Karond's Cleric caster guide

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Karond
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Karond's Cleric caster guide

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This is a guide for the cleric spell list available to favored souls and clerics. It aims to evaluate the usefulness of every spell universally for both classes. In general what spells are useful for a particular class depends on its build, and for these classes its full melee or full casting in general. Clerics can do both, while favored souls are all about melee. There isn't many hard choices with this spell list however. Clerics can memorize everything, while favored souls get far too many spell choices that you're bound to end up with all you need and more. Still, I hope it can help some people out. Here is how I colour-code the different spells:

Orange= This spell is not very good
Green = A mediocre or decent spell
Blue = A great spell and a strong choice
Purple = A fantastic must pick spell

Level 1 spells

Align weapon The idea to get beyond certain damage reduction is solid. It's mostly applicable to fighting outsiders, making it fairly limited. Also note that most outsiders have more than one kind of damage reduction, making this a part of a combo but no solution in itself.

Bane Inconsequential spell. It has a niche at level 1 when facing a ton of enemies, but since its based on a will save and the enchantment school to boot (which many get bonuses towards or outright immunity) its hardly worth using.

Bless Bless stacks with everything up towards the +20 cap for AB bonuses from spells and items. It's area wide and a staple for every cleric or favored soul. It helps your party tremendously, and its probably the best level 1 spell on this guide.

Bless water It costs you gold, is only useful at lower levels and even then its much better to buff yourself or your allies since that is useful against more enemies.

Cause fear Too short of a duration to be useful, even at low levels. You're better of summoning something at level 1 or just heal yourself.

Comprehend languages This is an RP spell. It helps you understand what fictional languages people are using and what they're saying by showing it all in the chat log. Not a great duration, but can be fun to use.

Conviction Extreme duration, and goes up to +5 universal saves. It doesn't stack with greater resistance or superior resistance, but that doesn't matter. It's a level 1 spell, while those two spells are level 4 and 6 respectively. It's better than greater resistance and only slightly less than superior resistance. What makes this spell so good is that its level 1. It's always better to use this and a level 6 slot spell than using superior resistance (for +1 more saves) and a level 1 slot spell.

Cure light wounds It saves you some gold early on, and can be used to help allies bleeding out on the ground at any level. It doesn't do much, but the utility is great for the lower levels and still have some use as you progress.

Detect undead Not worth it. Even if it revealed everything on the minimap, it would still be supbar. However, now it doesn't even do that. It reveals undead on the minimap that are standing pretty much in full view of you already.

Divine favor The duration is fixed, which helps it at lower levels. It's a staple spell for both classes because later on you've little else to spend your level 1 slots on. It's often used in melee, especially for dangerous targets, and even casters can whip it out and start hitting things on occassion.

Doom Enchantment and low level hurts it. It's generally better to buff yourself at level 1 than debuffing an enemy since it helps versus more targets. Even if it was just one enemy, protection from alignment will just give you more.

Endure elements Look at it as +20 situational HP. It's not that bad at any level. It can save you from traps or the occassional burning hands from lowlevel monsters. It only helps with 10 damage at a time, but even so it has its uses.

Entropic shield Good duration at 1 min/level, and its the only concealment spell these classes get. There are some monsters that use ranged attacks, and these rarely have blind fight giving you the full 20% bonus. Most monsters don't have ranged attacks that really hurt compared to melee, but its a decent bonus for a level 1 spell that scales decently for monster hunting.

Inflict light wounds The damage is too low, and it provides a save. Even with the hierophant ability "Blast infidel" which double the damage, it's still not worth using compared to just hitting them with any weapon (or even your fist!).

Lesser vigor Healing that saves you some gold. It heals for +2 more HP than cure light wounds can do as its maximum, regularly provides more, can be extended and has a minor use even as you level up.

Magic weapon Use this spell on very early levels until you get a +1 magic weapon. Beyond that, it serves no justification for its use.

Omen of peril If you're unfamiliar with the server, at best it gives you an indication of the level of an area. However, it's not reliable and its particularly unreliable at low levels when you need it the most. It's a waste to spend a slot on this. Talk to people.

Protection from alignment A fantastic spell with a great duration. Complete mind immunity is where its at, as almost every monster is evil. The power of this spell just becomes better the more you level up, and while both clerics and favored souls have good will saves it can also greatly help your allies. At lower levels, the 5 min/level duration and the extra +2 AC makes it the number one spell to memorize.

Remove fear It has some use on allies, sure. However, if they get feared they aren't having a protection of alignment on them. It's an odd situation where you can't cast that spell on your allies, while having slots left for this.

Sanctuary The spell should be a "save the day" spell, but its too often resisted by the monsters even at low levels to justify ever casting it. Just run!

Shield of faith Deflection bonus that goes up to +5. It's really good since the maximum is +4 on this server, so it breaks the limit. It saves you an item slot so its pretty much a mandatory spell choice. If you're a cleric you might want to memorize more than one for yourself. The spell is on the breach list, which means that any breach or mordekainen that the monsters are fond of casting will automatically remove it.

Summon creature I Decent for the early levels particularly for solo play and later on it tends to be used for setting off traps.

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Level 2 spells

Aid It stacks with everything, and even while its single target it's a class spell for both classes due to its long duration.

Animalistic power This spell is better at lower levels, as later on you really want to capitalize on +4 bonuses rather than +2 ones. Remember, ability bonuses doesn't stack. It's sole use at higher levels is the +2 dexterity, since there isn't a +4 dexterity spell for these classes. If you only need +2 and can't get it on a decent item, the spell has some use still.

Augury Like omen of peril, its awful. At best, it's an RP spell that has some use in DM events.

Bane of Beshaba The description is misleading. Only worshippers of Beshaba can cast it, and they can stack it numerous times. Since it has no save, it serves some use in setting up for other spells (particularly reflex based spells) if you're a caster cleric, but its more for flavor than power.

Bear's endurance Strong spell for that +4 bonus. Depending on what items you decide to equip later on, it retains a high use or falls on the wayside. As such it can be of a purple ranking depending on your build.

Brambles Worse than magic weapon, but does stack with magic weapon. It has a niche at very low levels if you really need to use a club, but often the +1 damage bonus is off-set by it being a club in the first place. A morningstar for example gives +1 more damage by default, so just using a better weapon nullifies half of the spell.

Bull's strength Like bear's endurance, the +4 bonus is great depending on your build. However, it tends to be more useful for caster clerics to be able to carry around all that armor. The reason for this is that divine power gives +6 to strength, and while a shorter duration it is often recast often. As such, bull's strength tends to be used by melee builds mostly as a backup for the long-term. It's not great, but extended for a level 3 slot it can be used since these characters have little else to use the slots on there.

Cure moderate wounds As you level up, these spells become less useful overall. Damage increase, HP increase, while the cure spells don't quite get that same boost. The hierophant ability faith healing can still make some use out of this spell, even if its higher level cousins find more out of it.

Consecrate Either you're good at turning, or you're not. This will likely not influence your chances much, and its pretty restrictive since it locks you down to a particular area. If you can lure enemies to that area, then it can see some use at earlier levels but often adventurers are powerful enough not to have to lure enemies even at the graveyard. It can however serve as an RP spell later on.

Darkness Highly situational, mostly an RP spell even if it has a mechanical effect. Concealment from range is great, but the penalties to melee needs to be overcome by blind fight. Still, while it can provide good bonuses often enough spending a round and a spell slot on this instead of just hitting the enemy is generally less effective.

Death knell Awful spell. The bonuses are too low, and its too situational. If you don't kill the enemy, you don't get the bonuses. You can never be quite sure how much HP the enemy has left and even then you need to hit. If you manage all that, you're rewarded with bonuses that are largely not worth having.

Detect charm Pure RP spell. As such, it has some use in DM events, but not anywhere else.

Desecrate RP spell for necromancers to boost their summons, maybe, but highly situational and restrictive to a particular area. Again like with consecrate it has some use when luring enemies, but its more of an RP spell than anything.

Dispel magic, lesser It looks good for the lower levels, but in general it doesn't hold up since most monsters don't buff that much. Even if they did, a spell helping against many enemies (like a buff spell) is usually better. Even with the dispel fix, I wouldn't choose this spell due to its low CL maximum, which is often below that of wands.

Eagle's splendour A strong spell for turning clerics and its often of great use to both classes if they're using Epic divine might. Depending on your items its a purple spell if you really need the boost, but otherwise not so useful.

Echoes A debuff spell that provides half the penalties even if you save. Still, that's not much. Melee characters will want to use something that helps them instead, while a caster has better options available like sound burst. Even if your enemy is immune to such effects, like an undead, you're better off with an extended divine favor or even cure moderate wounds. It's not a spell worth casting in general.

Find traps Very niche, and not worth it in general unless its a crazy DM event. Even at very low search levels, traps often become visible to players at higher levels and at lower levels you need your spell slots for something more useful.

Fox's Cunning +4 intelligence sounds good, but neither of these classes have much use of it. If your build requires a boost in this department go ahead, but most people should avoid it.

Frost breath Mediocre damage spell for evocation casters. Cone attacks are not easy to use, but at some levels you can find a use for it. As you level up however, caster clerics will want to use silence or buffing spells instead.

Guided shot Like true strike, but hardly worth the effect. A niche build could utilize it but its too costly for the slots compared to the effect.

Hold person Not even caster clerics use this, since its enchantment and provides a save each round to get out of. The low DC doesn't help it.

Inflict moderate wounds Too little damage and it has a save. Sure, you can heal your undead summon with it but that's about it. Even blast infidel from hierophant doesn't make the spell worth casting.

Negative energy ray Decent damage of a type rarely resisted. It has a save and it becomes progressively less useful, but it can see some use early on.

Owl's wisdom Very good spell for caster clerics, providing +2 more DC (usually +1, as they tend to use a +2 wisdom item). The +2 will save bonus is marginal so if you're not a caster cleric you can skip this spell. Even some caster clerics don't use it, relying on a +3 or +4 wisdom item instead.

Remove paralysis While useful in its niche, the sad fact is that virtually nothing will paralyze you on this server except for some rare trap effects. Waiting 12 seconds for the effect to wear off is better than spending a level 2 slot on fixing the issue at hand.

Restoration, lesser A good spell. While potions of this are rather cheap at 100 gp each, it never hurts to have the spell to save gold and benefit allies. The effect is very strong, removing most penalties associated with poison, disease or debuffs. It won't remove poison or disease itself, for that you've the more powerful version or a healkit, but it helps you and that's something that will always be useful at all levels.

Resist energy Like endure elements, but slightly better. Endure elements is usually better though, because its a level 1 slot so its cheaper. If you don't have anything else to cast go ahead, but chances are you often do.

Sense weakness The target needs to hit, and its meant to cast on allies. It's far better for you to help them out with actually attacking.

Shield other So and so. It can help some allies stay alive, but for effective play its better to try and not get hurt. As such, its mostly a spell people use to help lowlevels when they themselves are facing virtually no challenge in an area. It's probably not worth casting, and it won't help in combination with damage reduction either.

Silence A strong spell for both classes. When cast on the ground, it nullifies all spellcasters. This is extremely powerful when used against monsters, as they will fail spells and try to move out of the area to make use of their abilities. If you can corner them, you can greatly limit a powerful enemy's ability to hurt you. Works at any level, and is particularly good versus bosses of all kinds.

Spiritual weapon A weak summon that attempts to scale in usefulness with a massive AB boost. It still won't do much if any damage at higher levels, but it can be somewhat useful as a distraction. Often not worth using, but its not entirely bad either.

Sound burst A decent area spell for caster clerics, that has a chance to stun people. It's mostly used for the stun, which can help your allies to mop up before the stun wears off. Stunned enemies are much easier to hit and won't fight back.

Stabilize Has absolutely zero value. Cast a healing spell on your bleeding ally instead.

Status RP spell, mostly. Chances are you're way too busy fighting to read the log, and fighting actually drowns it out.

Summon creature II It's decent at level 3-4 when you get it for solo play and overall help in the damage department, but it doesn't scale well.

Turn anathema It seems good for turning clerics, but often these don't have that great of a DC. With hierophant, some caster clerics can use this spell with a decent enough DC and a good turning capability. Its worth noting however that its a setup spell. It does nothing on its own, and more annoyingly you as a caster won't see the spell in the log so you can't know if it succeeded or not. This is key, because a setup spell that doesn't tell you that it worked really has a diminished value. At best its a cool spell for targetting low-level enemies as then you can be reasonably sure you succeded.

Warning Only available for Helmite clerics. The +4 stealth detection is great for caster clerics who have a good wisdom score already, but less so for anyone else. Still, while the effect is good if you've good detection skills, its power is mostly in that it stacks with all the other detection spells around. Since noone else can use this spell but helmites, it's almost mandatory for them to pick it up given they've some good listen and spot scores.

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Level 3 spells

Animate dead The best summoning spell when you get it, mostly due to the immunities and the 5 damage reduction that both summons have by default. It has RP implications, and its usefulness dips after awhile as you progress.

Bestow curse In general, debuffing your enemy is worse than doing damage or buffing yourself. Debuffing only becomes strong when it hits long-lasting enemies, and bestow curse among other spells fail at this due to its low level = low DCs.

Bladedance Subpar damage on a summon, even for this level.

Blindsight This is generally a spell that most characters pick, but that's mostly for utility (and maybe paranoia!). Few enemies use invisibility which this spell counters, but even so invisibility purge is seemingly better. While blindsight is friendlier towards your allied mage, that's largely not too relevant. In the end, it's a typical choice mostly for convenience.

Blindness/Deafness The low DCs aside, the effect is actually pretty good and every now and then a caster might prepare one of these spells to deal with some weak-willed enemy. The AI generally handles blindness poorly, and just walks around aimlessly for the duration of the spell.

Conjure Shadows Decent summoning spell if only because it scales a little, and summons plenty. Summons at this level rarely last anyway, so the 2 min duration isn't that much of a problem.

Contagion The DC caps at 25, no matter how good you are at casting. This limits the spell, and the effect is too slow to be worthwhile.

Cure serious wounds Healing that saves gold and helps downed allies. It's borderline a bad spell, but the hierophant ability coupled with the healing domain can make it respectable on a level 2 slot. Mostly though, the vigor spells are better since they're more reliable.

Dispel magic A subpar choice, due to how infrequently enemies have enough buffs on them that warrants removal. While it appears to be good at dispelling wands, it's often not the spell you want for those situations and the use is rather niche. There are also several magical items that can cast the spell, if you're interested in that.

Glyph of warding While long-lasting, the damage is really low. It's an awful spell because most damage spells on the server got a damage boost but glyph of warding did not. As such, it stops at 5D8 averaging 22 damage. That's just not worth a level 3 slot, even if you use it for ambushes.

Inflict serious wounds The hierophant ability blast infidel can't save this spell. The damage is way too low, it provides a save, you need to hit with it at touch range and its single target. Stay away from this spell.

Invisibility purge A fantastic spell that automatically removes all invisibility effects in an aura around you. The aura stays with you for a min/level duration, so it is always there. True, it can hurt your allies but tell them to use displacement instead of invisibility effects, as the invisibility purge doesn't do anything against displacement and that's the better spell choice for arcane casters anyway.

Lesser visage of the deity Too short of a duration to be worth it. Evil alignments gets the most out of it, since while its effects is less than the other alignments its helping versus far more prevalent elements (fire and cold). Still, its difficult to justify this spell being cast.

Magic circle against alignment A must pick spell if you don't go for protection of alignment, otherwise just a strong choice. Melee clerics in particular tend to have many level 3 slots left over, and while the aura is strictly better than the single target version of protection of alignment the best part about this spell is not that. It's that the spell has no visible VFX effect. That's right, casting magic circle saves you from having a purple ring swirling around your midsection and that's worth it right? :)

Magic vestment A fantastic spell that breaks the AC limit of +4 by providing +5 to your armor and shield (target your shield in your inventory with the spell). The power of this spell can't be underestimated as it can turn a good armor into a truly epic armor. It saves you an item slot having to look for a +4 armor netting you many other bonuses in addition to AC. A clear must-have spell.

Mass aid Another great spell, particularly for party play. As said, most melee characters have an excess of level 3 slots so getting this instead of aid is viable. Stacks with everything.

Mass lesser vigor Reliable healing for the entire party. It's not too much, but it helps when grinding enemies where instant healing isn't as needed as the amount of healing. You can stack this with other regeneration spells.

Prayer A great spell to have. It's low duration, so for melee characters it's mostly a buffing spell for tough encounters rather than constant use. It does after all only provide +1 bonuses to the party and debuffs the enemy with +1. However, caster clerics should ideally get 4-5 extended prayers so that they constantly have it on. How come? Any enemy entering near the caster instantly gets the debuff without any save. By having the enemies lose -1 in universal saves, it's the same as you getting +1 DC. That's the equivalent of +2 wisdom and makes the spell have an epic power rating. That it helps you defend yourself doesn't hurt either.

Protection from energy Pretty bad at this point. If you really need elemental protection, go for the higher level "energy immunity"-spell or stick with the lower level versions. There are simply better things to cast that have a greater impact at this level.

Remove blindness/deafness A utility spell, and as such its best for favored souls who don't need to prepare it. Blindness really hurts, so it is always a good thing to have around. However, a wand with the spell provides the exact same benefit and isn't susceptible to interruption which is why its a preferred choice. If you can't use wands, casting a scroll is usually better.

Remove curse Like remove blindness/deafness, a utility spell best used on a wand or a scroll.

Remove disease Deathward should have you protected, and there is a mass version for your allies to enjoy later on as well. Still, while being a utility spell remove disease is very marginal. Unlike blindness/deafness or even remove curse, diseases have alternative ways of being removed. A healing kit stops the effect, and a lesser restoration potion or spell takes care of the applied effects. Since these are readily available the use of this spell is almost non-existant.

Searing light Decent spell that doesn't provide a save. It's best when used by sun domain clerics as they can maximize or empower it against the undead. 160 divine damage for a maximized searing light at level 5 by a sun domain cleric is very impressive, and others can cast that at level 6. It has a niche, but its a strong choice for caster clerics when fighting the undead if they really don't want to go into melee.

Summon creature III Decent when you get it, but not at the same level as animate dead. Like many such spells the usefulness goes down rather rapidly, and one might argue that most other spells are strictly better unless you're soloing.

Unholy storm The -4 penalty to detection is noteworthy, as its no save, and the extra damage to good opponents is not too shabby. However, it's more of a blackguard spell than a cleric/favored soul spell, and its entirely aimed at PvP or those rare good encounters evil PCs might find. Since there are often better things to cast in these situations, it's limited in its usefulness. Still, it fills a niche and it can be fun to use.

Vigor Reliable healing that stacks well with other regeneration spells and can be extended for more utility. It's one of the best healing spells in the game considering its level slot and it retains some usefulness at all levels.

Weapon of impact A great spell if you're using a bludgeoning weapon. The ability to add keen onto any such weapon is a powerful ability, not only saving you a feat but for its effect as well. One can get a keen weapon, sure, but to add an ability to anything is versatility that translates into power. Plus, some people like the VFX effect the weapon gets from the spell.

Wrack A save or die spell pretty much since the paralyzation has a good duration. Necromancy is a so-so school for clerics, so it won't get as much use as it would on an arcane user, but access counts for something. You probably want to cast something else, but at least its not an outright bad choice if you do pick wrack.

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Level 4 spells

Abyssal might A unique spell in that it gives +3 to all physical stats. This is excellent, not only because it can depending on a character's end abilities max out that ability to an even number, but because thdexterity component is not readily available to divines unless you have some specific domains. Plus, many characters like to have a base dexterity of 9 or 13, which is perfect for this spell.

Assay resistance A caster spell, aimed for fighting bosses or other tough encounters. It's single target, and the only realistic way a cleric caster has of breaching spell resistance. Still, it's far less important than it is for the arcanes, as divines can also melee well and their spells aren't all about "If I fail this, I die".

Blood of the martyr Some like it, some don't. Personally, I don't like it at all. While it can be decent healing, do note that its a zero-sum benefit. What another gains, you lose. This is different to how most spells work, so you're spending a spell slot for a specific situation (moving damage around) rather than having a spell that brings about an actual mechanical benefit (such as mitigating or healing damage recieved).

Call shadow pack Like the other multiple summon spells, not too bad at the lower levels since the duration means less here than the amount of HP summoned per spell. A decent distraction, particularly in the face of enemies casting Isacc's greater missiles or such.

Castigate A pretty uninspiring damage spell, even if it can hit more people its damage output is low and it requires a fortitude save which most monsters have as their best save. The school is good though, evocation, but you'll likely spend spell slots on other spells over this.

Cure critical wounds Pretty poor at this point. Sure, with faith healing, healing domain and augment healing you could maybe make this fairly decent, but the randomness of the healing is a detriment when you need it. Regeneration spells are typically better, and if you're rapidly losing life using potions or kits is also better to avoid getting disrupted.

Deathward Provides a ton of immunities, is part of the infamous deathward + freedom of movement + stonebody combo and has a really long duration. It's a must pick spell for every divine character.

Detect Scrying RP spell at best. Scrying produce a tiny blue dot that is visible to everyone, so this spell is rather difficult to justify casting. Even if its to avoid metagaming the blue dot, you're effectively only casting it when seeing the blue dot to justify the metagaming for the character.

Dimensional anchor The spell lies to you. It does not in fact block ethereal effects, which makes the limited use it could have in PvP far more limited. If you want to block someone teleporting, this is the spell. It's pretty much the only thing it does, if you overcome their spell resistance and hit them with a ranged touch attack first! (subject to concealment)

Dismissal The most powerful anti-summoning spell in the game, largely due to the fact that it gets a large bonus to its DC. It takes your caster level - the targets hit die as a bonus. This means that a CL 30 caster targetting a HD 20 monster gets a +10 to their DC. It doesn't just hit summons either, but outsiders and elementals too. Most elder elementals have a will save of 4-8, with a HD of 20, so they're toast with this spell. The spell is only mediocre-listed because you might not use it too often.

Divine Power +6 strength breaks the limit, which alone is a really good bonus. The extra AB and attacks is just taking this spell over the top, making anyone go from mediocre to an acceptable melee combatant. It's less useful for caster clerics of course, but its arguably THE SPELL for melee divine characters.

Exorcism Really good damage, sadly hampered by a will save, transmutation school and more importantly its extremely limited amount of targets. As such, it's really more of an RP spell than anything else.

Freedom of movement Provides a ton of immunities, is part of the infamous combo with deathward + stonebody and is a definite must pick for all divines. A single casting of this does quite a lot to help your character avoid a wide variety of disabling spells and abilities.

Greater magic weapon Goes up to +5, so breaks the +4 limit. Obviously really good and as it can be cast on any weapon, it can make any weapon into an epic one. The ability to just look for powerful abilities and then buff the weapon up with this spell is very potent and one of the main reasons why divine characters do so well on the server.

Greater resistance Pretty poor, considering that it does less than conviction which is a level 1 spell. Avoid this spell, aim for conviction or superior resistance if you need that +6 bonus instead of the +5.

Hammer of the gods Decent spell that mainly is selected due to its school of evocation and the daze effect. Daze allows the targets to only walk and drink potions or such, but not fight, cast spells or run. A dazed monster is soon a dead monster.

Hypothermia 15D6 isn't that much. It's less than the orbs that arcanes have access too, and it has a save to limit its damage further. In general its better to use other spells if you're a caster, or buffing spells otherwise. An Auril-worshipper might find some RP use for it too.

Inflict critical wounds All of the inflict wounds series of spells are useless, even with hierophant abilities. They have very low damage and unlike most damage spells haven't been buffed up for this server, and to boot they provide a save to limit it further. Just avoid it.

Least spell mantle A cheap mantle that can easily be quickened. Mantles are powerful protections against magic, especially when empowered, but the key is trying to get a total absorption level of 10+. This will effectively always cancel at least two spells no matter their level, and least mantle fails at this with D4+4. It's decent if you can't afford another mantle, but then again, this is able to be used on a wand and that might be a better option.

Neutralize poison Pretty much useless, given that restoration does the same thing and more.

Poison The DC has a max and so won't ever improve unlike other spells. Unfortunately the max is 25, which is far too low to make it useful. Even if this spell had a set DC of 40, the effect is slow to take effect and largely not worth it. That speaks volumes of its usefulness, does it not?

Recitation Probably the best party buffing spell, as the AC, saves and AB can really help a party to steamroll over monsters. Many melee divines use some extended versions of this, but its a delicate decision. Divine power usually does more for the caster himself, so is often prioritized, even if recitation has a bigger impact overall in party play. In the end, almost no divine caster can afford enough castings of both, so its usually just a few of each.

Restoration A strong spell that cures you of pretty much anything negative except a curse or disease (remove curse and a healing kit are solutions there). You'll use this at all levels, provided you pick it.

Sending An RP spell for talking IC rather than sending tells.

Summon creature IV A pretty poor summoning spell, especially compared to some of the other options here. It has some use right at level 7-8 when the divine character can get it, but it quickly fades in usefulness.

Tongues Very long duration makes it stand out as something you can always have on. It's an RP spell, sure, but it can be useful nonetheless.

Violate A poor form of dispel. It has a narrow selection, but is not without potential. Greater dispel magic and the lesser variants that the divines have access too have some usefulness as you level up, but are mostly dead picks at level 30. Violate however can work even at level 30, as its dispelling power is based on a reflex save rather than the level of its target. Unfortunately, it's not likely to get a decent DC with it being transmutation and at level 4, and the targets of the spell are mostly just good for getting rid of protection of alignment. It really needs to be no save, or something similar, to have much use.

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Level 5 spells

Azure Flame The transmutation school is unfortunate which means that most divine casters will have a mediocre DC at best. However, the effect is quite decent. If you cast it too many times, you might end up taking a bit of damage yourself.

Bane of yondalla At first glance it is pretty bad. However, against a level 30 target consider that you do at least 60 damage from the constitution loss alone, plus the other penalties. There is no save, except for spell resistance, which is key. Now, the description is wrong and only clerics of Yondalla can actually use it, and these rare individuals should. It's a mediocre spell, but it has some character.

Battletide Battletide is decent, although you shouldn't count on the penalties actually applying to the enemy given spell resistance and the will save. It's mostly used for the bonuses, which aren't all that great. The main issue this spell has is that the slots are usually better filled by extended level 4 spells, and level 6 spells are better than extending this most of the time. It's still a common choice, but mostly due to lack of options.

Bladebend It's really a roll of will save vs will save for 10 rounds, or you can't attack. It's as such a way for anyone to get a good "DC" spell, without being good at DC spells at all. It's restricted to Vhaerun worshippers.

Commune an RP spell.

Disrupting weapon You should limit your round/level buffs, and this is just not worth using. Its damage type also hinders it, as it shouldn't stack with for example bless weapon, which is simply a much better spell.

Cure light wounds, mass It doesn't heal for much, even counting in class abilities or feats that could boost it. It's main use is in that it currently heals everyone in your party no matter where they are. It goes without saying that it gets better the more allies you have in the party, but most of the time it's still mediocre.

Flamestrike One of the better damage spells, particularly if you have the war domain to get it a level earlier. It's evocation, and has excellent damage types. Unfortunately, if you're a DC caster you'll more often want an extended divine power or a slay living, so its a bit specific in use for when fighting clumped up enemies.

Flaywind Burst Excellent damage and type, great effect. Take care not to hurt your allies though. The disruption caused by knockdown clears the target's action queue, prevents spellcasting and all that. This is one of its main uses, since it ignores spell mantles, and reflex is often a spellcaster's worst save. As it is in the evocation school, it becomes pretty good for any divine DC caster. The only bad thing about the spell is the cone.

Inflict light wounds, mass Absolutely useless. Way too little damage, with a save. Always avoid all inflict wound spells, even if you have the hierophant ability "blast infidel".

Mass contagion Unlike most spells, contagion has a DC maximum, which is 30. As such, it's hardly worth using. Even the effect is negliable, as it takes too long for it to fully kick in and influence a battle. More for RP than anything else.

Mirror walking

Opalescent glare Think of it as the level 4 arcane spell fear. This one has +1 DC due to its level, and its a quite good spell particularly if you've a necromancy focus, which is the divine DC caster's second best school to focus in. Mass effect spells are always useful.

Raise Read It's a utility spell, saving gold. It doesn't do much in a combat situation, since 1 HP is almost a death sentence in itself. Resurrection is better in such cases. For those quiet times when you can use it in safety, it's only saving the gold of using a scroll (which everyone can use).

Righteous Might +3 damage, an abnormal size, in exchange for -1 AB, -1 AC? It's hardly a good trade for the spell slot, but it is extra damage and it is useful in areas where you are more or less invincible already. Against tougher enemies the penalties probably outweigh the bonuses, making the spell not worth using.

Righteous wrath
Scrying
Slay Living
Spell Mantle, lesser
Spell resistance
Summon creature V
True seeing
Wailing whips
Wall of dispel magic
Wall of stone

Orange= This spell is not very good
Green = A mediocre or decent spell
Blue = A great spell and a strong choice
Purple = A fantastic must pick spell
Last edited by Karond on Tue Sep 13, 2016 1:47 pm, edited 11 times in total.
Karond
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Re: The new cleric spell guide

Unread post by Karond »

Level 7 spells

(ongoing guide, updating every now and then)
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by Kalle »

Bump :D
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by dzidek1983 »

Yeah would be great if Karond ever finished this.
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by aaron22 »

wonder if someone else that is just this knowledgeable could take up the mantle on this. i have not built a true cleric before and could use the guidance. as i am sure others like me.
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William Sunblade
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by William Sunblade »

Hey Guys
Now i will not claim to be the best cleric builder in the world (far from it). However I have learnt some things from playing pure caster Clerics (Wendy and Usborne for example) so I have decided to add my views on the (current) spells available on BG and their usefulness. Of course my opinions may differ from others. I shall try and keep within Karond's colour code and continue from where he left off (if you want my opinion on the previous levels let me know and i'll go through them also.)
So:
Orange= This spell is not very good
Green= A mediocre or decent spell
Blue= A great spell and a strong choice
Purple= a fantastic must pick spell

Level 5 spells (continued)

Spell Mantle, lesser Has a low duration, however this spell is useful for protecting you against a spell casters initial spell, allowing you to get up close to them. This spell is best used by Melee Clerics and Favored Souls that need to get up to their target. Not as useful for casters but it can be a life saver. Worth grabbing.

Righteous Wrath Low duration and does not stack with Aid/Mass Aid. It offers slightly more Temporary HP but honestly it just isn't worth it. Better to just stick with the longer lasting Aid spell and save the slot for something else.

Rune of Harm Part of the not implemented crafting system. Currently only serves as a waste of a spell slot. Do NOT take/memorize

Scrying Mainly an RP spell, of little real value. Avoid unless needed for an event

Slay Living An early instant death spell. Good for caster clerics, but those not focused on spell casting will not have a DC high enough to be useful. This is one of the spells which is affected by "Blast Infidel" increasing the Negative energy damage dealt on a save however the damage isn't great. This spell is also considered "Negative" so good characters are unlikely to cast it and may have RP consequences, so use at your own risk. Evil caster clerics will find this spell useful though. Can't recommend for favored souls.

Spell Resistance One of the buffing spells that you will want. It lasts a good duration and will grant you a high Spell Resistance which is great when facing spell caster creatures and players (who are lower level than you). Can Recommend

Summon Creature V A good distracting summon. However I am of a different opinion to Karond (whose Guide was made before the different summons) and believe that the lesser planar allies may be of more use due to them having spells and abilities that the creature summons don't get. Neither are bad choices, so try them and pick your favorite. Summon spells generally aren't as useful for Melee focused Clerics and Favored Souls, so don't both if you are combat focused over casting.

Tanglefoot Wow amazing, you can spend gold to create a mostly useless item. Seriously, just don't bother with this one, you can find tanglefoot bags if you really want some.

True Seeing Yes. A very useful spell which allows you to see invisibility. But it also has RP effects which spring up often in Events. This will allow you to see magically altered forms (such as disguises,mimics, shape-changes and Polymorphs) and is also meant to let you see those in Ethereal. The only thing to be aware of is its pretty low duration, but it can be extended.

Wailing Whips An attacking spell exclusive to followers of loviatar. Rubbish duration, low damage which can be saved against, limited to a deity very few people even follow. Just don't bother.

Wall of Dispel Magic Other than using in RP to attempt to dispel anyone walking through a doorway, this spell really has very little use. Best to avoid

Wall of Stone Useful for blocking a doorway for a short period, allowing you and your party to cast additional spells or have a tea party. Very very situational and just doesn't have much going for it. Best to avoid.

Level 6 spells

Banishment Away with you vile beggar!. Useful for removing summons but why not just kill the summoner instead?. Most summons are pretty easy to kill anyway so this spell generally isn't worth it. Hint: For some very strange reason summons can be removed with "Dispel Magic" spells.

Blade Barrier Often more of a hindrance than a help. There are two ways of casting this spell, on yourself you create the barrier around you, damaging creatures attacking you in Melee. Most of the time these creatures will be torn to shreds, however there is a huge drawback, you can't move while the barrier is in place. The second way to cast it is on the ground, which forms a little wall. creatures running through will get damaged unless they make the save. Can be useful for blocking off a door way and during a defensive event. However, this spell also harms allies and your own summons, often causing more harm than good. The only time this spell is worth it is when creating a defensive position during an event. Otherwise avoid.

Control Undead Why bother controlling the undead when you can just summon them? Most of the undead summons are more powerful than the creatures anyway. Don't bother with this, because once it drops (normally when you rest) you are going to have one angry undead to deal with, save yourself the trouble.

Create Baneguard I can't really say much about this one as I do not have any followers of Bane able to cast it. By the sounds of it, it creates a fairly powerful skeleton. However, like most Round per Level spells, it likely isn't worth it due to the low duration. My recommendation (Only for Clerics who have all spells) is to give it a try and make your own choice, however Favored Souls should avoid it.

Create Undead For the evil casters, this one is a must. As undead summons tend to be very powerful and this one lasts a huge Hour per level. Good aligned Clerics and Favored Souls should never cast this spell as it would be against RP. Remember, Summoning undead is frowned upon in most places on BG (depending on who you encounter) so PvP is always a possibility. Be prepared for a fight or to unsummon should a good character appear.

Designated Spell Warden An RP spell. No real use.

Energy Immunity This one is a must. It will make you immune to the selected element. If you have enough slots you can effectively make yourself immune to all elements. Note: Frost Mages of a high enough level will penetrate the immunity.

Find the Path Another RP spell with little real use.

Gaseous Form A traveling spell. It will make you immune to critical hits, sneak attacks, traps, entanglement, slow, Paralysis and make you a little quicker. However you can't attack in this form and you aren't invisible. Useful for getting around but it doesn't last very long.

Greater Dispel Magic not too bad for Dispelling lowbies. However it is not strong enough to effect high level casters. The slot is best used for another spell. Leave Dispelling to Wizards who get Mordenkainen's Disjunction

Guards and Wards An RP spell, used with Designated Spell Warden. Only used for RP

Harm Surprisingly powerful, especially with Blast Infidel. It is basically the inflict wounds version of heal. Very good for healing your undead summon, but you probably have to get a little too close for comfort to use it as an attacking spell.

Heal One of the most powerful healing spells. It can heal a huge 150hp. A life saving spell. Grab it

Imbue Greater Item Crafting isn't implemented and there is no estimate as to when or if it will be. This is just a wasted spell slot. Avoid unless crafting is put in.

Mass Bears Endurance Bears Endurance for your whole party (if they are close enough). Grab it if you intend to party buff.

Mass Bulls Strength Bulls Strength for the whole party (again if they are close enough). Again, grab it if you intend to party buff.

Mass Cure Moderate Wounds A great spell for Hierophants with Faith Healing. Not so great for non Hierophants due to its varying heal amount. Choose only if you are focused on healing (With Faith Healing)

Mass Eagles Splendor Unlike Bears and Bulls, only particular classes would gain any benefit from the +4 CHA. Best to use the slot for something else and use singular Eagles on yourself (It helps with Turning and with something else I will mention in a separate post in this thread).

Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds Like all the other mass inflict spells, their use in incredibly limited and the damage is feeble. avoid

Mass Owls Wisdom As with Mass Eagles Splendor, only certain classes with benefit from the +4 Wisdom. Best to use the slot for another spell and cast Singular Owls Wisdom on yourself (To increase your spell DCs). Note: it is useful to have a spare Owls Wisdom if you intend to Travel with a Monk

Planar Ally A must for Thaumaturges. Generally the summons from Planar Ally are more powerful than those from Summon Creature and can be buffed with Magic vestment. Until you get Planar Ally, Greater. This should be your main summoning spell.

Reflect Pain Melee attacks *might* take half the damage they deal to you back. Ask yourself, why are you letting them hit you?. Just avoid getting whacked in the first place and save your slot for another spell. Avoid.

Stone Body Used to be great. But with BGs change it now doesn't last long enough to be as useful. Best used if you intend to fight something tough (or a weapon master player). Do not forget to cast Freedom of Movement and Death Ward first to negate the negative effects otherwise you are going to have a bad time.

Summon creature VI Outshone by the Planar Allies. Not much point in using unless you don't want to use Planar Ally for some reason

Summon Ibradlin Same as summon creature VI, Outshone by Planar Allies.

Superior Resistance Pretty Much lasts until you want to rest. It gives you a +6 to all your saves. However the question to ask is, do you want to use the slot for that extra +1 save over conviction?. That is down to personal choice. It is by no means a bad spell, but Conviction may be the better option.

Suppress Wards An RP Spell.

undeath to death The undead Nuking spell. The AoE is actually slightly larger than shown when you cast it. This spell is great for caster Clerics going into undead heavy areas or Events. Any undead that fails its save will be instantly destroyed. However, those who are not Caster focused should not take this spell as their DCs will not be high enough to be effective. Additionally, Clerics focused on Turn Undead (Morning lords) will have little use for this spell as their turn will be far more effective as destroying undead.

Vigorous Cycle Regeneration for you and allies around you. This spell is very Useful as +3 regen can be great, keeping your party going for that little bit longer. However it has a Maximum Duration of 40 rounds. Which is still pretty good

Visage of the Deity Doesn't last long enough to be useful. The effects it gives are generally covered by other spells. The slots are best used for something else.

Wrath of Torm Limited to Tormites only. Duration is pitiful and the benefits it gives are covered by other spells. Don't bother.

Level 7 spells

Azuths Spell Shield Now i have not personally tried this spell, but judging by its description it sounds like Mass Spell Resistance but with a high SR for a shorter period of time depending on the amount of people in the party. As the duration of Mass SR isn't that great and coupled with the fact you need to be a follower of Azuth. I can't recommend it due to its terrible duration.

Blood to Water Lowers the enemies Con by a decent amount with a save still draining half the amount. Effectively this reduced the enemies hit points by a decent amount, making it easier for your party to finish them off. However this spell is negated by SR, Deathward and Shadowshield so is limited in use for PvP. Also creatures with no blood (elementals and undead) are not affected. It's okay, but no huge game changer. Favored souls would be better picking something else

Elemental Swarm Elementals everywhere! Handy right? not really. the elementals themselves are not very powerful and with a duration of only 20 rounds maximum they will only be sticking around for a very short period of time. useful as a distraction but not much else, stick with the normal summons.

Destruction For a high DC caster cleric, this one is a must. It is basically the clerics Finger of Death. Very useful for killing strong opponents and even unprepared players in PvP. However i will not recommend this spell for clerics and favored souls who are not focusing on spells, as their DCs would not be high enough for it to be effective. Deathwards and Shadow shields negate this spell. Also, this spell is NOT Evil, so good casters can use it quite happily.

Ethereal Jaunt Very useful if spawns or players start targeting you. While in Ethereal creatures can't attack you and you can cast non hostile spells (such as buffs and healing) without breaking it. Be aware of its short duration however as it can run out at the worst times. Players and creatures (rarely) may still throw AoE spells your way, so be wary.

Greater Bestow CurseMore an annoyance spell if anything. basically useless on creatures as you'll be killing them anyway. On players, most people carry around restoration potions negating its effect. Limited use, can't recommend.

Greater Restoration Restoration and heal in one little package. Very useful for the healers out there. It removes all Negative effects (apart from slowed movement and mental effects like confusion) and heals 150 HP. Can recommend

Greater Scrying The nosy git spell. Only really useful for RP purposes, otherwise just a waste.

Hilater's Misdirection Can it be? A Greater Sanctuary which doesn't break, even when you are attacking?. Not really. It's duration is pitiful and creatures can make a save against it. very limited use, just use Ethereal Jaunt, let the creatures go for someone else.

Mass Cure Serious Wounds For a Hierophant with the Faith Healing feat, this spell should not be missed out. With Faith healing it can be used to heal a really high amount and deal a lot of damage to undead creatures. However, for those without Faith Healing the amount of health healed is rather feeble, useful for emergency's but not an amazing healing spell unless you have Faith Healing (or Augmented healing).

Mass Inflict Serious Wounds Nope. Useless spell even with blast infidel, stay away from it.

Mass Spell Resistance Quite handy for giving your entire party decent SR. However its Duration is rather feeble compared to the normal SR spell. Good for casting on your party before a challenging fight with spell casters. A little more useful when extended. Wouldn't recommend unless you have a way to increase its duration (High CL with Extended spell).

Regeneration Lasts a surprising amount of time and grants your target +10 regeneration. I can highly recommend this, especially if you can extend it. RP wise this spell can "regenerate" lost limbs.

Resurrection Channel your inner Jesus. This spell is pretty much a must for a Cleric/FS as players have come to expect it. It saves you gold in the long run and saves running back to a temple with someones corpse. Be aware that it takes a long time to cast due to BG changes, so do NOT use it in the middle of combat (same with raise dead). Note: scrolls of this spell cast instantaneously.

Reveal Thyself Useful for RP and annoying your local druids. Otherwise it has very limited use and most Druid/Wizard players will be able to make the save against it. Can't really recommend.

Righteous Smite Not that useful for caster clerics unless you are going in Melee (not recommended). To use it you need to use the "feat" which you can drag onto your hot bar. It will provide you with an attack with a higher AB, but not much else. Now i haven't tested it, but i am fairly certain it will use up your attacks for the round. Just stick with your regular attacks.

Spell Mantle A must if you intend to fight spell casters in PvP. Basically it will negate (almost) any spell you are hit with. However it does have quite a short duration and stops only a few spells before vanishing. Cast it before engaging an enemy spell caster and pray that you kill them before they remove it. Pretty much useless in PvE

Summon Creature VII An obvious choice for Thaumaturges. A useful distraction for caster Clerics to hide behind while they blast enemies from afar. Buffed up, any summon can be useful and the summon creature spells do last a decent duration.

Word of Faith Used to be godlike (excuse the pun) but now has fairly limited use. Handy to note is that it can kill summons. it is best used as Crowd control but it can be saved against and most powerful creatures will save against it.
Last edited by William Sunblade on Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:27 am, edited 6 times in total.
Current Character List:
William Sunblade-Senior Knight Counselor, OSR
Penny Quickfeet- Little Miss Hyper
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Usborne Brightward-Blessed of the Divines
Mercer Chapman- Merry Merchant
Jade Arcane-Walking Inferno
William Sunblade
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by William Sunblade »

Orange=This spell is not very good
Green= A mediocre or decent spell
Blue=A great spell and a strong choice
Purple= a fantastic must pick spell

Level 8 spells

Aura vs Alignment An often overlooked spell. It is basically a combination of Spell Resistance and Protection Against Alignment with a small damage bonus. This spell is more useful to Good Clerics as Divine damage can't be resisted where negative energy can. Best cast before a challenging fight due to it's relatively low duration.

Bodaks Glare Now I have not used this spell myself as my caster clerics are good aligned and this spell is considered evil, so do not use it around good players unless you are spoiling for a fight. However i am putting it as Green as it is a high level instant death spell with the addition of summoning a creature on success. If you can get a decent DC on it I am sure it will be useful. Bare in mind it might replace your summon if you have one (needs testing). Do NOT take as a good aligned character.

Create Greater Undead Another one for the bad guys. Undead creature summons tend to be very powerful and are immune to sneak attacks, critical hits and instant death effects. If you are using an undead summon, this is one of the very rare times that mass inflict spells with blast infidel *could* be useful, as you can heal (negative energy heals undead) your summon while damaging anything (unless undead) attacking it. Bare in mind that Undead summons CAN be turned and if caught with one you are likely to experience a PvP situation and a huge character reputation loss on the server. So use carefully. Do NOT take this if you are a good aligned character as it would be against RP.

Dimensional Lock This spell is only really useful for RP. It will stop people from Teleporting into your area. However this is highly frustrating when it is cast in a Public area which people often teleport to (such as the friendly arms inn) so please have consideration before casting it. Other than for RP reasons this spell isn't very useful.

Earthquake quite an effective damage spell. Be aware that it will also harm allies (and you up until recently). Useful to note as there is no SR save against it. However, those with improved evasion that make the save will not get damaged by it.

FirestormCan deal a lot of damage which is split between Divine and Fire damage (even those with fire immunity will still take divine). This one is useful for casting against a group of enemies surrounding you. Note: This spell does NOT damage allies. However there are two saves against it one to half the fire damage and one to half the divine damage.

Greater Reflect Pain This spells only real use is to act as a light deterrent to Melee attackers. However you will still be taking the damage (and they might not take any if they save) and most melee attackers will have more health than you, which means that you will likely die before them. Can't really recommend it.

Lions Roar Actually often overlooked. This spell can deal a decent amount of damage but it has another useful effect. It will give any allies in the AoE quite a large temporary HP boost, which DOES stack with Aid. Do not underestimate this spell.

Mass Cure Critical Wounds For a Hierophant with Faith Healing this is another spell you will want, it will be able to heal a large amount of hit points and deal high damage to undead. For those without Faith Healing however its usefulness is debatable, handy in a pinch but other healing spells (like heal) will be more useful.

Mass Deathward Deathward for all!. This is a must if you are in a party. It gives everyone immunity to death spells, ability drains and negative energy spells. The only drawback is that its duration is much less than regular deathward. So keep this in mind and pay attention to when it drops to avoid any magical accidents.

Mass Inflict Critical Wounds Again, useless even with Blast Infidel. Cannot recommend. Only time it *could* be useful is when your undead summon is surrounded and you want to heal it while damaging everything around it. This is the only time it may be useful.

Planar Ally, Greater For Thaumaturges this spell is a god send (forgive the pun). The summons from this spell in my opinion are better than the 9th level summon creature summons. I have only tested the Good/Neutral Aligned summons and will give you my opinion on these:

Moon Dogs: Don't bother with this one, the others are better.

Monadic Devas: Can deal high damage and have knockdown. They have a weakish healing spell. Hint: Give them Weapon of Impact

Astral Devas: The best of the available summons in my opinion. They have high damage, One use of the heal spell and multiple uses of Blade Barrier and they also have greater dispell. Unlike the Monadic Devas however they DO NOT have knockdown, but their spells make up for this. Hint: these also benefit greatly from weapon of impact. They also have a "Hidden" effect, if they successfully hit an enemy with their first two attacks, that creature must make a save or be stunned for a short period of time. Edit: With Epic Conjuration Focus this summon gains knockdown.

Sword Archon: Also known as Blender Archons. These guys are great in Melee, have a little more AC than most of the other summons and have fire damage (great for trolls). They do not have any offensive spells, however they have a permanent aura which effectively casts "doom" on creatures arround them that fail a save (reducing their AB, damage, saving throws, ability and skill checks) Edit: With Epic Conjuration Focus this summon gains knockdown.

Fierre: A bard Eladrin summon. In my opinion they are not that useful. They sometimes won't use their bardic abilities and are generally not as useful as previously mentioned summons.

Ghaele: The knight errants of the Eladrin. These do okay damage and have a couple of chain lightning spells. However their spell damage and DC is rather low. Not as good as other summons.

Slaad, grey: Your spell slinging summon. They cast a lot of magic missiles, issacs and other offensive spells with average DCs. However once these spells are used up they arn't that great.

Slaad,green: The more "Warrior" Slaad. They are a little tougher in melee combat and their attacks cause contagion. But other summons are better in Melee in my opinion.

Qorrashi: Not my favorite summon. They have quite low damage, a few offensive cold spells and knockdown. They also have a very good AC. Best used as Tanks but they are not damage dealers.

Summon Creature VIII Although most of the time summons are useful, in this case this spell has been outshone by Planar Ally,Greater. Only take this if you don't want to use Planar Ally.

Sunbeam Sounds great on paper, but tends to do more harm than good. This spell can damage and blind allies including yourself. Meant to do a high a amount of damage to undead but i find this not the case. There are better and safer offensive spells available.

Wall of Greater Dispel Magic Probably quite useful for RP if cast across a doorway to attempt to dispel people walking through. However in most cases it isn't very useful. Most players are not dumb enough to walk through it and creatures don't really need to be dispelled often. Can't recommend.

Whirlpool Pretty, but not that useful. The duration is pathetic as are the elementals it summons. Knockdown isn't all that useful. Sure it can make people "wet" making them more vulnerable to lightning spells. But its use is limited. Best to avoid.
Last edited by William Sunblade on Tue Sep 26, 2017 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Current Character List:
William Sunblade-Senior Knight Counselor, OSR
Penny Quickfeet- Little Miss Hyper
Wendy Sky-The Healing Wonder
Usborne Brightward-Blessed of the Divines
Mercer Chapman- Merry Merchant
Jade Arcane-Walking Inferno
William Sunblade
Posts: 86
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:02 pm
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by William Sunblade »

Orange= This spell is not very good
Green= A mediocre or decent spell
Blue= A great spell and a strong choice
Purple= A fantastic must pick spell

Level 9 spells

Energy Drain Drains your target's levels to a max of eight (16! on a cirtical), orginally there was no save against it, yet BG added one, this in turn made it less useful hence it being in green.. Against creatures its okay but not that great due to the fact you'll be killing them, however it can be used to make bosses a little bit weaker, But most will have high saves. This spell is a little bit better in PvP as player saves generally may not be as high as creatures and level loss is a big hit making them more vulnerable to follow up spells or attacks, if you manage to hit a monk with it then they will be much easier to kill. Now some may challenge you claiming this particular spell is evil. However, it does NOT have the evil descriptor so it is down to how you personally feel.

Gate Now the summons from this spell are really powerful, the strongest in the game apart from those from Epic Gate. However, the duration is what lets this spell down. Even with Thaumatuge levels they just don't stick around long enough for an ordinary "grinding" session. This spell is best used before entering a boss battle or as a PvP summon. Other than those situations, stick to Planar Ally,Greater.

Greater Sanctuary Yes a thousand times yes. This spell is a life saver, not only for you but for your allies also. This spell is useful for running past spawns (Very handy for getting to the hell epic shop) and as a spell to cast at the start of PvP (allowing you to buff up or teleport away as non hostile spells don't break it). Be aware that spawns will try and taunt you out of it so enter parry mode to avoid this. Smart players will use AoE spells or Grenade items to attack you if you use it in PvP, so do not treat it as invulnerability.

Greater Visage of the Deity Now if this spells ability boost stacked with Bears, Bulls, Owls and Eagles it would be a definite yes. Unfortunately it doesn't, the +1 Natural Armour also doesn't stack with any natural AC equipment you have (although it does in PnP). The resistances are not that great and the immunitys are easy to live with out. The duration also isn't that great, even with "Gift of the Deity" feat from Hierophant. It Could be used if you get dispelled as a quick way to rebuff long enough to find somewhere to rest. However as most of the effects it grants will already be covered by Bear Endurance, Eagles Splendor, Owls Wisdom,Bulls Strength, Spell Resistance, animalistic power and the characters amulet, which last a lot longer.. Neutral and Evil characters will get the most out of it due to the +4 DEX which can't be granted by any other cleric spells (unless you have the Animal Domain for cats grace). However, it is mostly redundant.

Imbue Legendary Item As crafting has not been implemented and it is unclear when it will be, this spell is just a slot waste. Do NOT take it.

Implosion The Nuke 'em spell. For a caster cleric this spell is devastating in both PvE and PvP. It was this spell which *almost* killed a duke in an assassination attempt made by Eric the Cleric (The duke saved by one). However for a non caster cleric this spell isn't as useful, due to their DCs being lower. The AoE is also rather small compared to the Wizard equivalent "Wail of the Banshee". This spell has no effect on those protected by Deathward or Shadowshield (which can be used to your advantage in PvE if you gave Deathward to your allies).

Mass Heal Heal, but for all. This spell is great for all clerics and favored souls and is very useful in events or big parties that are fighting something tough. It is also very effective at damaging undead. There really isn't a reason not to take this spell. Grab it.

Mass Reflect Pain Reflect pain, but for everyone. Really isn't useful, sure enemies will be hurting themselves as they attack in Melee, but as there is a save against it, this spell just isn't worth it. Avoid.

Storm of Vengeance This ultimate crowd control spell. This spell doesn't effect allies and any hostile which fails its reflex save will be stunned, Inside the storm! (meaning they are trapped until they save). It will continually deal acid damage to enemies inside also (so it can kill trolls) and those who fail the save will take additional electrical damage. Really worth grabbing for caster Clerics.

Summon creature IX As i previously mentioned, the summons from Planar Ally,Greater are better than the ones from this spell. The elementals and creatures from this spell may have a higher attack bonus. However, you cannot give them Magic Vestment, meaning that they will not have AC as high as the Planar Allies. Also as they only use Natural Weapons i find their damage is also lacking. However, the fire elemental is useful for the trolls. Note: You CAN give them Greater Magic Weapon. This spell is best left to Wizards/Sorcerers who cannot cast Magic Vestment and have more natural AC boosting spells.

Undeaths Eternal Foe Why oh Why would you bother with this. Most of what it protects against is already covered by Deathward and the duration is pitiful. It does protect against Energy Drain so it could be useful against a Necromancer Player Character in PvP. But that is about it. Really not worth it save your slot for something else.
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William Sunblade
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by William Sunblade »

[Edit: Merged into the post above in the correct place with the author's permission. ~Tsidkenu]
Last edited by Tsidkenu on Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Merged! :)
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William Sunblade
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by William Sunblade »

Other Handy Tips and Tricks for Clerical Casters

- Do not forget about Spontaneous Conversion. For good and neutral aligned clerics this saves you the need to place healing spells in your book. To use Spontaneous Conversion, open up the Quickcast menu (default F). In the table you should see a little symbol in the top right corner, click it. Then any spells you use in Quickcast will automatically be healing spells. To go back to normal, simply click it again.

Can't find it?

Image

Note: Evil clerics Spontaneous Conversion changes the spells into the Inflict Spells (really not useful unless you need to heal your undead "pet". Additional Note: Clerics with the Healing Domain will still need to place the healing spells they are granted early access to in their spell book.

- Summons Benefit greatly from Buffs. Greater Magic Weapon can be cast on Elementals and the other Creature Summons. Magic Vestment can be cast on most Humanoid Summons (such as the Angels). Weapon of Impact works wonders with Astral Devas and Monadic Devas and any other summon wielding a blunt weapon.

- Here's a Hint for anyone reading this guide, not just Clerics and Casters. Alchemists Fire can be applied directly to a weapon. Giving that weapon Fire Damage for a short period of time. Great for killing trolls.

- You can increase your spell DC with Owls Wisdom.

-If you have a spare feat slot and have a decent Charisma Score. Try taking the "Divine Spell Power" feat, especially if you combine it with the Hierophants "Advanced Divine Spell Power" Feat. This will sometimes increase your Caster Level up to +4 (Even Higher with Advanced Divine Spell Power) depending on the roll, this will give you a higher DC, increase the duration of your spells and allow you to break through SR. Example: My character Usborne Brightward can use Divine Spell power to increase his caster level up to +5 depending on the roll,
He has a rather low CHA modifier compared to others(+3 with Eagles),
However with "Advanced Divine Spell Power" he will never get a Negative CL even with a low roll. Combining it with the +3 spellpower from the Hierophant Feats (Taking spellpower three times) he can occasionally get a Caster Level of 38 (when he is level 30) while using "Divine Spell Power".

Bare in mind this does use up Turn Undead Attempts.

Warning: unless you have Advanced Divine Spell Power there is a chance it will reduce your caster level if you have a low CHA score.

- Summons or Party have Death Ward?. If they get surrounded, feel free to throw an implosion their way. The Death Ward will make sure they don't die even on a failed save and if any of their attackers aren't immune to death effects and fail their saves, they get destroyed.

-Thaumaturges can summon Two planar creatures, or one planar and one elemental/animal. This is because of the Planar Cohort feat granted at 5th level of Thaumaturge. The cohort is summoned in a different "slot" to the regular summons. This in turn allows you to have your Planar Cohort and an additional summon.

- Like summoning? Don't forget to get spell focus conjuration (up to epic) as this will increase your summons HD (Effectively their level). This in turn may grant them more health, a higher AB or additional feats. For undead summons, you need spell focus Necromancy to increase the HD which will also increase the DCs of your Necromancy spells (such as Destruction and Slay Living), very good for Evil caster clerics.

-Found a Dusty Tome? Don't you dare throw it away. These books are highly valuable as they have a chance to contain the "True Name" of a creature. This is how you get the named summons which can be more powerful than the regular ones, the named summons are unique and only one player may have one summoned (across the whole server) at any one time, hence why they are so valuable.

To use a Dusty Tome you need to do the following:
Stage one-You need to pass the corresponding Lore check this can be ANY of the lore skills (The lore check is randomized and bound to that book). You may only make one attempt at this. If you fail you aren't entirely out of options. You can use other characters or have someone you trust make the attempt, but make sure you trust them as they can steal the name from you (unless you are happy to share it). once the check is past the examine will change to normal, readable text.

Stage Two-Once it is "translated" READ IT. What you are looking for is the name of a creature. Example: "The tome contains the story of a group of adventurers.In their quest for glory they enlisted the help of a being by the name of *Creature name* etc..."(Not letting you get one that easy ;) ). Take note of that name, you'll need it.

Stage Three You are going to need a Diamond to create a focus. The power of the creature will determine the Diamond you need. These are as follows:

Diamond- Lesser Beings up to 15HD
Canary Diamond- Beings up to 20HD
Blue Diamond Higher beings with no known limit.

To make a diamond into a focus you need to cast a planar binding spell on it (Planar Ally, Greater, Planar Ally, Planar Binding, Greater Planar Binding e.t.c), once cast you will be prompted to type in the True name, Type it in Exactly as it appears remembering the capitals. If this succeeds the diamond will change name to the creatures true name (you may need to move it in the inventory) and its examine will tell you about the creature (if you passed the Planes lore check) you can then use the diamond to summon the being (by casting a planar spell on it).

Stage four- Once you have the name and have its name on the focus, summon it. You will then enter negotiations, working out the terms of your contract. Your Alignment and the creatures alignment will be one of the determine factors so if you are Lawful Good don't expect to be calling demons to your aid (besides DMs may have something to say about that). If you have Diplomacy, this will help you to secure the creatures services at a lower cost. Once negotiations are done you will be given a final price to secure its allegiance. This can be very expensive so be sure you have a lot of gold. Once the price is paid and the Negotiations are complete, congratulations, you now have a true name summon. You can summon it from the Focus using a planar spell. DO NOT let your true name summon die, if it does you cannot call it for 24 hours.


/// I'll update these tips if I discover any other useful ones. Also, please let me know if you would like me to cover the other spell levels which Karond did. Or if you find a spell that neither of us covered and would like an opinion on it.
Last edited by William Sunblade on Wed Sep 27, 2017 1:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Exrodie
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by Exrodie »

Awesome tips as always and thanks for updating.

One quickie - just noticed you had about a third of the Level 5 spells without a write-up.

Scratch that. I just saw where you added them :)
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Tsidkenu
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by Tsidkenu »

As a long time cleric player, these are my addendums, sorted by spell level. :mrgreen:

Orange= This spell is not very good
Green = A mediocre or decent spell
Blue = A great spell and a strong choice
Purple = A fantastic must pick spell

Level 2 Spells
Darkness - Rated green by Karond, I actually believe that, when used in conjunction with a Blindsight or True Seeing spell, Darkness can completely turn the tide of a difficult battle if used correctly. Creatures lacking their own Blindsight or True Seeing will completely cease attacking while in the darkness zone (or while you are standing within it), some even legging it out of the zone meaning you/your allies can freely use a ranged weapon at them from within the zone with complete impugnity.

Desecrate - Rated orange by Karond, with the recent changes to summoning evil clerics can really get a significant boost (ie, a +33% Hit Dice increase) to the 3rd level Animate Dead spell by casting Desecrate first. The sheer tankiness of 1-3 boosted skeletons/zombies moves this spell to a strong choice for evil clerics in my opinion, especially when they are buffed further with Bless, Mass Aid, Mass Bull's Strength & Mass Bear's Endurance. You never need to memorise more than one which you can cast before you use Animate Dead.

Sense Weakness - Situationally useful, the only unfortunate part about this spell is the will save to resist on account of the target. I did use this spell extensively while I was low level by casting it on an ally who would then dish out an entire round of successive critical hits against the target. Becomes less useful at higher levels because of the will save, but still useful in the low-mid levels if you have a Weapon Master or x3/x4 critting buddy as an ally. Do not cast it on yourself as it is a complete waste that way.

Level 3 spells
Animate Dead - For evil clerics, this is a must pick. Cast Desecrate first and you will have 1 to 3 very tanky summons that last 1 in-game hr/ level to do your grinding for you. Note that ally mages can cast their 4th level Animate Dead in your desecrated zone to receive a bonus to the summons' HD as well. You will use this spell right through into the low epics, that is how good it is now.

Protection From Energy - I'm surprised how bad a rap this spell gets when it really is quite good for its level. It lasts a full 24 hours and you can find a good use for it early on to protect your cleric from traps, as 30/- elemental resistance will significantly reduce the damage you take from elemental damage traps which appear occasionally in dungeons and on chests. Note that the spell will only expire once you have absorbed a total of 40 damage from a single elemental source, meaning it can potentially absorb up to 196 points of damage (39 from 4 elements, 40 from the 5th) before collapsing. This spell alone can reduce the damage from a Hellball to 0 on a successful reflex save, that is how good I rate it.

Level 4 spells
Abyssal Might - No change in rating, but just a note that the spell cannot be cast on summons and is classified as an evil spell, so be cautious whom you cast it around especially if you are good-aligned.

Level 5 spells

Righteous Might - No change in rating, but just an additional note that this spell should be considered for its Damage Reduction of 9/ [Good or Evil, depending on cleric's alignment] at 12th level, making it only one point shy of Stoneskin. It can be used until Stone Body is unlocked as a level 6 spell and kept in reserve in case you have run out of Stone Body/level 6 spell slots.

Spell Resistance - A must have. With hierophant and [Advanced] Divine Spell Power, you can potentially get up to 50 SR with this puppy. Even a CL 38 Red Wizard is going to have difficulty piercing that without a mords/assay or breach, let alone mobs without those three countermeasures. Any cleric/fs worth their salt will cast this extended in a 6th level slot for general grinding at all times.

Wall of Stone - I actually rate this spell at least green, if not blue. Drop it in the vision of a spellcasting boss or large group of mobs and see what happens. Once they've burnt their repertoire on your inanimate wall, head on in for an easy kill using a single Implosion on the mobs or whatever you need to get the boss. Note that mobs will metagame you and may leave the wall alone if you enter their perception radius, so just hang back until you feel it opportune to drop your nuke.

Level 6 spells
Banishment - It can outright kill PCs who are transformed into a devil/demon shape if they fail their will save, which is unlikely, but with the amount of Planar creatures wandering the coast after Rasael/Nachti/Dedude/Valefort's changes to the summoning system, this spell can have RP merit more often than not these days.

Blade Barrier - A must pick for Evocation specialised DC clerics and can still be useful otherwise. Use it with Empower/Maximise and Wall of Stone for a decoy and you have a spell dishing out 90 damage a round, every round, on a failed save (and most mobs on BGTSCC have reflex as a low save). The key to its use is positioning. Wall of Stone makes that part so much easier.

Control Undead - Can be a strong choice for Evil clerics simply due to the duration, let down only by the fact that all undead have a strong will save. But add a dominated undead to your swarm of 1-3 Animated Dead and Create Undead for another 1 hour/CL? Yes please! Can be cast on ally's summons if you set them hostile first. ;)

Level 7 spells
Azuth's Spell Shield - Clerics of Mystra/Azuth only. It is great to drop on yourself (not allies) before a battle with a spellcasting boss, thus is only situationally useful. Its duration does not help much, either. Note that, unlike the 5th level Spell Resistance, the SR granted from this spell is static and decreases with the number of allies who receive its benefit. Cast on yourself only for 47 SR at level 13, even for a short duration? Yes please!

Greater Bestow Curse - Unfortunately a transmutation so even a DC cleric will struggle to make good use of this, but on a boss or PC with a low will save the ramifications are considerable: -3 AB/Damage & possible weight encumbrance, -3 AC, - (HDx3) Hit Points, -3 All Saving Throws and potential loss of spell slots for a spellcaster. (Any form of) Restoration does not remove its effects, neither does resting when used on PCs. As a curse, it is permanent until Remove Curse is cast upon the target.

Hilater's Misdirection - A strong pick if you are a DC cleric who wades into melee on the odd occasion. Find yourself suddenly swarmed with mobs and taking damage? Cast this and you will have CL/3 rounds of peace. If your opponent/s fail their will save, all attacks they make against you will be rolled as 0+0 for the entire round until they make their next save. This obviously has potential PvP implications against low will-save classes like rogues & fighters. Only affects melee attacks. If you are not a DC cleric this spell is useless.

Regeneration - Must pick for melee/EDM clerics or FS. Extend with your 8th level slots and you're laughing.

Level 8 spells
Bodak's Glare - A good choice as another save or die spell if you're an Evil DC necromancer-type cleric, but the 'summon' is only a 2 HD zombie tied to the 'old' summoning system. Fortunately for that reason it does not unsummon any creatures you have already summoned, but its only purpose is for you to use Turn Undead and watch it explode. Could be amusing to roleplay if you successfully used this spell on a PC in PvP.

Create Greater Undead - Must pick for evil clerics. Even an evil FS will find use with this by summoning one just before a large battle as they are incredibly tanky, have silver DR & regenerate. Can be extended using 9th level slots, which would let you buff them a little bit before battle if you wished but the duration is not great (2 rounds/CL).

Greater Reflect Pain - I've found more use here from Extended Hilater's Misdirection than this spell. Might only find a niche use against low fort rogues in PvP, assuming you survive their first Sneak Attack flurry to even cast it. Mostly avoid unless you're a cleric of Loviatar and want to have a laugh.

Level 9 spells
Energy Drain - Excellent spell. Cast this spell first if you want to ensure your follow-up DC spell hits with its fullest impact, especially on bosses. Could be synergised with a subsequent casting of Greater Bestow Curse for even lower saving throws. Because it is a ranged touch attack and clerics tend to have bad Dex, it can be wise to cast Divine Power first to buff your AB so that you are guaranteed to hit on your RTA (1s notwithstanding). Unlike the description, it has no saving throw (at least, none that actually shows in the log) meaning a guaranteed -2d4 levels on a successful RTA.

Making the Most of Spontaneous Conversion

NB: This part of my guide is for clerics only, not FS

Apart from knowing which spells are good/bad, it can help to know how to organise a clerical spell book. The key feature of all clerics is their ability to spontaneously convert their spells to healing/harming. Given that there are two major alignment differences here, I will treat both separately in turn.

Good/Neutral Clerics
All good/neutral clerics can spontaneously convert memorised spells into healing at any time. This means the only healing spells you ever need to actually memorise are 6th level Heal, 7th level Greater Restoration/Regeneration & 9th level Mass Heal. Do not ever, under any circumstances, put Cure X Wounds into any spell slot. Note that you cannot convert 6th, 7th or 9th level spells into Heal/ Greater Restoration or Mass Heal. They must be memorised and prepared beforehand.

Instead, memorise spells that you may actually use. For your orisons, things like Blood Vision, Light, Dry/Rinse, Detect Magic & Mark Rune. I liked to put one or two 'preferred conversion' spells in each spell level which I would convert as healing as necessary, eg. Remove Fear/Detect Undead/Comprehend Language at level 1, Lesser Restoration/Remove Paralysis level 2, Remove Curse level 3 (you'd be surprised how often someone comes wandering by looking for a cleric to cast Remove Curse on them after a loot run!), Tongues/Sending level 4, etc. DC clerics may wish to memorise additional DC spells (eg. Hammer of the Gods/Flamestrike/Slay Living etc) which you prioritise for conversion as required. Obviously you cannot convert your buff spells that you cast, so this is why you need some additional 'filler' spells which could find a niche use on their own, but more often than not get converted for healing at your whim.

Note that you can open your Quickcast bar (default button F) & select the Conversion toggle and click a specific spell to convert to healing. Alternatively, actually drag the specific conversion-toggled spell from the Quickcast menu to a hotbar slot so you can just click the specific sacrificial slot as you need it.

Evil Clerics
Clerics of the dark gods actually have a slightly harder time with spell management, in my opinion, which is compensated by the fact they can wander around the wilderness with an undead horde in tow without the twinge of conscience a good/neutral cleric might have.

Evil clerics spontaneously convert spells into Inflict, meaning if you want healing you actually need to prepare specific healing spells (eg. Vigor, Cure Moderate Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, etc) in advance. You can always convert them to Inflict to dish out damage if you find you're not using them that often.

Evil clerics may find that it is better to rely on Healing Kits to patch up summons to save on spell slots especially given that, at the time of writing, Inflict spells other than Mass Inflict X Wounds cannot currently target friendly Undead to heal them.

Making the Most of Spell Slot Management
The second thing you need to remember, and this applies to all cleric alignments, is spell slot management. Consider if you were suddenly hit with Touch of Idiocy/Feeblemind or Greater Bestow Curse and got severely slugged in the wisdom department. Which spell slots are you going to lose? As you fill your spellslot bar, spells on the right are always lost first in cases of stat drain, so make sure your most frequently cast buff spells are in those slots (this procedure is identical for rangers/paladins who utilise bonus spell slot item equipment before resting and then change over to 'battle' equipment after they've spent their bonus slots).

This way if you happen to get Wisdom drained for whatever reason, the spell slots you have lost are those for spells you've already expended. Always memorise your key 'emergency' spells like Heal, Mass Heal & Greater Sanctuary in your left-most slots so that they can never be lost by stat drain.
spyvsspy
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Re: Karond's Cleric caster guide

Unread post by spyvsspy »

Greater Visage of the Deity: I think it's orange for normal clerics but should be at least blue for those guys who have Gift of the Deity feat. Yes the abilities boost do not stack but will be empowered to +6. +6cha is nice for combat clerics who have (epic) divine might and divine shield. +6wis will help caster clerics to increase spell dc. And AC if you have monk levels, along with +6dex for neutral clerics. And +6con for a HP boost. The duration should be high enough for a boss challenge if you have already 10 levels of Hierophant. Note: it's far less useful for evil clerics.
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