Warding Bond: My Ward is My Bond
Usable By: Cleric
Spell Level: 2
School: Abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 hour
Components: V, S, M (a pair of platinum rings worth at least 50 gp each, which you and the target must wear for the duration)
This spell wards a willing creature you touch and creates a mystic connection between you and the target until the spell ends. While the target is within 60 feet of you, it gains a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws, and it has resistance to all damage. Also, each time it takes damage, you take the same amount of damage.
The spell ends if you drop to 0 hit points or if you and the target become separated by more than 60 feet. It also ends if the spell is cast again on either of the connected creatures. You can also dismiss the spell as an action.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Warding Bond is a nifty spell; it's the kind of effect that can be exceptional in coordinate groups with a consistent game plan, and near useless in others. If you’re all getting wailed on, its a +1 AC to two creatures for a 2nd level slot; if one ally is taking the majority of the beating, Warding Bond can feel like just giving them resistance to all damage.
As predominantly a cleric spell, Warding Bond is aimed to be used as part of a group consisting of a few front line characters whose goal is to be dealt the majority of incoming damage with a few backline characters who want to take as little damage as possible. The cleric class is one of the most flexible in its positioning; you can be either the front line character using a backline character's HP as a buffer, or the buffer for a different melee party member. This flexibility means it can show up to serve different purposes for different clerics even of the same domain. I think that’s pretty neat!
A +1 AC bonus is fine and all, but definitely not worth a 2nd level slot. The long duration paired with HP sharing means this can prevent specific allies from dropping, in which case it is acting as a major boon to your action economy. With a cost this low, as you get to the upper tiers, if you’re at a group that tends to get one or two party members taking the bulk of the damage, I’d highly recommend using Warding Bond. It takes otherwise unused hit points and leverages them in a way to keep martial characters up and swinging, netting you actions in the long run. If everyone in your group tends to get damaged in big messy fights, +1 AC for two creatures is probably still good enough in the upper tiers to spend a 2nd level slot on, but if you’re in the mid to low tiers you’ll probably have better things to spend your slots on.
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