Spells that could be improved / better designed

You consider offering alternative mindsets, dissenting opinions, and questioning premises inappropriate in a public forum? I recommend avoiding such communities then. It's just going to frustrate you to no end.
A single thread is not the entire forum, and threads may have specific purposes. Deliberately derailing a thread with off topic posts after being repeatedly requested not to is simply disrespectful.

It would be nice if there were ways to easily spin off a subthread so that tangents like the points you want to bring up could be more easily discussed, but we have to work with the forum software and realize that trying to keep multiple discussions going in a single thread will quickly turn into a mess.

Since I'm now guilty derailing this thread even more, I will post no further about this matter :)
 

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A single thread is not the entire forum, and threads may have specific purposes. Deliberately derailing a thread with off topic posts after being repeatedly requested not to is simply disrespectful.

It would be nice if there were ways to easily spin off a subthread so that tangents like the points you want to bring up could be more easily discussed, but we have to work with the forum software and realize that trying to keep multiple discussions going in a single thread will quickly turn into a mess.

Since I'm now guilty derailing this thread even more, I will post no further about this matter :)
Good point. If you find a post to be derailing, why are you even responding to it? Just because you see a post in a Public thread doesn't mean you must reply. You're coming across as somewhat rude by trying to claim derailing of the thread because you disagree With the post's on-topic dissenting opinion. Wow, this is getting really meta. :)
 

... and knowing that there's a Deadly trap...

I missed my previous occasion to agree with... i think Corwin. Find Traps states that you know the "general nature of the danger" of a trap. "Deadly" is no nature. "Death by mechanical stabbing" is. As is "Severe injuries via magical fire", " suffucation via lack of air, mechanically activated" or "Crushing and maiming via creatures" (Yes! Ambushes are/could be traps for the spell!). This information might very well lead you to discover traps and their trigger without even rolling for trap detection. Something that pops up as "Major injuries and possible death via stabbing and falls" is very likely to be a spiked pit. Unless magic is involved (and it was not noted in the nature of the spell) it's very very difficult for those pits to be on the walls. And yeah, the spell does tell you at least how many different kinds of traps there are. With the wording of "the nature bla bla" part of the spell, it's also implied that you know the danger of A trap you sense. You sense ANY.Therefore, you have to know many there are, since you know the general nature of the danger of each. No escape (unless you want to argue that "a" means a single one of the area... really?). And the casting time is one action, not "what the master deems to be an acceptable amount of time needed to find traps the mundane way". Still not as good as the "right" way, but with a very nice complement of pluses on its side.

Also, just 2 cents... the thread title is "Spells that could be improved / better designed"

and the OP states

"Before the Great Crash, we had an interesting thread going on the weaker spells in 5e and how they could be improved. By weaker, I mean spells that are really a poor choice in all but the most niche of situations and don't really deliver on what is promised. [snip] So, what spells do think need a little improvement, or clean up in design?"

Nowhere it's the thread stated to be about, or the opening poster agreeing to:
CapnZapp said:
In this thread we discuss solutions based on the assumption there are some universally bad spells in the PHB. An assumption that hews very close to irrefutable fact

By the OP standards, i could be talking about how Animate Objects is unbalanced with itself (and not in a BAD way, sheep's OP imho) or how the wording in Invisibility, if cast on... pretty much half of the monster manual denizens could very well create invisible deadly threats that could do area effect damage, mind control or ... well... pretty much destroy everything WHILE staying invisible. And still be in topic.

Guess i just did ;)
 
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i could be talking about how Animate Objects is unbalanced with itself
Animate objects is horribly unbalanced. On my Spell Balance spreadsheet I have a different version which I think is more balanced against itself and similar power level spells:

Objects come to life at your command. Choose up to six nonmagical objects within range that are not being worn or carried. Medium targets count as two objects, Large and Huge targets count as three objects. You can't animate any object larger than Huge. Each target animates and becomes a creature under your control until the spell ends or until reduced to 0 hit points.
[h=5]Animate Objects Statistics[/h][TABLE="width: 325"]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Size[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]HP[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]AC[/TH]
[TH="align: left"]Damage[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]Str[/TH]
[TH="align: center"]Dex[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #E0E5C1"]
[TD]Tiny[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]20[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]18[/TD]
[TD]1d4 + 3[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]4[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]16[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Small[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]25[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]16[/TD]
[TD]1d8 + 1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #E0E5C1"]
[TD]Medium[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]40[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]13[/TD]
[TD]2d6 + 1[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]12[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Large[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]50[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD]2d10 + 3[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]16[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: #E0E5C1"]
[TD]Huge[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]80[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]10[/TD]
[TD]2d12 + 4[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]18[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]6[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Attack is the spellcasting ability. With that method they're all pretty balanced.
 


Might just be me but I feel there are certain spells for mages that should be allowed to be swapped out for other spells (similar to healing spells ) for clerics


for example say you are a low level wizard who has prepared her/his spells for the day/before rest

You take detect/comprehend as one of your spells-These spells are great but 99% of time are useless but you really kick yourself if/when u need them u don't have them. Might just be me but I have always found it to be a flaw with low level mages as was cure spells before changed in recent editions
 

Might just be me but I feel there are certain spells for mages that should be allowed to be swapped out for other spells (similar to healing spells ) for clerics


for example say you are a low level wizard who has prepared her/his spells for the day/before rest

You take detect/comprehend as one of your spells-These spells are great but 99% of time are useless but you really kick yourself if/when u need them u don't have them. Might just be me but I have always found it to be a flaw with low level mages as was cure spells before changed in recent editions

I do not understand, sorry. You are saying that you cannot change spells like clerics do? You can change your prepared spells just fine! Also, the 2 spells that you mentioned are Rituals, you do not even need to have them prepared to be cast as ritual! While you do not have access to all your spells immediately, you have the potential to learn each spell on your list, given time and resources.
 


so how do wizards change spells? I've prepared a spell say featherfall. How in 5E do I swap out for an offensive spell?

When you finish a long rest. Page 114 PHB, just before the "spellcasting ability" section. Changing spells takes 1 minute per spell level per each spell on your list (i personally change that to "per each spell you are changing", but that's me, not the handbook). Just like a cleric. The big difference between Clerics and Wizards is that Wizards are limited in spells known, while Clerics know the whole list + domain spells. Wizard can spend time and money adding other spells to their spellbook by copying them from other sources, and gain new spells in their book each level.
 

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