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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 9519031" data-attributes="member: 907">I'm not sure where in 1e it is, but there was a concept that clerics got level 1 and 2 spells from their own faith, levels 3 through 5 from various intermediaries, and levels 6 and 7 directly from The Boss (with only greater gods being able to grant level 7 spells). This is also why demigods were limited to granting level 5 spells: they are the ones who get subcontracted to handle mid-level spell granting for the real gods.Similar concepts showed up in 2e, but I don't know how specific it was. It think it was explicit in Legends & Lore (the 2e version of Deities & Demigods), and Spelljammer alluded to it by limiting priest spells to 1st and 2nd level in the Phlogiston as well as in crystal spheres where your own god wasn't worshiped (though there were ways around it, like getting in touch with a similar one, or by worshiping Celestian or Ptah who were widely-enough worshiped in space that they could grant spells everywhere).This also reminds me of a difference between 1e and 2e in deific power levels. 1e only had demigods, lesser gods, and greater gods, maxing out at spell level 5, 6, and 7 respectively. Each pantheon had quite a few greater gods – I don't have the book to check, but I think e.g. the Greek pantheon had both Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Apollo, Demeter, and probably one or two more as Greater gods. In 2e, they decided that the term "greater god" should be limited to the actual pantheon heads – Zeus, in this case. But it's kind of boring if only the chief god's priests get to cast level 7 spells, so they made a new level: Intermediate god, who still got to grant spells all the way to level 7, and demoted almost all the formerly greater gods to Intermediate.Then, along came Forgotten Realms. Much like the real-world pantheons, the 1e version had quite a few greater gods around. But other than Ao (who does not respond to prayer or worship and is therefore irrelevant), there was no real chief of the FR pantheon – no-one to point to and say "this guy stays, the rest gets to drop a level". So instead of greater gods being demoted to intermediate, FR had lesser gods promoted to intermediate, and quite a few of the former demigods promoted to lesser gods.</blockquote>

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