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Spells: the Good, the Bad, and the Downright Orcish Grandmother
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<blockquote data-quote="Mephista" data-source="post: 7116068" data-attributes="member: 6786252"><p>So, new list then. </p><p></p><p>Circle of Death </p><p>Analysis - damage is on par with a spell three levels lower (fireball); damage type different, but still second most common resistance type (fire/necrotic). However, damage radius is 60', for a total of 120', instead of fireball's 20' radius. Nine times larger. Is the lower damage offset by its far larger size? That's a lot of orcs you can kill in a single spell.</p><p></p><p>Ice Storm</p><p>Analysis - One level higher than fireball, but deals 2d8+4d6 damage, which is less than the 8d6 fireball. Double the firing range (300 v. 150), however, and difficult terrain. Both are 20' radius. The most notable thing about this spell is that the difficutl terrain effect effectively halves enemy speed, and at this range? Promises some more long range attacks before they get into attack-the-party range. Control v. Damage trade off. Is it a good balance? I can see that, if your game doesn't include such long range situations, it can be problematic.</p><p></p><p>Jump </p><p>Analysis- One minute, but a first level spell that lets you make difficult jumps in a dungeon crawl. Not sure why this is bad. Maybe too short of a duration? I've never seen where one mintue was too short to get past a challenge.</p><p></p><p>Melf's Acid Arrow</p><p>Analysis - 6d4 damage over two turns on a successful hit, 2d4 on a miss. Bit weaker than Scorching Ray, stronger than flaming sphere short term, but FS can have bonus action to roll around the field. </p><p></p><p>Mordenkainen's Sword</p><p>Analysis - Compared to Bigby's Hand, less damage, same duration/concentration, but two spell levels higher and less non-damage effects. Definitely bad. Oh, and slower too. </p><p></p><p>True Strike</p><p>Analysis - made for Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster, according to some. The big problem is that it requires set up to use. Very niche.</p><p></p><p>Weird</p><p>Anaysis - arguably on par with Mass Suggestion, scaring and damaging instead of charming and controlling. But lasts far shorter and far faster save. Mass Phantasmal Killer. I presume the reason this is listed is because its felt that its not damaging enough for level 9? Or too easy to resist with Wisdom? Too small of a radius?</p><p></p><p>Witchbolt</p><p>Analysis - discussed at length elsewhere</p><p></p><p>Color Spray </p><p>Analysis- same as sleep, basically, but Blinding instead. In cone shape (harder to hit with), and lasts one round... yeah, I can see the problems here. Far too niche. </p><p></p><p>Hex/Hunter Mark - my only problem with these is that they're Concentration on two gish classes with no way to successfully maintain Concentration without multi-classing or feats.</p><p></p><p>Crown of Madness - oh, missed the "use turn every turn" and "every turn roll to save." That's a problem. Suggestion is probably far better and can do much the same thing.</p><p></p><p>Ray of Enfeeblement - Concentration on this, along with save-every-turn. Compare to hold person; RoE can target non-people, but is it worth the loss of the turn? Could be good against Big Bads? I see this as a kind of "use for low level spell slots" type support spell. At least one round of half-damage is pretty nice.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Final Thoughts - I'm not sure about Ice Storm or Circle of Death being bad. They both seem to have their uses, especially when the former is a Druidic terrain control spell. Likewise, I'm not sure about Jump or Ray of Enfeeblement being bad either. The rest I can see having issues.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mephista, post: 7116068, member: 6786252"] So, new list then. Circle of Death Analysis - damage is on par with a spell three levels lower (fireball); damage type different, but still second most common resistance type (fire/necrotic). However, damage radius is 60', for a total of 120', instead of fireball's 20' radius. Nine times larger. Is the lower damage offset by its far larger size? That's a lot of orcs you can kill in a single spell. Ice Storm Analysis - One level higher than fireball, but deals 2d8+4d6 damage, which is less than the 8d6 fireball. Double the firing range (300 v. 150), however, and difficult terrain. Both are 20' radius. The most notable thing about this spell is that the difficutl terrain effect effectively halves enemy speed, and at this range? Promises some more long range attacks before they get into attack-the-party range. Control v. Damage trade off. Is it a good balance? I can see that, if your game doesn't include such long range situations, it can be problematic. Jump Analysis- One minute, but a first level spell that lets you make difficult jumps in a dungeon crawl. Not sure why this is bad. Maybe too short of a duration? I've never seen where one mintue was too short to get past a challenge. Melf's Acid Arrow Analysis - 6d4 damage over two turns on a successful hit, 2d4 on a miss. Bit weaker than Scorching Ray, stronger than flaming sphere short term, but FS can have bonus action to roll around the field. Mordenkainen's Sword Analysis - Compared to Bigby's Hand, less damage, same duration/concentration, but two spell levels higher and less non-damage effects. Definitely bad. Oh, and slower too. True Strike Analysis - made for Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster, according to some. The big problem is that it requires set up to use. Very niche. Weird Anaysis - arguably on par with Mass Suggestion, scaring and damaging instead of charming and controlling. But lasts far shorter and far faster save. Mass Phantasmal Killer. I presume the reason this is listed is because its felt that its not damaging enough for level 9? Or too easy to resist with Wisdom? Too small of a radius? Witchbolt Analysis - discussed at length elsewhere Color Spray Analysis- same as sleep, basically, but Blinding instead. In cone shape (harder to hit with), and lasts one round... yeah, I can see the problems here. Far too niche. Hex/Hunter Mark - my only problem with these is that they're Concentration on two gish classes with no way to successfully maintain Concentration without multi-classing or feats. Crown of Madness - oh, missed the "use turn every turn" and "every turn roll to save." That's a problem. Suggestion is probably far better and can do much the same thing. Ray of Enfeeblement - Concentration on this, along with save-every-turn. Compare to hold person; RoE can target non-people, but is it worth the loss of the turn? Could be good against Big Bads? I see this as a kind of "use for low level spell slots" type support spell. At least one round of half-damage is pretty nice. Final Thoughts - I'm not sure about Ice Storm or Circle of Death being bad. They both seem to have their uses, especially when the former is a Druidic terrain control spell. Likewise, I'm not sure about Jump or Ray of Enfeeblement being bad either. The rest I can see having issues. [/QUOTE]
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