Lovecraft Priests?

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Not to start a "Game Warz!" type conversation, but:

Why D&D?

Given any thought to something like Grim Tales that'll do D20 Fantasy with pretty much that grim low-magic feeling you seem to want? Save you having to cut out 2/3 of the classes in D&D. Then you also get horror save mechanics right in there.

--fje

 

[fnork de sporg]

Priests are those who act as a middle man between mortals and the Gods. Priest is very much a human label, given by humans and used to describe the individuals relationship with his cult more than his god. To be the High Priest of a god's hidden cult is to wield great political and temporal power of your human companions and followers. You don't need to have any actual connection to the supernatural, though I'm sure it would help. And becoming an evil priest is probably a great way to get your hands on centuries worth of collected mythos lore.

Lone hermit wizards and pagan religious groups would all be mucking with the same extradimensional laws of physics labeled Magic, the cults are just more social about it.