I'm assuming that this is some sort of knock-off spell shop you're after, as Warlocks typically get their spells for free (only shmucks pay for spells, real casters pay with their souls)?
In which case, pick spells which can be misinterpreted or simply work poorly. Fireball makes a flaming ball appear on the floor, which rolls downhill and deals 1d6 fire damage if it knocks into you. Whichbolt identifies the size spanner you need for any bolt of your choosing. Summon Emmental makes a piece of cheese appear. that sort of thing.
However, I would urge you to get them past first level before you start this sort of shenanigans. If the player is expecting to deal some damage and casts "Tidal wave", only to have a hand appear and wave once every 6 hours, then they might end up deaded for wasting their action, especially at level 1. If this is a new group, which it sounds like it could be, try to stick to the rules until level 3 or 4 (which shouldn't take long to get to), then add in some stuff for them to buy that might be a bit funny and a bit rubbish all at once!
True Strike is a good "bad" spell... I remember in my game, as a gag, I gave away free True Strike scrolls in a magic-item shop.
Friends is another cantrip that can very easily make things much worse... getting advantage on Charisma checks is useful, especially for a Charisma-based caster, but the fact that the creature you use to influence with the spell immediately turns hostile against you makes it very hard to use efficiently.
Witch Bolt is often considered a bad spell. It's tempting for Warlocks especially... it costs a single spell slot and lets you output 1d12 of damage each round without needing to roll for it. But it's very easy to break the spell... upcasting the spell doesn't increase the damage aside from the initial bolt, and it's concentration so you can't combine it with other features. It's easily outclassed by Eldritch Blast pretty much as soon as you get access to Eldritch Invocations.
Shadow Blade is another tempting spell that doesn't perform as well as anyone would hope. Unless the Warlock is going out of their way to build a melee combat build, it's kind of just an awkward alternate way to attack. It's possible for this one to be really good, but it could be a trap in the wrong hands.
I agree to try and stick to the rules when you are new to the game unless something is causing an issue (e.g. if players are slowing the game down checking the components of a spell to see it they can cast it without dropping their spell focus allowing them to use a hand holding a spell focus / component pouch to carry out the somantic component of any spell can speed things up a lot).
If players want something special early on I would go for a common magic item some offer little mechanical benefit but can really help role play (dread heam might fit a warlock). Others can provide a reasonable boost mechanically but not too much to make you have to make encounters more difficult, your player might particularly like the Dark Shard Amulet, if you want o go that way.
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Earthbind is a spell that is situational but when it is useful can be extremely powerful. A flying creature is made much less dangerous if they fail the save and they only have one chance to resist it. I remeember once I was playing a druid and we were being sent to an island in the plane of air to defend someone against an expected attack. Knowing the environment I prepared earthbind and cast it on the boss (and air elemental) as the enemies approached (before they got above the island). We could then make easy work of the minions while the elemental descended at 60 per round. After combat and checking everyone was OK I said "As my spell is about ot end I tell everyone with ranged attacks to the edge of the island so we can attack as it approaches" to which the DM said when you get there as the spell ends you see it fly back from where it came. A warlock is unlikely to learn earthbond because it is too situational (unless the campaign is against a lot of flying creatures) but as a scroll it is extremely valuable because you are very likely to really want to cast it once during the campaign.
As a warlock I would be more likely to learn shatter over earthbind but given the choice for a scroll I would pick earthbind. I have other ways to do damage but if a Young Dragon is flying in making a breath attack and flying off until it recharges (or even just staying out of range of the melee party members so it can fly round to attack the squishies) there is pretty much nothing that matches earthbind.
Some of the ritual spells are interesting because if you cast them right before a short rest then they're kind of free. So utility spells like Unseen Servant could end up being used more by the Warlock than by a class that natively has ritual casting. Although how often is Unseen Servant really useful? I've mostly seen it used more for roleplay than trying to accomplish something the players couldn't do themselves.
Some of the ritual spells are interesting because if you cast them right before a short rest then they're kind of free. So utility spells like Unseen Servant could end up being used more by the Warlock than by a class that natively has ritual casting. Although how often is Unseen Servant really useful? I've mostly seen it used more for roleplay than trying to accomplish something the players couldn't do themselves.
I would compare unseen servant to mage hand. Unseen servent can carry slighty more but not reach objects that it can not reach from the ground,. An unseen servent might also trigger some traps that a mage hand doesn't but that is down to the DM. Overall I think it is comparable to granting mage hand for a hour. Might prove useful but only in a minor way.
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Earthbind is a spell that is situational but when it is useful can be extremely powerful. A flying creature is made much less dangerous if they fail the save and they only have one chance to resist it. I remeember once I was playing a druid and we were being sent to an island in the plane of air to defend someone against an expected attack. Knowing the environment I prepared earthbind and cast it on the boss (and air elemental) as the enemies approached (before they got above the island). We could then make easy work of the minions while the elemental descended at 60 per round. After combat and checking everyone was OK I said "As my spell is about ot end I tell everyone with ranged attacks to the edge of the island so we can attack as it approaches" to which the DM said when you get there as the spell ends you see it fly back from where it came. A warlock is unlikely to learn earthbond because it is too situational (unless the campaign is against a lot of flying creatures) but as a scroll it is extremely valuable because you are very likely to really want to cast it once during the campaign.
As a warlock I would be more likely to learn shatter over earthbind but given the choice for a scroll I would pick earthbind. I have other ways to do damage but if a Young Dragon is flying in making a breath attack and flying off until it recharges (or even just staying out of range of the melee party members so it can fly round to attack the squishies) there is pretty much nothing that matches earthbind.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
Mainly I recommend it as an additional spell known because I think it's really the opportunity cost of having it prepared/ known that prevents it getting used. Its situational and really a side grade to more versatile spells but if you have it then you might use it in some circumstances.
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Earthbind is a spell that is situational but when it is useful can be extremely powerful. A flying creature is made much less dangerous if they fail the save and they only have one chance to resist it. I remeember once I was playing a druid and we were being sent to an island in the plane of air to defend someone against an expected attack. Knowing the environment I prepared earthbind and cast it on the boss (and air elemental) as the enemies approached (before they got above the island). We could then make easy work of the minions while the elemental descended at 60 per round. After combat and checking everyone was OK I said "As my spell is about ot end I tell everyone with ranged attacks to the edge of the island so we can attack as it approaches" to which the DM said when you get there as the spell ends you see it fly back from where it came. A warlock is unlikely to learn earthbond because it is too situational (unless the campaign is against a lot of flying creatures) but as a scroll it is extremely valuable because you are very likely to really want to cast it once during the campaign.
As a warlock I would be more likely to learn shatter over earthbind but given the choice for a scroll I would pick earthbind. I have other ways to do damage but if a Young Dragon is flying in making a breath attack and flying off until it recharges (or even just staying out of range of the melee party members so it can fly round to attack the squishies) there is pretty much nothing that matches earthbind.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
Mainly I recommend it as an additional spell known because I think it's really the opportunity cost of having it prepared/ known that prevents it getting used. Its situational and really a side grade to more versatile spells but if you have it then you might use it in some circumstances.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
I wouldn' say it works like that.
To get to a creature more than 20ft of the ground the Web will disintegrate after a round. If they are more than 20ft of the ground you only get a one round effect, i would also rule while caught in the webbing the webbing prevents falling and once the webbing disappears the creature is not restrained so can fly again so no fall damage either.
If they are less than 20ft you can keep them in the webbing (in the air) until they break free or the spell ends but o ce again they can now fly.
I can think of a few useless warlock spells. You can probably think of a few weak or situational uses for each one, but outside of spell scrolls some of them just aren't worth taking at all.
True Strike is famous for being completely, irreparably useless. The logic behind that is that you can attack twice with a flat roll instead of attacking once with Advantage, and unless you're a rogue with insane sneak attack damage, attacking flat is better. It could, however, have a few situational uses if given out on scrolls.
Blade Ward is True Strike's less famous cousin. In most cases, taking the Dodge action is just as good - and it doesn't consume a known cantrip slot. Like True Strike, however, it could have a few situational uses.
Chill Touch Okay, this spell isn't TOO useless, but when lined up with Eldritch Blast, the signature warlock damage cantrip, it's trash. It doesn't help that Undead, the creature type which it conveys the best extra effect to, are also the most likely creature type to be resistant or immune to Necrotic damage, which the spell deals. Against undead that take full damage from necrotic damage, however, a few scrolls with this spell could be handy.
Friends is a poor man's Charm Person or Suggestion. The fact that it makes the charmed creature hostile to you when it ends makes it hard to apply in most cases. Since it's a poor man's spell, you can sell it cheap.
Comprehend Languages and Illusory Script are more useful if you're a wizard who can cast rituals without even preparing the spell, than if you're a warlock who has extremely limited known spell slots and spellcasting slots AND can't cast rituals. If you give it to a warlock as a base spell, you're wasting magical knowledge, but it's handy as a spell scroll.
Unseen Servant is basically an overpriced Mage Hand. It has a few extra features, but just like the other first level warlock spells, unless you're a wizard with a huge spellbook and the best ritual casing ability in the game, it simply isn't worth it outside of spell scrolls or other consumables.
Finally, I'd like to make a note on Witch Bolt. It's useless simply because the damage is comparable to that of a cantrip like Eldritch Blast, and it's easy to drop concentration on it. I fixed this problem by changing the spell slightly. Simply (1) make the damage 2d8 instead of 1d12, (2) add 1d8 of damage per level after 1st, and (3) change the way the spell scales so that the extra d8 of damage applies to all attacks made with the Witch Bolt, not just the initial attack. with those simple homebrew changes, the spell becomes viable. If you don't want to use this variation, however, it's a useless spell.
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Finally, I'd like to make a note on Witch Bolt. It's useless simply because the damage is comparable to that of a cantrip like Eldritch Blast, and it's easy to drop concentration on it. I fixed this problem by changing the spell slightly. Simply (1) make the damage 2d8 instead of 1d12, (2) add 1d8 of damage per level after 1st, and (3) change the way the spell scales so that the extra d8 of damage applies to all attacks made with the Witch Bolt, not just the initial attack. with those simple homebrew changes, the spell becomes viable. If you don't want to use this variation, however, it's a useless spell.
I personally actually really like witch bolt as a basis for home brew spells as it has a cool vibe. For example in one version I gave it the effects of shocking grasp, advantage to hit metal targets and prevents reactions for any turn they take damage another higher level version worked likehold person as a kind of electro-paralysis. You can basically tack it on any debuff spell and in allot of cases the fact it takes your action ever turn will make up for any added damage it gives you balance wise, its honestly a nerf to add it to some spells but it sounds cool.
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Earthbind is a spell that is situational but when it is useful can be extremely powerful. A flying creature is made much less dangerous if they fail the save and they only have one chance to resist it. I remeember once I was playing a druid and we were being sent to an island in the plane of air to defend someone against an expected attack. Knowing the environment I prepared earthbind and cast it on the boss (and air elemental) as the enemies approached (before they got above the island). We could then make easy work of the minions while the elemental descended at 60 per round. After combat and checking everyone was OK I said "As my spell is about ot end I tell everyone with ranged attacks to the edge of the island so we can attack as it approaches" to which the DM said when you get there as the spell ends you see it fly back from where it came. A warlock is unlikely to learn earthbond because it is too situational (unless the campaign is against a lot of flying creatures) but as a scroll it is extremely valuable because you are very likely to really want to cast it once during the campaign.
As a warlock I would be more likely to learn shatter over earthbind but given the choice for a scroll I would pick earthbind. I have other ways to do damage but if a Young Dragon is flying in making a breath attack and flying off until it recharges (or even just staying out of range of the melee party members so it can fly round to attack the squishies) there is pretty much nothing that matches earthbind.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
Mainly I recommend it as an additional spell known because I think it's really the opportunity cost of having it prepared/ known that prevents it getting used. Its situational and really a side grade to more versatile spells but if you have it then you might use it in some circumstances.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
I wouldn' say it works like that.
To get to a creature more than 20ft of the ground the Web will disintegrate after a round. If they are more than 20ft of the ground you only get a one round effect, i would also rule while caught in the webbing the webbing prevents falling and once the webbing disappears the creature is not restrained so can fly again so no fall damage either.
If they are less than 20ft you can keep them in the webbing (in the air) until they break free or the spell ends but o ce again they can now fly.
I've never seen web ruled that way and I don't think its consistent with the falling rules. There's no rule that says the web actually supports weight or is a physical barrier, creatures can move through it if they save and falling is instant so in the rules there is no moment where they fall out of the web and are no longer restrained before they hit the floor, the second they are restrained by the web they hit the ground. If the web spell didn't say it lingered for a round before collapsing I'd say it simply failed on flying targets as it would fall instantly too but it's given a bit of a gravity defying exception in the spell which does creates this weirdness. I total understand ruling that they stay in the air because it is weird that web is given this gravity defying effect as it acts almost like a cloud that generates webs rather than an actual spider web.
However, it doesn't matter to the point about earthbind because the general idea is any spell or ability that does prone, restrained or reduces a targets speed to 0 will also take targets out of the air. This is not uncommon in spells including at levels below the earthbind another example is the first level ensnaring strike. Earthbind is not a useless spell its just very situational and other spells will get you through that situation so it's not worth the spell known or prepared.
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I have a 1st level player who wants spells to buy. He cant afford anything good so got any ideas for terrible spells I can sell cheap?
I'm assuming that this is some sort of knock-off spell shop you're after, as Warlocks typically get their spells for free (only shmucks pay for spells, real casters pay with their souls)?
In which case, pick spells which can be misinterpreted or simply work poorly. Fireball makes a flaming ball appear on the floor, which rolls downhill and deals 1d6 fire damage if it knocks into you. Whichbolt identifies the size spanner you need for any bolt of your choosing. Summon Emmental makes a piece of cheese appear. that sort of thing.
However, I would urge you to get them past first level before you start this sort of shenanigans. If the player is expecting to deal some damage and casts "Tidal wave", only to have a hand appear and wave once every 6 hours, then they might end up deaded for wasting their action, especially at level 1. If this is a new group, which it sounds like it could be, try to stick to the rules until level 3 or 4 (which shouldn't take long to get to), then add in some stuff for them to buy that might be a bit funny and a bit rubbish all at once!
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True Strike is a good "bad" spell... I remember in my game, as a gag, I gave away free True Strike scrolls in a magic-item shop.
Friends is another cantrip that can very easily make things much worse... getting advantage on Charisma checks is useful, especially for a Charisma-based caster, but the fact that the creature you use to influence with the spell immediately turns hostile against you makes it very hard to use efficiently.
Witch Bolt is often considered a bad spell. It's tempting for Warlocks especially... it costs a single spell slot and lets you output 1d12 of damage each round without needing to roll for it. But it's very easy to break the spell... upcasting the spell doesn't increase the damage aside from the initial bolt, and it's concentration so you can't combine it with other features. It's easily outclassed by Eldritch Blast pretty much as soon as you get access to Eldritch Invocations.
Shadow Blade is another tempting spell that doesn't perform as well as anyone would hope. Unless the Warlock is going out of their way to build a melee combat build, it's kind of just an awkward alternate way to attack. It's possible for this one to be really good, but it could be a trap in the wrong hands.
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I agree to try and stick to the rules when you are new to the game unless something is causing an issue (e.g. if players are slowing the game down checking the components of a spell to see it they can cast it without dropping their spell focus allowing them to use a hand holding a spell focus / component pouch to carry out the somantic component of any spell can speed things up a lot).
If players want something special early on I would go for a common magic item some offer little mechanical benefit but can really help role play (dread heam might fit a warlock). Others can provide a reasonable boost mechanically but not too much to make you have to make encounters more difficult, your player might particularly like the Dark Shard Amulet, if you want o go that way.
You can always use the silly wands from Xanther's Guide
Wand of Smiles, Scowls, Conducting, Pyrotechnics
Personally, I like to give out expensive utility spells I find get underused like dream but there is none of them on the level 1 warlock list. There are spells that I think are fine to be cheap like
Basically ritual spells which are very cheap for other classes any way.
There are even some higher level spells which I think are weak enough to be sold as cheap scrolls like
Earthbind is a spell that is situational but when it is useful can be extremely powerful. A flying creature is made much less dangerous if they fail the save and they only have one chance to resist it. I remeember once I was playing a druid and we were being sent to an island in the plane of air to defend someone against an expected attack. Knowing the environment I prepared earthbind and cast it on the boss (and air elemental) as the enemies approached (before they got above the island). We could then make easy work of the minions while the elemental descended at 60 per round. After combat and checking everyone was OK I said "As my spell is about ot end I tell everyone with ranged attacks to the edge of the island so we can attack as it approaches" to which the DM said when you get there as the spell ends you see it fly back from where it came. A warlock is unlikely to learn earthbond because it is too situational (unless the campaign is against a lot of flying creatures) but as a scroll it is extremely valuable because you are very likely to really want to cast it once during the campaign.
As a warlock I would be more likely to learn shatter over earthbind but given the choice for a scroll I would pick earthbind. I have other ways to do damage but if a Young Dragon is flying in making a breath attack and flying off until it recharges (or even just staying out of range of the melee party members so it can fly round to attack the squishies) there is pretty much nothing that matches earthbind.
Some of the ritual spells are interesting because if you cast them right before a short rest then they're kind of free. So utility spells like Unseen Servant could end up being used more by the Warlock than by a class that natively has ritual casting. Although how often is Unseen Servant really useful? I've mostly seen it used more for roleplay than trying to accomplish something the players couldn't do themselves.
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I would compare unseen servant to mage hand. Unseen servent can carry slighty more but not reach objects that it can not reach from the ground,. An unseen servent might also trigger some traps that a mage hand doesn't but that is down to the DM. Overall I think it is comparable to granting mage hand for a hour. Might prove useful but only in a minor way.
It is situational but also out classed by similar effects. Anything that can reduce a creatures speed to 0 can take a flying creature out of the sky but those other methods don't prevent fall damage and often also do something to weaken them on the ground too. For example web and the restrained can shoot a target out of the sky and leave them tied up for a round or two.
Mainly I recommend it as an additional spell known because I think it's really the opportunity cost of having it prepared/ known that prevents it getting used. Its situational and really a side grade to more versatile spells but if you have it then you might use it in some circumstances.
I wouldn' say it works like that.
To get to a creature more than 20ft of the ground the Web will disintegrate after a round. If they are more than 20ft of the ground you only get a one round effect, i would also rule while caught in the webbing the webbing prevents falling and once the webbing disappears the creature is not restrained so can fly again so no fall damage either.
If they are less than 20ft you can keep them in the webbing (in the air) until they break free or the spell ends but o ce again they can now fly.
I can think of a few useless warlock spells. You can probably think of a few weak or situational uses for each one, but outside of spell scrolls some of them just aren't worth taking at all.
Finally, I'd like to make a note on Witch Bolt. It's useless simply because the damage is comparable to that of a cantrip like Eldritch Blast, and it's easy to drop concentration on it. I fixed this problem by changing the spell slightly. Simply (1) make the damage 2d8 instead of 1d12, (2) add 1d8 of damage per level after 1st, and (3) change the way the spell scales so that the extra d8 of damage applies to all attacks made with the Witch Bolt, not just the initial attack. with those simple homebrew changes, the spell becomes viable. If you don't want to use this variation, however, it's a useless spell.
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I personally actually really like witch bolt as a basis for home brew spells as it has a cool vibe. For example in one version I gave it the effects of shocking grasp, advantage to hit metal targets and prevents reactions for any turn they take damage another higher level version worked likehold person as a kind of electro-paralysis. You can basically tack it on any debuff spell and in allot of cases the fact it takes your action ever turn will make up for any added damage it gives you balance wise, its honestly a nerf to add it to some spells but it sounds cool.
I've never seen web ruled that way and I don't think its consistent with the falling rules. There's no rule that says the web actually supports weight or is a physical barrier, creatures can move through it if they save and falling is instant so in the rules there is no moment where they fall out of the web and are no longer restrained before they hit the floor, the second they are restrained by the web they hit the ground. If the web spell didn't say it lingered for a round before collapsing I'd say it simply failed on flying targets as it would fall instantly too but it's given a bit of a gravity defying exception in the spell which does creates this weirdness. I total understand ruling that they stay in the air because it is weird that web is given this gravity defying effect as it acts almost like a cloud that generates webs rather than an actual spider web.
However, it doesn't matter to the point about earthbind because the general idea is any spell or ability that does prone, restrained or reduces a targets speed to 0 will also take targets out of the air. This is not uncommon in spells including at levels below the earthbind another example is the first level ensnaring strike. Earthbind is not a useless spell its just very situational and other spells will get you through that situation so it's not worth the spell known or prepared.