Can A Cleric Use A Weapon And Shield And Still Perform Spells?

Clerics can cast spells while holding a shield and weapon, but only for spells with verbal components. They need a free hand to perform somatic components and manipulate their holy symbol. The casting rules state that the same hand can be used for material and somatic components.

Clerics can substitute Divine Focus for Material Components required for spells with verbal, material, or combination components. They can use their holy symbols as a spell-casting focus, but not while their shield is donned. If a spell has a material component, they can use the same hand holding the material component for the somatic component. If the shield is holy, they can use a holy symbol to replace their material components.

If a cleric doesn’t have the War Caster feat, they can use the shield and cast somatic spells if they aren’t using a weapon also. However, they cannot cast spells with a somatic and/or material component. As per RAW, a spell with an M component with the Holy Shield can be cast with both hands full, but S component is not possible.

Clerics can cast spells with somatic components while wielding a weapon, but only for spells with a somatic component. If a spell requires a somatic component, the caster must have free use of at least one of the somatic components. If the spell doesn’t have a material component, a free hand is needed.

In general, any caster can hold a shield and cast a spell, as long as the somatic components for their spells are simpler. However, finding the exact rule for this is challenging.