War Priest's Guide, by Lord Thronsor

^^^ Important Note: In order to be successful in Elanthia, you MUST respect your elders, otherwise you will be given no respect when you are an elder, making your life difficult and stressful ^^^

The purpose of this guide is to prepare you for the life of a War Priest. A unique group of clerics who choose to serve their God through the study of magic and the strengthening of your body. You will withstand the strain of the relentless attacks of your foe, react quickly to surprises, and return blows with a flurry of attacks. While retaining your clerical abilities, you will fight like a warrior. If this sounds like your kind of character, then please take a gander!

• Stats
• Race
• Training
• Special Training Cases
• Clerical Resurrection
• What To Do, What To Do
• The Earliest "Golden Year"
• New Toys?
• The Second "Golden Years"
• Your Mid To Late Teens
• Nobility

Stats

The base of any character is a strong foundation. Without a strong foundation, your character will have difficulty advancing through the different trainings and making life quite miserable, even more so then that little turnip farm. The first and foremost way to control how your character will fare in combat, as well as any other aspect of living, relies somewhat heavily on how you place your stats. Mind you, there have been many great role-players and those who have advanced through many trainings with less than perfect placing ;) I’m assuming you know how to roll the die so I won’t go into detail on that. You will know good rolls when you see them, and the only true way to see if you do is to decide for yourself. ;) Each person may choose individually to place their stats in a different place, but the way I recommend as a War Priest is the following:

@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
|    MP = Mental training points                                             |
|    PP = Physical training points                                           |
|                                                                                                |
|    *Aura (MP, Spirit)                                                              |
|    Wisdom (Mana, MP, Spell Warding)                              |
|    Discipline (MP)                                                                  |
|    Strength (PP, Encumbrance, Attacks)                            |
|    Reflex (PP, Defense, Spell Avoidance)                          |
|    Dexterity (Encumbrance, aimed attacks, PP)                |
|    Logic (MP, Experience Retention)                                  |
|    Intelligence (MP, Experience Absorption Speed)         |
|    Constitution (Health Points, PP)                                      |
|    Charisma (Bartering, Hiding)                                           |    
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@

*Make sure your aura is high, preferably in the mid-90s.

Race

Depending on your race, you will get certain bonuses for the above **. For the most part, clerics can be any race they choose. Since I am leaning toward a War Cleric, I would recommend either a Human, Giantman, or Dwarf.

• Humans are just about average across the board, so they tend to do well.
• Giantmen are stronger, are able to hold more blood, and do quite a bit of damage. However, being larger they are more vulnerable to attacks that require quick movement and find it difficult to squeeze into small places.
• Dwarves are shorter, therefore able to dodge more quickly. They are less likely to be hit because of their size and can go just about anywhere. Dwarves are also more resistant to magic, making them less likely to get hit by spells, but also minorly reducing their casting ability (barely noticeable).

Adjustments if you are a Dwarf or Giantman (Recommended):

--Giantmen: Put your reflex before your strength. As a Giantman you get penalized in the reflex area and are given a bonus in strength. By changing the order of these two, you can counterbalance.

--Dwarves: Put strength before your reflex. The reverse for Giantman is true for dwarves, making the extra strength beneficial.

**Remember that your stats that your character’s race excel in will increase faster than the others. I.E. Being a Cleric, your Wisdom will climb pretty quickly, as will Aura. Different races have different bonuses for each stat as well.

Training

Ah, my personal favorite. This is where you distinguish yourself from all the other loons running around the lands. What you choose to do with your life will depending greatly upon the skills you decide to train in when the time comes. There’s nothing better than working hard to hone your skills and finally step into that inn to scribble down your experiences and record all the advancements you’ve made. War Priests tend to train similar to warriors, but we also incorporate a few spells in to make us a bit more unique. Your trainings are very crucial to ensuring your needs and wants are met, so pay close attention to those which I recommend very highly that you do not miss. Each skill has a set of brackets [ ] before it with a number enclosed. This is the recommended times to train in this skill. Those with special cases are indicated by a triangle (D ) and will be discussed below the skills. A very brief description will follow each skill. If you have to sacrifice a small organ in order to make sure you have the trainings you need to become a successful War Priest, I’d find an Empath and go to it. Now for the fun stuff! =D

The first box are necessary skills, the second are "extras" and should be trained in somewhat frequently, when you can spare the training points. Try to be a pretty well-rounded on the climbing and swimming, and maybe a bit of perception here and there. The rest is simply up to you! Choose skills that you want your character to posses to make him unique.

 Always Train In These Skills

[1]Shield (Shield Handling Ability)

[1]Blunt OR Edged (Weapon Type, Weapon Proficiency)

[1]Combat Maneuvers (Increases Attack, Helps Dodge Attacks)

[1] D Armor (Wear Armor, Carry More)

[1]D Physical Training/Body Development (More Blood)

[1] First Aid (Bandaging Wounds, Skinning)

[2] D Mana Sharing (train twice until you have 102)

[2] D Spell Training (Learn New Spells)

Extras

Climbing

Swimming

Perception (Find Things That Are Not Readily Visible, Better Eyesight)

Scroll Reading

Magic Item Use (Increases Ability To Wield Magic Items)

D Ambush (Aimed Attacks)

Stalking \ Hiding (Hide Better, Stalk)

Brawling (Punching, Using Brawling Weapons)

Disarming Locks

Picking (Opening Boxes, Best Left To The Rogues)

 Special Training Cases

D Armor-Ideally, a cleric trains until he has 40 in the Armor skill. However, in later years many older Clerics tend to train more. This skill also helps you carry more, so it’s good for the smaller races, like Dwarves.

D Physical Training - Train only to your maximum amount of blood. Any more is a waste of training points.

D Mana Sharing - In order to Resurrect your fellow adventurers when you have 12 trainings, you must have 102 in this skill, otherwise you may fail the Resurrection. If you would like to train further in this skill after 102, feel free, it will increase your ability to receive mana from others and send more to those who are less proficient.

D Ambush - This is a skill that becomes invaluable for a War Priest in his later years. It will allow you to attack targeted body parts.

D Spell training - Perhaps the most varied aspect of a cleric is his spell training. There are many routes to take, but the most common involves a sort of jump around. For a War Priest, you will do very well going up the Major Spell Circle along with the Clerical Spell Circle. Before jumping right in though, you should get up to 103 in the Minor Spell Circle, as the first three of this circle are one of our primary defense spells. In the Major Spirit Circle, you will get heroism and bravery, two spells which greatly increase your attack. Other spells, like binding, can help lower a critters defenses and allow you to kill them with greater ease and in less time. Clerical allows you to have the resurrection to fall back on during times of crisis like invasions, or during an emergency when the opportunity presents itself, and has beneficial defense spells. This is the best way for a War Priest, in my opinion, as it concentrates on fighting, not rescues or non-stop resurrections. .

Clerical Resurrection

Okay, one skill that sets a Cleric from the rest of the adventurers in Elanthia. It allows us to call upon our deity to bring life back to the dead. First of all, to make sure you don’t kill yourself and your dead companion, make sure your training in Mana Sharing is sufficient (as suggested above). Make sure to keep track of your Spirit as well or you will pay a price much worse than death. A Spirit Death happens when you bring someone back from the dead when you don’t have enough Spirit. Doing this can leave you with a loss of two deeds and a loss of knowledge that you have gained. Resurrecting plays a vital role in the lands, as the life of a dead person lies in your hands. As this is a guide for War Priests, I will not dive deeply into this subject. A few pointers though, don’t use the word "rezz" to describe bringing someone back from the dead. Most nobles frown upon this usage and it is considered rude in many cases.

The best way to learn how to use this spells and its restrictions, as well as getting you familiar with the other Clerics and the tricks and trades, you will want to do your resting at the North Gate. When your head is full and you need to let it clear, go to the North Gate, ask questions, and help where possible. You will want to ask about routines, the restrictions on spells, and other questions that will help you become a better Cleric. You can listen to the others work, even preserve a body when needed, and speak to the other Clerics only by simply speaking in Guild. To return to speaking that everyone can understanding, switch back to Common.. It will get you respect and a lot of friends you will keep throughout the years if you show an interest in your profession beyond just power and money. When you first get ‘Raise Dead’ (Spell 312), you will want to use it many times, it’s quite exciting restoring life to your fellow adventurer and even more exciting to watch your head fill with knowledge! I will leave some mystery as to how to go about bringing back folks so I don’t ruin it all, and it gives you a chance to learn from others. After a few years (if you choose to do it that long) you will find that good ol’ hunting seems to work better.

**If you’re familiar with the beginning years, skip to the next section entitled "New Toys?"**

Now you’re all set, you have your sword in hand and your shield ready to ward off those horrific attacks of the dragons and slay mighty beasts with one swing of your honed blade, right? Ha, not quite, at least not yet. The first few years of a War Priest’s life are not all glory and excitement. You need to gain a bit of a backbone for your hunting before you brave the great outdoors. When you first "arrive" in Elanthia, you will have to go visit all the places on your DIR list (this can be eased a lot if you have a script that you can run from your Wizard Front End that automatically brings you to all these places. ;) After you have visited each place, it’s off to the inn again to train. After taking care of that, you may want to visit Thrak. He’s located north of the training desk, west a few times, then through a curtain. Be sure to do this only after you’ve completed your visit to all the places on the DIR and trained. Thrak is an old warrior who enjoys giving the new folks a bit of advice. He will ask you a few questions afterwards about what he discussed, and will award you with a hefty bit of knowledge, which will get you well on your way to your second training.

After your Thrak encounter, you will want to learn how to deliver messages. In order to do this, find Moot Hall and go into the office, then east or west to find the clerk. If you "ask clerk for job" he will hand you a message, and on that message is a seal, with a destination. Bring the message to the specified place and you will receive some silver and a little bit of knowledge. Continue doing this until you have a bit of money and are near training again. Now you may want to go out and get a sword and shield. Don’t buy anything expensive yet, there’s no need, and you’ll probably not be able to hold them anyway. Just grab a small sword and a reinforced shield and you’re fine. If your training went right, you should have a few spells by now, some of which should be defense spells. Just wander on down into the catacombs beneath the streets and fight off a few rats. There’s an ideal place to hunt, the Nexus, and is relatively easy to find if you ask someone to help you locate it. The rats tend to be plentiful and are a quick road to knowledge. So, hunt, have fun, maybe run a few messages in the meantime, and get trainings! Depending on your preferences, you may want to deliver more messages or fight more often (being a War Priest, you probably would like the latter ;). Don’t forget another one of the Cleric’s special abilities, we can absorb knowledge quicker when we meditate!

For your first couple of years, you will want to stay in rats. An occasional stroll down to kobolds is fine, but they are often crowded and the kobolds are few and far between, although they do have some treasure. Hobgoblins might suit your fancy if you’d like a bit more of a challenge, but try to stay away from there during your first few years. All in all though, rats are ideal because they are plentiful, decent learning for young’ns, and tend to be relatively simple. I would recommend staying in rats for about 4 years, unless you’d rather take on some of the afore mentioned critters, which is just fine as well. Both kobolds and hobgoblins are found to the west of the city.

The Earliest "Golden Year"

You’ve finally got to your third training, you’ve got some experiences under your belt and have had a taste of the fighting that will feed your bloodthirst for adventure as you grow more comfortable with your surroundings. This is the year when you are able to join "Secret" affiliations and join a House. The House you choose should be one fitting to your character. There are many to choose from, ranging in taste from magic based to those who dedicate themselves to physical prowess. It’s really up to you, and there’s no pressure to join at any time. You can also order customized items from the general store (you could have done this starting at 2 trainings as well) and should have a few more spells to make things a bit more interesting. Continue to explore, seek out new creatures like trolls, ghouls, mummies, or any critter that you can fight well enough to stay alive. And even if you don’t stay alive, sometimes dying adds to the excitement, but make sure you have enough deeds! They are very necessary and should be earned from Lorminstra at the temple whenever possible. Silver and gems are the primary source of deeds since Lorminstra tends to find them more extravagant and pleasing. If you need a deed, walk down to the temple, enter (don’t be loud, it’s a temple), go through the black arch, and walk through the tapestry. A couple rings on the chime with the mallet, a little kneel, dropping of your offering, and another ring will offer your gift. If you’re lucky, Lorminstra will grant you a deed, which grants you another chance at life. ;)

There are two main affiliations in the lands, two secret groups who choose to use their abilities in whatever manner they see fit. These two are Voln and CoL. I will not go into detail because half the fun of joining the society is learning by yourself and solving the small "quests" that are given to you. Remember also that once you quit one or the other, you will never be allowed back in, so choose carefully.

Voln - Listen to the babbling old warrior. Dedicated to releasing souls of the undead and using symbols that depend on ‘favor’ from undead hunting. Has good symbols for rescues as well as attacks that use the brawling skill, which is very necessary to be good at Voln-Fu. Unfortunately, this group has many symbols that are very similar to the clerical spells, so those symbols do us little good. This, in my opinion, is best for those Clerics choosing a path of rescues, resurrections, and enjoy long term commitment. You must hunt undead to progress in this "secret society" since it will determine your advancement as well as your ability to use your symbols. Keep this in mind if you plan on hunting the living more than the undead.

CoL - Listen to the curious mystic. More secret in its goals and reasons of existing, this affiliation relies mostly on the character themselves, allowing the character to use what they already posses to engage signs of various types. Very good for hunters, has signs for defense and offense that help tremendously. The group is relatively simple to advance in and the skills are more readily available at an earlier time than Voln.

Whether you choose one or the other, or neither, doesn’t matter. Each character has to decide for themselves the path they take, and strive to excel in their chosen path. No one society is better than the other, each have their strengths and weaknesses. There are clerics of both societies all over Elanthia, so whichever you choose, you will be in good company.

 New Toys?

I can see it now, you realize that you can upgrade your weapon to a hefty Mithril Broadsword, using a metal you have never before wielded. And a new shield? Wow, a new shield to stop those attacks…only a couple thousand silver, you can spare it, right? Wrong. ;) In my opinion, I would start off with a white blade from the cleric shop. It’s cheap, much like a broadsword, but sanctified (able to be used on undead without a bless). This weapon will be more than enough for you to make it through your years until you’re 10 trainings, and able to wield Vultite. The lure of a new weapon is great, but you have to remember that every two trainings or so, there’s a new weapon you can wield. But investing in these weapons is a waste of money because soon they will be outdated and you will have to either try to resell them (annoying people with the Selling Mithril Broadsword every 5 minutes on the Amunet), or leave them for someone else to find. The solution? Don’t buy. Just keep your good old reinforced shield and white blade until you’re 10 trainings, save up your money until then and get a nice Vultite Shield, which will likely last you well into nobility.

The weapon of choice for most of your adult age will more than likely be the White Blade. When you are old enough to buy a Vultite Shield, you will also be old enough to get your White Blade "e-bladed". What this means is that a magical edge is put on your sword, making it cast fire or lightening randomly as you hit your foe. It will also add +20 to your attack, and able to be used on undead creatures as well as on the living. This is one instance where you will have to depend on someone else to help you out. The respect and etiquette comes in handy here, since you will have to ask older Sorcerers, Wizards, or Bards to e-blade.

You will not always use this weapon and may choose to get a Vultite weapon of some sort for your encounters with the living creatures, although at times the White Blade would still serve you better. =)

I can already see it in your eyes, a new shield and your blade more powerful, you’re once again sure you can battle dragons and save damsels in the towers. "Whoohoo! Death to all who oppose me!" This may be your battle cry as you glow in the dark from spells that will keep you from dying. Yes, you are a War Priest, or well on the road, unfortunately, as you begin to fight older critters, your safety lessens. The older a critter is, the harder it hits, and some of the critters can surely hit harder than you can take. So while you may think you’re going to kill all you see, remember that the critters think the same thing ;)~

So you’re around 10 or 11 trainings. At 11 trainings, if you trained in the Major Spirit Circle, you have gotten Bravery (211). This spell is one of two that you will use regularly that you can cast on yourself. The other, Heroism (215), will also aid you very well. These two spells, accompanied by your signs or symbols from your affiliations can make you a reputable opponent whose skill with the blade will be well-known by your foes. Test out your spells a bit, you should have a healthy diversity, and see what you like! You may choose to change which spell circles you train in, but I would recommend at least getting Heroism. Your only limit is your imagination. ;)

At 12 trainings you will get that good ol’ Raise Dead spell. The envy of everyone who is not a cleric, the scrolls containing this spell go for thousands. As a War Priest, you may choose to continue hunting, or take a break for a while to play with your new spell. It’s fun the first couple of times you actually bring someone back, and may stay fun for you for quite a while afterward. This is a great way to earn knowledge during those times when all of the hunting areas are full and there seems to be a room for some resurrecting.

Also keep in mind that you can hunt and resurrect. Very often, there’ll be times when you’re hunting in an especially difficult area and come across a dead body. You will have to drag them somewhere where it’s safe to get them up. Be very careful while doing this, you will need to put up your weapon. When you have a Vultite shield, you will want to put away your weapon, not your shield. The shield will offer more protection against attacks than your blade. This is often a mistake that leads to death in many hunters. After putting up your weapon, drag the body to a nearby node or safe region. Do not rely on the Minor Sanctuary spell to repel creatures from you, more often than not you’ll only make yourself unable to attack a creature or cast spells at the critter, making you vulnerable and endangering anyone who comes in that room. Once at a node perform the necessary routine for bringing someone back, then do so only after you are sure it is safe and that they are not bleeding. Make sure that once they are up, they get blood back and regain at least a good fraction of their spirit, as low spirit can cause extremely low defenses.

You should be keeping up with your climbing and swimming skills as well, you don’t have to train religiously, but make sure you keep them going at a steady pace and not let them go by the wayside. At 13 trainings, you will get a wonderful spell, Warding II.. This is a spell that serves a double purpose. It acts as a great addition to your spell warding magics in its ability to ward off spell attacks; it also serves as a regular defense against physical attacks. For the most part, small quests and exploration are a main focus during these years, wandering around and exploring the world around you, looking for new hunting areas, exploring unknown terrain, and meeting a variety of people. Continue looking for critters that are challenging, don’t just stay with a creature who you can fight every time and win, it will get boring quickly. If you have only a certain creature that you can hunt safely and learn well from, by all means do so. But also take some time out once in a while to explore other areas, and more challenging creatures, to vary your experiences.

Your Mid-Teens

Thronsor Oraclefire