Fighter Titles for Averoigne Part 5

This last installment of this series is for those who do not hear the high calling implied by the other organizations that fighters can be a part of.

Mercenary Guild

Averoigne is sparsely populated and the ability of a noble to raise a decent sized army or maintain any kind of standing army is nigh-impossible. Mercenaries are a necessity for the protection of realm. The Mercenary Guild is officially recognized as an attempt to bring order to the process of hiring mercenaries and making sure that not only are the contracts fair, but that they are not broken. Unless a mercenary has earned the right to break a contract with good cause, all contracts must be carried out to the full before a mercenary may seek other work; however, all members are protected by the guild and if abuse is reported a noble loses the right to negotiate with guild members.

All mercenaries wear the symbol of a chain. This chain comes in two forms: broken and unbroken. The first is an indication that the mercenary is not currently under contract. The latter indicates that they are.

4. Bond Sword — A Bond Sword has the right to enter into a contract at the guild’s minimum wage. As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a black chain.

5. Oath Sword — An Oath Sword has the right to enter into a contract and may negotiate the wage. As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a silver chain.

6. Free Sword — A Free Sword has the right to break a contract for good cause (as is determined by the guild). As a sign of their status, they may wear the symbol of a gold chain.

7. Mercenary Sergeant — A Mercenary Sergeant chooses an animal as their personal symbol and has the right to wear a heraldic head of the animal. In addition, the Mercenary Sergeant has the right to represent a small group of men (5-10) who are non-guild members to enter into a contract at minimum wage. They must wear the Mercenary Sergeant’s symbol as a sign of that contract.

8. Mercenary Captain — A Mercenary Captain has the right to wear their heraldic animal passant (“striding" to the viewer’s left). In addition, the Mercenary Captain has the right to represent a large group of men (10-50) who are non-guild members to enter into a contract at minimum wage. They must wear the Mercenary Captain’s symbol as a sign of that contract.

9. Mercenary Commander — A Mercenary Commander attracts a group of mercenary followers and has the right to found a Mercenary Company which bears his personal symbol. He has the right to negotiate the price of contracting the company and may also break this contract under good cause (determined by the guild). Their personal symbol is normally worn rampant (rearing up).

For those interested, here is an example of what the heraldry of a mercenary might look like:

Like the Adventurer's Guild, these Level Titles are not exclusively for fighters; however (besides assassins) the majority of member are fighters.

Heraldry for the Fighters of Averoigne

When writing the Level Titles for the Black Swords, I was forced to use language to detail their heraldry that is both difficult to describe and most likely unfamiliar to those who do not have heraldry as one of their hobbies. I had also used some of that language in other entries of the series, but was unsatisfied by my descriptions. Thus, rather then rely on the written word, I quickly drew up the various heraldic symbols of all the various Level Titles that I have described over the last several posts. Enjoy:

Fighter Titles for Averoigne Part 4

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

Black Swords

The Black Swords are the military arm of the Black Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne. The Black Monks are curiously more politically active than the White Monks, but less politically powerful. After the fall of Rome, it was the Church that symbolized Civilization and protected the people. Since the Black Monks often have monasteries in or near urban areas, it was these monasteries that became centers for the survival of civilization. To this day, most villages and towns see the local abbot as the unofficial town leader and the Black Swords as unofficial militia and protectors. In contrast with the White Monks and Swords, however, the Black Monks and Swords largely operate independently of the Archbishop. While they have his blessing to run their monasteries, their origin and main influence is in the Eastern Empire. Thus, the White Monks are more politically powerful.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and takes on the name of a patron saint. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a black cross on a gold field. They are always welcome at their home monastery where they they do not pay for room or board.

5. Sergeant — Having developed a closer relationship with their patron saint, a Sergeant carries with them an icon of the Saint. While carrying this icon, the Sergeant has a floating +1 bonus that they may apply to any one die roll during a session. This bonus must be declared before the die roll. As a sign of their office, they may wear a gold cross on a black field.

6. Knight — Knights are automatically granted refuge at any Black Monk monastery, but are expected to pay their own way after three days. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue party per bend field.

7. Turcopolier — As long as they are carrying an icon of their patron saint, Trucopoliers have a floating bonus of +2 which they may split up into two +1 bonuses or use all at once. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue per saltire field.

8. Seneschal — Seneschals are automatically granted refuge at any Black Monk monastery without charge. As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue gyrony of eight field.

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. As long as they are carrying an icon of their patron saint, Grand Commaders have a floating bonus of +3 which they split up as they choose over the course of a session. As a badge of their office, As a sign of their office, they are allowed to wear a gold cross on a black and blue gyrony of twelve field.

Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 3

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

Green Swords

The Green Swords are the military arm of the Green Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne; however, since the Green Monks are an eremitic order the Green Swords are a lot less of formalized military force than either the White or Black Swords. Rather, they are a loosely organized, but very close group of wandering warriors who seek to right wrongs wherever they find them. Only in times of great crisis do they actually gather to form an actual military unit. This has only happened once in the living memory of most people in Avroigne. Though Green Swords take a vow of silence like any other Green Monk, due to their military role, their vow can be broken for the purposes of preparing for and fighting in a battle. There are some (especially those who actively seek out to right wrongs) who have permission to speak (briefly) when investigating such cases.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and is allowed to wear a green Cross on a white field as a sign of their office. When fighting unarmed in combat, the Squire is considered to be armed with a Penetrating Weapon (1d6 at a +1 to hit).

5. Sergeant — Sergeants have greater access to the healing elixirs of the Green Monks than the average adventurer.* They may divide their white field with a green party per chevron (a diamond shape at the bottom of a shield) as a sign of their office.

6. Knight — Knights are allowed to wear a white cross on a green field as a sign of their office. In unarmed combat they may also attack as if wielding a Small Weapon (2 attacks per round for 1d4 damage).

7. Turcopolier — Trucopoliers have regular access to healing elixirs at a slight discount. As a sign of their office, they may wear the symbol of a holly leaf.

8. Seneschal — When unarmed, Seneschals may fight as if armed with a Heavy Weapon (1d10 damage, but automatically lose initiative). As a badge of their office, they may wear an estoile (a star with wavy points).

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. They also may request elixirs at any time for a discounted price. As a badge of their office, they may wear the symbol of a sun.

*The famous green elixirs of the Green Monks are a rare commodity that are not normally available to the average adventurer. Green Swords, due to their vocation, are given priority over all other potential customers. Even so, the Green Swords are expected to pay (give a generous donation) for this access.

Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 2

I continue with my series of posts on Level Titles for fighters in my version of Averoigne. Please note that the Level Titles of the first three levels are generic for all fighters and include (in order): Veteran, Man-at-Arms and Swordsman.

White Swords

The White Swords are the military arm of the White Monks, one of three main monastic orders in Averoigne. They are independent of any government or noble and are answerable only to the Archbishop. The order is led by a Grand Commander assigned for life by the Archbishop and is granted the title Grand Master.

4. Squire — A Squire is tonsured as a monk and is allowed to wear a white Cross on a black field as a sign of their office. They have free access to the horses of the White Monks (as long as they are well cared for and eventually returned). Squires may request a Light Warhorse.

5. Sergeant — Sergeants may request a Medium Warhorse. They may add a white chief ordinary (a white stripe across the top) to the black field and white cross as a sign of their office.

6. Knight — Knights are allowed to wear a black cross on a white field as a sign of their office and may request a Heavy Warhorse.

7. Turcopolier — Trucopoliers may hear cases in the ecclesiastical court and may request multiple Light Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a great helm colored white on one side and black on the other.

8. Seneschal — Seneschals may request multiple Medium Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a great helm colored white on one side and black on the other and crested with a cross.

9. Grand Commander — Grand Commanders may build a stronghold/monastery. They may also request multiple Heavy Warhorses. As a badge of their office, they may wear a white great helm crested with a cross.

Fighter Level Titles for Averoigne Part 1

A little over a year ago, I did a series of posts about utilizing Level Titles in a way that was more integrated into a campaign world. I produced one set for each of the four core classes, mostly reflecting how I would use them in context of my version of Averoigne; however, when it came to fighters, I opted to be more generic than I had been with the other three classes. The results were not very satisfying, but I never went back and wrote any campaign specific level titles — until now.

As I noted in my series of posts on Level Titles,  making them campaign specific can really make them sing. This poses a problem in the case of fighters because they really require more than one set of Level Titles. Though the other three classes are fairly generic, it is easy to justify a single guild structure for each class. Fighters, however, are the most generic of the four classes — they can be anything from a soldier to a barbarian to a gladiator to any number of iterations. Thus, only one set of Level Titles doesn’t do the class justice. This, therefore, is the first post in an attempt to create several options for fighters in Averoigne.

All fighters in Averoigne begin with the same Level Titles for the first three levels (the apprentice stage), after which they may align themselves with one of the various groups which grant Level Titles for higher levels:

1. Veteran — The term veteran reflects the fact that fighters have already been involved in some kind of fighting or military action.

2. Man-at-Arms — A man-at-arms is someone who has chosen to live the life of a fighter. In demonstrating this commitment and the amount of skill (and luck) to become a man-at-arms, they are granted the right to publicly bear arms, with the exception of a sword. In most places, however, even man-at-arms are discouraged from wearing armor or carrying more than one weapon in public.

3. Swordsman* — Swordsmen have earned enough respect that they are allowed to openly carry a sword. They may even wear armor in public without raising too much suspicion.

*If a character declines to join any of the following groups, they remain a Swordsman regardless of level.

Chevaliers

The Chevaliers, also known as The King’s Men, are one of the ways that the King of Salia exerts his influence upon the region. Since there are few Salian nobles in Averoigne and the Averni nobles only give lip service to their loyalty to the crown, the King created a organization that bypasses the authority of the nobility by being answerable directly to him. The Chevaliers are almost exclusively Salian and must swear absolute fealty to the King.

4. Under-Sheriff — Is given jurisdiction over a village to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a red rose as a sign of office.

5. Sheriff — Is given jurisdiction over a several villages, a few towns or a small city to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a red rose as a sign of office.

6. High Sheriff —  Is given jurisdiction over a county to administer the King’s Law. Has the right to wear a white rose as a sign of office.

7. Marshall — Is given the right to convene a civil court and act as judge. May conscript Under-Sheriffs in order to conduct an investigation. Has the right to wear a fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

8. Constable — May conscript Sheriffs on order to conduct an investigation. Has the right to wear two fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

9. High Constable — Oversees all legal activity within a region (and attracts/is assigned followers to carry out this duty). Has the right to wear three fleur-de-lis as a badge of office.

Thema Calabria

This is the remnant of a military unit from the Eastern Christian Empire that is now largely autonomous due to being cut off from their original home. The term Thema refers to a military jurisdiction of the Empire. For a brief period, the Eastern Empire had a foothold in the West, headquartered in Syracuse and the Thema was called Calabria. This foothold was overrun, and part of the retreating force found refuge in Averoigne. Today, it is tolerated by the King of Salia due to past service against barbarian incursion and the unit pays lip service to the King; however, its ranks have recently been bolstered by a growing number of Averni dissatisfied with the Salian King and who yearn for a return to the Rome represented by the Eastern Empire.

4. Dekarchos — While in Averoigne, a Dekarchos can muster 10 men in times of crisis. In addition, they have access to the unit’s armory.* They have the right to wear the unit’s insignia (a stylized golden cross on a red background).

5. Kentarchos — While in Averoigne, a Kentarchos can muster 50 men in times of crisis. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ν’ as part of their badge of office.

6. Komes — While in Averoigne, a Komes can muster 100 men in times of crisis. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ρ’ as part of their badge of office.

7. Droungarios — Has two Komes and any men they muster under their command. Will be recognized by the Averni people and Averni nobles as a judge in civil disputes. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘σ’ as part of their badge of office.

8. Tourmarches — Has six Drouganarios and any men they muster under their command. They may wear the Greek Numberal ‘ισ’ as part of their badge of office.

9. Strategos — This is the highest rank within the unit. The Strategos will have a personal retinue (attracted followers) and will have four Tourmaches and any men they muster under their command. They may wear a two-headed eagle as part of their badge of office.

* Items like swords and mailed armor are not readily available in Averoigne. While there are armorers, what swords and mails they produce are normally already paid for by nobles who are far more important to the business survival of the armorer than an adventurer. Having access to the unit’s armorer, therefore, makes getting such equipment increasingly easier as the fighter increases in level.

More Level Titles: Thieves

This list of level titles for the Thief is my own attempt to make explicit what is implicit in OD&D — all adventurers are thieves. Therefore, this list can be applicable to every class — the thief (or burglar, as I prefer to call them) is the one class that has no other guild/set of titles as an alternative.

Implied in what follows is another robust guild structure. Note, this is not a thieves' guild as found in later iterations of the game. Rather, it is an adventurer's guild. One of the driving forces behind play, especially as portrayed in Holmes & Cook, is of a desire by the current civilization to recover that which was lost from past civilizations. This is the reason for dungeon delving and the reason that dungeons exist in the first place — there are secrets hidden in places deep built by a lost people in the ancient past.

As such, it makes sense that there would be some kind of societal structure to help support such an endeavor. The following is a way to imply that structure in the game world.

1. Auxillary — Though these would-be adventurers have the right to pay dues and therefore receive a discount on various adventurer-type goods as well as access to equipment not sold to the general public or otherwise tightly regulated (such as lock picks and greek fire), auxiliaries still must prove themselves in order to gain full membership.
2. Delver — Having survived one or more expeditions, the delver is officially enrolled in the guild. These lists are made public, therefore delvers are more likely to have access to and attract higher quality henchman.
3. Adventurer — The adventurer has access to guild experts to help identify and appraise treasures found on expeditions. At this point, the guild will start offering better prices for said treasures than normal street value.
4. Journeyman — It is expected that a journeyman provide a minimum of three different maps or tomes as donations to the guild's library. After these donations, the journeyman is granted access to the guild's library.
5. Compagnon — The compagnon is gifted with a necklace or other type of jewelry that when shown to any guild will allow access to that guild library.
6. Traveller — A traveller is granted the right to borrow a map or tome from their own guild library as long as an item of equivalent value is left in exchange.
7. Explorer — An explorer is granted the same privilege as a traveler for any guild library.
8. Burglar — A burglar has the right to "borrow" maps and/or tomes from other guild libraries (one from each) for the express purpose of creating a new guild library.
9. Master Burglar — A master burglar has the right to found their own guild.

Please note: the term "burglar" is understood to mean one who opens doors.

More Level Titles: Fighters

For the purposes of creating level titles that reflect rank, I must admit that those for fighters are probably the most difficult. This is due to the fact that of all the core classes, the fighter is the most generic. It is designed to encompass everything from a barbarian to a knight and a rapier wielding fop to a gladiator armed with spiked gauntlets. As such, there will necessarily be less specific rights and privileges as compared to my previous efforts with clerics and magic users.

• Veteran — The term veteran reflects the fact that fighters have already been involved in some kind of fighting or military action. They might have been mustered as infantry in the defense of a city, gotten into street fights as a tough or spent time in an arena as a gladiator. The starting equipment of the fighter should reflect this background. The most common weapons are spears, polearms and crossbows. However, they are discouraged from owning the status weapon of their predominant culture — these might include axes/warhammers for dwarves, longbows for elves and swords for most halflings and humans. Openly carrying weapons of any kind is strongly discouraged if allowed at all.
• Man-at-Arms — A man-at-arms is someone who has chosen to live the life of a fighter. In demonstrating this commitment and the amount of skill (and luck) to become a man-at-arms, they are granted the right to bear all arms except for status weapons. In most places, however, even man-at-arms are discouraged from wearing armor or carrying more than one weapon in public.
• Warrior — Warriors have earned enough respect that they are allowed to both wear armor and carry more than one weapon in public.
• Swordsman — The title Swordsman reflects the status weapon of most human cultures. Among other races/cultures this title will reflect the status weapon of that culture. For example, Dwarves of this level might be known as Axeman or Hammers depending upon the tribe. These fighters have earned the privilege of openly bearing this weapon of rank in public.
• Free Sword — Although most fighters are free agents who often choose to hire their services out to various entities or institutions, this freedom is not guaranteed until one achieves the title Free Sword.
• Sword Master — These fighters are among the best trained warriors in the land. If they haven't already recovered a status weapon of renown through their adventuring, they are expected to pay the best smiths in the land to forge a status weapon of great quality.
• Hero — These fighters are of great renown and will be well-known (if not instantly recognized) by the folks in the same local area that the fighter uses as his home base.
• Champion — At this point, a fighter's fame has spread beyond the local area.
• Lord — The fighter starts to attract followers from far and wide wishing to serve someone with such a lauded reputation.

Please note: this is intended to be fairly generic with a very loose guild structure (if one is there at all). Should a more robust guild structure be desirable, added privileges and obligations can be added to the above titles (or guild specific titles). It is also conceivable to have several different versions of these titles for the purposes of emulating predominant fighter-based cultures (barbarian vs. civilized, for example).

More Level Titles: Magic Users

Please keep in mind that the following are heavily influenced by the way magic users are presented and illustrated in the Holmes Basic Edition…

1. Apprentice — Apprentice magic users are granted access to all first level spells and are granted the right to own a spell book (wherein are copied all first spells known by the apprentice) and to wear a magic user's robe (where coloration may indicate the identity of the apprentice's master, guild or school).
2. Scribe — Scribes are granted the right to wear the symbol of a golden feather upon their robe (normally in the form of a broach or other kind of jewelry). This symbol grants to its bearer the right to use their guild's library and to purchase those materials necessary to create spell scrolls.
3. Astrologer — During this final apprenticeship level, magic users are trained in the sciences — particularly in how the movement of the stars affect magical energies. They are granted the right to wear the symbol of a star upon their robe.
4. Thaumaturge — At this point, all magic users must make a choice. Either they make formal ties with the Church (either individually or through a guild) or they become renegade. Those who choose the former are granted the right to wear a magic user's hat (a tall pointed hat with either a wide brim or no brim at all depending upon the region or guild). Those who choose the latter normally find themselves hunted down and imprisoned or killed.
5. Magician — Magicians are granted the right to wear the symbol of the star on their hat. This grants them the right to request access to the library of any magic user's guild.
6. Sorcerer — Sorcerers are granted the right to wear the symbol of the crescent moon upon their robes and hat. They can expect hospitality from any guild.
7. Magus — Magus are granted the right to openly carry a staff. It grants the bearer the right to hear cases before civil and ecclesial courts.
8. Wizard — Wizards are granted the right to carry ornate staffs. They cannot be denied access to any library without scandal (and most probably a visit by one or more inquisitors).
9. Archmage — where arch means over. These magic users have the right to start their own guild or school and to take on apprentices.

Obviously, these level titles indicate a very robust guild structure that (based on some of the comments from my last post) will rub some players the wrong way. Understandably, this guild structure is not for everybody nor for every table. This is one of the reasons I think level titles should be tailored to each campaign world (taking into consideration the temperament and desire for each gaming group).

This particular list is based upon the implied culture found in Holmes. Arcane magic is something extremely dangerous that needs to be heavily monitored. This is why there is so much cross-pollination and self-regulation implied in the rights granted to various levels. Although magic users working outside this structure run the real risk of being constantly hounded by authorities, it must be understood that players always have that option. While they might be able to find more freedom when it comes to the kinds of research they want to do, their resources will be severely limited — primarily to that which they find while adventuring.

Personally, I like these robust structures because they encourage player choice and creativity because it helps make their choices matter.

Holmes & Cook: Level Titles

Love them or hate them, level titles are definitely part of both Holmes and Cook. Therefore, for the purposes of my thought experiment, I need to deal with them. Frankly, this is not something I mind because, personally, I am very fond of the idea of level titles.

There is something inspiring about reading old session reports where a dwarven character is not referred to as Noto the 5th-level dwarf, but rather as Noto the Dwarven Swashbuckler. It seems to me, therefore, that level names had more meaning in the early years of the hobby. Take, for example, the 2nd Level Wandering Monster Table in Holmes. He does not use class names (fighting-man, cleric, magic-user, thief) but, rather, level titles: Swordsmen, Conjurers, Priests, and Robbers. At some point in our hobby, saying Conjurer translated to 3rd level magic user. Personally, I think that is really cool.

Nevertheless, there is a big however in my thinking — for those of you who think level titles are stupid, I agree with you. They read more like a thesaurus entry rather than a progression of rank. While Swashbuckler and Myrmidon sound cool, they have no real meaning — how are they different and what makes a Myrmidon better than a Swashbuckler? As is, level titles have no real sense of rank.

In medieval Europe, there were guilds that operated on the apprenticeship system. One would get apprenticed to a craftsman, who would train you while you worked for room and board for a period of around seven years. At that time, you would become a journeyman. This word comes from the French journée, meaning one day. This refers to the right to charge a fee for one days work. The journeyman had the right to work for any craftsman, live in their own home and be paid a wage. They could not hire anyone themselves, however. This was the privilege of the craftsman. Historically, each trade and each level within a trade had its own distinctive dress. For example, in Germany a journeyman carpenter wore a wide-brimmed black hat and black bell-bottomed pants and carried a curled hiking pole.

A similar arrangement is hinted at in the D&D class-system. The first three levels are akin to an apprenticeship, for example. It follows that the next three are akin to the journeyman and the next three (up to the name level) are similar to being a craftsman. Even in a sandbox-type of game, lower-level characters can benefit greatly by having some kind of patron. By the time they reach 4th level, they have attained enough treasure and skills to go off exploring unknown lands. Higher levels, in turn, represent the clearing out of those discovered lands, the building of a stronghold and attracting what amount to a bunch of apprentices.

Name levels, therefore, ought to reflect in some way this basic structure. This can be done by various implications in the names themselves. In doing a little extra work — coming up with the names, their meaning and the subsequent behavior/costume/right that comes with the name — can add a lot of depth to a campaign world.

Take the title Swordsman, for example. If one is not allowed to purchase or carry a sword until one becomes a 4th level fighter, seeing someone carrying a sword tells you a lot about that character and about the world they live in. This, therefore, is the key to making name levels truly sing — make them specific to a campaign world.

Here, then, is an example of what can be done with name levels in a world where being a cleric means being a Christian:

1. Crucifer — meaning cross-bearer. Wearing a Crucifer's cross indicates the beginning of the path of being a cleric.
2. Acolyte — meaning follower. In following the cleric's path, an acolyte learns how to cast divine magic.
3. Ostiarius — meaning gate-keeper. This is the level just prior to ordination (they stand at the gate).
4. Exorcist — this is the lowest order of clergy. They gain the right to wear vestments. It also speaks to the growing ability of the cleric to Turn undead.
5. Auditor — meaning hearer. The cleric gains the authority to hear cases in the ecclesiastical court. They may wear an auditor's cowl.
6. Subdeacon — This is highest of the minor orders of clergy. The subdeacon may wear an Orarion — a thin strip of decorative cloth that is wrapped around the shoulders and waste in various patterns that indicate rank.
7. Deacon — meaning servant. Liturgically, this major order of clergy is responsible for the preparation and distribution of the gifts, reading the Gospel and leading the people in praying the litanies. For the purposes of D&D, it is the only major order (the others being priests and bishops) that could potentially have the freedom to be an adventurer.
8. Vicar — meaning representative or ambassador. This is a deacon who has received the seal of a bishop, granting the power to speak for and negotiate in the name of the bishop.
9. Archdeacon — where arch means over. The archdeacon has the right and responsibility to oversee and train lower level clerics.

Please note: this is an adventurer's path. Bishops and priests follow a different path. Therefore, every archbishop or archpriest is not necessarily a 9th level cleric. Depending upon how magic-heavy or readily available you want spells like Raise Dead to be, priests and bishops could all simply be the equivalent of 1st or 2nd level clerics.