Why can't clerics cast "Identify" and "Analyse Dweomer"?

[Thanee]

The Spell domain also allows to cast identify, as an arcane spell, however.

But what about clerics of the god of knowledge? Those can't do that, but it would fit fairly well, for sure.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Henry]

If the wizard makes me "grovel" to identify an item, guess what I'm making him do when he's in need of healing or curative magics?

There is a good reason for the distinction - clerics are not as a rule well versed enough with identifying unfamiliar magics as wizards are - it's the wizard's forte, if no longer his exclusive domain. And just because one can CREATE magic items does not mean that one can easily identify other's magic items. But then, they don't need identification to recognize their own items!

Magic items are as personal as a bad programmer's "spaghetti code" - it's a creation without landmarks and roadmaps, and you need to be able to recognize what certain program loops do inherently just by studying them. You can usually read your OWN code, but how about someone else's? That's where a "wizard" comes in. Whereas the lay programmer might be lost, the true genius programmer would be able to dig through the mess and figure out what the heck the program does. Consider that the difference between clerics and wizards - one is trained for the activity, one isn't.

 

[diaglo]

clerics have been able to research spells since the invention of the game.

 

[WayneLigon]

I always looked on it this way: a cleric has no actual knowledge of how his, or any, magic works because it isn't him doing it. His god does it and channels the power through him. The cleric is just an earthly conduit (being earthly and mortal, he's also a flawed vessel, explaining why clerical magic can fail). Of course only in one campaign world I've done have I ever had a god of magic, or any with the magic domain, or allowed a cleric/wizard multiclass. To me, they're opposite camps. Fire and water, etc.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I personally don't like the arcane/divine division in D&D magic, but in a situation where it is there I think that there could have been a better division between arcane and divine magic items to parallel it - call one magic and the other relics perhaps. Certainly in my campaign I flavour-text it that way (there are no wands of cure moderate wounds, but there are icons of cure moderate wounds - little images of Asura that are functionally identical to wands)

Cheers

 

[Dogbrain]

It's because yadda yadda rubbish rubbish made-up-crap-ad-hoc nonsensical non-explanation, empty rationalization, rubbish rubbish rubbish rubbish.

And THAT is why Clerics get the spells they get and don't get the spells they don't get.

There is no reason--it's just fiction. There are only rationalizations.

 

[DragonLancer]

As has been said prior, Clerics don't need Identify type spells. Such things don't fall in to the role that clerics play in the world.

 

[Kesh]

I think it's because, in 3.0, clerics could cast identify using their divine focus, rather than an expensive material component. Broken!

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

In the modified words of "Bones" McCoy from the original Star Trek:

"Dammit Jim! I'm a cleric not a miracleworker!"

If the cleric truly needed Identify (or any arcane spell for that matter), a simple casting of Miracle will do the job. Kind of a waste tho.

 

[dead]

Magic items are as personal as a bad programmer's "spaghetti code" - it's a creation without landmarks and roadmaps, and you need to be able to recognize what certain program loops do inherently just by studying them. You can usually read your OWN code, but how about someone else's? That's where a "wizard" comes in. Whereas the lay programmer might be lost, the true genius programmer would be able to dig through the mess and figure out what the heck the program does. Consider that the difference between clerics and wizards - one is trained for the activity, one isn't.

Yeah, this is a good way of thinking about it, too.

I've got some thinking ahead of me to do on this one.