Every deity is supposed to have a "high priest" ,a kind of pope that leads all the others. Who are they in the Forgotten Realms? Anyone knows what their levels are?
Theres Fzoul Chembryl for Bane/Xvim, and Cadderly for Deneir. Those are the only ones that come to mind. At least those are the "Chosen" of their gods that also are high level clerics. I guess you could be the pope without being the Chosen for other gods.
Oh and thats of the time of Baldurs Gate (2e/3e). Everyones dead in 4e so I have no idea about that.
Well technically. priests of Belial routinely take mind altering dugs a part of their daily rituals, so from a certain perspective, they'd be the highest priests in the realms.
Each temple is run by a high priest or priestess. Most seem to run Level 12/13 or 16/17. I think the "Pope of all Priests/Priestesses" is more of a 1e Druid thing.
Each temple is run by a high priest or priestess. Most seem to run Level 12/13 or 16/17. I think the "Pope of all Priests/Priestesses" is more of a 1e Druid thing.
I thought there was priest hierarchy, where the high priests answer to a single one.
Clerics don't really have an overall head honcho, since each god organizes their priesthood differently (Fzoul though is the closest thing to a Pope I've seen officially stated. But that only applies to the Church of Bane/Xvim.).
Druids on the other hand DO. The Grand Druid is head of of all druid sects, who are each headed by a great druid, with several Archdruids under each of them handling overall management and disputes between smaller druid cells. The Grand Druid retains his position once elected for life, he decides to retire, or is removed due to negligence.
In 2nd edition, a druid's level was tied to the hierarchy and druids couldn't go beyond level 13 unless being chosen as an archdruid (of which only a limited amount existed). 15 required being Great Druid, when only a handful could exist at once (4 normally, but the DM could make more depending on the size of the world). And 16 required being made Grand Druid of which only one could exist at a time.
A grand druid that chose to retire became a lvl 16 Hierophant Druid and could progress to level 20 and beyond, effectively being an Avatar of Nature and borderline physical god with a bunch of at will powers....something BG doesn't even hint at or touch on, since they use a blend of 2nd and 3rd edition rules for the druid.
There's always the 2000 year-old drow, Matron Mother Yvonnel Baenre of Menzoberranzan. The 2e Villains' Lorebook lists her as 25th level. I'd think she would definitely qualify as one of the most powerful (and magically protected) priests in the realms.
Comments
Oh and thats of the time of Baldurs Gate (2e/3e). Everyones dead in 4e so I have no idea about that.
(Oh wait a minute... He is one of the characters I made for my story... Does that not count?)
Druids on the other hand DO. The Grand Druid is head of of all druid sects, who are each headed by a great druid, with several Archdruids under each of them handling overall management and disputes between smaller druid cells. The Grand Druid retains his position once elected for life, he decides to retire, or is removed due to negligence.
In 2nd edition, a druid's level was tied to the hierarchy and druids couldn't go beyond level 13 unless being chosen as an archdruid (of which only a limited amount existed). 15 required being Great Druid, when only a handful could exist at once (4 normally, but the DM could make more depending on the size of the world). And 16 required being made Grand Druid of which only one could exist at a time.
A grand druid that chose to retire became a lvl 16 Hierophant Druid and could progress to level 20 and beyond, effectively being an Avatar of Nature and borderline physical god with a bunch of at will powers....something BG doesn't even hint at or touch on, since they use a blend of 2nd and 3rd edition rules for the druid.
*Hint Hint*