priest spell casting

To cast a spell, the character must first have the spell memorized. If it is not memorized, the spell cannot be cast. Each night after eight hours of sleep, the spell caster can memorize the spells for the day. The number of spells is determined by the caster's level, class and ability scores.

Unlike the wizard, the priest needs no spell book and does not roll to see if he learns spells. Priest spells are obtained in an entirely different manner. To obtain his spells, a priest must be faithful to the cause of his deity. If the priest feels confident in this (and most do), he can pray for his spells. Through prayer, the priest humbly and politely requests those spells he wishes to memorize. Under normal circumstances, these spells are then granted. Like the wizard, the priest's level determines how many spells he retains. He must select these spells in advance, demonstrating his wisdom and far-sightedness by choosing those spells he thinks will be most useful in the trials that lurk ahead.

The spells of a priest, while sometimes having powers similar to those of the wizard, are quite different in their overall tone. The priest's role, more often than not, is as defender and guide for others. Thus, the majority of his spells work to aid others or provide some service to the community in which he lives. Few of his spells are truly offensive, but many can be used cleverly to protect or defend.

The priest spells are classified into spheres. Clerics can cast all spells except those from Animal, Plant or Weather spheres and have only minor access to the Elemental sphere, restricting them to spells of 3rd or lower level. Druids can only cast spells from the All, Animal, Elemental, Healing, Plant, and Weather spheres as well as minor access to the Divination sphere.

Casting a spell requires verbal (V), and/or somatic (S) components where somatic refers to hand and body gestures. The caster must be able to speak (not under the effects of a silence spell or gagged) for verbal spells and have both arms free for spells with somatic components. Once the casting has begun, the character must stand still. For spell durations, 1 turn is equal to 10 rounds where one round is 6 seconds in the game. Casting times are normally stated in segments, with one segment equal to one tenth of a round.