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Message: <blockquote data-quote="greg kaye" data-source="post: 9045796" data-attributes="member: 7030543">As far as I know, Skywrite is effectively the most far-reaching of AoE spells.The spell simply says that "You cause up to ten words to form in a part of the sky you can see", and that, "The words appear to be made of cloud".No direct reference is made to height but, with reference to sky and a resemblance to cloud, we might apply potential heights of several thousand feet and up to well over 40,000 feet (as related to Earth-based atmospheric physics)."Reading the spell's stats:Skywrite is available to Bards, Druids, Wizards, and Artificers as a 2nd level, potentially ritually cast spell for the writing of 10 words in the sky that may be read across a wide area.For the sake of comparison:Sending is available to Bards, Clerics, and Wizards as a 3rd level spell to "send a short [audible] message of twenty-five words or less to a creature with which you are familiar. The creature hears the message in its mind, recognizes you as the sender if it knows you, and can answer in a like manner immediately."  So 50 words total communication but without any potential for anonymity.But, as a ritual cast, skywrite can, over say (a little more than) eight hours worth of casting, be used to write 480 words (for anyone inclined to look up for updates) and doesn't cost spell slots.edit: while "(a little more than) eight hours worth of casting" may be required "to write 480 words", RAW, the castings may need to be spread out over a longer period of time if they would have much chance of being read.While Skywrite can be cast as a ritual, it requires concentration, as would the casting of a subsequent ritual. [ATTACH=full]287891[/ATTACH]Sending, in comparison, wouldn't be so good at sending long messages when Skywrite could be effectively used. /edit.Per long rest, Sending can be used (prior to any use of arcane recovery...): by a fifth-level full caster with their 2 3rd-level slots (for 50 words of one-way messaging);  or by a 14th-level caster with their 3 3rd level slots, their 3 4th level slot, their  2 5th level slot, their 1 6th level slot, and their 1 7th level slot (for a potential 250 words of one-way messaging).My guess is that a caster proficient in both spells might use sending once (mainly for an identity confirming "can someone with you take down some slowly appearing skywrite messaging on x topic?") and, given time and other requirements for spell slot use, skywrite for the body text.However, I suspect that, in some worlds, druid's might try to seek and destroy the persistent skywriterati.  As far as druid personal messaging is concerned, I guess a question might be would the druid be happier with naughty word with the sky with skywrite or (potentially?) risking the lives... of animals with animal messenger.  (But, surely, the message with animal messenger would typically be something like "get ready to hold/entice a subsequent animal messenger to read the longer message on its leg."A 15th level wizard can potentially get the telepathy spell if it is made available or if s/he wouldn't prefer to use 1 of their 2 new spells per level spells for ~chat rather than to acquire the likes of antimagic field, clone, dominate monster, feeblemind, illusory dragon, and maze.Propaganda and battle communications.However, the main benefit of skywrite is its potential use in mass communication.  In a campaign with political leanings, its influence (whether or not the sender's' identity is declared or insinuated) could be incredible.In battle communications, messages like "Commence Operation Overlord, or ... Rolling Thunder, or ... Desert Storm" could be used to coordinate things like attacks while messages like "Commence [just making some word up to naughty word with the enemy]" could also be sent out every ten minutes.Bards have limits to their known spells, but skywrite could be a flavourful choice.  What could be better for a bard with those concert promotions and what better for a ruler/governance than having a herald that can write in the sky.  In a stage of our campaign that's gone a bit political, my bard flavours the spell as a Beatles-styled, vapour stack writer, "... and I need to text and I want to be a vapour stack writer..." <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🎶" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f3b6.png" title="Musical notes    :notes:" data-shortname=":notes:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />.  However, it's definitely a spell that might be dropped if the politics can be sorted out.</blockquote>

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