Turning Spells to Prayers in 5e

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Magic in D&D does a lot of things, and means different things to different people. For some, magic is runes and incantations, manipulating the fabric of reality. For others, magic is a power granted to you by some otherworldly force. For others still, magic is a power deep within you, that through sheer force of willpower, you can exert a form of energy outwards.

“And you?” she said, turning to Sam. “For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe, though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?”

– Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings

For me, Divine magic in 5e, specifically the kind that Clerics use, can be broken into two categories: Answered Prayers, and Standard Spells. The reason for this division is because Priests, in my opinion, should not be capable of performing magic. Priests are not warriors for their god, they are not heroes in the adventuring sense. So the idea of a Priest casting a spell, even a Cantrip, feels asynchronous, to me, with what the fantasy is of a Priest in a setting with active and present gods, like those in GrecoRoman myth.

So below I have categorized listed all of the spells that I would consider Answered Prayers, and omitted all of the Standard Spells. All of the Answered Prayers are abilities that I believe can be flavored as a Priest praying to their god for help, and having those prayers answered in direct and material ways. There are also a few where it feels like an exorcism, something that Catholic priests claim to be able to do to this day.

Anthony Hopkins in The Rite

I would say that a lower servant of a Temple would know the Cantrip spells, a Priest of a Village Temple would know 1st Level Spells, a Priest of a Town Temple would know 3rd Level Spells, a Priest of a City Temple would know 5th Level Spells, and only the High Priest of a Church would know the 9th Level Spell. Obviously, you play with that how you want, depending on how your religion is organized.

It would also be fun to play a PC Priest, only taking these Prayer-like spells, and treating the other PCs as defending you, or you travelling with them, performing some Temple duty, and seeing how a pacifistic preacher-man handles being in dangerous situations and how that changes you as a person.

If you find this sacrilegious, I apologize, but the overlap of real religious belief and religious-based fantasy is fairly dominant in this context. Also, modern D&D is coded as Catholic practitioners of a Greco-Roman pantheon of deities. It is possible that there are religious prayers that are represented by spells not on this list, in non-Judeo-Christian beliefs, and including that would certainly make that list, and your game, more dynamic. However I don’t have in depth experience with non-Judeo-Christian beliefs, and would therefore miss those similarities.

There are a few spells that would depend on the context, how you flavor the ability, and the level of how active the gods are in your setting, so I’ve listed those in italics. This makes this a functional spell list that you can use for a Priest NPC.

So this is my list of Prayer-like spells from the Cleric spell list.

PHB Spells

Cantrips – Guidance, Resistance, Spare the Dying, Thaumaturgy

1st Level – Bane, Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Evil and Good, Detect Magic, Detect Poison and Disease, Healing Word, Protection from Evil and Good, Purify Food and Drink, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith, Command

2nd Level – Aid, Augury, Calm Emotions, Enhance Ability, Find Traps, Gentle Repose, Lesser Restoration, Locate Object, Prayer of Healing, Protection from Poison, Warding Bond

3rd Level – Beacon of Hope, Bestow Curse, Dispel Magic, Feign Death, Magic Circle, Mass Healing Word, Protection from Energy, Remove Curse, Revivify, Tongues, Water Walk

4th Level – Control Water, Death Ward, Divination, Locate Creature

5th Level – Commune, Dispel Evil and Good, Greater Restoration, Hallow, Legend Lore, Mass Cure Wounds, Planar Binding, Insect Plague

6th Level – Find the Path, Heal, Forbiddance, Planar Ally, True Seeing

7th Level – Conjure Celestial, Regenerate

8th Level – Holy Aura

9th Level – Mass Heal

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the higher levels, there are fewer abilities that can be seen as a show of faith.

Xanathar + Tasha

The only spell that Xanathar adds to this category is Ceremony (1st Level), which is quite literally just a religious ceremony you perform, with minor mechanical effects.

The only Tasha spell is Summon Celestial, which is similar to a lower level Planar Ally/Conjure Celestial, which was already on the fence.

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