Level
1st
Casting Time
1 Bonus Action
Range/Area
60 ft
Components
V, S, M *
Duration
Concentration
10 Minutes
School
Abjuration
Attack/Save
None
Damage/Effect
Buff (...)
A shimmering field appears and surrounds a creature of your choice within range, granting it a +2 bonus to AC for the duration.
* - (a small parchment with a bit of holy text written on it)
"A hand with a material component, including a spellcasting focus, can perform somatic components (PH, 203)." --Jeremy Crawford
Since a Cleric can use their shield bearing a holy symbol as their spellcasting focus, the hand holding the shield can also perform somatic components.
Is this better than the shield spell?
The duration is ten minutes or 100 rounds of melee. With +2 bonus to AC.
The shield spell is a +5 bonus to AC. Used as a reaction that lasts one round. Does your character have 100 spell slots to use?
Which one is better? For a longer encounter? For one round of melee?
Shield of Faith stays active on an unconscious creature, correct? As long as they aren't totally dead?
I wish you could upcast it to buff more people, like Heroism.
V,S,M?
Are you asking what that means?
It means the spell has Verbal, Somatic, and Material components. These are explained in Chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook, but to summarize: verbal components refer to speaking magic words, somatic components refer to making gestures with your hands, and material components refer to physical objects required to cast the spell. (A spellcasting focus such as a Cleric's holy symbol can usually be used in place of the material components.)
Some spells have only one or two of these components; this one has all three.
if you're a sorcerer multi-class with twined spell there's no reason why not.
Sheild works
This is such a cool spell! i cast it on an atheist monk as a paladin
So the spell is maintained by concentration ... what would or could break concentration if you have placed the spell on yourself
This is defined in chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook, in the section on the duration of spells. There are generally three things that can break concentration, which apply to all concentration spells no matter who they're cast on:
In the case of taking damage, you only actually lose concentration if you fail a Constitution saving throw (with the DC being 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher).