Spheres of Access (POSM)

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Just as wizard spells are divided into schools of magic, priest spells are organized into spheres of access. A sphere of access represents a group of related spell powers granted by a particular deity, so a power of war usually grants access to the spheres of combat and war, a power of nature usually grants access to the spheres of animal and plant, and so on. All priestly spheres of access are organized in the same scheme—there are no variant organizations like the schools of effect or thaumaturgy for wizards.
While wizards generally have the ability to learn spells from any school unless specifically stated otherwise, priests are strictly limited to the spheres their deity grants them access to. In other words, the organization of priest spells governs which spells a priest can cast, while wizard schools govern which spells a wizard can't cast. This makes it difficult to create new spheres of priest spells, since a great deal of work must be done to retrofit any new spheres to existing priesthoods that should have had influence in the new sphere.
The standard spheres from the Player's Handbook are the spheres of all, animal, astral, charm, combat, creation, divination, elemental (with the lesser spheres of air, earth, fire, and water), guardian, healing, necromantic, plant, protection, summoning, sun, and weather. In addition, the Tome of Magic adds the spheres of chaos, law, numbers, thought, time, travelers, war, and wards.
All: Spells of this sphere represent the basic class abilities that should be available to all priest characters, regardless of specialization. Spells that deal with direct manifestations of a deity's power, such as bless, chant, and gate are included, as well as a few spells that are so general that all priests may make use of them, such as detect magic, remove curse, and atonement. The sphere of all has been greatly expanded in Player's Option: Spells & Magic in order to balance the spell powers available to different kinds of specialty priests.
Animal: Spells that influence or alter creatures are found in the sphere of animal. Most animal spells do not affect people. Powers of nature or husbandry often grant spells of this sphere.
Astral: The astral sphere deals with communication and movement between the various planes of existence. Priesthoods of philosophy or travel sometimes have access to this sphere.
Chaos: Priests with access to this sphere command spell powers that increase randomness and confusion to the world around them. Deities of mischief and ill luck often grant spells of chaos.
Charm: Charm spells usually affect the attitudes and actions of people. Powers of love, trickery, or art often grant access to this sphere. The sphere is also useful when dealing with hostile enemies or unbelievers, and many expansive faiths deal with this sphere as well.
Combat: Naturally, combat spells are used to attack or injure the enemies of the faith. Since most priests have an interest in self-defense, a great number of faiths have access to the sphere of combat.
Creation: Creation spells allow the priest to produce food, water, light, or other things from nothing. Create water and continual light are good examples. Prime creator powers often grant access to this sphere.
Divination: This useful sphere allows the priest to discern the safest course of action, detect hidden things, or discover hidden knowledge. It is the province of deities of learning and wisdom.
Elemental: The four basic elements of creation—air, earth, fire, and water—are dealt with in this sphere. Powers of nature or powers with elemental interests typically grant access to at least part of this sphere. Very few priests have access to all four elements.
Guardian: Priesthoods charged with the protection of holy places often have access to this sphere. Spells that help a guardian to perform his task are included as well as spells that create or enforce magical barriers over a person or area.
Healing: This sphere deals with all forms of healing spells, except those which restore life or manipulate the subject's life force.
Law: The sphere of law is the antithesis of the sphere of chaos. Law spells concentrate on the principle of obedience and the strength of the group over the strength of the individual. Deities of rulership and community are likely to have influence in this sphere.
Necromantic: Spells of the necromantic sphere deal with the forces of life and death, including raise dead and resurrect. These spells are also quite useful in dealing with undead monsters.
Numbers: Priests with access to this sphere believe that numbers and mathematical relationships can provide insight into the nature of the universe. Powers of knowledge and arcane lore occasionally grant access to this unusual sphere of spells.
Plant: This sphere deals with plants and vegetation of all kinds, from agricultural to wilderness settings. Priests of nature or agriculture are often granted access to this sphere.
Protection: While this sphere is related to the guardian sphere, protection spells generally enable the priest to protect people, not places. Many of these spells are very useful in combat, and militant priests often have access to this sphere.
Summoning: Summoning spells call creatures to serve the priest. Even extradimensional creatures can be summoned at higher levels. This sphere has been revised to include a modest selection of spells suitable for dismissing summoned creatures.
Sun: Solar spells deal with light of different qualities in a variety of ways. Spells such as starshine and Sol's searing orb are included in the sphere of sun.
Thought: The sphere of thought is composed of spells that deal with the interaction of the thinker, the thought, and the subject of the thought. In effect, priests who have access to this sphere believe that thought itself has a certain reality that can affect the physical reality of the world around the mind. Powers concerned with the mind or knowledge are found within this sphere.
Travelers: Spells of this sphere provide aid and comfort to travelers and pilgrims. Deities of wayfarers both peaceful and militant may make these spells available to their followers.
War: Unlike the sphere of combat, the sphere of war deals specifically with magic useful on the battlefield in clashes between armies. War spells can affect hundreds of soldiers at a time.
Wards: The sphere of wards includes spells that provide protection for clearly defined areas, ranging from single objects to whole communities. It is related to the sphere of guardian, but the sphere of wards only creates barriers or obstacles to deter intrusion; ward spells do not necessarily enhance the priest's ability to defend the area. In addition, many ward spells are cooperative in nature and provide protection for bodies of believers instead of holy sites.
Weather: This sphere is concerned with the forces of weather, including wind, fog, lightning, and weather control. Powers of nature and tempests often have influence in this sphere.
==Player's Option and Spheres of Access==
While the general definitions of the spheres have remained the same for Player's Option: Spells & Magic, a number of spells have been rearranged for purposes of game balance. Many spells have been added to the sphere of all in order to provide all priests with the basic spell powers that should be available to them. Some other spells have been assigned to different schools to better define the roles and strengths of clerics, druids, and other specialty priests. For example, reflecting pool was originally designed as a druid spell, but in AD&D 2nd Edition it became a divination spell available to clerics. In this book, reflecting pool has been placed in the sphere of elemental water, where druids have access to it but clerics do not. Refer to Appendix 4 for a complete and accurate listing of which spells belong where.
Cleric Sphere Access: As part of the reorganization of the spheres of access, clerics lose access to the sphere of sun and the elemental spheres of air and fire. Clerics retain minor access to the elemental spheres of water and earth. The cleric only loses a dozen or so spells he formerly had access to, and most of these were spells that had previously belonged to the druid in the original AD&D.
Druid Sphere Access: Similarly, druids lose access to the sphere of divination, but gain major access to the sphere of sun. Again, this takes away spells that blur the line between the druid and cleric's spellcasting powers, while restoring a number of spells that druids formerly had access to in the original AD&D game.