D&D 5E What spells are not Scalable and should be?

[dmgorgon]

After looking at my 2e PHB I noticed that all except 2 of the 40+ first level spells scale with level. The problem with D&D Next is that the game is only scaling damage. That approach won't work well for spell casters who want to focus on non-damaging based spells. Everything should scale, # of targets, range, duration, AoE, etc, not just damage.

 

[Dausuul]

Fireball, lightning bolt, magic missile, cone of cold, etc. Pretty much any spell that scaled in previous editions but doesn't in 5E. I guesss the designers looked at 3e and saw how overpowered blasting spells are.

All of those spells scale in 5E.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

No they don't. There are 3rd level spells, 4th level spells, etc. Casting a fireball as a level 4 spell for 1d6 extra damage is not a useful casting of a 4th level spell slot. If that is scaling, they may as not even scale.

 

[Dausuul]

No they don't. There are 3rd level spells, 4th level spells, etc. Casting a fireball as a level 4 spell for 1d6 extra damage is not a useful casting of a 4th level spell slot. If that is scaling, they may as not even scale.

You don't have to like it, but this is how scaling works in 5E (and it is rather obviously what the original poster was talking about). I find it works just fine; "heightened" spells are not as powerful as a spell of the target level, but they're close enough that if I need a 2nd-level damage spell and don't have one prepared, it's worth it to cast a heightened magic missile.

 

[Zardnaar]

Its how it works in 5E or one can go and buy PF or a retroclone and pass on another version of pretend "D&D".

Mod Note: Statements of the form, "What you like isn't really D&D," aren't constructive. There isn't a one of you who is an authority enough to make that assertion and have it stick, so it turns discussion into a war of egos. EN World isn't interested in how big your ego is. So, please avoid the edition warring threadcraps. Thanks, all! ~Umbran

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Tenser's Floating Disc. As a 9th level spell, I want to be able to move a city ...

 

[Dausuul]

Its how it works in 5E or one can go and buy PF or a retroclone and pass on another version of pretend "D&D".

...Rrrright, so why are you in this thread again? Nobody's making you play 5E.

Anyway, to the OP's question: I agree with DMGorgon, there should be scaling for more than just damage spells. Most spells have one aspect or another that could scale. For instance, dimension door could scale by increasing range--maybe double it for each additional spell level. Fly could scale by increasing speed, say 20 or 30 feet per spell level. Charm person could scale by increasing duration. I think the scaling mechanic should be applied to any spell where it's feasible.

 

[r0gershrubber]

Would it be a good idea to replace the higher level versions of spells with a scaling mechanism?

For example, what if Charm Monster and Charm Person were unified, but with a greater selection of targets at the expense of higher level spell slots? Something similar could be done with the other Person/Monster spells as well as the Major and Mass versions of spells.

Also, I like the idea of using metamagic concepts to build scaling into non-damage spells.

 

[Zardnaar]

Because there is a small chance D&DN may be half decent. i suspect it will be an alright game judged on its own merits but it is also going to be judged on "Does this feel like D&D" and I'm not sure if it will pass that test and even if it does a huge % of the fan base seems happy with Pathfinder anyway.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Tenser's Floating Disc. As a 9th level spell, I want to be able to move a city ...

Yes! This! Maybe not a city, but it gets the idea across.