D&D 5E Is witchbolt underated?

[CubicsRube]

Where are you guys reading that the ongoing damage is only 1d12? My reading of the description is that upcasting affects the initial damage plus the ongoing damage.

 

[Mort]

Where are you guys reading that the ongoing damage is only 1d12? My reading of the description is that upcasting affects the initial damage plus the ongoing damage.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage increases by 1d12 for each slot level above 1st.

So only the damage when you hit (the initial damage) is affected if the spell is upcast.

 

[grimslade]

As Mort points out, the spell description is pretty specific. There was also a Sage Advice from early on reaffirming that the upcasting only affects the initial damage is the RAI, as well.

 

[ECMO3]

Only the initial damage goes up on upcasting. The base damage stays the same.

GOOD CATCH ... thank you .... I guess.

This brings the eternal ethical question - As a player are you obligated to tell the DM he is letting one of your spells be more powerful than it should be?

 

[Mort]

GOOD CATCH ... thank you .... I guess.

This brings the eternal ethical question - As a player are you obligated to tell the DM he is letting one of your spells be more powerful than it should be?

Honestly - yes.

You can then both decide to just keep it as you've been playing it, revert to the "correct" way or allow a different spell.

Frankly the "correct" version is terrible, so allowing the extra damage will serve you better, or one of the hombrew versions presented in this thread.

 

[Dausuul]

GOOD CATCH ... thank you .... I guess.

This brings the eternal ethical question - As a player are you obligated to tell the DM he is letting one of your spells be more powerful than it should be?

"Letting the spell be more powerful than the book says it is" and "letting it be more powerful than it should be" are two different things.

I would make the case to the DM that the spell works better as you've been playing it (after making it clear that it was an honest mistake).

 

[ECMO3]

"Letting the spell be more powerful than the book says it is" and "letting it be more powerful than it should be" are two different things.

I would make the case to the DM that the spell works better as you've been playing it (after making it clear that it was an honest mistake).

Reminds me of the country song - I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then .....


My DM is hard core by the book. No UA, almost no homebrew. I was running out of spells to prepare anyway.

 

[CubicsRube]

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage increases by 1d12 for each slot level above 1st.

So only the damage when you hit (the initial damage) is affected if the spell is upcast.

Thanks. I read over the word "initial" which changes things quite a bit.

In that case yeah I think it's underpowered. If the ongoing damage scaled I'd say it's a pretty good spell

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yes it is.

Also no. It really isn't.

If your goal is to expend every spell slot to it's maximum potential and metagame the whole game down to a complex series of math equations, Witch Bolt is pretty bad.

If your goal is to use cool and interesting spells because it fits your character, or your villain, then Witch Bolt is flat out amazing.

It's an amazing spell for villainous Torture Sequences like the throne room in Return of the Jedi. Got your victim tied down? Witchbolt while you demand answers to your questions and they suddenly have a VERY REAL timer on how long they have to answer before you're done frying them. Any round he gives you a straight answer, don't shock him. Any round he chooses to test you, zap him again! It doesn't end if you don't use your action for anything on a given round, only if you use your action for "Something Else".

Grab a few levels of Rogue (Or be a Rogue with a little spellcasting ability) to become a Thief and suddenly "Cunning Action" becomes pretty much everything you can use your action for that isn't violent. So pour yourself a drink (Use an Object Action) as a bonus action, then curl your left hand at the victim to zap him as an action, in one of the most dreadful sort of encounters a player can find themself in.

Thematically amazing. Mechanically fairly "Meh".

This.

Also my fix to its efficacy would just be to make maintaining it a bonus action, or to make it restrain the target.

 

[dmhelp]

After a lot of thinking this is my witch bolt fix:
3d10+1d10 per upcast level
No longer needs concentration (follow up unchanged at 1d12)

Reason: it should do more than chromatic orb given shorter range and lack of element flexibility. The automatic damage option is only used at low level, no conc just makes it slightly easier to do. Changes are simple so I don’t have to rewrite the spell.