D&D 5E A spell to break the concentration limits - help me break the game

[jmartkdr2]

I wouldn't allow a spell or effect that lets someone concentrate on two spells at once - too many defensive spells are concentration so you don't combine them with killer attacks.

I would consider letting a specific character get away with not needing to concentrate on certain, specific spells that aren't overpowered and that they use all the time, like a druid who really loves stoneskin or something, but it would be very case-by-case and would be a way to shore up an otherwise weak build.

 

[the Jester]

I wouldn't allow a spell or effect that lets someone concentrate on two spells at once - too many defensive spells are concentration so you don't combine them with killer attacks.

I would consider letting a specific character get away with not needing to concentrate on certain, specific spells that aren't overpowered and that they use all the time, like a druid who really loves stoneskin or something, but it would be very case-by-case and would be a way to shore up an otherwise weak build.

It might be interesting to let a pc take "no concentration required on a specific spell" as a feat. I wouldn't let anyone take it twice, though.

 

[ECMO3]

What's the benefit of charming all those enemies though? They can't attack the fey that charmed them, or the caster that summoned the fey, but that still leaves them free to attack anyone else - and the moment they take any damage the charm is gone. The secondary effect of the charm - advantage on checks to interact socially with the target - is unlikely to come up in combat.

it is not si simple as that. if thy make ranged attacks they do it at disadvantage be ause the fey and the ranger are hostile. to make melee attacks they need to move around multiple fey. that eats a ton of movement to move around multiple combatants sometimes they can just flat block them. the fey get actions that can be used to grapple or shove a charmed enemy without damaging them and severely impair movement and while their strenghth is not great multiple fey mean multiple attempts or attempts with advantage.

im sure you heard of a doorway dodge. now imagine you have multiple people to do it and they dont have to dodge and the enemy cant attack them at all. and like i said this is not a very powerful spell
l

 

[Horwath]

I would just make that you can concentrate on multiple spells, but total level of those spells cannot be higher than your highest spell slot.

I.E. 9th level caster has 5th level slots, that means total levels of spells for concentration cannot be higher than 5 at the same time.

It can be; one 5th level spell or 4+1 or 3+2 or 3+1+1 or 2+2+1 or 2+1+1+1 or 1+1+1+1+1

 

[Cruentus]

I had a wizard who discovered a relic that allowed me to have two concentration spells running at the same time I;a campaign I was playing in. It really, really made it easier to play the wizard. No more hard choices. No need to prioritize what I needed now vs what I will need soon. Just do em both. It was a huge advantage (on what many argue is already an overpowered class anyway, which I agree with).

 

[Redwizard007]

It might be interesting to let a pc take "no concentration required on a specific spell" as a feat. I wouldn't let anyone take it twice, though.

As feat starved as most builds are, especially optimized builds, I think this would work at my table. A single spell not requiring concentration is unlikely to break the game, and for the cost of a feat... I like that balance.

So in the 1dnd forum, we are discussing a change idea to the Sorcerous Incarnate spell (one possible new sorc ability).

In quick summary: Its a bonus action 5th level spell that takes concentration and lasts up to a minute. The idea we are discussing is this:

• Spells you cast while under this effect do not require concentration. When the spell ends, any concentration spell that is active immediately ends.

So in a nutshell:

• 1st round, you cast this spell (its a bonus action spell, so you can lob a cantrip but nothing else)
• rounds 2-10 you have no limits to other concentration effects. you can stack as many of them as you want.
• When the spell ends (either it was dispelled, the minute is up, or you lose concentration on the main spell), all other concentration spells immediately stop.

So in effect, you can create an interesting and short duration nova effect.

So obviously breaking concentration is a big deal....but how big is it? So this thread is to reach out to the powergamers here. Try to break this, what combos of concentration spells could you see that would cause a DM's jaw to drop?

A reminder that its a 5th level spell, so its a 9th level sorc minimum. Also in 1dnd a sorc has access to all wizard spells, so that could be a factor. Feel free to do high level sorcs or 9th level sorc + some other multiclass, whatever you think would break the bank.

5th level spell slots are just to easy to come by for a sorcerer, and at 11th level, a typical sorcerer could cast this 3 times without sacrificing a single spell slot for more sorcery points.
As a 5th level spell, this certainly shouldn't work for spells higher than level 3, and even that is a stretch. If you want powerful effects then upping the spell level is an absolute must. As written, this feels more like a spell that falls into the one-per-day category, and that means 6th level minimum, and probably more like 8th or 9th level.

Speaking of 8th level spells.

I just want to throw out that I value concentration highly enough that I think a 5th level bonus action spell that lets you avoid concentration for 10 minutes is very overpowered. So obviously, I am interested in seeing what people come up with here.

For the record, here's my version of a concentration-breaker from my campaign.

Ultimate Concentration
8th-level abjuration (bard, cleric, druid, wizard)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour

While this spell persists, you gain a +10 bonus to saving throws and checks made to maintain your concentration. In addition, you can maintain concentration on two spells at once.
At Higher Levels: If you cast this spell using a 9th level slot, you can maintain concentration on three spells at once.

This. This is balanced. I would have zero problem with this spell coming into my game. Its limited to the most powerful sorcerers (15th level+,) is once per day, requires a highly limited resource, and is expensive enough to justify game breaking results, BUT it lets the caster absolutely destroy one encounter per day. I would reword it to "you can maintain concentration on two other spells, or effects, in addition to this one."

I'd consider doing a similar spell at 6th level that had a +5 to Concentration and allowed concentrating on two 1st-3rd level spells, and if upcast to 7th level allow it to affect 4th and 5th level spells. This would make multi-concentration available at 11th level, but at a steep cost, and with limitations that prevent it absolutely dominating the game.

Honestly, you could drop the +X to Concentration saving throws with no real drop in power. Since Sorcerers get proficiency in Con saves anyway, and probably took a feat to boost concentration checks, this is more of a ribbon feature, but it is a nice little boost to make sure you don't lose a spell that you are devoting multiple resources to.

Side note: how would you handle concentration checks for multiple spells? Is it one check to maintain all your concentrations, or is each spell a separate check? The former speeds up the game at the risk of losing all your spells on a single bad roll. The latter could get tedious, but is more likely to result in partial successes, unless you fail on the roll for Sorcerous Incarnate or Ultimate Concentration.

 

[the Jester]

Speaking of 8th level spells.

This. This is balanced. I would have zero problem with this spell coming into my game. Its limited to the most powerful sorcerers (15th level+,) is once per day, requires a highly limited resource, and is expensive enough to justify game breaking results, BUT it lets the caster absolutely destroy one encounter per day. I would reword it to "you can maintain concentration on two other spells, or effects, in addition to this one."

I am gratified that you think it passes muster. I will point out that it doesn't require concentration itself.

Side note: how would you handle concentration checks for multiple spells? Is it one check to maintain all your concentrations, or is each spell a separate check? The former speeds up the game at the risk of losing all your spells on a single bad roll. The latter could get tedious, but is more likely to result in partial successes, unless you fail on the roll for Sorcerous Incarnate or Ultimate Concentration.

I think I required separate rolls for each effect, but can't swear to it- it has only come up once or twice and it was probably five years ago.