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Character Classes	-	-	-	Oriental Adventures

Sohei are warrior monks, religious soldiers who protect large monasteries.

Table 29: SOHEI

Experience Points	Experience Level	6-sided Dice for  Accum. Hit Points	THACO	Saves	Special Abilities	1	2	3	4
0 -- 2,000	1	1	20 (1/1)	10.13.14.16.15	Weapon of Choice	-	-	-	-
2,001 -- 4,000	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4,001 -- 7,000	3	3	-	-	Ki (Berserking)	-	-	-	-
7,001 -- 13,000	4	4	18	9.12.13.15.14	-	-	-	-	-
13,001 -- 24,000	5	5	-	-	Fanaticism (Fight on at -HP)	-	-	-	-
24,001 -- 48,000	6	6	-	-	Command (of 10-30 1st level sohei)	1	-	-	-
48,001 -- 85,000	7	7	16 (3/2)	7.10.11.13.12	-	1	1	-	-
85,001 -- 150,000	8	8	-	-	-	2	1	-	-
150,001 -- 350,000	9	9	-	-	Monastery Quest	2	2	-	-
350,001 -- 550,000	10	9 + 1	14	6.9.10.12.11	-	2	2	1	-
550,001 -- 750,000	11	9 + 2	-	-	-	3	2	1	-
750,001 -- 950,000	12	9 + 3	-	-	-	3	2	2	-
-	13	9 + 4	12 (2/1)	-	-	3	3	2	-

    200,000 experience points are required for each level beyond 12th.
    Shukenja gain 1 hp per level beyond 9th.

Sohei are warrior monks, religious soldiers who protect large monasteries. Unlike shukenja, sohei are
more militant than holy, and receive very little religious instruction. Instead they are trained in the art of
fighting. Sohei defend their monastery against attacks and advance its political claims in the outside world.
They are subject to the leader of their temple.

The sohei also is associated with a religion, <(e.g. Chinese, Japanese)>
but his duties are closer to those of the bushi or samurai. The
sohei has two prime requisites Strength and Wisdom. Sohei characters must have scores of 13 in Strength and
10 in Wisdom and Constitution. Those with scores of 15 or greater in both Strength and Wisdom earn a 10%
bonus on experience points. They must be lawful, although they can be good, neutral, or evil, regardless of the
alignment of their home monastery.

Sohei use 10-sided dice to determine their hit points, gaining one die per level. They use the combat and
saving throw tables of clerics. They are allowed to wear any armor and use the weapons listed on Table 13. At
higher levels, they become able to cast shukenja spells. They can only use certain spells, however, as indicated
on the spell lists. They get the same bonuses and chances for spell failure (determined by their Wisdom scores)
as a shukenja. These are listed on Table 27. They begin the game with four proficiency slots and can use these
for any allowed weapon proficiencies or peaceful arts.

Table 30: SOHEI SPELLS USABLE BY LEVEL

Sohei Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	1	1	-	-	-	-	-
8	2	1	-	-	-	-	-
9	2	2	-	-	-	-	-
10	2	2	1	-	-	-	-
11	3	2	1	-	-	-	-
12	3	2	2	-	-	-	-
13	3	3	2	-	-	-	-
14	3	3	3	-	-	-	-
15	3	3	3	1	-	-	-
16	3	3	3	2	-	-	-
17	4	3	3	2	1	-	-
18	4	4	3	2	2	-	-
19	4	4	4	3	2	1	-
20	5	4	4	3	2	2	-
21	5	5	4	3	2	2	1
22	5	5	4	4	2	2	2
23	5	5	5	4	3	2	2
24	6	5	5	4	3	2	2
25	6	6	5	4	3	3	2
26	6	6	5	5	4	3	2
27	6	6	6	5	4	3	3
28	6	6	6	6	5	4	3
29	7	7	6	6	5	5	4

At 1st level a sohei can designate one of his weapons as a weapon of choice. He must have proficiency
with the chosen weapon. Thereafter the sohei gains a + 1 bonus on to hit and damage dice rolls when using that
weapon.

At 3rd level the sohei, through religious training and practice, can focus his ki power. Knowing that he
is among the chosen, this fills his body with berserk energy and disdain for his own life. This condition lasts for
one turn and can be done once per day. While in this state the sohei gains one extra attack per round, improves
his Armor Class by 1, increases his movement by 3', gains an additional + 1 on to hit, damage, and saving throw
dice rolls, and can dodge or deflect missile weapons by making a successful saving throw versus breath
weapon.

At 5th level the sohei's fanaticism allows him to fight on even after he reaches 0 hit points. This,
however, is a final act on the part of the sohei. To use this ability the sohei must remain in combat with the
enemy and cannot stop to perform any other actions. He continues fighting until he reaches -10 hit points or
until the enemy is defeated, whichever comes first. During this time he uses the final reserves of his ki to sustain
himself and gain a + 2 bonus on to hit and damage dice rolls. At the end of the fight or when he reaches -10 hit
points, the sohei collapses and dies. Although this is his final act, it is also one of the greatest heroic deeds a
sohei can perform, earning him much honor (albeit posthumously).

At 6th level the sohei is given command over 10-30 other sohei (all 1st level). Once the size of his
command is determined, additional 1st-level sohei are always available to replace those who fall in combat. At
each level above 6th, the size of the character's command is increased by 10 1st-level sohei. This command is
lost only if all within it (other than the commander) are slain.

At 9th level the sohei receives a commission from the head of his monastery. This commission gives the
character the task of escorting a group of priests and monks to a new location, clearing land, building a new
monastery, and commanding the defenses of the new site. Thereafter, the character is the commander of all
sohei at the new monastery. He can try to recruit new sohei in addition to those he receives for advancing in
level. He and all others in the monastery are still subject to the orders of their parent monastery, although
rebellions and dissension are not unknown. Of course, if this happens, the parent monastery sends a force of
sohei to correct the situation.

Like shukenja, sohei must live by certain religious principles, although these are much less strict for the
sohei character. He must refrain from eating meat (fish is allowed) and from excesses of personal behavior.
Because of his duty he has no injunction against killing or violence, although outright murder is still considered
a sin. Furthermore, the character gains full experience only for defeating opponents in the cause of his
monastery. In other instances the sohei receives one-half the normal experience points.
Sohei can come from any caste and are not required to roll on Table 38: Character Birth (although the
player can if he wants). Upon entering the monastery the sohei forsakes his family or clan and is not bound by
the rules governing families. His status is measured by the importance of his monastery, which is his new
family. Honor is important to the sohei, who is affected by honor more than a shukenja. He does not, however,
gain honor for the actions of his monastery.
 

Q: The rules say that sohei can only
use spells of up to fourth level, yet
table 62 shows 5th, 6th, and 7th
level spells usable by sohei. Which
is correct?

A: Sohei can only use spells up to the 4th
level. Ignore the asterisks on 5th-7th level
spells; they're errors.
(121.22)
 
 

SOHEI

1. SUBCLASS = cleric
2. SOCIAL CLASS MINIMUM = roll on Birth Table not required
3. ABILITY SCORE MINIMUMS
    STRENGTH = 13:15
    INTELLIGENCE = 6
    WISDOM = 10:15
    DEXTERITY = 6
    CONSTITUTION = 10
    CHARISMA = 6
    COMELINESS = 3
    PERCEPTION =
4. POSSIBLE RACES & MAX. LEVEL ATTAINABLE = human (U)
5. MULTI-CLASS POSSIBILITIES = none
6. HIT DIE TYPE = d6
7. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF HIT DICE = 9
8. SPELL ABILITY = yes
9. ARMOR PERMITTED = any
10. SHIELD PERMITTED = none
11. WEAPONS PERMITTED = Any but blowpipe, katana, needle, nekode, shaken, shikomi-zue, shuriken (any)
12. OIL PERMITTED = Yes
13. POISON PERMITTED = only if evil
14. ALIGNMENT = LE, LN, LG
15. STARTING MONEY = 1-10 tael (ch'ao) + 4-40 yuan (10-100 sp + 20-200 cp)
16. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES = see 25.
17. NON-PROFICIENCY PENALTY = -3
18. NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES = see 25.
19. STARTING AGE =
20. COMBAT = cleric (7-12: 3/2) (13+: 2/1)
21. SAVING THROWS = cleric
22. MAGIC ITEMS =
23. FAMILY = not required
24. HONOR = 15 + lowest ability score (if no family)
    Defeating sohei of other monastery: +1
    Forming alliance with NPC samurai family: +1
    Losing monastery's minyan: -10
25. SKILLS = 4@L1, 5@L3, 6@L6, 7@L9