Priests and Systems of Magic As you may have noticed, there are a few differences in the way priests and wizards acquire and memorize spells. The spell point systems described for each class already reflect these differences to a degree; for example, some of the wizard's optional rules aren't appropriate for priestly spellcasters, and vice-versa, while the amount of spell points available to each class of spellcaster varies in order to portray the “normal” spell progression.
A very good way to highlight the differences between priests and wizards is to assign schools or systems of magic to each. For example, if you liked the wizard system of defiling and preserving, you may want to rule that priests cast spells by means of the channelling rules. In the campaign, wizards will have to be aware of the life energy around them as they cast their spells, while priests will instead be concerned with their own capacity to deal with the destructive power of divine energy. This provides each class with its own distinct flavor and feel—even though both priests and wizards will be keeping track of spell points.
Channelling[]
Every time a priest casts a spell, he touches a small portion of the infinite. The unimaginable power of a deity pours into his body and is directed into a spell effect. But the mortal frame was not meant to contain such energies, and the priest risks exhaustion or even death by calling on his god's power too frequently.
The same rules described for channelling wizards apply to a channelling priest. The priest gains spell points as described above, allocates them to fixed or free theurgies, and selects the spells he wants to have locked into memory as fixed theurgies. Free theurgies may be used to provide the priest with access to any spell in his repertoire, although they're more expensive than fixed slots. The priest may exceed his normal spell level limit or cast spells for greater effect, although his deity may choose not to grant him these enhanced powers. The priest modifies his spell point total based on his Constitution score; the character's hit point adjustment for Constitution is added to or subtracted from his spell point total. If this lowers a 1st-level priest to less than 4 spell points, he ignores the adjustments; all priests have at least 4 spell points.
While the priest may have spell points “allocated” or “tied up” in fixed and free theurgies, this makes no difference for a channeller. His selection of spells simply creates a slate of spell powers which the character can access and defines the cost in spell points for making use of these powers. The character may cast any spell that he has available through either a fixed or free slot normally, except that the spell slot does not vanish from his memory once he's cast the spell. Instead, the character deducts the number of spell points required to energize the spell from his spell point total.
Spell points in this system represent magical stamina. They are recovered as the character's fatigue fades and his strength returns. (Refer to Channellers , on page 80.) Spell points are recovered as shown on Table 20.
In addition to the depletion of spell points, channelling also causes immediate fatigue effects. Refer to Table 21 and the fatigue rules that follow. Note that the effective level of a spell may be higher than its true level, especially if the priest makes use of a spell from a minor sphere of access or casts a spell at a greater than normal effectiveness by paying extra spell points to do so. Consider quest spells to be two spell levels higher than the caster can cast for purposes of caster fatigue and exhaustion.
Ritual Prayer[]
A priest is an ordinary human, and his spell powers represent nothing more than the favor of his deity. Without his patron power's blessing and attention, the priest is completely incapable of wielding magic. Thus, in order to invoke a spell, a priest must engage in preliminary prayers, invocations, and rites designed to attract his deity's notice. When the power responds, the priest is infused with the spell points necessary for his spell.
In this system, the deity or power is concerned more with the priest's show of devotion and observance of the proper form, and considers the priest's actual situation to be irrelevant—after all, martyrs are made every day. The priest purchases his initial selection of spells by allocating spell points to free and fixed theurgies of the various spell levels. These represent very specific prayers that he will use to focus his deity's power, if the power chooses to respond.
The normal options and rules governing priestly spell points are in use. In addition, the priest may make use of the reduced spell cost option, choosing the prolonged casting time in exchange for a 25% reduction in the spell cost. This extends the casting time of a spell to the next highest time increment, so a spell with a casting time of 4 would require four rounds to cast, and a spell with a casting time of a full round would take a turn to cast.
Before the priest can cast a spell, he must first invoke his deity's attention by speaking various preparatory prayers and performing other actions favorable to his power. In game terms, he must accumulate enough spell points to power the desired spell. Low-level spells are very easy to cast, requiring nothing more than a moment's concentration and a brief invocation. However, it can take a long time to build a higher-level spell. A ritual priest gathers 2 spell points per round through his invocations and prayers, but the cost to cast a spell is reduced by the priest's level. For example, a 1st-level priest casting a 1st-level spell must gather 3 spell points (4 for the spell, less 1 for his level), which would require one full round of prayer, plus part of a second round.
If the priest's level reduces the spell's cost to 0, the priest need not spend any time gathering spell points and casts the spell with the normal casting time initiative modifiers. In the example above, a priest of 4th level or higher reduces a 1st-level spell to a cost of 0, which means he can cast the spell without spending time to gather his deity's favor beforehand. In effect, the spell is minor enough that the power trusts the priest not to misuse his or her divine energy.
In many cases, the priest's gathering time will require more than one round. The 1st-level priest described above must gather 3 spell points to cast his spell, which means that he gathers 2 points in the first round of concentration, and the remaining point in the round in which he casts the spell. There is a slight initiative modifier for this, as shown on Table 30 : Initiative Modifiers for Ritual Prayer.
| Spell Points Accumulated |
Initiative Modifier |
| 3 or less | –1 bonus |
| 4 to 6 | none |
| 7 to 14 | +1 penalty |
| 15 to 29 | +3 penalty |
The initiative modifier is based on the number of spell points accumulated in the round in which the spell is cast. For example, a 5th-level priest casting a 3rd-level spell must draw 5 spell points (10 for the spell, less 5 for his level), which requires two full rounds of concentration and part of a third—but since he only needs to gather 1 spell point in the last round, he gains a –1 bonus to his initiative when he actually casts the spell.
There are ways to accelerate this otherwise tedious process. Invoking the deity's power in a sanctified place, making a sacrifice pleasing to the deity, or staying true to the deity's precepts are all good ways to ensure that the deity in question will be willing to empower the priest with spell energy. See Table 31 : Modifiers to Ritual Preparatory Times for examples.
| Modifier | Condition |
|---|---|
| +1 SP/rd | Casting from place of interest |
| +2 SP/rd | Casting from sanctified/holy place |
| +1 SP/rd | Priest gives a small offering |
| +2 SP/rd | Priest gives a moderate offering |
| +4 SP/rd | Priest gives a major offering |
| +1 SP/rd | Caster is pure or faithful to temple |
| –1 SP/rd | Caster has committed mild infractions or failed to observe normal rites and prayers |
| –3 SP/rd | Priest is casting a previously expended spell |
Place/Site of Interest: The priest is located in some place favored by the god. This could be a forge for a deity of smithery, a business for a god of commerce, or a battlefield for a power of war.
Sanctified or Holy Place: The priest is located in a shrine, temple, or place of special and unique significance to the deity he serves.
Offerings: The priest destroys or surrenders items or materials pleasing to his patron power. This could range from treasure, weapons, or gems to such things as exotic spices, candles, or specially-prepared libations. A deity of war or battle might consider a gem-decorated sword to be a minor offering, a sword of special significance or quality to be a moderate offering, and a magical weapon to be a major offering. As a rule of thumb, a small offering must be worth at least 50 gp, a moderate worth 500 gp, and a major offering 2,000 gp or more.
Purity and Faithfulness: This is a subjective call on the part of the DM. Has the priest been careful to follow the precepts of both his temple and his alignment? Has the player gone out of his way to role-play his character's dedication, or has he been lazy in portraying the priest? If the character has been played well and is in favor with his superiors and his deity, this bonus applies.
Previously Expended Spell: While the ritual priest generally expends spells normally, it is possible for him to gather spell energy in order to re-use a spell that he already cast. However, this is quite difficult, and unless the priest has some other factor going for him—an offering or a good location from which to cast—he will be unable to attract the divine power necessary to re-use a spell.
Regaining Spell Points: As noted above, ritual priests expend their spells normally, striking them from memory as they cast the enchantments. In order to ready himself to use a spell again or change his spell allocation, the priest must rest for at least eight hours and spend approximately 10 minutes per spell level praying for the spells he desires. Despite the fact that ritual priests gain spell energy directly from their deities, the complicated prayers and forms required to cast a spell must still be refreshed occasionally.
Conditional Magic[]
In this system of priestly magic, deities grant the ability to cast spells based on the priest's need, not just on form or prayer. A faithful priest following his patron power's tenets will usually receive the spells he requests, but a priest who strays from the path will soon find that his patron no longer supports his actions. While the urgency of the priest's request is a consideration, the deity's primary concern is whether or not the use of that particular spell will benefit the deity's own purposes and causes at that moment. The priest's spell powers will vary with the interest and support of his deity.
The following option is used for conditional magic:
- Spells belonging to a minor sphere of access are more costly than spells from a major sphere, as described earlier. Priests may request free or fixed theurgies by meeting the normal spell point costs.
Many of the normal priest restrictions are still in place for priests using conditional magic. First of all, priests must still “memorize” any spell that he wishes to have access to. After all, if the priest is granted the ability to cast the spell, then he should be familiar with exactly how to go about doing so! Secondly, while the priest can cast spells at a higher character level than his own, he cannot use spells from spell lists above his own spell level.
Before a priest actually begins play using this system of magic, the player and the DM should take some time to define positive and negative conditions for that priest's faith. These are situations or guidelines that define the deity's interests and ensure that the priest only invokes his god's power in pursuit of the deity's aims. Here are some examples of conditions:
Positive Conditions
- The priest is engaged in combat against a traditional enemy of the god or the faith, such as giants for a priest of Thor, or orcs for the priest of an elven god.
- The priest is located in a place sacred or special to the deity, such as a mountaintop for a god of the air, or a deep forest for a druidical power.
- The priest is engaged in a situation favorable to the deity; fighting for a god of war, trading for a merchant power, committing theft or burglary for a god of thieves, or in the open during a storm for a storm god.
- The priest's spell will directly benefit another worshipper of the same deity, such as healing a paladin of the same faith or using spells to protect townspeople who follow the priest's religion.
- The spell fulfills a traditional role or guideline of the power—starting a fire for a fire god, sowing deceit for a god of mischief, or offering advice or guidance in the case of a god of wisdom or knowledge.
Negative Conditions
- The spell aids or supports a traditional enemy.
- The priest is located in a place inimical or opposed to his power (a wind priest adventuring underground, a fire priest venturing out on the ocean, etc.)
- The priest is involved in a situation distasteful or opposed to his patron power (a priest of chaos using his spells to restore order, a priest of healing attempting to injure someone with his spells, a priest of battle trying to avoid or escape from a fight).
- The spell will directly or indirectly injure or discomfit a fellow worshipper or the temple's interests.
- The priest has failed to observe one of his patron's holy days or rites, has violated his alignment, or has generally misrepresented his patron recently.
As an example of how these conditions might work, consider the case of a priest of Tempus from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. (Tempus is a chaotic deity of battle and storms.) For his positive conditions, he selects casting spells in battle, casting spells during a storm, and casting spells that enhance or augment a warrior's ability to fight, such as bless, emotion, and other such enchantments. For his negative conditions, he selects casting spells outside of a fight, avoiding or fleeing a battle, and spells that aid lawful characters. Naturally, the DM can either set up these conditions himself or allow the player to set them up and then approve the conditions.
Any time the priest casts a spell, the player should compare the number of positive conditions that apply to the number of negative conditions, and consult Table 32 : Effects of Conditions.
| +4 | Caster may cast the spell as if he were 4 levels higher with no increase to spell point cost (see Casting Spells for Greater Effect), or he may choose to reduce the cost to 25% normal. |
| +3 | Caster may cast the spell as if he were 2 levels higher (no increase in SP cost), or cast with 1 extra level and a 50% break in the spell point cost. |
| +2 | Caster may cast the spell as if he were 1 level higher (no additional SP cost) or choose to reduce the spell point expenditure by 50%. |
| +1 | No unusual effects. |
| 0 | Caster must either select one negative effect of reduced spell cost and pay the normal spell point cost, or he can cast the spell at the usual level by paying 150% of the normal cost. |
| –1 | Caster must select two negative effects of reduced spell cost and pay the normal spell point cost, or spend twice as many spell points as normal in order to cast the spell without reduced effect. |
| –2 | The spell fails completely, expending the normal amount of spell points required. |
Maglas, the priest of Tempus previously described, is locked in battle with an ogre during a thunderstorm. Deciding that things aren't going his way, he decides to cast an obscurement spell to cover his escape. Since he is in battle, and the weather is appropriate, he has two positive conditions. On the other hand, he's getting ready to flee, which is a negative condition. There is a net +1 positive condition, which means that Maglas can cast the spell normally.
In this system, if a priest casts a spell, it's still expended until he can re-memorize it . . . but saving spell points may allow the character to find room for an extra free theurgy. For example, if Maglas manages to save 8 spell points by casting several spells in favorable conditions, he may now add a 1st-level free theurgy to his spell repertoire for the day.
Recovering Spell Points: Priests who use conditional magic recover their spell points normally (see Recovering Spell Points ) and may change their spell selection any time they rest eight hours and spend the time to pray for new spells.
Druidical Magic[]
Priests of druidical or agricultural powers may be able to use preserving magic (see Defilers and Preservers). Preservers draw their magical energy from the lifeforce that surrounds them but are careful not to draw too much. If the preserving magic system is allowed for wizards, this option should not be available for priests—it's a good idea to keep the flavor and methodology of wizard magic and priest magic distinct and separate.
Preservers strongly resemble ritual priests, since both must gather their energy before casting their spells, but preservers harness the lifeforce around them, while ritual priests rely on the power of their deity.
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