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<blockquote data-quote="cbwjm" data-source="post: 7185975" data-attributes="member: 6788732"><p><strong>Spells of the Storm</strong></p><p></p><p><em>"Sure, you can throw a ball of fire and incinerate your foes, but throwing about lightning is far and away the cooler expression of elemental power."</em> </p><p></p><p>Below are a number of lightning spells most of which are updated from earlier editions with a few homebrew spells thrown in. In brackets are the suggested classes that have access to the spells. Most of these had access to the spell in previous editions but don't be married to the suggestions, feel free to add them to whichever class you wish.</p><p></p><p>When designing or updating spells, it's a good idea to see what is already out there to get some idea of how to design it. For instance, ball lightning is essentially a more powerful and lightning focused version of Melf's minute meteors while the oddly named Staffspell follows a similar progression to flameblade. </p><p></p><p><strong>Ball Lightning </strong>(sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>5th-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: Self</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a handful of copper and iron pellets)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Concentration, up to 10 minutes</p><p>You create six balls of lightning in your space. They float in the air and orbit you for the spell’s duration and shed light as a candle. When you cast the spell, and as a bonus action on each of your turns thereafter, you can expend one or two balls of lightning, sending them streaking toward a target within 120 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 5d6 lightning damage.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, you create two more balls of lightning for each slot level above 5th.</p><p></p><p><strong>Electrified Lash</strong> (wizard)</p><p><em> 2nd-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: Self (15-foot cube)</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a melee weapon)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Instantaneous</p><p>You point your sword into the air, and arcs of white lightning reach out toward your foes. Each creature in range (other than the caster) must make a Dexterity saving throw. They take 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot above 1st.</p><p></p><p><strong>Enchanted Blade</strong> (wizard)</p><p><em>2nd-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 bonus action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: Self</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a small wooden sword and silver rod)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Up to 1 minute</p><p>When cast, this spell causes a blade of crackling lightning the size of a longsword to appear in your hand. The enchanted blade can be used in two ways, as a melee spell attack or as a ranged spell attack to fire a bolt of crackling energy from its tip up to a range of 30 feet. When you cast this spell your blade has a pool of 10d6 damage dice. With each successful attack you may expend up to 5 dice dealing damage as lighting.</p><p>The spell ends after 1 minute or after you have expended all of the damage dice.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, your dice pool increases by 2d6 and the number of dice you can expend increase by 1 for each slot level above 2nd.</p><p></p><p><strong>Forked Lightning</strong> (sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>1st-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 60 feet</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a copper rod)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Instantaneous</p><p>Two bolts of lightning streak out from your fingertips striking two targets that are within 30 feet of each other. Make a ranged spell attack against the targets. On a hit, the targets take 3d6 lightning damage. Each target can only be hit by a single bolt. The copper rod is not consumed when the spell is cast. </p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot above 1st.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lightning Bug</strong> (sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>1st-level evocation</em> </p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 150 feet</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Instantaneous</p><p>A spell variant that combines magic missile with shocking grasp, this spell allows the spellcaster to generate a missile of electrical energy and cast it unerringly at a target. When it hits a target they take 2d8 lightning damage, and cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you create 1 extra missile for each slot level above 1st.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lightning Clash</strong> (wizard)</p><p><em>1st-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 5 feet</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, M (a weapon)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Instantaneous</p><p>As your blade strikes home, a sizzling bolt of lightning leaps from your reeling foe to strike down its nearby ally. As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit the target takes normal weapon damage and an additional 1d6 lightning damage and one creature within 20 feet of the target takes 2d6 lightning damage.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you increase each source of lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lightning Storm</strong> (druid, sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>8th-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 150 feet</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a shard of glass, a scrap of fur, a piece of silver, and a flint)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Concentration, up to 1 minute</p><p>This spell creates electrical discharges within a 30 foot radius sphere. Bolts of lightning leap repeatedly about within this area, regardless of the presence or location of metal, water, or other conductors. All creatures in the sphere when the spell is cast must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 10d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Creatures that start their turn in, or enter the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 6d6 lightning damage, or half as much on a successful save, as errant bolts of lightning strike at those inside the sphere. The caster is unharmed by the spell.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shock Sphere</strong> (sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>2nd-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action </p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 90 feet </p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a piece of fur and a small piece of velvet) </p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Instantaneous </p><p>You hurl a crackling orb of lightning that explodes at a point you designate, engulfing all nearby creatures in its electric embrace. Each creature in a 5-foot-radius sphere centred on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. </p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.</p><p></p><p><strong>Staffspell </strong>(wizard)</p><p><em>3rd-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 bonus action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: Self</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Concentration, up to 10 minutes</p><p>You evoke a staff of lightning in your free hand. The staff is similar in size and shape to a quarterstaff, and lasts for the duration. If you let go of the staff, it disappears, but you can evoke the staff again as a bonus action. You can use your action to make a melee spell attack with the lightning staff. On a hit, the target takes 3d6 lightning damage. Against water-based creatures, the staff deals an additional 3d6 damage.</p><p> The staff also sheds light. You can control the intensity so that it sheds bright light in a 5-foot to 20-foot radius and additional dim light for the same amount.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the base lightning damage increases by 1d6 for every two slot level above 3rd.</p><p></p><p><strong>Wall of Lightning</strong> (2e spell Lightning Curtain; sorcerer, wizard)</p><p><em>4th-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: 120 feet</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a small piece of amber and a bit of fur)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Concentration, up to 1 minute</p><p>You create a wall of lightning on a solid surface within range. You can make the wall up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. The wall is fairly transparent, does not block line of sight, and lasts for the duration.</p><p> When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a Dexterity saving throw, those in metal armour or holding metal weapons have Disadvantage on the saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 4d10 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful save.</p><p> Lightning arcs out from one side of the wall, selected by you when you cast this spell, dealing 4d10 lightning damage to each creature that ends its turn within 10 feet of that side or inside the wall. A creature takes the same damage when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. </p><p>The original spellcaster is immune to the Wall of Lightning’s effects.</p><p> <strong>At Higher Levels</strong>. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 4th.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lightning Ring</strong> (wizard)</p><p><em>8th-level evocation</em></p><p><strong>Casting Time</strong>: 1 action</p><p><strong>Range</strong>: Self</p><p><strong>Components</strong>: V, S, M (a ring of any size, fashioned of glass, and a bit of fur from any animal)</p><p><strong>Duration</strong>: Concentration, up to 1 minute or instantaneous</p><p>This spell surrounds you with a bright white, crackling, chest-high ring of lightning. The ring moves with you. While encircled by the ring, you are immune to lightning damage and any conditions associated with them.</p><p> Once on your turn, you can use your bonus action to blast out from you in a direction you choose a stroke of lightning 100 feet and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.</p><p> Alternatively, this spell can be cast to discharge all at once. At the start of your next turn after casting lightning ring, it discharges and shoots out 4 lightning bolts in 4 separate directions chosen by you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cbwjm, post: 7185975, member: 6788732"] [b]Spells of the Storm[/b] [I]"Sure, you can throw a ball of fire and incinerate your foes, but throwing about lightning is far and away the cooler expression of elemental power."[/I] Below are a number of lightning spells most of which are updated from earlier editions with a few homebrew spells thrown in. In brackets are the suggested classes that have access to the spells. Most of these had access to the spell in previous editions but don't be married to the suggestions, feel free to add them to whichever class you wish. When designing or updating spells, it's a good idea to see what is already out there to get some idea of how to design it. For instance, ball lightning is essentially a more powerful and lightning focused version of Melf's minute meteors while the oddly named Staffspell follows a similar progression to flameblade. [B]Ball Lightning [/B](sorcerer, wizard) [I]5th-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: Self [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a handful of copper and iron pellets) [B]Duration[/B]: Concentration, up to 10 minutes You create six balls of lightning in your space. They float in the air and orbit you for the spell’s duration and shed light as a candle. When you cast the spell, and as a bonus action on each of your turns thereafter, you can expend one or two balls of lightning, sending them streaking toward a target within 120 feet of you. Make a ranged spell attack. On a hit, the target takes 5d6 lightning damage. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, you create two more balls of lightning for each slot level above 5th. [B]Electrified Lash[/B] (wizard) [I] 2nd-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: Self (15-foot cube) [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a melee weapon) [B]Duration[/B]: Instantaneous You point your sword into the air, and arcs of white lightning reach out toward your foes. Each creature in range (other than the caster) must make a Dexterity saving throw. They take 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot above 1st. [B]Enchanted Blade[/B] (wizard) [I]2nd-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 bonus action [B]Range[/B]: Self [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a small wooden sword and silver rod) [B]Duration[/B]: Up to 1 minute When cast, this spell causes a blade of crackling lightning the size of a longsword to appear in your hand. The enchanted blade can be used in two ways, as a melee spell attack or as a ranged spell attack to fire a bolt of crackling energy from its tip up to a range of 30 feet. When you cast this spell your blade has a pool of 10d6 damage dice. With each successful attack you may expend up to 5 dice dealing damage as lighting. The spell ends after 1 minute or after you have expended all of the damage dice. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, your dice pool increases by 2d6 and the number of dice you can expend increase by 1 for each slot level above 2nd. [B]Forked Lightning[/B] (sorcerer, wizard) [I]1st-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 60 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a copper rod) [B]Duration[/B]: Instantaneous Two bolts of lightning streak out from your fingertips striking two targets that are within 30 feet of each other. Make a ranged spell attack against the targets. On a hit, the targets take 3d6 lightning damage. Each target can only be hit by a single bolt. The copper rod is not consumed when the spell is cast. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot above 1st. [B]Lightning Bug[/B] (sorcerer, wizard) [I]1st-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 150 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, S [B]Duration[/B]: Instantaneous A spell variant that combines magic missile with shocking grasp, this spell allows the spellcaster to generate a missile of electrical energy and cast it unerringly at a target. When it hits a target they take 2d8 lightning damage, and cannot take reactions until the start of their next turn. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you create 1 extra missile for each slot level above 1st. [B]Lightning Clash[/B] (wizard) [I]1st-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 5 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, M (a weapon) [B]Duration[/B]: Instantaneous As your blade strikes home, a sizzling bolt of lightning leaps from your reeling foe to strike down its nearby ally. As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit the target takes normal weapon damage and an additional 1d6 lightning damage and one creature within 20 feet of the target takes 2d6 lightning damage. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you increase each source of lightning damage by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st. [B]Lightning Storm[/B] (druid, sorcerer, wizard) [I]8th-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 150 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a shard of glass, a scrap of fur, a piece of silver, and a flint) [B]Duration[/B]: Concentration, up to 1 minute This spell creates electrical discharges within a 30 foot radius sphere. Bolts of lightning leap repeatedly about within this area, regardless of the presence or location of metal, water, or other conductors. All creatures in the sphere when the spell is cast must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 10d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Creatures that start their turn in, or enter the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 6d6 lightning damage, or half as much on a successful save, as errant bolts of lightning strike at those inside the sphere. The caster is unharmed by the spell. [B]Shock Sphere[/B] (sorcerer, wizard) [I]2nd-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 90 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a piece of fur and a small piece of velvet) [B]Duration[/B]: Instantaneous You hurl a crackling orb of lightning that explodes at a point you designate, engulfing all nearby creatures in its electric embrace. Each creature in a 5-foot-radius sphere centred on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 4d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd. [B]Staffspell [/B](wizard) [I]3rd-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 bonus action [B]Range[/B]: Self [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M [B]Duration[/B]: Concentration, up to 10 minutes You evoke a staff of lightning in your free hand. The staff is similar in size and shape to a quarterstaff, and lasts for the duration. If you let go of the staff, it disappears, but you can evoke the staff again as a bonus action. You can use your action to make a melee spell attack with the lightning staff. On a hit, the target takes 3d6 lightning damage. Against water-based creatures, the staff deals an additional 3d6 damage. The staff also sheds light. You can control the intensity so that it sheds bright light in a 5-foot to 20-foot radius and additional dim light for the same amount. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the base lightning damage increases by 1d6 for every two slot level above 3rd. [B]Wall of Lightning[/B] (2e spell Lightning Curtain; sorcerer, wizard) [I]4th-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: 120 feet [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a small piece of amber and a bit of fur) [B]Duration[/B]: Concentration, up to 1 minute You create a wall of lightning on a solid surface within range. You can make the wall up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. The wall is fairly transparent, does not block line of sight, and lasts for the duration. When the wall appears, each creature within its area must make a Dexterity saving throw, those in metal armour or holding metal weapons have Disadvantage on the saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 4d10 lightning damage, or half as much damage on a successful save. Lightning arcs out from one side of the wall, selected by you when you cast this spell, dealing 4d10 lightning damage to each creature that ends its turn within 10 feet of that side or inside the wall. A creature takes the same damage when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. The original spellcaster is immune to the Wall of Lightning’s effects. [B]At Higher Levels[/B]. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 4th. [B]Lightning Ring[/B] (wizard) [I]8th-level evocation[/I] [B]Casting Time[/B]: 1 action [B]Range[/B]: Self [B]Components[/B]: V, S, M (a ring of any size, fashioned of glass, and a bit of fur from any animal) [B]Duration[/B]: Concentration, up to 1 minute or instantaneous This spell surrounds you with a bright white, crackling, chest-high ring of lightning. The ring moves with you. While encircled by the ring, you are immune to lightning damage and any conditions associated with them. Once on your turn, you can use your bonus action to blast out from you in a direction you choose a stroke of lightning 100 feet and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Alternatively, this spell can be cast to discharge all at once. At the start of your next turn after casting lightning ring, it discharges and shoots out 4 lightning bolts in 4 separate directions chosen by you. [/QUOTE]
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