D&D 5E Treantmonk's Guide to Everything Xanathar

[Cyrinishad]

...Scrying is only worth anything because you can use it to spy on faraway locations you've never been to before...

Hmmm... The only reason?

Weird, I could have sworn Scrying was useful in far more circumstances other than that...

 

[Li Shenron]

I'm surprised with some of the ratings you give.

I like when people disagree on ratings because it means that probably the truth is half-way

I was wondering in fact why the spells would be so bad, considering they've been out in the wild for a couple of years already from the free web supplement to PotA... I thought people have used these spells a lot, and feedback has been collected (and in fact some of those spells have been revised!).

Treantmonk makes some comments on a few spells which apparently are straight worse than Fireball on a one-to-one comparison. I remember that Crawford has even commented sometimes that Fireball is OK if slightly overpowered because it's the most "iconic" spell. But I do not think it's good at all if there are spells which don't even have a single incentive to be taken compared to others.

 

[gyor]

Good stuff. I do think you need to take another look at the Divine Soul.

Divine Magic is insane, a sky-blue ability that is rated purple - not because of what it does, but because of the number of spells known that sorcs get. But what if every spell known you have is the highest-rated spell of two classes? An entire guide could be written on divine soul spell selection, metamagic interactions and multiclass possibilities.

Empowered Healing can reroll any number of dice, not just one. Definitely not red, maybe purple.

If you have ally who can cast healing spirit it can be even better, any healing that spirit does you, can reroll it for one point, and Healing Spirit can heal countless allies.

And you read my mind on Divine Soul needing it's own guide, it's almost another class.

 

[gyor]

I like when people disagree on ratings because it means that probably the truth is half-way

I was wondering in fact why the spells would be so bad, considering they've been out in the wild for a couple of years already from the free web supplement to PotA... I thought people have used these spells a lot, and feedback has been collected (and in fact some of those spells have been revised!).

Treantmonk makes some comments on a few spells which apparently are straight worse than Fireball on a one-to-one comparison. I remember that Crawford has even commented sometimes that Fireball is OK if slightly overpowered because it's the most "iconic" spell. But I do not think it's good at all if there are spells which don't even have a single incentive to be taken compared to others.

Spirit Guardians is straight up better then fireball in my opinion, it doesn't hurt allies, gains way more from using higher slots then fireball, wider areas of effect (15' from you in every direction), and debuffs enemies. The down sides are you have to get closer to combat then you might like, it takes multiple rounds to beat fireballs damage, and it's concentration.

 

[Zene]

An entire guide could be written on divine soul spell selection, metamagic interactions and multiclass possibilities.

And you read my mind on Divine Soul needing it's own guide, it's almost another class.

100% agree. There are so many possibilities it boggles the mind. Someone clever really needs to sit down with the cleric spell list and go through one at a time, considering metamagic applications and combos. I’d attempt it myself if I had the time, though I’m sure I wouldn’t think of everything.

Guru (of guru’s sorcerer guide) mentioned he was goig to put one together; but I have no idea when he’ll post it.

 

[neobolts]

You asked "is a greatsword wielding Samurai silly?" Yes. But a no-dachi wielding samurai is awesome (DMG p41).

 

[gyor]

My personal favourites are Extend Spell on Conjure Celestial to summon a Coautl for 2 hours, then use Empower Healing to boost any healing spells the Coautl casts.

I also like Extend Spirit Guardians because then it lasts 20 minutes.

Extend Aid is cool because it ends up boosting your max HP level for 16 hours, and because it boosts the amount unearthly recovery heals which is based on max HPs.

 

[McKillicuddy]

Mind Spike is probably a blue option for Divination Wizards. Its a decent damage divination spell that triggers their feature that gives them back spell levels

As a Diviner wizard, I really want to like Mind Spike. My biggest concern with it is the concentration requirement.

It does OK damage, can be upcast (apparently there was an error and it should be +1d8/SL, not +1d6), and it does allow me to use my spell recovery feature in combat. However, having to break my concentration in order to cast it is a big penalty. I'm not sure breaking concentration is worth the damage + utility of the spell.

 

[gyor]

You asked "is a greatsword wielding Samurai silly?" Yes. But a no-dachi wielding samurai is awesome (DMG p41).

I'm surprised no one seems to have concidered a Samurai using a Long Bow and Elven Accuracy.

Or even better a Kobold Samurai enjoying pack tactics and rapid strike.

 

[Zene]

My personal favourites are Extend Spell on Conjure Celestial to summon a Coautl for 2 hours, then use Empower Healing to boost any healing spells the Coautl casts.

I also like Extend Spirit Guardians because then it lasts 20 minutes.

Extend Aid is cool because it ends up boosting your max HP level for 16 hours, and because it boosts the amount unearthly recovery heals which is based on max HPs.

You know, on the typical warlock 2 / sorc x multiclass, I always thought Extended Armor of Agathys would be great; but there weren’t enough other things to use it on to justify taking it. Now there probably are. And heck, Extended upcast AofA combo’d with Extended upcast Aid is strong enough to potentially even make a passable tank, when combined with Hexblade 1’s medium armor and shields proficiency.