With its “The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the phantasm” language, Phantasmal Force is perhaps one of the more broken spells in the game, particularly considering it is only a second level spell. Even a moderately creative player with Phantasmal Force can utterly ruin a monster or other NPC, single handedly turning the tide of battle.
It also suffers greatly from being internally inconsistent. Unlike many other spells where you can save once per turn, Phantasmal Force requires the afflicted to actively make an Investigation check to end the spell. Which they don’t necessarily have any reason to do - per the spell itself, they are rationalising the oddities and thus their own mind is supposed to be saying “this is fine, no need to investigate.” Which, again, might be fine at a higher level - not as a second level spell.
Phantasmal Force depends how much leeway your DM gives you on the effect; for instance my DM nixed the idea that they actually physically perceive themselves to be restrained or moved by the phantasm, which negates the classic “magnetized manacles” bit you see for it a lot. That said, I’ve got some good mileage out of it anyways.
For everyone griping about Weird, remember that it’s a 30 ft AoE at a 120 ft range. It’s not a boss slayer, it’s a mob slayer that also debuffs them as the party moves in to finish them off. Not an instant nuke like Meteor Swarm, but much easier on the furniture.
Phantasmal Force depends how much leeway your DM gives you on the effect; for instance my DM nixed the idea that they actually physically perceive themselves to be restrained or moved by the phantasm, which negates the classic “magnetized manacles” bit you see for it a lot. That said, I’ve got some good mileage out of it anyways.
For everyone griping about Weird, remember that it’s a 30 ft AoE at a 120 ft range. It’s not a boss slayer, it’s a mob slayer that also debuffs them as the party moves in to finish them off. Not an instant nuke like Meteor Swarm, but much easier on the furniture.
Even with a halfway creative player, I don’t think the “no magnetised manacles” restriction is that big of a deal—there’s enough fun options for utterly breaking it under RAW. I think the spell’s biggest failing is that anyone who would not use it undervalues its efficacy—and so it is disproportionality chosen by folks who are clever enough to really break it.
That said, it might be broke and super abusable - but it’s still one of my favourite spells. I break it out every now and then against my players, always to the delight of everyone given the silly roleplaying that inevitably results from the rationalisation.
Because there are considerably more stonemasons than archmagi in the typical setting, for one.
what castle-haver with extra kids wouldn't send the spare heirs upstairs with the grey hairs to learn garish flares and from hats pull hares until such tears through aberrant airs should allow for magical lairs?? hardly needs be said! it's just logic that's how the landed stay landed. well known secret. i mean, don't none of 'em have jobs, right? s'magic, that is.
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Because there are considerably more stonemasons than archmagi in the typical setting, for one.
what castle-haver with extra kids wouldn't send the spare heirs upstairs with the grey hairs to learn garish flares and from hats pull hares until such tears through aberrant airs should allow for magical lairs?? hardly needs be said! it's just logic that's how the landed stay landed. well known secret. i mean, don't none of 'em have jobs, right? s'magic, that is.
I am far form the first to point this out but the fact that these two spells have persisted unchanged the entire edition is sort of bizarre: True Strike and Blade Ward are both pretty awful spells. True Strike in particular is objectively worse than doing nothing assuming you are attacking teh same target twice in successive rounds.
I'd also say Magic Stone is a pretty bad one: considering it is specifically worded to be able to work with a sling... but there is absolutely zero way to make those two actually synergize together. Indeed; the magic stone thrown on its own has a better range than the sling which is kind of crap on its own. It's a cool, evocative image, that is totally let down by the mechanics: instead of ahving two "okay" things coming together to be awesome you have... two kind of poop things that come together to be... poop together.
True Strike in particular is objectively worse than doing nothing assuming you are attacking the same target twice in successive rounds.
I believe the intended purpose is for use with your high level spells that have a chance to miss; If you only have one seventh level spell slot and want to cast Plane Shift on a creature, True strike would increase your odds of success, as you can't cast the spell twice in a row. However, even in this use, it's not that good, unless you can't see any other way of winning. (against a non-legendary creature, a successful Plane Shift will almost always win the fight). It's use is still very niche though, and it does need a buff.
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I write homebrew and don't publish it. (evil, I know)
I am far form the first to point this out but the fact that these two spells have persisted unchanged the entire edition is sort of bizarre: True Strike and Blade Ward are both pretty awful spells.
Blade Ward has a very similar intended purpose to True Strike (I think). It may be useful if you need to keep concentration on a spell and can't cast and teleport or other movement spells to avoid danger. This is also a very specific use, and there are better spells for avoiding damage (such as misty step or vortex warp), although none are cantrips.
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I write homebrew and don't publish it. (evil, I know)
I agree with Kthunk, I think its main use is to make sure that kill shot actually hits.
Like it always was used before, je. I remember an entire campaing on 3.5 ed when my last two turns on almost every important battle ended with my power attacking fighter drinking a true strike potion first, then hitting for gazzilion dmg on the next turn just to down the big bad guy (the rest of the party distracted, restrained, damaged the enemy or heal me up to not fall).
Still very niche or really bad spell with blade ward for an action. (the only interesting use i have think up is on a 7th lvl Eldrith Knight, to cast it first an attack with a bonus action, to upgrade your defenses). The new Earth Genasi casting bladeward as a bonus action some times per long rest makes it a interesting option.
I am far form the first to point this out but the fact that these two spells have persisted unchanged the entire edition is sort of bizarre: True Strike and Blade Ward are both pretty awful spells.
Blade Ward has a very similar intended purpose to True Strike (I think). It may be useful if you need to keep concentration on a spell and can't cast and teleport or other movement spells to avoid danger. This is also a very specific use, and there are better spells for avoiding damage (such as misty step or vortex warp), although none are cantrips.
Except it only mitigates damage, it doesn’t keep you from getting hit. So you still have to make the save. Which is still not a great proposition for most casters. And you’ve also sacrificed the opportunity to make an attack to do it. Blade Ward has a few niche applications, but it’s generally not worth being the only thing you do with your action.
mind blanks name makes sense when you consider it externally. It is erasing a mind from the effects of divination and other mind influencing effects, "blanking" it out from being a target for those spells/effects.
astral projection is basically casting a soul-like astral form to the astral plane...it makes sense for it to be a necromancy spell due to that relation to life/death/souls/etc. Compare it to something like etherealness which actually moves your body from one spot to another (and thus is a transmutation spell), astral projection leaves your physical form in place.
See invisibility apparently doesn't work against the invisible condition, find traps doesnt find shit, and good ol incinerate why yes id like a slightly stronger single targer fireball for a 5th lvl slot, tho if wed name higher level damage spells that are weaker tha lower level ones wed be here all day, a few examples of poorly designed spells intentional or not, id agree that astral projection probably should be lower level while mind blank , its alright though the name i guess could be changed tho not sure to what if it bothers you
I updated the post, so if anyone wants to add anything they can let me know.
With its “The target rationalizes any illogical outcomes from interacting with the phantasm” language, Phantasmal Force is perhaps one of the more broken spells in the game, particularly considering it is only a second level spell. Even a moderately creative player with Phantasmal Force can utterly ruin a monster or other NPC, single handedly turning the tide of battle.
It also suffers greatly from being internally inconsistent. Unlike many other spells where you can save once per turn, Phantasmal Force requires the afflicted to actively make an Investigation check to end the spell. Which they don’t necessarily have any reason to do - per the spell itself, they are rationalising the oddities and thus their own mind is supposed to be saying “this is fine, no need to investigate.” Which, again, might be fine at a higher level - not as a second level spell.
I agree, Force is amazing, one use i've found is making a piece of cover so they don't think they can shoot me.
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
Phantasmal Force depends how much leeway your DM gives you on the effect; for instance my DM nixed the idea that they actually physically perceive themselves to be restrained or moved by the phantasm, which negates the classic “magnetized manacles” bit you see for it a lot. That said, I’ve got some good mileage out of it anyways.
For everyone griping about Weird, remember that it’s a 30 ft AoE at a 120 ft range. It’s not a boss slayer, it’s a mob slayer that also debuffs them as the party moves in to finish them off. Not an instant nuke like Meteor Swarm, but much easier on the furniture.
Weird has its uses, but there are not many.
Even with a halfway creative player, I don’t think the “no magnetised manacles” restriction is that big of a deal—there’s enough fun options for utterly breaking it under RAW. I think the spell’s biggest failing is that anyone who would not use it undervalues its efficacy—and so it is disproportionality chosen by folks who are clever enough to really break it.
That said, it might be broke and super abusable - but it’s still one of my favourite spells. I break it out every now and then against my players, always to the delight of everyone given the silly roleplaying that inevitably results from the rationalisation.
As for not blowing up the furniture, you have to be careful with that—you never know when the furniture might need a bit of exploding.
True, but kings get so fussy when they ask you to reclaim their castle and come back to find craters all over the barracks or throne room.
Why have a castle when you can have a Magnificent Mansion? ;)
Because there are considerably more stonemasons than archmagi in the typical setting, for one.
what castle-haver with extra kids wouldn't send the spare heirs upstairs with the grey hairs to learn garish flares and from hats pull hares until such tears through aberrant airs should allow for magical lairs?? hardly needs be said! it's just logic that's how the landed stay landed. well known secret. i mean, don't none of 'em have jobs, right? s'magic, that is.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
how long did you take to rhyme that
I am far form the first to point this out but the fact that these two spells have persisted unchanged the entire edition is sort of bizarre: True Strike and Blade Ward are both pretty awful spells. True Strike in particular is objectively worse than doing nothing assuming you are attacking teh same target twice in successive rounds.
I'd also say Magic Stone is a pretty bad one: considering it is specifically worded to be able to work with a sling... but there is absolutely zero way to make those two actually synergize together. Indeed; the magic stone thrown on its own has a better range than the sling which is kind of crap on its own. It's a cool, evocative image, that is totally let down by the mechanics: instead of ahving two "okay" things coming together to be awesome you have... two kind of poop things that come together to be... poop together.
I believe the intended purpose is for use with your high level spells that have a chance to miss; If you only have one seventh level spell slot and want to cast Plane Shift on a creature, True strike would increase your odds of success, as you can't cast the spell twice in a row. However, even in this use, it's not that good, unless you can't see any other way of winning. (against a non-legendary creature, a successful Plane Shift will almost always win the fight). It's use is still very niche though, and it does need a buff.
I write homebrew and don't publish it. (evil, I know)
I agree with Kthunk, I think its main use is to make sure that kill shot actually hits.
"Anyone can smith at the cosmic anvil, yet only I can forge a weapon as good as thee."
My Homebrew Please click it, they have my family.
Blade Ward has a very similar intended purpose to True Strike (I think). It may be useful if you need to keep concentration on a spell and can't cast and teleport or other movement spells to avoid danger. This is also a very specific use, and there are better spells for avoiding damage (such as misty step or vortex warp), although none are cantrips.
I write homebrew and don't publish it. (evil, I know)
Like it always was used before, je. I remember an entire campaing on 3.5 ed when my last two turns on almost every important battle ended with my power attacking fighter drinking a true strike potion first, then hitting for gazzilion dmg on the next turn just to down the big bad guy (the rest of the party distracted, restrained, damaged the enemy or heal me up to not fall).
Still very niche or really bad spell with blade ward for an action. (the only interesting use i have think up is on a 7th lvl Eldrith Knight, to cast it first an attack with a bonus action, to upgrade your defenses).
The new Earth Genasi casting bladeward as a bonus action some times per long rest makes it a interesting option.
Except it only mitigates damage, it doesn’t keep you from getting hit. So you still have to make the save. Which is still not a great proposition for most casters. And you’ve also sacrificed the opportunity to make an attack to do it. Blade Ward has a few niche applications, but it’s generally not worth being the only thing you do with your action.
mind blanks name makes sense when you consider it externally. It is erasing a mind from the effects of divination and other mind influencing effects, "blanking" it out from being a target for those spells/effects.
astral projection is basically casting a soul-like astral form to the astral plane...it makes sense for it to be a necromancy spell due to that relation to life/death/souls/etc. Compare it to something like etherealness which actually moves your body from one spot to another (and thus is a transmutation spell), astral projection leaves your physical form in place.
See invisibility apparently doesn't work against the invisible condition, find traps doesnt find shit, and good ol incinerate why yes id like a slightly stronger single targer fireball for a 5th lvl slot, tho if wed name higher level damage spells that are weaker tha lower level ones wed be here all day, a few examples of poorly designed spells intentional or not, id agree that astral projection probably should be lower level while mind blank , its alright though the name i guess could be changed tho not sure to what if it bothers you
Burning hands should either be renamed or be made a touch spell...