D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] Most Nerf-Worthy and Ban-Worthy Spells?

[the Jester]

The orb spells.

They are direct damage (even force damage!) with no SR, with the excuse that they just conjure nonmagical energy (nonmagical force??)... nope, I don't buy it.

 

[Wyvernhand]

They are probably categorized, but they are hardly overpowered for a 4th level spell. Compare one of them to Evard's Black Tentacles at level 7 when you get it, and for the next 3ish levels.

And the orbs only REALLY get dumb when you start stacking a dozen MM feats on them, which is primarily the fault of MM reducers, rather than the seed spell itself.

 

[Axel]

Speaking of which... Evards Black Tentacles. Grapple rolls, and counter rolls, and pages and pages of rule book flicking. Annoying! After all these years I STILL can't get to grips with grapple rules...

I'd add Wall of Thorns to the list. It's not overpowered per se, but causes an inordinate amount of book keeping. Also, Radiant Assault (aka Mage wins initiative and wins the battle. Up yours!)

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Thanks Dandu.

Er... by which I mean Greater Consumptive Field.

Why do you mention this spell? 9 hp seems like a pretty narrow margin of error for its level...unless the abuse comes from out-of-combat casting?

The orb spells.

They are direct damage (even force damage!) with no SR, with the excuse that they just conjure nonmagical energy (nonmagical force??)... nope, I don't buy it.

I tend to agree with Wyvernhand; the Orbs are definitely miscategorized (except acid). But the no SR doesn't bother me anymore.

Speaking of which... Evards Black Tentacles. Grapple rolls, and counter rolls, and pages and pages of rule book flicking. Annoying! After all these years I STILL can't get to grips with grapple rules...

Ugh, grapple! I DMed 3.x for years, and I still don't know exactly how grapple is supposed to work. I'm thinking of simplifying all of those combat maneuvers, but haven't decided exactly how to do so yet.

 

[billd91]

The orb spells.

They are direct damage (even force damage!) with no SR, with the excuse that they just conjure nonmagical energy (nonmagical force??)... nope, I don't buy it.

I'm with you in a sense. I wouldn't ban them outright. I'd remove them from the Sorcerer/Wizard list and confine them to the warmage. There has always been too great a tendency to put any new spell on the Sorcerer/Wizard list. They simply should not be allowed to get around high-SR foes designed to be an obstacle to them this easily.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

Empirate has good points here, I've followed his advise:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-le...ost-overpowered-spells-fixes.html#post5612169

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I'll vote for teleport. Scry/Buff/Teleport is totally unreasonable.

My fix is simple: You can only teleport where you have either been or have been instructed about by someone who has been there and can teleport. (Only someone who can teleport understands what's needed to give directions.)

I also permit teleporting by range & bearing but this is only safe if you aim where you can't miss. You don't have GPS-level mapping accuracy, is that city 1000 miles away or 1005 miles away? Is it 1000' above you or 1010' above you? The only safe way to do this is teleport say 1000 miles and 1200' up and emerge well above your target.

 

[Dandu]

Why do you mention this spell? 9 hp seems like a pretty narrow margin of error for its level...unless the abuse comes from out-of-combat casting?

Carry a bag of rats around with you.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

If you're talking open ended wording, Bestow Curse.

"I want to cast Bestow Curse on him. Um, I say he's acquired ED."

"ED?! That's just mean."

"Yes, well, it's called Bestow Curse. It's supposed to be mean."