Pilgrims of the Painted Idol (GLOG Class: Small God) (GLÅUGUST 2026 #6)

Taking on The Nothic's Eye GLÅUGUST 2026, challenge #6 is from a list by Locheil themselves - "A short class which is absolutely not a fighter, not a wizard, not a cleric and not a thief.".

This class is a swarm of miscellaneous pilgrims in the style of Many Goblins or The Extras or the treacherous wizards of The Plurality.

The Painted Idol follows the basic Many X rules. This is in fact a statue, icon or reliquary that is carried around by an ever-shifting group of pilgrims that changes periodically as some join, some leave, all of whom are devoted to this particularly obscure little god as it progresses about the place. Exactly what this is the god of is part of character creation.

Hit Dice: 1d10. The Pilgrims have the grit of downtrodden peasantry who have walked a long bloody way to be here.

To-hit, Weapons and Armour, Saves, experience: As per Cleric.

Safety In Numbers: The pilgrims always go around as a crowd bearing the Painted Idol shoulder high, moving as a single mass filling a 20' square and can attack or be attacked by anything within 5' of the crowd. If relevant there are 4d4+2 pilgrims present, with departures and new arrivals on a more or less continuous basis.

Righting the Idol: During any times of stress - combat, risky endeavours - most of the pilgrims are focussed on keeping the idol upright and safe - leaving few to deal with the rest of the world. Collectively they get one action a turn but if they can set the idol down securely and turn their efforts to some unskilled labor, they can spare enough folk from prayers and attending the idol to achieve the work of ten people in an hour of activity.

They have a single collective HP total - for every HP damage, a pilgrim dies dramatically protecting the idol. Area of effect damages them just once. They must obtain ten copies of any equipment to benefit from it.

You can wear light armor and shields, and can wield staves, slings, clubs and knives - as long as you have at least ten sets.

Starting Equipment: survival gear (battered), lots and lots of ropes, large pots with sufficient poor gruel for everyone.

Perk: Turn undead with advantage through being an actual minor divine.

Drawback: it cannot enter a temple dedicated to another god. It is a small god, it cannot trespass. Well, it can, but mayhem swiftly follows.

Advances:
A: A pilgrim here myself
B: Eternal Progress
C: Manifest Miracle
D: Behold this Small God

A pilgrim here myself - it turns out that some of the pilgrims are in fact local to here and therefore they know what knowledge common folk of the locality might have. This may include caches of like food and minor tools, knowledge of main safe routes to and from the region and expectation of hospitality wherever they turn up.

Eternal Progress - the painted idol itself is pretty robust which facilitates some stunts that are not doable for most of the pilgrims, such as traverse a deadly rapid or slide down a mountainside, effectively, making a journey that only a painted idol could make. There will be pilgrims on the other side to pick it up, within 2d12 hours, so it has a somewhat limited ability to make impossible journeys.

The continuous stream of arriving and departing pilgrims means that they are never out of touch or lost for long; for example some new pilgrim turns up at the top of the pit to throw down a rope before noon the next day or a departing pilgrim can carry a message away with them.

Similarly, if all the pilgrims are slain somehow, unless the idol is utterly destroyed beyond recognition, new pilgrims will arrive in 2d12 hours and either pick up the idol or make a reliquary to carry whatever significant shards remain and the Idol can continue.

Manifest Miracle - a hit dice of healing can be bestowed on someone within sight of the idol, up to one for each advance the Idol has. Once a day the Idol can spend two dice to cast any first level clerical spell that becomes known as a marching chant or ritual by the pilgrims. Dice recharge after a nights rest or one per two hours of steady marching.

Behold this Small God The painted idol can use its "forbidden from holy ground" effect offensively. If you can bring it into the presence of an infernal or whatever is deemed inimical to its presence, it can turn or banish those hostiles - though those hostiles get to apply around of damage to the pilgrims before being driven off.

When facing foes who have hit dice equal to or less than the number of advances the idol has, the Idol may forgo all other actions and entice them to join the pilgrims - after the first round, anything that attempts to attack must make a will save or become a pilgrim, after two rounds, anything intent on the idol (such as gathering to attack) must save, after the third round, anything within sight. Once a number of beings equal to the Idols hit points have joined the pilgrims, no more will join while these remain. Each new joiner adds a hit point to the Idol that persists until the following dawn or next significant rest period where these new faithful depart to create their own painted idol.

The Idol also has the ability to slowly consecrate wherever it remains static. It can decide to stay in a fixed position from henceforth, to consecrate any given evil shrine by effectively taking it over and inhabiting it. The painted idol ceases to be an adventurer at that stage.

Design note - this may be insufficiently 'not a cleric' to strictly adhere to the prompt, but I was inspired by the continuously replenishing procession of pilgrims and can only beg forgiveness.