Inflict Wounds = Underrated?

[cbwjm]

This sort of experience - getting surprised by a spell's effect I've chosen to use - is why I've shifted away from using spells from the book when DMing. Instead, I will make up similar, simpler versions that don't follow the standard rules. For example, a goblin shaman in my game would be listed as:

Just like a goblin, with the following spells:
Inflict - melee attack +4, 2d6 necrotic damage. Can be empowered once to attack 3 times (separate targets)
Spirit shield - as a reaction, grants +5 AC to ally for 1 attack (recharge 4-6)
Spirit warg (concentration) - appears for 1d4 rounds, bites someone each round (+4 melee, 1d8+2 piercing)


Of course, this doesn't work when using an adventure as written. I miss 4e's monsters.

I tend to do something similar to this but with actual spells, makes it easier to run without flipping through the book if you are unsure of what a spell does. A goblin shaman with 1st level casting ability might look like the following:

Sacred Flame, 60 feet, Dexterity [12], 1d8 radiant/0
OO Inflict Wounds, +4 melee, 3d10 necrotic

I only found out how much damage inflict wounds deals the other day when I was flicking through the spell descriptions, I've never used it before so hadn't considered that it could be so damaging.

 

[Shiroiken]

It's fairly underrated at low levels, partially because 5E is the first edition that actually made it worth using. Guiding Bolt sees more play, IME, partially because players feel that the Advantage benefit is worth the 1.5 average damage lost, not to mention it's ranged. Like many level 1 attack spells, however, they both loses a lot of benefit once cantrips deal extra damage at level 5.

 

[Volund]

The crit factor is what makes inflict even more scary imo.

I had this happen in a game I was running last week. A level 2 cleric ran up and slapped the evil priest with a critical Inflict Wounds on the first round of combat for 30+ damage which was enough to kill her and end the fight. I was worried about a TPK from a few rounds of Spirit Guardians, but the poor woman never had a chance to do anything at all.

 

[Coroc]

It is heavily underated especially at low Levels. It is far better than in earlyer Editions, except it does not heal undead anymore.In a Combo with Spirit Guardians cast as an obstacle it makes low - mid Level clerics a deadly solo opponent.

 

[Yavathol]

I tend to do something similar to this but with actual spells, makes it easier to run without flipping through the book if you are unsure of what a spell does. A goblin shaman with 1st level casting ability might look like the following:

Sacred Flame, 60 feet, Dexterity [12], 1d8 radiant/0
OO Inflict Wounds, +4 melee, 3d10 necrotic

Slightly off-topic, but there is a blogger out there who, using this approach, has compiled some really handy all-in-one stat blocks:
https://gsllc.wordpress.com/2017/03...he-yawning-portal-rpg-bandofmisfits-stitched/

 

[Blue]

This sort of experience - getting surprised by a spell's effect I've chosen to use - is why I've shifted away from using spells from the book when DMing. Instead, I will make up similar, simpler versions that don't follow the standard rules. For example, a goblin shaman in my game would be listed as:

Just like a goblin, with the following spells:
Inflict - melee attack +4, 2d6 necrotic damage. Can be empowered once to attack 3 times (separate targets)
Spirit shield - as a reaction, grants +5 AC to ally for 1 attack (recharge 4-6)
Spirit warg (concentration) - appears for 1d4 rounds, bites someone each round (+4 melee, 1d8+2 piercing)

Of course, this doesn't work when using an adventure as written. I miss 4e's monsters.

That so feels like 13th Age's monsters. Here's the Hobgoblin Warmage from the core book:

Hobgoblin Warmage
5th level caster [humanoid]
Initiative: +6

Warstaff +8 vs. AC—15 damage

R: Fireblast +10 vs. PD (up to 2 nearby enemies in a group)—10 fire damage (or 20 if used against a single target), and the target loses its next move action

C: Concussive blast +10 vs. PD (all enemies engaged with the warmage)—10 force damage, and the warmage pops the target off of it
Natural 20: The target is also dazed (save ends).

AC 20 PD 14 MD 19 HP 70

(R: is Ranged, and C: is close - not melee but doesn't trigger opportunity attacks. PD and MD are Physical Defense and Mental Defense - it's 4e-like in those regard that defenses are attacked instead of saves made.)

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Slightly off-topic, but there is a blogger out there who, using this approach, has compiled some really handy all-in-one stat blocks:
https://gsllc.wordpress.com/2017/03...he-yawning-portal-rpg-bandofmisfits-stitched/

Nice! I had been printing off customized spell card pdf “books” from dnd-spells.com but this will be much easier for planned encounters. Thank you for posting the link!

And just to bring things a bit back on topic, I’m inspired to incorporate a few cultists or acolytes with Inflict Wounds prepared in my Curse of Strahd big boss battle!

 

[Blue]

It is heavily underated especially at low Levels. It is far better than in earlyer Editions, except it does not heal undead anymore.In a Combo with Spirit Guardians cast as an obstacle it makes low - mid Level clerics a deadly solo opponent.

This is one of those "good for NPCs, not so good for PCs". Mainly because an NPC can nova a full load of spells in a single encounter.

To cast Spirit Guardians, you need to be at least 5th level. After casting Spirit Guardians, an NPC cleric is free to use their other 3rd level slot (5d10 - 27.5 average on hit) and all three second level slots (4d10 - 22 average on hit) on Inflict Wounds. And that's 5 rounds including Spirit Guardians, combat is probably over.

But for PCs, their cantrips have improved at 5th and if they are using an action to cast damage, Sacred Flame (9 on a hit) lags by more than half but doesn't use up any spell slots and is usable at range to help keep Concentration for Spirit Guardians.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I was looking at Cause Wounds in conjunction with Divine Soul and metamagic Distant and Empowered Spell...

 

[Warpiglet]

In our last session my players went up a group of Hobgoblins and Goblins including a Shaman. Normally I do my homework, but I figured I already knew it all since this was a 1st-2nd level adventure. When it came time for the Shaman to burn some spells and harass the players I hit one of them for 27 damage (well-rolled non-crit) with a 1st level Inflict Wounds. We then quickly had to look and see if that amount of damage would flat out kill her (which as the DM I would have fudged the numbers to not do that).

I currently play a Cleric and a Mystic (Starfinder), and I've always overlooked the damaging Cleric spells like Inflict or Cause Wounds because I never thought they were worth it. For some reason it never dawned on me that the 5th Edition version is 3d10 for a 1st level spell, probably because older editions were much more similar in strength to the healing counterpart.

Does this make Inflict Wounds the most damaging single target 1st level spell for any caster?

I realize I am late to add this...

I have been the DM for the most recent campaign. We faced off against a goblin shaman as well as three hobgoblins.

The hobgoblins are thinking surrender (since only the leader is left) and the shaman steps forward and rolls a 20! for inflict wounds on a second level character.

Well...I was not pleased. The first three rolls were 9, 9, 2 (20 damage!) with three d10 to go. I assumed that was that and "fudged," since the character engaged in the fight and did nothing supremely stupid. Hell, he just ran up and got it.

I hate fudging and was overjoyed to learn that as Aasimar he is resistant to necrotic damage!

Any other character would have been dead, dead, dead.

Ever since then I have been thinking about characters that use sinister touch spells like that. A cleric wizard (necromancer) might be kind of cool. Perhaps a cleric warlock with upscaled inflict wounds and fiend or hexblade with soul-sucking healing might be fun with it as well!