D&D 5E Spells: the Good, the Bad, and the Downright Orcish Grandmother

[Sadras]

double post

 

[Sadras]

Don't allow caltrops.

For a tiny object, our game does not allow coins or other really small objects (tiny does not necessarily mean "as small as possible"). We require rocks the size/weight of about a cannonball and carrying (let along getting them out of your backpack) requires effort (and time). Problem solved.

Yeah I looked at the 3.5 SRD on the web which overall coincides with the 5e attack space. Tiny is 1ft. - 2ft.
That makes sense.

Even if you did not want to solve it that way and allow caltrops, rule that the player has to pull 8 caltrops out of his pouch one at a time with the Use an Object action. 8 rounds is a lot of setup.

Also true, although perhaps I would be more lenient in this regards and wouldnt require 8 full rounds.
One would be able to grab a clump of caltrops and drop them instead of one by one.

 

[Gadget]

I think spells like blade ward and witchbolt are really good in some dungeon settings. When your adventure is kick down the door to the next room and fight the monsters, having resistance in the first round of every combat (blade ward) is really nice. Many dungeon rooms are pretty small, so the 30 foot rule is not as big an issue for witchbolt in those settings.

I'm a big fan of heat metal, talk about autodamage!

But a big shoutout for guidance. Best cantrip in the game in my mind. Can provide an incredible array of bonuses if used well.

As far as Blade Ward is concerned, I think it has its uses, but the action cost to cast it is a limiting factor. But Witch Bolt? I'm curious to know why you think it is the 30' range that is the big drawback of the spell? I mean, yes it is somewhat of a drawback, but hardly the worst. Concentration, single target, requires your action every round, not that great damage, the target can just walk away, get behind cover, or beat on you, can't be used with True Strike due to both being concentration spells to insure an initial hit; you might as well use a damage cantrip, at least you're not out a spell slot if you miss. Or just use Magic Missile if you really have to hit and do some damage.

 

[LapBandit]

Great discussion so far.

One thing I will never understand is why they ever allowed such powerful cantrips in 5E. A full caster is already so powerful and versatile, did they really need to have such incredible at-will damage that scales? I understand the "having something useful to do" argument, but scaling cantrips steps hard on the toes of other classes (specifically archetypes with low or no magic) whose focus is at-will damage in combat.

 

[Mephista]

So, I'm doing some tinkering with some spells for my upcoming game, and I'm looking to fix the really bad spells to make them more useful. From the sounds of it, we're looking at Blade Ward, True Strike, WitchBolt. Are there any other spells that could use a bit of tweaking to make them game-relevant?

Also, while I'm here but completely off topic, would removing Concentration on Hex/Hunter's Mark make them too strong?

 

[Gadget]

[MENTION=6786252]Mephista[/MENTION], I would look at CapnZap's post #114 in this thread for a start. I add a couple in the next post. I would also add Phantasmal Killer to those spells. However, I would also add the caution that, if you're having fun with the spells as is, you don't need to fine tune them to the nth degree, the above is just my personal opinion.

 

[Mephista]

Post #114 doesn't seem to have anything relevant to my eyes? Certainly not anything by either mentioned? Could you give a link?

 

[Harzel]

Post #114 doesn't seem to have anything relevant to my eyes? Certainly not anything by either mentioned? Could you give a link?

I think this is the one they meant.

I really wish WotC would revisit the truly bad spells that few if anyone ever uses.

Why? Because if there are more decent to good alternatives, the selection of spells that you actually consider increase, thereby increasing variety to the game.

I'm especially thinking of the Cleric in my recent campaign. He cast Spirit Guardians in almost every encounter.
And yes, it is THAT good. I really think Clerics need a few more strong contenders, so he would vary himself once in a while.

So new versions that supersede the PHB ones please. Or if they absolutely cannot do that, new spells with clearly similar names preferably with the same initial letter or word ("Circle of Blight", "Ice Vortex", "Jumping", etc)

Here's a list of spells they can start with:

• Circle of Death
• Ice Storm
• Jump
• Melf's Acid Arrow
• Mordenkainen's Sword
• Otto's Irresistable Dance
• True Strike
• Weird
• Witchbolt
• Color Spray

 

[Gadget]

Post #114 doesn't seem to have anything relevant to my eyes? Certainly not anything by either mentioned? Could you give a link?

Sorry, it comes up as #114 in my list, I was too lazy to quote or link, but Harzel quoted it.

 

[Gadget]

Post #114 doesn't seem to have anything relevant to my eyes? Certainly not anything by either mentioned? Could you give a link?

Sorry, it comes up as #114 in my list, I was too lazy to quote or link, but Harzel quoted it.