Faerûnian Prestige Class : Hierophant
A divine spellcaster who rises high in the service of his deity gains access to spells and abilities of which lesser faithful can only dream. The hierophant prestige class is open to powerful divine spellcasters who are approaching access to the strongest and most difficult divine spells. They delay the acquisition of these greatest gifts in exchange for a deeper understanding of and ability to control the power they channel.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Hierophant, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Knowledge (religion) 15 ranks.
- Feats: Any metamagic feat.
- Spellcasting: Able to cast 7th-level divine spells.
Class Skills
The hierophant's class skills are Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Profession, and Spellcraft.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the hierophant prestige class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Hierophants gain no proficiency in any weapon or armor.
Spells and Caster Level: Levels in the hierophant prestige class, even though they do not advance spell progression in the character's base class, still stack with the character's base spellcasting levels to determine caster level.
Special Ability: Every level, a hierophant gains a special ability of his choice from among the following:
- Blast Infidel. The hierophant can use negative energy spells to their maximum effect on creatures with a different patron from the hierophant. Any spell with a description that involves inflicting or channeling negative energy (inflict spells, circle of doom, harm) cast on such creatures works as if under the effect of a Maximize Spell feat (without using a higher-level spell slot). Undead affected by this ability heal the appropriate amount of damage, regardless of their patron (if any).
- Divine Reach. The hierophant can use touch spells on targets up to 30 feet away. If the spell requires a melee touch attack, the hierophant must make a ranged touch attack instead. If selected a second time as a special ability, the range increases to 60 feet.
- Faith Healing. The hierophant can use healing spells to their maximum effect on creatures with the same patron as the hierophant (including the hierophant himself). Any spell with the healing descriptor cast on such creatures works as if under the effects of a Maximize Spell feat (without using a higher-level spell slot). Any creature that falsely claims to be a follower of the hierophant's patron in hopes of gaining extra benefit instead receives none of the effects of the spell and must make a Will save (against the spell's DC) or be stunned for 1 round.
- Gift of the Divine: The hierophant may transfer one or more uses of his turning ability to a willing creature. (Hierophants who rebuke undead transfer uses of rebuke undead instead.) The transfer lasts anywhere from 24 hours to a tenday (chosen at the time of transfer), and while the transfer is in effect, the number of turning attempts per day allowed to the hierophant is reduced by the number transferred. The recipient turns undead as a cleric of the hierophant's cleric level but uses her own Charisma bonus.
- Mastery of Energy: The hierophant channels positive or negative energy much more effectively, increasing his ability to affect undead. Add a +4 bonus to the hierophant's turning checks and turning damage.
- Metamagic Feat. The hierophant can choose a metamagic feat.
- Power of Nature. Available only to hierophants with druid levels, this ability allows the hierophant to temporarily transfer one or more of his special druidic powers to a willing creature. The transfer lasts anywhere from 24 hours to a tenday (chosen at the time of transfer), and while the transfer is in effect, the hierophant cannot use the transferred power. He can transfer any of his druidic special abilities except spellcasting and animal companions.
The wild shape ability can be partially or completely transferred. For example, he may transfer the ability to wild shape once per day to the recipient and retain the rest of his uses for himself. If the hierophant can assume the form, of Tiny, Huge, or dire animals, the recipient can as well.
As with the imbue with spell ability spell, the hierophant remains responsible to his deity for any purpose the recipient uses the transferred abilities. - Spell Power +2 This ability increases by +2 the DC for saving throws against the hierophant's divine spells and for caster level checks for his divine spells to overcome spell resistance. This ability can be selected multiple times, and stacks with itself and other spell power effects that affect divine spells.
- Spell-Like Ability. The hierophant can use one of his divine spell slots to permanently replace one of his divine spells as a spell-like ability that can be used two times per day. The hierophant does not use any components when casting the spell, although a spell that costs experience points to cast still does so, and a spell with a costly material component instead costs him 10 times that amount in experience points.
The spell normally uses a spell slot of the spell's level (or higher if the hierophant chooses to permanently attach a metamagic feat to the spell chosen). The hierophant can use an available higher-level spell slot to use the spell-like ability more than once per day. Allocating a slot three levels higher allows him to cast the spell four times per day, and a slot six levels higher lets him cast it six times per day.
For example, Lonafin the hierophant is a follower of Velsharoon and wants to be able to create undead whenever he has the opportunity, so he permanently uses a 9th-level spell slot to get animate dead as a spell-like ability usable six times per day.
If selected more than one time as a special ability, this ability can apply to the same spell or to a different spell.
| Hierophant | Hit Dice: d8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Special Ability |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Special Ability |
| 3rd | +1 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Special Ability |
| 4th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Special Ability |
| 5th | +2 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Special Ability |
Source: Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting