Protection From Evil

Protection From Evil is a 1st Level spell, meaning that even beginning spellcasters can cast it. Bards can't cast it because it isn't on their spell list. They deal more with illusions and mind-affecting enchantments than with magical protection spells like Protection From Evil. Similarly, Druids and Rangers can't can't Protection From Evil either, since they deal more with nature than with the battle between Good and Evil. But nearly any other spellcasters, including Wizards and Sorcerers, and more especially Clerics and Paladins, can cast Protection From Evil, assuming they can cast any spells at all.

Protection From Evil, as its name suggests, provides magical protection against attacks made by evil creatures. It surrounds a single individual, usually the caster, or someone the caster wants to protect, with a magical barrier that helps to deflect attacks made by evil creatures. It also helps the protected individual resist the magical effects of evil creatures, such as an evil wizard's spells, or an evil monster's poison or supernatural effects. (At least, I think it works on an evil monster's poison attacks. I haven't tested that yet.)

In addition to protecting a person's body, Protection From Evil also shields the protected person's mind and soul. An individual warded by a Protection From Evil spell cannot become possessed, whether by having another soul put into their bodies or by having their own souls taken out. In addition, as long as the Protection spell lasts, the shielded person cannot be controlled or influenced by magic charms or compulsion effects. This protection works even against creatures that aren't evil. As long as the Protection From Evil spell is protecting you, no one can take over your mind or body.

Protection From Evil has a duration of one minute per caster level. For example, if a 1st Level (inexperienced) Wizard cast Protection From Evil, its effects would last for one minute. A more experienced 5th Level Wizard's Protection From Evil spell would last 5 minutes. Some magical items and creatures can make the effect last pretty much permanently. For example, a Unicorn has an effect similar to Protection From Evil around itself constantly, and it extends that magical protection to anyone who's close to it for as long as they remain close.

A magical item that generates such an effect would be fairly valuable. Magic items that continually produce a spell-like effect have a cost equal to the spell's Spell Level, times the minimum Caster Level needed to cast the spell, times a special modifier based on how long the spell normally lasts, times a base price of 2000 gold pieces. Since this particular spell is of 1st level and even a 1st level spellcaster could cast it, the only parts of the cost we have to worry about with this particular spell are the base price and the special modifier. The modifier for a spell with a duration of one minute per caster level is x2, so a ring of Protection From Evil would cost 4000 gold pieces (plus the cost of the ring itself, if it's made of something valuable, like gold or silver).

To put that amount of money into perspective, with 4000gp, you could buy five sets of clothing suitable for nobility, five sets of jewelry to complete the outfits, a fancy carriage (assuming a "fancy" carriage costs five times as much as a normal one), two strong horses, such as Clydesdales, to pull the carriage, and the stabling fees to house those two horses (plus a trained servant to personally take care of your horses) for five whole years, and you'll still have enough money leftover to throw a grand banquet for over 50 guests to show off how incredibly wealthy you are.

I just bought a ring of Protection From Evil (commonly called a CTR ring) for seven dollars.

But you don't need 4000gp worth of magical items to protect your mind from evil. You just need a sufficient level of wisdom and a strong amount of will-power. You just need to be vigilant enough to notice when you're being tempted and valiant enough to resist the temptation. God will bless us with victory if we put forth our best effort and pray for His help.

However, despite a knowledge of these truths, I often find myself lacking the wisdom and will-power to successfully resist temptation. I even lack the mental capacity to remember to pray for help when I know I need it. That's why I invested seven dollars in a 4000gp magical ring; to remind me of the powers that I already had - the power to recognize and resist temptation and to pray for help in doing so. You may or may not need a similar "magical" ring - that's up to you to decide - but I decided that I could really use one. As of yesterday, I finally got one. Now, I just hope it works.