why have buff spells?

Some recent thread (forget which) caused me to think: why do we have buff spells like Eagle's Splendour and Cat's Grace (and all the other stat buffs) at all? If we buff PCs, then the DM faces us with tougher monsters or buffed NPCs. It's an arms race (or in this case a spell race). Why start? ISTM they're a "spell tax" -- you *have* to cast them before major combat, so you have less room for "interesting" spells.

I wouldn't want to do without things like "prayer", and I'm not entirely sure why I think of that as different. Perhaps it was because I see divine spells as requiring some kind of roleplaying-relevant deific allegiance (though in some campaigns following the deity's goals wasn't really a thing -- clerical magic was just a different spell list).
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Quick question Was: mind control, buffs, and exploits
    ... of the raid before trying rag just to see how much of a difference if any ... spells. ... How do you use MC to give a buff? ... my interface are for priest spells and abilities. ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Quick question Was: mind control, buffs, and exploits
    ... of the raid before trying rag just to see how much of a difference if any ... spells. ... another priest spell useless, and bannable at least in this case. ... How do you use MC to give a buff? ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Re: why have buff spells?
    ... If we buff PCs, then the DM faces us with tougher ... so you have less room for "interesting" spells. ... PRAYER (everyone, for 1 encounter, takes a round to put up at the ... suffering a permanent death roughly every 3rd playing session. ...
    (rec.games.frp.dnd)
  • Re: Keeping track of all your durned spells
    ... spells according to the situation; for example, your solo spells aren't necessarilly the same as your grouping spells ... have it there until the most recent rank ... stamina buff). ... using an addon to give you extra bars; Discord Action Bars is very popular, ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Re: Affliction warlock
    ... Look at the tree closer, most of the talents boost fire damage, not shadow. ... Affliction talents which buff it close to as much as destro ones? ... Look how many spells are under the demo tab. ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)