D&D 5E Your thoughts on these homebrew spells

[Cap'n Kobold]

So, let's say you roll a 3 on the 1d4, using the 1st level Sigil of Dis, and you got a +4 on the spellcasting ability modifier.

The target loses 3+4=7 hp, but gains 14 temporary hp.

That is not how my reading of the spell works.

As you call out words infused with burning determination, a creature you can see within range is branded as a shimmering bulwark of molten steel forms around it. A creature being targeted by an attack or spell target takes 1d4 fire damage. It then gains temporary hitpoints equal to 2d4 + your spellcasting ability modifier.

So, you roll a 3 on the d4 for the target: They take 3 damage.
You roll another 2d4 (both are also 3s) for the temp hit points. The target gains 3+3+4=10 temporary hitpoints.

Yeah, they are ment more as a in-the-moment protection spell. A bit like the Shield spell but then with temporary HP instead of AC (and targateble on other people). I can see if I can tweek the language to reflect that better. I'm not sure it's really exploitable, there are other pre-battle spells like Aid that have similiar effects (plus it all costs recources) I also really like how this spell interacts with things like Fire Resistance or absorb elements, giving a benefit to people who have those features or are willing to spend the recources (My tiefling doesnt have his innate fire resistance btw, I gave that up for some other stuff. I might earn it back later though which should be dope) . But your comment makes total sense from a flavour-PoV so I'll work it in

i've edited the spells in the original post to fix their wording and better reflect their intented use.
Technicly speaking though the current version would not protect against a fireball or breath attack, right? Since those spells don't have a specific target, just an area of effect? What would be the right wording if I wanted to include those kind of effects?

Do you see the spell as being able to protect from environmental or falling damage, or just attacks and other offensive effects?

Perhaps "When a creature within range that you can see is about to take damage" would be a better wording, but I think that is a bit of a departure from other 5e systems.

 

[aco175]

I'm not quite getting going through the motion of dealing 1d4 and then getting 2d4 damage, other than for flavor. I would just speed things up and give the 1d4 or even 2d4 temp HP, since they are temp and not real HP. I could also see it giving advantage on fire saving throws for as long as you have temp HP.

 

[BacchusNL]

That is not how my reading of the spell works.


So, you roll a 3 on the d4 for the target: They take 3 damage.
You roll another 2d4 (both are also 3s) for the temp hit points. The target gains 3+3+4=10 temporary hitpoints.

Do you see the spell as being able to protect from environmental or falling damage, or just attacks and other offensive effects?

Perhaps "When a creature within range that you can see is about to take damage" would be a better wording, but I think that is a bit of a departure from other 5e systems.

The original formula was "Take xD4 fire damage and gain twice that amount + spellcasting modifier as temp HP". After Baldur's_Underdark suggestion I changed it to two seperate dice rolls to increase the outcome variations a bit. Baldurs_Underdark calculation works in that old system though.

For comparison here is the diffrence betwen the two formulas on a lvl 1 sigil with 16 cha (+3 spell mod);
Old worst case scenario; deal 1 fire damage, shield for 5
Old best case scenario; Deal 4 fire damage, shield for 11
New worst case scenario; deal 4 fire damage, shield for 5
New best case scenario; deal 1 fire damage, shield for 11

It's a good question on wether I see the spell protecting from enviriomental or falling damage. I'm leaning towards "not unless you make a perception check aswell". There might just be enough time to get the spell up when a roof collapses on you, but there just as well might not be.
My basic idea behind the spells was that these would be the sort used by the battlefield commanders of the Nine Hells during skirmishes in the Blood War to protect their troops from enemy spells and attacks. I think an incomming fireball gives just enough time for that "brace for impact"-command, while for a collapsing roof will be much harder, but maybe still possible.

I'm not quite getting going through the motion of dealing 1d4 and then getting 2d4 damage, other than for flavor. I would just speed things up and give the 1d4 or even 2d4 temp HP, since they are temp and not real HP. I could also see it giving advantage on fire saving throws for as long as you have temp HP.

Yeah, it's just for flavour. I wanted to represent the "this-for-that" nature of the Nine Hells, by lack of a better description. When cast on a mortal I can imagine Asmodeus, in the merest fraction of a second, whispering into your ear "Hey, you got a Giant's axe swinging for your head. What if I funnelled some of this lifeforce into a shield and you might survive this? Don't worry about what I do with it, you can heal it back up later ".