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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7211306" data-attributes="member: 58172">Looking at the 5th-level Least Useful spells.Hallow is a ‘downtime’ spell that essentially creates permanent magic items.Probably, magic item creations needs to be a completely separate design space, but organized much like specific spells are. Each kind of magic item would have its own stats and description, resembling an entry in a spell list. Magic Mouth would be an example of a lower level magic item creation. A Clone a higher level magic item.(I prefer permanent +1 weapons to count as magic item creation, but actually be nonmagical ‘masterworks’ using exotic materials with exotic properties. Such masterworks are a prerequisite for any kind of enchantment to achieve a +2 weapon, special magical properties, or so on.)Consumable magic items like a Potion of Healing differ from temporary magic items like Goodberry, precisely because temporary ones have a limited shelf-life before losing their magic. So, potions go into the magic item design space, but Goodberry remains in the spell design space.Similar to a feat allowing ritual casters, perhaps a well-thought-out feat could allow magic item creators, even to noncasters. This matches the archetype of the warrior who forges masterful and even magical weapons, but otherwise casts  no spells.Geas and Conjure Elemental deserve to be spell level 5, but their descriptions need fixes.Geas probably works fine if the casting time is 1 Action, so that it functions moreorless identically to Charm Person, but extends to Charm Monster. For such a high level spell, having the Charm effect end on friendly terms would be nice, either with the target remaining unaware of the previous charm effect or carrying no grudges. The psychic damage for disobedience seems silly. Either allow the caster to further attempt dominate the charmed target to carry out a command that the target hates, or drop the idea of compulsion altogether.Flame Strike and Creation work well as 3rd-level spells, Excellent and Good, respectively.Planar Binding might also make a Not Bad 3rd-level spell. Its prerequisite to first capture and contain the planar being, is a significant situationality, that also ensures the compelled creature will usually not be much higher level than the caster.Telepathic Bond as a 2nd-level spell makes me fell less uneasy. The effect is restricted to a specific group of creatures present at the time of casting and has no benefits aside from communication. (In the metagame sense, players communicate with each other anyway, so this spell is nearly useless, but could be fun, to employ as part of tactics). On the same spell level as Invisibility? Sounds about right.The DM hint spells are inherently problematic: Commune, Commune With Nature, Contact Other Plane. I would get rid of them. If a DM wants these kinds of hints to be available, the DM might call for an Intelligence or Wisdom check, representing an intuitive hunch, or even a latent psychic sensitivity. That way, the DM can give any player a hint, not just the casters.Reincarnate as a spell is perfect for spell level 1. On the one hand, it is significantly inferior to the 3rd-level spell Revivify. On the other hand, characters are so low a level, that the players are still thinking about what kind of character they want to play. Switching races can be desirable, before investing in a specific choice makes the switch painful and unwanted. Moreover, when a level 1 character gets killed, and comes back as different character, the new character retains all of the memories of the previous character − in game − which is a handy convenience.Personally, I would allow the player to choose which races the next character might come back as. In addition to the current race, choose 4 more player races, each one with DMs approval. Roll on a d6. A natural six means, the character comes back as the same race and is moreorless the same character, basically a resurrection with some cosmetic differences. On a natural five thru two, it is one of the four chosen alternative races, respectively. On a natural one on the d6, it is DMs choice. If the DM is nice, it will be the race the player really wanted. If the DM is mean, it will be none of the races that player selected. Something like that.Reincarnation can be an awesome 1st-level spell. Heh, given how deadly the low levels are, the spell can be highly useful.Legend Lore is a simple Intelligence (History) skill check. Maybe as a 1st-level spell it grants advantage or an expertise-like bonus for the check, or is simply an auto-win. In any case, even as such, it might not qualify as worth a 1st-level spell. Not even a cantrip? Would you rather have Mage Hand, or Legend Lore for your cantrip?Passwall is less desirable at any level. Maybe if it instead allows the *target* to pass thru all solid objects (for a certain duration, or within a certain area effect, or however balanced), this ‘Phasing’ spell would be Excellent fun. Essentially, this is a kind of ethereality for spell level 2. Maybe it is the shallowest aspect of the ethereal plane as it overlaps with the material plane, so that the characters remain fully visible. Or ‘between’ the planes. The target can be hit by spells and any magic weapon, but maybe also hit by ‘cold iron’ weapons similar to fey. Or maybe any kind of iron or lead cannot be passed thru, so metal walls are impassible and metal weapons work normally. Anyway, in 5e, phasing at low levels remains a desideratum.</blockquote>

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