Priest (class)
The Priest (Japanese そうりょ souryo, lit. "priest") is one of the character classes available to players in the Wizardry series of games. The Priest is one of the first two magic-using classes, capable of using restorative and protective magic, and also capable of being a decent combatant. The Priest is the equivalent in Wizardry of a common fantasy archetype in several role-playing games, the Priest or Cleric.
Class Description
The Priest is one of the basic character classes available to players upon character creation. As one of the first magic classes available to the player, the Priest holds considerable importance to the group; it is one of the first classes that should be considered part of any group given the importance of its job. The Priest is capable of wearing better protective wear and use better weapons than the Mage class; this includes the use of maces and flails, some leather armor, and at times shields. This provides the Priest with considerable protection against attacks if the character has to enter the battlefield in the front row.
However, the Priest's main ability is that of learning and using magic spells. The Priest learns a wide variety of spells to restore the Hit Points of allies, raising their Armor Class against enemy attacks (and later on, improve the chances of landing a hit), and later on the ability to even resurrect fallen allies. However, this doesn't mean the Priest is devoid of attack spells; the Priest learns a few battle spells that can cause great damage to the enemy group. Finally, it learns spells that improve the relationship with NPCs (Katu/Charm), spells to identify traps (Calfo/Detect Trap) and prevent the use of spells by enemy units (Montino/Silence) amongst similar-themed spells, making the Priest a complete spellcaster.
Another ability that Priests often have in the games is the use of Dispell, an ability to destroy Undead beings automatically. The "dispelled" Undead provide the party with no Experience Points, hence the ability is better used for dangerous Undead or Undead monsters of lesser degree, whose Experience Point prize becomes redundant.
Llygamyn Saga
In the group of games that compose the Llylgamyn saga (Wizardry I to V, excluding Wizardry IV), the Priest is one of the easiest classes to access at character creation, with its minimum requirements. All Priests learn to use at least the two basic Priest spells (Dios and Badios) and are capable of Dispelling undead since the first class. As the character gains levels, it learns spells of higher level (essentially, a Priest learns spells from a higher spell level each two Priest levels), and acquires bonus spell points for spells of lesser spell level.
To become a Priest, the character must achieve the minimum stat requirements:
- PIE 11
- Good or Evil alignment
Because of their high Piety, Dwarves and Gnomes are well-built to become Priests. Dwarves are better for physically-adept Priests, while Gnomes are better equipped to be back-row because of their higher Agility stat. Elves are also well-built for assuming the Priest role, but their equally high I.Q. stat. Ironically, despite being a balanced race, Humans are the worst race to turn into a Priest, since they possess the lowest Piety rate between all classes.
Dark Savant Saga
In the group of games that compose the Dark Savant Saga (Wizardry VI thru VIII), the Priest gains a decent amount of Weaponry skills, including Maces & Flails, Wands & Daggers, Spears and Poles, Slings and Shields. Priests are capable of equipping some decent armor beyond the robes available to all magic-using classes, as well. Priests, being the class that focuses on the use of Theology (later called Divinity), gain the highest growth rate for the skill; a Priest can reach the highest level in Theology with little effort, by simply using spells over and over again. The effectivity of the spells is provided by the use of Oratory, so even with the heightened growth in Theology, spells still may fizzle every now and then.
Wizardry 8 reclaims the waived ability to dispell undead from the earlier games, but aside from a new prayer ability, the class remains similar to the earlier versions.
To become a Priest, the character must achieve the minimum stat requirements (VI & VII/VIII):
- PIE (Piety) 12/60
- VIT (Vitality) -/50
Because of their stats, Gnomes are overqualified for the Priest class, having no trouble becoming one. Dwarves are also recommended because they possess better stats in other areas, which only requires a modest contribution to become one. Rawulf are also an excellent choice, since they also become Priests with no effort; their stats make them less-effective warriors than other races. Faeries are suited for most magic-based classes, but they require a higher effort to become Priests; their unique racial kit grants them higher Armor Class, and most of the weapons that have the Extended property are usable by Priests.
Duhan Saga (Tales of the Forsaken Land/Wizardry Alternative)
In Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land (also known as Busin: Wizardry Alternative in Japan) and their sequels, the Priest remains similar to earlier incarnations of the class. Priests are capable of learning all spells of its class, which retain their aspects of healing and supporting magic, with some limited wounding attacks. Closer to the Dark Savant Saga games, the spells now have levels of their own, increased by means of the use of Magic Stones, the same items required to learn the spells. Priests also reclaim their ability to Dispell Undead, but this time the Undead enemies can be also destroyed, which provides Experience Points.
Unlike the other games, a Priest can be of Neutral alignment.
Template:Wizardry Classes