D&D 5E Wind Walk

[DaveDash]

I'm current running an underdark campaign, and the party is currently at a travelling phase of the adventure. The Lore Bard decided to pick up Wind Walk as one of his magical secrets spells, and main it's a fricken pain as written.

The fact though that they can turn into a mist at will (takes a minute) and back again over the course of the day, without concentration makes this spell a huge thorn in my side. Skip entire sections of a campaign? No worries! Scout entire dungeons? No worries!

Basically I've had to throw a ton of caveats around the spell, and told the party that I want this spell to only really be a travel spell, and scouting spell (with some risk attached). Some of the limitations I have put on it:
You can't talk to each other while in mist form, if you want to formulate a strategy you need to go back into standard form. Although my group's Wizard just uses the Rary's Telepathic Bond ritual to bypass this limitation.
You can't concentrate on any spells while in mist form.
Enemy monsters get an intelligence check DC15 to determine if they can figure out that you are a threat as a mist.
You can't target the mist with spells, so you can't cast invisibility on a party member and have him become the ultimate invincible scout.

Basically I don't want to nerf my players when they think creatively, but as written this spell could completely break my game. So far they're OK with all of the above, but it's still a very powerful spell.

Any got any experience with this spell or any ideas to fairly put limits on its power?

 

[Paraxis]

I think it is a matter of changing expectations of what type of adventures 14th level plus characters can undertake and what is challenging for them. They have access to 7th level spells like teleport. Traveling on foot or mount is something beneath them now.
So you want to set up encounter zones where they need spells like this to access.

Magical castles might have wards against teleportation, and wards that make creatures revert to their true form. They could be adventuring on floating islands that need this spell to get anywhere, or a magical plane of air that would blow them off course if they use it so need to teleport.

I agree they shouldn't be able to talk to each other. I would have no issues with them concentrating on spells while in mist form.
As far as targeting them with spells, I would most assuredly want to target them with spells so I could dispell the effect or cause damage to them.

DC 15 to notice them as a threat is way to high in my opinion, at this level things know what powerful magic can do so when mist starts floating around the room they should be on alert to it and see it as a perceived threat almost all of the time.

The spell doesn't make it easier to hide, sure they could cast invisibility but they still need to make stealth rolls and someone in the party is going to screw that up just like always.

So is it a good spell, ohh sure it is. But it doesn't change much of the encounters themselves it just bypasses all the mundane walking about stuff.

You can still have magic traps, doors, and wards that they need to bypass.

 

[pukunui]

When the druid took this spell, it rendered my ranger's exploration abilities useless. That was mildly annoying.

 

[green_destiny]

Some thoughts:

1. The spell just says resistance from damage from non magical weapons but it doesn't say it will not harm them at all.

2. AOE spell damage effects are not exempted too.

3. They may not trigger physical traps but they should trigger magical traps or magical familiars.

4. Make it seem a disadvantage for them to be in mist form at certain scenarios. Like they can be blown away by a strong gust of wind (or wind spell), or a magical jar will suck/trap them in a huge clear jar container. Lol.

5. Or a rumor spreads around town that a certain mists sometimes creeps into the night, and spreads fear to villagers. Forcing some of the villagers/camps have some measure to counter them.

 

[iserith]

I'm current running an underdark campaign, and the party is currently at a travelling phase of the adventure. The Lore Bard decided to pick up Wind Walk as one of his magical secrets spells, and main it's a fricken pain as written.

The fact though that they can turn into a mist at will (takes a minute) and back again over the course of the day, without concentration makes this spell a huge thorn in my side. Skip entire sections of a campaign? No worries! Scout entire dungeons? No worries!

Basically I've had to throw a ton of caveats around the spell, and told the party that I want this spell to only really be a travel spell, and scouting spell (with some risk attached). Some of the limitations I have put on it:
You can't talk to each other while in mist form, if you want to formulate a strategy you need to go back into standard form. Although my group's Wizard just uses the Rary's Telepathic Bond ritual to bypass this limitation.
You can't concentrate on any spells while in mist form.
Enemy monsters get an intelligence check DC15 to determine if they can figure out that you are a threat as a mist.
You can't target the mist with spells, so you can't cast invisibility on a party member and have him become the ultimate invincible scout.

Basically I don't want to nerf my players when they think creatively, but as written this spell could completely break my game. So far they're OK with all of the above, but it's still a very powerful spell.

Any got any experience with this spell or any ideas to fairly put limits on its power?

It sounds like they're really interested in using the spell because they're spending time finding ways around your limitations. So I wouldn't seek to put limitations on it anymore. It could be your players would just rather montage getting from Point A to Point B in some cases.

If you're got a linear plot you want them to experience during travel, I'd just say so. "Look, I wanted to emphasize the day to day travel in this part and offer some opportunities for exploration and social interaction. What do you think?" Seek their buy-in on establishing their characters' interest in and connections to your plot, then carry on.

As well, if they're skipping over the deadly perils their bold adventurers should be confronting, then are they still managing to create an exciting, memorable story as a result of play? If they are not, then wind walk is not helping them achieve the goals of play and that's worth addressing directly.

Personally, I'd set about creating incentives for them to travel without using the spell - stopping to smell the roses provides opportunities for finding treasure or gaining other benefits. You'd just have to telegraph that ahead of time so they can make a meaningful choice: Slow our roll and get a shot at benefits or get misty with it. If you can balance that creatively with an external time pressure and perhaps even a cost for arriving too early to Point B, there'd be a nice tension created.

 

[DaveDash]

Good advice all, thank you, and iserith that is particularly good advice.

It's not so much the travel component that I am worried about, in a sense they will stop and explore areas because they don't want to miss out on loot and XP, the part that I find annoying is their ability to effectively remove the 'fog of war' with this spell through scouting.
They can explore every room, go under doorways, whisk along the roof of caverns, bypass difficult challenges with ease, and even if they DO get spotted they can move so fast that it almost doesn't matter.

Magical traps are one way to stop them, and also certain magical spells. My thoughts are that intelligent monsters who understand and have access to magic will know of this ability and take measures to defend their abodes, but at the same time I don't want to screw over my players at ever turn "Oh yet another BBEG who has a Wall of Force guarding his lair". I guess it's a fine balance of letting them feel powerful and clever, but at the same time, not completely ruining the exploration pillar of the game.

I do agree that higher level abilities change the scope of the game when players can fly, teleport, etc, but Wind Walk seems like it's in a league of its own in terms of annoyance. My problem is I like to run modules 'as written' and not thwart players specifically. If the module doesn't have a trap, I don't like putting one there just to slow them down. However I may have to give this more thought.

 

[miniaturehoarder]

If you think the spell will be a problem, simply remove it from your game. You are running it. Just tell the player that they will have to pick a different spell as now that you understand what the spell does, you are not going to be allowing such a bypass everything type spell into your campaign

Edit. But by 14th level there are some expected changes in game style. Party should be able to afford things like flying mounts and airships by that time.

 

[ad_hoc]

It sounds like it might be time to end the campaign and start a new one.

As other posters have said, there is a different style of play that happens. The characters' power is beyond that of mere mortals now.

Gone are the days of raiding the next orc barracks or mess hall. If you want that back you will have to start over.

 

[Dausuul]

I'll have to look at the spell description again, but unless it specifically indicates otherwise, I'd rule that your "mist form" retains its shape and overall appearance. You're a humanoid figure made of white fog, like a photo-negative of a wraith. As such, you can't just stroll through some monster's living room and expect it to ignore you. It may not know quite what you are, but it knows something is up. Intelligent monsters will raise the alarm. Even unintelligent monsters will be on guard. You can scout all you like, but if you put the enemy on alert in the process, it's not clear you gained anything. You know about them, but they know about you.

Also consider the possibility that a few monsters may be able to trap your wind-walking shape! A spellcaster could throw a wall of force around both you and her... and then you're stuck in a bubble, unable to do anything for a full minute, while the spellcaster hits you with a barrage of blasting spells. You don't have to do it often. Just one experience like that would make the survivors much more cautious.

Wind walk would still be very powerful--as it should be, given its level--but not a win button for exploration.

 

[miniaturehoarder]

Also dependning on now common vampires are, being gassy might be stymied in a lot of areas. Underdark checkpoints can be kept sealed as a default.