Pathfinder 1E How to award Clerics new spells?

[solamon77]

Unless I'm mistaken, when Clerics reach the appropriate level, they automatically gain access to every new spell available at that level. Well recently, I downloaded a bunch of new pathfinder compatible priest spells and I'm trying to figure out a way of awarding my groups cleric some of those spells without just giving him the whole overwhelming list. How so other DMs handle this?

 

[was]

..Maybe when he/she prays they get the feeling that their deity is especially pleased with them and a new spell reveals itself in their mind?

 

[Koloth]

Nothing says you have to allow ALL of the new or even Core spells. Any spells you let into the game are spells you may have to deal with at a later time. Be sure they pass your "Oh Crap" test for your game. This can be a problem if the new spells are from a different campaign world where the checks and balances may be different.

was has a good idea for letting the new spells in. When the cleric in question does something that is well aligned with the deity's stated goals or mission, reward with a new spell during prayer.

 

[Ezequielramone]

I love what they did with Pillars of Eternity. Each deity gives a different set of spells. But with the amount of spell and probably gods you could have that seems a lot of work.
I'd just assign each "extra" spell you have to certain deity and give them that automatically if they follow the spell's deity.

 

[Mad_Jack]

The narrative attached to the cleric gaining levels is that they've experienced spiritual growth and gained wisdom, and therefore have a deeper understanding of the mysteries of their faith and of divine magic. Thus, the in-game explanation for anything related to gaining new spells - gaining a new level of spells from the core list, or introducing a new spell to their list, or making the decision to not include one - is as simple as their deity having decided what new divine knowledge they wished to reward the character with... The core spell list contains the most-commonly-known spells, but it doesn't necessarily have to contain all the spells available in the game...

You're the DM - if you don't want the cleric to have those new spells, they don't have them... If you allow some or all of them into your game, then just decide which spells are generally available to everyone and which ones aren't - maybe they're only available to clerics of certain deities or alignments, or maybe they're some sort of forgotten wisdom that has to be quested for or earned in some way.

The first thing to do is go through the list of new stuff and decide which spells you want in your game - some may be over-powered, some may be under-powered, and some may just be boring or so niche as to be borderline useless... Once you've narrowed down the list to an acceptable level - and made whatever tweaks you feel are beneficial - decide on a case-by-case basis for each new spell how they're going to be introduced to the game...
For a lot of them, they really don't require much more explanation beyond "Your god has granted you new wisdom" and handing the character his new spell list. Or you could fluff it as the character having always known the spell and just not seen a need to cast it before.

 

[RJ Boden]

Have to report their deeds to their organization and priest is 'graduated' to the next level and given a more updated spellbook/holy book to replace their old one?

 

[PurpleDragonKnight]

Drop divine scrolls with the spells you want to introduce in the next loot they uncover... they will look the spells up... on their own!

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

You could also have the players find an ancient prayerbook from their church (or an earlier version of their church). In it are older prayers and rituals that have been forgotten over the years, and when the cleric uses them as part of his morning prayer/meditation, the god or goddess in question is pleased and grants access to those new spells. The reason? The deity had been waiting to be properly petitioned for these particular spells.

Or you could have these spells be more associated with certain different orders within the church. For example, Pelor, the sun god in Greyhawk, is associated with healing, light, the sun, travel, strength and destruction of undead. The Order of Pelor-of-the-Balm might be an order dedicated to the healing power of the god, and thusly has access to certain healing spells regular clerics don't. The Order of Pelor the Holy Light might be focused on the sun and undead-killing aspects of the god, and have undead-bane spells. The Order of the Wandering Sun might be those Pelorites who travel as the sun does, and have particular spells of movement and protection. The Order of Pelor the Mighty might be the militant arm of the church, with strength and battle spells the main church doesn't.

 

[Starfox]

Basically, it boils down to two questions:

Do you want this spell in your game? This is pretty straightforward.

Do you want to make it a plot element? The new spell could be a reward, lost lore that must be researched, or scrolls found as treasure. Or you could just hand the new spells out.

 

[Helluin]

There are a number of divine heralds and servitor races associated with the Gods in PF pantheon. Perhaps you can introduce new spells via a meeting with a herald of the deity charged with mediating divine revelation (if your party is high level), or a member of a lesser servitor race that brings forgotten or otherwise unrevealed mysteries to the priest (if your party is relatively low level)? This meeting could be the reward of a sidequest, and you can start foreshadowing this meeting by dropping a few spells here and there from the new source books during the sidequest itself.