Spells that are annoying to DMs

[Drowbane]

Web. Slows the game way down, trivializes encounters, and makes non-caster PCs bored.


Web is just a stupid spell in general. 1 Mage with a crossbow could kill an army of level 1 fighters with it.

unless of course someone in that *army* had... you know... ranged weapons? Naw, never happen.

 

[Set]

Thirding Evard's Black Tentacles. We had to house-rule it to make it go faster.

Any spell that stops the game for 30 minutes (and doesn't come with a free pizza) needs to go.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

Another vote for Mordenkainen's Disjunction. No one in one of my games has ever cast Evard's Black Tentacles and thank goodness for that!

Cheers


Richard

 

[Emirikol]

I'm trying to force my players to use all those other books they've bought and also make it hard to defeat nature (we run a lower magic D&D game in Hyboria).

Campaign Magic Bumps
The following spells, their equivalents, and magical items are bumped up one level. Classes affected may substitute a different spell:
1ST) Create water, Command, Endure Elements, Entangle, Magic missile, Hold person, Lesser orb spells (CA), Revification (CD)
2ND) Command undead, Continual flame, Invisibility, Locate object, Scorching ray, Spider climb
3RD) Create Food & Water, Fireball, Firebrand, Fly, Lightning bolt, Invisibility Sphere; Speak with Dead
4TH) Dimension Door, Evards Black Tentacles, Ice storm, Imbue with Spell Ability, Invisibility greater, polymorph Stoneskin
5TH) Cloudkill, Commune, Raise Dead (bumped two levels), Polymorph
6TH) Disintegrate
7TH) Teleport, mass teleport

All non-core spells are subject to DM approval and if same as core spell, they will be bumped

 

[Voadam]

Any spell that lasts over a series of rounds and requires many different rolls with modifiers, and changes for the situation. Entangle, for example.

Disjunction screwed over a fight of mine once. It was going to be the PCs vs. a mummy boss. The room had many open spiked pit traps with fire at the bottom. The mummy had a ring of fire resistance or something (it was a higher level game). I gave him bull rush and all that good stuff. He was going to knock pcs into the pits, throw them in, and what have you. When they cast fire spells on him, they'd be in for a big surprise! I was looking forward to this fight. But no.. First action use in combat was the mage casting disjunction and got the result that the target is sent to another plane(er.. I'm pretty sure it was dusjunction). My mummy failed his save. Poor mummy. (;_

I guess I could have lied about my save, but I'm not that kind of DM.

Prismatic spray? http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prismaticSpray.htm

Disjunction http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magesDisjunction.htm doesn't send things to other planes.

 

[donremus]

Ray of Enfeeblement - ok, there goes my big bad who now can't hit a barn door with a twig. Anything that gives a touch attack (too many of these IMO) and can strip stats that easily is a pain in the ass.

Hey whoa there Mr DM! I only just acquired that spell and haven't even used it yet lol

 

[delericho]

Dispel Magic spells and Polymorph spells.

Summon spells would be added to the list, too, but there are downloadable documents with all the stat-blocks, and that helps a lot.

 

[heirodule]

Comprehend Languages.

There's just something really annoying about working on a great handout that has some strange script written on it or working for hours and hours on a new spoken language for the character's to have to muddle through and once it comes into play one of the spellcasters simply casts Comprehend Languages and undoes hours of work.

That's why you try to plan in advance. "Oh, what if they have comprehend languages".

You can take the route of saying that Comp Lang gives a literal, wooden translation, and theys till have to figure it out.

 

[marune]

I can't believe no one said it before : Antimagic field.

 

[True_Blue]

I dislike Resist Energy, Mass. It basically makes using anything with elemental damage iffy. So a guy can cast one spell, and everyone in the group is basically immune to whatever element he wants to choose at the time.

I *might* like it better if you had to choose the element at memorizing time. I'd rather a person haev to sacrifice a spell for each person, makes more sense to me.