What spells are you bored with?

[Calico_Jack73]

I've got a few boring Divine Spells for you...

1) Cure Light Wounds - Every cleric player gets tired of being the party medic. Is the spell important to party survival? Most certainly! Does it pidgeonhole the cleric into doing nothing but healing the party members? See first answer.

2) Sanctuary - Definitely useful and every cleric uses it.

3) Command - The early "Power Word" spell. Take an enemy out of the fight for a round or more (if properly used).

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Game breaking? Not really.

3.x spell mechanics breaking? Looks like.

A single, first-level spell:
1. Force effect (affects everything, even ethereal[!])...and it scales in damage.
3. And that requires no attack roll or saving throw. Always hits---they should call it Power Word Damage.

I have to disagree with you. Yes, Magic Missile is powerful but it can be blocked by another 1st level spell, namely Shield. Strangely, not many of my players remember that. I've had Wizard players with the spell memorized that forget that it blocks Magic Missiles and they just swap spells attacks over and over with an enemy caster. The list price for a Brooch of Shielding is only 1500 gp which is a steal compared to many other items. If I were a Wizard player and I wanted to create one I'd only need to be 3rd level, spend 750 GP and 60 XP. It only takes two days to create one so in 6 days time I could crank out 3 of them. Heck, with a typical party of 4 I'd create one for each member of my party. Because of their cheapness I make Brooches fairly common items to find in any big city (well, as common as magic items can get anyway).

 

[JoeBlank]

OMG, all spells are broken, lets ban them all!

Seriously, you realize a level 1 wizard is going to have 2 1st level spells per day to cast? Magic missle gives them a guarantee that they won't lose half their daily effectiveness by having a spell resisted.

I agree. It is horribly frustrating to be playing a low-level spellcaster, especially a sorcerer, and to have your spells fail. They are all you have, and the fact that they are generally better than weapons is balanced by their limited number of uses.

If a fighter misses with his longsword he gets to try again the next round, and the next, and so on. If a spellcaster uses a spell and it misses, or the target saves, or the target has SR, or the target is not of the right type, then the spell is wasted.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

I agree. It is horribly frustrating to be playing a low-level spellcaster, especially a sorcerer, and to have your spells fail. They are all you have, and the fact that they are generally better than weapons is balanced by their limited number of uses.

If a fighter misses with his longsword he gets to try again the next round, and the next, and so on. If a spellcaster uses a spell and it misses, or the target saves, or the target has SR, or the target is not of the right type, then the spell is wasted.

Well, one of the problems with MM (pre-3.5) was that it was utterly reliable *and* did more damage than spells that weren't as reliable (Shocking Grasp at most levels and Acid Arrow at all levels).

This has been largely fixed by giving SG a higher damage and giving AA the ability to ignore SR. MM is still very good and very reliable, but now there is a reason for the PC to at least consider other spells.

 

[Castellan]

I've never had a problem with Magic Missile. Even at higher levels, it's never been broken in my games.

Now, what I'm tired of in my game is the druid who indiscriminately casts Flame Strike at everything she sees. I've never seen another druid burn down so many forests, or kill as many innocent bystanders as this player does when she casts multiple Flame Strikes at her targets (including those in melee with party members).

A day of reckoning is coming.... She's high enough level, now, that other druids are beginning to think of her as a "rogue druid." Screw divine intervention. We're going to have an all-out intra-faith smackdown!

 

[Altalazar]

Did everyone just get amnesia and forget that Magic Missile is easily and completely neutralized by another first level spell called Shield?

And Spike Stones! Cliche! It should be banned!

 

[MerakSpielman]

Wow, talk about return of an old thread...

Anyway, Altalazar, this thread isn't concerned with determining which spells are overpowered or easily countered, just which spells you're sick of seeing people cast becuase they're so common.

 

[Grazzt]

Spells I'm bored with (as a player and DM):

magic missile, fireball, lightning bolt, cure XXX wounds, raise dead, resurrection, true resurrection.

 

[Arnwyn]

Magic Missile, Fly, Restoration, Greater Magic Weapon.

 

[apsuman]

Back when 3.0 came out wizards had a d&d spell supplement on their website. They displayed the "new and unintroduced" version of MM that didn't make the cut into the book.

The spell was called arcane bolt (imho) and it was just like MM except the following:

1d6+1 damage per missile
required a touch attack roll
reflex save for half damage.

I liked it except that because of evasion the spell becomes nearly useless against chars with a high dex (not to mention evasion)

Also, they posted some time (months?) later a 2rd or 3rd level version of MM. I don't remember a lot about it, the missiles did more damage and there was a "splash" effect on the force bolts so that people around the target might get hit for some small amount of damage.

Anyway, it's been a while since I have been to the wizards site but I bet both spells are still there.