Spiritual Hammer is a 2nd level priest spell only usable by cleric and paladin classes. The spell is available in all Baldur's gate games.
Description[]
| “ | By calling upon [their] deity, the caster of a Spiritual Hammer spell brings into existence a magical hammer, which [they] can use for the duration of the spell. It strikes as a magical weapon with a bonus of +1 for every 6 experience levels (or fraction) of the caster, up to a total of +3 to the attack roll and +3 to the damage roll for a 13th-level caster. The base damage inflicted when it scores a hit is exactly the same as a normal war hammer (1d4+1 vs. opponents of man-size or smaller and 1d4 upon larger opponents, plus the magical bonus). | ” |
Gameplay[]
This spell is for the caster only and will automatically be applied without a need to select a target.
When the spell casting is finished, a text will display reading "<Caster>: Casts Spiritual Hammer and an evocation spell school casting animation will render along with a sound effect, as well as a "hammer and anvil" 3D graphic animation - the spiritual hammer is now created and usable by the caster.
The caster's main hand weapon slots are temporarily unable to be used to attack and are "replaced" with a magically created item that has an icy-blue hammer icon, which represents the Spiritual Hammer melee attack weapon.
- The spiritual hammer inflicts Crushing damage and has a range of 1 ft. See the table below for the other characteristics:
|
Caster Level |
Ench. Level | Damage | THAC0 Bonus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 6 | 1 | 1d4+2 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 - 12 | 2 | 1d4+3 | -2 | 2 |
| 13+ | 3 | 1d4+4 | -3 | 1 |
Notes[]
- Despite the description, size dependent damage is not implemented in the series; this weapon simply has a base damage of 1d4+1 vs. targets of any size.
- The spiritual hammer does not have a proficiency class, meaning it does not gain any benefits, nor does it impose penalties based on proficiency.
- The hammer will be influenced by the caster's Strength attribute, just like a normal war hammer would.
- Like all spell-created weapons, if a character dual-wields while the spiritual hammer is active, their off-hand weapon will not suffer any off-hand THAC0 penalty.
- In
Baldur's Gate (1998)
This icon indicates content from the original Baldur's Gate campaign. /Baldur's Gate:
Enhanced Edition (2012)
This icon indicates content from the Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition campaign., companion Branwen has this spell as a special ability. She may cast it once per day with an increased casting speed of 1, and it has a fixed 100 round (ten minute) duration. It still scales in power just like the normal spell.
Bugs[]
- The visual and audio effects that are supposed to be applied when this magical weapon hits are incorrectly coded as "magical", meaning the log will display the message "Magic Resistance" on every hit that gets blocked by an enemy's magic resistance. To be clear, nothing is actually "resisted", and the text string is of no importance.
Trivia[]
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition priest spell Spiritual Hammer is commonly known by clerics, according to the Player's Handbook (pg. 263).
The material component of this spell is a normal war hammer that the priest must hurl toward opponents while uttering a plea to his deity. The hammer disappears when the spell is cast.
By calling upon his deity, the caster of a spiritual hammer spell brings into existence a field of force shaped vaguely like a hammer. As long as the caster concentrates upon the hammer, it strikes at any opponent within its range, as desired - note that the range of the field of force is 10 yards per level, and the BG video game spell version didn't implement this mechanic.
Each round the caster can choose to attack the same target as the previous round or switch to a new target that he can see anywhere within his maximum range. The spiritual hammer's chance to successfully hit is equal to that of the caster, without any Strength bonuses.
See the external links below for further reading.
Gallery[]
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Mod content[]
- This section is about unofficial content that is only available via fan-made mods.
Spell Revisions mod has changed this Divine spell, revising its effects and duration. See below for description:
Spiritual Hammer
Level: 2
School: Evocation
Sphere: Combat
Range: Medium
Duration: 2 turns
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None
By calling upon his deity, the caster of a Spiritual Hammer spell brings into existence a field of force shaped vaguely like a hammer. The caster wields the spiritual hammer as if proficient with the weapon, at his normal THAC0. As long as the caster concentrates upon the hammer, it can be used to strike at any opponents within 20 feet, but the wielder does not receive the standard penalty for holding a ranged weapon when engaged in close combat.
At level 1, it functions as a magical weapon, dealing 1d8+1 points of Magical damage, with an enchantment bonus of +1. For every five experience levels of the spellcaster, this bonus increases by one, up to a total of +5 enchantment level, +5 to attack rolls, and +5 to damage for a 20th-level caster. Due to its ethereal nature, strength modifiers do not apply to attack rolls or damage, and attacks with the spiritual weapon are considered melee touch attacks (+4 attack roll bonus).
Installation of the Thrown Hammers mod can allow the cleric caster to toss the Spiritual Hammer. Works with the Spell Revision mod as well.
External links[]
- Spiritual Hammer on the Icewind Dale Wiki, a wiki for the first Icewind Dale game.
- Advanced D&D 2nd Edition Wiki - Spiritual Hammer (Priest Spell)