Concentration spells do not require being within line of sight or within range, unless the spell’s description or other game feature states otherwise. The concentration rules do not state that a concentration spell ends if its target leaves the spell’s range, and it is possible to leave the range without breaking concentration. The range of a concentration spell only determines the distance at which effects occur.
If a spell has a duration of “concentration”, players can end it at any time before the listed duration, but losing concentration on the spell will result in its end even if there is time left on its maximum duration. Concentration is required to keep ongoing spells going, and a successful bout of concentration can keep a spell’s effects active.
Some spells require casters to maintain concentration to keep their magic active, and if they lose concentration, such a spell ends. The only exceptions are those that expressly break if you leave range while the spell is active, like Witchbolt. A unique element of Concentration spells is that a caster can maintain concentration even if they were to leave the spell’s range.
Moving beyond the spell’s casting range does not end the spell or end concentration. Same with moving to a different plane of existence, if so, you do not lose concentration on your spell and the spell’s effect continues. If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell. Range determines how far away an effect can appear, but if the effect is lost, the spell ends.
📹 THE 12 WORST SPELLS IN D&D and HOW TO FIX THEM
Here are 12 redesigned spells from 5th edition—those that are underwhelming or too overcomplicated to use reliably—revised to …
📹 Blurry vision, light sensitivity, brain fog, increased ocular pressure & Cervical Instability
Blurry vision, eye pain, eye pressure, light sensitivity and other vision problems, along with brain fog are among the more troubling …
“Weird” is an archaic use of a word to mean basically the same thing as geas, the problem being that unlike geas, weird has a distinct modern usage that isn’t really related and only serves to make it more confusing. Basically, a person’s weird (or wyrd) is a specific task he’s compelled to do a certain way, much like we would call quirks or compulsive behavior.
Time stamps and spell revisions: Blade Ward 2:00 Friends 3:44 True Strike 5:57 Witch Bolt 8:04 Barkskin 10:05 Find Traps 13:12 Flame Blade 14:25 Ray of Enfeeblement 16:06 Grasping Vine 16:36 Drawmij’s Instant Summons 17:41 Mordenkainen’s Sword 19:45 Weird 21:01 Witch Bolt: Updated that when upcast, the initial and automatic damage both increase by 1d6 per spell slot above 1st. (the initial damage increasing by 2d6 per slot was too strong)
19:00 if you have the lich’s phylactery in your hands … if the lich then casts Drawmij’s Instant Summons it will only “learn who the creature possessing the object is and roughly where that creature is located at that moment.” Not a great outcome, sure, but you still have the lich’s phylactery in your hands.
I’ve a thought about an edit to true strike. Keep it the level it is, keep it doing what it does, but just add this: if you connect with that strike, this spell is cast again on the same target without requiring an action. So basically for a steep initial cost of your action, you can keep chaining it infinitely afterwards. I think that makes it viable. Personally I would also adjust the advantage it gives to make it a bit more unique. I’d say it first cancels any disadvantage, and then adds advantage. Extra utility for any situation you know you’re going to have disadvantage in.
Instant Summons does suck, but I think it’s cost and high level is to prevent players from scamming people too easily. Imagine if you had Teleport (5th) or Plane Shift (7th). You could easily try to sell off a object worth several thousand gold, leave, than immediately take it back from a safe distance. The DM could always have the potential buyer inspect the item with a 1st level detect magic spell, but Magic Aura (2nd) level would easily take care of that. I doubt the developers put THAT much thought into it, but the point is that it has way too much rip-off potential at lower levels and without a significant down-payment first.
Crown of madness is understandable as a pick for this list, with it rarely ever having even close to the desired effect. It often merely isolates a single enemy or has them engage your party quicker than usual. Attacking a creature at the start of the turn can be inconsistent, especially with a smart enemy, though i don’t know how to balance it. The action each turn to keep the spell active takes alot from you considering it’s also concentration and the target gets to repeat the save every turn. Removing one or more of the ways to end the spell is necessary i think. Eyebite on the other hand only has one downside in my opinion: the spell can’t target a creature again if it has succeeded a saving throw against this casting of eyebite. I understand this is to avoid shutting down an opponent for the entire duration, but for a 6th level concentration spell it’s disappointing to have to cast it again if you’re naturally unlucky enough to have your main target succeed a save. Of course you aren’t casting it on only one target, that would be wasteful, but it should be an option. Side note: using the Sickened effect of this spell has the creature repeating the saving throw every turn unlike the other options. The worst effect of the 3 has the worst downside for recovery. A target who is awoken from the Asleep section does NOT succeed a saving throw and is a viable target for the same spell, but a creature who succeeds a saving throw versus Sickened is no longer viable. Eyebite is still an incredible control spell, and even with its niche role i still see its potency.
Weird as a spell should live up to its namesake i.e. when cast on a group of enemies it causes them to do weird things like dancing with each other or being frightened by hallucinations. It’d make for an entertaining experience if you’re a caster. The only enemies I’d have immune to it would either be high level or mindless (i.e. undead minions like zombies or skeletons). Just imagine casting it on an orc raiding party and all them start dancing with each other, big harry scary orcs, dancing the tango. Be the best campaign ever or at least the funniest.
Weird and time stop exist to give the DM 9th level spells their villains and cast it on it’s much lower lvl players, but then the players look in their player’s handbook and say “OH SH!t That’s a 9th lvl spell, we gotta get out of here!” then the characters leave without fighting the big bad you made.
Personally I would make instant summons able to bond to an item or group of items up to a limit of 1000 lbs. Additionally any creature can summon the items with the sapphire and command word. When the items are summoned the summoner can have them appear in a specific order or arrangement, such as using the spell to conjure a set of full plate and a greatsword that the character instantly dons, or conjuring a loaded catapult. The limit of 1000 lbs means large siege engines cannot be summoned but any set of armor and weapons can, so the wizard can give this to his fighter friend so if they are ambushed at the party he can conjure his weapon and armor.
The revision you did to barkskin I find still makes it less enticing to use than certain spells. For example: shield of faith is one spell level lower, is cast with a bonus action rather than an action, and has a range of 60ft. It achieves the same thing as barkskin (+2 AC), the only drawback is that it lasts 10 minutes rather than an hour and requires concentration.
True strike, as a cantrip, should be more along the lines of this: As an action, you begin to predict every move your target makes. They have disadvantage to hit you until the end of your next turn, and you gain advantage on any attacks you make. This seems like a huge swing, but it only applies when you are the target. It’s great for close casting mages that physically attack, as it gives them a way to stay fighting, plus, if they have a way to, it removes the concentration aspect altogether. Combined with your new blade ward, and an effective close combat mage could be made
Blade Ward lasts until the end of your next turn, meaning it works for two turns. So if you are a melee type, or worried about opportunity attacks, or maybe concerned about the fact that the guys with the swords are getting rather close, you have an option to mitigate damage. Technically you could cast this, then while still benefiting from it also take the dodge action next turn. It’s not the most powerful, but it is a defensive cantrip, and it always works. I’ve never understood the issue people have with Find Traps. There are already rules for whether a spell can act through cover or environment. The spell tells you there are traps, and what kind of trap they are (if its a pit trap, its on the floor, wall trap, look at the walls, etc.) the spell doesn’t need to say it gives advantage, because those are the perfect circumstances for any DM with half a brain to give people advantage when looking for traps.
My changes: Blade Ward: Make it a bonus action. Friends: Eh, yours is good. True Strike: Alternatively, you can make it a flat one minute buff. Witch Bolt: Yours is good. Bark Skin: Exactly what I was thinking. Find Traps: I agree. Flame Blade: That works better Ray of Enfeeblement: Yep. Grasping Vine: Okay. Drawmij’s Instant Summons: still not a spell I’d take, but I can’t think of how to make it better. Mordenkainen’s Sword: What I was thinking too. Weird: I would have made Weird have 1 of 10 random things happen. 1. Strength decreases by 1d4. 2. Dexterity decreases by 1d4. 3. Constitution decreases by 1d4. 4. Intelligence decreases by 1d4. 5. Wisdom decreases by 1d4. 6. Charisma decreases by 1d4. 7. Attacks nearest ally. 8. Paralyzed with fear (dropping all items) for one round. 9. 10 d8 psychic damage. 10. Plane shifted to one of the elemental planes chosen randomly.
I was thinking about true strike just a couple days ago, and I believe it is meant to neutralize disadvantage. Because if you do the maths, any attack roll that has less than 50% chance to hit is less likely to hit at least once out of two tries, than with true strike and one try (over 50% it’s still better to try twice though). You also probably dont want to try higher level spell attacks twice, because of the spell slots, so that’s another use. I realize my point is basically that it’s good in certain builds and situations, but still, I think that’s something people might not consider when talking about true strike.
9th Level Spells! Wish-Alter Reality in any number of ways. True Resurrection-Nobody’s ever really gone. Power Word Heal-Yeah, full restore that pokemon. Power Word Kill-Yeah, cyanide capsule that pokemon. Gate-Go to heaven, but like as a vacation. True Polymorph-So you’re just, like, a badger now. Psychic Scream-I think i’m a pretty good singer, he was so impressed he exploded his head. Weird-It’s pretty great, ya know, if you combo it.
Re: Mordekainen’s sword, Bigby’s hand is a better spell in every sense, even than your upgraded version. 5th level, uses bonus action, moves 60 feet a turn, 4d8 force punch that scales 2d8/level, and it can grab, push, or block as needed. Amazingly versatile spell and upcasting it to 7th level gives 8d8 force damage on a bonus action.
Blade ward has server me well for legendary casters that are under threat of fighters and barbarians. On their full turn they can cast at that threat while just using one third to halve some incoming damage, then put shield on top of that and the fighters/barbs will have a touch time. All the more reason for the spell casters to keep in the fray when the BBEGs minions target them
My nitpick 1) Blade ward. What triggers the reaction for blade ward ? Esper the Bard says you must choose if you use your reaction on this or something else. But if there is no trigger then there is no problem. Just wait until right before your next tern, if nothing else comes up then you can re-activate blade ward without worrying about using up your reaction. 2) Friends Making someone your enemy can be advantageous in its own right. And a low level charm spell that has negative aftereffects leaves openings for higher level spells or sub-class abilities that don’t have those same negatives.
Blade Ward is for characters with low AC. I actually really like it for my support characters. Your Blade Ward revision, I’d say makes it worse. It halves damage for at most, two attacks, and uses concentration and possibly your reaction? Why? I understand what you were going for with the concentration for a minute thing, but I think that plays the spell against its best uses! Support builds like the bard, mastermind rogue, or thief rogue (using healing kits/potions as a bonus action), can make an expedition exponentially more viable during a dangerous encounter. Dodging imposes disadvantage, which is awesome, but if you’re almost guaranteed to be hit by an attack (because you have low AC or because the monster that’s attacking you is way too powerful), then Blade Ward can be a LIFE SAVER. Disadvantage vs half damage is a very interesting calculation to consider. As it is now, the effects of Blade Ward last for a full round, no matter how many attacks come at you in that time, and doesn’t take concentration. That means with the damage taken from each attack being halved, you’re much more likely to be able to maintain you concentration on an important spell when you’re getting hit. Blade Ward is a cantrip for support characters. When you know you’re going to get hit, you don’t want to lose that big spell, or the slot is wasted! Low AC = Learn Blade Ward. Bonus Actions = Learn Blade Ward. Concentrating = Learn Blade Ward.
I don’t think all the reworks are where they should be but the one that I got hung up on was Barkskin. Your rework of it basically pisses on Shield of Faith: 1st lvl spell, concentration for up to 10 minutes. It adds +2 to AC. It is a bonus action but getting the AC 1 round later for it to lose concentration and last 6 times longer for one level higher. Just add the line “Any bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage that is not magical is ignored for concentration saves made to retain this spell.” Also give it an upcast ( 2 people at lvl4, 3 people at lvl6, 4 people at lvl 8) that way Beast master can cast on companion or with a pair of druids one could conjure animals and the other Barkskin them
I think you miss enthrall. For spells that only needed a little push you could have mentioned how enthrall is just a 2nd level spell slot that amounts to basically talking to someone to distract them. Plus the spell says you say some weird stuff to distract and your using somatic components. Go up to someone and start casting any spell and you have successfully distracted them, and got arrested.
There’s a problem with your true strike fix, and that is that it becomes ridiculously strong on Arcane Trickster since the rogue will be able to get sneak attack regardless of what they do. Sure they need to spend a bonus action, but so does inquisitive rogue(and the target creature can save against inq rogue with a deception check). Not sure how I would fix it, I’d probably just remove concentration and allow the ignoring of cover to make it a spell that you cast on big hp monsters or bosses for drawn-out fights, so they’d still sacrifice and action.
True Strike may be less than useful for most situations, but getting advantage on that ranged spell attack of a much higher level spell slot that would really suck if it missed can be really nice. Cant attack twice when you’ve only got one 6th level spell slot. Also Quickened Spell meta magic, but that doesnt justify it.
“There are so few situations in which True Strike is useful.” The very next spell entry “You have to hit with your spell attack or it doesn’t work at all.” “Unless you combine it with a way to get advantage on that first attack…” I know it doesn’t invalidate your point in general, but I did find the juxtaposition funny. Edit: I had it wrong. See Ben’s comment below.
I still think that Power Word Kill is one of the most under-powered offensive spell in the game, not because it’s poorly designed but simply because it’s a 9th level spell. Once you get to a point where you can cast 9th level spells using your single 9th level slot to cast a spell that will almost certainly fail against any enemy that hasn’t taken damage yet seems pretty weak. And even when you use it on an enemy who has already taken damage it is still a gamble and to waste your 9th level slot to maybe deal at most 100 points of damage to a single enemy seems pretty damn ridiculous. I think it should be maybe 6th or 7th level, that way you’d have at least somewhat of a high risk, high reward factor once you get it and you might actually encounter enemies that you can use it on, either that or make it deal 100 points of damage regardless of the enemies HP, that way you’d at least have a reliable way of dealing damaging. As it is I see it’s only real use in showing off an NPCs power to a low level party.
I’m new to d&d and I’ve been wanting to play a druid. And I’ve had the same impression of barkskin as most seem to. 90% of the druids spell list is concentration based. It’s the one spell that sounds great but is functionally worthless. I disagree with the fix though. It should be a spell useful for the druid throughout the campaign. Remove the concentration tag Keep the flat 16 AC Then at lvl 4 you can add your dex modifier to no more then 18. At lvl 8 remove the cap so it’s 16 plus dex modifier. This would make it comprable to most light armor. It doesn’t seem like most druids will have a dex higher than 18 anyway but it allows a play to keep up with the rest of the party at higher levels. To me at least it seems like they designed this spell purely to buff wild shapers more then anything else. And stone skin is a complete wash.
This is just my opinion…but honestly the actual “necromancy” spells in the game that result in raising or animating undead can often be underwhelming, frustrating, or kind of tedious to do . I understand some reasons why it’s the case for the DMs sake to avoid headaches and unconsciously have to deal with the “hassle” of having it in a “good” party…but to be honest there are other ways to do these things to say the least. I honestly always try to homebrew with my DMs necromancy spells, rituals, and rules to make up for this…and honestly it has a lot of potential to be a fun, if dark path of magic.
Stone skin is direly missed in this list. spell description: This spell turns the flesh of a willing creature you touch as hard as stone. Until the spell ends, the target has resistance to nonmagical(!!) bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. All that while needing a 100gp component to cast. AND it is a 4th level concentration spell.
Loving the intro to the article. It is such a bummer when something fits the concept, personality, tastes, and or circumstances of your character, but are poorly designed. Like Inquisitive Rogues, for example. The Eye for Detail is only useful rarely, in combat, to make a Perception check to try and spot a target that is hiding as a bonus action to free up your action for something like an attack, but other than that, it is useless. I did that once and that was it. I also used Eye for Detail during the tail end of a combat to get started investigating for clues while the party wrapped combat up, but it just looked silly to the other players, since players can always just wait until after combat to use things like investigation. And then the other thing, Ear for Deceit, is goofy garbage. It only effects Sense Motive, and it only bumps up a roll of less than a 7 on the die to a 7, before modifiers, which means it only applies to one type of skill check, Sense Motive, and only against deception, and even then, it only is applicable to rolls of less than 7, so it is only applicable to 30% of Sense Motive rolls against Deception. But even worse, it only bumps up a less than 7 die roll, to a mere 7, so sometimes, it provides too little a boost to benefit, and then sometimes, because Sense Motive vs Deception is a contested roll, the enemy might roll so low that even rolling less than 7 on your d20 is enough to beat their Deception roll, so you don’t need or benefit from this ability. It has such a tiny window of only benefiting you if you roll low enough to just miss beating the opposed roll, but not so low that a small boost to your total doesn’t help.
People always say that bonus action True Strike will make it OP, but I disagree, it just gives casters something to do with their bonus action every round and it becomes a serious consideration for their cantrips instead of the usual EDIT: Just realized that you could balance the AT exploit by wording it like “when you roll an attack roll, instead roll two dice and pick either total” It’s literally advantage without the mechanical term so that they can’t sneak attack off it
So I guess one could use instant summons in order to retrieve items that he lost due to magical or nonmagical michieves like breaking a bag of holding or having left those items on a sinking ship leaving tham being on the floor of the ocean. They probably didn’t want players to just abandon their stuff knowing they could magically get it back later.
Not a full spell, but the Atonement affect of Ceremony. Casting Time: 1 hour Range: Touch Components: V, S, M (25 gp worth of powdered silver, which the spell consumes) Duration: Instantaneous You perform a special religious ceremony that is infused with magic. When you cast the spell, choose one of the following rites, the target of which must be within 10 feet of you throughout the casting. Atonement. You touch one willing creature whose alignment has changed, and you make a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check. On a successful check, you restore the target to its original alignment. My problem has been if a creature’s alignment is shifted to the point this becomes something you need to do, why would it be willing to undergo the ritual? Like, if a Paladin or Cleric is corrupted by some dark force that turns them evil, wouldn’t the new them revel in it or something? (Also it’s a crazy high wisdom check for a willing creature)
Have you considered using Barkskin as a support spell for allies instead of a self-buff? I’m not necessarily saying that it isn’t weak, I haven’t had a chance to use it, but every time somebody talks about stuff like this, they only ever consider using stuff for exclusively yourself. Instant summons, tho, really feels like a DM spell. In the sense it’s for the DM to use to provide an interesting situation or puzzle or something for the players. Mordenkeinen’s Sword just seems like a shittier Spiritual Weapon. That one you can cast at 6th level to do 3d8 + Spellcasting Ability damage, not concentration, and cast with a bonus action. Only stipulation is that Spiritual Weapon is Cleric only (except when it isn’t)
Why not make true strike a reaction after being hit instead? An action is to much and a bonus is to little (unless as a lvl 1 spell as suggested) It makes it more personal with the whole pointing, like “you just hit me?! Your next!” Vibe. Using divination out of anger for revenge I like it having a cost to benefit. By Keeping it as a concentration allows you to still get hit and lose it before your next turn as well as having to decide if you want to drop a different spell just for revenge as well as missing possible opportunity attacks. If there is fear of constant use even with the threat of dmg taken to use while in range. Then make the caster use offer some of their own life force (hp) to cast. A small 1D4 that increases based on lvl, like 2D4 at 5 etc, may not seem like a lot but in addition to the dmg already taken it becomes risky the more you do it as it’ll add up over time. A choice you’d have to make for your revenge.
Eh, I think your witch bolt is still bad. It allows you to deal 2d6 with your action without a spell attack or saving throw, which makes it just a little better than casting a cantrip every round, except it costs a 1st level spell slot. I would fix it by tuning the damage down a bit and making it a bonus action to maintain each round, or by giving it some sort of control in the form of halving the target’s speed or something like that.
Disagree on the Barkskin fix. +2 AC is awful. It should be at least +3. +2 AC on top of even +2 dex (which is about the most you can expect from non-dex-based characters) is a measly 14 AC if they dont have armor. And not having armor is the main use for Barkskin. +3 makes a +2 dex at 15 AC, which is more in line with Mage Armor. In my honest opinion tho, I would make it plus FIVE AC. Why? Because you’re ALREADY hard-capping it at 18, and someone would have to have +3 or +4 dex to even HIT that cap without armor. It’s a 2nd level spell for crying out loud, it should be worth that second level spell slot. TL;DR: Your fix needs to increase the AC amount, whether it’s by a little or a lot, 2 is too little
I could see True Strike/Blade Ward RAW being very good on an Eldritch Knight, once they get that ability to use a Cantrip after making their weapon attacks as a Bonus Action. I mean, why wouldn’t you use Booming/Green Flame Blade? But still. Resistance to damage next turn, especially combo’d with Heavy Armour Master to just IGNORE 3 damage (effectively 6 with Resistance) is amazing, if situational
Blade Ward = If you have time before a battle takes place, cast it & during the 1st round of combat, you’ll have Resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing & Slashing damage. Not to mention, since it’s a Cantrip, you could cast a Spell that’s a Bonus Action like Shadow Blade. Friends = It has a lot of OOC applications, and then in the hands of a Level 14+ Enchanter Wizard, you can cast it without worrying about the one you did it to to become hostile. True Strike = This is also a very situational Cantrip, however, if you going to be going into a situational that you’d be in a position to somewhat dictate the start of the combat, then cast this before combat starts. Hell, since it’s only requires somatic component (hand movement), if you’re in a conversation or negotiations and it looks like thing’s going south, have your hands under the table & cast this spell. Or hell, cast it on the Rogue in your party & they can deal Sneak Attack Damage should their first attack hit Witch Bolt = A somewhat stronger Eldritch Blast, because while you’re concentrating you can automatically deal 1d12+ Lightning Damage (x = 1d12 per Slot Level used above 1st, so once the Warlock gets to having 5th Level Slots, that’s 6d12 Lightning Damage that can be automatically dealt during the concentration. Barkskin = If you’re attacked during Long Rests, which usually happens during the night, you’re NOT going to have your Armor on. Unarmored & not a Monk or a Barbarian then your AC is 10+Dex Mod. Which even if you have a 20 Dex, you’re AC will be 15.
I don’t understand why people don’t like true strike! This cantrip is obviously not for basic attacks. It’s so that you have a better chance at not wasting a high level spell. For example I use it before casting fireball on my next turn. If you are low level and only have one or two spell slots at third level, true strike is a huge help. Why do people only think of it as something to help you cast another cantrip?
Thank you for the article! I am always late to the party… But here is my thoughts on Shillelagh. It is technically attack cantrip that does not scale with level increasing. My simple thoughts: make the weapon magical +1 on level 5, +2 on level 11, +3 on level 17. Also if the weapon had versatile feature it damage become d8 (versatile d10). P.S. Can we, by the way, had more range cantrips for Druid that can hit targets more than 30 feet away? …Just rumbling a bit…
Imo, why not make True Strike a concentration spell? I’m thinking about Dr. Strange and how he visits over 15 million possible outcomes. My take: True Strike 1st level Divination Casting Time: 1 Action Range: 1000 ft. (yes, that long) Components: S Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute You extend your hand and point a finger at targets within range, which takes up your Bonus Action each turn. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target’s defenses and movements, which gives you the following benefits until the spell ends: – Advantage on attack rolls when you take the Attack Action on your turn. – Advantage on attack rolls when attacking out of your turn. – Advantage on spell attack rolls. – Grant Disadvantage to Saving Throws against your spells targetting Dexterity. – Targets gain no benefit from Cover, unless total Cover. (The reason that you give up your bonus action is to use those moments to gain small glimpses of the future each turn, since you’re in some part altering it every action you take. It becomes more narrating, without becoming extremely overpowered)
If you make the Barkskin, that it just gives you a +2 to AC, there are Level1 spells that does that already in other class lists, like Ceremony and Shield of Faith, and don’t forget the Shield spell. I would have changed the spell to be a Ritual instead, with 1-10 min casting, that raises your Natural Armor instead like in the Mage Armor spell. And I would also make it that At higher level slot would increase by 1, L5=17, L7=18 and L9=19 AC. But there wont be anyone who would spend their lvl7 slots and above just for this, but it still gives you a better option for this spell to look for. But Hey, that’s my opinion … Also I agree that the weird spell is too weak to be a L9 spell, I would have dropped it to 8th level instead, because the only way to make a combo with the weird spell is by Sickening Radiance for AoE effects, or with Bestow Curse for a Boss fight. I don’t think that there is anyone who is willingly put the weird spell on their spell list. It’s just so weak, you could just cast a Phantasmal Killer at a 9th level slot a do so much more. Also I agree for the Blade Ward spell, it should be a Reaction. The Friends cantrip shouldn’t let your enemy you cast a spell on them. Or it should at least be more like the Quen sign from the Witcher series. True Strike is THE-WORST-SPELL….EVER! uses your action and your concentration. the only way for True Strike to work somehow, is if it was used by an Arcane Trickster when he is hiding and on surprise rounds ONLY. To make it a Bonus Action spell is a good call.
I vote for Tenser’s Transformation, the fact that its 6th level, makes it so you cant cast spells while its active and you get a level of exhaustion when its over, AND it only gives you the proficiency in armor and shields, so what I have to carry around a set of full plate to don in a suprise attack or waddle around weaker armor that im not proficient in? I would at least think it create a magic set of armor out of force that is on you when it is cast would be nice.
I would argue that Ray of Enfeeblement is fine. Ray of Sickness is arguably the one that needs a slight buff of the two. Friends is also fine. The idea is that it’s a subtle thing where you disguise the Somatic Component as scratching your face or something. It’s meant for a temporary advantage that is lost after a minute. You can get pretty far away in a minute. Get a guy to follow you outside for a moment away from his friends, risk making a quick purchase at a discount, or use it at will for free advantage on Intimidation checks. I think that your imagination is just lacking on that one. You want the Obi Wan experience? Get Charm Person or Suggestion, aka ACTUAL SPELLS (although your idea was interesting). When it comes to Witch Bolt, I would also question your idea that an automatic hit of 5d12 damage each turn for a 5th level spell was too much. The whole point about UNLIMITED POWER (aka Witch Bolt) is that it’s a warlock spell that scales. The target can still walk out of it to break it if they want to, and they can also try to break your concentration, so it’s not like they don’t have options. Even if you get Spell Sniper, the target can still dash out of range. It’s really not that big a deal. For comparison, Fireball at 5th level deals 10d6 damage as a single action to a 20ft-radius sphere of targets (higher average damage in a massive aoe with better action economy). The whole point about Witch Bolt is that it’s a value over time single target spell. Blade Ward’s main change should be that it can be cast on allies within 60 feet to up its utility.
Flame blade looks even worse when you compare it to Shadow Blade, a 2nd level spell that uses a bonus action to conjur a shadow sword that does 2d8 psychic damage and uses only a bonus action to cast, using concentration. If upcast, it becomes a 3d8 sword, which, if paired with an EK build, means a 13th level EK can be doing 9d8+Strength modifier damage per turn, doubled to 18d8 if they action surge.
I’d say not necessarily the worst spell ever but the one I’d pick or use last over any other spell is Stoneskin: a 4th level spell that requires concentration AND costs 100 GP of diamond dust for resistance to NON-magical bludgeoning, piercing or slashing for an hour. You know a spell is underwhelming when you wouldn’t want it even in the real world: “for an hour punches and stabs deal half damage, it’s gonna cost you like 5000 dollars and you already have to be an accomplished magician to be able to use it, oh! and if you get hit the effect might disappear early.”
One spell that makes no sense to me is Expeditious Retreat. The name of the spell says it all but people use it to “advance toward the enemy”!?! What? It should be rewritten to say: When you cast this spell, and then as a bonus action on each of your turns until the spell ends, you can take the dash action to move latterly or away from a hostile creature. Trying to advance on the hostile creature ends the spell affect before you are able to advance. I have seen all sorts of players use this to charge the enemy when the spell clearly says “…Retreat” in the name.
Ehhh…. Some of these are alright, but most of these are still crappy. Mostly because concentration doesn’t solve the issue of an action bottleneck. More over, many of the spell mentioned have issues built into them that should be addressed. Blade Ward — Having this spell gobble up concentration keeps it bad. There’s already better things for a character to cast for damage avoidance that don’t require concentration. Allowing a special reaction is fine, but allowing a special reaction as part of a cantrip is already an established thing that doesn’t necessarily demand concentration. Rather than requiring concentration, I think simple having this spell apply for a limited number of rounds and allowing a special reaction to refresh it works better. It also adds a caster levelling function, that other Cantrips have, that Blade Ward lacks, bringing it into compliance better. Friends — This is a bad spell because it explicitly states people become hostile towards the caster. Rather than explicitly becoming hostile, perhaps it should impose disadvantage on the caster’s deception or insight checks, and limit the number of checks that either suffer or benefit from this advantage/disadvantage-swap based on level of the caster. So a single low level caster gets advantage on a single persuasion/performance check, and disadvantage on a single deception/insight check. Levelling it up gets easy, since extending that out in a similar fashion to blade ward is cake. Removing the instant hostility makes dealing with the use of the spell more organic.
How about TRUE STRIKE Range: 20 ft Duration: concentration, 1 minute You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you an insight into the target’s defences. You gain advantage on all attack rolls against the target. The spell immediately ends if you miss an attack roll. The rest is unchanged
Honestly, Flame Blade is pretty worthless, especially given there is a similarly flavored spell for Warlocks, Wizards and Sorcerers. I It deals 2d8 (only 2 less max damage than a single hit of Flame Blade) and is considered a conjured melee weapon that the user is automatically proficient in. It uses attack rolls instead of spell attack rolls, meaning it can be used for multiple hits per turn if you have Extra attack, such as an level 20 EK being able to make 4 hits with it. It also scales with level, going up to 3d8 at 3rd level, 4d8 at 5th, and so on and 5d8 at 7th. Note that you get the scaling on Odd levels instead of even. That means you get it one level earlier than upcasting Flame Blade would do. One more thing that makes Shadow Blade superior to Flame Blade in every way. It gives advantage on attack rolls in dim or dark areas.
1) Blade Ward: Niche but not bad. You can use it to tank traps that you cant find or have not a familiar to trigger. Also is good to run away from a difficult situation where you would be otherwise dead. Problem is that if you have high AC is better to just use dodge unless its a saving throw spell. 2) Friends: This cantrip is a joke. I loved your version. 3) True Strike: Is a really bad cantrip, but i understand that giving advantage on attacks for free is too strong. The way you make it players will just keep spamming every fight. I would change it to no concentration and that it lasts until you lose sight of the target. 4) Witch Bolt: Not weak at all specially bc most enemies wouldnt know about the range restrictions, but if you are against a mage or inteligent creature its pretty bad. I like that you give it more range. Other option could be that the spell doesnt end unless you lose concentration so if the creature doesnt have ranged options it can only either run away or attack you to make you lose concentration. 5) Bark Skin: I dont know why you couldnt benefit from using a shield. It says you AC cant be less than 16 not that it cant be higher, lets say with plate armor for example. However, i agree that it is a underwhelming spell that in most cases is worst than mage armor. I think it could have more flavor instead of flat out bonuses. Something like turning your blood into poison sap or a Shedding bark skin that protects you from any other effects that require direct contat with your body.
Nice effort, but I find somet of the “fixes” to be underwhelming (in that it is not practical or overpowered). Blade Ward: good Idea to increase the duration to one minute with Concentration, but it should only apply to one attack (either the first damage suffered or when the you choose). Having it last for more than one attack is too much for a cantrip. Friends: The wording is too general, as worded could apply to multiple creatures and spellcasters that use charisma as a spell casting stat for things like dispel magic, counterspell, telekinesis, etc. Whereas the original only applies to one creature. Plus the Observation check is too flimsy. Of course anyone you’re interacting with is going to be observing you. Needs to only affect one creature and still have a way with it all going south on you but not automatically after a minute. True Strike: The answer here is to keep it a cantrip, but like our revised Blade Ward, Guidance, and Resistance, make it last one minute and add a 1d4 to one attack roll of the recipient’s choice during that time, providing the spell hasn’t ended. Witch Bolt: While the range and additional damage increase is nice, the main problem with this spell is that all it does is damage, at the cost of concentration and your future actions (to really get your “money’s worth” out of it). Other First Level spells are better at doing more damage up front, and this is usually more desirable. What the spell needs to do is add a condition like grappled to the target, forcing it to spend an action for athletics check or acrobatics check against you spell DC to escape.
I now want to make an NPC that takes every one of those spells….and uses them to defeat the party. Using True Strike guarantees an Elven Rogue (who get s a free cantrip) never has to worry about having someone tank for them to get sneak attack damage. A lot of the perceived “downsides” to these spells are way different when the DM is running for a solo player. Not everyone has a group to play with and with the current quarantine you’ll see a lot more couples doing solo play at home. Witch Bolt, while it does low per round damage is “guaranteed” damage, no fickle finger of fate to hit stupidity. Friends sucks but you just have to get the heck outta dodge before they come looking for you, much more suited to a “fast talk” ability in a crowded city where you can blend into the crowd before the spell wears off. In fact, our group did exactly that..at night…poor visibility and into the crowd before angry NPCs could find us and in the mean time we had gotten the information we were looking for.
Some of my simple solutions: Blade Ward – just give it all of the benefits of the Dodge Action on top of its existing benefits. True Strike – remove concentration and let it give you advantage on all of your attacks against the target until the target dies. Witch Bolt – change it to a Bonus Action to cause the damage, extend the range out to 60ft, and any movement that moves the enemy farther away from you costs them double (okay, this one isn’t as simple). Barkskin – remove concentration and change the duration to 8 hours. Find Traps – gives advantage on skill checks to find traps, advantage on saving throws to avoid traps, and resistance to the damage from traps.
Honestly, I don’t know how Weird would be “devastating” even if combined with Wisdom saving debuffs? The only thing it does that fear doesn’t do (aside from the external center point) is the damage, and 4d10 is pretty low considering you have to be high level to even cast 9th level spells. On comparison, Fireball as a 3rd level spell does higher average damage (8d6) and is also AoE. Comboing into a 9th level concentration spell to consistently deal 4d10 damage per round to a group of monsters and have them frightened doesn’t seem OP at all to me. I’d even say it would be perfectly balanced if Weird would automaticly cause all related Wisdom saving throws to be rolled with disadvantage by default (which also would be my suggestion to fix it). It’s not like being frightened makes you incapacitated or something.
I really like all of the fixes, except for the True Strike one. What we did with True Strike was keeping it both as a cantrip and an action, still concentration until 1 minute. However, it just gives advantage on the next attack roll against the target, no other unnecessary whamys. It may be from you (Spiritual Weapon as a bonus), or it may be from someone else (your Barbarian or something, who you grant this because the enemy is inmune against your fire spells)
Charm person has much the same issue as friends. It doesn’t automatically become hostile (which is bullshit IMO, should be DM discretion) but it ought to be possible to use it to navigate a complex social scene without burning bridges. Expeditious retreat is useless to an arcane trickster, because all it does is duplicate part of cunning action. Too many bard spells require concentration.
As for instant summons, I think it was fine where it was as think about it, any kind of mcguffin from any range? Worlds easiest quest. Need a magical amulet that opens a planar gate? Poof, I have it now. Its an anti-mcguffin spell, making it near impossible to keep something safe in a longer quest. Think if in lord of the rings that someone had that spell. Want the one ring? Just wave your hands and watch as it appears on your finger.
My players learned to hate True Strike. I had an army of orcs that had a selection of cantrips and their scouts would have True Strike (The PCs would eventually learn the Orc’s winter retreat for their animals was a set of magical hot springs that they then drank and bathed in for months, granting small traces of magic). On their flying mounts, they would strafe the party then take a round or 2 to get back into position for another strafe; plenty of time to recast True Strike. This partially made up for taking up to 3 rounds to attack again and the weakness of a flying mount going down that high up; now my orcs hit essentially every time.
from my personal experience.. like 90% of all Ranger spells are never used because they all require COncentration, and most Rangers feel Hunter’s Mark is to essential to not use, having their concentration already taken up. Slightly less so for some of the newer subclasses where they all seem to have an innate Hunter’s Mark l ike feature.
With the revision barkskin is worse than shield of faith in some cases, shield of faith has the same effect, only without a maximum cap, is a first level spell, but requires concentration up to an hour. Barkskin revised is a second level spell with an AC cap. The only one up I see from revised barkskin is no concentration.
I feel like you might have overtuned Witch Bolt a tad. If you cast it with a 3rd level slot, you would then have a 1 minute long (assuming you keep Concentration) ability to use your action each turn to blast a (new) target within 60′ range for 6d6 lightning damage. That’s actually pretty darn good! Maybe too good? If fighting a tougher foe and the target is low AC and pretty easy to hit, you might use your own movement to dip and and out of range to break the arc yourself, just to secure the higher damage each turn. If not, then the 4d6 automatic damage each turn is also pretty powerful against a high AC foe. While I definitely agree that Witch Bolt as written is garbage, I think this is a bit too much of a buff.
I still don’t see how that makes the spell better than a spell like meteor, power word kill or shapechange . The targets still get two chances to save and have the effect only be a psudo fear and do no damage. That spell effect would also give the targets the chance to just stand still, or move, and dodge every turn. In that regard it’s actually WORSE than the spell fear as that spell at least forces people to run away from you.
I always thought Abjuration needed a better Cantrip. One that’s both flavorful and useful. So I created one myself. Barrier/Minute Barrier/Minor Barrier: A concentration spell that lasts for 1 minute. Creates a 1 inch thick plane of force up to 5 foot square, in a space you can see within 30 ft. The barrier is transparent, and has an AC of 10 (or 10 + your spellcasting mod, I never decided) and 5 HP. At the normal character level thresholds (5th, 11th, and 17th), the barrier’s HP increases by 5. The function, obviously, is to create a small wall that can provide cover and block aggressors. But it’s hardly an unbreakable obstruction, because it’s a Cantrip. Against a single opponent with a normal weapon – such as when blocking a doorway or raised against a sniper – it could last a turn or two. That few turns (or more, if the attacks fail or do little damage), though, could be the difference between life and death. There should probably also be some clause in the spell description about the barrier taking damage if it’s bearing more than a couple hundred pounds of weight, to keep it from being abused too much as an improvised platform.
I would make Mordenkainen’s Sword function as a defensive sword centered around the caster… you can then use your reaction to attack the first thing enter a space within 10 feet of you as a caster, and the sword can then during your own turn, attack one enemy for free either at random (no action), or one of your choosing (bonus action). 1 Minute without concentration… a 7th-Level spell SHOULD do something prominent, after all…
I also found Mordenkainen’s Sword quite a bit underpowered, though I changed it up differently. I kept the concentration, because I have three Wizards in my group of players and they’re pretty OP at juggling different concentration spells to do the same thing, taking off concentration is going to really screw with my games. What I did was allowed it to be up-cast, and instead of simply increasing damage of the sword, each higher level gave them another sword, which they could use to target the same or different targets. Also I increased the range.
I always liked imagining how I could rebalance a spell/item from whatever game I’m playing, and the good thing about DnD is that you can just do it like that, while WoW+ will always stay in your head unless you are a coder competent enough to maintain a large private server, which almost everyone is not.
BLADE WARD: Tweak the original cantrip to require concentration – but each time you maintain it to your next round, you can re-cast it as a bonus action to continue it for another round. TRUE STRIKE: Tweak the original cantrip to give advantage for one weapon attack made as part of casting this cantrip. No continuation beyond the current turn.
Disagreed about your True Strike redesign. Here is the rework that I would tentatively use: TRUE STRIKE Divination cantrip Casting Time: 1 action Range: 150 feet Components: S Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute. You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range that you can see, and the target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, your magic grants you insight into that target’s defenses. For the spell’s duration, you can use a bonus action on your turn to gain advantage on the next attack roll you would make against the target before the start of your next turn. This attack against the target also ignores half cover and three-quarters cover. ************************************** There is an argument that you could even remove the Charisma saving throw requirement for this rework. After all… 1) It requires your action to set up. 2) It is single target only. 3) It requires concentration, so it prevents you from using other concentration spells and you might lose it to an enemy attack. 4) it consistently uses your bonus action, preventing that from being used for other things.
For the Instant Summons spell, the sapphire is not consumed in the casting of the spell. So it’s like Identify in that you need it, but not like Raise Dead where it consumes it. So, yeah, it’s a 1000 gp item to cast, but you can cast it repeatedly without spending more money. Plus by the time you can cast 6th level spells, a 1000 gp spell focus isn’t too bad. Also, Fabricate and the Jewelcrafting skill would probably allow you to reassemble the gem to use again.
Concentration in general is a bad mechanic, and far too many spells have it. You’re basically forced to stay out of a fight if you want to reliably maintain the spell, which automatically makes melee based spells almost useless, sure if you have the War Caster and Resiliant (Constitution) feats your chances drastically go up, but you need to be level 8 or level 4 if you’re variant human to have both feats, and for most games that’s a long ways off, not to mention the sacrifice you’ll make to your ability scores. I’d argue that regular concentration should only be reserved for truly powerful spells, I’m talking 4th level and above, that way the reward is risk is equal to the reward. For lower level spells introduce a “charge” system, for example Shield of Faith now have 3 charges if you get hit and lose concentration one charge disappears, now you have 2 charges and so on. More powerful spells have less charges. This way certain spells become much less punishing for melee based playstyles.
your version of witch bolt is totally unbalanced if overcast. imagine a level 9 witch bolt: thats 18d6 initial damage and 10d6 automatic damage every turn to a previously hit target with no roll to hit. all that for the duration you can keep someone inside your range. that spell can easily deal more single target damage than meteor swarm if set up correctly.
7:43 Is it me, or would True Strike benefit from being cast as a bonus action without being bumped up to a Lv1 Spell? If you can cast it as a bonus action cantrip, suddenly an Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster Rogue, or melee attacking spellcaster like a Paladin can cast this as a bonus action, then attack with advantage until the end of their turn (and yes, open up the classes that can use it, too). Yes, it’s still niche, but it’s a clearly defined niche that isn’t getting it laughed out of the room anymore…
Surprised that Hunger of Hadar wasn’t included in this list. It’s introduced as one of the go-to’s for all Warlocks, but there are just so many problems with it There is nothing in the spell wording to prevent a creature from leaving the AoE aside from the stipulation of difficult terrain. Any creature that is intelligent enough to remember what the world looked like immediately prior to casting knows enough to know to dash toward / away from where they are now and will leave the area soon. Similarly any creature with advantage on perception checks related to smell or hearing would have a reasonable idea of where their prey/attackers and also rush toward the prey/away from their present location Coupled with how long Warlocks are saddled with 2 spell slots; it’s a waste to use one to cast a concentration spell that realistically only works for one round.
Drawmij’s Instant Summons .. is something you cast before you go on the adventure, typically on something you already own, and possibly multiple castings — you can fill your pockets with sapphires. And the thing you summon can contain other things. Need a small chest of healing potions but don’t want the hassle of carting it everywhere? Done. Have six different magic staves and unsure which one to take today? Done. Thinking about leaving that wand of fireballs at home because what use will it be in this next underwater adventure, but don’t want to be embarrassed like that last time you made assumptions and poor choices? Done.
Ah yes, Mordenkainen’s Sword the 7th level that is in almost every way a worse version, than a level 2 cleric spell. That spell actually makes me feel like I am being insulted by being presented with it as an option. I love the modifications that you made to these spells! definitely will use. The only thing is that the bark skin modification is kind of just a worse and more expensive version of shield of faith, if you think about it. I don’t feel like that is quite right yet. That said. You did a great job. Love the revisions, and the article!
True Strike was so much better in the past when it was a 1st level spell that gave you +20 to hit. Never mind it allowed you to ignore concealment from invisibility or darkness. Just give us bonuses back; why is 5 so damn focused on the incredibly shallow and 1-dimensional (dis) advantage system? Also concentration slots are an awful mechanic too.
Weird is bad mechanically, but D&D is a roleplaying game. It’s AMAZING as a roleplayig spell, espECialLY if it’s used as a TRAP against the players. Set it up with a glyph of warding around a Lich’s philactery! Use locks, traps, and other things to buy time for the spell to take effect. It might not be altogether good mechanically, but it wonderful for roleplay, and it builds hype in a dungeon. That said, you’re improvements are wonderful.
Trap the Soul – In the book as a choose-able spell. NOT IN THE BOOKS SPELL DESCRIPTIONS. Why? Oh… uh… because it’s under another spell which subsumed it and no one proof-read to note that anywhere. So… The Necromancers staple for creating permanent undead, phylacteries, and holding power over souls is just a “Whoopsie” moment of 5e. Btw, thanks for the extreme limitation of how many spells per level Wizards. Thanks also for the levels that lack spells of schools. And before I forget thanks for type-casting spells because it’d never make any sense that some groups like a WIZARD who studies an entire field of magic would be barred from their own field because “Thats a Warlock/Sorceror/Etc Spell.” Should have put far more thought and consideration into the books before publishing hard copies, not even getting into the upside down and backwords ones rushed through press.
Now I’m not saying True Strike is a good cantrip but I always hear the same complaint about it which I think misses the point of the spell. Everyone always says “just attack twice” when I feel the real purpose of True Strike, particularly as a cantrip, is to give you advantage on an attack roll that you can’t just do twice, like when you really need a high level spell to hit something (and you of course don’t want to blow two spell slots on it because who would?) so you cast True Strike to get advantage and try to make sure you hit. Again I’m not saying True Strike is good, I just never see anyone bring this up and I kind of feel like the main issue with True Strike is that their just aren’t really any mid to high level spells that actually use attack rolls. One of the best uses I’ve found for it is casting True Strike followed by Melf’s Acid Arrow the following round, again though I feel the real problem is how hard I have to look to find that sort of thing and that I don’t know if bumping Melf’s Acid Arrow up into higher level spell slots is really going to be worth it. I hope you can all see what I’m getting at, because I really think that some more mid to high level spells that actually use attack rolls would make True Strike better, not great but at least not bad/worthless because I do really like it being a cantrip and I’m just disappointed in how little I care about being able to use my spellcasting modifier to make attack rolls with spells.
Simple concept for True Strike: Action: 1 Bonus Action Target: 1 creature in your line of sight Duration: 1 Turn Effect: Until the end of your next turn, the next attack to target the effected target of True Strike, gains advantage against that target. The amount of attacks that gain advantage against the effected target until the end of your next turn increases to 2 attacks at 5th level, 3 attacks at 11th level, and 4 attacks at 17th level. (The intent is for the spell to have some use for the user, but also give the benefit to allies rather than use it for yourself alone, and say an Eldritch Knight will be able to make great use of it and wizards who focus on using their magic to buff their team rather than focus on crowd control.)
You are missing the point of Barkskin, it’s meant for moon druids, who can cast it before transforming to a bear or whatever as their bonus action, as the main weakness of beast forms is that their ac tends to suck, but on the upside, they tend to have good con saves so keeping that concentration up isn’t much of an issue.
Personally, how I would rework Weird, is to utilize the madness table. (Pg. 264 of the DMG) Now, targets who fail the wisdom save must roll on the short term madness table. Weird would no longer be considered a concentration spell and lasts for 1d10 minutes, but would also no longer deal 4d10 psychic damage. Thoughts?
Its gives me a mad idea to create a crazy character who just uses these spells. Or has been cursed. The adventures need to bring him to a place that will restore him to normal, but have to put up with his/her antics till they arrive. You could have a final confrontation with a high level monster just as him/her has been restored to a normal spell caster. (Where did I put my notepad, this is gold!)
True Strike is fabulous. There are obviously better cantrips, but it’s still awesome. IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE USED DURING COMBAT. IT IS SUPPOSED TO Be USED BEFORE COMBAT. It is a SNIPING cantrip. Cast True Strike, then ambush. DUH. (sorry for shift-keying, but why does no one ever realize this? everyone goes on about how it works more poorly than attacking twice. yes it sucks during combat. don’t use it in combat. obvious solution.)
Flame blade fix definitely does too much damage when cast at higher levels. Note at higher levels. At 9th level that’s basically an upcast Fireball in someone’s face every turn. And your fix doesn’t require concentration. For a 2nd level spell it’s just a bit much. Tone down the damage some, or add concentration, maybe. Concentration would make sense, as you’re trying to keep fire in your hand in the general shape of a sword without burning yourself to hell or just make it flutter away into the air harmlessly, maybe singing your opponent’s eyebrows slightly. Maybe have it use dexterity for attack, but allows you to add your spellcasting ability modifier to damage? Maybe that’s too complicated.
Memory loss, cognitive changes, sometimes blurry vision, and high anxiety. I have been experiencing panic attacks, and driving been a issue where my consciousness feels like it’s slipping away while losing control of legs and feet like I’m having leg spasms. I had a MIR, they said that I have degenerative disks decease but wouldn’t cause none of my symptoms. Also I have been having nerve pain through my neck and arms, plus headaches. I don’t know what to do and the medical system here in Arizona is really bad.
Got it! Thank GOD y’all have it right there in this article for us to understand. I’ve had this for about 10 years & contributed it to getting older. I’m 75 now, but every one of those symptoms are what I’ve been experiencing, plus one more, it feels like my head is too heavy for me to hold it straight forward. That’s been happening for about 2 years. I see a neurosurgeon in 3 weeks, maybe I’ll know more then. 🤞