Wrath of nature is extremely powerful. The only equivalent thing to it are lair actions from boss creatures. There is nothing else in the spells that mimic lair actions.
Some of my under appreciated spell: Frost fingers - Freeze lava, rivers, and the dwarf's booze Rime's - Love it Bestow curse - On par with Hallow Sword burst (on tanks) - Abberant dragonmark lets you use Con as your casting modifier. To show max value a level 20 Barbarian should have a 24 con so 8+6+7 for 21 dc (other tanks 19) for a reliable martial aoe
I must admit, this is the 1st time I have ever heard someone say they liked Sword burst! I love hearing people talk about underrated spells so I love to hear that!
My top 5 underrated spells (L3 and under): 1. Flaming sphere 2. Magic stone 3. Tiny servant 4. Call lightning 5. Pyrotechnics Honorable mention since its 4L: watery sphere
My favourite underated cantrip is Light, because it alliws you to pick rocks and throw tgem to dark areas. Very dark hole in the ground? Take a rock, use light and throw it in. Better version of throwing a rock and count the time it takes it to hit the bottom. You can also use it to light up dark rooms in a cave
@@peptalkguy this is a genius idea i have not considered because it doesnt say in the rules that bright light (or the light cantrip) can blind characters, but if you go from darkness to nright light on your face it should stun him for a round (or make him lose reactions etc.)
@@user-ju6mc6mn8m yeah! I mean, think about it. Bright light for 20 feet, dim light for another 20, something that bright right in your eyes would absolutely at least blind a character for a round
Wrath of nature is actually really, really solid. To me the main ability is the restrain, since its only requirement is that the enemy is on the floor. It does not require plants to be present. On top of that a str based restain that takes an action to escape is great, yes its like web, however it does not hinder allies in the same way, is effective immediately, providing advantage to allies earlier, and does not start off with a dex save like so many restrain effects, which diversifies the saves. (also str is one of those saves that most monsters clearly telegraph if they are good at it). The trees and grass, while effective if applicable, will probably be very situational, the rocks one however is a nice extra attack that helps justify the 5th level slot over something like the 4th level watery sphere, (technically rocks are conditional, however you can simply drop a pouch of pebbles to create rocks in the area) I would like to disagree on elemental bane, at that 4th level, casting a single target spell with a con save that that does nothing on a failure is not worth it unless it ends combat, for elemental bane to work, you need most of the party dealing one damage type, maybe fire will work, however its unlikely unless preplanned. At that level you can get stuff like polymorph, allowing someone to become a 150 HP damage sponge, or cast a watery sphere that can repeatably try to retrain multiple creatures, in addition to having a high chance of disabling spellcasting because of an inability to breathe water. You give the example of fireball, however, assuming you are the fire wizard, and they are resistant to fire, but not immune, it is still (on avarage) more effective to cast fireball at 4th level, followed up by a 3rd level fireball, even if both deal half, instead of one fireball that comparatively deals double. Saying Elemental bane outdamages a 9th level spell is misleading, First off, Fireball (3rd) straight up out-damages wierd (9th) so its not that big of an achievement. And on top of that Elemental bane does no damage itself, but scales with damage done, yes its ceiling is really high, however its floor is 6 feet under. Con save + nothing on a success means that 50% of the time, noting happens. And even if it sticks, if only lets say 50% of your party deals the damage type, it only deals 4d6 a round, this can be achieved way more reliably by for example melf's minute metiorites, which can deal 4d6 for 3 rounds, save for half, in an aoe, with extra utillity. For this reason I think even if it is doing great, its still not overpowered. The only thing this leaves out is overcoming resistance, which should not be valuable. Yes, you can make a character based around a damage type, however you will need a backup plan anyway since immunity exists, and there is no effect that deals with immunity. And even if you dont have a backup plan, trying to land a con save that uses your concentration. No repeat save is nice though. Overall, Elemental bane is not in True strike/barkskin tier, however its not far off. I personally would like to suggest phantom steed. Have you ever seen the most defining feature of the monk doing stuff: a silly movement speed. The tabaxi monk rogue abomination running 200 feet in a round? That can be you, every round, with no resource investment and no action investment, get your silly fast hose now, its a ritual and lasts an hour (also, you can ritual cast on horseback), so while travelling or around, you can have it permanently active, why stop there? Get one for your entire party for free. It even comes with free faster travel and a flee from combat option, as in just one turn, you can escape out of fireball range.
Warth of Nature is one of my favorite spells but thays likley because I am a druid enjoyer so I migth be a bit biased lol. And I can definitley understand the dislike for elemental bane. And I have not really looked at phantom steed! Its funny you bring up Monk because Druid and Monk are my 2 favorite classes so I will definitley have to take a look at this!
So what im hearing is, i must find myself a lil support friend to give me sanctuary... hmm yes, yes :D also wrath of nature is the best one, 100% slay for a druid
3:00 I LOVE Rime's Binding Ice...I'm playing a Necromancer whose gimmick is ice and necromancy. His name is Rime because Rime's Binding Ice is pretty much his signature spell.
I always associated Ice and necromancy because of my history with Warcraft and the Lich King! It is such a good spell and I am glad to see others love it too!
Some of my favorite underrated spells are less mechanically powerful but are still mechanically solid with a ton of FLAVOR like pyrotechnics, cordon of arrows, wristpocket, ray of frost, compelled duel, minute meteors and so on.
I agree! The reason so many spells are underrated are because they dont do big damage! But spells like Rope Trick are super cool and can be used to amaszing effect!
Heavy Obscurement spells like Fog Cloud, the smoke half of Pyrotechnics, and Sleet Storm. Shuts down better than 95% of enemy spellcaster`s spell lists. Pyrotechnics cant be dispelled. Summon Shadowspawn. Base spell is only okay, but did you know you can buff it with things like Mage Armor, Longstrider, Heroism, Death Ward, Sanctuary, Dragon`s Breath, etc? Summon additional party member... Plus both that 20 foot slow and the fear effect can be brutal. Does require the party to actually work together though. Melf's Minute Meteors. I`ve seen a lot of people pass this one up and I just cant figure out why... Cast Melf`s, do 4d6 damage, next turn cast Fireball do 8d6 damage and use your bonus action to do another 4d6 with Melf`s... Much better action economy for blasters. Almost out of spell slots? Melf`s+Fire Bolt. Transmute Rock(to mud). Wizard`s version of Plant Growth. Doesn't require concentration, Quarters movement speed, and stacks with difficult terrain spells like Storm Sphere. Super hilarious to occasionally throw out a Grease spell. The difficult terrain might not stack, but the prone condition certainly does! Ray of Frost is also fun...
I am actually guilty of overlooking the obscurment spells so I agree heavily with what your saying! The shadowspawn is actually a really fun idea lol. I usually combine a lot of that with find familiar but Shadowspawn is just a stronger version of that! As for Melf's Minute Meteor, I think that spell is arguably one of the more powerful spells avaialble because of how it works lol. And I will definitley have to look more into transmute rock! I havent read it enough to know it well and just based on what your describing it could be a big feature in my next spell combo video!
@@ThisCrits It`s even better because it also restrains separately from the movement reduction. Here`s another one for you: Mirage Arcane and Plant Growth on both the Druid and Bard spell lists. 1 Sq. Mile of difficult terrain + however many areas of Plant Growth you managed to get set up... Throw in Druid Grove for even more fun.
Best spell ever, Tiny servant: for low price of 3rd lvl spell you create tiny construct capable of running in front of your party as a scout, is tiny has realy high dex making it pretty sneaky, is immune to most conditions and has climbing speed. With 60ft blindsight so it is like walking invisibility detector. Did you know that dynamite can grow legs and carry fire source in it's hands? And you can make 2 more for higher spell slots so you can have swarm of spider mines running around blowing people up. Absorb elements: did not even know that this spell exists untill eldrich knight ate wizards fireball and punched him back with it. Catapult: cause oil is cheap and your friend has firebolt. Melfs minute meteors: looks sick, and you get 6 mini fireballs that you can yeet as bonus action. Greese: couse there is nothing more funny than bbeg falling off the stairs mid monologue.
Handling the spell death ward as a DM. The key is that the ward happens once and then immediately dissipates. So if a player with a death ward jumps into a pool of lava, the death ward saves them, but they are still inside a pool of lava. Fall off a cliff? Death ward saves them, but now their body is a flat pizza and their brains are splattered across the ground. A multi-attack creature hits you? The death ward better be their final attack, because if the first attack consumes the death ward and drops you to 1 hp, then you’d better hope their second attack doesn’t do damage!
All valid points! Although, I really like the thought of players using death ward because they wanted to swim in lava lol. I feel like Death Ward is really just to buy a little bit of extra time. 1 HP isnt alot but if you do get hit again at least you only drop to 0 and aren't 2 deaths saves down!
I usually wait to see what orher players in a campaign are playing so I can fill in the gaps in the party. Needless to say, I've gotten very comfortable playing a Cleric. Sanctuary is probably the second most common spell that I end up casting at early levels. Someone in a bad position and is or about to be surrounded? Sanctuary. One more hit and that party member is about to drop? Sanctuary. Is your bard a little old halfling grandmother everyone calls "Gammy" and needs to be protected at all costs? Sanctuary. In fact the #1 tactical choice I end up making is whether dropping Bless to cast Sanctuary is worth it or not.
@ThisCrits I'm not even joking with that explanation lol. I'm currently in a Phandelver campaign and our face looks like a halfling version of granny from old school looney tunes.
Also elemental bane pairs great with things like create bonfire. If the target is grappled and moved (or via other means) in and out of the fire on each of those turns they take that fire damage for free.
@@ThisCrits yea its like a watered down spike growth/cloud of daggers. Had a player do the cloud of daggers grappler build and oh my. Was fun to watch unfold, and gave me some new perspective on the spell lmao
The problem with elemental bane is that martials struggle to get acess to good elemental damage. It can combo well with conjure minor elementals though
Re: Elemental Bane: Vulnerability would be too strong, but removing immunity would absolutely make it useful. Anyone that wants to remove resistance, typically just takes the elemental adept feat. This spell reduplicates that functionality, and is therefore redundant to most builds that focus on a specific element for damage. IF it removed immunity however, it would actually have a place at the table. But realistically I don't see WoTC making that change.
Yea, I understand the reasoning and it makes sense but that doesnt change that it "feels" off somehow. Either way, it can still be very effective as it is!
Idk, Elemental Bane just sucked whenever I tried it. For so many reasons: 1) Its a CON save, one of the worst saves to target. If they save this spell does nothing. And creatures with low CON are usually not worth targetting with this spell. 2) It takes CONCENTRATION. If you lose it before your ally's or your own next turn, it does nothing. 3) If the enemy has IMMUNITY against the damage type, it does nothing (hello Flameskulls!). 4) If your ally kills the creature via other damage types, it did nothing. Usually your martials won't have access to the damage type you chose. No poison dmg for my rogue? No radiant dmg for my paladin? Bleh. 5) Did I mention it's concentration? So I can't even combine it with other spells that could benefit from it like Storm Sphere or Flame Blade or even Create Bonfire... In years of playing I have yet to come across a situation in which I'd rather cast this, than popular and versatile spells like Polymorph and Black Tentacles, or other underrated fun spells like Watery Sphere, Confusion or Grasping Vine.
You make a bunch of valid points none of which I can dispute lol I actually mention the con save issue in the video but I do agree with pretty much everything your saying. Its a super high risk for the potential for high reward but if y our party composition doesnt fit the criteria for it than it is pretty bad. As a side note, you mentioned confusion and as a DM I saw red because I hate that spell with a passion hahaha
@@ThisCrits You dislike Confusion? That's so interesting! As a player I find it only useful really lategame against charm immune creatures, and as a DM my NPCs have usually escaped it quickly, due to the multiple saves. The one time my NPCs botched their saves I just embraced the chaos and hilarity. Twas a memorable encounter just for that. If I may: Why do you dislike it so much? Did it ruin a story moment?
@@Nerdality_Florian I shouldn't have said hate, the spell itself is amazing! The reason I struggle with the spell is that as a DM Confusion can very quickly nullify an entire encounter. Its just part of the game but just like players find it frustrating, it can be annoying when you aren't allowed to do what you want to do lol.
@@ThisCrits Frankly, Stunning Strike, Hypnotic Pattern and Banishment have ruined more of my encounters. At least Confusion has a really small radius and breaks quickly. Well... usually. It's a bit much dice work though (whether they save, what the confusion causes, in what direction they run, whether they break it). I'd rather have my NPCs do some wacky shit on my own accord, lol.
it would be helpful if you said which classes have access to these spells :D i know viewers can look them up but it would be a nice touch i think. its hard to see the list when youre watching with subtitles
Wrath of nature problem is it's only on the druid spell list (yeah ranger, but so few campaign reach level 17 and even fewer player take 17 ranger level) and druid is the least play class. so yeah... probably why few person take it, too few druid reach level 9... Why death ward is bad for real (and not just underatted) If you want to jump of the mountain: FEATER FALL, it's a lvl 1 spell that won't leave you with 1 HP At high level most monster have multiple attack. So the dragon doing claw/claw/bite/tail swipe and legendary action wing attack... if he "kill you on his second claw" and death ward save you keeping you at 1HP, guess what, you got a both tail swipe and wing attack to survive with only 1 HP. And often enemies are not alone. So in the "lucky" situation where you died to the wing attack legendary action and deathward kept you at 1HP. I hope you have a paladin with 50HP in his lay on hand pool, or a cleric with a Heal spell otherwise, those 2 half dragon guardian helping the dragon will still be able to bring you down. I mean healing spell in DnD 5e are weak. they won't help you survive long if you are at 1 HP. might as well let you fall to 0 and simply bring you back with healing word. Deathward is basically that: preemptive healing word... Sure against power word kill, disintegrate and finger of death (the only spell I know that can instantly kill you) it's great, but those are 3 spells amongst the hundred of spell, and 2 of those spell, are criminally WEAK and useless. No one takes power word kill since as long as you have 101 HP it's useless. might as well just cast meteor swarm, on average you deal 140 damage (so still kill someone with 100HP) but if the person has 101 HP... he still die, if he have 140 HP he still die (on average) if he got 141 HP, he still loose 140 (on average) HP and you probably can affect multiple target. same goes for finger of death... I mean you have disintegrate dealing10d6+40 damage +3d6 per upcasting at level 6 and at level 7 finger of death dealing 7d8+30 with no upcast bonuses. But wait finger of death give you a free permanent zombie... ok so a weak creature cr 1/4 that even level 1 adventurer can kill easily, is worth an extra spell level and reducing the average damage by 13.5 point (75 for level 6 disintegrate VS 61.5 for finger of death) If you really want a good "preparation" spell to survive these kind of thing... Contingency. here is the trigger: If I'm about to receive a lethal effect (lethal damage, instant kill spell etc...) cast Otiluke resilient sphere around me. Now no matter how many more attack the enemies has I will survive. Of even "If I'm about to receive a lethal effect, cast teleport to the teleportation circle within the healing church of a friendly city" Yes Rime binding Ice is amazing, but who is under estimating it? it's known across the optimization community since the publication of Fizban that the spell is amazing, on part with Web and Scorching ray sucks... I mean if you want to deal damage, play a fighter... Elemental BANE??? lol stop you most be joking, that a really shitty spell. Sure if your entire party is are pyromaniac each using fire base attack and fire enhance attack, sure elemental bane could be good. But compare to something like Hex, hunter mark or Spirit shroud... Concentration and you deal 2d6 per turn. ok but if you are the only one dealing fire damage on your party, that is only 2d6. if you have 2 attacks, hex and hunting mark also give you 2d6 damages (and let's be honest by level 7 (in order to cast level 4 spell) you probably already have 2 attacks. Spirit shroud if you are a melee combatant it's 1d8 per attack plus prevent healing and reduce the speed of all enemies within 10ft of you. and all those 3 option have NO SAVING THROW and require a bonus action to cast. and hunter mark and hex can last a few encounters. and all 3 can affect multiple creature (hex and hunter mark need to be switch when the target die, while spirit shroud resolve that issue from the get go by enhancing your attack. Sure in the unlikely case that the rogue and the fighter use a flametongue weapon and the cleric spam flamestrike instead of spirit guardian... elemental bane COULD be worth it. But as long as the rogue deals piercing damage, the fighter deal bludgeoning damage and the cleric deal radiant damage, the spell remain weak especially if it's only going to enhance your personal fireball. Sanctuary? who say the spell was weak? I mean since 2014 people cast it on the support character. it's not a new enlighten strategy you discovered. it's also great on summoner. I summon a draconic spirit. My spell didn't deal any damage to anyone (especially since the dragon attack are not considered magic, meaning the dragon itself is not a spell, my spell was just summoning him) then when my dragon attack he deals the damage not me, once again preventing the sanctuary to disappear. With the mounted combatant feat I can redirect all attack toward me. So the enemies target my dragon, I redirect the target toward me, he need to make a wisdom saving throw or choose a different target, since his target was my dragon he need to change target, so he need to cancel his attack or attack someone else. This is also great for battlefield controller. If I cast wall of force blocking the BBEG while my allies slaughter the minion I'm dealing 0 damage, so sanctuary would be great.
Whiel y our technically correct with the numbers and healing, I think you are heavily discrediting how powerful it can be and not considering death saves. Intelligent enemies will strike downed PCs. Death ward prevents 2 failed death saves thanks to a melee crit while downed. For the fact alone I feel like this is a must have.
Death Ward actually protects against PWK as well! After the whole "Drop to 0 hit points" it also states that if a spell would unalive someone without dealing damage death ward negates the effect! Its so stupid strong its bananas lol
Death and is amazing. Had a friend who was close to dying at the bottom of a cliff as he flew down there and I couldn't reach him. Death ward myself and next turn drop to my "death", and then healed us both!
Dimension Door is always my choice here. All of those spells are amazing but I am personally a huge fan of teleport spells lol. I might be a bit biased!
Sanctuary is super good but it's something you gotta see used properly in action before you get how strong it is. Using it as a self ward to buff is kind of a waste. It's the ultimate 'oh shit' button and removes the risk from a lot of high reward team plays.
I think its a bit unrealstic to say everyone knows they are powerful. I have seen so many players ignore both the spells in favor of other more "efficient" spells.
I think people see the whole "you do anything aggressive and it fades" and ignore it as if its useless without thinking about the other potential uses for it.
@@ThisCrits I’ve never seen a Cleric at any of my games not prepare Sanctuary and Rimes is something anyone who can get it and knows the spell exists considers maybe not as common or as powerful as the Web spell but still pretty damn popular
Wrath of nature is extremely powerful. The only equivalent thing to it are lair actions from boss creatures. There is nothing else in the spells that mimic lair actions.
I never thought about it like that. Thats actually a really good explination lol
Some of my under appreciated spell:
Frost fingers - Freeze lava, rivers, and the dwarf's booze
Rime's - Love it
Bestow curse - On par with Hallow
Sword burst (on tanks) - Abberant dragonmark lets you use Con as your casting modifier. To show max value a level 20 Barbarian should have a 24 con so 8+6+7 for 21 dc (other tanks 19) for a reliable martial aoe
I must admit, this is the 1st time I have ever heard someone say they liked Sword burst! I love hearing people talk about underrated spells so I love to hear that!
My top 5 underrated spells (L3 and under):
1. Flaming sphere
2. Magic stone
3. Tiny servant
4. Call lightning
5. Pyrotechnics
Honorable mention since its 4L: watery sphere
My favourite underated cantrip is Light, because it alliws you to pick rocks and throw tgem to dark areas.
Very dark hole in the ground? Take a rock, use light and throw it in. Better version of throwing a rock and count the time it takes it to hit the bottom.
You can also use it to light up dark rooms in a cave
Bonus: cast it on a soldier's helm that covers his face, and blind him. That's a *seriously* bright light in their eyes
@@peptalkguy this is a genius idea i have not considered because it doesnt say in the rules that bright light (or the light cantrip) can blind characters, but if you go from darkness to nright light on your face it should stun him for a round (or make him lose reactions etc.)
@@user-ju6mc6mn8m yeah! I mean, think about it. Bright light for 20 feet, dim light for another 20, something that bright right in your eyes would absolutely at least blind a character for a round
Light is criminally underrated!
Thats so cruel hahaha
Wrath of nature is actually really, really solid.
To me the main ability is the restrain, since its only requirement is that the enemy is on the floor. It does not require plants to be present.
On top of that a str based restain that takes an action to escape is great, yes its like web, however it does not hinder allies in the same way, is effective immediately, providing advantage to allies earlier, and does not start off with a dex save like so many restrain effects, which diversifies the saves. (also str is one of those saves that most monsters clearly telegraph if they are good at it).
The trees and grass, while effective if applicable, will probably be very situational, the rocks one however is a nice extra attack that helps justify the 5th level slot over something like the 4th level watery sphere, (technically rocks are conditional, however you can simply drop a pouch of pebbles to create rocks in the area)
I would like to disagree on elemental bane, at that 4th level, casting a single target spell with a con save that that does nothing on a failure is not worth it unless it ends combat, for elemental bane to work, you need most of the party dealing one damage type, maybe fire will work, however its unlikely unless preplanned.
At that level you can get stuff like polymorph, allowing someone to become a 150 HP damage sponge, or cast a watery sphere that can repeatably try to retrain multiple creatures, in addition to having a high chance of disabling spellcasting because of an inability to breathe water.
You give the example of fireball, however, assuming you are the fire wizard, and they are resistant to fire, but not immune, it is still (on avarage) more effective to cast fireball at 4th level, followed up by a 3rd level fireball, even if both deal half, instead of one fireball that comparatively deals double.
Saying Elemental bane outdamages a 9th level spell is misleading, First off, Fireball (3rd) straight up out-damages wierd (9th) so its not that big of an achievement. And on top of that Elemental bane does no damage itself, but scales with damage done, yes its ceiling is really high, however its floor is 6 feet under. Con save + nothing on a success means that 50% of the time, noting happens. And even if it sticks, if only lets say 50% of your party deals the damage type, it only deals 4d6 a round, this can be achieved way more reliably by for example melf's minute metiorites, which can deal 4d6 for 3 rounds, save for half, in an aoe, with extra utillity. For this reason I think even if it is doing great, its still not overpowered.
The only thing this leaves out is overcoming resistance, which should not be valuable. Yes, you can make a character based around a damage type, however you will need a backup plan anyway since immunity exists, and there is no effect that deals with immunity. And even if you dont have a backup plan, trying to land a con save that uses your concentration. No repeat save is nice though.
Overall, Elemental bane is not in True strike/barkskin tier, however its not far off.
I personally would like to suggest phantom steed. Have you ever seen the most defining feature of the monk doing stuff: a silly movement speed. The tabaxi monk rogue abomination running 200 feet in a round? That can be you, every round, with no resource investment and no action investment, get your silly fast hose now, its a ritual and lasts an hour (also, you can ritual cast on horseback), so while travelling or around, you can have it permanently active, why stop there? Get one for your entire party for free. It even comes with free faster travel and a flee from combat option, as in just one turn, you can escape out of fireball range.
Warth of Nature is one of my favorite spells but thays likley because I am a druid enjoyer so I migth be a bit biased lol. And I can definitley understand the dislike for elemental bane.
And I have not really looked at phantom steed! Its funny you bring up Monk because Druid and Monk are my 2 favorite classes so I will definitley have to take a look at this!
So what im hearing is, i must find myself a lil support friend to give me sanctuary... hmm yes, yes :D
also wrath of nature is the best one, 100% slay for a druid
Druid enjoyers represent!
3:00 I LOVE Rime's Binding Ice...I'm playing a Necromancer whose gimmick is ice and necromancy. His name is Rime because Rime's Binding Ice is pretty much his signature spell.
I always associated Ice and necromancy because of my history with Warcraft and the Lich King! It is such a good spell and I am glad to see others love it too!
Take first fingers too. It is a great 1st level spell. You know what is a non magical liquid... Laza why not freeze it
Some of my favorite underrated spells are less mechanically powerful but are still mechanically solid with a ton of FLAVOR like pyrotechnics, cordon of arrows, wristpocket, ray of frost, compelled duel, minute meteors and so on.
I agree! The reason so many spells are underrated are because they dont do big damage! But spells like Rope Trick are super cool and can be used to amaszing effect!
Heavy Obscurement spells like Fog Cloud, the smoke half of Pyrotechnics, and Sleet Storm. Shuts down better than 95% of enemy spellcaster`s spell lists. Pyrotechnics cant be dispelled.
Summon Shadowspawn. Base spell is only okay, but did you know you can buff it with things like Mage Armor, Longstrider, Heroism, Death Ward, Sanctuary, Dragon`s Breath, etc? Summon additional party member... Plus both that 20 foot slow and the fear effect can be brutal. Does require the party to actually work together though.
Melf's Minute Meteors. I`ve seen a lot of people pass this one up and I just cant figure out why... Cast Melf`s, do 4d6 damage, next turn cast Fireball do 8d6 damage and use your bonus action to do another 4d6 with Melf`s... Much better action economy for blasters. Almost out of spell slots? Melf`s+Fire Bolt.
Transmute Rock(to mud). Wizard`s version of Plant Growth. Doesn't require concentration, Quarters movement speed, and stacks with difficult terrain spells like Storm Sphere. Super hilarious to occasionally throw out a Grease spell. The difficult terrain might not stack, but the prone condition certainly does! Ray of Frost is also fun...
I am actually guilty of overlooking the obscurment spells so I agree heavily with what your saying! The shadowspawn is actually a really fun idea lol. I usually combine a lot of that with find familiar but Shadowspawn is just a stronger version of that!
As for Melf's Minute Meteor, I think that spell is arguably one of the more powerful spells avaialble because of how it works lol.
And I will definitley have to look more into transmute rock! I havent read it enough to know it well and just based on what your describing it could be a big feature in my next spell combo video!
@@ThisCrits It`s even better because it also restrains separately from the movement reduction.
Here`s another one for you: Mirage Arcane and Plant Growth on both the Druid and Bard spell lists. 1 Sq. Mile of difficult terrain + however many areas of Plant Growth you managed to get set up... Throw in Druid Grove for even more fun.
Best spell ever, Tiny servant: for low price of 3rd lvl spell you create tiny construct capable of running in front of your party as a scout, is tiny has realy high dex making it pretty sneaky, is immune to most conditions and has climbing speed. With 60ft blindsight so it is like walking invisibility detector.
Did you know that dynamite can grow legs and carry fire source in it's hands?
And you can make 2 more for higher spell slots so you can have swarm of spider mines running around blowing people up.
Absorb elements: did not even know that this spell exists untill eldrich knight ate wizards fireball and punched him back with it.
Catapult: cause oil is cheap and your friend has firebolt.
Melfs minute meteors: looks sick, and you get 6 mini fireballs that you can yeet as bonus action.
Greese: couse there is nothing more funny than bbeg falling off the stairs mid monologue.
All of these are great spells! I actually had most of these on my list for my next underrated spells video lol
Handling the spell death ward as a DM. The key is that the ward happens once and then immediately dissipates. So if a player with a death ward jumps into a pool of lava, the death ward saves them, but they are still inside a pool of lava. Fall off a cliff? Death ward saves them, but now their body is a flat pizza and their brains are splattered across the ground. A multi-attack creature hits you? The death ward better be their final attack, because if the first attack consumes the death ward and drops you to 1 hp, then you’d better hope their second attack doesn’t do damage!
All valid points! Although, I really like the thought of players using death ward because they wanted to swim in lava lol. I feel like Death Ward is really just to buy a little bit of extra time. 1 HP isnt alot but if you do get hit again at least you only drop to 0 and aren't 2 deaths saves down!
Except for beast, beast tend to have a surprising high wisdom
Whereas I have like 2 wisdom
I usually wait to see what orher players in a campaign are playing so I can fill in the gaps in the party. Needless to say, I've gotten very comfortable playing a Cleric.
Sanctuary is probably the second most common spell that I end up casting at early levels. Someone in a bad position and is or about to be surrounded? Sanctuary. One more hit and that party member is about to drop? Sanctuary. Is your bard a little old halfling grandmother everyone calls "Gammy" and needs to be protected at all costs? Sanctuary.
In fact the #1 tactical choice I end up making is whether dropping Bless to cast Sanctuary is worth it or not.
Sanctuary is arguably the best "protection" spell in the early levels. I also love your explination as to when to use it hahahaha
@ThisCrits I'm not even joking with that explanation lol. I'm currently in a Phandelver campaign and our face looks like a halfling version of granny from old school looney tunes.
Also elemental bane pairs great with things like create bonfire. If the target is grappled and moved (or via other means) in and out of the fire on each of those turns they take that fire damage for free.
Damage per turn is pretty strong!!!
@@ThisCrits yea its like a watered down spike growth/cloud of daggers. Had a player do the cloud of daggers grappler build and oh my. Was fun to watch unfold, and gave me some new perspective on the spell lmao
You brought up Elebane and my first thought was your Bodak video which is how I found you in the first place. XD
XD I appreciate your continued support!!! Any suggestions on my next creature video?
Wrath of Nature and Rime’s Binding Ice don’t get nearly enough credit and I’ve been trying to work both into a game for a while.
Big agree!!! I love both of them and I see them so infrequently!
Bless and Tash mind whip😊
I count those spells as must haves lol
The problem with elemental bane is that martials struggle to get acess to good elemental damage. It can combo well with conjure minor elementals though
Very valid point! Honestly, a lot of things can combo well with (Insert conjuratio nspell here) lol!
Re: Elemental Bane: Vulnerability would be too strong, but removing immunity would absolutely make it useful. Anyone that wants to remove resistance, typically just takes the elemental adept feat. This spell reduplicates that functionality, and is therefore redundant to most builds that focus on a specific element for damage. IF it removed immunity however, it would actually have a place at the table. But realistically I don't see WoTC making that change.
Yea, I understand the reasoning and it makes sense but that doesnt change that it "feels" off somehow. Either way, it can still be very effective as it is!
Idk, Elemental Bane just sucked whenever I tried it. For so many reasons:
1) Its a CON save, one of the worst saves to target. If they save this spell does nothing. And creatures with low CON are usually not worth targetting with this spell.
2) It takes CONCENTRATION. If you lose it before your ally's or your own next turn, it does nothing.
3) If the enemy has IMMUNITY against the damage type, it does nothing (hello Flameskulls!).
4) If your ally kills the creature via other damage types, it did nothing. Usually your martials won't have access to the damage type you chose. No poison dmg for my rogue? No radiant dmg for my paladin? Bleh.
5) Did I mention it's concentration? So I can't even combine it with other spells that could benefit from it like Storm Sphere or Flame Blade or even Create Bonfire...
In years of playing I have yet to come across a situation in which I'd rather cast this, than popular and versatile spells like Polymorph and Black Tentacles, or other underrated fun spells like Watery Sphere, Confusion or Grasping Vine.
You make a bunch of valid points none of which I can dispute lol I actually mention the con save issue in the video but I do agree with pretty much everything your saying. Its a super high risk for the potential for high reward but if y our party composition doesnt fit the criteria for it than it is pretty bad.
As a side note, you mentioned confusion and as a DM I saw red because I hate that spell with a passion hahaha
@@ThisCrits You dislike Confusion? That's so interesting! As a player I find it only useful really lategame against charm immune creatures, and as a DM my NPCs have usually escaped it quickly, due to the multiple saves. The one time my NPCs botched their saves I just embraced the chaos and hilarity. Twas a memorable encounter just for that.
If I may: Why do you dislike it so much? Did it ruin a story moment?
@@Nerdality_Florian I shouldn't have said hate, the spell itself is amazing! The reason I struggle with the spell is that as a DM Confusion can very quickly nullify an entire encounter. Its just part of the game but just like players find it frustrating, it can be annoying when you aren't allowed to do what you want to do lol.
@@ThisCrits Frankly, Stunning Strike, Hypnotic Pattern and Banishment have ruined more of my encounters. At least Confusion has a really small radius and breaks quickly. Well... usually.
It's a bit much dice work though (whether they save, what the confusion causes, in what direction they run, whether they break it). I'd rather have my NPCs do some wacky shit on my own accord, lol.
it would be helpful if you said which classes have access to these spells :D i know viewers can look them up but it would be a nice touch i think. its hard to see the list when youre watching with subtitles
Thanks for that call out! I never even thought of that and its so simple! I'll try to do that in future videos!
Wrath of nature problem is it's only on the druid spell list (yeah ranger, but so few campaign reach level 17 and even fewer player take 17 ranger level) and druid is the least play class. so yeah... probably why few person take it, too few druid reach level 9...
Why death ward is bad for real (and not just underatted)
If you want to jump of the mountain: FEATER FALL, it's a lvl 1 spell that won't leave you with 1 HP
At high level most monster have multiple attack. So the dragon doing claw/claw/bite/tail swipe and legendary action wing attack... if he "kill you on his second claw" and death ward save you keeping you at 1HP, guess what, you got a both tail swipe and wing attack to survive with only 1 HP.
And often enemies are not alone. So in the "lucky" situation where you died to the wing attack legendary action and deathward kept you at 1HP. I hope you have a paladin with 50HP in his lay on hand pool, or a cleric with a Heal spell otherwise, those 2 half dragon guardian helping the dragon will still be able to bring you down. I mean healing spell in DnD 5e are weak. they won't help you survive long if you are at 1 HP. might as well let you fall to 0 and simply bring you back with healing word.
Deathward is basically that: preemptive healing word...
Sure against power word kill, disintegrate and finger of death (the only spell I know that can instantly kill you) it's great, but those are 3 spells amongst the hundred of spell, and 2 of those spell, are criminally WEAK and useless. No one takes power word kill since as long as you have 101 HP it's useless. might as well just cast meteor swarm, on average you deal 140 damage (so still kill someone with 100HP) but if the person has 101 HP... he still die, if he have 140 HP he still die (on average) if he got 141 HP, he still loose 140 (on average) HP and you probably can affect multiple target. same goes for finger of death... I mean you have disintegrate dealing10d6+40 damage +3d6 per upcasting at level 6 and at level 7 finger of death dealing 7d8+30 with no upcast bonuses. But wait finger of death give you a free permanent zombie... ok so a weak creature cr 1/4 that even level 1 adventurer can kill easily, is worth an extra spell level and reducing the average damage by 13.5 point (75 for level 6 disintegrate VS 61.5 for finger of death)
If you really want a good "preparation" spell to survive these kind of thing... Contingency. here is the trigger:
If I'm about to receive a lethal effect (lethal damage, instant kill spell etc...) cast Otiluke resilient sphere around me. Now no matter how many more attack the enemies has I will survive.
Of even "If I'm about to receive a lethal effect, cast teleport to the teleportation circle within the healing church of a friendly city"
Yes Rime binding Ice is amazing, but who is under estimating it? it's known across the optimization community since the publication of Fizban that the spell is amazing, on part with Web
and Scorching ray sucks... I mean if you want to deal damage, play a fighter...
Elemental BANE??? lol stop you most be joking, that a really shitty spell. Sure if your entire party is are pyromaniac each using fire base attack and fire enhance attack, sure elemental bane could be good. But compare to something like Hex, hunter mark or Spirit shroud...
Concentration and you deal 2d6 per turn. ok but if you are the only one dealing fire damage on your party, that is only 2d6. if you have 2 attacks, hex and hunting mark also give you 2d6 damages (and let's be honest by level 7 (in order to cast level 4 spell) you probably already have 2 attacks.
Spirit shroud if you are a melee combatant it's 1d8 per attack plus prevent healing and reduce the speed of all enemies within 10ft of you.
and all those 3 option have NO SAVING THROW and require a bonus action to cast. and hunter mark and hex can last a few encounters. and all 3 can affect multiple creature (hex and hunter mark need to be switch when the target die, while spirit shroud resolve that issue from the get go by enhancing your attack.
Sure in the unlikely case that the rogue and the fighter use a flametongue weapon and the cleric spam flamestrike instead of spirit guardian... elemental bane COULD be worth it. But as long as the rogue deals piercing damage, the fighter deal bludgeoning damage and the cleric deal radiant damage, the spell remain weak especially if it's only going to enhance your personal fireball.
Sanctuary? who say the spell was weak? I mean since 2014 people cast it on the support character. it's not a new enlighten strategy you discovered. it's also great on summoner. I summon a draconic spirit. My spell didn't deal any damage to anyone (especially since the dragon attack are not considered magic, meaning the dragon itself is not a spell, my spell was just summoning him) then when my dragon attack he deals the damage not me, once again preventing the sanctuary to disappear. With the mounted combatant feat I can redirect all attack toward me. So the enemies target my dragon, I redirect the target toward me, he need to make a wisdom saving throw or choose a different target, since his target was my dragon he need to change target, so he need to cancel his attack or attack someone else. This is also great for battlefield controller. If I cast wall of force blocking the BBEG while my allies slaughter the minion I'm dealing 0 damage, so sanctuary would be great.
Whiel y our technically correct with the numbers and healing, I think you are heavily discrediting how powerful it can be and not considering death saves. Intelligent enemies will strike downed PCs. Death ward prevents 2 failed death saves thanks to a melee crit while downed. For the fact alone I feel like this is a must have.
Power Word Kill doesn't do damage. Just kills ya, so death wars wouldn't help with that. Still a great spell though😊
Death Ward actually protects against PWK as well! After the whole "Drop to 0 hit points" it also states that if a spell would unalive someone without dealing damage death ward negates the effect!
Its so stupid strong its bananas lol
Bro doesn't read spells before commenting
Death and is amazing. Had a friend who was close to dying at the bottom of a cliff as he flew down there and I couldn't reach him. Death ward myself and next turn drop to my "death", and then healed us both!
@@miguelangelus959 Its ok! I didn't explain it well and to be honest I make mistakes in videos all the time xD
@@ThisCrits no, your explanation was succinct.
Good list
I’m looking for a 4th level bard spell. Thinking greater invisibility, polymorph, or dimension door. Any thoughts?
Dimension door or polymorph
Dimension Door is always my choice here. All of those spells are amazing but I am personally a huge fan of teleport spells lol. I might be a bit biased!
Raulothim's Psychic Lance is also really good because it targets Int.
@@MajorCinnamonBuns what book is that from?
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons@@RIVERSRPGChannel
Rime’s binding ice and Sanctuary are definitely not underrated everyone knows they’re powerful
Sanctuary is super good but it's something you gotta see used properly in action before you get how strong it is. Using it as a self ward to buff is kind of a waste. It's the ultimate 'oh shit' button and removes the risk from a lot of high reward team plays.
I think its a bit unrealstic to say everyone knows they are powerful. I have seen so many players ignore both the spells in favor of other more "efficient" spells.
I think people see the whole "you do anything aggressive and it fades" and ignore it as if its useless without thinking about the other potential uses for it.
@@ThisCrits I’ve never seen a Cleric at any of my games not prepare Sanctuary and Rimes is something anyone who can get it and knows the spell exists considers maybe not as common or as powerful as the Web spell but still pretty damn popular