Cliaraí Character Class

Cliaraí – “CLEER-ee”.  The class name, or more than one individual.
Cliaraithe – “CLEE-uh-ree-ah”.  A single individual member of this class.

Telamor is the god of artistry in Audalis; his followers are artisans of every sort.  Since art is such a personal expression of creativity, followers of Telamor do not raise churches or build temples in the way that worshippers of other deities do.  Instead, his chosen worship through paint, sculpture, prose, poetry, and song. 

While Telamor does not have a large priesthood, there are those who devote their lives to channeling his creativity into the world.  Many such souls are simply viewed as great artisans, but a small number are blessed with The Artistic One’s divine miracles, and they travel the world to share his inspiration with the world.  These are the cliaraí.

Cliaraí are often mistaken for bards; indeed, both their manner of dress and their habit of wandering from place to place while singing and playing music tend to fuel such misunderstandings.  Make no mistake, however – cliaraí are nothing less than divine servants of their god, though their service does take unusual form.  To qualify as a cliaraí, a character must have at least a 12 in Wisdom, a 12 in Dexterity, and a 12 in Charisma.  Cliaraí may be of any alignment, but they must worship Telamor, the god of artistry. 

Cliaraí use the priest hit dice table (D8).  They may only wear light armor – leather, studded leather, hide, or padded armor – and may not carry shields.  Likewise, their weapons tend to be light and simple – they choose from club, dagger, dart, whip, short bow, hand crossbow, light crossbow, sling, rapier, short sword, or staff.  Cliaraí gain proficiencies and calculate THAC0 as a priest.

Cliaraí do not partake in vows of poverty, per se, but they likewise do not accumulate wealth unless it is for the purpose of executing some grand artistic vision.  It would be appropriate for a cliaraithe to save up for some masterwork instrument, to obtain the materials needed for some great statue or mural, etc.  It would not, however, be permitted for a cliaraithe to horde money simply for the sake of wealth or status.

Cliaraí Powers

As with all clerics, cliaraí must pray daily for their spells.  However, Telamor leaves the timing of this to the individual artist’s creative drive; there is no set time of day for devotions.  Cliaraí use the priest spell progression table to determine the number of spells per day available to them.  In addition to their spell contingent, cliaraí have access to the following powers.
 

Artistry
Cliaraí receive a +2 to any sort of check involving artistic skills or impression.  All cliaraí get a free bonus proficiency related to any art of their choice at character creation.

Performance
Unless otherwise stated in a song (spell) description or other agreement with the DM, all cliaraí songs rely on musical performance with an instrument the caster is proficient with.  The cliaraithe must not be silenced or otherwise prevented from playing music and singing, or the song will be impossible to execute.  Some songs may further require the somatic elements of toe tapping, dance, etc.  However, the majority of songs possess no material component aside from the caster’s instrument. 

Typically, the caster will make a performance check to determine the success of the song.  The DM may elect to vary the outcome of a given song based on the result of the performance check above and beyond a success/failure.  I.e. the song causes extra healing for a perfect check, the song angers the villagers instead of charming them on a very bad check, etc.

The DM should set the difficulty level of various songs.  A brand new song would almost certainly be tougher to play than a song that had been performed many times, a higher level song would be more challenging than a level one song, etc.

Cheer
Range: n/a
AoE: 20 yard radius around the caster + 5 yards per spell level
Casting time: 1 round
Duration: 5 rounds + 1 round per spell level (i.e. 1 round at level 1, 2 rounds at level 3, etc).

This song causes a boost in morale to friendly targets in the area.  Recipients gain +1 to morale, saving throws, and attack rolls.   The caster may employe the opposite effect using Depress, but friendly targets in range must save vs. spell (with a bonus equal to the caster’s Charisma modifier) to avoid effects.  Impacted creatures suffer a -1 to morale, saving throws, and attacks.

The cliaraithe may maintain this song for up to five rounds.  The effect persists for one round per caster level beyond the end of the song.

This power may be used once per day, plus once per spell level of the caster (i.e. once at level 1, twice at level 3, etc).

Harmonize
Range: n/a
AoE: 20 yard radius around the primary caster
Casting time: 1 round

If two or more cliaraí are gathered together, they may combine forces as per the clerical spell Combine.  In essence, one or more cliaraithe assumes the role of backup accompaniment, while one selected caster takes center stage.  As long as the backups continue to play, the selected caster gains one spell level of power, up to a maximum of five levels.  This impacts all checks that rely on spell levels, such as enthralling undead, and all spells that similarly rely on spell levels (such as those that impart damage per spell level, have greater duration per spell level, etc).  Additional cliaraí may join in once the effect has started; they need not all begin at the same time.

This power does not grant access to spells that the selected caster does not normally have the ability to cast.

The effect remains in place for as long as the backups continue to play; the selected caster may cast multiple spells with this effect.  As per Combine, the backups must maintain concentration.  However, loss of a single backup only removes their contributed level – it does not end the effect for the remainder of the performers.  Dexterity and shield bonuses to AC are lost while so concentrating. 

This power may be used once per day.

Enthrall Undead
Range: special
EoA: special

Telamor’s powers lie in the realms of creativity, beauty, and expression.  As such, his servants lack the same sorts of powers over undead that many clerics enjoy.  That said, cliaraí are far from powerless against these abominations.

When faced with undead, a cliaraithe may play a special tune which enthralls the creatures, binding them with divine magic.  Unlike traditional turning attempts, impacted undead do not flee the area, nor are they destroyed by higher level cliaraí.  Instead, the music binds them in place, where they stand, stupefied, losing all track of the caster and his allies as the music provides them a glimpse into their past life – and what might have been.  This effect lasts for one turn, plus one round per caster level.  While it may be possible to gently reposition impacted creatures, any attack or violent action breaks the enthrallment immediately.

Use the Turn Undead table from the PHB to determine success, though mindless undead require a roll 2 points higher for success (i.e. a level 1 caster must roll a 12 to enthrall a skeleton, a level 2 caster must roll a 15 to enthrall a ghoul, etc).  Intelligent undead are enthralled at the same rate that normal priests turn undead.  Undead that fall between these extremes – such as spirits that can communicate but lack true intelligence – may be subject to a 1-2 point penalty, at the DM’s discretion. 

Undead that would be destroyed by a typical priest (marked “D” on the table) are instead knocked prone and senseless by this effect, which lasts for twice the duration of a normal enthrall.

This power may be used once per encounter.  Undead who have been subject to an enthrall attempt by the caster – whether or not they were impacted – cannot be targeted again for a full day.

Improvisation
Range: n/a
EoA: the caster

Creativity is at the very heart of a cliaraithe’s existence.  Telamor is not one to restrict his children to the same old songs, oh no!

A cliaraithe may attempt to create a new divine song (spell) at any time.  Before doing so, the player must explain clearly to the DM what the intended outcome of the spell is.  The DM will then assign a difficulty level to the spell, and inform the player what level the spell would be at. 

A song that closely mimics an existing song in terms of desired outcome would see a minimal difficulty penalty applied (typically, a -2).  A completely new song, or one that seeks power beyond what the caster currently has, will see a larger difficulty penalty - or the DM may rule that it is entirely out of the caster’s range of abilities.

Repeat successful performances of an improvised song will see the difficulty reduced, then eventually removed as the song becomes part of the cliaraithe’s repertoire.   The DM should keep track of any improvised songs and the character’s record of success with them, so as to give consistent difficulty levels for future checks.

Cliaraí Spells

First Level Spells

Charm (per wizard spell Charm Person, also works on a single animal)
Create Water
Cure Light Wounds
Detect Magic
Endure Cold/Heat
Enspell Audience (works on a group of non-hostile listeners, makes them friendly to the caster)
Light/Darkness
Minor Illusion (per wizard spell Phantasmal Force)
Pass Without Trace
Protection From Evil
Remove/Cause Fear
Sleep (per wizard spell Sleep)

Second Level Spells

Aid
Chant
Enthrall
Goodberry
Heat Metal
Hold Person
Improved Charm (works on more creatures, is harder to resist)
Improved Illusion (per wizard spell Improved Phantasmal Force)
Messenger
Obscurement
Produce Flame
Resist Fire/Cold
Slow Poison
Snake Charm
Warp Wood


Check this space for updates with higher level spell lists, or your DM may choose spells that fit the theme of the class.