What are some good melee Cleric spells? Feats? Items? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

What are some good melee Cleric spells? Feats? Items?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
newpaintbrush
Apr 05, 2008 12:15:18 I've got an 8th level melee cleric that has Str 19, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 20 (stat boost item), Chr 6. Domains Strength and Good, alignment Lawful Good. (Probably retrain to Strength and Destruction later)

I'd like to know some good spells to memorize, particularly 5th level spells (as the cleric is going to level soon), and 6th level spells. Of particular interest are spells that are not in the Player's Handbook. Although the cleric is a melee cleric, I prefer spells that help the party as a whole or debuff enemies, although some REALLY good melee boosting spells someone could recommend would be appreciated. (They nerfed Righteous Might, are there any Living Greyhawk substitutes that provide Strength-increasing bonuses that are NOT "enhancement" bonuses?)

I'm also looking for any really useful lower-level spells that follow the same formula of buff/debuff.

The only non-Player's Handbook spells I typically memorize are Lesser Vigor, Delay Death, and Recitation. I think I've heard of a 4th level or lower clerical spell that heals multiple party members at once, but I can't remember the name - Symbol of Healing maybe?. Also, I think there's a 2nd level spell that's an immediate action that prevents damage but requires access. Does anyone know the spells I'm talking about?

--

On another sidenote - for the armband slot for a melee-oriented character with Power Attack, is armbands of might really the BEST item to have?

--

On another sidenote - what's a good 9th level feat to take for a melee cleric that's got Power Attack, Craft Wondrous, and Craft Magic Arms and Armor? Again, feats from outside the Player's Handbook are appreciated. I wanted Improved Critical or Extra Smite, but I can't smite unless I retrain, and I wanted to keep the Good domain to craft holy weapons and a bead of karma anyways (anyone know other good things to craft with the "Good" domain?)

Thanks!
#2
mwao_dup
Apr 05, 2008 12:38:22 Quicken Spell should be your 9th level feat - that lets you start getting buffed faster when you're tanking. At 9th level, you can cast Quickened Divine Favor for +3 to hit/damage.

Righteous Wrath of the Faithful is Bard in a box as a 5th level spell. +3 hit/damage, gives an extra melee attack. If you're in an adaptable with 3 other frontliners, this is probably the spell to pick...

Earthhammer is a swift action spell that increases your damage by one step and makes your weapon effectively bludgeoning/adamantine.

Greatreach Bracers are a much better item than the damage bracers - gives you an extra 10' of reach as a swift 3/day for 2K.
#3
copperwyrmling
Apr 05, 2008 14:22:27
I think I've heard of a 4th level or lower clerical spell that heals multiple party members at once, but I can't remember the name - Symbol of Healing maybe?. Also, I think there's a 2nd level spell that's an immediate action that prevents damage but requires access. Does anyone know the spells I'm talking about?

The first one is Insignia of Healing from Races of Destiny (heals the whole party 1d8+CL, capping at CL 10, requires a 10gp focus for every PC to be healed), the second is Close Wounds from the Spell Compendium.

As MwaO said, Righteous Wrath is pretty much the best L5 cleric buff spell. Greater Command is a pretty good mass-will-save-or-lose.
#4
huck_pennan
Apr 06, 2008 14:13:05 Blade of Blood (PHII, 1st lvl) if you can find access.
#5
umiskatonic
Apr 06, 2008 14:32:46 Well, quickened enlarge person would push up your strength, and your damage by a size category.

Quickened is the feat you need, absolutely. Don't overlook quickened shield of faith either (and divine favor too)

True seeing should be mentioned as a good spell. In a way, it's a de-buff spell, and you can get past things which are otherwise solid defenses.

For other 5th/6th level spells....

5: Quickened first level spells, righteous might

6: Quickened 2nd level spells, heroes' feast, bolt of glory, fires of purity,
#6
timlagor
Apr 06, 2008 18:45:44 HEAL for 6th -it doesn't matter that you consider yourself a Tank if you are the one that needs it ;)
#7
jamesmaissen
Apr 06, 2008 19:33:24
Well, quickened enlarge person would push up your strength, and your damage by a size category.

You will get table variation on trying to apply the quicken metamagic feat to 1 round casting spells.

There is division on this, so if you plan on it I would advise checking with the judge before memorizing it. Regardless quicken works for the cleric build.. so it's just a choice of what you memorize.

-James
#8
_metz_
Apr 06, 2008 21:40:59 Plane shift is a good one if you have a planar fork. Touch them and will save or bugger off. Good on big tough monsters with low will.
Commune: good for investigative mods if you have several leads.
Wall of Stone: good if you don't have arcane around with walls of force as battlefeild control

Flamestrike aint amazing, but its also a possibility.
Break Enchantment is something that is often needed.

My Cleric extends his recitation up to 5. Then they also last a while and he can cast it as a pre combat buff.

A good level 2 spell if you get access is Divine Protection (+1 Morale AC and saves mintues per level, good with lesser extend rods in stormtrooper tactics)
#9
magebeast
Apr 07, 2008 1:05:44
Plane shift is a good one if you have a planar fork. Touch them and will save or bugger off. Good on big tough monsters with low will.

Just make sure they aren't carrying any precious treasure before you do this!
#10
_metz_
Apr 07, 2008 2:04:31
Just make sure they aren't carrying any precious treasure before you do this!

Oh yes, I forgot to say that, YES only good on monsters that DON'T have the treasure for the module...
#11
iswald
Apr 07, 2008 7:56:19
I've got an 8th level melee cleric that has Str 19, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 20 (stat boost item), Chr 6. Domains Strength and Good, alignment Lawful Good. (Probably retrain to Strength and Destruction later)

I'd like to know some good spells to memorize, particularly 5th level spells (as the cleric is going to level soon), and 6th level spells. Of particular interest are spells that are not in the Player's Handbook. Although the cleric is a melee cleric, I prefer spells that help the party as a whole or debuff enemies, although some REALLY good melee boosting spells someone could recommend would be appreciated. (They nerfed Righteous Might, are there any Living Greyhawk substitutes that provide Strength-increasing bonuses that are NOT "enhancement" bonuses?)

Feats for melee as a cleric. Quicken was already suggested. Somatic weaponry is good, since you can cast with your hands full. Quickdraw isn't bad, lets you get more full attacks.

Spells that give bonuses to strength and con that aren't enhancement. There's the rage spell, not sure how to get it as a cleric. Also, the courage domain has valiant fury (+4 str and con, +2 to will saves and an extra haste like attack) which can be cast on yourself or others. These are all morale bonuses.

Righteous Might isn't all bad. You do get an increase in damage for using a large weapon. Your str and con bonuses are still size bonuses. Casting Earth Hammer (RS), a swift spell, will give your weapon another increase in damage by one size category. It doesn't actually increase the size of the weapon, just damage done. Also, your weapon is treated as a blunt adamantine weapon regardless of what kind it actually is. Two spells and your greatsword goes from 2d6 to 4d6. A long sword goes from 1d8 to 3d6 (DMG pg 28).

Valiant Fury and Earth Hammer are both 5th level spells. Stalwart Pact is a good spell to prepare and use at the start of a mod. You can cast it and then switch it to something else the next day. Assuming you aren't dumped into a combat in the opening box text. :P

Resurgence, mass resurgence and delay death are all spells to consider.
#12
rockondon
Apr 07, 2008 11:23:11 righteous might seems pretty much trashed after the errata. I'd use up that slot for a quickened divine favor. Divine power is my most powerful buff spell.

My cleric became twice as powerful after getting an animated shield, switching to a two-handed sword and using power attack.

The other feat my combat cleric used at lvl 9 was craft wondrous item. That has saved me about 75000gp so far, and soon to be much more.

I wish I had access to close wounds, or divine protection. Insignia of healing is handy (I use my 7th lvl slots to cast it quickened) and sometimes I cast insignia of warding too.

For items- boots of speed, strand of prayer beads (I use karma bead to cast hourly buffs at +4lvl), belt of battle (good luck getting access), animated shield.
#13
jhorred
Apr 12, 2008 2:43:14 One thing to consider as your cleric gets higher in level (12+ range) is extended Greater Magic Weapon and Magic Vestments. These can turn nonmagical gear into potent magic items for a long time. It can save you cash you can use to buy more potent gear. There is a danger from dispels though....

I was playing a high level melee cleric in a home game and I typically had 7-8 spells a day memorized as extended. For a buff caster of any sort I recommend the feat, though it is of limited use at lower level.
#14
hariman
Apr 12, 2008 20:36:54
righteous might seems pretty much trashed after the errata. I'd use up that slot for a quickened divine favor. Divine power is my most powerful buff spell.

My cleric became twice as powerful after getting an animated shield, switching to a two-handed sword and using power attack.

The other feat my combat cleric used at lvl 9 was craft wondrous item. That has saved me about 75000gp so far, and soon to be much more.

Righteous Might is still a size bonus, which stacks with an enhancement bonus. That is especially useful if you already have either gloves or a belt of strength.

And yes, Craft Wondrous is great for a cleric. The only limitation is how many TUs you have.
#15
mwao_dup
Apr 13, 2008 12:01:52
One thing to consider as your cleric gets higher in level (12+ range) is extended Greater Magic Weapon and Magic Vestments. These can turn nonmagical gear into potent magic items for a long time. It can save you cash you can use to buy more potent gear. There is a danger from dispels though....

I was playing a high level melee cleric in a home game and I typically had 7-8 spells a day memorized as extended. For a buff caster of any sort I recommend the feat, though it is of limited use at lower level.

If you can get access, the Rods of Extend are very, very cheap for fire and forget spells - especially for Heroes Feast, where it basically amounts to a 6th level spell for 11K(and 2 more charges for the GMW)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 newpaintbrush Apr 05, 2008 12:15:18	I've got an 8th level melee cleric that has Str 19, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 20 (stat boost item), Chr 6. Domains Strength and Good, alignment Lawful Good. (Probably retrain to Strength and Destruction later) I'd like to know some good spells to memorize, particularly 5th level spells (as the cleric is going to level soon), and 6th level spells. Of particular interest are spells that are not in the Player's Handbook. Although the cleric is a melee cleric, I prefer spells that help the party as a whole or debuff enemies, although some REALLY good melee boosting spells someone could recommend would be appreciated. (They nerfed Righteous Might, are there any Living Greyhawk substitutes that provide Strength-increasing bonuses that are NOT "enhancement" bonuses?) I'm also looking for any really useful lower-level spells that follow the same formula of buff/debuff. The only non-Player's Handbook spells I typically memorize are Lesser Vigor, Delay Death, and Recitation. I think I've heard of a 4th level or lower clerical spell that heals multiple party members at once, but I can't remember the name - Symbol of Healing maybe?. Also, I think there's a 2nd level spell that's an immediate action that prevents damage but requires access. Does anyone know the spells I'm talking about? -- On another sidenote - for the armband slot for a melee-oriented character with Power Attack, is armbands of might really the BEST item to have? -- On another sidenote - what's a good 9th level feat to take for a melee cleric that's got Power Attack, Craft Wondrous, and Craft Magic Arms and Armor? Again, feats from outside the Player's Handbook are appreciated. I wanted Improved Critical or Extra Smite, but I can't smite unless I retrain, and I wanted to keep the Good domain to craft holy weapons and a bead of karma anyways (anyone know other good things to craft with the "Good" domain?) Thanks!
#2 mwao_dup Apr 05, 2008 12:38:22	Quicken Spell should be your 9th level feat - that lets you start getting buffed faster when you're tanking. At 9th level, you can cast Quickened Divine Favor for +3 to hit/damage. Righteous Wrath of the Faithful is Bard in a box as a 5th level spell. +3 hit/damage, gives an extra melee attack. If you're in an adaptable with 3 other frontliners, this is probably the spell to pick... Earthhammer is a swift action spell that increases your damage by one step and makes your weapon effectively bludgeoning/adamantine. Greatreach Bracers are a much better item than the damage bracers - gives you an extra 10' of reach as a swift 3/day for 2K.
#3 copperwyrmling Apr 05, 2008 14:22:27	I think I've heard of a 4th level or lower clerical spell that heals multiple party members at once, but I can't remember the name - Symbol of Healing maybe?. Also, I think there's a 2nd level spell that's an immediate action that prevents damage but requires access. Does anyone know the spells I'm talking about? The first one is Insignia of Healing from Races of Destiny (heals the whole party 1d8+CL, capping at CL 10, requires a 10gp focus for every PC to be healed), the second is Close Wounds from the Spell Compendium. As MwaO said, Righteous Wrath is pretty much the best L5 cleric buff spell. Greater Command is a pretty good mass-will-save-or-lose.
#4 huck_pennan Apr 06, 2008 14:13:05	Blade of Blood (PHII, 1st lvl) if you can find access.
#5 umiskatonic Apr 06, 2008 14:32:46	Well, quickened enlarge person would push up your strength, and your damage by a size category. Quickened is the feat you need, absolutely. Don't overlook quickened shield of faith either (and divine favor too) True seeing should be mentioned as a good spell. In a way, it's a de-buff spell, and you can get past things which are otherwise solid defenses. For other 5th/6th level spells.... 5: Quickened first level spells, righteous might 6: Quickened 2nd level spells, heroes' feast, bolt of glory, fires of purity,
#6 timlagor Apr 06, 2008 18:45:44	HEAL for 6th -it doesn't matter that you consider yourself a Tank if you are the one that needs it ;)
#7 jamesmaissen Apr 06, 2008 19:33:24	Well, quickened enlarge person would push up your strength, and your damage by a size category. You will get table variation on trying to apply the quicken metamagic feat to 1 round casting spells. There is division on this, so if you plan on it I would advise checking with the judge before memorizing it. Regardless quicken works for the cleric build.. so it's just a choice of what you memorize. -James
#8 _metz_ Apr 06, 2008 21:40:59	Plane shift is a good one if you have a planar fork. Touch them and will save or bugger off. Good on big tough monsters with low will. Commune: good for investigative mods if you have several leads. Wall of Stone: good if you don't have arcane around with walls of force as battlefeild control Flamestrike aint amazing, but its also a possibility. Break Enchantment is something that is often needed. My Cleric extends his recitation up to 5. Then they also last a while and he can cast it as a pre combat buff. A good level 2 spell if you get access is Divine Protection (+1 Morale AC and saves mintues per level, good with lesser extend rods in stormtrooper tactics)
#9 magebeast Apr 07, 2008 1:05:44	Plane shift is a good one if you have a planar fork. Touch them and will save or bugger off. Good on big tough monsters with low will. Just make sure they aren't carrying any precious treasure before you do this!
#10 _metz_ Apr 07, 2008 2:04:31	Just make sure they aren't carrying any precious treasure before you do this! Oh yes, I forgot to say that, YES only good on monsters that DON'T have the treasure for the module...
#11 iswald Apr 07, 2008 7:56:19	I've got an 8th level melee cleric that has Str 19, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 20 (stat boost item), Chr 6. Domains Strength and Good, alignment Lawful Good. (Probably retrain to Strength and Destruction later) I'd like to know some good spells to memorize, particularly 5th level spells (as the cleric is going to level soon), and 6th level spells. Of particular interest are spells that are not in the Player's Handbook. Although the cleric is a melee cleric, I prefer spells that help the party as a whole or debuff enemies, although some REALLY good melee boosting spells someone could recommend would be appreciated. (They nerfed Righteous Might, are there any Living Greyhawk substitutes that provide Strength-increasing bonuses that are NOT "enhancement" bonuses?) Feats for melee as a cleric. Quicken was already suggested. Somatic weaponry is good, since you can cast with your hands full. Quickdraw isn't bad, lets you get more full attacks. Spells that give bonuses to strength and con that aren't enhancement. There's the rage spell, not sure how to get it as a cleric. Also, the courage domain has valiant fury (+4 str and con, +2 to will saves and an extra haste like attack) which can be cast on yourself or others. These are all morale bonuses. Righteous Might isn't all bad. You do get an increase in damage for using a large weapon. Your str and con bonuses are still size bonuses. Casting Earth Hammer (RS), a swift spell, will give your weapon another increase in damage by one size category. It doesn't actually increase the size of the weapon, just damage done. Also, your weapon is treated as a blunt adamantine weapon regardless of what kind it actually is. Two spells and your greatsword goes from 2d6 to 4d6. A long sword goes from 1d8 to 3d6 (DMG pg 28). Valiant Fury and Earth Hammer are both 5th level spells. Stalwart Pact is a good spell to prepare and use at the start of a mod. You can cast it and then switch it to something else the next day. Assuming you aren't dumped into a combat in the opening box text. :P Resurgence, mass resurgence and delay death are all spells to consider.
#12 rockondon Apr 07, 2008 11:23:11	righteous might seems pretty much trashed after the errata. I'd use up that slot for a quickened divine favor. Divine power is my most powerful buff spell. My cleric became twice as powerful after getting an animated shield, switching to a two-handed sword and using power attack. The other feat my combat cleric used at lvl 9 was craft wondrous item. That has saved me about 75000gp so far, and soon to be much more. I wish I had access to close wounds, or divine protection. Insignia of healing is handy (I use my 7th lvl slots to cast it quickened) and sometimes I cast insignia of warding too. For items- boots of speed, strand of prayer beads (I use karma bead to cast hourly buffs at +4lvl), belt of battle (good luck getting access), animated shield.
#13 jhorred Apr 12, 2008 2:43:14	One thing to consider as your cleric gets higher in level (12+ range) is extended Greater Magic Weapon and Magic Vestments. These can turn nonmagical gear into potent magic items for a long time. It can save you cash you can use to buy more potent gear. There is a danger from dispels though.... I was playing a high level melee cleric in a home game and I typically had 7-8 spells a day memorized as extended. For a buff caster of any sort I recommend the feat, though it is of limited use at lower level.
#14 hariman Apr 12, 2008 20:36:54	righteous might seems pretty much trashed after the errata. I'd use up that slot for a quickened divine favor. Divine power is my most powerful buff spell. My cleric became twice as powerful after getting an animated shield, switching to a two-handed sword and using power attack. The other feat my combat cleric used at lvl 9 was craft wondrous item. That has saved me about 75000gp so far, and soon to be much more. Righteous Might is still a size bonus, which stacks with an enhancement bonus. That is especially useful if you already have either gloves or a belt of strength. And yes, Craft Wondrous is great for a cleric. The only limitation is how many TUs you have.
#15 mwao_dup Apr 13, 2008 12:01:52	One thing to consider as your cleric gets higher in level (12+ range) is extended Greater Magic Weapon and Magic Vestments. These can turn nonmagical gear into potent magic items for a long time. It can save you cash you can use to buy more potent gear. There is a danger from dispels though.... I was playing a high level melee cleric in a home game and I typically had 7-8 spells a day memorized as extended. For a buff caster of any sort I recommend the feat, though it is of limited use at lower level. If you can get access, the Rods of Extend are very, very cheap for fire and forget spells - especially for Heroes Feast, where it basically amounts to a 6th level spell for 11K(and 2 more charges for the GMW)