Contemplatives in Pits & Perils

Clerics in Pits & Perils were conceived primarily as holy (or alternately, unholy) warriors supplemented by healing abilities and power over undead enemies, etc.  Clerics are NOT formulaic spell casters in the fashion of magical practitioners, but rather, pious folk who call upon their god(s) for aid:

Help me, _______________, I'm in trouble (Ally)

Help me, _______________, I'm really sick (Cure)

Help me, _______________, I'm really hurt (Heal)

Help me, _______________, my friend is dead (Resurrection)      

OK, you get the idea.  This means that clerical healing power is limited (a conscious attempt to make players prioritize), once again, underscoring the fact that what clerics do is emphatically not the same as what magicians do...

This greatly limits how much healing power there is to go around, barring the use of magic items, necessitating the use of non-player clerics to get the job done.  Wise hermits or cloistered priests spring immediately to mind here, although these are not the typical warrior priest, but something else entirely.

These spiritual seekers are true CONTEMPLATIVES...

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Contemplatives are usually non-player hermits...

So first, some definitions here:

Standard clerics are MILITANTS, being specially trained to engage enemies of the faith, including the undead, in the manner put forth by the Pits & Perils basic rulebook...

CONTEMPLATIVES are religious hermits and/or seekers who dedicate their lives to prayer.  Accordingly, they are less common on adventurers, although conditions may draw them from their cloisters to get involved, including some player characters if the referee decides to allow them (perhaps specific deities are served only by contemplatives) per the following:

(1) As non-combatants, contemplatives cannot wear armor or shield and may only fight with a staff or walking stick.

(2) Furthermore, they may only turn undead up to 6th level, being unconcerned with this sort of confrontation.

(3) On the other hand, contemplatives get 2 faith points (FP) at every level such points are acquired, meaning that a 3rd level cleric would have 4.  This represents greater piety and prayer-based abilities, much like a magician with spell points (SP).

Now, this is the sort of cleric characters will meet in the wilderness or seek for healing, etc.  They're also highly sought by adventuring parties - and for obvious reasons.

In this respect, contemplatives are much like hospitaliers or healing-priests who eschew physical pursuits for a ascetic life of prayer and meditation.  Most will be non-players, although some attach themselves to adventuring parties, effectively doubling their healing power while reducing their martial contributions...