DIVINE SPELLS, Baldur's Gate 1 Original

Baldur's Gate 1 Divine Spells

The divine spell selection may seem uninspiring in the face of the dazzling repertoire displayed by arcane practitioners; the spells being more tailored to protection, buffing, healing and summoning rather than encounter-dictating disablement and bombardment. In addition, divine spells are slower to cast than arcane ones (casting times).

However, parties who shun Clerics and Druids may find adventuring painful and tedious, and for new players access to the healing line of spells is vital since there is no Rest Until Healed, no strong healing potions, and the party is not always close to inns, temples and merchants.

Fighter BG1 loves divine spellcasters because they buff them before battle and heal them during and after.

Baldur's Gate 1 Original: Tales of the Sword Coast offers 46 divine spells in total, with clerics clearly offering a wider spell range than druids.

Cleric Spells

Clerics offer 19 spells unique to them. The Cleric spell range is 10/12/10/8.

Druid Spells

Druids offer six spells unique to them; two of which are fifth circle spells by virtue of faster level progression under the TotSC cap. The Druid spell range is 6/8/5/5/2.

Ranger Cleric Spells

Unknown to many, Ranger Cleric multi-classes and dual-classes erroneously benefit from both cleric and druid spells up to the fourth circle, thereby boasting the broadest range of divine spells possible. The Ranger Cleric spell range is 10/14/12/8/-.

Access to fifth circle druid spells isn't as advantageous as one might imagine because BioWare nerfed the range to offer just Animal Summoning II & Cure Critical Wounds, but those spells are strong: the former calls forth up to six raging bears and the latter heals a flat 27 hit points per casting.

Divine Bhaalspawn Powers

A few divine spells can also be acquired as Bhaalspawn Abilities Baldur's Gate, regardless of class. From left to right (blue only): Cure Light Wounds, Slow Poison, Draw Upon Holy Might:

Divine BS powers are much more useful than the arcane ones due to healing being vital, poison being deadly and Draw Upon Holy Might scaling with character level in order to stay relevant over the course of the campaign (Strength, Dexterity & Constitution +1 per three levels).

Before we do a deep delve on specific spells, let's make some general remarks in reference to the basic spell-types as outlined in the spellcasting overview:

Basic Spell-types: Divine

I identify 9 basic spell-types for divine spellcasters, though some spells can perform more than one function.

Divine Healing Spells 

Healing spells keep the party's warriors on their feet and fighting, without the need to rest. They are especially important for new players who are going to take damage no matter what. Healing spells have very long casting times (slow-fire spells). As such, we need to be preemptive in casting them. Otherwise, they are usually cast post-battle. It is in healing spells that Druids shine. Druids not only receive Cure Light Wounds and Cure Serious Wounds as per the Cleric, but also Cure Critical Wounds. Both Druids and Clerics can Neutralize Poison, but only Clerics and Mages can remove curses, and only Clerics can remove paralysis. With Dispel Magic, Clerics and Mages can cure cumulative THAC0-drain from disease/nausea, which is inflicted by nasties such as Greater Ghouls.

Example of Druidic healing power:
10th level Faldorn w/ natural 16 Wisdom | Tome of Understanding x3 | Ring of Holiness

• Cure Light Wounds (+8 HPs per casting) x6 | x7 | x8
• Cure Serious Wounds (+17 HPs per casting) x3  | x5 | x6
• Cure Critical Wounds (+27 HPs per casting) x2  | x2 | x2

Divine Immobilization spells

Lock 'em down.

Entangle is the most notable immobilizer that both divine spellcasters have access to. Indeed, even Rangers get Entangle. In addition, Clerics have access to Command (single target) and Hold Person (small AoE), Druids have access only to Hold Animal, but Mages have access to the likes of Sleep, Blindness and Web as well as to Hold Person, Hold Monster and Emotion (AoEs).

It is important to note, however, that Miscast Magic (single-target) and Silence 15' radius (AoE) make Clerics effective at immobilizing rival spellcasting. A Mage that can't cast spells is a dead Mage.

Divine Direct Damage & Damage-Over-Time Spells 

(mundane, magical, elemental and para-elemental / disease, poison, acid)

Light 'em up.

Direct damage spells are employed when we want to inflict damage, death, spell disruption and movement rate reduction on our victims (stun-lock). Druids are better equipped for DD than Clerics because they receive Glyph of Warding (trap-type AoE) and Call Lightning (single-target), whereas Clerics only receive the former. Both GoW and CL cut a poor figure when set against the Mages' Magic Missile, Skull Trap, Fireball and Lightning Bolt. Both Clerics and Druids receive "create weapon" spells, which are about as useless as the arcane variants (though Flame Blade is pretty good). Clerics and Druids cannot inflict poison or disease in BG.

Divine Buffing Spells

(to THAC0, AC, ApR, saving throws, HPs, Ability Scores etc.)

Turning wusses into warriors.

Buffs are usually applied to allied physical-based damage-dealers such as Fighters and summons; basically, to make them better at offense and defense, to make them better at fighting. Divine spellcasting is tailored more to this purpose than the arcane, though arcane Haste outshines any singular divine buff. In addition, Clerics are tailored more to buffing than Druids because they receive Aid (single-target), Chant (AoE), DUHM (caster-only), Strength of One (AoE) and Protection From Evil 10' radius (AoE), not just Bless (AoE), Barkskin (single-target) and Defensive Harmony (AoE).

Below left: Druid Faldorn buffs the party with Bless; Cleric Branwen, Chant. Below right: A Fighter PC self-buffs with DUHM.

Divine Debuffing Spells 

(to THAC0, AC, ApR, saving throws, HPs, Ability Scores etc.)

Turning warriors into wusses.

Debuffs are employed when we want to reduce the stats of enemy mobs or singular toughies. However, clerical spellcasters lack dedicated debuffing spells other than Dispel Magic, which Mages and Bard also receive. There is no Doom, Bane or Curse (offensive Bless) in BG, and there is no equivalent to arcane Grease or Slow. Druids have no debuffs to speak of.

Divine Utility Spells 

(find traps, scouting, detecting alignment)

It's not all about the killin'.

Utility spells are unique in that they are not combat-based, but only Clerics have a couple of utility spells that are worth mentioning: Find Traps (AoE) and Sanctuary (scouting). Compare that to the key utility spells of Mages: Knock, Identify, Friends, Invisibility and Clairvoyance.

Divine Mobility & Escape Spells

(Sanctuary, Freedom of Movement)

Run rings around the enemy.

Cleric-only Sanctuary is the only notable mobility or escape spell in the divine sphere. Druids can shapeshift into a wolf in order to gain a movement rate increase, but that is an ability, not a spell. Freedom of Movement also facilitates mobility on the battlefield.

Divine Divide & Conquer Spells

(enchantment or charming)

Turn them against themselves.

Divide & conquer spells are usually employed when we want to break mobs up into more manageable, bite-sized chunks, but they can also be employed on single targets in order to gain a powerful temporary ally. For example, turn the sergeant against his soldiers.

Druids receive Charm Person or Mammal (single-target) whereas Clerics receive Rigid Thinking and Mental Domination (both single target). The divine sphere lacks AoE equivalents such as arcane Confusion and Chaos.

Divine Protection spells aka Wards

(Abjurations)

Abjurations are powerful in that they make the recipient/s invulnerable to certain types of damage, certain negative status effects and almost everything in the case of Sanctuary. Clerics most notably gain access to Sanctuary, Remove Fear, Protection From Fire / Electricity and Freedom of Movement, whereas Druids don't have much to speak of outside of elemental abjurations.

Divine Summoning Spells

(undead, animals and monsters)

When we get lazy.

Due to the lack of a summon cap, summoning spells are essentially broken. However, they can still be interesting and fun due to the variety of monsters that can be called forth and sent into battle. Most are melee-based mobs, some are ranged, but none are spellcasters. Summons are usually employed as cannon fodder: to face the brunt of a mob or the initial barrage from an enemy mage, but due to the lack of a summon cap, they can overwhelm and dominate almost any CE with their collective ApR, especially when buffed. Clerics can Animate Dead and call forth weak animals whereas Druids can call forth raging bears, but only Mages can summon monsters (but not skeletons or animals in BG).

Baldur's Gate Divine Spell List

As mentioned above, divine spellcasting consists of 46 spells, with Cleric/Rangers having access to 44 of those, Clerics 40, Druids 26 and Rangers 6. Paladins don't break into divine spellcasting until 300,000 XP or 9th level, which means they cannot cast spells in BG: TotSC (which has a level cap of 161,000).

In addition to descriptions of what they do, the spells are ranked by me. The ranks are: God-tier, Top-tier, Mid-tier and Bottom-tier. 

Level 1 Divine Spells Baldur's Gate 1

First Circle (BG TotSC: 10 spells) (PHB: 24 spells):

The most notable first circle spells are Bless, Command, Entangle and Sanctuary because they are useful over the course of the campaign.

Bless (Conjuration/Summoning: Cleric, Druid): Quick-fire 50' AoE buffing spell that grants to-hit +1 and saves vs. Fear +1 at a range of 60'. The to-hit bonus stacks with Aid and Chant.
Rank: Top-tier.

Command (Enchantment/Charm: Cleric): Quick-fire single-target immobilizer that puts the target to sleep for just one round, but is no-save. Of course, sleeping targets are dead meat.
Rank: Top-tier.

Cure Light Wounds (Necromancy: Cleric, Druid): Slow-fire single-target healing spell that heals the recipient of a flat 8 HPs, not the documented 1-8 range as per AD&D. Note that it's best to set up scripts to auto-cast healing spells when combat units take a certain amount of damage; they will also fire post-rest. Otherwise, healing after battle can be time-consuming. I like the fact that we are penalized with tedium if we incur damage (because it makes us more careful in-battle, unlike in BG2).
Rank: Top-tier.

Detect Evil (Divination: Cleric, Druid): AoE divination that reveals the alignment of any creature or character in the vicinity. Almost utterly useless.

Rank: Bottom-tier.

Entangle (Alteration: Cleric, Druid): Slow-fire but massive AoE immobilizer with a duration of one turn. While not as good as arcane Web, it does come at the first circle whereas Web is a second circle spell. Entangle is not as good as Web because it only prevents its victims from moving, not attacking as well. If we are within reach of the enemy, or if the enemy is capable of attacking or spellcasting from range, they are not truly out of the picture. In addition, Entangle is party-friendly whereas Web isn't. As can be seen below, spiders are not immune to Entangle, but they are immune to Web.
Rank: God-tier.

Magic Stone (Cleric): It's just a projectile that inflicts 1-4 magic dmg at +1 enchantment.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Protection From Evil (Abjuration: Cleric): Single-target buff that effectively grants a 2-point bonus to AC and saving throws vs. Evil-aligned hostiles. Stacks with other armor sources. PfE is also a ward in that it grants an undocumented immunity to charm. 

Rank: Top-tier.

Remove Fear (Abjuration: Cleric, Druid): Quick-fire 1-hour duration AoE that buffs morale, wards against fear and removes pre-existing fear status.
Rank: Top-tier.

Sanctuary (Abjuration: Cleric): Caster-only slow-fire scouting and safety facilitator that grants complete immunity to any form of attack, but is cancelled if the caster attacks, casts a targeting spell, or fires a wand. Because enemies utterly ignore the existence of the caster, Sanctuary cannot be employed for cheesy tanking purposes (unlike Otiluke's Resilient Sphere). This spell can be cheesy in BG2 because passive, damage-over-time spells can be active during Sanctuary (e.g., Globe of Blades). 
Rank: Top-tier.

Below: Cleric casts a non-targeting AoE buffing spell without breaking her Sanctuary.

Note that Turn Undead (a modal ability, not a spell), also does not break Sanctuary.

Shillelagh (Alteration: Druid): Caster-only "Create Weapon" spell that summons an oaken club or cudgel granting to-hit +1 and 2d4 bludgeoning dmg <=man-sized and 1-4 +1 on >man-sized. I'd rather wield the Dagger of Venom.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Level 2 Divine Spells Baldur's Gate 1

Second Circle (BG TotSC: 14 spells)  (PHB: 28 spells):

The second circle offers a few nice buffs and the anti-mage AoE, Silence.

Aid (Necromancy/Conjuration: Cleric): Single-target buffer that bestows to-hit +1, all-saves +1 (unlike Bless, which grants only save vs. Fear +1) and 1-8 bonus HPs for 1 round + 1 round per caster level. The to-hit bonus stacks with Bless and Chant.
Rank: Top-tier.

Barkskin (Alteration: Cleric, Druid): Slow-fire single-target buffer that bestows base AC6 and a further 1-point AC bonus per caster level up to AC 4 at 8th. Its all-saves +1 stacks with Aid.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Chant (Conjuration/Summoning: Cleric): AoE buffer that effectively grants to-hit +1 and a 1-point AC bonus to allies for 5 rounds. The to-hit bonus stacks with Bless and Aid, and the AC bonus stacks with PfE.
Rank: Top-tier.

Charm Person or Mammal (Enchantment/Charm: Druid): Single-target, slow-fire divide & conquer spell that allows us to take control of man-sized humanoids for 20 rounds. Save vs. spells at +3 negates. It's the same as arcane Charm Person excepts its casting time is longer, its circle is +1, and its duration is +3 rounds. Some victims can be talked to while under a charmed state [cite, cite, link]. Unlike ToEE, charmed characters do not area-transition with the party.
Rank: Top-tier.

Draw Upon Holy Might (Evocation: Cleric): Caster-only buff that grants Strength, Dexterity and Constitution +1 per 3 caster levels. Does not stack with itself but does stack with potion buffs. Good for Fighter/Clerics, but it's also a Bhaalspawn Ability that most players will have as a special modal.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Find Traps (Divination: Cleric): AoE utility spell that highlights all traps on the playing field, regardless of their detection difficulty -- but doesn't remove them. A utility spell that is of limited utility since any party worth their weight in salt will have a thief with detection and disarming ability. Note that some traps cannot be walked around so FT is no substitute for the conventional skill, unlike Sanctuary and arcane Knock and Invisibility.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Flame Blade (Evocation: Cleric and Druid): Caster-only "create weapon" spell with a duration of 4 rounds + 1 round per two caster levels that inflicts 1-2 +4 slashing and no-save 1-4 fire. Strength bonus is factored in, but not compatible with Druid shapeshifting. What I mean is, a bear's claw won't take on the Flame Blade's properties and FB cannot be cast while in bear-form.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Goodberry (Alteration/Evocation: Druid): Conjures five magical berries that, when consumed, round by round, heal ONE hitpoint of dmg. That is just amazing for a second circle spell! I need to sit down.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Hold Person (Enchantment/Charm: Cleric): 5' AoE immobilizer that holds 1-4 man-sized humanoids rigidly immobile for 10 rounds (2 rounds per caster level for the arcane variant). Save vs. spell negates.

Rank: Top-tier.

Know Alignment (Divination: Cleric and Druid): As per Detect Evil, this AoE divination is almost utterly useless in BG. 

Rank: Bottom-tier.

Resist Fire / Resist Cold (Alteration: Cleric and Druid): Single-target, slow-fire protection spell that reduces fire/cold dmg by 50% for 1 round per caster level.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Silence 15' radius (Alteration: Cleric): AoE anti-spellcaster spell that turns rival spellcasters into useless stick-wielders. Enemy spellcasters don't employ Vocalize, and it's Save vs. Spells at -5 or the spellcaster can't cast spells for 2 rounds per caster level. Silence is one of the few combat encounter-dictating spells that Clerics have in their repertoire. If, for example, Davaeorn is silenced, he is only capable of swinging his quarterstaff.
Rank: Top-tier.

Slow Poison (Necromancy: Cleric and Druid): Super-Quick-fire single-target healing spell that actually neutralizes poison -- from stacked Dagger of Venom poison up to even stacked Astral Phase Spider poison. Thus, it is as good as its fourth circle big brother for anti-venom purposes. Poison is extremely deadly in BG.
Rank: Top-tier.

Spritual Hammer (Evocation: cleric): Caster-only "create weapon" spell that inflicts 1-4 +1 bludgeoning dmg at +1 enchantment for 3 rounds + 1 round per caster level. Pretty goddamn useless when even pure Clerics can wield Ashideena.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Level 3 Divine Spells Baldur's Gate 1

Third Circle (BG TotSC: 12 spells)  (PHB: 30 spells):

The third circle is the strongest circle in BG because we unlock Animate Dead and a few direct damage spells.

Animate Dead (Necromancy: Cleric): Uncapped summons, buffing potential, and the ability to wade into Stinking Cloud due to being immune to the noxious fumes, means Animate Dead is one of the best summoning spells in BG. Note that undead sport 50% resistance to slashing and piercing as well as immunity to cold and mind-affecting. The 8 hour duration means they'll tank for us until dungeon's end: that's staying power. Skeletons are usually buffed with Bless, Chant, PfE:10r, Defensive Harmony and arcane Haste. Thus, they become machines. But Strength of One does not work on them.
Rank: Top-tier.

Call Lightning (Druid): Party-friendly direct damage spell that inflicts 2d8 electrical + 1d8 per 2 caster levels for 1 turn per caster level. At max level, CL can inflict a max of 60 dmg on a single target. As far as I can tell, this is not an AoE or damage-over-time spell in BG, though I could have sworn it was. I remember the lightning strikes from Shadow Druid CL castings lingering post-battle, but I can trigger nothing of the kind now. CL is uncastable indoors unless the area is falsely flagged. Save vs. Spells for ½.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Dispel Magic (Abjuration: Cleric): Powerful, party-friendly AoE abjuration that can not only dispel magical buffs and wards on enemies, but also negative status effects on allies (including disease/nausea).

Rank: God-tier.

Glyph of Warding (Abjuration/Evocation: Cleric): GoW is an underrated trap-type AoE similar to arcane Skull Trap. Whereas ST inflicts 1-6 magic dmg per caster level even on a successful save, GoW inflicts only 1-4 electrical per caster level and inflicts no dmg on a successful save. Still, Clerics won't say "no" to a solid direct damage spell such as this.
Rank: Top-tier.

Hold Animal (Druid): Slow-fire AoE immobilizer that holds any number of animals within a 5' radius rigidly immobile for 2 rounds per caster level. Save vs. Spell negates.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Remove Curse (Abjuration: Cleric): Single-target Abjuration that can be useful as there are many cursed items in the game.

Rank: Mid-tier.

Remove Paralysis (Abjuration: Cleric): Another situationally useful Abjuration that can remove long-term immoblization status that results from being hit by ghasts or carrion crawlers.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Invisibility Purge (Divination: Cleric): AoE divination that reveals invisible enemies. The problem is that not many enemies employ Sanctuary, Invisibility or Improved Invisibility in BG.
Rank: Bottom-tier.

Miscast Magic (Enchantment/Charm: cleric and Druid): Single-target anti-spellcaster spell that inflicts 80% spellcasting failure on rival spellcasters. Save vs. Spells at -2.
Rank: Top-tier.

Below: Osmadi's Druid spells fizzle one after the other, thanks to Miscast Magic:

Rigid Thinking (Enchantment/Charm: Cleric): Single-target divide & conquer spell that causes confusion status in a person or animal for 10 rounds. Save vs. Spells negates. Confusion and Chaos are the AoE versions, but are arcane-only.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Strength of One (Alteration: Cleric): Party-wide Strength buffer with a 1 turn duration. Note that divine Strength of One is only slightly superior to arcane Strength (18/75 vs. 18/50, which equates to one more to-hit point or 5% greater accuracy).
Rank: Top-tier.

Protection From Fire (Alteration: Cleric and Druid): Single-target, slow-fire protection spell that reduces fire dmg by 80% for 1 turn per caster level. This can be useful if we don't find the two fire resistance rings, as it allows us to protect our warriors from fire before throwing fireballs into the mobs.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Level 4 Divine Spells Baldur's Gate 1

Fourth Circle (BG TotSC: 8 spells)  (PHB: 25 spells):

There are only 8 spells on offer in the fourth circle, but they're all solid.

Cure Serious Wounds (SCRL56, Necromancy: Cleric and Druid): Single-target healing spell that grants a flat 17 HPs to the injured recipient. A good upgrade from Cure Light Wounds, but that doesn't mean we won't continue to cast CLW as well. In AD&D, this spell heals 2d8 +1.
Rank: Top-tier.

Freedom of Action (SCRL58, Abjuration: Cleric): Single-target Abjuration that wards off immobilization status for 5 rounds + 1 round per caster level. On the offensive end, Free Action allows our warriors to freely wade into the AoE of Web and auto-hit and cut down the immobilized enemies, whose AC is null and void. And on the defensive end, it wards off lethal forms of immobilization such as hold, slow, web, entangle and grease. Free Action status can also be acquired through Potion of Freedom  [POTN45], Freedom scroll [SCRL58] or by equipping items such as the Ring of Free Action [RING09] and the Spider's Bane two-handed sword [SW2H06] (on-equip wards). Note that Free Action status does not prevent Haste status because Haste is not a movement-hindering spell; quite the opposite.
Rank: Top-tier.

Neutralize Poison (SCRL59, Necromancy: Cleric and Druid): The difference between NP and Slow Poison is that NP also heals 10 HPs. Since second circle Slow Poison neutralizes stacked poison even from an Astral Phase Spider, I'd rather memorize Cure Serious Wounds than NP.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Animal Summoning I (Conjuration/Summoning: Cleric and Druid): Summoning spell that conjures <=4 HD worth of monster allies for 24 minutes. In practice, that means packs of wolves and wild dogs. No summon cap.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Mental Domination (SCRL5A, Enchantment/Charm: Cleric): An upgrade to divine Command, and similar in function to arcane Charm Person, Dire Charm and Domination, Mental Domination is a single-target divide & conquer AoE that allows us to take control of one man-sized humanoid for 3 rounds per caster level. However, unlike the other spells, MD disables our spellcasting for its duration (though if our victims are casters, we can cast their spells). This is to simulate that the Cleric is concentrating on dominating the subject. Save vs Spells at -2. Note that this spell works on Wyverns.
Rank: Top-tier.

Defensive Harmony (SCRL5B, Enchantment/Charm: Cleric and Druid): 10' AoE buffer that grants a two-point AC bonus to the party for 10 rounds. Stacks with other AC sources.
Rank: Top-tier.

Protection From Lightning (SCRL5C, Alteration: Cleric and Druid): Single-target, slow-fire protection spell that reduces lightning dmg by 80% for 1 turn per caster level. Useful if our Mage or Druid wants to start firing lightning bolts  and strikes about.
Rank: Mid-tier.

Protection From Evil 10' radius (SCRL5D, Abjuration: Cleric): AoE buff that effectively grants a 2-point bonus to AC and saving throws vs. Evil-aligned hostiles. Stacks with other armor sources. PfE is also a ward in that it grants an undocumented immunity to charm.

Rank: Top-tier.

Level 5 Divine Spells Baldur's Gate 1

Fifth Circle (BG TotSC: 2 spells)  (PHB: 20 spells):

There are only two spells on offer in the fifth circle, and both are exclusive to Druids.

Animal Summoning II (Conjuration/Summoning: Druid): Summoning spell that conjures <=8 HD worth of monster allies for 24 minutes. In practice, that means packs of brown bears. The bears inflict 2-9 crushing at 3 ApR. They have 40 HPs and an AC of 6. Bears are usually buffed with Bless, Chant, Barkskin, PfE:10r, Defensive Harmony and arcane Haste. Thus, they become machines. But Strength of One does not work on them. As per all summon spells in BG, there is no cap on the amount of bears we can call forth.
Rank: Top-tier.

Cure Critical Wounds (SCRL61, Necromancy: Druid): Single-target super-slo-fire healing spell (casting time: 8!) that grants a flat 27 HPs to the injured recipient. In AD&D, this spell heals 3d8 +3.
Rank: Top-tier.

Dispel Magic and Entangle are the only god-tier spells in the divine sphere, though I suppose Animate Dead and Animal Summoning II are arguably god-tier, too, but it's hard to argue that any others are. Which is a good thing: arcane spellcasting is too strong. I guess what I would argue for is just more spells and more variety for Clerical and Druidic spellcasting. There are many non-combat divine spells in the PHB that sound cool, and wouldn't be OP in BG, but it was presumably time contraints of the dev cycle that limited what BioWare could implement, which is understandable.

Divine Scrolls Baldur's Gate 1

The following 5th circle divine spells may be found as scrolls in TotSC. At least, Champion's Strength and Chaotic Commands can be. These scrolls can be cast by Clerics, Druids, Rangers and Paladins, regardless of character level and Intelligence score (in BG2, such scrolls can only be cast with an Int >=9).

Flame Strike BG1

• (SCRL62, Evocation)
• Level: 5
• Sphere: Combat
• Range: Visual range of caster
• Duration: Instantaneous
• Casting Time: 8
• Area of Effect: Target creature
• Saving Throw: 1/2
• When the priest calls down a flame strike spell, a vertical column of fire roars downward in the exact location called for by the caster. The target must roll a saving throw vs. spell. Failure means the creature sustains 8d8 points of damage; otherwise, the damage is halved. 

Raise Dead BG1

• (SCRL63, Necromancy)
• Level: 5
• Sphere: Necromantic
• Range: Sight of the caster
• Duration: Permanent
• Casting Time: 1 round
• Area of Effect: 1 person
• Saving Throw: Special
• When the priest casts a raise dead spell, he can restore life to a dwarf, gnome, half-elf, halfling, elf or human. 'Note that the body of the person must be whole, or otherwise missing parts are still missing when the person is brought back to life. The person has but 1 hit point when raised and must regain the rest by natural healing or curative magic. 

Champion's Strength BG1

• (SCRL5E, Alteration)
• Level: 5
• Sphere:  Law
• Range:  visual sight of caster
• Duration: 3 rounds/level
• Casting Time: 2
• Area of Effect: One creature
• Saving Throw: None
• When this spells is cast, the priest effectively draws on the strength of his god strength and lends it to the target creature, in effect creating a champion. The target gains a bonus to his THAC0 at a rate of 1 for every 3 levels of the caster. So a 9th level priest would confer a THAC0 bonus of 3 to the target, and so on. Also the target's strength is set to 18/00 for the duration of the spell, and all the bonuses to hit and damage that this strength confers. Note also that if the targets strength is above 18/00, it will actually be reduced to this value. The drawback to this is that the priest must concentrate on the connection between the target and his god for the duration of the spell, hence losing the ability to cast any spells during this time. The effect lasts for 3 rounds for every level of the caster or until dispelled.

An upgraded Strength of One in terms of percentile Strength bestowed, but it's single-target only.

Chaotic Commands BG1

• (SCRL5F, Enchantment/Charm)
• Level: 5
• Sphere: Chaos
• Range:  visual sight of caster
• Duration: 1 turn/level
• Casting Time: 3
• Area of Effect: One creature
• Saving Throw: None
• Chaotic Commands renders a creature immune to magical commands. Suggestion, charm, domination, command, sleep, confusion are all spells that fit into this category. The spells affects only one creature and lasts for the duration or until dispelled.

This is a very powerful "mind shield" blanket-ward that makes rival spellcasting much less dangerous. Indeed, it is one of the most powerful wards on the IE.

Next up: Baldur's Gate Best Wands.

cf. Arcane spells Baldur's Gate 1 -- Dark Side of the Sword Coast Divine Spells.

Baldur's Gate 1 Original (Index) | Baldur's Gate 1 Review (Index).