D&D (2024) Is Shield to strong of a spell? Should and how would it be changed for OneD&D?

[tetrasodium]

There are other 1st level spells that don't go out of style: detect magic, identify, comprehend languages, feather fall, charm person, disguise self, magic missile (sometimes you just want to auto hit), even sleep if you beat down some of the hp first. I'm sure there are some others I'm not thinking of.

Shield doesn't just remain useful though it gets better & better at lower & lower cost. 5e doesn't have autoscaling spells & like @Tales and Chronicles I think that causes more problems than it solves. 5e does have bounded accuracy & multi-attack chains with all attacks made at the same attack bonus though. That +5ac remains huge at all levels and does so even as monsters are making more attacks for more damage per attack. Meanwhile the opportunity cost of burning a first level spell slot drifts towards zero as levels advance.

 

[Neonchameleon]

The problem with shield is that on a wizard whose only AC booster is Mage Armour it's fine. On e.g. an Eldritch Knight in plate armour with a shield (or even on a bladesinger) it's a whole different story.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Shield is fine, it's just an outlier in as much as it is one of the few first level spells that continues to be relevant all game long, while at the same time actually being a poor fit for 1st or 2nd level characters who can't really afford the spell slot (though those are also the deadliest levels so even at extraordinary cost it sees some use). It's a bit of an odd fit with the spell system. But I don't think it's unreasonably powerful for a first level spell slot.

I wouldn't be completely adverse to it being a class feature rather than a spell, provided that Wizard's, Sorcerers, and Eldritch Knights all got that feature.

I do think that making it a first level option for Hexblade Warlocks was a sort of a ridiculous cherry on top of making Hexblade dips too powerful. It's a terrible spell for a straight warlock, spending their few precious high level slots for a non-scaling first level effect (however powerful), but for a Paladin, or Bard, or whatever with one or two levels of Hexblade it's fantastic. I definitely think it would have been better implimentation to leave it off the Warlock list and make it a one cast per short rest invocation option, or something.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I would prefer they went back to auto-scaling (casters dont have that much spells nowadays) based on Proficiency Bonus, like a Fireball would be 5d6+1d6 per Prof Bonus (aka 8d6 when they get access to it at 5th level).

Careful what you say. The current WotC design team has never met an arbitrary use of the proficiency bonus that they didn't fall madly in love with.

 

[Horwath]

Variant:

Shield
1st level abjuration,
casting time: 1 Action
Duration 24hrs

While you have a hand free you gain +2 AC. This does not stack with other shield or shield spells.
You can use this hand for Somatic components or using a spell focus or carrying other tiny object like a torch or lantern and still keep the bonus.
If you use your hand for any attack(dual wield/2Handed weapon) you lose the bonus until start of your next round.
You take no damage from magic missile spell.

if you cast this spell with 3rd level spell, bonus is +3, with 6th level spell bonus is +4 and with 9th level spell bonus is +5.

 

[Njall]

I've never felt shield was all that great in 5e. Sure you can be super defensive for a round, but then the next round the enemies are still there and now you are one spell down.

A better use of a spell is to prevent the attack in the first place by killing the enemy or keeping the from attacking you entirely.

It's a reaction. It's not like you cast it with your regular action and lose your action in the process... you can still attack.
So, the next round you're one spell down, likely still dealt your own damage to an opponent, and anything that tried to hit you is likely several hitpoints and one round down. Which, in a game where combat is based on attrition, means a lot.

Since one of the basic tenets of the game seems to be bounded accuracy, I'd just turn most spell and effects that grant an AC bonus into temporary HP or a damage reduction.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

It's a reaction. It's not like you cast it with your regular action and lose your action in the process... you can still attack.
So, the next round you're one spell down, likely still dealt your own damage to an opponent, and anything that tried to hit you is likely several hitpoints and one round down. Which, in a game where combat is based on attrition, means a lot.

Since one of the basic tenets of the game seems to be bounded accuracy, I'd just turn most spell and effects that grant an AC bonus into temporary HP or a damage reduction.

My point is that it's usually a better use of a spell to kill/incapacitate an enemy versus avoiding one round of damage and having to face the same enemy the next round.

Fog cloud give the caster multiple rounds of protection but I don't see claims it's also overpowered.

 

[tetrasodium]

My point is that it's usually a better use of a spell to kill/incapacitate an enemy versus avoiding one round of damage and having to face the same enemy the next round.

Fog cloud give the caster multiple rounds of protection but I don't see claims it's also overpowered.

You can cast shield and then a cantrip when your turn comes around. It's only a problem if for some reason you must cast a spell next round due to some contrived or extreme corner case situation. PCs are so durable in 5e that they would have been over the top as a plot armored GMPC in past editions & that makes any sort of situation where a PC must cast a spell that can't wait till the round after start looking a bit rube goldbergian

 

[Njall]

My point is that it's usually a better use of a spell to kill/incapacitate an enemy versus avoiding one round of damage and having to face the same enemy the next round.

Fog cloud give the caster multiple rounds of protection but I don't see claims it's also overpowered.

You're not going to incapacitate lots of stuff with a single 1st level spell past level 4 or 5 anyway. And anything that spends its turn missing you pretty much wasted its turn, so...

 

[Mephista]

I am of the opinion that Shield should be balanced against Uncanny Dodge and Defensive Duelist. As it currently is, Shield is by far and away stronger than the other two by virtue of lasting an entire round instead of a single attack. Not even a single turn = monsters will many attacks laugh.

Yes, Shield takes up limited spell slots (on a caster that, by definition, will almost always be in the back row). But you also get it at level 1 instead of 4 (at the earliest) or 5, the time when Shield is no longer cumbersome to use. And, as an opportunity cost, the feat and rogue are giving up more at this level than a level 5 caster is to hold onto Shield.

I also feel the same about Deflect Arrow, but I'm holding out to see what Monks look like first.