Uhndar, the force of War
War, death, bloodshed; most men, elves and other sentient beings seem to recoil from these words. And yet, war (be it holy, for conquest or merely to defend one's homeland) is a reality in most lands of Raokrá, the names and ideas may change, but there are followers of the force of war in virtually every land and nation.
From the honourable and chivalrous warrior monks of Vrith to the cold and disciplined soldier priests of the thyranian army, and from the aloof elven "hands of Corellion" to the bloodthirsty "messengers of the sanguinary"; the conceptions of war and combat, its purpose and ideals change drastically from culture to culture, from sect to sect and even among individual priests.
As different as these groups may seem, all of them ultimately praise and commune with the same power; the mysterious Uhndar, the force of war, Kindramar's "child". Uhndar is very much like his "father", cold and indifferent to all conflicts, caring only about the conflicts themselves, unlike Kindramar, however, Uhndar grants power to any mortal who would seek it, be it for good or evil.
The powers and abilities presented here are merely a "template" of a priest of war, like it was mentioned before, concepts, ideas, holy symbols and even some powers may change from culture to culture. One of these sects (The messengers of the sanguinary), an evil and murdersome priesthood of war is presented below as an example.
As a sidenote, it is important to remember that Ascan's warrior monks and the Atheshian priests of war do not derive their powers from Uhndar.
The Priests of War
These are the usual powers of a priest of war, their powers may be the same but once again I remind you that purpose, paraphernalia and other concepts may (must is more like it) change from culture to culture.
Priests of war, it must be noted, are not meant to be used as mere shock troops and are better trained to be officials and strategists, even though it would be foolish to think that they are not ready to take an enemy head on (actually, most of them would enjoy this quite a bit).
Alignment: All alignments may be fitting for a priest of war, i.e. a Lawful Good priest may believe that combat is used only for defense, Lawful Neutral priests may blindly serve their kingdom, while Neutral Evil cults may see it as the perfect tool to further their goals.
Minimum Requirements: Strength 13 Wisdom 9
Holy symbol: Varies, most of them are representations of weapons, shields, etc.
Required proficiencies: Blind Fighting
Weapons and Armor allowed: Priests of War may use (of course) any armor and shields. Their choice of weapons is; any sword, any bow, polearms according to culture and beliefs, battle axe, mace, morning star.
Mayor access: All, Combat, War, Healing, and sometimes Law
Minor access: Necromantic, Protection.
Granted Powers: They must a weapon from the list that represents their culture, and they are allowed to specialize in it. Incite Berserker's Fury. Level 5: Inspire Fear.
The Messengers of the Sanguinary
600 years ago, an evil sect of knights and priests was born in the central islands in the small monarchy of Ustekdor, this sect was composed of maniacs and savages whose cruelty and skill has never been matched up to this day. This sect is known in the tales of bards as the Blood Knights or Doom Knights, and known to scholars and sages as the Order of Anthalis, the Knights of the Blood Sword.
It was their belief that law, morality and any other legal and ethical concept was the tool of the weak to keep the stronger breeds from ruling them. The survival of the fittest was their code and religion, combat the only way a being could surpass its limits and attain divinity. Their god was a being known as the sanguinary (a personification of Uhndar) who was believed to be the perfect warrior; immensely powerful, devoid of all concepts of law and morality, a cold murderer whose skill in combat was unparalleled.
Their devotion to battle was absolute, the higher ranking (rank was proportional to power and skill only) members of the order even dominated the healing and clerical powers of paladins, but twisted towards evil and battle.
The sect pillaged and dominated a large region of Ustekdor and nearby kingdoms for nearly a century, opposed only by a sect of monks and paladin-like warriors named the Redeemers, whose beliefs were the opposite of the Blood Knights. The struggles between the two orders are still legendary, and after decades of battle, the Redeemers dealt a crippling blow to the evil order by capturing their strongest of the Blood Knights (Actually the infamous Lawrence Du Lac, see his bio for further detail) and annihilating the inner circle of the sect. What remained was wiped out by Thyranian forces as the Redeemers peacefully disbanded; it looked like the world had seen the last of the Order of Anthalis.
But twenty years ago, knights bearing the symbol of the blood knights (a red sword with the pommel pointing upwards on a black field) were sighted in Ygadhar (a kingdom south of Ustekdor) and these sightings have increased at an alarming rate in the last years. While these new Blood Knights are only a shadow of what the real order was (lacking the skills and dark paladin powers of the old order), and are only common murderers and thieves so far, the danger is too great to be discarded.
In the original order, the clerics of the Sanguinary were respected as people who could commune with the Sanguinary but were only advisors unable to oppose the decisions of the high knights. In this new order, the clerics (renamed the messengers of the sanguinary) rule the entire group with an iron fist. And while many things have changed, their evil and cruelty remains the same.
Alignment: Any evil
Minimum Requirements: Strenght 15, Constitution 13, Wisdom 9
Holy symbol: A small representation of their infamous red sword, it has to be made of gold and covered in human blood.
Required proficiencies: Blind Fighting is recommended, but it is not required.
Weapons and Armor allowed: Any armor and shields. Their choice of weapons is; any sword, any polearms, battle axe, morning star. They MUST specialize in one of these weapons: bastard sword, two handed sword, long sword.
Mayor access: All, Combat, Healing (reversed only), War.
Minor access: Divination, Necromantic (reversed), Summoning.
Granted Powers: Lay on Hands (reversed, damages instead of healing), Incite Berserker's Fury.