Best buffing spells

[etrpgb]

Do you know a good buffing spell?
Post its name, level, type of spell, handbook and quick comment about why it is great here. I will try to keep this post with the list we make.

E.g.:
Resistance, level 0, PHB. It is a level 0 spell and a +1 to all saving throws might always be useful.

I would like to make a list like the famous one about spells that remove targets from combat (http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?t=31950).
List like those might help a lot players and DM alike, so I would like to do as many as possible.

(On the other hand, if just my google-fu failed hard and you already know a good list... post the link directly.)

See also Best ``I win'' spells (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13935643#post13935643).

The list:

CA: Complete Arcane
DRC: Draconomicon
PHBII: Player Handbook II
RofD: Races of the Dragon
SpC: Spell Compendium

Note: many buffs that specifies a single target and has a range greater than touch can applied to the whole party using the Chain Spell metamagic feat from CA.

Burning Rage: Subject takes 4 points of damage/round, but gains attack bonus and DR. (PHBII) (Sor/Wiz 1)
Fist of Stone: Gain +6 Str and natural slam attack. (SpC) (Sor/Wiz 1)
Nerveskitter: Subject gains +5 bonus on initiative checks. (SpC) (Sor/Wiz 1)
Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law: +2 to AC and saves, counter mind control, hedge out elementals and outsiders. (SRD) (Clr 1, Law 1, Pal 1, Sor/Wiz 1)

Alter Self: Assume form of a similar creature. (SRD) (Asn 2, Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2)
Mirror Image: Creates decoy duplicates of you (1d4 +1 per three levels, max 8). (SRD) (Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2)
Wraithstrike: Your melee attacks strike as touch for 1 round. (SpC) (Assassin 3, Sor/Wiz 2)

Bite of the Wererat: You gain the Dexterity and attacks of a wererat. (SpC) (Druid 2, Sor/Wiz 3)
Fly: Subject flies at speed of 60 ft. (SRD) (Sor/Wiz 3, Travel 3)
Haste: One creature/level moves faster, +1 on attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves. (SRD) (Time 3, Brd 3, Sor/Wiz 3)
Magic Circle against Evil/Good/Chaos/Law: As protection spells, but 10-ft. radius and 10 min./level. (SRD) (Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 3, [Pal 3 against Evil or Chaos], [Good 3 against Evil], [Law 3 against Chaos], [Chaos 3 against Law], [Ass 3, Evil 3 against Good])
Magic Fang, Greater: One natural weapon of subject creature gets +1/four levels on attack and damage rolls (max +5). (Drd 3, Rgr 3)
Magic Vestment: Armor or shield gains +1 enhancement per four levels. (SRD) (Clr 3, Strength 3, War 3)
Magic Weapon, Greater: Magic Weapon, Greater: +1/four levels (max +5). (Clr 4, Pal 3, Sor/Wiz 3)
Mighty Wallop, Greater: +1 size category of bludgeoning weapon/four levels (maximum 5). (RofD) (Sor/Wiz 3)

Bite of the Werewolf: You gain the Strength and attacks of a werewolf. (SpC) (Druid 3, Sor/Wiz 4)
Blink, Greater: Controlled blinking between the Material and Ethereal Planes grants defenses for 1 round/level. (SpC) (Clr 4, Death 4, Drd 5, Pal 4, Repose 4)
Death Ward: Grants immunity to death spells and negative energy effects. (SRD) (Clr 4, Death 4, Drd 5, Pal 4, Repose 4)
Divine Power: You gain attack bonus, +6 to Str, and 1 hp/level. (SRD) (Clr 4, War 4)
Favor of The Martyr: Subject gains immunity to nonlethal damage, charm and compulsion effects, and other adverse conditions. (SpC) (Pal 4)
Freedom of Movement: Subject moves normally despite impediments. (SRD) (Asn 4, Blg 4, Brd 4, Clr 4, Drd 4, Liberation 4, Luck 4, Rgr 4)
Mirror Image, Greater: As mirror image, but gain an additional image each round. (PHBII) (Brd 4, Beguiler 4, Sor/Wiz 4)
Polymorph: Gives one willing subject a new form. (SRD) (Sor/Wiz 4)

Bite of the Wereboar: You gain the Strength and attacks of a wereboar. (SpC) (Druid 4, Sor/Wiz 5)
Draconic Polymorph: You change into a dragon's form. (DRC) (Sor/Wiz 5)
Magic Fang, Superior: Your natural weapons gain +1 enhancement bonus per four levels. (DRC) (Drd 5, Sor/Wiz 5)

Bite of the Weretiger: You gain the Strength and attacks of a weretiger. (SpC) (Druid 5, Sor/Wiz 6)
Heroes' Feast: Food for one creature/level cures and grants combat bonuses. (SRD) (Brd 6, Clr 6, Community 6, Creation 6)

Bite of the Werebear: You gain the Strength and attacks of a werebear. (SpC) (Druid 6, Sor/Wiz 7)
Elemental Body: You take on the qualities of a type of elemental. (SpC) (Sor/Wiz 7)
Holy Transformation: You change into hound archon getting its subtype, gain abilities. (SpC) (Cle 7) (see also http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#archonSubtype )

Mind Blank: Subject is immune to mental/emotional magic and scrying. (SRD) (Liberation 8, Mind 8, Protection 8, Sor/Wiz 8)
Moment of Prescience: You gain insight bonus on single attack roll, check, or save. (SRD) (Luck 8, Sor/Wiz 8, Beguiller 8, Time 7)
Polymorph Any Object: Changes any subject into anything else. (SRD) (Sor/Wiz 8, Trickery 8)

Astral Projection: Projects you and companions onto Astral Plane. (SRD) (Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9, Travel 9 )
Foresight: “Sixth sense” warns of impending danger. (SRD) (Drd 9, Knowledge 9, Sor/Wiz 9)
Shapechange: Transforms you into any creature, and change forms once per round. (SRD) (Animal 9, Drd 9, Scalykind 9, Sor/Wiz 9)

[LTwerewolf]

Are you looking for divine, arcane, specific class?

[etrpgb]

Lists should be comprehensive as possible, so be spontaneous if you remember one just write it.

After all, all the arcane spells (thanks to the Hexer), can be divine. And divine casters, thanks to Anyspell can cast arcane spells... so the difference does not matter much.

[laeZ1]

No 3rd party material, I imagine?

If that's the case, then I guess I'd have to list the level 1 protection from <blah> spells.

Protection from <blah>, level 1, PHB. The utility of this spell seems, at times to be beyond its level in usefulness, especially when your DM sticks to a certain alignment for opponents.

[Sponson]

My group always run very low powered, low WBP campaigns, I'm talkin 22pt buy, 30k gp at level 9, so buying +4 items is often very out of the question.

For that reason I find Fist of Stone particularly awesome when it comes to making gishes. Spell Compendium, Level 1 transmutation spell for Sorc/Wiz

Divine Power, which is a Cleric 4th nestled in the PHB, gives you a BaB equal to that of your caster level, +6 enhancement to STR, and +x Temp Hp, where x is equal to your caster level. When made persistent it's rad.

All of a sudden you're the raddest fightin' cleric.

[etrpgb]

No 3rd party material, I imagine?

I am not sure what you want to exclude, I would not worry too much. In the list we can put everything, it is up master and parties to ignore material they do not want to, or cannot, use.

[urandom]

Arcane lvl 3 Haste (needs no introduction)

Paladin lvl 4 Favor of the Martyr (awesome immunities)

Arcane lvl 8 Mindblank (divination and mind affecting immunity)

Divine lvl 4 Deathward (Death is bad. Don't do it.)

Arcane lvl 2 Mirror Image (best survival spell ever)

Arcane lvl 5 Greater Blink (very nice against many enemies)

Also, of course fly, divine power.

[etrpgb]

Added wraithstrike, great buff to melee. Also, if you know a spell list where a spell appears that is not included, please say so.
For example Time domain has Haste.

[Piggy Knowles]

I tend to find defensive buffs more useful than offensive ones, and ones that provide immunities or interesting defenses superior to ones that just boost your numbers a bit, so expect my answers to be skewed in that direction.

You have Prot/Alignment on there, which is good, but not Magic Circle, which is better. The increased duration means it can be extended to last most of the day, and it protects your party, too. The minor boost to AC is nice but underwhelming at higher levels, but that suppression/immunity to mental control is flat out essential until you're high enough level to start tossing out Mind Blanks.

Freedom of Movement (Cleric/Beguiler/Assassin 4, plus it's on a bunch of domains) is, in my opinion, tied with Mind Blank as the single most consistently useful defensive buff.

Greater Mirror Image (Bard/Beguiler/Wizard 4) is quite a bit more useful than its regular cousin.

Any list of buffs would be remiss without Alter Self, Polymorph, Draconic Polymorph, Polymorph Any Object and Shapechange.

Moment of Prescience (Wizards and Beguilers get it as an 8th-level spell, Time domain gets it as 7) is basically a spell that you cast at the beginning of the day and means you pretty much auto-succeed on any single... anything. Not sure if it qualifies as a buff, but it's a wonderful get out of jail free card.

Foresight is even better, and if your DM doesn't allow dire tortoise cheese, it's pretty much required for high levels. Again, the Time domain gets it a level early, making its high level slot a little bit more palatable.

Astral Projection is another that may or may not count as a buff, but is practically a save-game state. Luckily no developer was crazy enough to put it onto a spell slot lower than 9th that I know of, but unluckily it's castable at will by Nightmares, meaning it's available to anyone with Lesser Planar Binding, a lowly 5th-level spell. Whoops!

[LTwerewolf]

When low on funds magic vestment can be good. Another thing i enjoy doing is getting armor spikes and shield spikes, enchanting them with defending, then casting greater magic weapon as a cleric. Very suddenly even giants have a hard time hitting you (even without concealment).

Then of course shapechange.

[Runestar]

Nerveskitter modified with the chain spell feat (4th lv slot, Spc). Effectively gives your entire party +5 initiative at the start of any battle.

Chained greater magic weapon (6th lv slot, PHB) - Now everyone in your party has upgraded weapon enhancement bonuses. Especially great for quickly enchanting ammunition for the day. Can be further extended if need be (so they easily last the whole day).

Heroes' feast (6th lv cleric, PHB) - immunity to poison and fear. Again, can be extended to have it last the whole day.

The various resistance spells (spc) last 24 hours, and their bonuses outstrip the cloak of protection equivalent at any given level.

Burning rage (wiz1, PHB2) can be nice at higher lvs, where the party tank can easily afford to lose a paltry 4hp/round.

[Aethir]

From Spell Compendium:

Bite of the Were-X (Bear, Boar, Rat, Tiger, Wolf), Transmutation, Druid and Sorc/Wiz, Short duration (round/level) but they provide rather large enhancement bonuses to strength, natural weapons, natural armor boosts, and give boosts to some other stats.

Elemental Body, Transmutation, Sorc/Wiz, Provides many of the benefits of being an elemental and a secondary bonus depending on which type of elemental you pick when casting

[etrpgb]

Updated the list, it starts to be good I think.

[Doc_Pippin]

Don't remember where its from but Greater Mighty Wallop its crazy
Increase a monk or druids size catagory for unarmed damage to max with no actual size change for 24hours its re-dam-diculous

[ShneekeyTheLost]

You've missed Greater Magic Weapon, the whole reason you never get more than a +1 on any weapon. Saves millions in GP. Hours per level duration, so it'll last all day long pretty quickly.

Magic Vestments... same thing, but from the Cleric list. Does this for armor and shields.

[Snowbluff]

You've missed Greater Magic Weapon, the whole reason you never get more than a +1 on any weapon. Saves millions in GP. Hours per level duration, so it'll last all day long pretty quickly.

Magic Vestments... same thing, but from the Cleric list. Does this for armor and shields.

Yeah. Those Spell are awesome! Also Greater Magic Fang! GMW for natural weapons or +1 to all of them! Superior does all of your Nat attacks at the same time, IIRC.

Also, Holy Tranformation gives you some good Sacred Bonuses (Which are hard to find) and gives you the Archon subtype (Free self-teleportation).

[etrpgb]

Holy transformation is indeed ``holy crap''.

[CalamaroJoe]

What about the various +4 to ability spells (Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, etc.)?
I think an effective +2 bonus on relevant check (hit/damage, DC of spells, saves, etc.) is quite good for a 2nd level spell.

[God Imperror]

My favorite buffing spell still is Battletide from PGtF Haste old school style, quickening spells up to 5th level, while causing penalties to those around you? Yeah, awesome.

[Endelehia]

Sakkratar's Triple Strike (LEoF),it can be pretty great depending on the group.Subjects gain 2 extra attacks at highest base attack as a part of a full attack action and weapon is considered keen and flaming burst.The bad thing is that you can't benefit from your own spell since it requires a standard action and last only for 1 round.

[Dusk Eclipse]

What about the various +4 to ability spells (Bull’s Strength, Cat’s Grace, etc.)?
I think an effective +2 bonus on relevant check (hit/damage, DC of spells, saves, etc.) is quite good for a 2nd level spell.

Enhancement Bonus makes it less than desirable at higher levels because most likely you will have an item to provide that bonus and at low levels the duration isn't stellar. If you have access to Ability Enhancer feat (Dragon Magazine and might be in the compendium) you can get from 1 level 2 slot a +4 bonus to all physical stats with Animalistic Power (PH II ), sadly without ability enhancer it is worthless.

[Darrin]

Master's Touch (PHBII, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Never waste a feat on Exotic Weapon Proficiency again.

Winged Watcher (Complete Scoundrel, Dru 1): Death From Above, 1st-level style. Or get out of melee. Or get a +8 racial bonus on Listen, +14 racial bonus on Move Silently, or +8 racial bonus on Spot checks.

Cloud of Knives (PHBII, Clr/Sor/Wiz 2): Free ranged attack every round, 1 round/CL.

Luminous Armor (BoED, Sanct 2): +5 armor bonus 1 hour/CL.

Baneblade (Unapproachable East, Pal 2, Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 4): Bane weapon a la carte, 1 round/CL.

Scorpion Tail (Races of Eberron, Sor/Wiz 3): Melee version of cloud of knives, plus save vs. stun.

Feathers (Masters of the Wild, Dru 4): Polymorph the entire party into winged animals, duration 1 hr/CL.

Heart of Water (Complete Mage, Dru/Sor/Wiz/WuJ 3): Freedom of movement, 1 round/CL.

Heart of Earth (Complete Mage, Dru/Sor/Wiz/WuJ 5): Stoneskin without the expensive material component.

Lesser Ironguard (FRCS, Sor/Wiz 5): I don't see this mentioned much anymore (most creatures don't have nonmagical metal weapons), but it was one of the core buffs in Emperor Tippy's Cindy build.

Invisiblity, Greater (PHB, Brd/Sor/Wiz 4): Top pick for any Persistent Spell abuse.

Venomfire (Serpent Kingdoms, Clr/Dru 3, Rgr 4): One of the more infamous "uncapped" damage spells.



I'm not sure if these count as buffs (swift/immedate action to cast), but definitely handy to have around:

Instant Diversion (RotD, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Mirror image, but a spell level earlier, and a swift action.

Instant of Power (Forge of War, Brd/Dru/Rgr 1): The ultimate wand chamber can opener, as an immediate action give any ally a +4 enhancement bonus to an attack, save, or damage roll.

Invisibility, Swift (SC, Brd 1/Asn 2): You're doing it wrong, chowderheads! First you attack, *then* cast invisibility.

Haste, Swift (SC, Rgr 2): Yeah, but swift spells only last a roun-- oh, wait. This one doesn't: 1d4 rounds of pure awesomesauce.

Fly, Swift (SC, Brd/Sor/Wiz 2, Dru 3): Good "get your REMF the heck out of melee" spell.

Ruin Delver's Fortune (SC, Brd/Sor/Wiz 4): Immediate action to gain immunity to poison, evasion, immunity to fear, or 4d8 temp HP.

[Princess]

I'm a big fan of Elation, from the Book of Exalted Deeds. It's mini-heroism/fatigue offset for everyone you like within 80 ft.

[kardar233]

As part of a buffstack, I'm particularly fond of Empyreal Ecstasy (BoED). Sure, it makes you take a -4 penalty to all skill checks and makes you pass a ridiculously easy Concentration check (DC 15) in order to cast anything, but look at the benefits. Half damage (!!!) from all melee and ranged attacks, but even better: Immunity to [Mind-Affecting] that doesn't suppress already-active [Mind-Affecting] effects. Think about that. All those nice buff spells that give morale bonuses to stuff, or fiddle with your head for effects don't get killed by [Mind-Affecting] immunity! Sure, it means you won't Mind Blank and you'll have to rely on Nondetection for your anti-detection needs, but there's a whole series of [Mind-Affecting] buffs out there to take advantage of.

Credit to Douglas, as with basically any other buffstack thread.