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

[Todd Roybark]

CleverNickName...you definitely should ban s'mores then....no deserts for A-holes.

I've been in your shoes. Do you think this is an indication that your group does not like the default assumption on the adventuring day?

In a 6 hour session, my main (aka old friends) group will typically have 1 combat ...but it is a Deadly Encounter and will tax their resources to the max.

They like this, I like this, and the default assumption in the DMG can go the way of all limiting assumptions and die a gurgling death in a ditch with a sword rammed thru it's bum. ( also works for dictators).

Nice house rules BTW.

 

[cbwjm]

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

I have no dinosaurs in my game so if a player ever asks to polymorph someone into a t-rex my response is "what's a t-rex?"

 

[Todd Roybark]

Or they can polymorph into 1970's glam rockers.

The AC of Steve Peregrine Took is much lower than a dinosaur's.

 

[Nebulous]

No because the PCs are able to see outside and can just ambush anyone who tries something like that if they don't have a burrowing speed or outclass the PCs by enough to trivially bypass wall of force.

I mean yes that's true, but what if 100 really determined kobolds wanted to get inside that damn weird looking hut?

 

[DrunkonDuty]

My sole experience with DnD 5e is watching Critical Role.

From that I'd say the most problematic are:

any form of shape changing/polymorph. What numpty came up with a spell that gave the subject a sh!t tonne of free hit points? What was wrong with the the way previous editions did it. ie: your hp are your hp, don't matter what shape you are.

anything that enables the 5 minute adventuring day. (honestly this is personal preference. If, as someone above pointed out, you are happy to play this way and the GM prepares accordingly then it's fine. But I find it unsatisfying.)

teleporting. Just takes the fun out of travel.

 

[Blue]

@Blue the old versions were good yes, but not perfect & resting to recover hp/spell slots was a very different process that tiny hut did not last long enough to do for a loooooooooong time. the version in 5e goes way beyond even the rose colored glass tinted role you cite & at a level/opportunity cost much lower than it would be useful for that in the old versions when you factor in how spell prep worked. Prepping tiny hut meant you had a spell slot devoted to it regardless of if you needed it or not.

I gave an example of Teleport in an edition that had a strong tradition of wandering monsters to illustrate how a spell can remove mundane issues that you have already dealt with for levels. I'm sorry that you confused that with also assuming I meant it was Leon's Tiny Hut's Historic role. I was not.

I was speaking about it as it applies to this edition.

So none of the above applies. I'd be happy to debate what I actually said.

 

[tetrasodium]

I gave an example of Teleport in an edition that had a strong tradition of wandering monsters to illustrate how a spell can remove mundane issues that you have already dealt with for levels. I'm sorry that you confused that with also assuming I meant it was Leon's Tiny Hut's Historic role. I was not.

I was speaking about it as it applies to this edition.

So none of the above applies. I'd be happy to debate what I actually said.

Teleport was caster+2, limited to 100 miles/caster level & could have all kinds of nasty mishaps. Teleport circle was 9th level, cost 1000gp, & wasn't much better with risks. Just checked my 2e book where the spell is 5th level, has similar mishaps but includes words like "fall damage" and "instant death" in the bit talking about that roll. I didn't discuss your teleport comment because it made no sense as that 3.5/5e recap shows and is very irrelevant to 5e's very obviously broken spells everyone is discussing.

 

[Blue]

Teleport was caster+2, limited to 100 miles/caster level & could have all kinds of nasty mishaps. Teleport circle was 9th level, cost 1000gp, & wasn't much better with risks. Just checked my 2e book where the spell is 5th level, has similar mishaps but includes words like "fall damage" and "instant death" in the bit talking about that roll. I didn't discuss your teleport comment because it made no sense as that 3.5/5e recap shows and is very irrelevant to 5e's very obviously broken spells everyone is discussing.

Gotcha. You've decided that teleport can't avoid wandering encounters, and that even being told that it was an illustration you aren't addressign the main point but picking an argument about the example.

As far as I can tell, you don't want to try to contribute meaningfully, just win an argument. So, you are completely right in all ways, as well as quite a dashing figure. No need to continue this conversation.

 

[Lanefan]

Gotcha. You've decided that teleport can't avoid wandering encounters, and that even being told that it was an illustration you aren't adressign the main point but picking an argument about it.

Whether intentionally or not, @tetrasodium does make a valid point: if you put the 1e-style risks back into teleport (including insta-death appearance in solid stone!) it suddenly becomes much less of an always-go-to option.

Taking those risks away is what broke the spell.

 

[Blue]

Whether intentionally or not, @tetrasodium does make a valid point: if you put the 1e-style risks back into teleport (including insta-death appearance in solid stone!) it suddenly becomes much less of an always-go-to option.

Taking those risks away is what broke the spell.

Which makes it a flawed example, but not one that isn't understandable.