Ur-priests were evil spellcasters of divine magic who despised deities and believed that they obtained their power by stealing it from them.[1][2]
Culture[]
Deities treated ur-priests as free agents, a sort of wild card whose results they could benefit from. However, if a deity found that an ur-priest was no longer benefiting them they would stop the flow of spells to them. In ancient times the deities Gargauth, Leira, and Talos engaged in this practice. In the Present Age, both Gargauth and Talos continued to use ur-priests, though they supported only a few isolated individuals and limited what spells they could gain.[3]
Ur-priests frequently worked alone, although ocassionaly found partnerships to be useful. They did not congregate together in temples, as they feared it might draw unwanted attention from the divine.[1][2]
Clerics and other true divine spellcasters viewed ur-priests as abominations and ur-priests viewed them as lackeys, thus the two groups rarely associated with each other.[1][2] If priests ever fought an ur-priest who was being granted spells by the same deity, the god would deprive the latter of their power, leading to a public vanquishment that would enhance the deity's reputation among the public.[3]
Abilities[]
Rather than praying each day for their spells, ur-priests went into a trance and committed what they assumed to be cunningly siphoning off an unnoticeable degree of divine power from a deity. They could become quite powerful, though they never had as diverse an array of spells as a true cleric. They also had some degree of resistance against divine spells.[1][2]
The most powerful of ur-priests were said to be capable of stealing the spell-like abilities of other creatures, like stealing a pit fiend's teleport without error.[1][2]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Monte Cook (October 2002). Book of Vile Darkness. Edited by David Noonan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 David Noonan (May 2004). Complete Divine. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 70–71. ISBN 0-7869-3272-4.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ed Greenwood, The Hooded One (2006-05-14). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006). Candlekeep Forum. Retrieved on 2022-05-08.