The Patient Symbol
Divine Symbol is a 2nd-level cleric spell in Dungeon Crawl Classics. It targets only the caster, turning the holy symbol into a weapon against the faith’s enemies. Its effect runs for 1d6 rounds or longer depending on the check result, which is the whole point most tables miss.
The temptation is to read the spell as a quick strike and fire it the moment combat opens. That wastes what the duration is for. A spell that persists across several rounds is a battlefield lever, shaping how the fight unfolds, not a single ledger entry of damage. Spend it on turn one against a soft opening and you have converted a sustained advantage into a footnote.
Timing is the real cost here. The value scales with what those 1d6 (or more) rounds can accomplish while they last, which means the correct cast is often the one you hold until the fight actually needs turning.
At the table: Hold Divine Symbol until the round the party is about to break or the enemy line consolidates, then cast it so the full duration overlaps the crisis instead of the mop-up.
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