A long, long time ago I rolled up a shaman that was anti-magic. Recently, I considered retooling that character concept and rolling it again, but the idea of an uncaballed shaman without the use of fly potions turned into thoughts about regearing so I reconsidered and rolled something else. It got me to thinking though, what if the Battle cabal underwent a major overhaul and started allowing in priests and allowing them to keep their communes? Surely, it would take a major reworking of the cabal and its powers, but could conceivably bring the cabal up to speed with the evolution of the mud.

Of course, to be on board with this idea you have to believe that the Battle cabal is broken in some way or at the very least be open to the idea of the cabal changing its worldview somewhat. I'm most often on the anti-rager side of the coin and can say that, for the most part, battleragers cause me little grief. If I want to kill one I know exactly where to look and if my range is full of them I know exactly where to go. That said, I think the concept of the Battle cabal has lost some of its luster mainly because of the change in cabals (ie there being no dedicated mage cabal). When you log on as an Imperial priest and the first thing that happens is a battlerager raids you while there's a range full of magi you know something's not quite right.

So, my idea...

Essentially, the cabal is split into three portions:

Group 1: Savage Berserkers

This group is open to all those who might currently become battleragers. They enjoy many of the same powers as current Berserkers, but the strength of those powers is reduced somewhat. With this reduction in strength, Savage Berserkers are free to gank at will and, in fact, are encouraged to do so since they are fueled by their hatred for magic. In war, these are the first individuals in and they are expected to leave a swath of destruction and mangled corpses. They are entirely disinterested in tactics or the art of war. They are simply looking for things to sink their axe into.

Powers
Spellbane
Truesight
Deathblow
Bloodthirst (old school, without the battle fatigue)
Trophy
Resistance


Group 2: Champions of Combat

This group is also open to all those who might currently become battleragers. These are the so-called "greatest warriors of Thera." They are above the savagery of the Savage Berserkers, relying moreso on a higher understanding of tactics and the art of war. Through intense dedication to improvement of combat technique they have honed their skills to an unprecedented level. They are not fueled by a hatred for magic, but rather for the strict belief in self-reliance, pride, and courage. As such, they strive towards maintaining parity in combat, considering their personal integrity and honor above all else. This group enjoys powers much different than the Savage Berserkers. I can see this group getting a form of Imperial Training (and maybe the Blade Sect getting a different power instead). They might also get an improved (perhaps automatic) critical hit, a sort of minor-fly that would protect them against tripping, lashing, legsweeping, etc. (based upon their dexterity and dodging capabilities), and Fortress of Courage. Fortress of Courage would entail exponential improvements in combat prowess based upon the number of opponents. Basically the Champion of Combat would be adept at using the chaos of combat, the terrain, etc. to hinder his opponents. Maybe he dodges at just the right moment causing the weapons of his foes to become entangled (possibly disarming one or more of them), or ducks behind an opponent at just the right moment leading opponentA to strike at opponentB, etc.

Powers
Enhanced spell evasion
Minor-fly power
Enhanced critical hit
Truesight
Imperial training-like power
Fortress of Courage
Truesight

Group 3: Zealots of War

This group is open to the priest classes. The formation of this group would be made so much cooler if there was a god that was angered by the "theft" of magic from the gods. Anyways, the Zealots of War consist of those priests who have as their goal returning magic to its rightful owners (the gods). They are indifferent as to parity in combat and are free to join the Savage Berserkers in ganking folk down if they so choose. The caveat, however, is that communing on non-Zealots is not allowed. Obviously, Zealots of War enjoy different powers than either of the two groups above.

1) Fortification of Faith - This power allows Zealots of War to absorb some of the strength of the spells aimed at them. The amount absorbed varies on a number of variables. Once they are satisfied with the amount they have absorbed they can unleash it back at the mage in the form of a mental knife and they can do this at any time, even if the mage escapes to a new area (effectiveness decreases the further away the mage is)

2) Spiritual Siphon - A mana-only energy drain that has a SLIGHT chance at completely cutting an individual off from their mana source if it's used to open combat. If it's used to open combat Spiritual Siphon cannot be used again for several ticks.

3) Righteous Assault - Zealots of War get additional strikes with their weapons that non-Zealot priests would not due to their close companionship with true warriors. Think of it like having 33 - 50% in third attack.

Other powers too, but I'm out of ideas. Obviously somebody would have to work hard at balancing this monstrosity.