different ones. 
  Gods make these requirements of their cleric-hoods for four principal reasons: Commemoration, 
  Function, Philosophy, and Sacrifice. 
   
  Commemoration: means that the action is a reminder of some important event from the history of the 
  faith. For example, the cross and crucifix are symbols of the Crucifixion. Function means that if the 
  requirement is not met, the cleric cannot for some reason function as a cleric. For instance, if, in a specific 
  campaign world, clerical magic will not work if the caster has consumed alcohol, then the cleric-hood will have 
  a requirement that its clerics not drink. 
   
  Philosophy: means that the choice is bound up with other elements of the faith. If certain creatures are 
  held to be unholy, unclean, or otherwise taboo, for instance, there will be many secondary requirements 
  derived from that thought. A cleric wouldn't be able to wear armor made from its hide or eat its meat. To be 
  buried in or with its skin might even result in involuntary separation from the faith! 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 12 
  Sacrifice: means that the god requires this behavior to test the mettle of his followers. Those who can't 
  make the sacrifice are obviously not cut out to be his clerics. At his discretion, the DM can make any of these 
  requirements apply to the worshippers of the god in addition to the cleric-hood. Especially appropriate are 
  restrictions involving Contamination (see below). 
   
  Armor: Clerics may be limited in the types of armor they wear. Some sample limitations: 
  • May not wear non-metal armor 
  • May not wear metal armor 
  • May not wear magical armor 
  • May not wear any armor 
  • May not use shields 
  • May not use certain types of shields 
  • May only wear armor made by clerics of the same faith 
   
  Any of these restrictions could be made for any of the four reasons given above. If metal armor disrupts 
  clerical magic, then it could not be worn by clerics. If the religion's philosophy forbids harm to animals, then 
  leather armor may be forbidden. And so on. Armor restrictions don't just reflect the god's attributes or 
  prohibitions; they help define the combat roles of clerics in the campaign. A cleric who can wear full metal 
  armor is more likely to be a combat force in the campaign than one who can't. You can be more sure that a 
  player who picks a cleric-type which is limited to less efficient armor is a player who wants to role-play a cleric, 
  rather than one who merely wants to play a fighting machine who is efficient in both combat and magic. 
   
  Celibacy: Though in modern times the terms Celibacy and Chastity have become confused, here we're only 
  using the older meaning of the word Celibacy: The state of being unmarried. Clerics who are required to be 
  celibate must remain unmarried. A DM must decide individually for each celibate cleric-hood if its clerics must 
  also remain chaste (see below). 
  Cleric-hood could require celibacy as a sacrifice to the god, because it was philosophically opposed to the 
  state of marriage, or for many other reasons. The fighting cleric-hood of a war-god might require its clerics to 
  stay celibate so that they won't be distracted by thoughts of home and family while engaged in warfare. 
   
  Chastity: Chastity involves not engaging in sexual relations. A cleric could be celibate but not chaste; one 
  could even be chaste but not celibate, though that would be pretty strange. Cleric-hoods require chastity as a 
  sacrifice to the god, or when its clerics are supposed in some way to be spouses of the god (either in a 
  symbolic or genuine sense). 
  In some faiths, chastity is required of its clerics except for during specific events or times of the year. For 
  instance, clerics of an agricultural deity might be required to remain chaste except during the planting season, 
  when chastity is revoked in order to magically "encourage" the fertility of the fields. 
   
  Clothing: Clerics are often required to wear distinctive costumes proclaiming their status. They may only 
  have to do so during the performance of their official functions, or might have to wear their clericly vestments 
  during all waking hours. Such items don't have to be full costumes. A cleric might be only required to wear the 
  specific holy symbol of his faith; otherwise, he could wear what he wished. In some faiths, clerics cannot wear 
  certain types of clothing. Historically, some cleric kings of earth-goddess were forbidden to wear clothes with 
  knots in them; if they wore textile garments, they had to have ragged, unknotted hems. Clerics might also be 
  required to conceal certain parts of their bodies by clothing. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 13 
  Beyond restrictions imposed by society for modesty's sake, clerics might have to conceal other parts not 
  considered immodest by the general population. 
   
  Contamination: Many faiths regard certain items or substances as unholy, unclean, or taboo. Its clerics are 
  not permitted to handle such things. If they come in contact with them accidentally, they must undergo holy 
  rituals of purifications to cleanse themselves of the taint. Some sample items or substances include: 
   
  • Animals (specific animals or whole classes of animals) 
  • Blood 
  • Gems or Jewels (specific types) 
  • Iron 
  • Plants (specific plants or whole classes of plants) 
  • Water (from specific bodies of water) 
   
  Hit Points: Clerics and Druids receive 8-sided dice for hit point progression (see OSRIC™ core book, page 
  10). The cleric does a lot of fighting, and the druid has a very demanding existence, living as he does in the 
  wilderness; both need to have comparatively high hit point totals. 
  The DM can, if he wishes, make any cleric-hood of a specific mythos take six-sided dice for hit points (like 
  rogues) or even four-sided dice (like wizards). But this is only appropriate for clerical orders which are not very 
  demanding physically. Most cleric-hood’s should have eight-sided dice for hit points. If a DM decides that 
  cleric-hood will have less robust dice, then he must compensate the cleric-hood with enhanced access to 
  spells and (especially) numerous Granted Powers (discussed below). Cleric-hood should only receive six-sided 
  dice if it has medium to poor combat abilities, and belongs to a deity with very few physical demands. 
  For example, a god of dawn has no intrinsic orientation toward combat, and "dawn" does not imply any 
  specific physical demands. A cleric-hood should only receive four-sided dice if it has poor combat abilities, and 
  belongs to a deity whose attribute implies soft living. 
  For example, a god of peace or love could have clerics with little or no combat abilities and with four-sided 
  dice. However, it's important to note that this does not have to be the case . . . It is only the case when the DM 
  insists upon it. Clerics of the god of peace could be pacifists, but still be good at combat . . . which they may 
  only employ in self-defense. 
  A god of love noted for weapons use, as Eros was noted for his archery, could have clerics who specialized 
  in that weapon, and would not have to be stuck with a measly 1d4 for hit points. 
   
  Magical Items: Clerics are already limited to using magical items usable by all classes or by clerics only. But 
  they might also be further restricted by their faiths. For example, clerics of a specific faith might be required to 
  use only magical items made by clerics of their order, or might be required to use no magical items 
  whatsoever. 
   
  Mutilation: Occasionally, a cleric-hood will demand a sacrifice of mutilation of its cleric-hood. This is most 
  common among evil cleric-hoods, but could theoretically occur with any cleric-hood, regardless of alignment. 
  For example, devotees of a blind god of prophecy might be forced to blind themselves. (However, it would be 
  more appropriate for them merely to have a Clothing restriction that required them to wear blindfolds when 
  performing official duties.) 
  When this sort of thing does take place, the cleric-hood is often compensated for its loss: The god often 
  grants them an extra power. A cleric-hood required to be blind, for example, might have an extra power of 
  analysis, identification or prophecy. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 14 
   
  Weapons: Some cleric-hoods require their clerics to use only a certain category of weapons. Some only 
  restrict them from using a certain narrow category of weapons. Some require their clerics to use no weapons 
  at all. Commonly, a god identified with a certain type of weapon will require his clerics to use that weapon and 
  a certain number of similar or related weapons. 
  The DM should assign the cleric-hood a weapons restriction based on two choices. First, weapons 
  restrictions reinforce the special attributes and character of the worshipped god; limiting clerics of the god of 
  Death to sickle-like weapons certainly establishes flavor for them. 
  Second, weapons restrictions, like armor restrictions, help define the combat roles of clerics in the 
  campaign. If a cleric is limited to daggers and creampuffs, he's not going to be the campaign's combat 
  monster, so magic and his clerical duties will be much more important to the character. 
   
  Section Two: Amazon Priestess 
   
  Description: Amazons are women warriors in a world where most cultures are male dominated or ruled 
  more or less equally by men and women. The Amazon civilization is different from the cultures of the rest of 
  the world in that women occupy all the most important occupations and positions in their society; men are 
  either second-class citizens, or are all kept as slaves, or are exiled from the culture altogether. Amazons 
  continually have to defend themselves from the efforts of surrounding civilizations to "return them to 
  normal," and therefore they are very good at war. Such civilizations often have one or two specific patron 
  gods. (The deity does not have to be female; in classical mythology, for instance, the Amazons' patron was 
  Ares, the very male god of war.) 
  The priestesses of this god interpret the god's will for the Amazons, fight alongside them in times of 
  combat, perform the usual service of guidance (and even marriage, if this is still a function of this specific 
  Amazon society); and sometimes travel through the outer world in an effort to learn what they can of the 
  world of men--in order to protect themselves from it, or to educate themselves and the outer-worlders to 
  reduce misunderstandings between the cultures. 
  There are no special ability-score requirements to be an Amazon. 
  Barred: The DM will decide which gods act as patrons for the Amazon civilization; most Amazon 
  priestesses will serve those specific gods. However, not all Amazon priestesses have to serve those specific 
  gods. An Amazon culture could have as its patron the gods of War and Moon, for instance, but a specific 
  Amazon priestess could serve another god. (Since each attribute has its own role to play in any civilization, few 
  gods are really inappropriate.) Note, though, that no Amazon priestess can serve the gods of Disease or Peace. 
  Also, since Amazon warriors must know the use of the spear and long bow, an Amazon priestess who cannot 
  use those weapons will be looked down upon, and won't command the respect of priestesses who can. 
  Therefore, an Amazon will command less respect unless she is a priestess of one of the following gods: 
  Community, Competition, Elemental Forces, Good, Hunting, Light, Mischief/Trickery, Moon, Oracles/Prophecy, 
  Race (Human), Sky/Weather, Sun, War, Wind, Wisdom. 
  Role: Among the Amazons, the priestess-types listed immediately above are as highly regarded as the 
  warrior, and the warrior is the most-admired type of Amazon. Outside the Amazon lands, among male-
  dominated civilizations, the priestess is looked on as an even more unnatural sort of unnatural woman. In 
  cultures where men and women are approximately equal in influence, the Amazon is looked on as a curiosity, 
  and may even (at the DM's discretion) be looked down on as a representative of a race that hasn't yet come to 
  the conclusion that neither gender should oppress the other. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 15 
  Among player-character adventurers, the Amazon-priestess is likely to prove her-self to be a doughty 
  fighter and an effective spell-caster. If the priestess character starts out suffering a bit of discrimination when 
  she's introduced into the campaign, that may be normal according to the culture but the DM shouldn't 
  encourage this attitude, especially after she's proven herself in dangerous situations. Even if the campaign's 
  main culture is discriminatory, the PCs should demonstrate a little more flexibility in their attitudes based on 
  their adventuring experiences. 
  Weapon Proficiencies: Required: None 
  Equipment: When an Amazon character is first created, she must buy her armor from among the 
  following choices only: Shield, leather, padded, studded leather, brigandine, scale mail, hide, banded mail, 
  bronze plate mail. Once she has adventured elsewhere in the world, she may purchase other types of armor 
  according to her cleric-class limitations. 
  Special Benefits: Male opponents from cultures where women fighters tend to be rare will be amused, 
  rather than cautious, the first time they confront an Amazon. Therefore, in a fight where such a warrior runs 
  up against an Amazon for the first time, the Amazon gets a +3 to hit and +3 damage on her first blow only. This 
  reflects the fact that her opponent's guard is down. 
  This bonus doesn't work on any Warrior character of fifth level or higher, or a character of any other 
  class at 8th level or higher; in spite of any prejudices he might bear, this character is too seasoned an 
  adventurer to let his guard down that way. 
  At the DM's discretion, he can give a wary, suspicious NPC an Intelligence check; on a successful check, 
  he will see the attack coming and deny the Amazon the bonus. 
  The bonus won't work on any male fighter who comes from a culture where women do regularly fight, 
  or who has had fighting-women comrades or faced fighting-women opponents before, or even who has seen 
  the Amazon hit someone else with this bonus earlier. 
  It doesn't work on player-characters unless the player is role-playing honestly enough to admit that his 
  character would underestimate the Amazon. 
  Once the Amazon hits a character with this bonus, the target (if he survives) will never fall for it again. 
  It can only be used successfully once per victim, ever. But if the Amazon misses a target with this blow, she 
  continues to receive it against this target until she hits him once. 
  Special Hindrances: The Amazon receives a -3 reaction roll adjustment from NPCs from male-
  dominated societies. Player-characters do not have to demonstrate this hostility unless they want to do so for 
  role-playing purposes, and even then it should fade as they come to respect her. 
  Wealth Options: The Amazon gets the ordinary 3d6x10 gp as starting money. 
   
  Section Two: Barbarian Berserker 
   
  Description: This cleric is the cleric of a culture halfway between what we think of as civilized and 
  savage. His people live at the very edge of or beyond the borders of the edges of the campaign's main 
  civilization. They tend to be very warlike, fighting battles with neighboring tribes and with intruding imperial 
  troops. Their fighters aren't soldiers; they are warriors, and tend to be deadlier in one-on-one fighting but 
  poorer at formation combat than those of the "civilized" nations. They are still more in touch with nature and 
  the world than the people of civilized lands. They may have very different customs from civilized folk. 
  Clerics of this community perform the same functions as clerics of civilized lands. However, barbarians have 
  more respect for the gods than civilized folk, and clerics also are well-respected. Kings and war-chiefs of their 
  culture listen to their counsel. In their culture, those who disagree with them do not insult them or their 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 16 
  guidance, and it is forbidden for a warrior to attack a cleric of his culture (though defending himself from 
  attack is all right... if he can prove that it was defense, not aggression). 
  There are no ability requirements to be a cleric of a berserker tribe. The warriors of the tribe must have 
  Strength 15, and clerics will be most impressive if they can approximate or match that score... but it's not a 
  requirement. 
  Barred: Barbarian tribes tend to have one or two patron gods, and most of their clerics will serve those 
  gods. These tend to be gods of natural forces (Agriculture, Animals, Darkness/Night, Earth, Elemental Forces, 
  Fertility, Hunting, Lightning, Metalwork, Nature, Sky/Weather, Thunder) or other barbarian attributes 
  (Strength, War). Gods of the "softer" attributes (Arts, Love, Music, etc.) would be represented but their clerics 
  would be much rarer. No cleric-hood is barred among the barbarians, however scarce. 
  Role: In the campaign, the barbarian cleric is a spooky, dangerous figure. Like barbarian warriors, he'll 
  be grim and a little alien to his allies from civilized lands. First and foremost, he's a defender of his people, and 
  he'll most often be found wandering in lands other than his own because of some quest set him by the gods or 
  some mystery he's encountered that requires him to travel in order to solve it. When he finds his own 
  tribesmen captured or enslaved in the outer world, which might be a common occurrence, he must do his 
  utmost to free them and return them to his own land, which can imperil other goals he and his player-
  character allies have . . . but as a leader and protector of his culture, this is a duty he cannot refuse. (If he were 
  to do so, the god would take it as a betrayal of goals.) 
  Weapon Proficiencies: Required: None. 
  Equipment: With his starting gold, the barbarian cleric cannot buy armor heavier than splint mail, 
  banded mail, or bronze plate mail. Once he has adventured in the outer world, he can buy any type of armor 
  his clerical requirements allow him to use. With his starting gold, he can buy only weapons appropriate to his 
  tribe (usually battle axe, bows, club, dagger, flail, mace, or pick, hand/throwing axe, sling, spear, and swords); 
  naturally, clerical restrictions may prevent him from taking some of these, depending on which god he serves. 
  Special Benefits: Barbarians are imposing and dangerous-looking. This tends to make others respect 
  them or at least wish not to make enemies of them. Therefore, barbarian berserker clerics receive a +1 
  reaction adjustment bonus when encountering NPCs. This becomes a +3 among members of his own culture.  
  Special Hindrances: The barbarian/berserker cleric has a problem in civilized lands: 
  He doesn't respect the authorities and they have learned to be cautious of him. (This sort of cleric keeps 
  freeing his enslaved brethren, and, even if he worships a god known to this culture, he does so in a different 
  way that the locals consider wrong.) Therefore, the Barbarian berserker cleric receives a -3 reaction 
  adjustment penalty when encountering NPCs in positions of power: Rulers, government officials, etc. 
  Wealth Options: No special requirements; this cleric gets the usual starting money. 
  Races: There are no special restrictions here. 
  Section Two: Fighting-Monk 
   
  Description: This cleric belongs to an order devoted in large part to the study of fighting styles, 
  especially barehanded martial arts. These monks live and study in monasteries devoted to their orders. If, for 
  example, they are clerics of the god of War, these monks do not live and study in ordinary temples of that god; 
  they have their own secluded monastery away from the normal temples. These monks do not confine their 
  war-training to the monasteries, however. They travel the wide world in order to learn the secrets of life, the 
  world, magic and the gods. As an order, they sometimes volunteer their services to rulers in times of war, and 
  act as elite forces against the enemy. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 17 
  These monks are most appropriate for an oriental-flavored campaign and the DM may wish to decide 
  that they cannot be used in his campaign. Before you create a Fighting-Monk character, consult your DM and 
  ask if he is allowing the Fighting-Monk in his campaign. 
  In order to be a fighting-monk, the character must have Dexterity of 12 or more. 
  If a fighting-monk wants to abandon this kit, he must go through a difficult process in order to do so. He must 
  not use any of his unarmed combat techniques for three whole experience levels' worth of time. Once he's 
  reached that third experience level, he has forgotten his unarmed combat techniques and may resume the 
  wearing of armor; and, if he renounced some of his spheres of influence when he became a fighting-monk, 
  may now resume those lost spheres. 
  As an example, a fighting-monk cleric at 5th level decides to renounce his allegiance to the fighting-
  monk order. He adventures normally, still not wearing armor but otherwise performing as a normal cleric of 
  his cleric-class. He abstains from using his unarmed combat techniques. At 8th level, he has abandoned his 
  fighting techniques and may once again wear the armor appropriate to his cleric-class. 
  If a character forgets him-self and uses unarmed combat techniques during this process, he must "start 
  over." It will be three experience levels from his current level, from the time he made the slip, until he can 
  resume his cleric-class. 
  Barred: A cleric of any cleric-hood which starts out with Poor Fighting Abilities is barred from this 
  choice. 
  Role: In the campaign, this cleric is the philosophical warrior whose principal duty is self-
  enlightenment. He is less concerned with the ordinary clerical duties (such as guidance, marriage, community 
  service) than those clerics, but will still perform them; he just won't go out of his way to look for them, nor will 
  he normally volunteer for them (NPCs must ask his help in these matters). Such characters are usually 
  wanderers, which help make them appropriate for adventuring parties. They do periodically return to their 
  monasteries, to pass on the learning they have acquired on the road, and to brush up on their fighting-skills; 
  the rest of the time they spend out in the world. 
  Weapon Proficiencies: Required: See under "Special Benefits," below. Otherwise, the cleric may take 
  any weapon proficiencies which his specific cleric class allows him; he may not take any the class does not 
  allow him. 
  Equipment: See "Special Hindrances," below. 
  Special Benefits: The Fighting- Monk has a modified unarmed combat. His hands and feet do 1d8 
  damage and he may specialize in them as a fighter might. The Fighter-monk is the only cleric who can 
  specialize in an Unarmed Combat in this way.  
  As a second benefit, regardless of what it says for the cleric's class, the Fighting-Monk has a skill Group 
  Crossover with all of the Skill groups in the world Gorean society “OSRIC™  Skill system” book, although any 
  skill he takes from outside the Cleric list he must pay double for. 
  Special Hindrances: This cleric cannot wear any sort of armor. Additionally, the cleric may never own 
  more things (weapons, treasure, money, etc.) than he can carry on his back. 
  Wealth Options: The Fighting-Monk gets the usual 3d6x5 gp as starting money. 
  Races: No special limitations. Humans, elves and half-elves seem visually more suited to this than 
  dwarves, gnomes, and halflings, but the DM can allow those races to take this kit if he so chooses. 
   
   
   
   
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 18 
  Section Two: Oracle 
   
  Description: A prophet is one who receives signs, dreams, or clues about the future from his god. 
  Clerics of the god of prophecy are prophets, but they aren't the only prophets. Clerics of other gods can 
  receive and pass along prophecies. However, since this is rarer, the DM has the right to approve or disapprove 
  any character playing an Oracle. 
  Requirements: To be a Prophet Cleric, the character must have Wisdom of 15 or better. 
  Barred: Clerics of the god of Prophecy may not take this subclass. All other clerics may. (Clerics of 
  philosophies or forces don't receive their prophecies from a god; their prophecies are more like psychic 
  impressions.) 
  Role: In the campaign, the Prophet Cleric is partly a tool for the DM; the DM can use the character to 
  supply clues and even red herrings to the characters. His is often a thankless job, and he is often a bit 
  alienated from the normal folk (see "Special Hindrances" below). 
  Weapon Proficiencies: Required: None.  
  Equipment: No special restrictions. 
  Special Benefits: The character receives the Medium Granted Power "Prophecy", as written below. 
  With this power, clerics may receive visions from the god at any time the DM decides, but may only 
  deliberately sink into a trance in order to receive a vision once per day. That is to say, they can sink into a 
  prophecy Trans once per day AND anytime the DM needs them too. 
  Special Hindrances: It's not normal for anyone but clerics of the god of Prophecy to be prophets. 
  Therefore, normal people are a little edgy around other prophets, and react to them at a -2 reaction 
  adjustment. (This adjustment may never result in a reaction worse than Cautious, however.) 
  Wealth Options: This cleric receives the 3d6x10 gp starting gold. 
  Races: No special limitations. 
   
  Oracle Prophecy Power 
   
  With this power, the cleric can sometimes see visions of the future. A cleric with the Prophecy power 
  can use it two different ways. First, the cleric may sink into a meditative trance and try to receive visions of the 
  future. This trance lasts ten turns; if the cleric 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 cleric gets no vision. 
  Second, visions may just come to the cleric, at the DM's discretion. When the cleric 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 cleric receives no vision of the future if the DM doesn't have one for him to see. Therefore, the 
  cleric 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 cleric an advantage of future sight; it's 
  primarily a tool for the DM to give the cleric clues about the future, clues which guide the adventure without 
  giving the cleric an overwhelming advantage in the campaign. 
  The visions which the cleric 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 cleric will sometimes see events which can be prevented. This tells him which 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 19 
  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 cliff top, he may actually be seeing his friend's twin or doppelganger 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 
  cleric character to use against the DM or the story. The cleric 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 clerics of the god of prophecy. However, it's appropriate to clerics 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 him-self several times per day, though this is usually fruitless and annoying. However, the DM can 
  supply a cleric-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, though once per day is for most groups is perfect. 
  We challenge to let the power be fruitful as often as possible for the player. Perhaps, let then use it 
  once per day (in the middle of a combat, using one round) to see a snippet of the immediate future, granting a 
  character (of their choice) a +2 to hit or to damage (depending on what they see) during one attack of the 
  fight, or maybe over 1d4 rounds it the Oracle is a player that never tries to over use this power. The Oracle 
  should never feel like they don’t get to use their power. 
  Section Two: Savage Cleric 
   
  Description: This is a shaman of a savage tribe. This character is a member of the tribe. The tribe itself 
  is a technologically and culturally primitive one (by the standards and in the opinions of more "civilized" 
  cultures), but is also one which is attuned to the natural forces of the world. The Savage Cleric interprets the 
  will of his god and acts as an advisor or leader to the members of his tribe. 
  This character might be an animal-totem shaman who assigns all the tribal warriors their animal 
  totems. He might be the witch-doctor who insists on the deaths of the adventurers from the outside world. 
  Take a Priestess of a nature-god and give her the Savage Cleric, and you end up with something very like a 
  nymph. Whether the Savage Cleric is good or evil, filthy or clean-limbed depends on the nature of the tribe 
  itself; the DM decides what the tribe is like. 
  Requirements: To be a Savage Cleric, a character must have a minimum Strength score of 11 and a 
  minimum Constitution score of 13. 
  In abandoning this kit, the character is renouncing his membership with the tribe and accepting 
  citizenship in some other culture. This frequently happens with Savage Clerics who join adventuring parties, 
  stay with them in travels through the world, and learn so much of the outside world that they no longer feel 
  like part of their tribe. 
  Barred: Clerics of the following god and philosophies may not take this kit: Disease, Divinity of 
  Mankind, Evil, and Good. 
  Role: In a campaign, this character usually plays the role of the primitive who finds his world-view 
  shattered by his experiences in the outer world... but who might teach his "civilized" companions something 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 20 
  about simple truth and justice as he adventures with them. The DM should insist that the character role-play 
  his tribal origins in the first four or five experience levels, until the character is more used to the outside 
  world; this cleric will be baffled by "high-technology" inventions (iron and steel weapons, boats made out of 
  more than a single log, hourglasses, anything more sophisticated than the tools of his tribe), by civilized morals 
  and ethics, and especially by the strangeness and unfairness of the laws of civilized men. 
  Weapon Proficiencies: The Savage Cleric is limited to the weapons his actual Cleric class permits him, 
  and is further limited (when he is first created) to the following set of proficiencies: long bow, short bow, club, 
  dagger, javelin, knife, sling, spear. After he has adventured in the outer world, the character may learn other 
  proficiencies. 
  Equipment: The Savage Cleric, with his starting gold, may buy no armor other than leather armor and 
  shield, and may buy no weapon not listed above under "Weapon Proficiencies." He must spend all his gold 
  when he is created, or lose any "change" he has left over. 
  Special Benefits: The Savage Cleric has a special Detect Magic ability, resembling the spell of the same 
  name, which he may use once per day per experience level he has (i.e., a 5th-level savage could use his ability 
  five times per day). The rules for this power are: Detect Magic. The Savage Cleric is in tune with nature and can 
  feel when there is something magical in the vicinity. As with the first-level Cleric spell, he has a 10% chance per 
  experience level to determine the sphere of the magic. 
  Special Hindrances: The Savage Cleric is imposing and strange, and he worships his gods "all wrong" 
  (i.e., civilized folk and clerics recognize that his rites are different, unlike theirs). Therefore, he suffers a -2 
  reaction adjustment from all civilized folk 
  (NPCs, that is; PCs can decide for themselves how they react to him). 
  Wealth Options: The Savage starts out with only 3d6x5 gp. After the campaign starts, he will encounter 
  money, and the player may decide either that he likes the stuff or rejects it as a stupid city-human idea. 
  Races: No special limitations. 
  Section Three: Cleric Personalities (Role-play) 
   
  No two clerics are alike in their goals, desires, quirks, and prejudices. It doesn't matter if they belong to 
  the same cleric-class, have the same Cleric Kit, are at the same experience level and have rolled the same hit 
  points . . . they're going to be different people. Below are descriptions of several common type of cleric 
  characters. All of these personalities are drawn from cleric character stereotypes common to the movies and 
  fiction.  
  Novice role-players should read through these descriptions and, if they wish, adopt one of these 
  personality types for their cleric characters or at least let these descriptions inspire them to work out the 
  details of their characters' personalities. Experienced role-players, to whom the creation of personalities is 
  second nature, can, if they wish, skip this part. 
   
  The Crusader: The Crusader is a cleric with a mission. What that mission is, is up to the player and the 
  DM; he may wish to convert the heathens, to restore a temple to its original glory, to clean up a corrupt cleric-
  hood, to crush the enemies of his faith, to destroy a powerful clan, or to gain special rights or privileges for (or 
  merely a lifting of bad or prejudicial laws from) his people. 
  This is not such a bad thing when the Crusader's goals correspond to the goals of the adventuring 
  party. That's easy to sustain for a multi-episode adventure. But when the other player-character heroes' 
  attention turns to some other matter or enemy, the Crusader is less willing to go along. He may continue on 
  with them for a time, but his attention always turns back to his personal crusade. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 21 
  The Crusader is best suited to lawful alignments (lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil). He tends to 
  be humorless, but certainly doesn't have to be stupid. In combat situations, the Crusader is a straightforward 
  fighter, all according to the limitations of his clerical class. But if the enemy is related to his Crusade, he'll 
  become the fiercest and most energetic of fighters, sometimes taking dangerous risks and going all-out to rid 
  himself of these most personal enemies. 
  In role-playing situations, he doesn't have to be a boring idiot who talks about nothing but his quest. 
  He can have other goals and interests, too. But the further away he is from his personal crusade, and the less 
  he is able to promote his goals, the more of his attention they will take up in his mind. 
   
  The Earnest Novice: This cleric is a young fellow who has newly achieved his clericly rank. (Yes, all first 
  level clerics are appropriate for this personality . . . but not all of them have to take it. 
  Other first-level clerics can be a little more sophisticated or world-wise than this fellow.) The Earnest 
  Novice is naive. He's easily tricked by smooth, polished liars. He is pure in his beliefs, especially those related 
  to his clerical order. He serves as an inspiration for others; no matter how battered he is by life, he seems 
  always just to stand back up and keep on going. 
  This character is best suited to the range of good alignments (lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good). 
  In combat situations, this character is prone to be a bit simple. He has very primitive combat tactics, such as 
  "run at the enemy and hit him," or "stand where you are and shoot him;" such things as flanking maneuvers, 
  feints, false retreats, and other military maneuvers are beyond his comprehension. 
  In role-playing situations, this character expresses cheerful optimism and, usually, a lack of 
  understanding about the way the "real world" (that is, the campaign world) works. It doesn't occur to him to 
  slip a waiter a bribe to get better service: That would be monstrously unfair and unprofessional! The ideas that 
  a colleague might be corrupt, that a judge might render a decision based on how he felt that morning, that a 
  beautiful young lady might not be absolutely virtuous are all alien to him. He'll accept them when his nose is 
  rubbed in them . . . but they'll never occur to him naturally. 
  Most players who take this personality eventually abandon it; it's nearly impossible to play a character 
  as remaining entirely innocent of the world through adventure after adventure. 
   
  The Hypocrite: This cleric is a smooth talker and an advocate of all the goals of his cleric-hood and all 
  the virtuous behaviors there are. But, deep down, he doesn't believe in them. He's fooled his superiors in the 
  clerical order, he's probably fooled his adventuring companions, he's certainly fooled his flock . . . but he 
  himself knows the truth. 
  This is a pretty villainous personality type; when a hypocrite cleric isn't a villain, he's merely weak-
  willed. Either way, such characters are rare among player-character heroes. And they never get away with it 
  forever. Here are some examples of this character's typical behavior: He generously gifts coins to city beggars 
  and earns their praise. But on the side, out of sight, he traffics in stolen goods, perhaps including objects 
  stolen from temples of his order, and uses the respect accorded to clerics to smuggle his stolen goods through 
  city gates and inspection lines. 
  When a beautiful young member of the flock comes tearfully to him with problems, he arranges to see 
  her privately to counsel her. Alone with the troubled young lady, he will seduce her, and then abandon her, 
  blackmailing her with the besmirching of her reputation to keep his own reputation clean. And should she, in 
  her grief, decide to commit suicide, he'll be the most anguished of mourners at her funeral (perhaps he will 
  officiate) . . . and then begin to work on the young lady's better-looking friends the same way. 
  When sinners come to him after doing evil, they'll always find absolution . . . for a hefty price in gold 
  pieces. Such sinners are almost always repeat offenders, and so they are also repeat spenders. Obviously, this 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 22 
  sort of personality is best-suited to non-player characters. But it is always an option for, and can be a 
  challenge to, player-characters as well. 
  The Hypocrite is limited to lawful neutral, lawful evil, true neutral, and neutral evil character 
  alignments.  
  In combat situations, the Hypocrite will tend to behave like the cleric he's supposed to be. If he can 
  find reason to get out of the way of combat, he will: For instance, if an ally is injured, the Hypocrite will drop 
  behind the lines to heal or doctor him. The Hypocrite is also prone to directing the actions of his teammates in 
  such a way that they take all the risks. If one of them is killed or injured, of course, he will appear to agonize 
  over it. In role-playing situations, the Hypocrite will be the smoothest and most concerned character around. 
  However, his player will need to communicate, in private consultation with the DM or through secret notes, 
  the Hypocrite's true motives and plans. 
  Eventually the other characters will catch on, and ultimately they will expose or even kill him. It's up to 
  the player then to decide what the Hypocrite will do (assuming he survives): He could change his name and 
  start over again elsewhere, or pretend to reform and become a little more sophisticated in his tactics, or he 
  could even reform and change personality types. This is primarily for advanced role players due to the 
  difficulty in playing this type of personality. 
   
  The Motivator: This character is like a grown-up version of the Earnest Novice. He knows what the 
  world is all about, but he intends to do his temple's business and see to it that his god's goals are met, with no 
  complaints and no back-talk. He's a combination of cheerleader and drill sergeant. He leads by example, and 
  he usually leads. He gets to know the minds of his companions and plays upon their own goals and desires to 
  get his accomplished. This doesn't make him a villain like the Hypocrite; he probably intends this to be to 
  everyone's benefit. 
  Like the Crusader, he performs best when he's headed in the direction of his personal goal; unlike the 
  Crusader, he doesn't have just one goal that dominates his life, and can add the other player-characters' goals 
  to their own. (But if he does take on someone else's goal, you can be sure that he'll be unceasing and maybe 
  unbearable in trying to motivate that character toward that goal. He won't let the other character abandon 
  the goal. He just never gives up.) 
  This character is suited to any alignment. Obviously, if he's lawful good, his goals will be the goals of his 
  god and his society; if he's chaotic evil, his goals will be his own, and very destructive ones, too. 
  In combat situations, the Motivator charges into the thick of things and tries to whip up his allies into a 
  combat frenzy. He gravitates to the center of the skirmish line, and if he's fit for it will try to take on the 
  biggest and most difficult opponents. In role-playing situations, he'll be a vigorous font of advice and 
  helpfulness. He tends to be abrupt of speech and firmly set in his opinions (i.e., stubborn), but he's usually a 
  good friend to have around. 
   
  The Philosopher: This character tries to fit each of his adventures and encounters into the grand 
  scheme of the meaning of life. He's not a very exciting personality, being more thoughtful and reserved than 
  the dynamic Motivator or energetic Earnest Novice. He often adopts a "Let's wait and see what happens" or 
  "Maybe it was meant to be" attitude. He seldom initiates combat or aggression, but this doesn't make him a 
  pacifist; once he gets into combat, he can be as formidable an opponent as any cleric of his class. 
  The Philosopher is best suited to lawful and neutral alignments (lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil, 
  neutral good, true neutral, neutral evil). In combat situations, the Philosopher will often hang back for a round 
  or so to gauge the situation and analyze things. In doing so, he may see something the other characters have 
  missed (more enemies creeping out of a secret panel, an exit tunnel that would allow them to escape or the 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 23 
  stealthy motions of an enemy thief creeping around behind one of the heroes). But he won't hesitate long, 
  particularly when it could mean life or death to his friends. 
  In role-playing situations, he tends to be very analytical, choosing his words carefully, thinking all the 
  while. 
   
  The Politician: This is an ambitious cleric. He wants to have political power within the community, 
  within the temple, or both. This doesn't mean he's bad; he may be acquiring power because he believes he 
  can wield it better than others and make the world a better place. 
  But he goes out of his way to gather favors, advise powerful people (and to do so well!), to acquire treasure so 
  that he can build great temples and influence the masses, etc. 
  The Politician has a weakness, though. Regardless of his motivations, he sometimes blinds himself to 
  the truth so that he can continue acquiring power and influence. If two cities or countries are on the verge of 
  war, and that war would benefit him and his power base, he might advocate that war be declared, and blind 
  himself to the suffering this will cause among the people who have to do the fighting. If a woman comes to 
  him with the classic dilemma where she is being told by her family to marry one man when she loves another, 
  he Politician will first consider the influence he might gain from these respective matches first, and considers 
  the lovers' and families' feelings second. He may not even realize this . . . but his advice will always be tinged 
  with self-interest. 
  This is also a challenging role to play, especially if the character really is good at heart and is just 
  concealing from himself the harm of his course of action. Eventually, the DM should confront him with the 
  results of his selfishness: Perhaps one of his plans or pieces of advice results in tragedy, and the accusations of 
  the PCs or NPCs who see through his motives convince him that he's been on the wrong path. When this 
  happens, the Politician might wish to change to another personality type. On the other hand, sometimes the 
  Politician is never caught at it, or never admits his culpability to himself, and just continues rising up the ladder 
  of power and influence. 
  The Politician is best suited to lawful and neutral alignments (lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil, 
  neutral good, true neutral, neutral evil). If he's good, he'll probably eventually understand the damage he has 
  done and can do. If he's Neutral, he won't go out of his way to harm people, but will not be truly touched by it 
  when harm does occur. If he's Evil, this harm is merely another benefit of the job. 
  In combat situations, the Politician is like any other cleric of his specific cleric-class. 
  However, if there's an important person around to impress, he may fight more vigorously or risk himself to 
  save that person. 
  In role-playing situations, the Politician is continually ferreting out rumors and news, analyzing 
  information, learning the personalities of important people, and looking at all situations and adventures in 
  terms of the power and prestige they can bring him. 
   
  The Proselytizer: This cleric's primary motivation involves converting worshippers of other gods to 
  worship of his god. Nothing else matters. If someone is not according due to his god, that someone is going to 
  experience a religious conversion attempt. (This doesn't mean that the Proselytizer necessarily believes his 
  god to be the only god. In a land where many gods are worshipped, this is an uncommon belief. But if he finds 
  someone who worships several gods but excludes his deity, the Proselytizer goes on the job.) 
  Proselytizers can be of any alignment, but most are dutiful clerics of good alignment (lawful good, 
  neutral good and chaotic good). 
  In combat situations, the Proselytizer acts as any other adventurer. He might be more gullible when it 
  comes to an enemy who pretends interest in his deity and professes a desire to be converted, but this will only 
  occasionally take place in the campaign. (The enemy would have to know him and his motivations pretty well 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 24 
  to make this attempt.) But in role-playing situations, the Proselytizer talks about little other than his god, his 
  temple, and his personal adventures in service to his god and his temple. He can be quite insufferable at 
  times, in fact. 
  Ultimately, his adventures may convince him that there are other things to life than the ongoing 
  conversion of non-believers; at this time, his player may choose for the character to take on a new, different 
  personality. But even then, the character is likely to remain a bit more interested in religious conversions than 
  other examples of his new personality are. 
   
  The Sage Counselor: This cleric is primarily interested in acquiring wisdom and passing it on. He likes to 
  help people. And since he's a cleric, people often come to him with their troubles; he's always willing to advise 
  them. (Depending on his experience and personal wisdom, he could be quite good at it, too.) 
  This personality is best suited to lawful good and neutral good alignments. (A chaotic good cleric could 
  also try to be a sage counselor, but his advice is likely to be more dramatic and less well-reasoned than that of 
  the other alignments.) 
  In combat situations, the Sage Counselor is likely to try to persuade the enemy to surrender, to run 
  away, or just to be reasonable. This doesn't mean that he's stupid, though. Confronted with danger, he can hit 
  just as hard and defend himself and his friends just as fiercely. 
  In role-playing situations, the Sage Counselor goes out of his way to help people; if he sees a sad face 
  and has some time available to him, he'll gravitate to the stricken person, kindly ask if he can help, and end up 
  wrapped again in some other person's troubles. Incidentally, this is a great way to get the character involved 
  on new adventures: The DM need merely run a tearful NPC past the cleric, and another adventure is on its 
  way. 
  Section Four: Cleric’s and punishment 
   
  Clerics are servants of their gods, and therefore can't just do anything they want whenever they want. 
  The DM must keep an eye on the activities of Cleric characters and if the cleric violates some tenet or 
  commandment of his god, the DM should see to it that the god punishes the cleric. It's easy to be unfair when 
  doing this, though, so the DM also has to keep an eye on himself. It's all too easy to say, "You should have 
  known that your god doesn't want you to wear red; I've said repeatedly that his favorite color is blue!" That's 
  not justification for a punishment of the cleric, unless the DM has explicitly stated that the god's clerics must 
  always wear blue or face divine consequences. 
   
  Minor Offenses: Minor offenses which the god punishes include such things as: 
  Making a joke about the god (and even then, it must offend the god; some gods have a sense of humor); 
  Failing to perform all required clerical duties in a day (for example, "not having the time" to listen to the 
  problems of one of the faithful and offer guidance); and Becoming annoyed with the god's demands. 
  The god punishes such minor offenses by withholding some of the cleric's spells on the following day. 
   
  Inappropriate Weapon and Armor Use: If a cleric violates his order's restrictions on weapon and armor 
  use, the god will punish him for it. There are two different types of violation of this restriction, and a different 
  punishment for each. 
  If the cleric deliberately violates the restriction because he wants to (for instance, if he puts on a set of 
  metal armor when he isn't supposed to), this is a willful disobedience and makes the god very angry. He 
  immediately does 2-12 (2d6) points of damage to the cleric and takes away all the spells he granted to the 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 25 
  cleric today, and doesn't let the cleric have any more for 1-6 (1d6) days. Even then, the cleric must undergo 
  rituals of purification and undertake an act of atonement if he's to have spells again. 
  If the cleric violates the restriction for the best of reasons (for instance, if a gargoyle is strangling his 
  friend, and he must use a forbidden weapon in order to be able to harm the creature), the god does 1-4 (1d4) 
  points of damage to the cleric (after the fight is done) and, if the cleric does not undertake a ritual of 
  purification at his earliest opportunity, will take away the cleric's spells on the next day. 
   
  Betrayal of Goals: If the cleric deliberately violates the goals of the god, then he's in real trouble. For 
  instance, if a cleric of the god of war advocates peace when war is in the offing, or if a cleric of the god of love 
  tells young lovers to wise up and forget about romance, then the god will definitely be offended. 
  The first time this happens, the god will give the cleric an unmistakable warning. This could be a heart 
  attack, costing 50% of the cleric's current hit points. It could be a portentous destruction of a statue of the god 
  while the cleric is present. It could be an earthquake or other warning. The warning doesn't have to be 
  immediately after the betrayal, but will be soon after. 
  The second time this happens, the god will appear to the cleric. It doesn't have to be in person, right 
  then; it might be in a dream, the night following the betrayal. The god will sternly ask the character his 
  motives and order him to return to proper worship. 
  The third time this happens, the god will immediately reduce the character to 1 hit point and change 
  his character class. The cleric will become an ordinary fighter at an experience level two lower than the cleric's 
  level (minimum first level); his normal hit point total and possessions will be unaffected. Until the character 
  undergoes a severe ritual of atonement, the god will despise the character and plague him with little ills, 
  diseases, and enemies. Once the character atones for the deed, the god forgives him . . . but the character will 
  still be a fighter. 
  Sometimes, a god might deliberately confront the character with a test of the character's faith. For 
  example: Part of the god's worship demands that anyone who tramples his sacred flowers be blinded. Then, 
  the god befuddles the cleric's wife or daughter, and that character stumbles across the sacred flowers where 
  only the cleric can see it. If he conceals the sin, he's punished. If, regretfully, he prepares to carry out the 
  punishment, the god will be pleased. The god might interrupt the punishment, or wait until it has been carried 
  out and then restore sight to the cleric's loved one. 
   
  Divine Retributions: It could be that the cleric will betray more than the god's usual dictates. The cleric 
  might turn on the god, betraying him utterly. This can happen when another deity, an enemy god, persuades 
  the cleric to serve him instead, and persuades the cleric to steal some important artifact from the god or 
  reveal some critical information about the god. When this happens, the god will punish the cleric (assuming he 
  survives the betrayal, which most gods will). The minimum punishment the cleric can expect is the character 
  class change described above. 
  A medium punishment the god will bestow is instant death. A greater punishment from the god 
  involves the ruin of the character. The god can kill or merely take away the character's family and loved ones, 
  curse him with afflictions such as blindness and lameness, see to it that all his enemies find out about his 
  weaknesses, give extra power and weapons to his enemies, force the cleric's loved ones to betray him, and so 
  on. This doesn't happen all at once, but every episode for the rest of the character's life introduces some new, 
  horrible calamity until the character is mercifully killed or kills him-self. In any case, the character is no longer 
  a viable one to play and the player should dispose of him as quickly as possible. 
  At the ultimate level, the god performs the greater punishment above, and then tortures the 
  character's spirit forever in the afterlife. Note that this punishment isn't just for clerics. If a non-cleric betrays 
  the god in the same fashion, the god will visit the same sort of punishment on the character. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 26 
  Society's Punishments: Unless the cleric-hood is the State Religion, clerics are not immune to the law 
  for their deeds. 
  If, for example, the cleric of the god of Justice and Revenge hears about some great injustice, wanders 
  over to the offender's house and kills the offender, then he's guilty of murder. There's no question. He'll be 
  arrested, tried, and (the efforts of his cleric-hood notwithstanding) probably convicted; the only thing that 
  could save him would be a declaration from the god, which is usually not forthcoming. 
  Therefore, when clerics decide to do something which is illegal in the culture, they should do so 
  circumspectly. If they wish to accomplish the desires of their god when those wishes are illegal, they'll have to 
  do so in a fashion which protects them. 
   
   When Clerics Renounce Their Faith: It's possible for a cleric to renounce his faith: to declare that he is 
  no longer a cleric of a particular god. When that happens, he has one of two choices. He can stop belonging to 
  the cleric-class and start over as a rogue, wizard, or cleric of another god, according to the rules for dual-class 
  characters. Naturally, he loses all his granted powers. 
  If his cleric-hood had Good Combat Abilities, he can lose one experience level and become a fighter; if 
  Medium Combat Abilities, he can lose two levels and become a fighter; if Poor Combat Abilities, he can start 
  over as a fighter according to the rules for dual-class characters. He'll never again be a cleric. 
  Section Five: Clerical Items 
   
  The most common and important tools of the cleric (as far as his culture is concerned, anyway) aren't 
  his weapons and armor. They are the actual symbols of his cleric-hood. Not all of these symbols are useful in 
  combat situations, but they're appropriate for role-playing the cleric. Let's discuss them briefly. 
   
  The Canon: Many faiths have a canon, or holy book. This work was written at some time in the distant 
  past, either by the god or by a believer obeying the word of the god. This book usually describes important 
  events of the past in which the god participated, explains the requirements the god makes on his followers, 
  and explains the god's philosophy, goals, and concerns. 
  If the faith has a canon, then the cleric will wish to have one. Books are expensive commodities: 
  Assuming that it's a mere 200 sheets (400 pages) in length, you're talking about 400 gp in paper alone (2 gp 
  per sheet); binding will cost another 50 gp, for a total of 450. Sometime between 3rd and 5th level, the cleric 
  should have saved or accumulated enough money to commission a copy of the canon; perhaps, if he is lucky, 
  someone will gift him with one, or he will inherit one. Regardless, a cleric who reaches 6th level without 
  having acquired a copy of the canon will be viewed with some suspicion by commoners and his fellow clerics, 
  who will question his devotion. 
  The cleric should carry the cannon wherever he travels, and if it is stolen should make every effort to 
  recover it. The canon is not a magical work, and does not act as a Holy Symbol (The DM can make a call, and 
  for pious clerics, perhaps the canon IS a holy symbol) when used to confront vampires or similar monsters. Not 
  all faiths do have an individual, written canon. Some faiths share a common canon. Some transmit their canon 
  orally; it is not written down anywhere. Some have none at all. 
   
  Holy Symbol: Most faiths have a holy symbol, some sign which serves as a representation for the god 
  and his faith. This symbol is usually duplicated in wood, glass, or precious metals and carried by clerics of the 
  god. Ordinary followers of the god also can carry the holy symbol. 
  
  World Gorean Society 
  Page 27 
  Every cleric player should know what his holy symbol looks like. The DM can either decide, or let the 
  player of the cleric design it. (If he does allow the player to do so, the design of the symbol is still subject to 
  the DM's approval.) 
   
  Holy Water: Holy water, that bane of vampires and many other monsters, is created in the following 
  way: In a temple of the god, three clerics of second level or higher stand over an empty water-basin and 
  perform a ritual of prayer. They pray for the god's blessing and protection for an entire hour. At the end of 
  that time, they each cast a spell, and do so simultaneously: One casts create water, the second casts 
  protection from evil, and the third casts purify food & drink. Half a gallon of holy water is created. (The create 
  water spell can create up to four gallons of water, but the protection from evil and purify food & drink used 
  this way can only create half a gallon of holy water. 
  Therefore, for every two extra clerics, one to cast each of those two spells, an extra half gallon can be 
  created. Nine clerics together can create four gallons.) 
  The tremendous expenditure of magic and the time involved are the reasons why a single dose of holy 
  water costs 25 gp to the adventurer. Obviously, any three clerics can create holy water "for free" so long as 
  they are second level or higher and are clerics of the same god. 
  Holy symbols are enchanted in the same way. Each enchantment takes an hour, requires three clerics 
  (substituting sanctuary for create water), and requires a material component: Some object carved with the 
  god's symbol. 
   
  Clerical Vestments: Every cleric-hood has its own distinctive costume, and clerics normally wear these 
  clerical vestments whenever they perform their official duties. Some must wear them whenever they appear 
  in public. It adds color to a campaign when the players know what these vestments look like. If the DM doesn't 
  wish to design the clerical vestments for all the cleric player-characters, he should allow the players to do so 
  (subject to his final approval). 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Old School Revival (OSR(ic))/[1e Compatible, OSRIC]/1e, OSRIC Supplemental/1e, OSRIC Classes/OSRIC Book of Clerics .pdf