D&D (2024) December 1st UA Spell changes

[mellored]

3. Yeah, it's balanced against flaming sphere, except it has no area denial, doesn't deal any damage on a "miss," has a third less mobility, and can't set anything on fire. I mean, if flaming sphere dealt damage only on a failed save and did nothing else, would you consider it a "solid" spell?

Do you think clerics should deal more damage than a wizard or sorcerer?

 

[Greg Benage]

It's still the best damaging level 2 cleric spell.

That's a bloody low bar. Isn't it the only damaging level 2 cleric spell?

I mean, what else are you going to do? Become a wizard and get flaming sphere?

In my perfect world, you'd be a fire cleric and cast flaming sphere (or some other cool, thematic spell) because Wizards bothered to design good domain spell lists 1-17. In the real world of 5.5e, I'm not sure what I'll be doing, but I know I won't be casting spiritual weapon!

ETA: Really bad example because I forgot about the light cleric.

 

[Greg Benage]

Do you think clerics should deal more damage than a wizard or sorcerer?

Single-target direct damage? Yeah, that'd be cool, at least for a War cleric. Instead, they get to have bladesigner envy. How many editions have there been when clerics couldn't do more single-target damage than wizards?

 

[mellored]

Single-target direct damage? Yeah, that'd be cool, at least for a War cleric. Instead, they get to have bladesigner envy.

Then why would anyone play a wizard if the clerics got better damage and healing?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Single-target direct damage? Yeah, that'd be cool, at least for a War cleric. Instead, they get to have bladesigner envy. How many editions have there been when clerics couldn't do more single-target damage than wizards?

6?

 

[Greg Benage]

6?

Uh...no? Certainly not in OD&D, B/X, AD&D or 3.x. Maybe all the others, I'm not sure.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Uh...no? Certainly not in OD&D, B/X, AD&D or 3.x. Maybe all the others, I'm not sure.

Oh sorry. Did you mean real single target damage, or dealing more damage with area spells than the cleric did single target?

Then we had power word kill or just finget of death...
Cleric had harm. So wizards always did one more damage than clerics... At least in the editions I remember...

 

[Greg Benage]

Sorry @UngeheuerLich, I'm not tracking. No worries.

 

[Greg Benage]

Then why would anyone play a wizard if the clerics got better damage and healing?

For AoE, control, and utility?

 

[Stalker0]

In D&D-world, the rosary might as well be a machine gun, and holding it while muttering prayers is like putting your finger on the trigger. It is one hundred percent suspicious to anyone who has seen a spellcaster in action.

Something actually very interesting that the playtest packet highlights.

Most people in the world don't have classes. Most priests in the world aren't clerics and don't have divine magic. So 99 times out of a 100 you see some guy with the rosary muttering a prayer, its just a guy muttering a prayer. It is the very rare case to see a person with actual connection to divine magic going to work.