Sphere

Sphere was a term that was short for "sphere of influence" in second edition D&amp;D (also known as AD&amp;D). Each deity had a set of spheres of influence in which they were interested and which they embodied. Priests of a deity had access to the spells in that deity's spheres. Some deities provided only limited access (called minor access) to certain spheres and full access (called major access) to others. Also, the Elemental sphere was subdivided into Elemental Air, Earth, Fire, and Water spheres. The "All" sphere was available to every faith.

Originally, there were sixteen spheres: All, Animal, Astral, Charm, Combat, Creation, Divination, Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Plant, Protection, Summoning, Sun, and Weather. Eventually, eight new spheres were introduced: Chaos, Law, Numbers, Thought, Time, Travelers, War, and Wards.