D&D 5E Balance of this? - Pass Concentration spell

[Krachek]

I found this too tied to a single game mechanic.
How about an enhance intellect.

Transmutation
Casting time : 1 action
Duration 1 minute

Advantage on intelligence check and saving throw.
You can concentrate on 2 spells at once.
The DC of your wizard spell is increase by 2.

Still need to find a level.

 

[Quickleaf]

So I've been mulling this over as a potential custom spell, and would like to get everyone's feedback.

Pass Concentration (Transmutation) (wizard)
Level: 4
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute

When you cast this spell, choose a willing creature you can see within range. You magically pass the mental burden of concentrating on a spell of 4th or lower level to that creature. The spell must be one that you cast and are currently concentrating on, and the creature to whom you pass concentration may have its concentration interrupted normally.

At Higher Levels: If you cast this spell using a slot of 5th or higher level, you can pass the burden of concentrating on a spell of a level up to that of the slot that you used to cast this spell.

Interesting! I actually had a conversion of Mr. Slur from the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix 3 (he was a crime boss ooze sprite), wherein he could create effects that required concentration but pass that concentration to a mud mephit he'd summoned from Ooze Portals. Similar premise.

I like it if it fits a monster's themes, but as a spell any wizard can take, I have concerns...

WHAT actually happens in the narrative when pass concentration is cast? How does it look being cast at range 30 since there is no "I touch them and transfer the spell to them"?

Can a cleric suddenly concentrate on a wizard spell? Can a barbarian/fighter/rogue/monk suddenly concentrate on spells which they don't even have any clue how to cast? How does that work?

If brutes (e.g. with Constitution saves) can receive pass concentration, then you'd see powerful concentration spells being passed to brutes to reduce the chance of the spell being interrupted. Is that a desirable change at your table? The narrative might feel weird, at least personally speaking.

I see a world of difference – narratively – between passing concentration on an enchantment to a fellow wizard ("the charmed paladin Ser Justin is now your problem, Raistlin, do with him as you will"), versus passing concentration on an elemental storm to the party's fighter. The first is plausible to me and actually pretty cool! The second feels like meta-gaming and I'd want to avoid it.

 

[CapnZapp]

From the title I was thinking it would be something like:



Basically it lets you burn spell slots to maintain spell concentration.

Except that's not the problem. But from the title, yeah.

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[The Crimson Binome]

In addition to reasons of in-game logic, which others have mentioned, I am always leery of attempts to accelerate resource consumption. This spell encourages a wizard to spend three spell slots in order to have two spells going at once, where the normal limitations of the game would see the wizard spending one spell slot with no way around that. Even though the player is intended to manage their own resources as part of the game, given the lack of tools available to prevent resting, this sort of spell would only exacerbate the problem at-hand.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Except that's not the problem. But from the title, yeah.

Obviously, but the concentration restriction isn't supposed to be something you're able to get around, even with a spell.

I would probably restrict the spell to passing only to other creatures with spell slots of a level equal to the spell you're passing. I'm okay with spreading out concentration effects within the spellcasters of the party. I'm not okay with creating spellcasters out of Champions and Thieves. It's a fundamental restriction of the game for a reason.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Balance of this? - Pass Concentration spell...
So I've been mulling this over as a potential custom spell, and would like to get everyone's feedback.

First impression: it's a bit like the old 'Mnemonic Enhancer' in that it's a spell that directly addresses a game mechanic. Is that really worth it? Or does concentration seem to play a more central story/narrative role in games you run? For instance, if the dynamic of such would make it a sort of hot-potato spell, with anyone it's passed to being a likely target...

The balance concern is obvious, since Concentration is often considered a balancing factor or meaningful restriction on casting. I don't think balance is a major concern in 5e - the DM can deal with keeping everyone balanced enough for his table - but, if that is a worry, I'd think that requiring the target you pass concentration /too/ to be able to cast spells of the level of the spell you're passing could be a good way to limit abuse.

Oh, another possibility: If you or anyone you pass concentration too has that concentration interrupted, you all do. Because y'know, you're sharing a magical link at that point. That'd make it useful for holding multiple concentration spells at once, but not for evading the danger of interruption.

Or, you could have a different spell with the reverse idea: 'Share Concentration" you and the subject both concentrate on the given spell on of you has just cast, and you must both be interrupted to bring it down.

 

[the Jester]

Okay, folks, awesome feedback from everyone, thank you all very much!

When I did my first pass at this, here were a few of my thoughts.

• By requiring an action to cast, Pass Concentration has a significant action economy cost.
• By making it 4th level, I'm making sure it has a significant cost in spell slots.
• By requiring a spell slot of the level of the spell you're passing, Pass Concentration has an inherent limiter, since you only ever get 1 slot of 7th or higher level.
• By requiring someone to keep up concentration, you are not completely discarding the balancing effect of requiring concentration in the first place, just moving the burden around.
• The pcs with the best Con saves are probably also the pcs who are getting targeted the most, making them a risky proposition for passing concentration to.
• The 30 foot range also seemed like a good way to make sure you weren't pulling "the guy concentrating is miles away" shenanigans, but I think it needs more reinforcement.

There are quite a few issues I'd overlooked (e.g. "Pass concentration to Joe, and Joe runs away into a rope trick). But that's why I posted!

I do want to address one point in particular.

Even though the player is intended to manage their own resources as part of the game, given the lack of tools available to prevent resting, this sort of spell would only exacerbate the problem at-hand.

This is a playstyle thing, but I'm not concerned about this at all. I use random encounters, and the pcs' rests are often interrupted, to the point that they sometimes choose whether to try to take a long rest based on whether they have the resources to take on one more encounter plus an encounter if they are caught resting by something. Even short rests aren't at all a sure thing for the characters in my campaign.

In addition, while I'm not a fan of "long rest after every encounter" (and I strictly enforce the 1 long rest/24 hours rule, and with random encounters, pcs rarely have that option), I am a huge fan of the passage of time in game. I love the idea of watching the world evolve over time, watching pc families grow, etc. So when the pcs try to pass some time, I'm absolutely fine with it. (They just aren't assured of success.)

 

[cbwjm]

So I've been mulling this over as a potential custom spell, and would like to get everyone's feedback.

Pass Concentration (Transmutation) (wizard)
Level: 4
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 minute

When you cast this spell, choose a willing creature you can see within range. You magically pass the mental burden of concentrating on a spell of 4th or lower level to that creature. The spell must be one that you cast and are currently concentrating on, and the creature to whom you pass concentration may have its concentration interrupted normally.

At Higher Levels: If you cast this spell using a slot of 5th or higher level, you can pass the burden of concentrating on a spell of a level up to that of the slot that you used to cast this spell.

I like it. I agree with [MENTION=30770]AntiStateQuixote[/MENTION] that it should probably be an instantaneous duration since the effect of the spell is to pass a pre-existing spell to someone else and once the spell is passed to another, the Pass Concentration is complete.

Personally, I would also probably change the range to touch I don't really have a strong reason why, I just feel like it should be a touch spell.

The name is fine but I'd suggest making it something fancy, something like: Rary's Concentration Transferral.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Transferring concentration on stoneskin to the person you put it on seems like a great idea.

Also bear in mind that a sorceror could potentially quicken this so he's not losing his entire round.

All in all, the spell doesn't seem like it has many abuses... but only because it doesn't have many uses at all. I'd say the primary one is going to be passing off concentration on suggestion spells (preferably to the person you cast it on). "You should do nothing but concentrate on the effect that I'm about to pass to you".

 

[CapnZapp]

In addition to reasons of in-game logic, which others have mentioned, I am always leery of attempts to accelerate resource consumption. This spell encourages a wizard to spend three spell slots in order to have two spells going at once, where the normal limitations of the game would see the wizard spending one spell slot with no way around that. Even though the player is intended to manage their own resources as part of the game, given the lack of tools available to prevent resting, this sort of spell would only exacerbate the problem at-hand.

Of course, using this or not, is hardly the breaking point.

Much better would be if D&D finally assumed responsibility for its own generosity, and offered variants where the power over resource replenishment was regulated.

That is where the real issue lies.

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