Favorite uses for Miracle?

[Mountain]

My cleric\malconvoker\contemplative just reached 9th level spells, and everyone knows what that means; Miracle.

Please keep in mind that I'm looking for ways to use Miracle in an actual campaign, with real people. I don't want to break the game, and I'm not too keen on losing 5000 XP.

How would you practically optimize Miracle?

[Psyren]

The best way to use it without invoking DM wrath or incurring the 5000 XP cost, is simply to treat it like Superior Anyspell, mixed with a splash of Superior Break Enchantment.

Note that the "any effect in line with the above effects" clause opens you up to a lot of unique uses, such as 7th-level or lower psionics/mysteries, Greater Invocations, and even many Utterances as well. I would for instance allow a Miracle to duplicate the effects of any LEM Utterance of 4th-level of less, any LCT Utterance of 3rd-level or less, or any LPM Utterance of 2nd-level or less.

[Mountain]

I realize that. I was actually hoping for suggestions on particular spells or abilities to imitate, rather than digging through every 0-7th level sorcerer, wizard, bard, druid, paladin, wu jen, dread necromancer, and ranger spell in 3.5

[Psyren]

Rather than digging through all their lists, just open up their respective handbooks - that should be a lot easier.

[Curmudgeon]

You can ask for +1 to any ability score. Unlike Wish, Miracle doesn't have the back-to-back casting limitation of Wish. (Both spells can be used to make the various Tomes and Manuals, so both clearly have the capability.)

[BWR]

I like to use Miracle to cause juniper bushes to bring forth juniper berries.

[TuggyNE]

You can ask for +1 to any ability score. Unlike Wish, Miracle doesn't have the back-to-back casting limitation of Wish. (Both spells can be used to make the various Tomes and Manuals, so both clearly have the capability.)

That may or may not be the case, since spells used to make items (especially wondrous items) are not always capable of the exact use to which the item is put. For a simple example, consider Bags of Holding, and their prerequisite spell secret chest, which have substantially different effects in interaction (one is an area of extradimensional space continuously available to anyone, the other is a parcel only available to be retrieved once per casting).

While miracle undoubtedly can accomplish the effect, it may or may not be able to do so without XP cost (it's not on the explicit list of possibilities) and the means by which it can do, and limitations thereof, are simply not specified. The closest analog would not be the Tomes/Manuals, but wish.

[Psyren]

I would say Miracle can definitely grant the bonus, but that doing so would incur the XP cost, since duplicating the effect of a 9th-level spell (+1 inherent bonus) is a greater effect than the "free" uses of 7th or lower spells.

[Curmudgeon]

I would say Miracle can definitely grant the bonus, but that doing so would incur the XP cost, since duplicating the effect of a 9th-level spell (+1 inherent bonus) is a greater effect than the "free" uses of 7th or lower spells.
Oh, absolutely. I'm not suggesting there's any free lunch involved.

[Souhiro]

The +1 is nice. But also keep in mind that a Miracle is a DIRECT intervention of your god. If something go very, VERY wrong during your campaign (I.E: Someone just was killed and his soul stolen), you can use Miracle to get an audience with your patron god, and ask for his direct intervention.

This is not automatic, just like "I cast Shield to block Magic Missles", and you'll need to RP a LOT and try to convince some powerful extradimensional being to put himself to work, but it's a way to get it done.

Also... My last wizard ended a campaign casting a WISH "I wish that we'll be happyly ever, after, with our loved ones, till dead make us part". A good way to end a campain! Now our happy ends are warranted!

Also, even if it's somewhat overreached, you can play "The Saint": If you're in a town with hunger, where nothing grows in the fields, you can help the villagers, plow among them, and cast miracle for their fields to be fertile.and such

[FearlessGnome]

Also... My last wizard ended a campaign casting a WISH "I wish that we'll be happyly ever, after, with our loved ones, till dead make us part". A good way to end a campain! Now our happy ends are warranted!
Till dead make you part, eh? Sounds like the cue for a zombie apocalypse that forces you to flee in different directions. :smallamused:

[Story]

Also, even if it's somewhat overreached, you can play "The Saint": If you're in a town with hunger, where nothing grows in the fields, you can help the villagers, plow among them, and cast miracle for their fields to be fertile.and such

Or just give them a magically resetting trap of Create Food And Water.

[Callin]

Aint there a Thought Bottle trick?

[Souhiro]

Till dead make you part, eh? Sounds like the cue for a zombie apocalypse that forces you to flee in different directions. :smallamused:

Man, any Lvl-16 cleric, able to cast Miracle, will laught at a zombie apocalipse. He eve doesn't need to prepare anything!
Also, what if the cleric manages to Go Epic, and get the Positive Aura feat! You can dance among the undead, and they will do their best to avoid you!

[ben-zayb]

The +1 is nice. But also keep in mind that a Miracle is a DIRECT intervention of your god. If something go very, VERY wrong during your campaign (I.E: Someone just was killed and his soul stolen), you can use Miracle to get an audience with your patron god, and ask for his direct intervention.

This is not automatic, just like "I cast Shield to block Magic Missles", and you'll need to RP a LOT and try to convince some powerful extradimensional being to put himself to work, but it's a way to get it done.

Also... My last wizard ended a campaign casting a WISH "I wish that we'll be happyly ever, after, with our loved ones, till dead make us part". A good way to end a campain! Now our happy ends are warranted!

Also, even if it's somewhat overreached, you can play "The Saint": If you're in a town with hunger, where nothing grows in the fields, you can help the villagers, plow among them, and cast miracle for their fields to be fertile.and suchNot necessarily. Not every cleric worships a specific deity or pantheon, and Ur priests definitely have no business worshipping one.

[Yuki Akuma]

Man, any Lvl-16 cleric, able to cast Miracle, will laught at a zombie apocalipse. He eve doesn't need to prepare anything!
Also, what if the cleric manages to Go Epic, and get the Positive Aura feat! You can dance among the undead, and they will do their best to avoid you!

Level 17. You need to be level 17 to cast 9th level spells like Miracle (18 if you're a Favoured Soul).

[ericgrau]

In addition to the standard good spells. the ability to cast any spell is great for divinations and abjurations. Normally their weakness is that you never have the right one prepared. You have every single one prepared. Make a list of abjurations, divinations and perhaps other utility (like the non-combat transmutations). Whenever a plot problem arises, you have the answer. Even without making any list and familiarizing yourself with only a handful of spells, you can often guess what's a reasonable level of power to solve anything and everything, since the spell allows things with similar power level to 0-7th level spells.

[Captnq]

You can ask for +1 to any ability score. Unlike Wish, Miracle doesn't have the back-to-back casting limitation of Wish. (Both spells can be used to make the various Tomes and Manuals, so both clearly have the capability.)

That One.

Miracle up +5 wisdom, str, con, dex, Int, cha, +5 Initative, +25' movement, +5 Natural Armor, +5 BAB, +5 saving throws, 5/- damage reduction, +20 skills, and 5 extra feats.

1) Inherent bonuses don't count against your WBL.
2) They cannot be stolen and work in an AMF.
3) By keeping your level artificially low, you gain more XP Per encounter.

Also, get together everything you need for a powerful magic items, like all the raw materials for a 200,000 gp sword or something, then use miracle to speed up the creation time/fill in for the lack of creation feat.

[Psyren]

Keep in mind that your DM can just say no to any of these, so miracle-ing up what amounts to a bevy of slotless items may not necessarily work.

On the other hand, you'll never know what your DM will let you get away with if you don't push the envelope, so go nuts.

[Mountain]

In addition to the standard good spells. the ability to cast any spell is great for divinations and abjurations. Normally their weakness is that you never have the right one prepared. You have every single one prepared. Make a list of abjurations, divinations and perhaps other utility (like the non-combat transmutations). Whenever a plot problem arises, you have the answer. Even without making any list and familiarizing yourself with only a handful of spells, you can often guess what's a reasonable level of power to solve anything and everything, since the spell allows things with similar power level to 0-7th level spells.

This is the kind of thing I was looking for. Thank you for the suggestion.

As stated before, I DON'T want to spend xp to cast the spell.

[Psyren]

Then I refer you back to my original suggestion:


Rather than digging through all their lists, just open up their respective handbooks - that should be a lot easier.

[Pathagaron]

Contingency comes to mind.

[Mountain]

Then I refer you back to my original suggestion:

The problem with the wizard and druid handbooks, is that they assume I'm a wizard or druid for spell suggestions. There are definitely some spells that are just plain good (Forcecage, Contingency, Permanency, Bite of the Werebadger, etc.) but what's a good wizard spell for a wizard, may not be a good wizard spell for a cleric.

[Yuki Akuma]

Almost every spell that's good for a Wizard is good for anyone. Like Clerics, Wizards do not have a specific niche - they can do everything. Their spells, therefore, are widely applicable, especially for Clerics.

[Mountain]

I probably should give better character details if I want more specific suggestions. My mistake.

Attributes with magic items:
STR: 12
DEX: 12
CON: 14
WIS: 28
INT: 14
CHA: 18

Notable Feats:
Quicken Spell, DMM quicken, Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning

His typical role in combat is that of battlefield control through summoning. Out of combat, he fixes whatever happened to the other party members, and carries all of the utility casting (we don't have a wizard).

I would love hour/level buffs, summoned monster buffs, and any "just plain good" spell suggestions.

Edit: I particularly like immunities. Our DM hates letting us get our hands on immunity-granting magic items, so I'm a bit low on those. Still, all suggestions are welcome.