Shield of Faith description says,"... a creature of your choice within range..." OK fine. So, knowing that you're about to get your butt kicked when your turn is over can you cast Shield of Faith upon yourself as your final Bonus Action?
If allowed, it strikes me that although it requires concentration, it could still be beneficial. It would be in effect until your opponent makes an attack roll that beats your AC and you fail the subsequent CON save that the spell calls for. As long it lasts it could at least stave off a hit or two against you.
Yes, you can cast shield of faith on yourself. Not only is it beneficial, it is probably the most common use of the spell (at least in my experience).
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
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You are always within range of yourself for Touch effects, and a spell will clearly state if you can only target other creatures.
Edit: Huh, not a touch spell. Still, you are always within your own range, and unless a spell specifically says otherwise can make yourself the target.
Certainly how it struck me. 😀 But since I haven't played since the late 70's I do like to make sure. I hate stalling play over rules clarifications. You might think that it would be pretty straight forward to just ask the DM how they want to play it. But all too often my questions seem to spark interminable debate amongst the other players. 🤷♂️
In many games I have played, the first thing the paladin does on their first turn is cast shield of faith on themselves. If there are spells that you can't use on yourself then they will clearly state it. Also, if you are playing with folks new to 5e then it can often be better to assume it is being played as written rather than ask the DM. Some folks who are new to 5e from earlier versions have some trouble accepting some of the common situations in 5e.
e.g. sneak attack and smiting are decided after the attack hits. On a crit this means that any dice rolled for these are doubled which can result in a lot of damage being done. DMs new to 5e can sometimes be surprised that their level 2 BBEG is suddenly dead after a level 3 rogue with a short bow rows well on their sneak attack crit ... or a level 2 paladin uses a smite against an undead while wielding their longsword and suddenly does 8d8 damage. These things are part of the fun of these classes and are not balance issues but DMs new to 5e can start asking if it is really meant to work that way.
I would like to add that while you can cast shield of faith on yourself, because it's concentration it means that you will make concentration saving throws for it whenever you take damage; while the spell itself might make that less likely to happen from attacks, it works even better if you can get someone else to cast it on you (or do that for them).
For example, a Paladin casting shield of faith on themselves is good, but having the party's ranged Cleric do it for them is even better, because if the Cleric doesn't take damage, they don't roll a single concentration check, whereas the Paladin casting on themselves and then wading into a fight may have to take multiple so the effect can end sooner.
Of course you need to balance that against what else the Cleric (or other caster) might be able to concentrate upon instead (they might have better options), but I just thought it was worth mentioning why you don't necessarily want to cast on yourself if you don't have to.
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Yes, the concentration requirement had crossed my mind. But, like you, I also realize that it's like a 50/50 thing and its use would also be a matter of considering priorities.
Yes, the concentration requirement had crossed my mind. But, like you, I also realize that it's like a 50/50 thing and its use would also be a matter of considering priorities.
As you say it often comes down to priorities. Many clerics who could cast shield of faith, often have better options like bless or spirit guardians and other concentration spells.
The paladin could also choose to use an action to cast bless and maintain concentration on that instead. However, in that case, the paladin will lose their first attack round. Shield of faith has the advantage of being a bonus action and thus works in conjunction with the attack action, which is even more important at level 5 after the paladin gets Extra Attack. On the other hand, shield of faith conflicts with the various smiting spells in terms of concentration. Personally, I don't use the smiting spells that much since I'll either cast a support spell or save the slots for direct smites but if you like using the smite spells then you won't cast shield of faith since the concentration requirements conflict.
I had noticed the potential concentration conflicts. What brought this up for me is that in the adventure I'm in we keep "accidentally" running into rather deadly encounters. I was interested in what I can do with this because I can just "feel" that holding off damage even just once, will help make me more effective. Sure, it costs a spell slot, but even if it helps me only one time, it will surely make a difference.
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Shield of Faith description says,"... a creature of your choice within range..." OK fine. So, knowing that you're about to get your butt kicked when your turn is over can you cast Shield of Faith upon yourself as your final Bonus Action?
If allowed, it strikes me that although it requires concentration, it could still be beneficial. It would be in effect until your opponent makes an attack roll that beats your AC and you fail the subsequent CON save that the spell calls for. As long it lasts it could at least stave off a hit or two against you.
Yes, you can cast shield of faith on yourself. Not only is it beneficial, it is probably the most common use of the spell (at least in my experience).
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Thank you! Given that target(s) are unspecified in the description I figured that there was a chance it would work. 😀
You are always within range of yourself for Touch effects, and a spell will clearly state if you can only target other creatures.
Edit: Huh, not a touch spell. Still, you are always within your own range, and unless a spell specifically says otherwise can make yourself the target.
Certainly how it struck me. 😀 But since I haven't played since the late 70's I do like to make sure. I hate stalling play over rules clarifications. You might think that it would be pretty straight forward to just ask the DM how they want to play it. But all too often my questions seem to spark interminable debate amongst the other players. 🤷♂️
In many games I have played, the first thing the paladin does on their first turn is cast shield of faith on themselves. If there are spells that you can't use on yourself then they will clearly state it. Also, if you are playing with folks new to 5e then it can often be better to assume it is being played as written rather than ask the DM. Some folks who are new to 5e from earlier versions have some trouble accepting some of the common situations in 5e.
e.g. sneak attack and smiting are decided after the attack hits. On a crit this means that any dice rolled for these are doubled which can result in a lot of damage being done. DMs new to 5e can sometimes be surprised that their level 2 BBEG is suddenly dead after a level 3 rogue with a short bow rows well on their sneak attack crit ... or a level 2 paladin uses a smite against an undead while wielding their longsword and suddenly does 8d8 damage. These things are part of the fun of these classes and are not balance issues but DMs new to 5e can start asking if it is really meant to work that way.
I would like to add that while you can cast shield of faith on yourself, because it's concentration it means that you will make concentration saving throws for it whenever you take damage; while the spell itself might make that less likely to happen from attacks, it works even better if you can get someone else to cast it on you (or do that for them).
For example, a Paladin casting shield of faith on themselves is good, but having the party's ranged Cleric do it for them is even better, because if the Cleric doesn't take damage, they don't roll a single concentration check, whereas the Paladin casting on themselves and then wading into a fight may have to take multiple so the effect can end sooner.
Of course you need to balance that against what else the Cleric (or other caster) might be able to concentrate upon instead (they might have better options), but I just thought it was worth mentioning why you don't necessarily want to cast on yourself if you don't have to.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
Yes, the concentration requirement had crossed my mind. But, like you, I also realize that it's like a 50/50 thing and its use would also be a matter of considering priorities.
As you say it often comes down to priorities. Many clerics who could cast shield of faith, often have better options like bless or spirit guardians and other concentration spells.
The paladin could also choose to use an action to cast bless and maintain concentration on that instead. However, in that case, the paladin will lose their first attack round. Shield of faith has the advantage of being a bonus action and thus works in conjunction with the attack action, which is even more important at level 5 after the paladin gets Extra Attack. On the other hand, shield of faith conflicts with the various smiting spells in terms of concentration. Personally, I don't use the smiting spells that much since I'll either cast a support spell or save the slots for direct smites but if you like using the smite spells then you won't cast shield of faith since the concentration requirements conflict.
I had noticed the potential concentration conflicts. What brought this up for me is that in the adventure I'm in we keep "accidentally" running into rather deadly encounters. I was interested in what I can do with this because I can just "feel" that holding off damage even just once, will help make me more effective. Sure, it costs a spell slot, but even if it helps me only one time, it will surely make a difference.