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Jan 6, 2013 -- 7:37PM, DannieRay23 wrote:

...
But you will probably find that most clerics are choosing Lance of Faith and Cure Minor Wounds, and it doesn't take a genius to know why.


Some might argue that Lance of Faith is overpowered, but if you were to reduce it to 1d10 or 2d4, or even all the way down to 1d6, it would likely still be the Clerics favorite cantrip. Personally, I don't think Lance of Faith is overpowered, I think that the rest of the Clerics cantrips are severely lacking.

Agreed

Guidance.

Effect: Choose an ability score, and touch one creature. For the next minute, or until you cast this spell again, that creature  gains a +1 bonus to checks using the chosen ability.

Problem: Guidance isn't really a bad spell, for a cantrip it gives a solid benefit. The problem with Guidance is that it suffers from not being all that useful in combat, a +1 bonus is nice to have but it's hardly improvement enough to forfeit an attack, and with only getting to choose 1 cantrip, you probably want a combat cantrip.

How to Fix it: Give Guidance a more evident combat effect, not all clases can benefit that much from a +1 on skill checks during combat. Allow guidance to give a +1 bonus to attacks aswell. Even with that change, I feel as Guidance wouldn't still get passed over for Lance of Faith, maybe make it a word of power to seal the deal.

Alternative Fixes (I'd rather not see it affect attacks):
a)  Make it a word of power.  At least you aren't giving up an action for it.
b)  Allow it to be used as a reaction.  Then you can save it for when an ally really needs that skill bonus (i.e. when they are about to fall, etc.). 
c)   Have it give advantage on the check.   Small bonuses  - especially when applied before the fact (only helps 1 time in 20) are annoying and pretty much useless.  If it's going to take an action and be a spell, it should be worth having.  (In fact - I though these petty bonuses were something they wanted to do away with in D&D Next anyway).
d)  Some combination of the above/

Light

Effect: You touch an object. It sheds bright light in a 20-­‐foot-­‐radius sphere and dim light for an additional 20 feet. The light may be colored  as you  choose. The light lasts for 1 hour or until you cast this spell again. Covering the object with a solid object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks  the glow.

Problem: Light is a cool spell, light is a useful spell, light is a spell I hate my cleric doesn't have. Again, the main problem is that light is not that useful inside combat, sure...It might be a life saver if your fighting creatures that see in the dark and they manage to blow your torches off. But your party's wizard probably has light, he gets to choose 4 cantrips so he will most likely have light.

How to Fix it: Light is probably fine, this is something that I would rather fix by giving Clerics more cantrips. But it would also be cool for a low level character to have more combat actions. Maybe allow casting Light in an opponents eyes to give him a -1 penalty on his next attack.

I'm not convinced it needs to be made better.  If it were, I wouldn't have it work on all creatures.  But I would like to see creatures with Darkvision be affected by it. 
However - as above - I do not like petty bonuses.  If you are going to have a spell do something, it needs to do something.    If they go this route, it should be a) limited to creatures with Darkvision (or creatures sensitive to light for some reason), b) it should have a save or attack roll and c) it should cause disadvantage, not a tiny penalty.  

But the fix I'm more interested in seeing is more flexibility in the brightness and the radius.  The given values are the max, but if the character wishes to make it 5' of bright light and 10' of dim light, that ought to be an option.

Resistance

Effect: You touch one creature. Until the start of your next turn, that creature gains a +1 bonus to all saving throws.

Problem: You only affect one creature and it lasts only 1 round, you don't know if that creature is even going to make a saving throw and 5% is not that much anyway, also it has no range.

How to Fix it: Make it a word of power and add range to it, I would even test making it a +2 bonus as it might be hard to predict when a saving throw is coming before next turn.

I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone - but again I think it ought to grant advantage.  A +1 bonus just ien't worth it.  Not even a +2 bonus.  If you are applying it before you know you need it - it needs to grant advantage to matter.
In short - pretty much the same fixes as I suggest for Guidance.
Some combination of:
a)  Word of Power
b)  Can be cast as a reaction when an ally has to make a save.
c)   Grants advantage on the save.

No more petty bonuses before the roll.

Cure Minor Wounds
(word  of power)
Effect: Choose a living creature within 50 feet of you that has 3 hit points or fewer. It regains 1 hit point.

Problem:  It only heals 1 hit point, still it's useful as it allows someone to get back to combat.

How to Fix it:  Make it set the target's life to 3 hit points instead of regaining 1hp, maybe even set their current HP to 3+their CON mod.

Not much to add here.   I do think more than one hit point would probably be a good idea.  3 + ConMod makes it too close to CLW and generally healing spells don't do more healing based on target hit points/con.  3 + caster's WisMod would be more in keeping with how such spells work.  But personally, I think just bumping it to 3 points is sufficient.

Also add more cantrips.

A Spell Similar to Resistance that gives AC instead would be a sweet option, specially if it is a word of power. Only +1 bonus though.

I don't care for petty bonuses (no surprise, I know) and I think advantage on AC would to significant a bonus - I think this is unwise.

What about?

Blessed Swing.
(word of power)
Effect:  You Touch a weapon (choose a weapon within 30feet of you), the next attack with that weapon deals an additional 1d4 radiant damage.

Minor Damage Absorption
Effect:  Choose a creature with at least 1 hit point within 50 feet of you. If you can sense the presence of an hostile creature in a 100 feet radius centered in the chesen creature, you grant that creature 2d4 (1d6/1d8?) temporal hit points for a minute, only one Minor Damage Abosorption effect can be present on each creature at time.

Minor Reactive Healing.

Effect: Until the start of your next turn, each time a creature within 50 feet of you is damaged, as a reaction you can make that creature regain up to 1d10 (2d4/1d8?) hit points, this creature cannot regain more hit points than the damage he took to trigger this effect.

One idea I had was:


Pain

Effect:  The target is wracked with pain.  If the target is concentrating on a spell, the target must make a Will saving throw or their concentration is broken.

Carl

Jan 7, 2013 -- 2:06PM, Forged_Fury wrote:

I thought the exact same thing about Resistance, Carl. Grants advantage as a reaction. I'm just not sure if that puts it out of range of a cantrip/orison as an At-Will.

Possibly.  But when you have fighter's parrying at-will and Rogue Artful Dodger's imposing disadvantage on attacks at-will I don't think it's a problem.   With the clarification that you must be adjacent (it is a touch spell) I think it should be OK.


Carl