D&D 5E Survivor Worst Spells: FIND TRAPS IS THE WORST!

[OB1]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 17
Feign Death 24
Find Traps 27
Mordenkainen's Sword 16
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[Phazonfish]

True Strike mechanically fails a significant portion of the time. It's a trap.

Indeed, and Find Traps wouldn't detect it because it wasn't intended to be so.

Find Traps only fails if no portion of the trap or trapped object is visible, or the DM is a d__k.

You act as though that is not a noteworthy drawback. Most spells work well even under whichever interpretation is the least useful, Find Traps does not.

If someone put a snake in a box with the intent to cause harm, I consider that a trap.

Sure, this is true, but that first half is significant. If it wasn't placed there specifically to cause harm (maybe someone didn't want it getting out, or maybe a critter just thought the box looked like a cozy place to rest, as opposed to "You know what would make a good trap? Something that requires me checking back pretty often to make sure it still has food, water, and air.") then Find Traps won't detect it.

If the ceiling can collapse, Find Trap detects that.

Not true, structural damage isn't always specifically intended by the structure's creator. I would go as far as to say it's usually not. In fact, the spell description even says, "[...]but it would not reveal a natural weakness in the floor, an unstable ceiling, or a hidden sinkhole."

If your party all look around thoroughly and everyone makes Perception/Investigation checks and can't find the trap, Find Traps won't help. You might say it can help you at least know if there's a trap in the area, consider this: If it says yes, it doesn't really help; if you cast Find Traps you had already suspected this was the case. If it says no, it still won't set you at ease because there are many conditions that cause something not to be detected. It's not that it fails that hard at finding traps, it's that it's just that unreliable. Sure, Find Traps can be useful sometimes, but every spell not named True Strike can be.

 

[Phazonfish]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 15 - Who cares if it doesn't retrieve the item if it's held. It does even better: it tells you a person from whom you can retrieve not only your possessions, but also all of theirs and their life, guilt free. Pairs well with Scrying.
Feign Death 24
Find Traps 28 - Obviously not as bad as True Strike, but it really deserves the runner up title.
Mordenkainen's Sword 16
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[akr71]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 15
Feign Death 24
Find Traps 29
Mordenkainen's Sword 14
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[Gradine]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 16
Feign Death 22
Find Traps 29
Mordenkainen's Sword 14
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[KarinsDad]

Sure, Find Traps can be useful sometimes, but every spell not named True Strike can be.

Well, not every spell. Hence the reason for this thread. Find Traps is an extremely meh spell. Obviously. But I can think of times when it can be helpful. The Wizard casts Detect Magic. The statue is magical. The Rogue finds no traps, but the party is suspicious. The Cleric casts Find Traps. The statue is either a trap, or it is not.

On the other hand, I cannot think of many uses for Weird. At level 17 with a DC 19 save, it can probably be used to clear out most of a large room of a dozen or so Trolls, but there are so many other lower level spells that could do that as well (or alternatively could bypass the room completely). For a 9th level spell, wt?

 

[Iry]

In fact, the rules state something to the effect of "Usually, some element of a trap is visible to careful inspection." (and goes on to explain that). I think that most if not all of the traps listed in the DMG can be detected by this spell. Magic Statue? Check. Pit trap? Check. Poison Darts out of the walls? Check.

Phazon wrote an excellent reply, so I'm only going to follow up to expound upon the most terrible part of Find Traps.

Find Traps doesn't tell you there's a pit trap or poison darts in the wall. It just tells you there's a trap, and danger of falling or poison. Almost nobody is going to use this spell unless they already suspect a trap. If they suspect a trap, then almost everybody is going to make Perception / Investigation rolls to find the trap. Then they cast this spell and... they still cannot find the trap!

The danger is falling? Okay. Where? Which tile? Is it close? Further down the tunnel? The whole tunnel? Or maybe falling meant something falling from above? The danger is poison? Okay. Where? Gas? Monsters? Darts? Does it come from the walls? From the ceiling? From the end of the hallway? You don't know. If you could have found the trap in the first place, you probably wouldn't need to cast this spell!

And the classes capable of casting this spell are generally the classes who need it the least.

It literally doesn't do the one thing it advertises. It's called Find Traps. It doesn't actually FIND any traps. =P

 

[Iry]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 16
Feign Death 20 Actually makes you pretend to be dead.
Find Traps 30 Doesn't actually find traps.
Mordenkainen's Sword 14
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[Tony Vargas]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 14
Feign Death 21
Find Traps 30
Mordenkainen's Sword 14
True Strike 40
Weird 21

 

[Harzel]

Drawmij's Instant Summons 14
Feign Death 19
Find Traps 30
Mordenkainen's Sword 15
True Strike 40
Weird 21