D&D (2024) How to balance the shield spell?

[shadowoflameth]

One of the most discussed spell of 5E is the shield. It's either a good spell on a wizard or broken on a high AC fighter/wizard/EK combo. Or pala/sorc combo.

So how to make it more balanced and still useful and have it a use as a shield?

Shield:
1st level spell
1 Action cast
Duration 12hours(so sorcerers can have some use with extend spell)

you increase your AC by 1. If you have one empty hand or you use your spell focus in that hand, spells AC bonus increases to +3.
If you suffer a critical hit, you can end the spell to turn that critical into a normal hit.

if you use 3rd level slot, AC bonus is +2/+4 and you can block one crit without ending the spell as an reaction, 6th level slot is +3/+5 and you can block two crits without ending the spell as an reaction, and 9th level slot is +4/6 and you can block three crits without ending the spell as an reaction.

My take is that it doesn't need a change. Shield is a strong spell choice, but high AC does not break the game. Other characters already have access to high AC without shield at fairly low levels. There are attacks that don't care what your AC is and no one has limitless reactions or 1st level slots. People who use Great Weapon Master can attest that especially at higher levels, a 5pt. swing vs. AC can be trivial to some enemies.

 

[Gadget]

The main problem with Shield, as I understand it, is that characters with high AC already (i.e. armor & shields mostly, but sometimes other sources) get more mileage out of it. It's fine for your typical robe wearing Wizard, even if they can use all their first level spell slots on it in tier 3 or 4 play. So mainly dippers, Arcane Initiates, and hybrid classes & sub-classes.

Maybe make it so it only works if you don't have any armor or shield (like Mage Armor)? Or you can raise the level. Is it still broken as a level 2 spell (that would cut down on the dippers and Arcane Initiates)? Perhaps it only provides half cover (+2 AC) for a first level slot, and three quarters cover (+5 AC) for a higher level slot? Or, it could just give you an AC of 17-18 for the next round and negates Magic Missile?

 

[Horwath]

That's a no-go for me. Totally different feel to the flavor of the spell. It's supposed to be a momentary protection, not a long term one. The long term one is mage armor. Whatever is done with it, I'd want it to remain a reaction or bonus action, and last no more than the end of your next turn.

yes, one imitates armor, and other imitates a shield.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

yes, one imitates armor, and other imitates a shield.

What if Mage Armor was self-only, and scaled at higher spell levels?

Mage Armor
As long as you aren't wearing armor, a protective magical force surrounds you until the spell ends. Your AC becomes 11+ your Spellcasting Ability Score modifier. The spell ends if you don armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action.
At higher levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, your AC increases by 1 for each slot level above 1st.

Notes:
With a 1st level spell, your AC is likely 14-16 (Comparable to original Mage Armor at AC 13+Dex mod.)
With a 3rd level spell (minimum 5th level caster), your AC may be 17-18 for 8 hours. This is like plate mail for a warrior at 5th level.
With a 5th level spell (minimum 9th level caster), your AC is likely 20 for 8 hours.
With a 9th level spell (minimum 17th level caster), your AC is likely 25 for 8 hours.
With Epic Boons, your Spellcasting Ability Modifier can increase and push it higher.

This version lets the Mage invest more powerful magic for better protection, and it pairs better with the Shield Spell for them. (Normally, warriors and gishes benefit most from the Shield spell because of their higher ACs.) AC 25 for a Mage may seem high, but we're talking high level spell slots. And generally, high-CR monsters have such good accuracy, it's usually not worth it to spend spell slot resources on AC. This adds an option.

 

[Mistwell]

yes, one imitates armor, and other imitates a shield.

Except it's the wrong shield. It's obviously a forcefield shield, not the kind you carry. It's been that way from the very beginning of the game:

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Except it's the wrong shield. It's obviously a forcefield shield, not the kind you carry. It's been that way from the very beginning of the game:

Is this the shield spell or protectionfrom nonmagical arrows?

 

[aco175]

Is this the shield spell or protectionfrom nonmagical arrows?

I forget which spell uses a rubber ball as the material component, but the picture looks like non-magical arrows. I see these immages for some thoughts.

I always pictured it like this though.

Either way, fixing it to prevent some character choices from using it to trump some fights might work if you change the spell to work on PCs wearing no armor or maybe light armor. Might not make the most sense flavor wise though.

Another thought is the just limit it to wizards and not some of the classes or sub-classes that are the perceived problem.

 

[Krachek]

I think the OP version is even more broken than the actual spell. we are getting out of the problem!

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I think the only way to balance shield is to cap the bonus so that gish type characters that already have good AC can't use it to get 25+. Something like "Shield: increase your AC by +5 up to a maximum of 20 until the start of your next turn"

 

[Gorck]

I'm not sure the Shield spell is the problem. As much as I'm probably beating a dead horse here, the problem is twofold: Multiclassing and Feats that allow you to borrow from other classes. Has anyone ever seen an OP build that doesn't involve Multiclassing? That and Feats like Artificer Initiate, Eldritch Adept, Magic Initiate, Martial Adept, and Metamagic Adept all contribute to 99.9%* of these OP builds. Sure they increase flexibility in character choices, but at what cost?

*That's an actual statistic. I conducted an extensive survey to arrive at this figure. Just don't ask me to show my data.