No, I'm not using that book.

[Grogg of the North]

In a lot of DMing, the only time I've asked a player if his PC had/could take spell X is when the players were rattled and trying to figure out how to overcome some problem and usually it was helping out a new player. This seems like something that's worth a conversation at least - "Hey you've brought this spell up a few times, any particular reason?"

I don't think the DM should be making assumptions about any of the characters - if he needs details for something he can ask for a copy of their sheets. It's not like this stuff is a secret, especially playing online.

I am curious, if it's that much of a game-changer, is the rest of the party asking about it? Or just the DM?

It usually comes up when something big and nasty smacks us and the entire party has a look on their face that says "Oh dear, we're gonna die!" What's funny is now the rest of the group has started answering that question (Do you have revivify?) for me.

It's not just me though. It took the DM a long time to realize that the party sorceress did not know fireball.

 

[griffonwing]

It usually comes up when something big and nasty smacks us and the entire party has a look on their face that says "Oh dear, we're gonna die!" What's funny is now the rest of the group has started answering that question (Do you have revivify?) for me.

It's not just me though. It took the DM a long time to realize that the party sorceress did not know fireball.

I think that is perfectlyt acceptable. You don't play cookie cutter spell-casters. If every spell-caster in the game-world knew Fireball, I'm certain it would much more smoky and charred than it is now. The same goes for Revivify. Sure it seems to be a great spell, however, if every cleric could cast it, I'm certain there would be more adventuring parties around, and less loot for you.

I say, theme your characters. Make them different. Don't pick the same spells.

Even better, roll them all randomly, and KEEP them. You never know how useful some of them might be, OR, how to use them in ways they were not really designed for. It also makes for awesome tavern stories.

 

[Jhaelen]

The same goes for Revivify. Sure it seems to be a great spell, however, if every cleric could cast it, [...]

*Meep!!!* Here's the important difference between magic users and clerics: Every cleric _can_ cast Revivify. 3e clerics are not restricted in their spell choices, they can pray for any spell in any book.
It's what makes clerics the most difficult class to play, imho. Unless a player knows about every cleric spell in existence, she's not utilizing the full potential of her character.

 

[griffonwing]

*Meep!!!* Here's the important difference between magic users and clerics: Every cleric _can_ cast Revivify. 3e clerics are not restricted in their spell choices, they can pray for any spell in any book.
It's what makes clerics the most difficult class to play, imho. Unless a player knows about every cleric spell in existence, she's not utilizing the full potential of her character.

Yes, I am aware of the casting rules between arcance and divine. That is one thing that I do not like about most fantasy-based divine magic systems. Every cleric of every god has access to the same spells at the same time. That just makes no sense. Well, except for evil clerics. They INFLICT wounds instead of HEAL them, but at the same rate. I much prefer my favored system that gives every follower of every god their own custom spell list, and complete custom class abilities.

That being said (back on topic), the GM should, at the start of any campaign, announce the books that make up his game world. If his campaign includes The Book of Eldritch and Godly Spells, then he needs to 1) announce it, and 2) supply a copy of the spells to the cleric, be they photocopies of the spell pages, or fully-detailed spell index cards.

The fact that PC-Cleric does not have Revivify is not the fault of PC-Cleric-Player, but the fault of the GM.

 

[Gilladian]

When I DM (we play 3.5, E6 variant, so only 1-3rd lvl spells), a cleric selects his list of "possible" spells for that level when he gains a level. The number he can select is limited by the number that was in the original PH. So, I think it is 26 for 1st level; the cleric player can go through any sources approved by me (and it is a long list) and build his spell list. Once built, it may not be changed. Those are the spells that he KNOWS his GOD approves of him casting. Each time he gains a new spell level, he adds that level's selected spells to his list.

I have a massive spell database that I hand-compiled BY MYSELF in Filemaker Pro. I go through and mark each spell with the cleric's name, sort them out, and print off his or her personal book of known spells. For NPC clerics, I have made an "approved" list for each deity, and I tend to use that. For BBEG priests, I may sometimes customize with a unique spell or two, but for the bog-standard temple cleric, they get a very generic list based on their god's beliefs/area of influence.

I've never had a player complain that this method is unfair; they get to choose pretty freely at level-up, but their list stays uniform over the life of the character.