Quote from ewahner1 >>

We use this as Thor's Hammer in my group, because it's cool.  I cast it.  I smash someone within 5 feet.  Then I throw it at someone within 20 ft who it hits as a bonus.  Then it returns.  And next round I smash again and throw it again.  Why?  Because the rules are vague, and again....it makes clerics friggin cool. Overpowered?  Compared to what?

 Not how it works. You can’t wield it to throw it, and it can only attack once as a bonus action (movement is part of that if you choose but it ). You can still use an action to cast a cantrip or make a regular weapon attack (or something else an action allows). 

No because it's a bonus action to cast. You don't have two bonus actions.

since it can take whatever form, do you think this could be used outside of combat like a green lantern construct or a less flexible mage hand? my cleric is an artist and would want to try every medium possible, including making a spiritual weapon in the shape of flowers or chickens or something like that

It is a funny spell for me

Something wacky came up with this a few sessions ago. The party was about to engage an enemy that was in a room at the north end of a corridor that went east/west. The cleric cast SW and hit the enemy in the room then ran down the hallway, putting him out of sight of the room where he cast it (to give the tanks more freedom in front). On the enemy's turn I had the monster use it's movement to go away from the SW. On the cleric's turn, he rolled to hit but when I told him that he missed despite rolling high because the monster moved away from the SW, he said that the SW would have moved toward the monster since it acts like a Roomba and moves towards a target within 20'.

I hadn't had this spell cast before at my table and everything stopped while I read through the spell and made a ruling that:

1. since it says "you can move the weapon up to 20 feet" that the SW is NOT autonomous in any way and

2. SW is 100% actively controlled by the caster and since the caster couldn't see into the room he couldn't move the SW with any certainty that if the monster was still within 5' of the SW and

3. If the SW was still within 5' of the monster, the attack would be at disadvantage since the player was down the hall and therefore attacking blind.

I'm right, right?

Quote from kenesisiscool >>

Here's a thought. What if a cleric summoned the weapon and then used it like a hoverboard. Low level flying spell.

 

 I will do that right away!

Quote from TheOstrichMS >>

I'm a life cleric of apollo and I wish it could be a bow.

 it can be an arrow or a bow that just whacks

Quote from MechZombie >>

...so, there is no defined size for the spectral weapon, is there? i mean, you could say that since you get to define the form of the weapon, it could be a Huge, or Gargantuan sized weapon, even if it's only for flavor, and lack of moving.

Bonus, since while usually you make the weapon associated with your Deity, and Clerics can worship Ideals, You could play a Knowledge Domain Cleric with a Floating Book, a Dragon-God Serving Warpriest that summons a Spectral Dragon to Bite his opponents, or a narcissist 'Holy Man', who considers himself a Weapon.

 

 

 

Beyond 20

 

 

 

 

 

 yes floating smashing book the best kind

Quote from FoxMulder >>

Hello everyone, I have read the first 2 pages posted here and several people have stated that SW will last for 10 rounds. I don't know how many DMs are assuming 10 rounds, but I think that's wrong. The duration of the SW spell is 1 minute. I think 10 turns last 1 minute, 6 seconds per turn. If there are 10 individuals in a battle, then the spell would end after the 10th individual took their turn. SW would last 1 round. Apparently, because it's omitted, the caster can control SW without seeing it. How can you move it to a target if you can't see SW and/or the target?

 no a round lasts 6 seconds you think everyone's going to politely wait for you?