D&D 4E Converting an old pc from 4e to 5e

the Jester · Dec 3, 2019

Hey guys! I'm converting an old 4e pc over to 5e for one of my players, and have run into one power in particular that has left me mulling over what the best 5e equivalent would be. I'd love to get the take of those of you who are/were 4e players/DMs on this.

The pc was a tiefling wizard. His paragon path was Turathi highborn, and that is where one of the questionable powers is. Specifically, what would you turn the 4e version of bolts of bedevilment into, in 5e terms? The 4e version, if it hits, forces an enemy to make an attack against a creature of your choice, dealing extra fire damage on a hit. It's that extra fire damage that is both so cool and somewhat puzzling- I don't think there's anything quite like it in 5e. I could just make a new spell to recreate it, but if something that already exists captures the flavor and basic idea, that would be preferable.

Does 5e have something like that, that you can think of?

Thanks in advance.

Salthorae · Dec 3, 2019

Interesting.

It's like a mix of Hellish Rebuke and Crown of Madness.

Those are the only near analogues for it that I can think of quickly.

Is bolts of bedevilment single forced attack? You might be able to just make a 2nd level spell that forces the attack like crown of madness but only good for a single attack and deals extra fire damage.

Heck that might even be a 1st level spell if it's only a single attack and you limit the damage to like 1d10 fire or something like that

Tony Vargas · Dec 3, 2019

the Jester said:
Hey guys! I'm converting an old 4e pc over to 5e for one of my players, and have run into one power in particular that has left me mulling over what the best 5e equivalent would be.

There were just a lot more powers in 4e than there are spells and other equivalents in 5e.

The expectation would be to start with what the character is, and proceed from there to what it can do with the understanding that'll be quite different, in the details, from what it could do in 5e. If you can get it doing the right sorts of things, that'll be a victory.

The pc was a tiefling wizard.

Cool. 5e still has tieflings & wizards. You're ahead of the game, already. Just be happy you're not trying to convert a Wilden Shaman or a Shardmind Psion or something...

His paragon path was Turathi highborn, and that is where one of the questionable powers is.

Unless you want to create something for that, it's just a level of detail 5e doesn't have.

Specifically, what would you turn the 4e version of bolts of bedevilment into, in 5e terms? The 4e version, if it hits, forces an enemy to make an attack against a creature of your choice, dealing extra fire damage on a hit. It's that extra fire damage that is both so cool and somewhat puzzling- I don't think there's anything quite like it in 5e.

Confusion is the closest classic spell I can think of.

the Jester · Dec 3, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
There were just a lot more powers in 4e than there are spells and other equivalents in 5e.

The expectation would be to start with what the character is, and proceed from there to what it can do with the understanding that'll be quite different, in the details, from what it could do in 5e. If you can get it doing the right sorts of things, that'll be a victory.

Oh, absolutely! I've converted several other 4e pcs over, and largely ignored the 4e specifics, but in this case, as he's a wizard, I'm hoping there's something pretty close.

That said, I have converted dozens to hundreds of 4e magic items and spells, but nothing that is quite a match for this particular ability.

Tony Vargas said:
Cool. 5e still has tieflings & wizards. You're ahead of the game, already. Just be happy you're not trying to convert a Wilden Shaman or a Shardmind Psion or something...

I've done a pixie vampire with the Lord of Hell epic destiny, so I'm already past the hard one!