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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SableWyvern" data-source="post: 106905" data-attributes="member: 1008">Since this is in General rather than Rules, I'll comment on my charges for clerical magic.Firstly, I find the idea of set costs for clerical spells silly. The DMG alludes to the potential for more variation in clerical spell casting costs, but doesn't give much in the way of hard guidelines. I use the following broad guidelines myself.1. Potions and scrolls offering 1st - 3rd level spells are generally available at base costs. These are not subject to much abuse, and would only be of interest to people who can afford them.2. On the spot healing (cures et al) would generally be available from good and neutral clerics to anyone who was not obviously opposed to their religion. The set prices would apply to those who can obviously afford it, but the poor would often get free or open-donation healing. I once had a Rolemaster PC who desperately needed some poisoning healed. The clerics were quite considerate, but charged a substantial (but fair) sum to analyse the damage, because the party was obviosly wealthy. Quickly discovering the poisoning was not lethal, and the damage would heal naturally in a few days, they gladly passed this information on and moved on to aid the more needy. The PC, however, urgently required that the damage he had suffered be healed, and (somewhat rudely) demanded further aid. Another fair but large price was requested, which the party could not pay, per se. Claiming poverty, the clerics looked on dubiously at a party kitted out which gear worth 100s of times what was being asked for for the healing. Eventually, on party member had to sell some magical arrows to get the cash.If, OTOH, the party had been obviously poor, I would have had the clerics cast their intial spell for free, or at least request only a token sum that could obviously be afforded. They could not have turned away a potential dying person who had come for aid. The second spell would have required a real payment, even from the poor, unless it could be shown that the delay of natural healing would cause extreme hardship.3. For powerful magic that relates to more than simply helping the poor (raising, mega-buffing etc...), the group must show that their beliefs and intents are compatible with the religion. Payment, at least for expensive components, will probably be required, although not necessarily before the spell is cast. Some kind of quest, task or oath is probably also required. This not only adds flavour, but a quest is far more likely to actually cost the party something. 900 odd gp for an occasional raise dead is nothing to most parties of level 5+. Requiring them to make a pilgrimage to a long lost temple and retrieve scrap of holy cloth is likely to cost resources, time etc...4. For raising and the like (a fairly rare thing IMC), a cleric will generally not perform one immediately. Instead, he will spend his next prayer period requesting the appropriate spell only if his god believes the character worthy of raising. IOW, it is fully in the deity's hands as to whether the spell is cast. This process may not be necessary, where the PCs are well known to the caster and the spell is already memorised by the caseter.Hope this gives you some ideas at least.</blockquote>

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