PDA

View Full Version : Pathfinder Cleric Spell Help



AnimeTheCat
2018-07-30, 11:40 AM
Good Day Playground.

Need some help narrowing down some spells on the Cleric spell list to those that are useful to have in wands.

Currently I have a wand of Bless, Restoration, Lesser and Cure Light/Cure Serious wounds (Primarily for use after combat).

I am playing a custom dwarf race Cleric (Level 6) and my patron deity is Droskar. I am using the racial archetype Forgemaster, so my sole domain is Artifice (tried to swing Alchemy subdomain but couldn't) and I have selected the Forgemaster's Blessing, Tracer, Spellglyph, and Powerstrike?(doubles crit range of inscribed weapon) runes. My feats are Scribe Scroll Racial, Extend Spell1st, Craft Wonderous Item3rd, Craft Magical Arms and ArmorForgemaster Bonus, and Craft Wand5th. In case it wasn't obvious, this is a very crafting oriented character. As such, I would like to have a plethora of 1st level wands that I can use so as to conserve spells per day. Aside from Bless (Bonuses only, no save, 1 min/level, will last a whole combat on 1 charge), what other 1st (or 2nd) level spells are worth putting in a wand for buff and debuff? I know spells that allow a save are next to useless in wand form because they'll be treated as being created with the minimum ability score and caster level (unless I craft them with a different caster level thereby changing the cost), which I know doesn't lend well to a good DC (I think DC 11 for a first level wand?) So, my question is:

What low-level cleric spells are good for putting in wands?

Additional question: what are some good situational spells to scribe in to scrolls?

Final Question: If I have a party member cast an arcane spell to make an arcane wand, is that wand treated as a divine spell or an arcane spell, or does it matter? For instance, a wizard casts grease for me to make it in to a wand, does the wizard need to make a UMD check to use the wand since it's a "Divine" wand of grease, or is it fine because it's a spell on his/her spell list? Whatever the answer, could I get a reference?

Eldariel
2018-07-30, 01:11 PM
Let's take this in reverse order:
- Wands don't make an arcane/divine segregation. Bard can use a Wand of Cure Light Wounds just as well as a Cleric because they both have the spell on their spell list.
- Scrolls, spells that you need every once in a while but shouldn't prepare. Invisibility Purge is something useful to have on hands but hard to prepare on these levels, Remove Blindness/Curse/Disease/etc. are gimmes. Niche spells in general. And spells that extend your day such as Silence & co. that are just as potent from a Scroll as from list.
- Wand...well, Protection from Evil/Alignment is a very powerful and versatile spell. Summon Monster I makes for great trapmonkeys (Celestial Monkey for instance).

AnimeTheCat
2018-07-30, 01:53 PM
Let's take this in reverse order:
- Wands don't make an arcane/divine segregation. Bard can use a Wand of Cure Light Wounds just as well as a Cleric because they both have the spell on their spell list.
- Scrolls, spells that you need every once in a while but shouldn't prepare. Invisibility Purge is something useful to have on hands but hard to prepare on these levels, Remove Blindness/Curse/Disease/etc. are gimmes. Niche spells in general. And spells that extend your day such as Silence & co. that are just as potent from a Scroll as from list.
- Wand...well, Protection from Evil/Alignment is a very powerful and versatile spell. Summon Monster I makes for great trapmonkeys (Celestial Monkey for instance).

- Neat, good to know. Do scrolls? Is there a source that describes this?
- Good choices, I hadn't really thought about those tbh.
- Protection from [Alignment] is a pretty good option. Isn't summon monster rounds per level? Wouldn't that make SMI last 1 round?

Oracle71
2018-07-30, 04:48 PM
I think the general recommendation for wands is "any spell of 4th level or lower that you can use fairly regularly, but not necessarily at your highest caster level," and "any spell of 4th level or lower that you might need to cast a lot of in a relatively short amount of time." This is why it is generally a good idea to have at least one wand of cure X wounds. Protection and detect (the alignments) are good choices, as is resist energy, protection from energy, water breathing, and magic weapon, just off the top of my head.

Geddy2112
2018-07-31, 02:27 AM
Endure elements makes an okayish wand considering it is situational when you need it and never really prepare it. It is probably better to scroll the communal version. Hide from undead on a wand can be very powerful in an undead heavy campaign, as you can walk through mindless hordes with ease. Obscuring mist is okay on a wand, very powerful in the right application. Tap inner beauty is a fantastic wand to buff charisma checks as insight bonuses to charisma checks are rare. Align weapon is a strong choice for 2nd level wand, although your deity may have beef with casting an opposing alignment, although you should not need to align your weapons against fellow aligned creatures...

I second wanding protection from alignment(caveat see opposed alignment spells). The point of the Summon monster 1 wand is to use the creatures as trap detectors and proximity alarms. Simply summon an animal and see if anything happens-monsters attack, trap triggers, whatnot. They also work as alignment detectors since celestial or fiendish creatures can smite evil/good respectively. My group generally uses ponies, although eagles are good for flight. Rats have climb and swim, as do vipers. Dolphins have blindsight, but are limited to water.

I would rarely wand a 2nd level spell, and anything after that is just too expensive to justify. Much better to scroll those things. Floatsam vessel, track ship, and skeleton crew are very useful scrolls in a nautical campaign; have a scroll of each handy and prepare them in addition if you think you will need them.

Eldariel
2018-07-31, 03:08 AM
- Neat, good to know. Do scrolls? Is there a source that describes this?
- Good choices, I hadn't really thought about those tbh.
- Protection from [Alignment] is a pretty good option. Isn't summon monster rounds per level? Wouldn't that make SMI last 1 round?

Yeah, Summon Monster I is 1 round but that's enough to summon a monkey to try the fishy-looking handhold or whatever and see what happens.

Arkain
2018-07-31, 12:48 PM
Scrolls:
I was confronted with the difference of arcane and divine scrolls when playing a wizard in 3.5, so I suppose it's there (and likely hasn't changed in PF). I figure that's only important in case a spell scriber wants to scribe the scroll, though - personally I rule that translating a different kind of magic into one's own is a bit harder (i.e. higher DC) and that's about it.
For clerics I'm thinking of the various Remove X spells. Nothing is more annoying than being say blinded, paralyzed or afflicted by a really nasty poison or disease, but who keeps Remove Blindness/Deafness etc. memorized all the time (especially at lower levels)? So a scroll or two will probably come in handy if it can't be cured without magic and/or must be cured NOW.
Also the odd Protection from Law or whatever else it is that you may be able to cast, but is not deemed wand or daily slot worthy. Thinking in that direction: Water Breathing, Tongues, (Communal) Ant Haul, Align Weapon (may also be a wand candidate), Water Walk, Stone Shape, Breath of Life, Wind Wall, Word of Recall.
It might also be interesting to scribe scrolls of spells that have a relatively long casting time, like Make Whole.

Wands:
Cure X and Infernal Healing aside, Lesser Restoration. Unless you're really certain that ability damage will be the rarest thing, it'll be a godsend to have that wand, as you'll get rid of ability damage, fatigue and exhaustion fairly quickly. You already got one, of course.
Resist Energy may be worth it, but it scales with level, so unless you're certain you'll often face something that 10 resistance are absolutely necessary against (and you're not willing to use the communal version from a spell slot)... maybe not.
Comprehend Languages, if nobody can be bothered to use Tongues or learn the dominant languages of the campaign/surroundings. Or maybe if you're often switching locations.
Hide from Undead in an undead heavy environment, as you probably want the entire party covered, so not necessarily a good scroll candidate. To be honest though, I'd probably leave a slot or two open later anyway and memorize it on the spot, as it profits massively from caster level.
Endure Elements, again, since there's more to the party than yourself. However, I'd advise against it, again, as you can easily cast the (extended) communal version if the need arises ("And tomorrow we shall set out to explore the volcano by means of a convenient cave entrance!"). If you're constantly in any environment where this is necessary to not die to said environment, a wand won't help much, as it only has so many charges and otherwise it's a bit too rare a circumstance to justify 50 charges.
Remove Fear might be worth it. The increase in recipients is there, but only every couple caster levels, so either hand out bonuses before it becomes an issue or have a way to calm down the party if something frightful happens.
As for Protection from Alignment, there's communal and circle versions, so I probably wouldn't bother with the wand at your level. Maybe keep a scroll or two instead, just in case you're out of protection and need the spell.