A high-level cleric cast the Bless spell when facing off against a dragon

This spell just might be the best spell in D&D 5e…

Now, I understand that some players might argue with me here, but just hear me out.

This spell is so good, it helped my first level adventuring party survive against some goblins and a boss Bugbear.

SPOILER ALERT

Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking about Mines of Phandelver.

C’mon, don’t pretend like you haven’t played it already…like three times…it’s like any time I want to introduce my friends to D&D, we play this adventure.

And the spell I’m talking about was really, really good in that adventure!

But this spell also single handedly helped my D&D group beat a level 20 adventure against a Dracolich. The Cleric who cast it won MVP unanimously for that adventure.

Which spell am I talking about?

I’m talking about: Bless.

And before we go into all the details about what makes this spell sooo good, let’s first talk about what Bless does.

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What Does Bless Do?

Bless is a 1st level enchantment spell that requires concentration. It allows up to three creatures to add a d4 to their attack rolls and saving throws.

From Part 3: Spells of the Player’s Handbook on page 219:

Bless

Casting Time: 1 Action

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a sprinkling of holy water)

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You bless up to three creatures of your choices within range. Whatever a target makes an attack or a saving throw before the spell ends, the target can roll a d43 and add the number rolled to the attack roll or saving throw.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can targe one additional creature for each slot level above 1st.

Why Bless is Really Good

Why is Bless so good?

Bless is really good because it’s good in the early game, mid-game, and late-game.

Look, some spells (ahem…magic stone), just don’t scale well.

But Bless?

You can use Bless at first level, 20th level, and all the levels in between!

Remember when I told you about fighting that Dracolich. You might laugh and think a 20th level character doesn’t need an extra d4, but let me tell you, they do!

Even when you’re rolling with a +16 to hit at level 20, and you’re trying to hit a 25 AC, yeah, that’s hella tough. You’re missing 40% of the time.

And without the Resilience feat or other class features that provide proficiency in saves, most level 20 characters are going to have a few saves that just really aren’t that great (except maybe Paladins and Artificers—more on that in another article/video).

A failed save against the Dracolich was around 90 necrotic damage…yuck! Your skin is like peeling away from your body.

face peeling away

Kinda disgusting.

But Bless can save you from all that. It’s seriously really, really good.

Of course, there is just one tiny drawback, and we’ll talk about that next.

What Are the Drawbacks of Bless?

The drawback of this spell is that it requires concentration. That means that once you get 2nd level spells, you can’t run Bless and Magic Weapon at the same time (more on that later).

At third level, you’ll have to choose between keeping up Bless or running Spirit Guardians (another great spell by the way). But you can’t do both.

One way to help with this is to take the Resilient Feat and choose Con to assure you have a healthy bonus for those concentration saves. Of course, if you Blessed yourself, (oh yeah, you can do that!), then you’ve got an extra d4 for that save.

Another strategy here is to take the War Caster feat to get advantage on those concentration saving throws.

Can You Bless Yourself?

Well, we kinda gave away the answer earlier. The answer is quite simply: yes!

However, if there are four adventurers in your group, one person will not be Blessed unless you upcast the spell at 2nd level.

If you have 5 party members, you’ll need a 3rd level Bless to catch all of them. And so on…

Bless Vs. Magic Weapon

Bless vs Magic Weapon

There are some pros and cons to each of these spells, and as I stated earlier, you can’t run both at the same time because they both require concentration.

So here’s my take:

Bless is a great option when you know you’re going to be up against something that’s hard to hit and may be making you and your fellow party members make some saving throws.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve failed a save by one, and man, was I happy to have someone in the party remind me that I was blessed for that sweet d4 goodness. In those situations, Bless guarantees that it’ll take a failed save to a successful one.

And a successful save is going to keep your party up a lot longer than a single magical weapon that does +1.

So in my view, Bless vs. Magic Weapon is no contest.

Bless FTW!

Does Bless Stack?

Every cleric wants to know, does Bless stack?

The answer here depends on what you’re trying to stack it with.

Bless does not stack with Bless. So don’t try it with your friends.

(For more information on this, see your Player’s Handbook page 205 under Combining Magical Effects).

However, Bless does stack with a slew of other spells and abilities, including my favorite, the Peace Cleric’s Emboldening Bond ability.

So go stack those d4s for your team! There’s no sweeter feeling that helping a party member turn a miss into a hit, or a failed save into a success.

Got more questions about Bless? Leave them in a comment below.

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