D&D 5E Let's list the "broken" spells

[FarBeyondC]

Congrats, you have discovered the reason that cone spells actually have a range of "self"

Also, why the widen spell metamagic (which is what you would actually use to alter the size of those aoes) doesn't exist in 5e.

 

[Gradine]

Sorry but anytime you need to have your NPCs break the rules to avoid some effect that effect is the very definition of "broken".

If it helps, read "Broken" to mean "the game would be better off without it, since it actively hinders how the DM is trying to tell a story".

If you don't have a problem with broken spells, since your BBEGs simply ignore inconvenient game rules, that's fine.

But saying you've never understood the sentiment? That's a stretch. Can't you empathize with DMs trying to run their monsters within the rules as given? Or see the frustration of players denied the written effects of their chosen powers?

No, I'm sure you can and you do. And that we really are in agreement the rules should be rid of any effects that can auto-insta-shut down a BBEG and that can't be avoided by reasonably normal means. Cheers!

Apparently I'm five years late on the reply to this, but I will state that the idea that a Big Bad (or any creature/NPC) having abilities not explicitly outlined in the PHB is "breaking the rules" was and still remains one of the most asinine arguments I've seen on this board.

I guess I must have missed the part in the DMG where I'm discouraged from designing my own monsters/NPCs/spells/abilities/magic items/etc.

 

[CapnZapp]

Apparently I'm five years late on the reply to this, but I will state that the idea that a Big Bad (or any creature/NPC) having abilities not explicitly outlined in the PHB is "breaking the rules" was and still remains one of the most asinine arguments I've seen on this board.

I guess I must have missed the part in the DMG where I'm discouraged from designing my own monsters/NPCs/spells/abilities/magic items/etc.

If you must add abilities to your BBEGs for them not to be trivially shut down by hero abilities something's broken alright.

 

[Bacon Bits]

My dat thread necro is gud.

I really wish they'd autolock discussion threads that have had no activity for over a year, especially if the original thread had more than 50 posts. Thread necro is not conducive to new discussion.

If someone wants their thread to survive longer, they can switch it to a wiki thread. If someone wants to continue a discussion, they can create a new thread and reference the old one.

 

[shadowoflameth]

Contagion doesn't take effect until the 3rd save is failed. That makes it almost useless in combat as opposed to broken the other way. Errata confirms that this is the correct interpretation.

Wall of Force and Force Cage are potent, but they are high level spells and no one has many of those/day. Plus like other spells, they can be counter-spelled or dispelled.

 

[muppetmuppet]

ahh I just gave my party's sorcerer a book that will enable him to swap one of his meta magics for widen. Guess I'll find out if it is broken now. He does have fireball which I was expecting to be possibly too powerful so if the cones are going to be worse when he levels a bit I may have to come up with some problem. There was a weird evil ritual of indeterminate use in the book too so I guess it can easily have a weird effect on the widen power.

 

[Dausuul]

Contagion doesn't take effect until the 3rd save is failed. That makes it almost useless in combat as opposed to broken the other way. Errata confirms that this is the correct interpretation.

This thread was started in 2014, when the most logical reading of contagion was that the disease took effect on a hit (the designers may not have intended it to work like that, but it was what the book said).

It has since been errata-ed to impose the poisoned condition and not take effect until three failed saves.

 

[Garthanos]

Animate Dead- If spammed you get overthetop action economy and take advantage of Bounded Accuracy to kill everything.

Animate Dead: Make the bonus action command only work on Undead summoned from ONE casting at a time, as opposed to being able to command 50 skeles.

Its clearly written to allow something of an army.... but yeh the action economy bit is eck. In 4e I would have them play as a swarm creature. Which might be close to your idea but have other tidbits like doing a small amount of damage automatically to anyone entering their space or other effects like slowing enemies or sometimes triggering disadvantage on someone navigating them.

 

[Gradine]

If you must add abilities to your BBEGs for them not to be trivially shut down by hero abilities something's broken alright.

Not really.

 

[pogre]

Wall of Force and Force Cage are potent, but they are high level spells and no one has many of those/day. Plus like other spells, they can be counter-spelled or dispelled.

Wall of Force

and can’t be dispelled by dispel magic.

Forcecage

This spell can't be dispelled by Dispel Magic.