[RPG] Pathfinder Cleric Domains: How exactly do they work

clericpathfinder-1espells

I've recently started playing Pathfinder with some of my friends. It's going quite well, even though none of us had PnP experience before!

I am playing a Cleric. Picked the Healing and Fire domain.
I have reached level two. How exactly do the domain spells work? Do I get access to the next domain spell each time I level up as a cleric? What does the "domain slot" in the table mean (the figure that shows how many spells I can cast a day). Does it mean that, e.g., at level two I can only cast one level 1 domain spell, no matter if it's the healing or fire domain? I am severely confused and feel the rulebook doesn't quite go into detail and I hope some of you can clarify that for me.

Thanks in advance!

Best Answer

The description under domains is a good resource for this

Each domain grants a number of domain powers, dependent upon the level of the cleric, as well as a number of bonus spells. A cleric gains one domain spell slot for each level of cleric spell she can cast, from 1st on up.

So this bit covers how you gain domain spell slots. You get 1 slot per spell level (1 at 1st, the second at 3rd, third at 5th, etc.).

Do I get access to the next domain spell each time I level up as a cleric?

No, you get access to it every time you gain spells of the next level (every 2 levels in the case of a cleric).

Does it mean that, e.g., at level two I can only cast one level 1 domain spell, no matter if it's the healing or fire domain?

Each day, a cleric can prepare one of the spells from her two domains in that slot.

Yes, you may only use one spell from either of your domains. It doesn't matter which domain you pick, but you may only prepare as many spells as you have slots.

Casting spells outside of domain slots.

If a domain spell is not on the cleric spell list, a cleric can prepare it only in her domain spell slot.

This further clarifies that if the domain spell is not in the cleric list (like Fireball, for the fire domain). The cleric may only cast that spell as a domain spell.