D&D 5E What is the most powerful spell?

[mellored]

Plant growth is an extremely effective wall spell with a huge range. It's easy to split the enemy into more manageable chunks or funnel them into a narrow corridor. The only thing keeping it from being amazing is the plant requirement, which are fairly common, and easy enough to carry some around with you.

Greater invisibility not only gives advantage, but also disadvantage to be hit, immunity to OA's, as well a some spells and effects. A fighter/rogue/monk/barbarian/ranger with it can clear a room with minimal damage. Rogues in paticular can dominate with hit and hide, and a nasty OA. Unless the wizard is traveling with only other casters, it should be excellent.

 

[Yaarel]

The Least Useful category includes spells that are unlikely to happen, because of their situation is unlikely, or their potency is seems to weak to achieve much. But this category also includes spells whose spell slot level seems inflated too high.

In this latter context, Flame Strike feels Least Useful. Not that it has no use, but that it is better to use a 3rd-level spell to achieve that amount of area damage, and to reserve the 5th-level slot for a more potent effect.

Maybe if Flame Strike dealt 4d6 radiant and 4d6 fire with no save, it might be roughly adequate for a 5th spell level.

 

[Yaarel]

Plant growth is an extremely effective wall spell with a huge range. It's easy to split the enemy into more manageable chunks or funnel them into a narrow corridor. The only thing keeping it from being amazing is the plant requirement, which are fairly common, and easy enough to carry some around with you.

Greater invisibility not only gives advantage, but also disadvantage to be hit, immunity to OA's, as well a some spells and effects. A fighter/rogue/monk/barbarian/ranger with it can clear a room with minimal damage. Rogues in paticular can dominate with hit and hide, and a nasty OA. Unless the wizard is traveling with only other casters, it should be excellent.

Greater Invisibility. I am a fan of invisibility and am happy to agree. I will nudge it down.

I understood Plant Growth to mean only areas that already have plants growing in it can be effected by this spell. So, carrying around plants wouldnt help. Thus, the targeted area is situational at best.

 

[Yaarel]

The Excellent category includes Greater Invisibility. Not Bad now includes Clairvoyance.

I nudged Plant Growth down slightly − perhaps better than Beacon of Hope − and Magic Mouth down slightly − arguably better than Ray of Enfeeblement.

 

[mellored]

For players who like Plant Growth, its main value is as a barrier for ‘crowd control’ to keep hostiles at bay. It creates a difficult terrain that drastically reduces speed, while also allowing unlimited ‘sculpting’, such as to cover a smaller area or to make paths for allies. The spell synergizes with ranged attacks. That said, it must be outdoors, where plants are, with hostiles arriving from the distance.

Probably the comparison between Plant Growth and Wind Wall as barrier spells for ‘crowd control’, needs to be better understood. Plant Growth seems to be viewed favorably while Wind Wall is viewed as meh.

For now, Plant Growth ‘rises’ to Less Useful just ‘below’ Wind Wall. But keep scrutinizing them to help the rankings stabilize.

Wind wall only stops small flying creature and arrows,. Beyond the horde of pixies or being ambushed by archers, it won't come up that often. Even a kobold can simply walk right past unhindered.

Plant growth stops any ground movement. Any melee enemy that is 1 turn away, is now 4 turns away. It works on from kobolds, to orcs, to terrasque. And no concentration.
Though, with the obvious downside of needing plants.

 

[Yaarel]

Finally, what to do with the 5th-level Commune type spells? I dont like them and never use them. Expending a spell slot feels like the wrong gaming mechanism for what is little more than a hint from the DM.

Generally, if a DM needs players to know something, then one way or an other, the DM will inform them. And if a DM needs players to not know something, then the DM will refuse to inform them. And if it doesnt matter, then it doesnt matter.

For me the Commune spells are problematic and dont find use in my games.

 

[Yaarel]

Wind wall only stops small flying creature and arrows,. Beyond the horde of pixies or being ambushed by archers, it won't come up that often. Even a kobold can simply walk right past unhindered.

Plant growth stops any ground movement. Any melee enemy that is 1 turn away, is now 4 turns away. It works on from kobolds, to orcs, to terrasque. And no concentration.
Though, with the obvious downside of needing plants.

I agree Plant Growth is hypothetically powerful. The thing is, I dont think I have ever had a character cast it, and I often enough play Druids. Or even seen someone else cast it. The wide area overgrowth seems to restrict its usefulness to a surprising degree. Most of my games are urban and indoors, and opportune moments for the spell dont seem to come up that often. The spell could be highly effective in an open battlefield between two armies, for example. But in my games, it just never really worked out that way. You could even cast it on seaweed on the open sea, but I have never seen it happen.

 

[Yaarel]

[MENTION=6801209]mellored[/MENTION]

I think your initial assumption is a good suggestion. For Plant Growth, bring your own plant with you. In other words, the plants spring forth from the casters own Self, spreading outward − rooting, sprouting, unfurling leaves, branches growing and hardening − across all of the unattended surfaces. Across floors, tabletops, up walls. The Material component would be a handful of seeds, but obviating that with a casting focus, like a wand, is ok.

Hypothetically, even the stone floor of an old castle can be a place where certain plants can grow. The new plants remain after the casting of the spell. Whether the plants endure depends on how hospitable the environment is. Indoor plants are possible too.

But as-is, Plant Growth seems painfully restrictive (possibly even Least Useful, albeit it is hypothetically powerful).

 

[mellored]

I agree Plant Growth is hypothetically powerful. The thing is, I dont think I have ever had a character cast it, and I often enough play Druids. Or even seen someone else cast it. The wide area overgrowth seems to restrict its usefulness to a surprising degree. Most of my games are urban and indoors, and opportune moments for the spell dont seem to come up that often. The spell could be highly effective in an open battlefield between two armies, for example. But in my games, it just never really worked out that way. You could even cast it on seaweed on the open sea, but I have never seen it happen.

I suggest you try it out. Druids can easily swap spells.

But I think my favorite part is how pushes you to RP a druid. You can actually say "let's take this fight into the woods, where I am more powerful", both in game, and meta-game.

 

[snickersnax]

@
• I can see how Magic Mouth might have use as a *ritual* (heh, "Help! Help! A thief is stealing me!"). But I remain unconvinced about its utility as one of the few prepared or known spells for adventuring, and whose cost of spell slot means one less slot for an upcoming encounter.

At some point, I intend to put a list together of all of the rituals. And rank those according to your usefulness as rituals.

Right, forgot the thread rules about rituals for your list. Since its a permanent spell, it doesn't even need to take up a spell slot. Almost all of its adventuring utility can be prepared during downtime.