What are the best spells for a 3rd level cleric?

[Archade]

Hey all,

I'm fairly new to playing a cleric, and I'd really appreciate what spells people have found most useful in play. They can be PHB or Spell Compendium or whatever.

I'm looking for what would be the best choices for my dwarven cleric with the Luck and Trickery domains ...

Thanks!

 

[madriel]

Dispel Magic and Prayer are always good to memorize. I've used the Mass versions of Aid, Resist Energy, Resurgence and Lesser Vigor from the Spell Compendium a lot.

Spells like Light of Venya ,Darkfire and Searing Light are useful if you have a good ranged attack.

I've never taken Luck or Trickery Domains, but the Luck domain spells are probably a better choice to memorize.

 

[Nifft]

3rd level cleric means 2nd level spells

Your domains matter less than your play style.
Are you a "buff my friends" kind of cleric, are you a "buff myself and smack" kind of cleric, or are you something else?

If you buff your friends, bull's strength and bless should be your top picks. If you like to buff yourself, bull's strength and shield of faith are choice, but remember that every round you spend buffing is a round you don't spend smiting.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

The spells that are useful will depend upon your feats, your party, and your playstyle.

For instance, spiritual weapon and sound burst are both good offensive spells.

Spiritual weapon works best if you have a high wisdom but works well even if you don't. It works best if the rest of the party is defensively oriented and tends to take a while to kill things or in a long battle. It works really well if you have a lesser rod of extend spell.

Sound burst, on the other hand, really wants you to have a high wisdom so that you'll stun the bad guys more often. (It also helps if you've a good grasp of spacial relations so you can plop it down on the bad guys without hitting your friends and without spending three minutes checking various target locations). Sound burst works well if the party is more offensively oriented than defensively oriented because the PCs will make better use of that one round of unanswered actions. It works REALLY well if you have multiple rogues in the party because they can sneak attack stunned targets.

Both of those are relatively simple spells. A few more complex ones:

Summon monster spells can be very good if you have the augment summoning feat. (Otherwise, Summon Monster III is still worthwhile but Summon Monster I and II are fairly lame).

Deific Vengeance (CD or Spell Compendium) is very good for characters who have Divine Metamagic. By boosting his caster level, a cleric can make it into a very effective damage dealing spell in general that is devastating to undead.

Bull's Strength is a very complex spell. IMO, it's not a very good spell for self-buffing. It simply takes too long to get everything going. For a fighter, it's ok, but not a great spell. Now, where it gets interesting is if the fighter or barbarian has Improved Trip. Now, it not only gives the fighter a better chance to hit and do damage, it also gives him a better chance to trip his opponents and control the battlefield. That's a good use of a spell. The other situation where it is very good is if your fighter or barbarian is leaving opponents just a few points shy of death when he hits them. If you can give them the little boost necessary to make their hits reliable one-shot kills or to turn three hit monsters into two-hit monsters, that is also worth a second level spell--but that will depend upon the specific combat as well as your party makeup.

 

[Archade]

Thanks guys!

I'm playing a multiclassed N cleric 3/rogue 1 who rebukes undead, so I'm skill oriented and not great in combat with a low BAB. I'd like to be buffing characters, but I'm leaning towards spells with swift or immediate casting times so I can still try to flank and attack my enemies. My Wis is only 16, so I'm trying not to use spells that require a saving throw.

Here's what I have in order of preference for my memorized spells (like the PHB2 spell lists for quick NPCs):

0: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Guidance, Read Magic

1: Shield of Faith, Bless, Protection from Evil, Cure Light Wounds, Doom

2: Cloud of Knives (PHB2), Close Wounds (SPELL, Immediate), Spiritual Weapon, Divine Insight (SPELL), Master’s Touch (PHB2, Immediate), Deific Vengeance (SPELL)

 

[Nifft]

If you Rebuke, am I right that you also Inflict?
If so, remember that you can Sneak Attack with an Inflict Wounds spell. That's fun for a flanking touch attack.

Cheers, -- N

 

[madriel]

3rd level cleric means 2nd level spells

Cheers, -- N

D'oh, I read that wrong.