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<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 7545447" data-attributes="member: 907"><p>Let me see what kind of defensive reactive abilities there already are in the game:</p><p></p><p>* Spirit Shield (Barbarian - Ancestral Guardian): reduce damage. Only while raging.</p><p>* Cutting Words (Bard - College of Lore): reduce attack roll. Uses resource (bardic inspiration).</p><p>* Combat Inspiration (Bard - College of Valor): allows recipient of bardic inspiration to increase AC against a specific attack. Uses resource (already granted bardic inspiration).</p><p>* Sentinel at Death's Door (Cleric - Grave domain): turn a critical hit into a normal hit. Usable Wismod times/long rest.</p><p>* Warding Flare and later Improved Flare (Cleric - Light domain): Inflict disadvantage on an attack against you and later against someone else. Usable Wismod times/long rest.</p><p>* Dampen Elements (Cleric - Nature domain): give an ally resistance against a particular type of elemental damage for the instant of that attack. Highly situational.</p><p>* Protection fighting style (Fighters and Paladins with the fighting style): Inflict disadvantage on an attack directed at an ally within 5 ft. Requires a shield, and highly situational.</p><p>* Parry maneuver (Fighter - Battlemaster): Reduce damage by one superiority die. Uses resource (superiority dice).</p><p>* Warding maneuver (Fighter - Cavalier): Increase AC against one attack directed at self or adjacent ally by 1d8. Usable Conmod times/long rest.</p><p>* Deflect Missiles (Monk): Reduce damage from a ranged attack by 1d10+Dexmod+level. Highly situational.</p><p>* Aura of the Guardian (Paladin - Oath of Redemption): Transfer damage from ally to self.</p><p>* Shadowy Dodge (Ranger - Gloomstalker): Inflict disadvantage on one attack that doesn't have advantage. Very high-level ability.</p><p>* Spectral Defense (Ranger - Horizon walker): Gain resistance to damage from one attack. Very high-level ability.</p><p>* Uncanny Dodge (Ranger - Hunter or Rogue): Gain resistance to one attack you can see. Very high-level ability for ranger.</p><p>* Bend Luck (Sorerer - Wild Mage): Add/subtract from (among other things) an attack roll made nearby. Uses resource (sorcery points).</p><p>* Tomb of Levistus (Warlock invocation): Adds 10 temp hp/level but at the cost of your next turn. Once per short rest.</p><p>* Entropic Ward (Warlock - Great Old One patron): Impose disadvantage on one attack. Once per short rest.</p><p>* Armor of Hexes (Warlock - Hexblade patron): 50% chance to negate an attack by cursed foe. Only works on target of Hexblade's Curse, which is once/short rest.</p><p>* Instinctive Charm (Wizard - School of Enchantment): Might redirect an attack to another foe. Once foe successfully saves, that foe is immune to this ability until a long rest.</p><p>* Illusory Self (Wizard - School of Illusion): Negate one attack per short rest.</p><p>* Arcane Deflection (Wizard - School of War Magic): +2 AC or +4 to a save vs one attack/spell, at the cost of not being able to cast non-cantrips during your next turn.</p><p>* <em>Shield</em> spell: +5 AC until the start of your next turn. Uses resource: 1st-level spell slot.</p><p>* <em>Absorb elements</em> spell: Resistance against an element until the start of your next turn. Uses resource: 1st-level spell slot.</p><p></p><p>So what we can see from these examples is that almost all examples of reactive defensive abilities are limited by some resource, either by having its own counter or using some other resource (e.g. spell slots or inspiration dice), or they are highly situational (e.g. only against ranged attacks, only protects adjacent allies). The exceptions to this are either high-level abilities, only reduce but not negate damage, or limit your future actions.</p><p></p><p>I think the best model of these to use for a cantrip-level <em>shield</em>-type spell would be Arcane Deflection: +2 AC versus the triggering attack, and you can't cast non-cantrips on your next turn.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 7545447, member: 907"] Let me see what kind of defensive reactive abilities there already are in the game: * Spirit Shield (Barbarian - Ancestral Guardian): reduce damage. Only while raging. * Cutting Words (Bard - College of Lore): reduce attack roll. Uses resource (bardic inspiration). * Combat Inspiration (Bard - College of Valor): allows recipient of bardic inspiration to increase AC against a specific attack. Uses resource (already granted bardic inspiration). * Sentinel at Death's Door (Cleric - Grave domain): turn a critical hit into a normal hit. Usable Wismod times/long rest. * Warding Flare and later Improved Flare (Cleric - Light domain): Inflict disadvantage on an attack against you and later against someone else. Usable Wismod times/long rest. * Dampen Elements (Cleric - Nature domain): give an ally resistance against a particular type of elemental damage for the instant of that attack. Highly situational. * Protection fighting style (Fighters and Paladins with the fighting style): Inflict disadvantage on an attack directed at an ally within 5 ft. Requires a shield, and highly situational. * Parry maneuver (Fighter - Battlemaster): Reduce damage by one superiority die. Uses resource (superiority dice). * Warding maneuver (Fighter - Cavalier): Increase AC against one attack directed at self or adjacent ally by 1d8. Usable Conmod times/long rest. * Deflect Missiles (Monk): Reduce damage from a ranged attack by 1d10+Dexmod+level. Highly situational. * Aura of the Guardian (Paladin - Oath of Redemption): Transfer damage from ally to self. * Shadowy Dodge (Ranger - Gloomstalker): Inflict disadvantage on one attack that doesn't have advantage. Very high-level ability. * Spectral Defense (Ranger - Horizon walker): Gain resistance to damage from one attack. Very high-level ability. * Uncanny Dodge (Ranger - Hunter or Rogue): Gain resistance to one attack you can see. Very high-level ability for ranger. * Bend Luck (Sorerer - Wild Mage): Add/subtract from (among other things) an attack roll made nearby. Uses resource (sorcery points). * Tomb of Levistus (Warlock invocation): Adds 10 temp hp/level but at the cost of your next turn. Once per short rest. * Entropic Ward (Warlock - Great Old One patron): Impose disadvantage on one attack. Once per short rest. * Armor of Hexes (Warlock - Hexblade patron): 50% chance to negate an attack by cursed foe. Only works on target of Hexblade's Curse, which is once/short rest. * Instinctive Charm (Wizard - School of Enchantment): Might redirect an attack to another foe. Once foe successfully saves, that foe is immune to this ability until a long rest. * Illusory Self (Wizard - School of Illusion): Negate one attack per short rest. * Arcane Deflection (Wizard - School of War Magic): +2 AC or +4 to a save vs one attack/spell, at the cost of not being able to cast non-cantrips during your next turn. * [I]Shield[/I] spell: +5 AC until the start of your next turn. Uses resource: 1st-level spell slot. * [I]Absorb elements[/I] spell: Resistance against an element until the start of your next turn. Uses resource: 1st-level spell slot. So what we can see from these examples is that almost all examples of reactive defensive abilities are limited by some resource, either by having its own counter or using some other resource (e.g. spell slots or inspiration dice), or they are highly situational (e.g. only against ranged attacks, only protects adjacent allies). The exceptions to this are either high-level abilities, only reduce but not negate damage, or limit your future actions. I think the best model of these to use for a cantrip-level [I]shield[/I]-type spell would be Arcane Deflection: +2 AC versus the triggering attack, and you can't cast non-cantrips on your next turn. [/QUOTE]
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