D&D 5E Power Gamers Guide to Elemental Evil Players Companion

[CapnZapp]

Now if HW also added a flavorful status, like the aforementioned exhaustion level, that might make it more worthwhile.

I don't think it needs to hurt undead. It just needs to be more dangerous to living creatures than it is now.

That's a shame, since that indicates you can't do precision surgery on the spell to make it live up to its d20 reputation.

(In d20 the spell not only did more damage than most other spells, but it couldn't be protected against, which was the real benefit)

I was hoping there was a simple clean way to make the spell reclaim its place as the go-to spell when the targets resists everything else.

Removing the damage type does nothing since the spell specifically does nothing against most monsters having that damage type.

Messing with the damage, or adding whole new conditions, is too large a change for me to bother.

So HW will simply be another spell that goes in the bottom drawer, seldom to be used by PCs. Oh well, this edition will have other top notch spells, and I guess every edition needs its bottom drawer spells.

Just a shame Horrid Wilting had to be one, after its phenomenal run during d20...

 

[CapnZapp]

One final idea (even if I'm grasping at straws here):

What if the spell didn't allow a save? (Everything else about the spell stays as written)

I'm sure it would make Horrid much more useful, but would it become brokenly overpowered?

(I'm thinking Horrid is a level 8 spell; and since you get so few high-level slots, any given PC caster could never spam Horrid Wiltings, which I assume would be the way to abuse a no-save version.)

Edit: or even, keep the save (to be able to keep the text about water foes), but have regular foes save at Disadvantage, water foes auto-fail their save. (The smaller the change, the better)?

 

[miniaturehoarder]

Does HW do less damage than a DBFireball raised to 8th level? Is the Area smaller?

 

[lall]

do sorcerers also add their CHA bonus to each ray from scorching ray?

Beginning at 6th level, draconic bloodline (fire) sorcerers do.