Questions about being a Cleric in CF BRP

[wisewoman]

Hello,

I've just started playign BRP Classic fantasy as a cleric. I have a couple of questions for those more familiar with this system than I.

As a Cleric it says in the book that 'The Bless Spell can be used on an area to create holy ground, so a cleric far from civilization mays still pray for spells.' Now does this mean the Greater or Lesser Bless Spell or either?

I'm also a bit confused about spells and theuir memorization. My character has a POW of 15. At the minute I take 3 hours at Dawn (The praying at dawn is a trait of my Goddess) to memorize three different spells. However I'm confused as it says in CF manual that Clerics are able to memorize a number fo spells equal to POW. Does that then mean that, in theory, if i spent 15 hours a day (unrealistic) I could then have 15 useable spells in my reportoire for that single day. However the next day I would have to do it all again and pray for the number of hours equal to the number of different spells I have chosen for that day?

Also just to clarify - say I have Command, Chant and Perception spells memorized (3 hours prayed for at Dawn). I could choose to use say Command that Day at Level 5 which would then cost me 5 Magic points instesd of 1 plus it would take me longer to cast . This with a DEX of 11 it would mean my 5th level Command spell woudlnt go off until me DEX is 11-5 = 6. Is that right?

Thanks for any insight!

Melissa

[frogspawner]

Though it looks great, I don't actually play CF, but I'd have thought...

A cleric wouldn't have to pray for their spells every day. Just the first time that spell is memorized (or re-memorized, if previously dropped to make room in POW for another). Just casting a spell doesn't mean it is lost from memory. (CF ain't that D&D-like - is it??)

Lesser Bless only lasts rounds, so that wouldn't be any good, as praying for spells takes 1 hour/spell. (This is less of a problem when you use it as above, though). Still, praying to the goddess each dawn sounds like a good idea anyway.

Dunno about casting times.

[threedeesix]

Hello,

I've just started playign BRP Classic fantasy as a cleric. I have a couple of questions for those more familiar with this system than I.

Hi Melissa, thanks for your interest in Classic Fantasy. I'll see if I can answer your questions.

As a Cleric it says in the book that 'The Bless Spell can be used on an area to create holy ground, so a cleric far from civilization mays still pray for spells.' Now does this mean the Greater or Lesser Bless Spell or either?

As Frogspawner mentions, this would have to be a Greater Bless spell due to the longer duration. If I remember correctly, when I first wrote the holy ground rules I only had one Bless spell so forgot to mention it when changed later.

I'm also a bit confused about spells and theuir memorization. My character has a POW of 15. At the minute I take 3 hours at Dawn (The praying at dawn is a trait of my Goddess) to memorize three different spells. However I'm confused as it says in CF manual that Clerics are able to memorize a number fo spells equal to POW. Does that then mean that, in theory, if i spent 15 hours a day (unrealistic) I could then have 15 useable spells in my reportoire for that single day. However the next day I would have to do it all again and pray for the number of hours equal to the number of different spells I have chosen for that day?

Again, as Froggy mentions, no, you do not have to re-memorize the spells every day. Nor do you forget them once cast. This is only for a situation where you wish to forget one spell and memorize another.

Also just to clarify - say I have Command, Chant and Perception spells memorized (3 hours prayed for at Dawn). I could choose to use say Command that Day at Level 5 which would then cost me 5 Magic points instesd of 1 plus it would take me longer to cast . This with a DEX of 11 it would mean my 5th level Command spell woudlnt go off until me DEX is 11-5 = 6. Is that right?

This is correct. It takes one DEX rank per spell level to cast a spell.

Thanks for any insight!

Melissa

No problem. And thank you Frogspawner for answering the questions while I was unavailable.

Rod

[wisewoman]

Hey there,

Thanks for the replies. I think some of my difficulty is that i played D&D with DM modified rules before and I'm trying to get my head round BRP CF. My deity has also come across from D&D land.

So I dont have to pray at Dawn *for spells* every day -( though I will still have to pray anyway as that's part of following my deity ). So can you just clarify how many spells I can actually know and have at my reportoire as a new cleric (well actually one converted in from D&D) who has INT 12 and POW 15 . Also, would they all have 100% success ? The CF book says a cleric can start with 2 common but then says something about having up to two additional ones as per gaining new spells.

Am i then correct in thinking that I can then, with money, the right amount time spent in ritual space and successful perform ritual rolls, increase my spells up to a number equal to my POW (currently 15).

Apologies if these are silly questions I may be over-complicating things as my brain is still stuck in D&D rule-land. I'm also probably not helping my self by just reading the cleric sections int he book - but my time is limited

Melissa

Edited October 22, 2012 by wisewoman

[frogspawner]

Am i then correct in thinking that I can then, with money, the right amount time spent in ritual space and successful perform ritual rolls, increase my spells up to a number equal to my POW (currently 15).

Yep, sounds right to me. Maybe your GM would let your cleric have a few more than 2 Commons, if you're more than just a really-new "1st leveller". Conversion can be tricky - especially of gods and their spells. I've been trying to get free of D&D land for 20+ years and am still having trouble with that...!

[threedeesix]

Hey there,

So can you just clarify how many spells I can actually know and have at my reportoire as a new cleric (well actually one converted in from D&D) who has INT 12 and POW 15 .

As a Cleric with a POW of 15 you would be able to memorize a total of 15 spells.

Also, would they all have 100% success ?

Yes. All cleric spells have a 100% success chance.

The CF book says a cleric can start with 2 common but then says something about having up to two additional ones as per gaining new spells.

This means that a starting cleric, right out of the gate so to speak, would begin with two common spells, and could sacrifice POW for up to two more before play begins. Once in play, you may spend as much time, money, and POW as you like to get as many as you want. Assuming of course the other characters want to sit around and wait for you.

However, if you are converting an existing cleric, I would just pick what you consider your signiture spells and add them to your list of those memorized. POW is easily raised, so I would only lower it a point for every two or three spells chosen in this case, to represent the fact that you have raised POW somewhat since sacrificing it previously.

Am i then correct in thinking that I can then, with money, the right amount time spent in ritual space and successful perform ritual rolls, increase my spells up to a number equal to my POW (currently 15).

Correct, see above.

Apologies if these are silly questions I may be over-complicating things as my brain is still stuck in D&D rule-land. I'm also probably not helping my self by just reading the cleric sections int he book - but my time is limited

No apologies required. I appreciate the questions, it lets me know someone is reading my book. Keep them coming.

Rod