Why do clerics prepare spells?

[Voadam]

Unearthed arcana has an option for spontaneous casting clerics that is fairly simple and from the ones I have played work well without being overpowered.

Same number of spell slots as a cleric but have spells known as a sorcerer using the cleric list plus they know their domain spells.

If I had my campaign to do over again all clerics would be this way in my game.

 

[bigdamnnerd]

I really like the way one of my DMs did it:

He has clerics swap Domain spells for free, and they can swap any other spell at one round per spell level. So, it flavours the clerics a little more (no more generic healers), they have the spontaneity that spells granted by a deity should have, and swapping spells during combat sucks rocks.

So the cleric can pray for that Remove Paralysis when we hit a random encounter of ghasts, but the tactic then becomes "protect her while she prays". 3 rounds *during* combat is longer than it sounds

 

[Rasyr]

Think of it this way.....

The deity is NOT granting spells to the Cleric. Instead, he is granting the power that is used to cast the spell, the mana, if you will. How the Cleric shapes that mana, and what he uses it for are up to him. The spells that a Cleric has are mortal constructs that allows the Cleric to channel the divine mana/power/energy into effects that futher (or are at least supposed to) the aims and goals of the deity.

 

[kenobi65]

Remember that you can switch out your spells by taking an hour to re-prepare them. That seems to fit the way a cleric could fight daemons in the morning and perform a marriage ceremony in the afternoon.

Well, not precisely.

A cleric can leave slots open when he initally prepares his spells for the day, and then spend time later filling those open slots, when he knows better what he wants to do with them. (That process takes between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on what percentage of the spell slots are being filled.)

Note that this doesn't let you switch out spells you prepared previously. Once you prepare divine favor in that first-level slot, you're stuck with it for that day (save for spontaneously changing it into a Cure or Inflict spell, depending on your alignment).

 

[kenobi65]

One of our GMs thinks that a cleric needs to take all his/her spells at the time they pray, but we disagree. The character is asking their god- "hay, you mind if I leave some area here open for flexiblity," though its known that you can't use the open slots for spont. cure (or inflict) spells. It works pretty well for us.

According to Skip Williams, your wife's cleric is, indeed, allowed to do this:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050405a

"When a cleric prepares spells for the day, the cleric has the option to leave some spell slots open, just as a wizard does. Later in the day, the cleric can stop and repeat her spell preparation to place spells in the empty slots.

In effect, the cleric stops, prays, and meditates at the usual time, and those actions make the cleric's spell slots available for the day. The cleric can fill those slots immediately or she can wait until later. See page 178 in the Player's Handbook for details on repeating the spell preparation."

Then again, some of the Rules of the Game articles have been problematic when it comes to meshing with the RAW.

 

[Psion]

It has always bothered my that clerics prepare spells like a wizard, rather than casting them spontaneously. To me, it doesn't fit the mold of prayer.

To me it does. In the model of a religion where benefits are derived from faithful observances, to receive the benefits of prayer or meditation, you actually have to spend long periods in prayer or meditation, daily. That seems pretty straightforward to me.

What you could argue fairly is that perhaps a model like the spirit shaman is more appropriate.

 

[Psion]

Then again, some of the Rules of the Game articles have been problematic when it comes to meshing with the RAW.

Er, yeah. I thiought the rules for open slots specifically cited wizards.

But if not, hey, that makes it seem to me all the more conclusive that cleric spell preparation is exactly as it should be.

 

[radferth]

If you don't want clerics needing to pray for spells in advance, then use the stats for favored soul from Complete Divine or shaman from the Green Ronin book (I favor the latter). You could use these as written, or just use them for spells known/spells per day.

 

[Klaus]

Clerics (and druids, and paladins, and wizards and any other preparation-based caster) can leave open slots to fill up later in the day. This requires a quiet, peaceful environment, at least 15 minutes (up to one hour if you're filling your entire repertoire) and, for wizards, a spellbook (or Spell Mastery).

 

[I'm A Banana]

I think about how real-world religions work.

For the miracle of transubstantiation (what level would bread to divine flesh be?), it takes a good 45 minutes of prayer, repetitive doctrine, communal beseeching, pattern and proactive help.

Preparing a spell is all but the final actions. In the example, the priest could spend the 45 minutes in the morning to prepare the spell, and hten only speak a few words and do a few actions at the moment of casting to release the energy.

Real-world religions often have kind of absurdly complex and lengthy ceremonial aspects, so I think it's fully appropriate for the D&D cleric to have that, too.