All spellcasters cast their spells from a given, specific list. With the exception of Sorcerers and Wizards, all the lists are different. However, there are some things they all have in common.
Limiting our discussion to Combat, there are really 4 different kinds of spells. (Some spells, if used cleverly, could possibly fall into multiple categories). Spells can either:
1)Damage opponents (reducing their hit points),
2)Hinder opponents (reducing their capacity to damage your party),
3)Protect yourself or your allies (prevent them from incurring future “minuses” to numbers on their sheet), or
4)Aid your allies (increase numbers on their character sheet).
It is important, first off, to realize that all of these things are useful, and all can help your side win the combat. Casting spells to increase your comrades’ melee damage (falling in the “Aid” category), for instance, isn’t very flashy or glamorous, but that extra damage they deal when they hit the bad guys is damage YOU caused the enemy -- just indirectly. Likewise, if you cast a spell that holds the opponents in place (falling in the “Hinder” category), you can credit the death of any of those enemies to your action, even if you didn’t drain their hit points.
Different kinds of casters have different numbers of spells in each category. Do not let a lack of a wide selection of spells in one category deter you from using them.
When going into a combat situation, especially the tougher ones, it is almost vital to have a good selection of all of these spells at your disposal so that you can be as versatile as possible. However, there are serious limitations on how many spells you can cast in a day and how many different spells are in your arsenal. It is practically vital for spellcasters to supplement their abilities with wands and scrolls, increasing the number of spells they can cast in a given day and the options they have when stuck in a particular combat.
It is viable, therefore, to have your character focus strongly on learning or preparing only Damage or Protect category spells and depending on scrolls or wands for Hinder or Aid category spells. Whatever kind of spell you feel you will be casting most often, purchase wands and scrolls for the other kinds – the kinds you’re likely to need occasionally but not actually have prepared.
Let’s think about the categories separately and give examples of each.
Damage spells
These are the most flashy and satisfying spells to cast. Cast a spell and BOOM, instant results. The enemy’s hit points have been lowered and you can feel you’re contributing directly to the defeat of the enemy. However, it is worth noting that they are not guaranteed to work. Most of these spells allow your opponent to make saving throws, or require yourself to make an attack roll, allowing an element of randomness into the situation. If you roll poorly, or they roll well, the spell will have reduced effect, or perhaps none at all. Also, the effects of nearly all Damage spells can be reduced or eliminated if your foe possesses the correct counter-magic. In addition, some foes have innate Spell Resistance, a trait which allows them to ignore a spell entirely if you fail to roll high enough.
For example, perhaps a wizard casts a Fireball into a group of 4 ogres. One ogre fails its saving throw and is nearly killed. The next 2 make their saving throws and take only half damage. The fourth ogre has a ring of fire protection and is practically unharmed.
Example Damage spells:
Cleric: Inflict Light Wounds, Sound Burst, Searing Light
Druid: Produce Flame, Chill Metal, Call Lightning
Sorcerer/Wizard: Magic Missile, Scorching Ray, Lightning Bolt
Hinder spells
This is a broad category that covers everything from holding your opponents in place to reducing their attributes. These spells damage the opponents in a roundabout way: They are unable to effectively combat your allies, so your allies don’t get hurt as quickly, so your allies are able to fight longer and deal more damage to the foes in the meantime. Also, Hinder spells have the side effect of preserving party resources. If your party is less damaged than they might otherwise be, you don’t have to expend magic to heal them, for instance. Hinder spells, like Damage spells, often allow your foes to make saving throws, and can be nullified by Spell Resistance. Sometimes they require attack rolls, but not nearly as often as Damage spells. Hinder spells that do not allow saving throws (like the Cleric spell Bane) are quite valuable, even if the penalty they impart is relatively small.
For example, perhaps the party is fighting a Gray Render, a tough and nasty beast. The party cleric could cast Bestow Curse, giving the Render a minus 6 penalty to its strength. This translates into a reduced chance for it to hit when it attacks, as well as ensuring that when it does hit, it will do less damage. The Render subsequently hits members of the party 5 times – with its reduced strength, it will have dealt 15 fewer hit points of damage than it would have otherwise, equivalent to 2 or 3 healing potions.
Example Hinder spells:
Cleric: Cause Fear, Consecrate, Silence
Druid: Entangle, Hold Animal, Sleet Storm
Sorcerer/Wizard: Sleep, Touch of Idiocy, Stinking Cloud
Protect spells
These spells keep you or your allies from taking damage or other penalties. They can protect against fire, toughen the skin, ward off fear, or increase saving throws. This is a very important category of spells. Protecting your team directly, quite simply, keeps them alive longer and allows them enough time to win. Protect spells are guaranteed to work every time they’re used, which is an improvement over the sometimes ineffectual Damage and Hinder spells. The only down side is that they’re not guaranteed to be necessary every time they are cast – a person warded against Death spells might not be targeted by one by the time the spell wears off, for instance, or a person warded against Poison might have a good enough armor class that the giant scorpion never manages to even hit them. It is important not to let that uncertainty factor dissuade you from using Protect spells. Think of them as an insurance policy – you don’t know if you’ll need them activated, and you often don’t, but you’re sure glad you had them those few times you did need them. Also, knowing that they’re protected can make your allies more bold and direct in their attacks and more willing to push themselves farther. They know their odds of survival are better, and act accordingly.
Example Protect spells:
Cleric: Endure Elements, Shield Other, Magic Circle Against Evil
Druid: Endure Elements, Delay Poison, Wind Wall
Sorcerer/Wizard: Shield, Protection from Arrows, Displacement
Aid spells
Aid spells are quite similar to Protect spells. Many of them, especially those that increase attributes, are often cast before or in the first round of a combat in order to increase your team’s effectiveness. Also falling in this category are healing and restoration type spells, which restore character’s attributes and allow them to continue the fight. Like Protect spells, Aid spells give your team improved morale. Your fighter is more likely to stay toe-to-toe with an ogre when he knows there’s somebody back there to make sure he doesn’t die doing it, for instance, and he’s more likely to go toe-to-toe with the ogre if he has increased Strength and Constitution. It is worth noting that spells which increase your spellcaster’s primary attribute (Wisdom for Clerics and Druids, Intelligence for Wizards, Charisma for Sorcerers and Bards) also increase the difficulty of an opponent resisting your spell. These are very good spells to cast before you cast any Damage or Hinder spells. Also, while healing lost hit points is nice (and feels very useful), it’s often better strategically to have used the correct magic to have avoided the damage in the first place – it’s better to have a fighter with Resist Cold from the beginning than it is to spend time healing a non-protected fighter from Cold damage in the middle of the battle.
Example Aid spells:
Cleric: Shield of Faith, Bull’s Strength, Prayer
Druid: Magic Fang, Lesser Restoration, Remove Disease
Sorcerer/Wizard: True Strike, False Life, Heroism
The most obvious category I have skipped is Summoning spells – spells which bring an additional creature of some sort to help fight a battle. These could easily fall into the Damage (they do hurt the enemy, after all) or Protection (they keep the enemy from hurting you by getting hit themselves) categories, but I primarily left them out because, at low levels, they are of limited utility. You’re usually better off casting a different spell at least until you have access to 5th level summoning spells.
Also left out are utility spells. Spells like See Invisibility might be vital in a combat, but fall into no clear category. It’s best to look over your spell list to see what utility spells have some application in combat and keep them in mind.
An important aspect of using spells properly is information. If you don’t know what you’re fighting in the next room, it’s difficult to know what Protect spells to put on beforehand, or what Damage spells are likely to work. There are many magical ways of getting information – invisible characters can scout ahead, divination spells can often help – all spellcasters eventually gain access to Scrying abilities. Druids can change shape to scout. Such things are limited only by the imagination.
A careful reading of spells often indicates a sort of synergy between them. That is to say, some spells when cast in combination become more effective. For example, Entangle lowers creature’s Dexterity, which in turn lowers their Reflex saving throws. If you have both Entangle and a spell that uses a reflex save to avoid damage, cast the Entangle first in order to make the second spell more likely to be effective. It might seem useless to cast Feeblemind on an enemy, but it lowers the target’s Will save, making them more susceptible to enchantment or illusion spells. A spell that boosts your own dexterity makes you better able to hit an opponent with a ranged touch attack.
There are also niche uses for spells – situations which rarely come up but are useful when they do. For instance, creatures that depend on hearing to “see” in the dark (echolocation) are crippled by a Silence spell. Earth-based creatures are often damaged by Soften Earth spells. Casting Grease on a narrow rope bridge can have very amusing results, as can Gust of Wind.
The major things to remember are:
1) Use your spells, even if you’re uncertain anything will come of it. Spells left uncast at the end of the day were wasted resources! Better to cast them just in case they can help than to not cast them at all.
2) Cast spells that don’t necessarily hurt your foes. All combat spells can shift the tide of battle.
I hope you found this an interesting read!
