What Spells give the DM the most headache...

[Calico_Jack73]

Wind walk.

No seriously, the spell pisses me off since in theory you've got almost invisible PCs zipping around at speeds to make half of the encounters in any given place not applicable because they aren't detected and can zip away before most anything can happen.

One of two things would happen to my players if they tried that.

1) Walls of Force would be triggered by their passing. Let them try to turn around and go back!

2) Just as they round the corner they Wind Walk right into the Anti-Magic cone of a Beholder.

 

[Pants]

Scrying - I hated having to insert Magical Items that barely worked in order to deal with this spell in 3.0. Thank god 3.5 got rid of that stupid skill. The DC's were usually set so low that low level wizards could easily make the DC's. Now its easy to foil a simple Scry + Teleport Nukefest since either the Villains usually have pretty good Will sazes or the smart ones have Mind Blank cast most of the time.
Firebrand - This spell isn't that terrible, but I swear that it's too powerful for it's level.
ShapeChange - I'm going to change this spell before I allow it into my game...
Death Spells - I hate the fact that these are all or nothing. I don't like killing players like that...

 

[d6]

In my games its the spells like teleport and wall of iron and time stop that give me the most trouble. Spells that bend time and space, and spells that make permanent stuff are the worst because a player can bend the rules to heck.

 

[Arnwyn]

Polymorph and Shapechange.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

The ones that give me a headache are Wish, Miracle, and limited Wish.
I hate dealing with them, and the fact that my players leave them so friggin open ended is annoying.

"I wish I had a million gold coins.", "I wish I was stronger than a dragon"
Blah blah blah.
Poof, you got your gold, go fetch it from the bottom of the lake.
Poof, your now stronger than a dragon, but your power won't last forever.

In the Paladium FRPG there was a version of the Djinn which would grant wishes... well, it wouldn't actually make anything from nothing but was powerful enough to get whatever it was you wanted. If you asked for more treasure than all the kingdoms of the world combined it would most likely first raid the treasure rooms of every king in the world conveniently letting them know who they had to thank for the theft (the PC) and where you could be located and would then pick up a single lost copper off the street to make it MORE than all of the treasure of the kingdoms combined. The PC would be enjoying his newly gotten treasure when the armies of the various kingdoms arrived to take it back.

Anyway, I like handling those troublesome Wish spells along those lines.

Miracle spells are a little trickier since obviously the god in question is going to grant the intent of the wish, not the letter since by the time the cleric can cast it he is probably one of the god's greatest champions. I guess the best thing to remember is the saying... "God won't necessarily give you what you want but he will give you what you need".

 

[Altalazar]

You know, I've never really had a problem with any particular spells. Sure, occasionally I've been caught off guard with a clever or unexpected use, but so what? That is what makes the game interesting. If I could anticipate and neutralize ahead of time everything the PCs could do, it wouldn't be very fun.

I just adapt to what gets used. I don't have a problem with it - that's probably why I think the concerns with high magic are so silly. I don't design games based on railroading. I just let the chips fall where they may. And I come up with my own world.

 

[Nail]

Entangle: Seriously. It's AoE is too big for a 1st level spell.

Silence: It should allow a Will save.

Scry & Teleport: 3.5e helped out, but......

 

[Belbarrus]

Permanent Arcane Sight. The user can see magical auras by sight without having to concentrate and can still determine magical schools, etc with a succesful Spellcraft check.

Especially in D&D, there is SO much that can be magical: Magic items, spells on a character, magical traps, magical wards, illusions, charms, weird magic fountains, enchanted archways, wish-giving rocks, etc. The problem is not having to keep track of all the magic stuff, but having a PC with an ability that automatically detects magic traps, illusions, a charmed NPC, magical wards, weird magical effects and so on. It is hard to keep anything from someone with permanent Arcane Sight because the game is so magic heavy. AND having to keep telling the player EVERYTHING that is magical AND what the strength the aura is AND what school, and so on. When the party encounters some enemy NPCs the Arcane Sighted Wizard wants to know: what auras are on each NPC, where are the auras, what strentht are the auras and what school? It's a pain in the butt for a DM. So, in my "roll"-playing campaign, more and more NPCs and objects are getting Nystals Magic Aura or Non-detection on them

Polymorph-type spells can be a nuisance because they can beef up a single character in multiple ways all with one spell. But that usually just means I can send tougher opponents at the PCs.

Insta-travel spells like Dim Door and Teleport I dont have a problem with usually.

Anti-affliction spells are what I tend to find annoying. How bad is a curse when Remove Curse gets rid of it? How bad is a disease when Remove Disease or a Paladin's ability gets rid of it? Basically, the party does not suffer a detriment for very long because there are spells or magic that will end the effect instantly.


B

 

[Yorik the Great]

Protection From Evil - it allows my players to override much higher level spells with ease. I'm sure its been discussed before but its extremly annoying to have dominate person overuled by a first level spell.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Entangle: Seriously. It's AoE is too big for a 1st level spell.

Silence: It should allow a Will save.

Scry & Teleport: 3.5e helped out, but......

Notice Entangle is ineffective if you have no ground cover to entangle with.

There's LOTS of places where you can't use the spell or it is not very effective--underground, in deserts, mountains above the tree line, wetlands, cities, roads (even if they aren't paved, there won't be grass there!), tundra, all kinds of terrain make Entangle only useful in certain types of terrain.
Now, given, there is a lot of grass and such everywhere, but you can minimize the overuse of the spell.

Basically, the party does not suffer a detriment for very long because there are spells or magic that will end the effect instantly.

Key words: THE PARTY does not suffer. Everyone else will have a problem with the shakes or the red ache.