Homebrew Hierophants Species Details

Are we belonging to those above or to the mortal realm here? Who do we answer to and who should we serve? What is this heavy title ladened upon me with only seconds of care when it is something I shall bare for centuries? Modern society has no place for us Hierophants. Be gone! 

- Asai Kochi,  The Last Hierophant of Kudouhi

 

Amidst the dampened treeline separating the mighty jewel of Torden and Agauveil, a stout, wayward goat--far from its herd and civilisation--munches obliviously on frosted grass, below the deep blanket of snow. Its head snaps up, beady eyes flitting around, as it hears the crunch of ice. The air is still, then a gust, unlike anything nature has ever seen, swallowed the frail animal. Entrapped in an air-tight bubble, the goat's eyes bulge, it writhes and writhes until suddenly... it falls. THUD! Into the snow, the gust disappears and returns as a woman, dressed in exclusive leather, eyes dry as she takes in her prey. Yes, this will make a fine dinner, indeed. 

Divine Descendants

When Caelus, the Creator, exploded to protect this world, their body became shrapnels of divine power which turned anything it touched into a physical manifestation of that power. This process is termed Hierophany. Those who were born of Caelic fragments are termed the First Gods. The largest fragments of Caelus, of which there were eight; Caelus' heart, right hand, left hand, right leg, left leg, mouth, right eye, and left eye. These manifested into the Greater Gods. With them, they have an abundance of power. 

The Greater Gods would often enter relationships together and birth offsprings which may inherit their power. These are the Lesser Gods.

Lastly, descendants of Lesser Gods are Hierophants who are essentially humans with a fraction of the power of a god. Hierophants would often take positions as High Priests in temples and Political Powers. 

Divine Form

 

Hierophants, unlike the Diviners, have physical traits which differentiates them from the humans. Aside from their longer lifespan and relatively strong constitutions, they are stockier and taller than most, towering the average population at around 7 ft long once they reach adulthood (around their early hundreds). Further, their deeper connection to the divine allows them to mould their physical form into their inherited elements. This is a relatively painful process for them as, for example, a Hierophant of Fire descent would have to burn away their mortal skin every transformation. For this reason, most Hierophants shy away from their Divine Form, preferring rather to stay in their "human" state, lest they are rogue. 

Upbringing... Haha, get it? Cause they go up towards--

Hierophants are direct relatives to Gods and Goddesses. The many children of the Lesser God of Plasma have had a full childhood with their father learning their elemental powers to fully melt one with Plasma itself. However, this is not the case for most modern Hierophants (despite the rarity of one) as Gods and Goddesses would often have to abandon their kin as most Hierophants are borne of one mortal parent and one deity. Back then, Hierophants were solely children of two Lesser Gods, but as the numbers of deities come swindling down, some Gods would resort to adultery and the courting of multiple partners to ensure a viable heir. This child would be entrusted to the care of the mortal family and raised to the highest standards, much like a prince of a lowly country would experience. The family would have to educate them on Celestial dialects, politics, principles, and then those of the human realm. Failure to comply would result in the "killing" of the Hierophant by their Godly parent, as it is seen as a "failure" if one of their heirs turned out weak. For this reason, many Hierophants are natural borne leaders such as Kings and High Priests.  

Hierophant Names, Ethnicities, Elements

Having so much more variety than other cultures, Hierophants as a whole have no typical names. It's largely dependent on where the Diviner is born as each region have their own naming conventions. Moreover, Hierophants and their elemental powers are almost "landlocked", meaning that they naturally inherit the elemental of the residing Gods and Goddesses of their land. However, you may come across several travelling Diviners whose elements are foreign to your region. 

Torden

Tordens are of tall build than the other Hierophants. 

Tordens Names: (Male examples) Robin, Jack, Ainsel, Lucas, Deryck, Winston, Sawin, Arthur, Aednoth, Edgard, Edward, Martin, Rendel; (surnames example) Briar, Hylton, Blackmoor, Ewer, Smith, Never

Torden elements: Electricity, Plasma, Sand, Air, Ice, Sound, Water

Hierophant Tables: Abilities

Level	Cantrips known	Spells known	Spell slots	Spell level
1	2	2	2	1st
2	2	3	2	1st
3	2	4	2	2nd
4	2	5	2	2nd
5	3	6	2	3rd
6	3	7	3	3rd
7	3	8	3	4th
8	3	8	3	4th
9	4	9	3	4th
10	4	9	3	5th
11	4	10	3	5th
12	4	10	4	5th
13	4	11	4	5th
14	4	11	4	5th
15	4	12	4	5th

 

Hierophant Tables: Elements

Please use the following table to guide your spell and cantrip selection responding to your level and elements. 

Air Hierophant

Air spells
Cantrips	Gust
	Mage Hand
	Poison spray
	Resistance
1st level	Expeditious retreat
	Fog cloud
	Catapult
2nd level	Warding Wind
	Gust of Wind
	Levitate
	Rope Trick
3rd level	Beacon of Hope
	Elemental Weapon
	Gaseous Form
4th level	Aura of Life
	Resilient Sphere
	Storm Sphere
5th level	Freedom of the winds
	Conjure elemental
	Control winds

Water Hierophant

Cantrips	Acid splash
	Shape water
	Guidance
	Resistance
1st level	Chromatic Orb
	Absorb elements
	Create/destroy water
2nd level	Prayer of Healing
	Blur
	Lesser Restoration
	Magic Weapon
3rd level	Aura of Vitality
	Elemental Weapon
	Freedom of the Waves
4th level	Control Water
	Summon Elemental
	Watery Sphere
5th level	Cloudkill
	Conjure elemental
	Maelstorm

 

Electric Hierophant

Electricity spells
Cantrips	Lightning Lure
	Acid splash
	Shocking grasp
	Thunderclap
1st level	Chromatic Orb
	Guiding bolt
	Color Spray
2nd level	Branding smite
	Scorching Ray
	Magic Weapon
	Phantasmal Force
3rd level	Blinding Smite
	Call Lightning
	Elemental Weapon
4th level	Elemental Bane
	Storm Sphere
	Summon Elemental
5th level	Banishing Smite
	Conjure elemental
	Flame strike

 

Plasma Hierophant

Plasma spells
Cantrips	Green-flame blade
	True strike
	Sacred flame
	Eldritch blast
1st level	Chromatic Orb
	Absorb elements
	Faerie fire
2nd level	Heat Metal
	Ray of Enfeeblement
	Spiritual Weapon
	Melf's Acid Arrow
3rd level	Fireball
	Lightning Arrow
	Elemental Weapon
4th level	Blight
	Elemental Bane
	Faithful hound
5th level	Banishing Smite
	Conjure elemental
	Flame strike

 

Ice Hierophant

Ice spells
Cantrips	Ray of frost
	Prestidigitation
	Chill touch
	Frostbite
1st level	Chromatic Orb
	Ice knife
	Armor of Agathys
2nd level	Misty Step
	Phantasmal Force
	Snilloc's Snowball Swarm
	Spiritual Weapon
3rd level	Conjure barrage
	Elemental Weapon
	Leomund's Tiny Hut
4th level	Elemental Bane
	Ice Storm
	Private Sanctum
5th level	Cone of Cold
	Conjure elemental
	Wall of force

 

Sound Hierophant

Sound spells
Cantrips	Mind sliver
	Minor illusion
	Thunderclap
	Booming blade
1st level	Command
	Comprehend language
	Dissonant Whispers
2nd level	Blindness/Deafness
	Phantasmal Force
	Shatter
	Silence
3rd level	Blink
	Clairvoyance
	Elemental Weapon
4th level	Private Sanctum
	Resilient Sphere
	Hallucinatory Terrain
5th level	Banishing Smite
	Conjure elemental
	Mislead

 

Sand Hierophant

Sand spells
Cantrips	Resistance
	Sword burst
	Mold Earth
	Magic stone
1st level	Earth tremor
	Floating disk
	Disguise Self
2nd level	Dust Devil
	Find Steed
	Gift of Gab
	Maximillian's Earthen Grasp
3rd level	Conjure Barrage
	Elemental Weapon
	Erupting Earth
4th level	Hallucinatory Terrain
	Resilient Sphere
	Summon Construct
5th level	Arcane hand
	Conjure elemental
	Destructive wave

 

Hierophants Traits

It’s hard to make generalizations about Hierophants. That's it. That's the introduction.

Damage Resistance

You have resistance to damage associated with your element. If hit, you take half damage.

Cantrip

At level 0, you can cast the following cantrip based on your element. Charisma is your spell casting ability for it. 

Element	Cantrip
Electricity	Thunderclap
Plasma	Acid Splash
Water	Shape Water
Air	Gust
Sound	Mind Sliver
Ice	Frostbite
Sand	Mold Earth

Divine Defeat

You have a +7 advantage on Charisma checks against Diviners whose elements are weakened by yours.

You have a -7 disadvantage on Charisma checks against Diviners whose elements weakens yours. 

Here are the elements of Torden based on the regional Gods and Goddesses which protected the nation and gave birth to descendants which inherited their powers. 

Element	Strong Against	Weak Against
Electricity	·       Water ·       Sound	·       Plasma ·       Air ·       Sand ·       Ice
Plasma	·       Water ·       Air	·      Sand ·      Ice
Sand	·       Electricity ·       Ice	·       Water ·       Air ·       Sound
Air	·       Electricity ·       Sand ·       Sound	·       Plasma ·       Water
Ice	·       Water ·       Electricity ·       Plasma	·       Sound ·       Sand
Sound	·      Sand ·      Ice	·       Air ·       Electricity
Water	·       Sand ·       Air	·       Electricity ·       Ice ·       Plasma

 

Divine Form

You can transform into your Divine Form, taking on the physical aspects of your element.

This lasts for a MINIMUM of four hours and a MAXIMUM of one day (20 hours).  

Transforming into the Divine Form costs 50% of your Maximum Health Points. 

You gain +4 to any skill of your choosing until you return to your human form. 

You gain a +2 to your armour class until you return to your human form. 

You gain an increase of +10ft in Speed to 40ft.

You can use your bonus action to disengage.

You gain 5+ advantage on top on Charisma checks on top of your Divine Defeat modifier. 

At 1st level, you gain an additional 1d8 to your damage roll. At 4th level, 2d8. At 10th level, you gain 3d8. 12th level, you gain 4d8. At 13th level you gain 5d8. At 14th level, you gain 6d8.

Returning to your human form will take 25% of your Maximum Health Points.  

Ability Score Increase

Your Charisma (used for element-related spell casting) ability is increased by 2.

Age

Hierophants reach adulthood in their late teens, much like humans, and live around two centuries as they slow ageing after their late thirties and resume around their early one-hundreds. 

Size

Diviners, like humans, vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Diviners typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects such as Celestial.