Here is a spell I created following the rules of the Dungeon Master's Guide. It states that a Level 3 Single target spell that does damage should be doing around 5d10 damage on average (Average damage can be calculated by taking Max possible damage, subtract Minimum possible damage, then divide by Two(2), then add back the minimum damage ((50-5)/2)+5 = 27.5). That average damage comes to 27.5. It also states that it can be 25% stronger if the spell does 0(Zero) damage on a miss. So (27.5 x 1.25 = 34.375) 34.375 average damage is what I have to work with. So I came up with this Ranger spell that does (Weapon Damage + Dex MOD + 1d8 Cold + 3d12 Thunder damage). With Capped Dex mod and using a Longbow, that comes to (1d8+1d8+3d12+5) damage. Let's see if that average is close to 34.375. (4.5+4.5+19.5+5 = 33.5) Close enough. Guess I will add a small condition to it because it fits the theme. And this is my Spell. Let me know what you guys think of it.
Just want to state i have changed my Spell to be 7d6 extra Thunder damage as it gets closer to 34.375. (1d8+7d6+5) Which is (4.5+24.5+5=34) It is as close as i can get without going over. I also gave it 2d6 level scaling damage up to 11d6 so Ranger can use it at all spell levels efficiently (except when it misses xD).
Thank you for the feed back. I pulled back on some of the text and made it (one line less of text) while still getting the spell's "feel" and damage across.
What are you going for with the spell? Which aspect of the what you have designed most appeals to you? I ask be/c I think it will help you sharpen and focus in on what you want to accomplish with the spell and remove extraneous features. For instance, the cold damage seemed an outlier that did not quite fit with the much higher thunder damage.
Anyway, I hope you keep making more interesting homebrew material.
So maybe I should even out the damage a bit? And i want the feel of the spell to be an "all or nothing" attack. I am thinking about taking out the Prone part because I now have a level 5 spell but It's a bit underwhelming at the moment. I do have a base for it though. It's cast like a normal spell (1 action), had a 360 foot range, and does the following. I will take hints but I want all the effects to have about the same power level.
You create an arrow of energy and launch it at one creature within range. Choose Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder for the type arrow you create, and then make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 11d8 damage of the chosen type and must make a saving throw. On a miss, the creature takes half as much damage and does not make a saving throw. The damage type you choose changes the saving throw and effect it has.
Part of this spell sounds like the 3rd level Lightning Arrow. And I think that Ranger spells are designed to work on a piece of your equipment rather than being pure energy. See Lightning Arrow, Conjure Volley, etc.
For the Fire arrow, is the fire for the "catches fire" part magical fire or nonmagical fire? I would also reduce the light radius shed. That's why a Light cantrip exists. Unless you have a sound rationale for that much light, it seems excessive.
I personally would switch out the "disadvantage to attack" on the Cold arrow with the "cannot use it's reaction" that is currently on the Lightning version. Not sure what do add to Lighting, though. There should should also be a save DC for the aftereffect to resist or negate it. Otherwise, most higher level monsters would just pass it since a CON saving throw isn't tough for most high level monsters that hit hard.
Well, putting that lv5 spell aside, I am updating my Thunderstorm Strike spell. How does, instead of 2 damage types, it does 7d6 extra Thunder damage and goes up 2d6 per level past 3 (making it scale with that 25% increase). Cap to this up scaling damage is 4d6 (so 11d6 if used at 5th level). It would read something like this....
The next time you make a weapon attack during the spell’s duration, a thunderous boom is audible out to 600 feet emanating from the weapon/ammunition used and the attack deals an extra 7d6 Thunder damage on a hit. If a creature is hit, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away and is knocked prone. The spell’s magic ends after the attack hits or misses.
At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the Thunder damage increases by 2d6 for each slot level above 3rd (to a maximum of 11d6).
My first instinct is to ask: Does that creature hit by the weapon get a save for 1/2 damage vs. the Thunder?
Secondary to this: Thunder is an unusual damage type be/c it is literally sound. So creatures within a certain range of the creature hit by the weapon would probably suffer some kind of ill effect as well. This Might include other party members or the Ranger, too. Just a few things to chew on for the spell to be more thematic and risky.
No 1/2 damage on a miss. The extra damage only applies to a hit (like a smite). The STR save is to see, if it is hit, whether they are pushed back and knocked prone. The thunders boom does no AOE because other spells that do this also don't deafen or do anything but push back (Thunderous Smite). This is my Ranger Risky Damage spell option. Hit, and very good damage (can crit) and possible effect. Miss, and well, you only wasted 1 attack (bonus action to cast) and a spell slot. And it works with Melee and Ranged attacks.
As for my 2nd Ranger spell, this is for those that want to be Melee. It's a level 2 spell. Click the Link for Range, Duration, Casting time, etc. If ANYONE can come up with a better name (subjective), let me know what you think this one should be called.
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make two melee attacks with a weapon against one or two creatures within the spell’s range, otherwise the spell fails. For each attack, choose between Cold, Fire or Lightning. On a hit, the target suffers the attack’s normal effects and takes 1d4 extra damage of the chosen type and must make a Constitution saving throw based on the element chosen. On a miss the target takes half as much damage and does not make a saving throw.
Cold: On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Fire: On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on the next Strength or Dexterity saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn.
Lightning: On a failed save, the creature can't take reactions until the start of its next turn.
At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the extra damage on each attack increases by 1d4 for each slot level above 2nd.
Re: Thunderstorm Strike I think it's fine for the most part. Personally, it feels kind of weird that there's a huge boom, but only 1 creature gets hurt and possibly pushed/knocked prone by the effect. What if you made it an AoE spell like Thunderwave, but triggering on a successful weapon strike? If you make it a level 4 spell and keep the same damage, I think it would be fine at most tables.
Re: Elemental Aggression I think it does what you want it to do, which is provide some control abilities to the Ranger. I don't understand the link between Fire damage and Strength or Dexterity saving throws, though. The other part I'm curious about is how come there is a CON saving throw attached to the rider effects.
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Here is a spell I created following the rules of the Dungeon Master's Guide. It states that a Level 3 Single target spell that does damage should be doing around 5d10 damage on average (Average damage can be calculated by taking Max possible damage, subtract Minimum possible damage, then divide by Two(2), then add back the minimum damage ((50-5)/2)+5 = 27.5). That average damage comes to 27.5. It also states that it can be 25% stronger if the spell does 0(Zero) damage on a miss. So (27.5 x 1.25 = 34.375) 34.375 average damage is what I have to work with. So I came up with this Ranger spell that does (Weapon Damage + Dex MOD + 1d8 Cold + 3d12 Thunder damage). With Capped Dex mod and using a Longbow, that comes to (1d8+1d8+3d12+5) damage. Let's see if that average is close to 34.375. (4.5+4.5+19.5+5 = 33.5) Close enough. Guess I will add a small condition to it because it fits the theme. And this is my Spell. Let me know what you guys think of it.
Just want to state i have changed my Spell to be 7d6 extra Thunder damage as it gets closer to 34.375. (1d8+7d6+5) Which is (4.5+24.5+5=34) It is as close as i can get without going over. I also gave it 2d6 level scaling damage up to 11d6 so Ranger can use it at all spell levels efficiently (except when it misses xD).
Thunderstorm Strike
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
It is kind of over designed and not very versatile, but functional.
Thank you for the feed back. I pulled back on some of the text and made it (one line less of text) while still getting the spell's "feel" and damage across.
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
Hi Joshua,
What are you going for with the spell? Which aspect of the what you have designed most appeals to you? I ask be/c I think it will help you sharpen and focus in on what you want to accomplish with the spell and remove extraneous features. For instance, the cold damage seemed an outlier that did not quite fit with the much higher thunder damage.
Anyway, I hope you keep making more interesting homebrew material.
So maybe I should even out the damage a bit? And i want the feel of the spell to be an "all or nothing" attack. I am thinking about taking out the Prone part because I now have a level 5 spell but It's a bit underwhelming at the moment. I do have a base for it though. It's cast like a normal spell (1 action), had a 360 foot range, and does the following. I will take hints but I want all the effects to have about the same power level.
You create an arrow of energy and launch it at one creature within range. Choose Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder for the type arrow you create, and then make a ranged spell attack against the target. On a hit, the target takes 11d8 damage of the chosen type and must make a saving throw. On a miss, the creature takes half as much damage and does not make a saving throw. The damage type you choose changes the saving throw and effect it has.
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
Part of this spell sounds like the 3rd level Lightning Arrow. And I think that Ranger spells are designed to work on a piece of your equipment rather than being pure energy. See Lightning Arrow, Conjure Volley, etc.
For the Fire arrow, is the fire for the "catches fire" part magical fire or nonmagical fire? I would also reduce the light radius shed. That's why a Light cantrip exists. Unless you have a sound rationale for that much light, it seems excessive.
I personally would switch out the "disadvantage to attack" on the Cold arrow with the "cannot use it's reaction" that is currently on the Lightning version. Not sure what do add to Lighting, though. There should should also be a save DC for the aftereffect to resist or negate it. Otherwise, most higher level monsters would just pass it since a CON saving throw isn't tough for most high level monsters that hit hard.
Same save DC issue with the Thunder version.
Well, putting that lv5 spell aside, I am updating my Thunderstorm Strike spell. How does, instead of 2 damage types, it does 7d6 extra Thunder damage and goes up 2d6 per level past 3 (making it scale with that 25% increase). Cap to this up scaling damage is 4d6 (so 11d6 if used at 5th level). It would read something like this....
The next time you make a weapon attack during the spell’s duration, a thunderous boom is audible out to 600 feet emanating from the weapon/ammunition used and the attack deals an extra 7d6 Thunder damage on a hit. If a creature is hit, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away and is knocked prone. The spell’s magic ends after the attack hits or misses.
At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the Thunder damage increases by 2d6 for each slot level above 3rd (to a maximum of 11d6).
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
My first instinct is to ask: Does that creature hit by the weapon get a save for 1/2 damage vs. the Thunder?
Secondary to this: Thunder is an unusual damage type be/c it is literally sound. So creatures within a certain range of the creature hit by the weapon would probably suffer some kind of ill effect as well. This Might include other party members or the Ranger, too. Just a few things to chew on for the spell to be more thematic and risky.
No 1/2 damage on a miss. The extra damage only applies to a hit (like a smite). The STR save is to see, if it is hit, whether they are pushed back and knocked prone. The thunders boom does no AOE because other spells that do this also don't deafen or do anything but push back (Thunderous Smite). This is my Ranger Risky Damage spell option. Hit, and very good damage (can crit) and possible effect. Miss, and well, you only wasted 1 attack (bonus action to cast) and a spell slot. And it works with Melee and Ranged attacks.
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
As for my 2nd Ranger spell, this is for those that want to be Melee. It's a level 2 spell. Click the Link for Range, Duration, Casting time, etc. If ANYONE can come up with a better name (subjective), let me know what you think this one should be called.
Link: Elemental Aggression
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make two melee attacks with a weapon against one or two creatures within the spell’s range, otherwise the spell fails. For each attack, choose between Cold, Fire or Lightning. On a hit, the target suffers the attack’s normal effects and takes 1d4 extra damage of the chosen type and must make a Constitution saving throw based on the element chosen. On a miss the target takes half as much damage and does not make a saving throw.
Cold: On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Fire: On a failed save, the creature has disadvantage on the next Strength or Dexterity saving throw it makes before the end of your next turn.
Lightning: On a failed save, the creature can't take reactions until the start of its next turn.
At Higher Levels. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the extra damage on each attack increases by 1d4 for each slot level above 2nd.
You can find my published homebrew Spells here.
Re: Thunderstorm Strike I think it's fine for the most part. Personally, it feels kind of weird that there's a huge boom, but only 1 creature gets hurt and possibly pushed/knocked prone by the effect. What if you made it an AoE spell like Thunderwave, but triggering on a successful weapon strike? If you make it a level 4 spell and keep the same damage, I think it would be fine at most tables.
Re: Elemental Aggression I think it does what you want it to do, which is provide some control abilities to the Ranger. I don't understand the link between Fire damage and Strength or Dexterity saving throws, though. The other part I'm curious about is how come there is a CON saving throw attached to the rider effects.