Falling Icicle
Adventurer
I'm interested to know what spells people are planning on taking. Here's a few of the spells that impressed me.
Banishment: This spell isn't just for banishing outsiders anymore. It also lets you remove creatures from a fight entirely, and at a much lower level than maze. The creature doesn't even get to make checks or saving throws to get out. It also requires a Charisma saving throw to resist, which many creatures aren't very good at. Plus, if the target is an outsider and you concentrate on the spell for 1 minute, it stays banished.
Blindness/Deafness: At first glance, it might seem like an inferior alternative to hold person. However, this spell has two big things going for it that make me prefer it. First, it can affect any creature type, not just humanoids. Second, and most importantly, it doesn't require concentration! Blindness is a pretty nasty debuff, and being able to inflict it on your enemies without even needing to concentrate is pretty impressive.
Hypnotic Pattern: This spell is amazing. It affects all creatures within a 30 foot cube and makes them stand there incapacitated, unable to do anything but think about the pretty lights. The best part is that they don't get additional saving throws to break free. The spell does break on damage, but a little coordination with your fellow party members and you can pick them off one by one.
Slow: This spell has always been one of my favorites, and the 5e version doesn't disappoint. While other debuffs are far more debilitating than this spell, it affects up to six creatures, which is pretty impressive for a 3rd level spell. While it may not incapacitate or paralyze them, it really does ruin their day. They can't take reactions, have to choose between an action and bonus action, and can only make one attack - period. It also screws over spellcasters just as badly, they have a 50% chance of their spells taking 2 turns turn to cast. Ouch! Best of all, there's almost nothing in the game that's immune to this spell, making it a fine back-up option when hypnotic pattern won't work.
Banishment: This spell isn't just for banishing outsiders anymore. It also lets you remove creatures from a fight entirely, and at a much lower level than maze. The creature doesn't even get to make checks or saving throws to get out. It also requires a Charisma saving throw to resist, which many creatures aren't very good at. Plus, if the target is an outsider and you concentrate on the spell for 1 minute, it stays banished.
Blindness/Deafness: At first glance, it might seem like an inferior alternative to hold person. However, this spell has two big things going for it that make me prefer it. First, it can affect any creature type, not just humanoids. Second, and most importantly, it doesn't require concentration! Blindness is a pretty nasty debuff, and being able to inflict it on your enemies without even needing to concentrate is pretty impressive.
Hypnotic Pattern: This spell is amazing. It affects all creatures within a 30 foot cube and makes them stand there incapacitated, unable to do anything but think about the pretty lights. The best part is that they don't get additional saving throws to break free. The spell does break on damage, but a little coordination with your fellow party members and you can pick them off one by one.
Slow: This spell has always been one of my favorites, and the 5e version doesn't disappoint. While other debuffs are far more debilitating than this spell, it affects up to six creatures, which is pretty impressive for a 3rd level spell. While it may not incapacitate or paralyze them, it really does ruin their day. They can't take reactions, have to choose between an action and bonus action, and can only make one attack - period. It also screws over spellcasters just as badly, they have a 50% chance of their spells taking 2 turns turn to cast. Ouch! Best of all, there's almost nothing in the game that's immune to this spell, making it a fine back-up option when hypnotic pattern won't work.
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