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Dargoth
Great Reader
Australia
4607 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Oct 2005 : 04:57:57
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As we all know Clerics get there spells from there deities as opposed to Wizards who have to have a spell book this allows a cleric to memorise almost any spell in existence
The exception being the Faith specfic spells which the Cleric needs to take the Initiate of X feat to access those spells.
Now that being the case what use are the spells that are found in books such as those found in Prayers of the Faithful? After all every cleric of that deity will already know about the spell through the deity they worship..
Now I can see a couple of options
1) A cleric who possess the book can memorise the deity specfic spells in it without taking the initiate of X feat
2) A Cleric of another faith who owns the book can add that faiths specfic spell list to his own so long as he has the book
3) A cleric who has taken the Initate of X deity and possess the Holy Book of his faith that details his deity specfic spells can cast those spells at maximum effect (ie as if he had the maximise spell feat but only for those spells detailed in the book) so long as he possess the book
Coments?
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“I am the King of Rome, and above grammar”
Emperor Sigismund
"Its good to be the King!"
Mel Brooks |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2005 : 05:56:35
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This is how I would look at it, and remember, this is taking something 1st/2nd Edition and trying to find a 3.5 explanation . . . always an interesting experiment.
The first conceit would have to be that the divine spells presented in the Player's Handbook as clerical spells are all available to a cleric. While they aren't learned by the same method as arcane spells, it is possible to conclude that certain prayers would be said at certain times to deliniate what kind of divine spell is being asked for.
That having been said, clerical prayer books are the perfect way to introduce divine spells that come from new sources that are not automatically known to every cleric. For example, find something in the Miniatures Handbook, or Complete Divine that you like? Rather than just say that the cleric immidiately knows the spell from the new source, you can introduce it in this manner, and I think in a lot of ways that what the 2nd edition prayer books were useful for most of the time. You can also assume that various prayer books might have the prayers that one would learn as one was training, so there may be simple supplications for say, a cure light wounds, if the prayer book was meant to train new, young clerics, or a cleric that has just gained access to a new spell level.
As far as innitiate feats and prayer books go . . . I think that if the book is meant to be a blessed holy relic, like say, the Helm of Helm, and not just a simple training devotional, then as long as the cleric has the item then they can prepare the initiate spell, but not if they subsequently relinquish the item. In fact, it may make more sense, if such a book were written up for 3.5, to mention that a magical property of the book might be to grant a "Initiate of" feat to anyone holding the item. Magic Items granting feats is certainly not a foreign concept. |
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El Magnifico Uno
Learned Scribe
113 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2005 : 20:35:08
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| One would think that the user of a relic should be required to have the religion-based feat in order to access it's powers.. Kind of a safety clause to make sure that the Helm of Helm is being used by somebody who believes in and follows Helm's cause... Otherwise the item becomes ripe for abuse and you have Mongo the Destroyer, High Priest of Cyric, running about with the Helm Helm, blasting apart munchkin NPCs in Shadowdale.. Not good PR for Helm's church.. |
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Religious Spell books and the Initiate of X feat
