Best 1st level divine spells? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best 1st level divine spells? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Moosh Nailo
12-21-07, 06:23 PM What great 1st level divine spells out there should no sane archivist be without? Anybody have favourites?

Looking at options to incorporate into the spell list of a character of mine (human Ranger1/Archivist1/Crusader4/Impure Prince1, follower of Mok Thuum Ngatha [a far realm tentacle-y blighter from LoM]) The Impure Prince PrC from MoE later adds levels of spellcasting.

Anything thematic (Mok Thuum Ngatha domains are destruction, knowledge, madness and travel) as well as overall good spells deserves special mention.

The spell list I'm hoping to enhance so far contains Endure Elements, Command, Seething Eyebane (BoVD), Lesser Vigor, and Enlarge Person.
Avatar of Kokusho
12-21-07, 07:39 PM Conviction (SC). Resurgence (SC). Divine Favor(PHB). Shield of Faith(PHB). Vision of Glory(SC).

Those are all good choices.
Moosh Nailo
12-21-07, 11:05 PM Is that it? How should I word these things so people actually answer?
Pitiless_Interfector
12-21-07, 11:51 PM Umm, it's not like you're going to be able to prepare more than that anyway. Of course, in their eagerness the previous poster probably forgot that at your level scribing druid spells into your prayerbook is a perfectly viable option and so did miss out on entangle (Just say that all the plants momentarily turn flesh colored and sprout screaming mouths when they reach for you) and some awesome direct damage from Spell Compendium. As far as I can tell, domain spells are an option as well. And don't forget to take massive advantage of the fact that spells appear much much earlier on the ranger and paladin lists than on your regular list. (Example: safe clearing [an area sanctuary: druid 5, ranger 3. You can scribe the ranger version and have it work just as well [though with a DC 2 less than usual).
CryoSilver
12-22-07, 12:17 AM Don't forget Protection From Evil, which grants a boatload of bonuses and makes you untouchable by summoned monsters.
Moosh Nailo
12-22-07, 03:12 AM I'm not worried about how many I can prepare in a given day, I just want the flexibility. Archivist does get scribe scroll free at first level, so I have the potential to cast as many spells as I want to.

Entangle and Protection from E/G/L is noted. I nabbed Enlarge Person from the Strength domain, and I'm thinking about Burning Hands from fire. Any cool domains lurking in strange places I should check out? Pitiless, which damage spells from SC are you referring to? Thanks for the tip about rangers and paladins, completely forgot!
Avatar of Kokusho
12-22-07, 07:49 AM Wow, I did forget about druid/paladin/ranger spells. My bad. :(

Direct damage...hmm, for that, your best bet would probably be from a domain. I'm trying to remember the spell from the Force domain...is it really Magic Missile? Nope, Mage Armor. Not a bad choice, though. Elf gives True Strike at level 1, as does the Fate domain. Oracle domain gives Identify. Then there's Divine Sacrifice, a first level Paladin spell that I like a lot.
Moosh Nailo
12-23-07, 03:49 AM True Strike would be a nice addition. Identify would probably be useful, but I'm a fan of the "I hold the glowing sword and flap my arms. Anything happen?" method.
Grizzled Gryphon
12-23-07, 05:26 PM True Strike would be a nice addition. Identify would probably be useful, but I'm a fan of the "I hold the glowing sword and flap my arms. Anything happen?" method.

LOL!! Boy do I WISH I had some players that would try that!! Alas, they tend to go with the identify method, like other sane people would...

Seriously, how is your method a good idea in any way, shape, or form? Aside from drawing out a gaming session beyond reason. I played with a guy that did that, and it was humorous the first few times. After that... We would sit there while he went on and on with his attempts to figure out what a given item did.

Then we got a wand of Identify. Suddenly, we were able to actually accomplish stuff!! It was amazing how much you can do when one player isn't upstaging everyone with his antics of trying to figure out magical properties.

Sorry for the rant, but it was really annoying.
Moosh Nailo
12-23-07, 08:34 PM Don't worry, I don't do that every time I find something shiny. But if the DM is obviously excited about said piece of loot, then why not indulge her?

And as for sane, that is one thing this character isn't :D

I seem to remember there being a way to write spells that appear only on arcane lists as scrolls. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
Zathress
12-24-07, 11:18 PM Don't forget faerie fire that an take out blur, displacement and invisibility if you happen to catch the target in the area.
RobbyPants
12-26-07, 01:28 PM Lesser Restoration is a 1st level spell on the Paladin list (normally 2nd level for a Cleric).

Rhino Rush (Spell Compendium) is in the Wrath Domain, Paladin, and Ranger list. It is a swift action to cast, and lets you deal double damage on a charge that round. It works great with Power Attack and a two-handed weapon. It works out to four points of damage per one point lost on BAB.

I'll second (or third, or whatever) Entangle. It's one of the best low-level save or loses. Even if they all make the saves, they more through the area at half speed. It's great for splitting a group into more managable chunks, while taking some out of the fight completely for a few rounds. Nothing like spending three rounds trying to free yourself, all the while watching your buddies get pwned.
Rahvan
12-26-07, 06:23 PM Rhino Rush (Spell Compendium) is in the Wrath Domain, Paladin, and Ranger list. It is a swift action to cast, and lets you deal double damage on a charge that round. It works great with Power Attack and a two-handed weapon. It works out to four points of damage per one point lost on BAB.

Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab.
Grizzled Gryphon
12-26-07, 08:16 PM Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab.

Still good, though. Can one cast it on another? Meh, I have the book, I will check myself.

Well, I see that it is not. Is there a way to get personal spells to work on other people?
Rulebook
12-26-07, 08:22 PM yeah, all multipliers work on the original numbers, not the totals.
RobbyPants
12-27-07, 11:04 AM True. I never actually thought about a two-hander with Power Attack as getting "double" the return before, so the double-a-double-is-a-tripple rule never occured to me. It does say "twice the number" in the feat, so I guess that makes sense. Still, double the base damage dice of the weapon, and a 3:1 on Power Attack is quite nice. Combine with Leap Attack or Combat Brute for 4:1 for some nice damage.
JamesMaissen
12-27-07, 11:13 AM Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab.

While that's true, this is not doubling a double.

Rather it is a 2:1 ratio for power attack and then doing double damage (like you had a critical hit).

To whit say you power attack for 2, thus you get 2d6+1.5STR+4. On a crit (or double damage charge) you would do 2d6+1.5STR+4+2d6+1.5STR+4 damage.

-James

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Moosh Nailo 12-21-07, 06:23 PM	What great 1st level divine spells out there should no sane archivist be without? Anybody have favourites? Looking at options to incorporate into the spell list of a character of mine (human Ranger1/Archivist1/Crusader4/Impure Prince1, follower of Mok Thuum Ngatha [a far realm tentacle-y blighter from LoM]) The Impure Prince PrC from MoE later adds levels of spellcasting. Anything thematic (Mok Thuum Ngatha domains are destruction, knowledge, madness and travel) as well as overall good spells deserves special mention. The spell list I'm hoping to enhance so far contains Endure Elements, Command, Seething Eyebane (BoVD), Lesser Vigor, and Enlarge Person.
Avatar of Kokusho 12-21-07, 07:39 PM	Conviction (SC). Resurgence (SC). Divine Favor(PHB). Shield of Faith(PHB). Vision of Glory(SC). Those are all good choices.
Moosh Nailo 12-21-07, 11:05 PM	Is that it? How should I word these things so people actually answer?
Pitiless_Interfector 12-21-07, 11:51 PM	Umm, it's not like you're going to be able to prepare more than that anyway. Of course, in their eagerness the previous poster probably forgot that at your level scribing druid spells into your prayerbook is a perfectly viable option and so did miss out on entangle (Just say that all the plants momentarily turn flesh colored and sprout screaming mouths when they reach for you) and some awesome direct damage from Spell Compendium. As far as I can tell, domain spells are an option as well. And don't forget to take massive advantage of the fact that spells appear much much earlier on the ranger and paladin lists than on your regular list. (Example: safe clearing [an area sanctuary: druid 5, ranger 3. You can scribe the ranger version and have it work just as well [though with a DC 2 less than usual).
CryoSilver 12-22-07, 12:17 AM	Don't forget Protection From Evil, which grants a boatload of bonuses and makes you untouchable by summoned monsters.
Moosh Nailo 12-22-07, 03:12 AM	I'm not worried about how many I can prepare in a given day, I just want the flexibility. Archivist does get scribe scroll free at first level, so I have the potential to cast as many spells as I want to. Entangle and Protection from E/G/L is noted. I nabbed Enlarge Person from the Strength domain, and I'm thinking about Burning Hands from fire. Any cool domains lurking in strange places I should check out? Pitiless, which damage spells from SC are you referring to? Thanks for the tip about rangers and paladins, completely forgot!
Avatar of Kokusho 12-22-07, 07:49 AM	Wow, I did forget about druid/paladin/ranger spells. My bad. :( Direct damage...hmm, for that, your best bet would probably be from a domain. I'm trying to remember the spell from the Force domain...is it really Magic Missile? Nope, Mage Armor. Not a bad choice, though. Elf gives True Strike at level 1, as does the Fate domain. Oracle domain gives Identify. Then there's Divine Sacrifice, a first level Paladin spell that I like a lot.
Moosh Nailo 12-23-07, 03:49 AM	True Strike would be a nice addition. Identify would probably be useful, but I'm a fan of the "I hold the glowing sword and flap my arms. Anything happen?" method.
Grizzled Gryphon 12-23-07, 05:26 PM	True Strike would be a nice addition. Identify would probably be useful, but I'm a fan of the "I hold the glowing sword and flap my arms. Anything happen?" method. LOL!! Boy do I WISH I had some players that would try that!! Alas, they tend to go with the identify method, like other sane people would... Seriously, how is your method a good idea in any way, shape, or form? Aside from drawing out a gaming session beyond reason. I played with a guy that did that, and it was humorous the first few times. After that... We would sit there while he went on and on with his attempts to figure out what a given item did. Then we got a wand of Identify. Suddenly, we were able to actually accomplish stuff!! It was amazing how much you can do when one player isn't upstaging everyone with his antics of trying to figure out magical properties. Sorry for the rant, but it was really annoying.
Moosh Nailo 12-23-07, 08:34 PM	Don't worry, I don't do that every time I find something shiny. But if the DM is obviously excited about said piece of loot, then why not indulge her? And as for sane, that is one thing this character isn't :D I seem to remember there being a way to write spells that appear only on arcane lists as scrolls. Anyone know what I'm talking about?
Zathress 12-24-07, 11:18 PM	Don't forget faerie fire that an take out blur, displacement and invisibility if you happen to catch the target in the area.
RobbyPants 12-26-07, 01:28 PM	Lesser Restoration is a 1st level spell on the Paladin list (normally 2nd level for a Cleric). Rhino Rush (Spell Compendium) is in the Wrath Domain, Paladin, and Ranger list. It is a swift action to cast, and lets you deal double damage on a charge that round. It works great with Power Attack and a two-handed weapon. It works out to four points of damage per one point lost on BAB. I'll second (or third, or whatever) Entangle. It's one of the best low-level save or loses. Even if they all make the saves, they more through the area at half speed. It's great for splitting a group into more managable chunks, while taking some out of the fight completely for a few rounds. Nothing like spending three rounds trying to free yourself, all the while watching your buddies get pwned.
Rahvan 12-26-07, 06:23 PM	Rhino Rush (Spell Compendium) is in the Wrath Domain, Paladin, and Ranger list. It is a swift action to cast, and lets you deal double damage on a charge that round. It works great with Power Attack and a two-handed weapon. It works out to four points of damage per one point lost on BAB. Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab.
Grizzled Gryphon 12-26-07, 08:16 PM	Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab. Still good, though. Can one cast it on another? Meh, I have the book, I will check myself. Well, I see that it is not. Is there a way to get personal spells to work on other people?
Rulebook 12-26-07, 08:22 PM	yeah, all multipliers work on the original numbers, not the totals.
RobbyPants 12-27-07, 11:04 AM	True. I never actually thought about a two-hander with Power Attack as getting "double" the return before, so the double-a-double-is-a-tripple rule never occured to me. It does say "twice the number" in the feat, so I guess that makes sense. Still, double the base damage dice of the weapon, and a 3:1 on Power Attack is quite nice. Combine with Leap Attack or Combat Brute for 4:1 for some nice damage.
JamesMaissen 12-27-07, 11:13 AM	Sorry to break that little fantasy... but a double and a double equal a triple in D&D, so you get 3 points of damage per point of bab. While that's true, this is not doubling a double. Rather it is a 2:1 ratio for power attack and then doing double damage (like you had a critical hit). To whit say you power attack for 2, thus you get 2d6+1.5STR+4. On a crit (or double damage charge) you would do 2d6+1.5STR+4+2d6+1.5STR+4 damage. -James