[RPG] Oracle and Inquisitor spell preparation

pathfinder-1espells

Oracles and Inquisitors are a little on the fence when it comes to spell preparation as they are both Divine caster and Spontaneous casters. How to reconcile the rules for both?

  • Preps like a divine caster:
    • Spends 1 hour on it at a fixed time of day, no rest required
  • Preps like a spontaneous caster:
    • Spends 15 mins on it at any time after resting 8 hours
  • Preps like a mix of both:
    • Spends 15 mins on it at a fixed time of day, no rest required
    • Spends 1 hour on it at any time after resting 8 hours
    • Other combinations?

For each class, I'm thus curious about:

  • The time spent (should be fixed since spontaneous casters can't "half prep")
  • Whether it's done at any time or at a specific time of day
  • Whether rest is required beforehand

Best Answer

Oracles and Inquisitors can be extrapolated from how sorcerers and bards prepare their spells, as Oracles and Inquisitors aren't mentioned in the core rules for preparation time:

Each day, sorcerers and bards must focus their minds on the task of casting their spells. A sorcerer or bard needs 8 hours of rest (just like a wizard), after which she spends 15 minutes concentrating. (A bard must sing, recite, or play an instrument of some kind while concentrating.) During this period, the sorcerer or bard readies her mind to cast her daily allotment of spells. Without such a period to refresh herself, the character does not regain the spell slots she used up the day before.

Oracles:

Unlike a cleric, an oracle need not prepare her spells in advance. She can cast any spell she knows at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her spells per day for that spell level. Oracles do not need to provide a divine focus to cast spells that list divine focus (DF) as part of the components.

Inquisitors:

An inquisitor casts divine spells drawn from the inquisitor spell list. She can cast any spell she knows at any time without preparing it ahead of time, assuming she has not yet used up her allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.

Oracles and Inquisitors are subclasses of Cleric, as Bards and Sorcerers are subclasses of Wizard (sort of!)

Cleric

Clerics meditate or pray for their spells. Each cleric must choose a time when she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. A cleric may prepare and cast any spell on the cleric spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.

Note also that Sorcerers also have the same sort of preparation quote text:

Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a sorcerer need not prepare her spells in advance. She can cast any spell she knows at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her spells per day for that spell level.

I would, therefore, suggest that these classes refresh in a similar way to their quasi-parent class:

Sorcerers need 8 hours of sleep and 15 mins concentration then they have their new spells.

Oracles and Inquisitors need to wait until the special "refresh time" and then spend 15 mins in prayer and then they have their new spells.

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