In the core book it says a cleric can research spells. I am researching a spell in a game im playing, and this is what I came up with as far as how to do it. If you have other ideas or experiences please share.
1-Meditation on the subject.
2-Gleening insight from temples to my diety where ever I go, and offering a nice donation(in addition to my typical 10%)
3-Researching the good ol' fashion way with books and items.
4-Trail and error attempting to cast a new prayer.
Honestly the concept of researching a divine spell seems strange to me since your diety grants you the powers, but I was thinking maybe it would be like finding an ancient holy text that had long forgotten rites in it. Any help is appreciated.
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I'd definitely go the 'long lost forgotten rites' approach. It would be like learning new, well forgotten, prayers.
Or it could be simply done in prayer. For example the character conducts the normal prayers for spells; then also spends an additional X amount of time in prayer thanking their diety/asking their diety XX.
Perhaps the prayers are answered by the cleric having dreams, dreams where an angel/aspect of the Deity comes in to teach the cleric something new.
Or it could be simply done in prayer. For example the character conducts the normal prayers for spells; then also spends an additional X amount of time in prayer thanking their diety/asking their diety XX.
I like that idea, I was doing a seperate meditation during the day/night when able, but it would make sense that for a new spell it would be in the start of the day when I memorize my spells. I'll try that next time see if I can get further along.
The options you listed are good, they bring a logic to the research, but they don't have to be the only ones.
A spell external to the basic list of a cleric doesn't have to be an ancient forgotten ritual.
It can be an unorthodox spell used by a marginal or even dissident branch of the cult, therefore not commonly used by the official cult or even clerics in general.
It could be the adaptation of a spell used by some other casters, divine or not, through mutual contact and influence.
It could also be just the product of the imagination and creativity of an individual, like the character himself, which would make it unknown and unique.
There are many other possibilities, which could turn this thread into a "1001 new Cleric Spells and their Sources"...
It can be an unorthodox spell used by a marginal or even dissident branch of the cult, therefore not commonly used by the official cult or even clerics in general.
That is true, reminds me of the Separitist archtype in UM, I forgot about that. Hmm, I hope I don't branded as a heretic... heh
It can be a lot of different things, but here are some possible ideas borrowed from the Christian tradition:
1.) A spell could be an ancient prayer or part of an ancient ritual that has been lost or suppressed. This has a certain flare to it, and it allows for some further options. A lost ritual or prayer might have once been important, but later fell into disuse because its relevance was lost for a time. Relatively new prayers (less than 200 years old) are often suppressed because they are seen as innovations to the ancient tradition (assuming the tradition is more than 200 years old), especially if they allow for some new ideas. These prayers (like Eucharistic Prayer II in the modern Catholic mass) are sometimes dug out centuries later, when they look ancient and venerable to modern eyes, and suddenly be given pride of place because of their age, even though in their own time they had been abandoned. Of course they could have been suppressed because they were dangerous. The Gnostic texts were destroyed to keep the ideas of a condemned heresy from spreading any further, and were only uncovered again in modern times.
2.) A spell could be part of another tradition than the one to which the priest belongs. This could mean that it is part of an heretical cult, but it could just as easily be the difference between the Slavic usage of Byzantine rituals and the Greek usage. I would think that Slavic peoples in a fantasy setting might have some protection from cold as part of their magic, for example, but yet this would be silly to bother with in Greek lands. A Greek priest could, never the less, research it and borrow it from another tradition that is still part of his faith without having to deal with the problems that arise from taking things from an heretical group.
3.) When new needs arise, new prayers are written. This is usually the purview of mystics and great theologians, who later are made saints to give further dignity to these new texts. This would be the equivalent of prayer and meditation on a topic to create a new spell. Sometimes things like visions of God, angels, or saints accompany this. Other times they are a product of automatic writing, still others an extension of a deep spiritual understanding that is reached, coupled with an acute understanding of liturgical poetry. This would likely be something that the author would want to share with his faith and would spread quickly, especially if it is an important new ability.
4.) Inspiration could also be gathered by the undertaking of a fast or a pilgrimage, especially when the cleric knows the problem but cannot figure out a solution. Because fasting for longer than a couple of days has some psychological effects, it was often tied to mysticism, but it's not exactly the same thing. To me this would be a great solution if the character knows he needs a new spell to overcome a problem, but he doesn't know what that spell should be and is looking for the GM (playing the role of his deity) to intervene with a spell that would be particularly appropriate.
Just some thoughts. I hope that helps.