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Make SPELLS Balanced
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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 8820159" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>Phantom Steed is effective because of its amazing Speed 100.</p><p></p><p>However, it is arguably less useful than flight, and its 1 minute casting time moves it into the Ritual category, and out of the Slot category.</p><p></p><p>Maybe it should Demote to the 2nd Slot. Or require a Rethink.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Agreed.</p><p></p><p>A Spell that spends a Slot needs to be no more than one Action (or Bonus or Reaction or Move). Otherwise, it is Ritual.</p><p></p><p>There is no important reason for Animate Dead to take more than an Action. Either it is a spell that can be cast during combat − or else − like Find Familiar − it is a noncombat Ritual.</p><p></p><p>Rituals whose effects are also useful in Combat require careful thinking and careful balancing. But generally Slots are for Actions during Combat and Rituals are for Exploration.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hypnotic Pattern and Fear are similar in effectiveness. Hypnotic Pattern is slightly better by making the creatures Incapacitated, but Fear moves the creatures away so one need not deal with them immediately.</p><p></p><p>Notably both spells can affect teammates, thus greatly reducing the usefulness.</p><p></p><p>I will probably relocate both to Good − being standard for a 3rd Slot.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, <em>Lightning Arrow</em> Demotes to a 2nd-Slot spell. Its damage is so weak I somehow assumed it along with its bonus action was in addition to the weapon damage, in which case it would have been an Excellent spell. But I realize it is "instead of" the weapon damage, thus is a subpar compared to other damage spells in the 3rd Slot.</p><p></p><p>Character optimizers and the 5e designers themselves regard <em>Fireball</em> as an unusually powerful spell.</p><p></p><p>That said, it occurs to me that <em>Lightning Bolt</em> feels more like a Single-Target spell. Yes, it might also affect one or two other creatures in the line, but that possibility is "situational" thus less useful.</p><p></p><p>As a Single-Target spell, <em>Lightning Bolt</em> does the appropriate amount of damage for the 3rd Slot. Where a 3rd-Slot damage spells deals 27 damage (6d8) to the single target, the Lightning Bolt deals 28 damage (8d6). If that was all it did, it would simply be a Good spell. But the additional possibility of catching one more mook or so moves Lightning Bolt to an Excellent spell.</p><p></p><p>By contrast, <em>Fireball</em> can reliably target any cluster of hostiles, and is a Multi-Target spell.</p><p></p><p>I am comfortable if 8d6 <em>Lightning Bolt</em> remains 3rd-Slot, while 8d6 <em>Fireball</em> Promotes to 4th Slot. Alternatively, both spells might deserve a Rethink.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Fear</em> and <em>Hypnotic Pattern</em> are comparable to each other.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The Spell Lists need to include every official spell in 5e. I appreciate you catching these.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 8820159, member: 58172"] Phantom Steed is effective because of its amazing Speed 100. However, it is arguably less useful than flight, and its 1 minute casting time moves it into the Ritual category, and out of the Slot category. Maybe it should Demote to the 2nd Slot. Or require a Rethink. Agreed. A Spell that spends a Slot needs to be no more than one Action (or Bonus or Reaction or Move). Otherwise, it is Ritual. There is no important reason for Animate Dead to take more than an Action. Either it is a spell that can be cast during combat − or else − like Find Familiar − it is a noncombat Ritual. Rituals whose effects are also useful in Combat require careful thinking and careful balancing. But generally Slots are for Actions during Combat and Rituals are for Exploration. Hypnotic Pattern and Fear are similar in effectiveness. Hypnotic Pattern is slightly better by making the creatures Incapacitated, but Fear moves the creatures away so one need not deal with them immediately. Notably both spells can affect teammates, thus greatly reducing the usefulness. I will probably relocate both to Good − being standard for a 3rd Slot. Actually, [I]Lightning Arrow[/I] Demotes to a 2nd-Slot spell. Its damage is so weak I somehow assumed it along with its bonus action was in addition to the weapon damage, in which case it would have been an Excellent spell. But I realize it is "instead of" the weapon damage, thus is a subpar compared to other damage spells in the 3rd Slot. Character optimizers and the 5e designers themselves regard [I]Fireball[/I] as an unusually powerful spell. That said, it occurs to me that [I]Lightning Bolt[/I] feels more like a Single-Target spell. Yes, it might also affect one or two other creatures in the line, but that possibility is "situational" thus less useful. As a Single-Target spell, [I]Lightning Bolt[/I] does the appropriate amount of damage for the 3rd Slot. Where a 3rd-Slot damage spells deals 27 damage (6d8) to the single target, the Lightning Bolt deals 28 damage (8d6). If that was all it did, it would simply be a Good spell. But the additional possibility of catching one more mook or so moves Lightning Bolt to an Excellent spell. By contrast, [I]Fireball[/I] can reliably target any cluster of hostiles, and is a Multi-Target spell. I am comfortable if 8d6 [I]Lightning Bolt[/I] remains 3rd-Slot, while 8d6 [I]Fireball[/I] Promotes to 4th Slot. Alternatively, both spells might deserve a Rethink. [I]Fear[/I] and [I]Hypnotic Pattern[/I] are comparable to each other. The Spell Lists need to include every official spell in 5e. I appreciate you catching these. [/QUOTE]
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