Stoutstien
lunk
Probably just change the school of magic to prevent grabbing it via fey touched and prevent AM sorcerer from spamming it.
D&D 5E Silvery Barbs, how would you fix it? Does it need fixing?
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Funny (or at least, coincidental) story, I homebrewed a spell practically identical to Silvery Barbs about a year ago, and I called it "Luck Shift". It did basically the same thing (reaction spell, gives disadvantage to an enemy's d20 roll, gives you or an ally advantage on a subsequent d20 roll). However, I made it a 2nd level spell, which I think would work well as a fix for this spell.
And as for those saying that this spell isn't overpowered and is similar to shield . . . you're right. It is similar to shield. However, in many circumstances, it is better at its job than Shield is at its. Shield adds a +5 to your AC when you would be hit by an attack roll, and this carries over until the start of your next turn (also makes you immune to magic missile for a little bit). Silvery Barbs lets you roughly subtract 5 from an enemy's d20 roll. Shield is more limited in the circumstances it can be used in. It's very specifically a +5 to AC. Silvery Barbs can be used for any of the 3 most common types of d20 rolls: Attack Rolls and Ability Checks, and Saving Throws. And then, it also lets you get/grant advantage on the next d20 roll (depending on who you grant it to). That's a statistical -5 to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw that an enemy would succeed at, with an additional statistical +5 to a subsequent d20 roll that your party makes. (Just a reminder, advantage/disadvantage equaling either a -5/+5 to a d20 roll is just statistical approximation. Mechanically, advantage is fairly interchangeable with a +5 bonus to an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.)
To me, that +5 and -5 would better fit as a 2nd level spell, instead of sharing space with the 1st level spell with a similar (but opposite) purpose, that is more limited, as well as less potent in many circumstances.
Just make it a 2nd level spell. After you get higher level spell slots, you're probably not going to be using your 2nd level ones, anyway.
(Additionally, the other 4 spells in the book are also level 2, so making this already very potent 1st level spell would make all 5 of them be level 2, letting players get access to them at the same time.)
And as for those saying that this spell isn't overpowered and is similar to shield . . . you're right. It is similar to shield. However, in many circumstances, it is better at its job than Shield is at its. Shield adds a +5 to your AC when you would be hit by an attack roll, and this carries over until the start of your next turn (also makes you immune to magic missile for a little bit). Silvery Barbs lets you roughly subtract 5 from an enemy's d20 roll. Shield is more limited in the circumstances it can be used in. It's very specifically a +5 to AC. Silvery Barbs can be used for any of the 3 most common types of d20 rolls: Attack Rolls and Ability Checks, and Saving Throws. And then, it also lets you get/grant advantage on the next d20 roll (depending on who you grant it to). That's a statistical -5 to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw that an enemy would succeed at, with an additional statistical +5 to a subsequent d20 roll that your party makes. (Just a reminder, advantage/disadvantage equaling either a -5/+5 to a d20 roll is just statistical approximation. Mechanically, advantage is fairly interchangeable with a +5 bonus to an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.)
To me, that +5 and -5 would better fit as a 2nd level spell, instead of sharing space with the 1st level spell with a similar (but opposite) purpose, that is more limited, as well as less potent in many circumstances.
Just make it a 2nd level spell. After you get higher level spell slots, you're probably not going to be using your 2nd level ones, anyway.
(Additionally, the other 4 spells in the book are also level 2, so making this already very potent 1st level spell would make all 5 of them be level 2, letting players get access to them at the same time.)
Bolares
Hero
Sure, but until about 7th level the toll is quite heavy…
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Which I think would be fair. It's a potent spell. It gives you both a disadvantage to an enemy, and advantage to an ally. It's very potent, so, IMO, the cost should be a bit more than the lowest level of spell slot available in the game.
Bolares
Hero
I guess, I just think I particularlly would rarelly not save my reaction for a counterspell…
Levistus's_Leviathan
5e Freelancer
Which is a higher level spell slot. There's already the dilemma of "do I use my reaction to possibly negate this attack with Shield, or do I wait to see if I can possibly Counterspell". IMO, adding another competing spell (Silvery Barbs as a 2nd level spell) wouldn't really change that dynamic, more just add another moving part to it.
Last edited:
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
A better fix would be to nix the success-negating potential you impose on the target and trigger off an opponent rolling with advantage. Then the effect would be to nullify the advantage on that roll and move it to an ally.
darjr
I crit!
Oh! I like that!
