I'm running a 4-hour game at Gen Con this year, and in the past I have always had trouble with preparing all of the data a Cleric requires in order to be played.
As a GM I always have all character sheets and information on abilities written in a folder for each class so there is no reason to open the Rulebook at all during the game. I find looking through the book kills all momentum.
With most casters, they have a set list of Known spells that are moderately limited.
Clerics, on the other hand, are open to pick from just about any spell in the entire Cleric spell lists within their level.
Question: How have you DM's handled Clerical spells to prevent the game to come to a halt while the Cleric is thumbing through the book reading up on every spell in his list? A level 8 Cleric is looking at over 100 spells at his disposal.
Any suggestions on how I could prepare in advance so there is no need to open the Core Rulebook would be helpful. The goal here is to prevent anyone from needing to open it during game play (time is already limited to 4 hours).
Well, the primary limitation is of course what spells they have prepped. If you go ahead an pre-stat the spells prepped, then do "spell cards" in a 2-3 page pamphlet, it would cut down on things a lot. I would imagine you run into the same issue with Druids?
Perram has a nice spell card generator. This might save some time.
link
Ender_rpm wrote: Well, the primary limitation is of course what spells they have prepped. If you go ahead an pre-stat the spells prepped, then do "spell cards" in a 2-3 page pamphlet, it would cut down on things a lot. I would imagine you run into the same issue with Druids? Or if you like to do this, you could do out the complete lists for clerics, druids, wizards and other prepared casters. Once done you could print a few copies of certain lists as needed.
There are spell lists out there I believe that would have synopses of each spell out there, perhaps that would work?
What kind of event is this for?
-James
Yes any class that doesn't have a set list of Known spells is always an issue for me.
As long as I can put down a list of spells in advance that are known for, say, Wizards, everything runs much, much quicker.
I think the problem still is that they would have to go through all 100+ spells even with cards to pick out the 20+ spells a Cleric can cast each day.
With Wizards, for example, they simply have fewer spells in their book to pick, and selecting which one takes less time (usually).
It can also feel overwhelming in trying to pick the right spells as a Cleric.
I just don't know if there really is any way to streamline the time it takes for them to go through them all. I'll look into the generator and making a pamphlet. There's an awful lot of spells just in the Core Rulebook alone.
james maissen wrote: Ender_rpm wrote: Well, the primary limitation is of course what spells they have prepped. If you go ahead an pre-stat the spells prepped, then do "spell cards" in a 2-3 page pamphlet, it would cut down on things a lot. I would imagine you run into the same issue with Druids? Or if you like to do this, you could do out the complete lists for clerics, druids, wizards and other prepared casters. Once done you could print a few copies of certain lists as needed.
There are spell lists out there I believe that would have synopses of each spell out there, perhaps that would work?
What kind of event is this for?
-James It's for a typical RPG Pathfinder event at Gen Con. 4-hour time frame. Perhaps I have just had bad experience in the past, but when the party camps for the night, the Cleric is always the one taking the longest because they have to go through so many spells to pick just a couple.
I mean with that notion I could just print out the spells section of the PDF core rule book, but again it'll encourage the Cleric to go through too many spells taking up everyone's time.
There just has to be a better way to streamline that moment as it always halts the game just for them.
In that case, I'd go ahead and "sandbag" the clerics selections- ie "burn" a low level divination spell, and then give the player a short list of "recommended spells". Fill about 80% of their spells slots this way, then leave some open for them to choose. Use your knowledge of the module to "optimize" the spell selection a bit. Let teh player know WHY you did this, and I have a feeling most" drop in" players would be fine with it, since picking a clerics spells really is difficult.
Depends on if the player playing the cleric is experienced or not.
If they are experienced, just give them a time limit. Lots of players I know would happily spend an hour or more preparing their spells for the day, completely oblivious to the fact everyone else is bored out of their skull. However, they don't really need that time if they are experienced. Give them five or ten minutes and they'll still come up with a good spell list for the day. They may grumble a bit about not being able to perfectly optimize, but just point out the time limit you're working under.
If the playrer isn't experienced, I'd use the same time limit, but work closely with them, or have an experienced player do so.
As a former GenCon judge, I've noticed two things.
1) Most clerics don't make use of ALL the spells. Unless the name of the event is 'underwater lair of the fish king', clerics don't take water breathing. Instead, they take their favorite spells, and end up playing like wizards.
2) Gen Con events are timed, and everyone knows it. Who's in charge of timekeeping? YOU. Give the players a time limit "You need to have your spells picked out by ten after, if you want a chance of finishing"
They'll get it done.
John Pettit wrote:
It's for a typical RPG Pathfinder event at Gen Con. 4-hour time frame. Perhaps I have just had bad experience in the past, but when the party camps for the night, the Cleric is always the one taking the longest because they have to go through so many spells to pick just a couple.
A few things here:
1. If it's a Pathfinder Society event then they are bringing their own characters so presumably they should know them.
2. If it's pregen characters then you could at least do out their current spell list initially and let them swap out if they can do so in a timely manor.
3. Work on time management with the players. There are many tricks to speed up play here and a 4 hour slot benefits from it, especially if whomever has written the adventure has not streamlined it for that timeframe.
Spellcards are a nice time saving skill. But so is encouraging players to work ahead a bit. In combat a ton of time can be saved if people do not dither over actions. Sometimes it's a crucial time, but mostly it's dithering and/or the players not being used to a timed event.
A speech by you at the start of the event as to pacing can be helpful, especially if you provide a few time saving measures. Combine this with talking with the players (as a kind of introduction) to get a sense of where they are (who are old hats at this environment down to who's playing this for the first time). You might wish to have players pick characters in line with their comfort zone in this respect.
Having a 'newbies' guide character sheet for the easiest of the pregen PCs can save time. Likewise pairing that person up with a more experienced player as long as the later is more mentoring than domineering.
Anyway, I'm blathering on. One of the biggest keys is preparation and you seem to be taking that seriously.
How tight is your event for the 4 hour slot? Predrawing maps, etc can also save time as well as having players that can act swiftly when their turn is coming up.
-James
Maybe give them 3 or 4 pre-set spells prepared lists based on the function of the cleric: buffing, summoning, de-buffing, battlefield control, blasting, divination, healbot, party face, etc.
You know the adventure you'll be running; just give them a choice of pre-set preparations....and if they want to swap out a spell or two, fine.
I DM a newbie druid, and her husband usually helps her prepare a couple different spell lists depending on what they plan for the day: shipboard, town, jungle, dungeoneering.
Or if you know who is gonna be there and play the cleric ahead of time, use email or something to do all this ahead of time.
Convention or regular game, I don't let any player play a spellcaster without a spell sheet, with all the spell details.
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