FLAGELLANT
ATTACKS: 1(*)
LEVEL: 1
MOVE: 50'
SIDE: Lawful of chaotic
SIZE: M
NUMBER: 3-18
TREASURE: B/I (*)
Flagellants are fanatical members of a religious order, convinced that the end is near and salvation lies with self mutilation. They travel the land in groups of 3-18 (with varying degrees of sanction from their respective churches) living off alms and making a show of righteous self loathing. Baring their backs, they whip themselves bloody, with intermittent calls for repentance and submission to their deities of choice. There is an apocalyptic bent to their sermons, making them a common sight in times of plague, war, and woe.
Those who stop to watch these displays are free to make a donation (the offering plate is always somewhere nearby) and might even join in if sympathetic to their beliefs. Being fanatically devoted, flagellants are lawful or chaotic only and very good at reading the room, with a 1-3 in 1d6 chance of identifying those of an opposing side or (worse still) the hated neutrals, reviled for their lack of commitment. These are in dire need of correction and must be purified by the lash, which they reckon to be the highest honor.
Subjected to continual punishment, flagellants are treated as wearing plate mail (+3) and shield (+1) despite going unarmored at all times. Any unmodified attack roll of 12 with their whips requires an opponent to roll saving dice or become disarmed. Monks can engage unarmed and avoid this, although they lose ambidexterity when doing so owing to the sheer ferocity of their foe(s). These fanatics roll all saving dice at +2, ignoring pain and other distractions in their religious zeal, making them quite impossible to reason with.