I've been talking about magic-users a lot lately, so I thought I'd visit their mace-wielding, gods-fearing cousins, the clerics! Not all the problems with spell descriptions lay with the lowly wizards - in fact, most of the cleric spells are just as poorly described, if not worse, than the magic-user spells. There are also some nuances to being a cleric that some people just don't get. There are three spells in particular that are very poorly designed in the rules, but are seen in use all the time in most games. These culprit spells are Bless, Chant, and Prayer.
The very idea of blessing a party of adventurers by a holy man has been around since the gods were first worshipped - priests and shamans would bless a group of warriors before they went on a hunt, went off to war, or boarded a ship to cross into unknown waters. In AD&D, the holy man is an actual member of the party, a cleric (or druid) who adventures with them and shares in their victories and failures. The idea of affecting the outcome of the battle by blessing the party with a prayer for luck or divine assistance is a common theme throughout most fantasy adventures. In AD&D, this blessing could take one of three forms - the bless spell which is a low-level boost to "hit" and morale; the chant spell which allowed a cleric to affect the fortunes of his allies and enemies while he stood still and prayed; and the prayer spell which was basically a mobile form of the chant spell that allowed the cleric to participate in the battle as well.
The bless spell is fairly straightforward, although it's hard for players and DMs to remember the details of the spell once battle has begun. In fact, the main problem with the spell is that it has to be cast BEFORE the battle begins. It has no effect on anyone who is already in combat. This little "gotcha" is so often forgotten by new players or DMs that they just gloss over it and proceed anyway. (Picture it as the pep speech in Braveheart before the Battle of Falkirk.) The other little problem with the spell is that it takes a full round to cast. This means that if the battle is about to be joined, it's too late to cast the spell. More often than not, if a cleric started out his adventuring day with bless as one of his memorized spells, he's likely to return with it still memorized and uncast since most combats occur quickly and without prior warning. Only old school dungeons allowed for careful planning, advanced scouting, and S.W.A.T.-team-like maneuvers that would allow the party to approach close enough to cast the spell on themselves before combat began, but not too close to be overheard and their position to be given away. You see, the spell only lasts for 6 melee round, regardless of the cleric's level. Assuming that charging is not always an option, you have to be in a good position to make the most of those 6 rounds! As a 1st-level spell, its only effect is to raise morale by +1 (which means nothing in AD&D... I'll explain that in a minute) and raise "to hit" rolls by +1. The spell can be reversed to be a curse on his enemies, reducing morale and "to hit" rolls by -1. Now, what is morale in AD&D? It is basically the will to continue fighting against overwhelming odds, bravery in battle, or the opposite of the fear of death. Later editions changed this spell to read "+1 to saving throws against fear," but in 1st edition AD&D it's just morale. The problem here is that the spell is referencing the old way of doing morale in original D&D; AD&D morale was rolled using percentile dice! So that +1 bonus actually should read +X%. The other problem is that morale was originally rolled on 2d6 so there was a higher probability of getting something in the middle range of 5-9. So the +1 really doesn't mean anything in AD&D 1E, and should probably be ignored - or translated as in later editions to a +1 to saving throws against fear. If one simply translates the value from the old system, then a +1 is roughly equivalent to 9% (you could round to 10% if feeling generous). The morale rules are in the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE p. 67 if you want to reference them. The only cool thing about this spell is that the reverse doesn't allow for a saving throw for your enemies and it can be cast up to 6" away (that's 60 feet indoors, or 60 yards outdoors)! The area of effect is fairly large as well (50' x 50') which I assume is because most old-school parties were huge with all those extra hirelings and henchmen for character survivability. In fact, the part about morale in this spell only applies to NPC henchmen, hirelings, and monsters, since PCs never have to check morale (this is decided by the player).
The 2nd-level chant spell is the most confusing cleric spell ever devised. I'm sure it made sense to someone when the spell was originally committed to paper, but the means of successfully casting this spell has eluded me for years. The problem with the spell is how it is cast. Let me first explain that most combats in AD&D do not last very long - most are over within 10 rounds of starting. Few combatants can last longer than 20 rounds with a limited number of hit points. That being said, most clerics don't know how long a fight will last when they start casting a lengthy spell. It's very likely that the combat will be over before the spell ever comes into effect. Knowing that a combat is about to occur is rarely a thing unless, like discussed with the bless spell above, the party has carefully planned their approach to the place where they will do battle and have painstakingly prepared themselves in such a way that they cannot be surprised or ambushed in the dungeon (a near impossibility given wandering monster encounters and other DM surprises like undetected secret doors or undetected traps). Another thing to consider is that all spells in the PLAYERS HANDBOOK have casting times that are listed to represent when the spell occurs during combat. The spell does not occur until the casting time is completed. Thus, a spell that takes 1 round to cast is being cast for the entire round and will not take effect until the end of the round. Now, lets look at chant... The spell has a casting time of 1 TURN - that's 10 melee rounds. The player has to be aware that his cleric will be casting this spell for 10 rounds of action, doing absolutely nothing but casting during that time. If any attack hits him, or special effect causes him to lose concentration on his spell, the casting is disrupted and the spell is rendered useless and lost. The spell itself states that "Once the chant is completed, all attacks, damage and saving throws made by those in the area of effect who are friendly to the cleric are at +1, while those of the cleric's enemies are at -1. This bonus/penalty continues as long as the cleric continues to chant the mystic syllables and is stationary." Well, how long can a cleric chant? Who knows! The duration of the spell is listed as "Time of chanting." Does this mean that the effects of the spell only start on the 11th round and continue so long as the cleric's luck holds out? Did I not mention earlier that most combats are over within 10 rounds? Some have argued that the effect begins when the casting time begins, but I argue against this as the above sentence clearly states "Once the chant is completed...." The bummer is that the cleric (who is likely the only one with healing spells in the group) is tied up casting for 10+ rounds to even get a benefit from the spell, and has to remain chanting and stationary to keep the bonus going. What's worse is that the same things that can disrupt casting, also disrupt chanting! So, even if you manage to not get hit for 10 rounds while casting, the spell can still be ended prematurely if the cleric is struck, grappled, or magically silenced. The effect is smaller than a bless spell, forming a 30' radius around the chanting cleric, so the cleric has to be situated in the middle of the combat to make this effective. If he starts casting before the combat begins, the combat is likely to move outside the area of effect of his spell, thus negating all the effort put into casting it. This spell makes absolutely no sense as written! I've house ruled the casting time to equal that of bless at 1 round. This way there is only a slight delay while the chant is cast, then the cleric can continue chanting for as long as desired (or until he is disrupted somehow). As written, the spell is worthless and there are better options for spells at this level. The only good thing is that the spell has no saving throw, so the effect is guaranteed (if you can actually pull it off). Now, one could try to offset the possibility of disruption with a sanctuary spell, but the duration of sanctuary is only 2 rounds + 1 round/level. You would have to be a 9th level cleric before this could even be considered a viable option!
The final spell is prayer. This 3rd level spell has the quickest casting time of all the "blessings" (at 6 segments) and has a moderately large area of effect (60' radius around the caster). Its effects are identical to chant, but the cleric can move and do other things once the spell is cast (a "fire-and-forget" spell). The duration of the prayer is 1 round/level. Given that the first time a cleric sees a 3rd-level spell is at 5th level, this could be less of a duration than the 1st-level bless! Given that the cleric can move around once the spell is cast, I take this as being an aura that moves with the cleric, allowing him to alter who is in the area of effect (unlike a chant spell which is stationary). A curious note in the DMG p. 42 indicates that two clerics can combine the effects of a chant and a prayer spell so long as they are both of the same religion. To me, this seems like a synergy effect with a cleric's henchman or clerical followers. Have the clerical henchman/follower cast the chant spell, then the PC cleric casts his prayer spell, gaining thus a +2 bonus to hit, damage, and saving throws. The problem is that the overlap of the two spells is thus dependent on the stationary chant's smaller area of effect. If one had two or three henchmen all capable of this spell and spread throughout a large hall, this could be a really cool visual for the imagination!
In essence, the power of the "blessing" spells are based on level, with the most powerful (and useful) of the spells topping out at 3rd level. There are few truly useful spells at 2nd level for a cleric except for the combat spells hold person and spiritual hammer. Slow poison has its usefulness, but with chant being so broken, the cleric loses some power compared to other classes. Luckily they have the ability to Turn undead as well, and the ability to fight effectively in hand-to-hand combat. In essence, a cleric's spells are meant to bolster the party, protect it from harm, and remove all the nasty side-effects inherent in dungeon-delving. It was never meant to be competition for the magic-user, although many players have sought to accomplish this over the years (especially by playing evil clerics with their curses, animated dead, and reversed healing spells). The role of a cleric is to "serve and protect" his adherents and spread the word of his patron deity, gathering new followers into the fold in the process. The "blessing" spells make the cleric into a sort of bard, inspiring bravery and bolstering the abilities of those around him that can hear his prayers. I wonder if this is the reason why the bard was included only as an optional class - since the abilities of the bard were simply pieces of the other classes mashed together into a strange conglomeration of fighting, thieving, magic-use and druidcraft.
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