Orisons (PSC)

In the 1st Edition, priest cantrips, or orisons, existed only in the pages of Dragon magazine. In the 2nd Edition, they received an updated treatment only with the advent of the Player ‘s Option: Spells & Magic book. In the meantime, the whole cantrip rule system had been replaced by a single 1st level spell that allowed the caster as many different minor effects as desired within a long period of time (8 hours). The 2nd Edition orison spell, as well as a new related spell, protection from orisons, is given in the main text. The 1st Edition orisons are presented here as examples of what a priest might do with the 2nd Edition orison spell. In the 1st Edition rules, a seg­ment was of a round.
Orisons are minor spells learned by apprentice priests during their long, rigorous, and tedious training for their calling. An aspiring priest can use one orison per day as a 0-level postulant (-2,000 XP to -1,001 XP), two orisons per day as a 0-level petitioner (-1,000 to -501), and three orisons per day as a 0-level aspirant (-500 to -1). Orisons are memorized just as are higher-level spells
Most orisons are simple little spells of no great effect. When the individual becomes a 1st level priest, these small magics are usually ignored in favor of the more powerful spells then available. However, a priest may choose to retain up to two orisons in place of one 1st level spell.
All orisons are 0 level, have a 10-yard range, and have a generally small area of effect. They require only soft, simple verbal and somatic com­ponents, and are cast in a very short time ( to 2 segments). They manifest as a brief burst of magic that quickly fades, leaving at most a minor physi­cal change that persists until altered by time or labor. Only orisons that involve living creatures allow any saving throw. Also, orisons do not gen­erally break states of extreme concentration (such as when casting a spell). The effects of orisons, and the people and items affected by them, radiate a very faint magical aura that lasts for no more than a turn once the magic fades.
The orisons in this section are grouped accord­ing to whether they are cast by clerics (including specialty priests) or by druids (including barbarian or savage priests) or by both. Over time, the druids have gotten far more attention than clerics with respect to orisons. That imbalance has been par­tially addressed here by making more of these available to the cleric and bolstering that list by the addition of a few suitable spells from the wizard cantrip list. Two new ideas from Ed Greenwood round out the list. Also, spheres for all orisons are given in parentheses after their names for those DMs who want to make up orison lists of their own.
 Casting Orisons In 1st Edition Campaigns
Orisons are cast the same way that spells are cast. Up to two orisons can be cast during any round by a single priest. Furthermore, the moment of casting in the round of casting is dependent on the usual factors: surprise, initia­tive, and so on. After the first of the two orisons is cast, the priest player rolls a four-sided die to determine how many segments later he or she can cast the second orison (if so desired). It is not possible to cast both a spell and an orison during the same round, no matter how short the casting times are.
==Researching or Finding Orisons==
Beginning with 2nd Edition, orison effects are usually specified on the spot by the priest; thus, no research is necessary. However, some orison effects might become available through the discovery of ancient tomes. A priest who finds an orison in such a tome must study the pages describing it for at least a week before being able to cast the found orison successfully. If the priest comes from a nonliterate culture, then a similar period of withdrawal for intense meditation and suitable sacrifice to the divine patron for direct illumination may be sufficient. If the 1st Edition rules are used, or if the DM allows char­acters to develop special variant orisons that only they can cast, then an orison is assumed to be one-half level for the purpose of magical research.
==List of Orisons==
Orisons in italics are new.
Name 	Type 	Sphere 	School
Aspiration 	All 	All 	Invocation
Benediction 	All 	All 	Conjuration/Summoning
Bless Meal 	All 	All 	Alteration
Ceremony: Oath 	All 	All 	Conjuration/Summoning
Consecrate 	All 	All 	Invocation
Cure Minor Wounds	All 	Healing 	Divination
Dowse 	All 	Divination 	Divination
Freshen 	All 	All 	Alteration
Haze 	All 	Protection, Weather 	Alteration
Judgement 	All 	Divination 	Divination
Malediction 	All 	Charm 	Conjuration/Summoning
Parch 	All 	Elemental Water 	Enchantment
Petition 	All 	All 	Conjuration/Summoning
Preserve 	All 	Protection 	Alteration
Quench 	All 	Elemental Water 	Enchantment
Temperature 	All 	Protection, Weather 	Alteration
Watch 	All 	All, Animal, Guardian 	Conjuration/Summoning
Candle 	Cleric Orison	Creation 	Conjuration
Canticle 	Cleric Orison	Protection 	Abjuration
Chill 	Cleric Orison	Creation 	Evocation
Clean 	Cleric Orison	Protection, Travelers 	Abjuration
Disinfect 	Cleric Orison	Healing 	Necromancy
Dry 	Cleric Orison	Elemental Water 	Abjuration
Handfire 	Cleric Orison	Combat 	Evocation
Incense 	Cleric Orison	Charm 	Illusion/Phantasm
Meditation 	Cleric Orison	Charm 	Conjuration/Summoning
Mouse 	Cleric Orison	Animal, Summoning 	Summoning
Polish 	Cleric Orison	Protection 	Alteration
Remove Pain 	Cleric Orison	Healing 	Necromantic
Restful Sleep 	Cleric Orison	Necromantic, Travelers	Necromantic
Shine 	Cleric Orison	Protection 	Abjuration
Stone 	Cleric Orison	Combat 	Enchantment
Tweak 	Cleric Orison	Summoning 	Conjuration
Warding 	Cleric Orison	Protection 	Abjuration
Warm 	Cleric Orison	Creation 	Evocation
Animal 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Conjuration/Summoning
Animal Command 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Enchantment/Charm
Bird Call 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Evocation
Cause Rash 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Necromancy
Disguise Scent 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Alteration
Drywood 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Abjuration
Edible Plant 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Divination
Elemental Shield 	Druid Orison 	Elemental 	Abjuration
Find a Stray 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Divination
Flamefinger 	Druid Orison 	Elemental Fire 	Alteration
Heal Rash 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Necromancy
Holly Dart 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Alteration
Humidity 	Druid Orison 	Weather 	Alteration
Liven 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Alteration
Mark Path 	Druid Orison 	Plant, Travelers 	Enchantment
Pet 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Enchantment/Charm
Prod 	Druid Orison 	Weather 	Evocation
Repel Insects 	Druid Orison 	Animal 	Alteration
Ripen 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Alteration
Smokeball 	Druid Orison 	Elemental Fire 	Alteration
Test Soil 	Druid Orison 	Plant 	Divination
Category:Priest's Spell Compendium