Cleric Spells- Why do you pick them?
 

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knows why you need to pick spells for a cleric. I thought they had access to all clerical spells and just picked what they wanted each day. Didn't really think you would need to pick them ahead of time in the program.

Beldar

I direct you to page 32 of the D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook, 4th paragraph of the Spells section. For an hour a cleric prays or meditates for the spells that they will be casting in the next 24 hour period. Typically this prayer or meditation takes place at dawn or noon for good clerics and dusk or midnight for evil clerics.

Nigel Fogg, aka The Wayfarer
:)

One of my fellow players reminded me of another factor that HL needs to check for regarding the spells a player wishes their cleric to cast that day: from page 33 of the Player's Handbook, that clerics cannot cast spells with descriptors of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity's alignment. Example, a LG cleric or a cleric worshiping a LG deity cannot cast spells that have of either a Chaotic or Evil descriptor.

Nigel Fogg, aka The Wayfarer :)

You're picking the spells you pray for each day. You have to pick them ahead of time since Clerics aren't spontaneous casters.

Actually, they are spontaneous casters as well as druids. Spontaneous means they can swap any spell they have prepared. Clerics can "lose" any spell he/she had prepared ahead of time in order to case a healing spell of the same level (Players handbook page 32, Spontaneous casting). Likewise, druids are able to "lose" any prepared spell to cast a summon natures ally spell of the same level or lower. (Players Handbook page 35, Spontaneous casting).