jgsugden
Legend
One thing to consider here is versatility. If you're a sorcerer for example, you have very few spells, so you want those spells to be able to serve many purposes, especially at low levels. Heck, even wizards and bards at low levels spend a lot of time wishing they had more spells available to them.Disagree. The charm effect that is so lauded is duplicated by 1st level spell, and the maintenance cost, as noted, is very high. The limitation to humanoids is a drag once the cost of a 2nd level spell slot becomes negligible (and at that point, the maintenance really is a pain). Sure, a one round than drop is possible, but then you've burned a 2nd level spell slot for one round of effect, you really need the right situation and some DM cooperation (cause dissension in the ranks, maybe not have the target and allies move away from each other).
This spell: 1.) Deals damage to an enemy on an enemy's turn, 2.) Charms an enemy, 3.) Prevents an enemy from using their action. It also, potentially, forces the target to relocate - and if they do, you can drop it to cast a different concentration spell, after already forcing them out of position. That is a lot of versatility.
And think about how often you end up maintaining concentration on hold person for a prolonged period. It is not often in my experience. That helpless target gets taken out when the autocriticals are available and before they can escape with a save at the end of their turn. More often than not, the target dies before I have to concentrate once (although there are absolutely exceptions).
This spell is better than it gets credit for being. I have used it on NPCs for fun effect.
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