I’ll admit that the sudden offer took me by surprise. After all, while I had called upon Auril in the past, it was not with the same kind of devotion her clerics were supposed to show, right? And I didn’t know what else being clergy was supposed to entail. Was I going to be expected to go forth and make everyone convert to worship Auril?
I took a breath, and said, “I am not sure about that. I do not mean any disrespect to you, or to the Lady, but I do not know enough about where my path will lead to be sure of my future. I would not wish to take on responsibilities that I could not fulfill, as the Lady has done so much for me that I would hate to offend her or fail her in that way.”
Emeline nodded. “That is something you’ll have to decide on your own. Personally, I think you would do well at it, but becoming a priestess would close off avenues to you, even as it opened others. As you have guessed, there are responsibilities to being a Priestess of Auril that you would need to follow, that a lay member of the church would not.”
“I said before that not all divine spellcasters who call upon the Frostmaiden are part of her clergy, and this is true, if only because they are often in places far from civilization, where few people dwell. The more ‘civilized’ a place is, the more likely it will be that those who call upon her power are a formal part of her church. After all, there is some expectation on those of us who channel the Lady’s power to spread her word to those around us.”
She paused, looking me over. “You, on the other hand, do not call upon her power, at least, not directly, so there is no obligation for you to join the priesthood. However, while it would make you… less acceptable to those who are in conflict with our Lady, whether openly or not, it would also offer you new possibilities. There are secrets passed on through the priesthood which are not shared with outsiders, for some of them offer unique possibilities to grow stronger.”
I perked up slightly at that. Unique possibilities to grow stronger sounded like a really good thing, considering that I was not all that strong at the moment. “What powers are you talking about?”
“Hah! That got your interest, did it? Well, I can’t say as I’m surprised. Every youngster is interested in the possibilities that their path holds for them. Even more when they start considering the branching paths that might take them places they’ve never dreamed of before.”
I frowned slightly. “Branching paths? Then this is something to do with classes?”
Emeline looked at me like I was joking. “What? I thought you were Twice-Souled! Don’t you have the knowledge of another world rattling around in your head? Or has your time with the Tribes made you forget everything?”
I shook my head. “The gods from the world I lived in apparently made some bad choices, thanks to the trickster gods. So, gods aren’t ‘real’ in my world, and the System is cut off there.”
Emeline frowned. “That’s a nasty situation, but I guess it would explain why you know only as much about the System as a common person in this world. All right, you know how you have classes, skills, feats, and the like? Well, there are things called Prestige Classes that allow you to specialize in certain things. For instance, a fighter who focuses his efforts on mobility and making quick, precise strikes may decide to become a Duelist. He gains benefits from this, but loses progression of the class he had before. In the case of a Fighter, he would not gain those extra feats they get, for instance.”
“Now, some people decide to do what is called ‘multiclassing’. This is different from what you Twice-Souled do, which is known as a ‘gestalt’. Multiclassers are just what they expect. They take levels in two or more ‘main’ classes. So, a Wizard may take levels of Cleric, increasing their capabilities. Yes, someone with three levels each of Cleric and Wizard will have more spells to use each day, but they will be casting both as a caster of only third level, even though the System recognizes them as being sixth level.”
I frowned. “That sounds like they would be a lot weaker than their peers. Is there some reason they would do that, other than devotion to their god? It seems… unwise.”
Emeline nodded. “It all depends on how much you take of each class, of course. But yes, it is generally not considered the best decision, unless you are able to access one of the prestige classes like the Mystic Theurge, which is the most commonly known class of the type. It does almost literally nothing for ten levels save giving you progression in both your arcane and divine caster classes. So, that person who was both a third level Wizard and third level Cleric would be sitting at sixteenth level, being able to cast as a thirteenth level caster for both Wizard and Cleric, compared to eighth level in each if he had just split his levels between the two. He still won’t reach the same heights as one who only took one of those classes, but the difference will be far less, and he’ll have access to a great deal more spells by that point.”
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“Now, that is the most widely known, and the most basic. There are other types, of course, which are more specialized. For instance, I know of one that focuses on Necromancy, and that can be fearsome indeed when fighting against it, but there are limits to its abilities. If that person were to face a foe who was either immune to, or highly resistant against, necromancy magics, they would be in dire straits indeed.”
I nodded slowly. Yeah, I could see how someone that was focused entirely on one school of magic would be weaker if they faced someone who could just shrug off their strongest spells. But I thought I saw where Emeline was going with this. “So, are you telling me that there are prestige classes that are available to those serving the Lady as part of her priesthood, which aren’t open to others?”
“Indeed. You’ll find that the gods have plenty of little prestige classes for their followers. Some are more common than others, and more widely known, but some are rare enough that they are almost unique. Now, that is not to say that a god has a prestige class made specially for each class. Some of them are, but most cover more than one class.”
“Is there a way to find what prestige classes I qualify for?”
“What level are you, child?”
“I gained my fourth level when I killed Yorlunn’s brat.”
“Then at your level, you won’t qualify for any of them. There are many prestige classes, but usually one does not qualify to enter them until they are taking their sixth level. And there will be prestige classes that are closed to you entirely, either due to alignment, or because of who you follow, or your race, or because you are Twice-Souled. Yes, even that. Because of your ‘gestalt’ nature, paths like the Mystic Theurge are closed to you, by the System itself, and you will not be able to take a prestige class on both ‘sides’ of the ‘gestalt’ at the same time.”
“However, a divination can be done, and show which prestige classes you might work towards. If the Lady has plans for you, as one must assume that she does, then she may answer the prayers, and give guidance. Warlock and Battledancer are rare classes in these parts, and I do not know what options might be out there.”
I gulped. “Are you sure? I am still new to the idea of gods being a real thing, and a living part of the world. I just called on the Lady not too long ago. I wouldn’t want to upset her by calling again too soon.”
Emeline smiled at me. “And that is a right and proper attitude to have, young one. Remember that while the gods gain power from those who follow them, and clerics and others can call upon their power, that they are not to be treated as you would your fellow mortals. Unless two gods are in conflict, then even if your tasks bring you to the point of killing their followers, it is unwise in the extreme to desecrate or destroy an altar to one of the gods. While killing followers and stealing relics or what might be found in a shrine is not looked on kindly, actually desecrating or destroying the altar, and breaking its connection to the god it was dedicated to, invites the ire of the gods. They often give divine quests to ensure that such people are… dealt with.”
“Which is not to say that such things don’t happen, of course. They most certainly do. But things like that are rare, and usually only happen when the altar is within the sphere of another god, who offers a measure of protection to their followers for the act, or when two gods themselves are at war. The elves following Corellon, for example, will gladly tear down any shrine they see to Gruumsh, and the orcs repay that in kind, whenever they have a chance. Only a fool would come upon a shrine to Malar the Beastlord and destroy it unless they had the backing of one of the gods, and invoked their power in the task.”
“This is why you will often see forgotten shrines and ruined temples in the land, if you go exploring. People know better than to destroy the places outright, but making them become forgotten, allowing the neglect of time to wear away their protections? That is easy enough. Hidden away and forgotten is not the same as destroyed. After all, what was hidden can be rediscovered, in time.”
I nodded slowly. “I believe I understand. If you merely strike down a temple’s defenders and steal from the temple, a god may be upset, but it is a sign of blatant disrespect to destroy their altars. On the other hand, a god whose followers have been exiled from a land may yet regrow their church if the altar remains, and is found. It sounds very… political, but I get the idea, at least.”
“Hah! The politics of mortals is nothing compared to that of the gods, and other powers in the world, my child. You’d be hard pressed to find any hive of mortals that contain more schemes, alliances, betrayals, plots, and plans than the pantheons and the planes have at their disposal. It is impossible to go through life as anything but a simple worker and not get caught up in the ‘politics’ of the gods. And you, my dear, are not destined for the life of a simple worker, living out their days doing the same thing day in and day out.”
That brought a wry smile to my face. “Yes, I figured as much during the ‘interview’ before my soul came to this world. I was not sure what would happen, but I knew that I would not be having an ordinary life. In truth, I am grateful to the tribe I was born in. They gave me a childhood I could be happy in. My last life was… not pleasant, at the end. Simply growing up and being a child again, with people who loved and cared for me, was therapeutic. I-I’ll admit to having the scars of that old life still, but it isn’t as bad as it used to be.”
Emeline nodded. “The gods may often be fickle and cruel, but they also can be kind. Some tend more to one than the other, but that is true of people, as well. It is good that you found a way to work through your pain. Some scars never fade, but we learn to cope.” She paused, and then looked at me. “But enough of such somber things. Would you like to join the ranks of Auril’s clergy, and see if we can find some path to power that is suitable for you, through her?”
That was the big question, wasn’t it? I took a breath, held it for a moment, my eyes closed. This felt like a tipping point, where my life would change, one way or another. The safe play would be to say no. But that would leave me weaker. I didn’t want to be weak, like I had been. And I was already sworn to help Auril. I could gain power. Enough power that no one would be able to hurt me again. I opened my eyes.
“Yes.”