D&D 5E Spells that turned out to be a lot more powerful than you thought

[Iosue]

Well, one thing this little hunt for foot patrol pictures has taught me is that photographers like taking pictures of patrols from the front or back. So with foreshortening it's hard to get a good grasp of distance.

Here are perhaps some better pictures:

Lines seem to get more bunched together in close quarters, such as narrow city streets. Still, 150 feet between the lead and the rear for a group of 20 does not seem out of line, and indeed perhaps a little short.

That said, 40 feet radius is 80 feet diameter. If you've got a patrol keeping roughly 5m (15 ft) distance from each other and you place your spell in the middle, it's going to nail five of them, maybe six. Even more if they're in two files.

But seriously? This is why D&D is fun. Maybe the patrol is well-trained. Maybe they're chumps. Maybe they're walking single file, maybe in two lines. Maybe they're clumped together, maybe they're spread out in width as well as length. We have a myriad of possibilities we can face, all calling for different tactics and strategies.

 

[Delandel]

Thunderwave. Grappled? Thunderwave. Enemies on the edge of a cliff? Thunderwave. Invisible assassin in a small room with you? Thunderwave. Need to alert your allies with a loud noise? Thunderwave. Thunderwave? Thunderwave.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The conjuration spells have a weakness though. Concentration. Every group of PCs (or semi-intelligent NPCs) should always focus fire on a caster concentrating on a Conjure spell. Strong, but it makes the caster a primary target of counterattacks.

Don't disagree with the rest, but many foes will have no ability to determine this, esp. if the spell is cast before combat.

 

[KarinsDad]

Don't disagree with the rest, but many foes will have no ability to determine this, esp. if the spell is cast before combat.

Agreed. But if it is cast in combat, everyone should know who cast it (as a general rule, there might be unusual situations where the caster is in total cover and then verbally commands the animals to "go attack the Orcs"). I do have a bit of a question on what verbal commands animals might understand, but I just let it be magic and not worry about it too much.

 

[DocSun]

Thunderwave. Grappled? Thunderwave. Enemies on the edge of a cliff? Thunderwave. Invisible assassin in a small room with you? Thunderwave. Need to alert your allies with a loud noise? Thunderwave. Thunderwave? Thunderwave.

The problem I have with Thunderwave; it hits your allies. Grappled sure it gets you out but it might hurt your cleric or throw an enemy right into your wizard. edge of cliff? hope you lined up right otherwise an ally might be going over instead. at least with the invisible assassin hopefully you are spread out. but again then he might just stay next to an ally. Its a nice spell in certain situations if you can line it up otherwise Ill take other spells that have range.

 

[Malovaan]

The problem I have with Thunderwave; it hits your allies. Grappled sure it gets you out but it might hurt your cleric or throw an enemy right into your wizard. edge of cliff? hope you lined up right otherwise an ally might be going over instead.

Not if the wizard picked school of evocation

 

[TarionzCousin]

But seriously? This is why D&D is fun. Maybe the patrol is well-trained. Maybe they're chumps. Maybe they're walking single file, maybe in two lines. Maybe they're clumped together, maybe they're spread out in width as well as length. We have a myriad of possibilities we can face, all calling for different tactics and strategies.

Maybe the entire patrol has a combined intelligence of about seven.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

That said, 40 feet radius is 80 feet diameter. If you've got a patrol keeping roughly 5m (15 ft) distance from each other and you place your spell in the middle, it's going to nail five of them, maybe six. Even more if they're in two files.

Not many spells have a forty foot radius (or a range over 150 feet). I can only think of Circle of Death, Otiluke's Frozen Sphere, and Meteor Swarm, all level 6+. Fireball is only a 20 foot radius.

 

[PnPgamer]

Thunderwave. Grappled? Thunderwave. Enemies on the edge of a cliff? Thunderwave. Invisible assassin in a small room with you? Thunderwave. Need to alert your allies with a loud noise? Thunderwave. Thunderwave? Thunderwave.

I get the feeling that someone likes thunderwave.

 

[I'm A Banana]

SLEEP. The "no saving throw" aspect makes it almost never a waste of a slot.

Also a big fan of Hypnotic Pattern. It requires a failed save, but it affects a large enough area that you should at least be able to land 2-3 goombahs with it.