some quick cleric lore questions: first off, presuming their god is amenable, can a cleric create new spells? Saw your tweets about the Seven Mysteries and converting the arcane, but more generally how much latitude is there for the mortal to shape divine energy? Relatedly, what about other divine spells: do they not get, say, Find Steed by their god's discretion, or is it more down to a cleric's studies and training not being geared that way? Could a specific like that be taught, or would it require the whole shebang? Cheers in advance.
— Eóghan Macmillan (@EoghanMacmillan) May 29, 2021
Hi!
The divine magic received by clerics is ALWAYS up to the deity (though bestowing spells in answer to a mortal’s prayers may often be delegated to their servitors). As the Time of Troubles showed us, magics up to and… 2)
…including 3rd level are usually “automatically” granted (even when the deity isn’t paying attention or “on the job” at all), but not to an individual the deity is displeased with and so has cut off, or is paying particular… #Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021
…attention to (and possibly substituting other spells than those prayed for, for the god’s own purposes).
So if the deity is amenable, a “new” prayer or even an existing one offered again can result in the bestowal of a new…
…spell. The inspiration for how to wield it, and understanding of its casting, come from the deity. However, that’s an “IF.” Realms history tells us that deities rarely grant new spells, and priesthoods (the hierarchy of…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021
5)
…mortal clerics) almost always discourage maverick “freelancing” on the part of member clergy (because humans devote themselves to faith in large part to establish order and control in their lives, to benefit themselves and… 6)
…others thereby). So a cleric will usually be discouraged by superiors from trying to get “the unusual” from a deity.
However, ADVENTURING clerics (and paladins, and for that matter non-classed hermits and lay fanatics) are by…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021
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…definition the unusual mavericks in a faith, and if they please or entertain or seem very useful to a deity, new spells could well be granted.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021
Sorry for the barrage of questions, by the way, just on a bit of a lore kick at the moment… 😅 Don't be sorry!
I meant: a wizard studies a spell (peruses its glyphs while memorizing its incantation and casting procedure) to put it in his/her mind, but a cleric prays to a deity in order to be "given" a spell (the deity "imparts"/places it in the cleric's mind).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021
Ah, I see. So in the case of the wizard, they may not necessarily know the underlying workings of the spell, even if they have the Gift and have memorised the required rituals. Conversely: a learned sage who knows what the Weave is actually *doing*, even if they can’t cast. Yes!
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) May 30, 2021