Clarification on a Cleric at 4th level
Wisdom of 18 = +4 modifier + level
At 1st level, they would select 5 (1st) spells to be "prepared" but only have 2 slots available. (Level 1 + 4 WIS mod)
At 2nd level, they add 1 new (1st) spell = total of 6 with 3 slots available.
At 3rd level they add 1 new (1st) spell and 2 new (2nd) spells= 7-1st level and 2-2nd level spells with 6 slots available.
At 4th level, they add 1 new (2nd) spell and would have 7- 1st level spells and 3-2nd level spells with 7 slots available.
So, in play, this cleric has 8 spells (Level 4 +WIS mod of 4) on his "prepared" list with 7 slots available (4-1st and 3-2nd), but in actuality has ten spells (7 ( 1st lvl) + 3 ( 2nd lvl.) on his total spell list.
They have ten spells total, can "prepare" eight, and only use seven in-game.
Is this correct?
DO NOT worry about including Domain Spells or Cantrips in this question. My interest is on spell totals excluding these two.
Clerics can prepare Level + Wisdom modifier spells each day (ignoring domain spells which are always prepared), so you are correct that at 4th level a character with 18 Wisdom can prepare 8 spells.
You are also correct that a 4th level cleric has 4 1st-level spell slots and 3 2nd-level spell slots.
I have no idea at all what you mean by "They have ten spells total," however.
Clerics can prepare their spells from any of the spells on their spell list of the level(s) for which they have spell slots, and do not have to distribute those prepared spells in a specific way amongst the spell levels they have slots for - you're cleric could prepare 1 1st-level spell and 7 2nd-level spells, or even 8 1st-level spells if he felt doing so.
Aaron:
Thank you, you clarified my own confusion with your last paragraph...appreciate it!
The cleric's spell preparation mechanic makes it wonderful for multiclassing, since the spells you can prepare are restricted only by the level of spell slots you have access to. So a 12 Cleric/ 8 Druid (which shares the same spell preparation feature) with 20 wisdom could prepare 17 Cleric spells of any level and 13 Druid spells of any level.
Writhani wrote:
Well that's a downer. I didn't catch that part of the spellcasting rules for multiclassed characters. I suppose the text in Cleric, Druid, and Paladin spellcasting that states that they can prepare any spell that they have the appropriate spell slot for is overwritten by the multiclassing rule that, when they prepare each class's spells, they do do as though they were a single-classed character of that class's level. They can cast those lower level spells with thosehigher level slots, they just don't have access to 7th, 8th or 9th level spells... That rather puts a damper on things.
Writhani wrote:
Writhani wrote: