Cleric core 3.5 : which spell to extend

[Timy]

I play a cleric oriented melee/buff.

I am nearly 12th level and I am inclined to take the extend spell feat.

What would you suggest to extend ?

For my 6th level slot I am not sure between quicken extend divine favor or extend rightous might...

maybe both ? going for heal with my last slot ?

[Eldariel]

I wouldn't bother Extending single combat buffs; they generally last long enough anyways, and not much after that; Extend is unlike to change that. I'd rather use it on things like Greater Magic Weapon, Magic Vestment, etc. to make them last 24 hours instead of 12 (or 32 hours if you happen to own Strand of Prayer Beads (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#strandofPrayerBeads) or specifically, Beads of Karma). This has a very real impact on your preparedness and even slot economy down the line (you need to prepare certain buffs only every other day).

Though if you have slots to burn anyways, there's little reason not to. You could do one of each, but I'd rather prepare Heroes' Feast or so (it's a nifty set of immunities and lasts half the day).

[Timy]

We already rule that my GMW and MV are considered to be ON about all the time since it last nearly all waking hours.

But your remark is very exact about the nearly uslessness about extending spells which allready last for an entire encounter.

[SalterisSolaris]

Similar thoughts here... in most campaigns, the general fuzziness of time handling in D&D turns the Extend feat into little more than a stepping stone towards Persist.

- hours/level buffs are indeed worth extending if you don't already have a "lasts the day" rule going anyway (many groups do)
- 10minutes/level buffs are only worth extending in very specific situations (as its hard to predict/track whether the 'dungeon' of the day takes 1h, 2h or more)
- minutes/level buffs are almost never worth extending (because as soon as you leave "combat time", ingame minutes tend to tick by pretty fast)
- round/level buffs are only worth extending if you expect a very prolonged fight, i.e. half a hill fort running at you (*)

Not to mention that at level 12 and higher, any serious fight tends to be a rather fast and deadly affair. I.e. totally apart from spell durations, you probably don't want to give the enemies 24 rounds of chances to get lucky/creative and somehow flatten you, anyway. So planning/preparing for fight durations of 2*rounds/level may be a bit bold.



*) Or, ironically, if some non-combat shenanigans can't be reasonably pulled off in a short enough timeframe. Like Extending your own Invisibility so that you have enough time to flying your 3 comrades (who swap a ring of invisibility between them) into a dark corner on top of a battlement...

[Eldariel]

- hours/level buffs are indeed worth extending if you don't already have a "lasts the day" rule going anyway (many groups do)

Once you get to the point where they last two days, it becomes amazingly economical. Essentially doubles your daily buff slots, albeit at the cost of Dispels being more devastating (generally momentary resources can cover DIspels unless it happens too many times per day tho).


- 10minutes/level buffs are only worth extending in very specific situations (as its hard to predict/track whether the 'dungeon' of the day takes 1h, 2h or more)

Once you can make buffs last all day with few castings, I like to use this on 10 min/level spells.