So thinking about vampiric touch and flame blade some more...now embracing that its a wizard or EK casting these spells...I think they should be ranked even lower. As an EK, I would much rather cast bless on myself as my concentration spell and hit a person twice than have this one on.
Flame Blade as a 1st level spell. It might do a little bit more damage than my weapons but just a little. And I gain access to fire damage, which has its uses. But considering I am using concentration and a spell slot for it, that seems balanced. In that measure, VT might be an excellent level 1 or probably a weak level 2. I could cast heroism at level 1 and get automatic "healing" with temp hp every round instead of risking it with the VT.
Looking over the list some more:
Barkskin: This one might need to go into the excellent level 1 category. Comparing it to Mage Armor and Shield of Faith, its middle of the road in terms of duration (although mage armor's lack of concentration is a BIG selling point). It might be the strongest AC buff in certain situations, or the weakest depending. But there is nothing so good about that warrants the 2nd level slot.
Glyph of Warding: Funny enough, this is actually one of the strongest spells in the entire game. Its standard use as a trap is already quite good, but what really makes it heinous is the fact that a concentration spell cast through it does not require concentration anymore. So for example, your wizard could have a book that he keeps on a shelf. He activates a series of glyph of wardings that cast buffs on him (or someone else that touches the glyph). These buffs no longer require concentration so they can be stacked up. Then you go teleport out and kill and the bad guy.
As a setup spell, it fundamentally breaks the balance concentration adds to the game...its actually quite broken.
Bless: It might be time to bump this spell up. Bless is one of the best overall buff spells in the game, effectively ~+2 attack, ~+2 saving throws. My players at 20th level are still using this spell. There are several spells I keep wanting to drop lower, because I'm comparing them to bless. Crusader's mantle for example....I would rather have bless on 3 people (or 5 people at 3rd which is likely to cover your party).
Counterspell: Shift to Excellent level 3. The thing is this spell gets better and better the higher levels you go. The ability to burn your reaction to cancel the action of an enemy spellcaster is so good...and efficiency wise killing your low level spells to counter theirs is gold.
Flame Blade as a 1st level spell. It might do a little bit more damage than my weapons but just a little. And I gain access to fire damage, which has its uses. But considering I am using concentration and a spell slot for it, that seems balanced. In that measure, VT might be an excellent level 1 or probably a weak level 2. I could cast heroism at level 1 and get automatic "healing" with temp hp every round instead of risking it with the VT.
Looking over the list some more:
Barkskin: This one might need to go into the excellent level 1 category. Comparing it to Mage Armor and Shield of Faith, its middle of the road in terms of duration (although mage armor's lack of concentration is a BIG selling point). It might be the strongest AC buff in certain situations, or the weakest depending. But there is nothing so good about that warrants the 2nd level slot.
Glyph of Warding: Funny enough, this is actually one of the strongest spells in the entire game. Its standard use as a trap is already quite good, but what really makes it heinous is the fact that a concentration spell cast through it does not require concentration anymore. So for example, your wizard could have a book that he keeps on a shelf. He activates a series of glyph of wardings that cast buffs on him (or someone else that touches the glyph). These buffs no longer require concentration so they can be stacked up. Then you go teleport out and kill and the bad guy.
As a setup spell, it fundamentally breaks the balance concentration adds to the game...its actually quite broken.
Bless: It might be time to bump this spell up. Bless is one of the best overall buff spells in the game, effectively ~+2 attack, ~+2 saving throws. My players at 20th level are still using this spell. There are several spells I keep wanting to drop lower, because I'm comparing them to bless. Crusader's mantle for example....I would rather have bless on 3 people (or 5 people at 3rd which is likely to cover your party).
Counterspell: Shift to Excellent level 3. The thing is this spell gets better and better the higher levels you go. The ability to burn your reaction to cancel the action of an enemy spellcaster is so good...and efficiency wise killing your low level spells to counter theirs is gold.