D&D 5E As a DM - Your Top 3 Most Hated Spells

[LordEntrails]

Wish
Wish
Wish

 

[Coroc]

That's true, that choice is a tactical risk in some scenarios (e.g. caster and a bunch of brutes).

I don't see it as universal risk (won't apply in other scenarios), a sufficient risk (shutting down a high-level spell often is more than worth risk of getting hit), nor does it feel like a magical risk in the vein of what we imagine a spell duel to look like.

Yea, but it gets risky if e.g. more than one of the brutes are physically attacking the wizard. He might shrug of a hit and cancel a second one with shield but he is not the hitpoint king normally. Plus it takes away one of his 3rd level or higher slots.

 

[Lanefan]

You're not just going to leave us hanging, are you? What did you do to it?

First off: explicitly rule that a Counterspell cannot itself be Counterspelled. Easy enough to explain in the fiction by saying that by the time you realize another caster has started a Counterspell and you've got your own going, the first one has resolved. In other words, FIFO. (and it's not a big jump to expand this to say that all spells cast as reactions use FIFO; if multiple people want to cast reaction spells at the same time, roll off to determine sequence) This gets around M:tG-like Counterspell wars.

Second: ignore Jeremy Crawford and rule that a caster cannot interrupt a spell they are in process of casting in order to cast another spell, even if the reaction rules would say or imply that they can.

Third: rule that even though it's cast as a "reaction", casting Counterspell uses up your main action for the round.

Fourth: rule that unlike other spells, Counterspell can only be cast as its own level slot (no up-casting or slot substitution allowed). This limits how many Counters a caster can do in a day and forces some choices to be made.

After all that, let 'em fly. Don't worry about potentially shutting down a PC caster, for two reasons: one, if the enemy caster is busy Countering it means they're not doing anything else that's more dangerous; and two, the PCs in theory have access to Counterspell as well and what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

[Zardnaar]

Polymorph into t-rex
Polymorph into t-rex
Polymorph into t-rex

Polymorph into savager same CR, Tome of Beasts.

 

[Len]

On behalf of a DM who is no longer with us: Glitterdust (3.5)

 

[tetrasodium]

heat metal, while obnoxious is not so bad in my campaign. I made it clear that NPCs would start using it if the players ever did long before anyone did & one day introduced this

Spoiler: Solution

My top three most obnoxious spells are the usual

1. Find familiar: Like others have said, it's just too versatile & risk free to the point that it completely takes over scouting, exploration, & standing watch without loss in efficacy or opportunity cost.
2. Banish: Seriously who thought a 4th level spell with a charisma save that sends someone away for 10 rounds & keeps them incapacitated for the duration to ensure that they helplessly return to the closest you can get to respawn killing in d&d was a good idea?
3. Tiny hut: I have to wonder how this spell passed sanity checking, a third level ritual spell that compares so favorably to the seventh level magnificent mansion is absurd & that's before you even touch on the insanity that goes with the one way glass forcewall it creates & all the spells that target "a point/creature that you can see within range". All in all the author of this spell deserves to be locked in a room with a ruler wielding nun after her chalk throw banishes them.

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

Today I learned that EN World hates some of my favourite characters that I've played . The first wizard I ever played had Tiny Hut, Counterspell and Polymorph. I've also played a sorcerer that used twin spell on Banishment.

Typically silly multiclass cheese gets on my nerves more than spells, but if I had to choose I'd pick:
-Divination because I'm horrible at coming up with cryptic/prophetic prose on the spot
-Major Image because I'm just always at a loss for how effective to make an illusion and it's strength is pretty much determined by how I choose the creatures react to it
-Glyph of Warding because players are just always trying to find ways around its restrictions. Just please stop, your'e a PC, you don't have a home.

 

[tetrasodium]

Surprised by all the dislike of the hut/mansion spells. If players spend a slot on this, they probably don't like encounters while resting. No big deal, surely?
However, having said this, maybe these spells could open portals to another dimension, so no guarantee that hut/mansion will only house players. Other things could get in. Your mansion might be haunted, or have strange creatures scuttling about. That could open up an interesting night for players.

A spell slot?... for tiny hut?... that's quaint.

 

[Nebulous]

5e players are already ridiculous hard to kill once they get to 5thish level, I couldn't imagine adding this one on top.

They are. Also why i removed it.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

At the point where PCs can cast Tiny Hut, they usually don't go on foot. My players are hating the very idea of having their characters walking like pedestrians... I dunno why they hate it so much, but they all insists on having mounts, mules and sometimes hirelings. The 9 medium creature shelter means "the wolves will eat the horses".