See BrynT's post above for Fabricate- but for me, it was helping the farmers rebuild their home & barn after the frost giant attack, making a glider out of chimera wings, and sleds and skis to get down the mountain quickly (which resulted in some high stakes shenanigans and skill checks!)
Enlarge/Reduce, although not necessarily mechanically the greatest, has some fun visuals. Like shrinking the scary giant down to man-sized, or helping the fighter get a grapple on, or shrinking the door, or enlarging the rock to block the passage and cover our escape. I'm working with my DM to homebrew up scaling of this spell, in order to allow bigger and smaller sizes to be reached. Should be fun!
Has anyone ever heard even just half-a-dozen examples used in actual games that actually made a difference in the story rather than just being distractions?
Most illusion spells are amazing, but Major Image is my favorite. Bend reality in any way you can imagine...while also doing nothing real. It's just about the perfectly versatile spell for intrigue or combat.
Wall of Force -- recent use, floating over ocean; ship passes under, mast and crew do not...
Dream -- Nightmare: fight a caster with HP loss, exhaustion levels and less than half HP
Levitate -- barbarian chief with only melee weapons gets really mad while Rage expires as it spends most of fight stuck in the air, taking Missle fire.
Shield -- for reasons started.
Sending -- for breaking campaign, contacting factions for answers, help, etc.
Storm Sphere -- cleared bridge of a boat, closed off entrance from reenforcements, control traffic while doing damage.
Leomund's tiny hut -- NEVER take a rest without one and it is a ritual!!!!!
Suggestion -- great option to avoid combat. 8 hour wild goose chase
Slow ftw. Got tired of using fireball like every other 5th lvl wizard and went looking for an interesting alternative. Found it in the Slow spell. You can drop it anywhere, unlike fireball, and don't have to worry about it hitting your allies (5e version). And just look at the list of what it does: 1. speed is halved
2. -2 penalty to AC
3. -2 penalty to Dexterity saving throws
4. can't use reactions (so no attacks of opportunity)
5. either action or bonus action (not both)
6. regardless of abilities or magic items, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn
7. if casting a spell, roll a d20, 11 or higher and the spell takes effect next turn
It's gotta be Catapult for me because of the most recent game I played in. I was playing a homebrewed Alchemist Tortle that took the Magic initiate Feat to learn the spell and did some real damage with it in our game. The alchemist class I was playing mainly deals damage by throwing bombs so I posed the idea of using Catapult to throw my bomb to do some extra damage and wiped out 4 guards and a rogue wizard with a single attack thanks to catapults damage combined with the shrapnel bombs damage which spread in an AOE with a 10ft. radius. Totally my highlight of that game, and it got me thinking what other things I could throw with catapult to gain additional effects.
There is, of course, the stipulation that it does require your DM to be a bit openminded but if they allow you to get creative with spells it can be great fun....I'm imagining something like launching a tanglefoot bag that actually does damage, or adding another 3d8 base damage to a pearl from the Necklace of Fireballs...
Contingency -- current fight is Iymrith at end of SKT. Have Pro Energy-- Lightning if I am going to take a breath weapon and my Investiture of Lightning (homebrew) is down.
Mage Hand -- NEVER touch a door, a chest, or anything else when you can stand far away and use Mage Hand.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
--
DM -- Elanon -- Homebrew world
Gronn -- Tiefling Warlock -- Amarath
Slim -- Halfling Cleric -- CoS (future Lord of Waterdeep 😁)
1. Mordenkainens magnificent mansion. I don't know why but I've always liked this spell.
2. Power word kill. I think it's quite epic that if they have less than 100 hp they die, no save.
3. Prismatic spray. This is an interesting concept and quite fun to cast, also the art for it in the players handbook is awesome.
One thing that happened while I was a warlock was we came to a gate. there were large constructs guarding it from the inside. I cast eldritch blast and got a 20, and since the dm strongly rewards or punishes natural numbers I blasted through the metal gate and it fell on the guards.
Not a whole lot of experience playing a Wizard yet but my favourite so far has been Magic Missile. Your Paladin can't hit the broad side of a castle? MISSILE. Your dagger just can't seem to find that spot between the ribs? MISSILE.
I also have a severe love for anything that can hit more than one thing, like the cone spells. Provided you're not surrounded during the casting and your targets actually survive... learned that lesson the hard way. Cast a cone and then BACK UP.
There's a new spell I found in the homebrew section that I think deserves more attention. It's called Achroma, made by the user Book_of_Kaells, and it's evil as hell. I can't wait until my wizard is able to cast ninth level spells so I can use this piece of work.
Ever since I found it, Prismatic Wall has been my all-time favourite spell. I mean, sure It's level 9 and my character can't use it very much, but the sheer power that you get from it is amazing. Being able to cut yourself off from enemies for 10 minutes is crazy amazing. It's even better when they don't know what Prismatic Wall does and run right through it. (they're going to die) But one of the best things about it is that you can use Prismatic Wall offensively. In the description, you can change it into an orb, so you can surround your enemies with a giant ball of multicoloured death. I love it!!!
It stops the charm of vampires and the petrification of medusa and basilisks.
It protects you from ranged attacks.
It shuts down spellcaster's spells that need sight - like charm and other control spells (and you can pre-prepare your spells so you operate better in fog.)
It cancels out advantage and disadvantage if you are at disadvantage.
You can run around the field of battle without provoking opportunity attacks.
If you, like us, have found that the single most powerful role of a spellcaster is to keep the fighter and the rogue delivering damage, then you will find Fog Cloud keeps your front line fighting better than almost any other spell.
It is amazingly powerful and one of the most frequent in combat spells we used to survive Tomb of Annihilation with just a party of four.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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It's a tie: Fabricate and Enlarge/Reduce.
See BrynT's post above for Fabricate- but for me, it was helping the farmers rebuild their home & barn after the frost giant attack, making a glider out of chimera wings, and sleds and skis to get down the mountain quickly (which resulted in some high stakes shenanigans and skill checks!)
Enlarge/Reduce, although not necessarily mechanically the greatest, has some fun visuals. Like shrinking the scary giant down to man-sized, or helping the fighter get a grapple on, or shrinking the door, or enlarging the rock to block the passage and cover our escape. I'm working with my DM to homebrew up scaling of this spell, in order to allow bigger and smaller sizes to be reached. Should be fun!
Many say Fabricate has "unlimited" uses.
Has anyone ever heard even just half-a-dozen examples used in actual games that actually made a difference in the story rather than just being distractions?
Most illusion spells are amazing, but Major Image is my favorite. Bend reality in any way you can imagine...while also doing nothing real. It's just about the perfectly versatile spell for intrigue or combat.
Wall of Force -- recent use, floating over ocean; ship passes under, mast and crew do not...
Dream -- Nightmare: fight a caster with HP loss, exhaustion levels and less than half HP
Levitate -- barbarian chief with only melee weapons gets really mad while Rage expires as it spends most of fight stuck in the air, taking Missle fire.
Shield -- for reasons started.
Sending -- for breaking campaign, contacting factions for answers, help, etc.
Storm Sphere -- cleared bridge of a boat, closed off entrance from reenforcements, control traffic while doing damage.
Leomund's tiny hut -- NEVER take a rest without one and it is a ritual!!!!!
Suggestion -- great option to avoid combat. 8 hour wild goose chase
--
DM -- Elanon -- Homebrew world
Gronn -- Tiefling Warlock -- Amarath
Slim -- Halfling Cleric -- CoS (future Lord of Waterdeep 😁)
Bran -- Human Wizard - RoT
Making D&D mistakes and having fun since 1977!
It's not in 5e, but Avasculate. Avascular Mass was also fun, but more silly than effective.
"The Epic Level Handbook wasn't that bad, guys.
Guys, pls."
It's gotta be Catapult for me because of the most recent game I played in. I was playing a homebrewed Alchemist Tortle that took the Magic initiate Feat to learn the spell and did some real damage with it in our game. The alchemist class I was playing mainly deals damage by throwing bombs so I posed the idea of using Catapult to throw my bomb to do some extra damage and wiped out 4 guards and a rogue wizard with a single attack thanks to catapults damage combined with the shrapnel bombs damage which spread in an AOE with a 10ft. radius. Totally my highlight of that game, and it got me thinking what other things I could throw with catapult to gain additional effects.
There is, of course, the stipulation that it does require your DM to be a bit openminded but if they allow you to get creative with spells it can be great fun....I'm imagining something like launching a tanglefoot bag that actually does damage, or adding another 3d8 base damage to a pearl from the Necklace of Fireballs...
Catapult
One additional:
Contingency -- current fight is Iymrith at end of SKT. Have Pro Energy-- Lightning if I am going to take a breath weapon and my Investiture of Lightning (homebrew) is down.
Mage Hand -- NEVER touch a door, a chest, or anything else when you can stand far away and use Mage Hand.
--
DM -- Elanon -- Homebrew world
Gronn -- Tiefling Warlock -- Amarath
Slim -- Halfling Cleric -- CoS (future Lord of Waterdeep 😁)
Bran -- Human Wizard - RoT
Making D&D mistakes and having fun since 1977!
@Thucydides How does a diviner automatically make the save?
Tiny Hut
Find Familiar
Shield
Absorb Elements
These are my 4 MVP Spells.
Also the Bonfire cantrip, when you need warmth or just set something on fire.
Unseen Servant can start fires from up to 60' away or create all sorts of distractions while invisible.
I have a lot of spells I love.
1. Mordenkainens magnificent mansion. I don't know why but I've always liked this spell.
2. Power word kill. I think it's quite epic that if they have less than 100 hp they die, no save.
3. Prismatic spray. This is an interesting concept and quite fun to cast, also the art for it in the players handbook is awesome.
One thing that happened while I was a warlock was we came to a gate. there were large constructs guarding it from the inside. I cast eldritch blast and got a 20, and since the dm strongly rewards or punishes natural numbers I blasted through the metal gate and it fell on the guards.
--
DM -- Elanon -- Homebrew world
Gronn -- Tiefling Warlock -- Amarath
Slim -- Halfling Cleric -- CoS (future Lord of Waterdeep 😁)
Bran -- Human Wizard - RoT
Making D&D mistakes and having fun since 1977!
Not a whole lot of experience playing a Wizard yet but my favourite so far has been Magic Missile. Your Paladin can't hit the broad side of a castle? MISSILE. Your dagger just can't seem to find that spot between the ribs? MISSILE.
I also have a severe love for anything that can hit more than one thing, like the cone spells. Provided you're not surrounded during the casting and your targets actually survive... learned that lesson the hard way. Cast a cone and then BACK UP.
There's a new spell I found in the homebrew section that I think deserves more attention. It's called Achroma, made by the user Book_of_Kaells, and it's evil as hell. I can't wait until my wizard is able to cast ninth level spells so I can use this piece of work.
"The Epic Level Handbook wasn't that bad, guys.
Guys, pls."
I once had a druid cast Wall of Fire in a field that was the main source of food.
Magic Jar.... possibly one of the most versatile spells ever.
Ever since I found it, Prismatic Wall has been my all-time favourite spell. I mean, sure It's level 9 and my character can't use it very much, but the sheer power that you get from it is amazing. Being able to cut yourself off from enemies for 10 minutes is crazy amazing. It's even better when they don't know what Prismatic Wall does and run right through it. (they're going to die) But one of the best things about it is that you can use Prismatic Wall offensively. In the description, you can change it into an orb, so you can surround your enemies with a giant ball of multicoloured death. I love it!!!
I love Crown of Stars. A great option for bonus actions and they look beautifully dramatic!
Fog Cloud is by far the most useful spell in the game.
It can shut down Beholders.
It stops the charm of vampires and the petrification of medusa and basilisks.
It protects you from ranged attacks.
It shuts down spellcaster's spells that need sight - like charm and other control spells (and you can pre-prepare your spells so you operate better in fog.)
It cancels out advantage and disadvantage if you are at disadvantage.
You can run around the field of battle without provoking opportunity attacks.
If you, like us, have found that the single most powerful role of a spellcaster is to keep the fighter and the rogue delivering damage, then you will find Fog Cloud keeps your front line fighting better than almost any other spell.
It is amazingly powerful and one of the most frequent in combat spells we used to survive Tomb of Annihilation with just a party of four.