The spells were balanced using the guidelines in the DMG, but that doesn’t always mean they are appropriate.
The sling was meant for lower level characters with limited spells/spell slots. I did not want to give full, unrestricted access to a whole additional Cantrip, so I figured the charges would work.
The detail on Singularity that it poisons the 10 foot radius for a full year just by casting at second level is... weird. Like I get that it's such a small area of effect that it's mostly just flavoring for the spell, but having such a low level spell capable of such a long term effect is pretty bizarre. Totally vaporizing anything they're carrying seems a bit powerful as well, but I guess in a lot of ways that's actually more of a downside than an upside, since it effectively destroys any loot that could be salvaged from an enemy hit by it.
Thundercrack in general I like. Lol kind of reminds me of what I erroneously thought Thunderwave worked like the first time I tried to use it. It seems like a solid choice when surrounded by enemies.
Overall I think that the Sling of Magic Bullets works well for exactly the purpose you described it for.
The concept for Singularity is a miniaturized nuclear explosion. I figured the downside of vaporized loot (except the good stuff, I’m no savage) made up for it being a little overpowered at early levels. The prolonged “toxic” area effect was meant to represent the residual radiation. It is a such a small area and you would have to spend such a long time in the area for it to matter that it really is more for flavor and potential RP elements. Would it be better if it didn’t do the residual effect until a higher level casting? Did you notice that the AoE grows to up to a 30’ sphere of cast at a high enough level?
I’m glad you like Thundercrack. I think that’s how most people thought Thunderwave worked at first, so yeah.
Personally I think that it's a little too complicated for how I prefer spells to be. It's got a ton of stuff going on... it deals two different damage types, and increases in damage at every level, but also in area but only on every other level up, and also unless I'm reading it wrong it also increases the number of years for the toxic effect to linger. Oh and I'm just realizing as I'm analyzing the spell more that it doesn't list a duration for the Poison condition triggered by a failed CON save. Unless the intent is that any creature poisoned remains poisoned until they heal the condition on their own.
I like the idea of the lingering toxic effect for what you're going toward, but anything that has a year-long effect, even if it's limited to a tiny area, is still nuts.
Honestly, it feels like this spell really comes online at 3rd level... I think the earlier levels feels a bit unbalanced and weird, but changing it to a third level spell with all the bells and whistles makes a bit more sense to me.
Yeah, it does have the bells and whistles. One of my favorite features is that the AoE scales, not just the damage. (I personally wish more spells did that). You are correct, the initial poisoned is intended to last until it is specifically healed (because of very high rads). What if the lingering radiation didn’t kick in until it was cast at 5th level and only lasted 1 year total? Would that be better?
At 3rd level it does a bit less damage than Fireball with a slightly smaller AoE and a slightly shorter range but better damage types. I designed the spell to be as useful to cast with a 1st level slot as it would be with a 9th level slot. With a 1st level slot it does 4-16 total damage with an average of 10 damage (for comparison Burning Hands does 3-18 with an average of 10.5). With a 3rd level it does 8-32 (average 20) and at 9th it does 20-80 (average 50). By comparison Fireball does 8-48(average 28) at 3rd level and 14-84(average 49) at 9th level. But Fireball was specifically designed by WotC to be high powered for its spell level and then even out at higher levels.
I think you bring up a good point. It's not unbalanced at earlier levels, just more complicated than I prefer. It's not a spell I would take for myself, but I definitely see the appeal. Especially if you feel like most lower level spells are too simple and uninteresting.
But for the radiation... honestly I'd say have it last a day. I feel like unless you and your DM (or if you are the DM) like to do a lot of book keeping, it's going to be hard to remember, "Oh yeah, there's a 30 foot circle in the Forest of Happy Critters where anything that goes in it dies... and another one 20 feet away, and another one on the outskirts..." Have it last long enough to feel like more than just an effect that sticks around for the length of combat then disappears, but since I doubt you're going to want to keep track of where and when you cast it every time you don't want to come back to a location a year later and have to be like, "Oh shit, where did I put all those Radiation explosions?"
Lol. I see your point. I had designed it so that unless you took a long rest in the area it wouldn’t even matter so as to make the bookkeeping generally unnecessary. I thought it might be a cool thing to have happen to the part as foreshadowing before they found the big bad who had used it in the past. That way when they learn about the spell the players/characters could be like “oh, now we get it.” It would also make the spell “unsuited” for use in populated areas without lasting effects that could lead to RP/Adventure hook opportunities. I could always just list it at the bottom as an optional thing so that people could use it or not to fit their table.
Honestly it would be amazing as the signature spell for a villain in a story. The lingering effects are actually really cool in that sense... a way that the players could always tell when a place has been devastated by that specific villain because of the lingering devastation left behind. So for gameplay reasons it's a difficult spell to use, but for story reasons I definitely see the value. Could be used to create a moral dilemma for any character who learns the spell themselves, where they might be afraid to use it too much, not only because of the damage it leaves behind, but also because they risk being mistaken for the villain by anyone who's only ever heard of the after-effects of the villain's attacks, and not necessarily what they look like.
Yes! That was my thought exactly!! In the first draft the spell incrementally shifted the user’s alignment to evil if they cast it above level 5, but that was too complicated so I scrapped it. This was meant to be a sweet reward for beating the BBE, but use it at your own risk type of thing.
I think the problem was that I was viewing the lingering effects from like... a min-max, "murder hobo" mindset where the thought was, "Oh, this makes it way too easy to just shoot off a bunch of these and make a "Room of Death for executing prisoners" or something like that. But it's more balanced where the lingering effects are meant to be a downside that creates moral and logistical challenges for players to face.
I agree that Singularity is a little too complicated in the "Poisoning land" ability. I understand it is meant to be a nuke, and the poisoning is the nuclear fallout, but I might reword it as a duration spell. "Any creature that enters the area of the spell affect in the next year gains the poisoned condition while within the radius. If they . . . ." or something like that might work better
I like Thundercrack, it seems balanced well enough, and is a good high level thunder damage spell.
The Sling of Magic Bullets should need attunement. No prerequisites for the attunement, just from anyone.
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But it is a +1 weapon that has charges to cast spells, and grants you proficiency to it while holding it. It just fits the trend of uncommon magic items that require attunement. Generally +1 weapons are uncommon without attunement, but as soon as you add on charges and proficiency in the weapon, it normally requires attunement.
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I think the problem was that I was viewing the lingering effects from like... a min-max, "murder hobo" mindset where the thought was, "Oh, this makes it way too easy to just shoot off a bunch of these and make a "Room of Death for executing prisoners" or something like that. But it's more balanced where the lingering effects are meant to be a downside that creates moral and logistical challenges for players to face.
That honestly never even occurred to me. If my PC wants to execute someone they have 50 feet of rope in their bag. Throwing an NPC into an irradiated pit... wow that’s dark.
Okay, so far I’ve got to fix/streamline/omit the residual effects for Singularity, and a suggestion to add Attunement to the sling. Does anyone else have any other feedback or constructive criticisms?
Mmm, I kinda wonder if it's really necessary for your Sling of Magic Bullets to have the threat of losing it's magic. Compared to other items like Wand of Magic Missile, I'm not sure it really does enough to warrant that kind of risk (then again, I was never really a fan of that particular mechanic so maybe I'm not the best judge...)
Mmm, I kinda wonder if it's really necessary for your Sling of Magic Bullets to have the threat of losing it's magic. Compared to other items like Wand of Magic Missile, I'm not sure it really does enough to warrant that kind of risk (then again, I was never really a fan of that particular mechanic so maybe I'm not the best judge...)
That’s a good point. I had used that instead of Attunement as a balancing factor. I plan on removing that part if I add Attunement to the item. I haven’t gotten around to “next drafting” them, partly because I’m hoping for more feedback before I do, and partly because of the holiday.
Please give me your feedback on my newest homebrews. It is greatly appreciated.
The spells were balanced using the guidelines in the DMG, but that doesn’t always mean they are appropriate.
The sling was meant for lower level characters with limited spells/spell slots. I did not want to give full, unrestricted access to a whole additional Cantrip, so I figured the charges would work.
What are your thoughts?
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The detail on Singularity that it poisons the 10 foot radius for a full year just by casting at second level is... weird. Like I get that it's such a small area of effect that it's mostly just flavoring for the spell, but having such a low level spell capable of such a long term effect is pretty bizarre. Totally vaporizing anything they're carrying seems a bit powerful as well, but I guess in a lot of ways that's actually more of a downside than an upside, since it effectively destroys any loot that could be salvaged from an enemy hit by it.
Thundercrack in general I like. Lol kind of reminds me of what I erroneously thought Thunderwave worked like the first time I tried to use it. It seems like a solid choice when surrounded by enemies.
Overall I think that the Sling of Magic Bullets works well for exactly the purpose you described it for.
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The concept for Singularity is a miniaturized nuclear explosion. I figured the downside of vaporized loot (except the good stuff, I’m no savage) made up for it being a little overpowered at early levels. The prolonged “toxic” area effect was meant to represent the residual radiation. It is a such a small area and you would have to spend such a long time in the area for it to matter that it really is more for flavor and potential RP elements. Would it be better if it didn’t do the residual effect until a higher level casting? Did you notice that the AoE grows to up to a 30’ sphere of cast at a high enough level?
I’m glad you like Thundercrack. I think that’s how most people thought Thunderwave worked at first, so yeah.
I’m glad the sling looks good.
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Personally I think that it's a little too complicated for how I prefer spells to be. It's got a ton of stuff going on... it deals two different damage types, and increases in damage at every level, but also in area but only on every other level up, and also unless I'm reading it wrong it also increases the number of years for the toxic effect to linger. Oh and I'm just realizing as I'm analyzing the spell more that it doesn't list a duration for the Poison condition triggered by a failed CON save. Unless the intent is that any creature poisoned remains poisoned until they heal the condition on their own.
I like the idea of the lingering toxic effect for what you're going toward, but anything that has a year-long effect, even if it's limited to a tiny area, is still nuts.
Honestly, it feels like this spell really comes online at 3rd level... I think the earlier levels feels a bit unbalanced and weird, but changing it to a third level spell with all the bells and whistles makes a bit more sense to me.
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Yeah, it does have the bells and whistles. One of my favorite features is that the AoE scales, not just the damage. (I personally wish more spells did that). You are correct, the initial poisoned is intended to last until it is specifically healed (because of very high rads). What if the lingering radiation didn’t kick in until it was cast at 5th level and only lasted 1 year total? Would that be better?
At 3rd level it does a bit less damage than Fireball with a slightly smaller AoE and a slightly shorter range but better damage types. I designed the spell to be as useful to cast with a 1st level slot as it would be with a 9th level slot.
With a 1st level slot it does 4-16 total damage with an average of 10 damage (for comparison Burning Hands does 3-18 with an average of 10.5).
With a 3rd level it does 8-32 (average 20) and at 9th it does 20-80 (average 50). By comparison Fireball does 8-48(average 28) at 3rd level and 14-84(average 49) at 9th level. But Fireball was specifically designed by WotC to be high powered for its spell level and then even out at higher levels.
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I think you bring up a good point. It's not unbalanced at earlier levels, just more complicated than I prefer. It's not a spell I would take for myself, but I definitely see the appeal. Especially if you feel like most lower level spells are too simple and uninteresting.
But for the radiation... honestly I'd say have it last a day. I feel like unless you and your DM (or if you are the DM) like to do a lot of book keeping, it's going to be hard to remember, "Oh yeah, there's a 30 foot circle in the Forest of Happy Critters where anything that goes in it dies... and another one 20 feet away, and another one on the outskirts..." Have it last long enough to feel like more than just an effect that sticks around for the length of combat then disappears, but since I doubt you're going to want to keep track of where and when you cast it every time you don't want to come back to a location a year later and have to be like, "Oh shit, where did I put all those Radiation explosions?"
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Lol. I see your point. I had designed it so that unless you took a long rest in the area it wouldn’t even matter so as to make the bookkeeping generally unnecessary. I thought it might be a cool thing to have happen to the part as foreshadowing before they found the big bad who had used it in the past. That way when they learn about the spell the players/characters could be like “oh, now we get it.” It would also make the spell “unsuited” for use in populated areas without lasting effects that could lead to RP/Adventure hook opportunities. I could always just list it at the bottom as an optional thing so that people could use it or not to fit their table.
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Honestly it would be amazing as the signature spell for a villain in a story. The lingering effects are actually really cool in that sense... a way that the players could always tell when a place has been devastated by that specific villain because of the lingering devastation left behind. So for gameplay reasons it's a difficult spell to use, but for story reasons I definitely see the value. Could be used to create a moral dilemma for any character who learns the spell themselves, where they might be afraid to use it too much, not only because of the damage it leaves behind, but also because they risk being mistaken for the villain by anyone who's only ever heard of the after-effects of the villain's attacks, and not necessarily what they look like.
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Yes! That was my thought exactly!! In the first draft the spell incrementally shifted the user’s alignment to evil if they cast it above level 5, but that was too complicated so I scrapped it. This was meant to be a sweet reward for beating the BBE, but use it at your own risk type of thing.
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I think the problem was that I was viewing the lingering effects from like... a min-max, "murder hobo" mindset where the thought was, "Oh, this makes it way too easy to just shoot off a bunch of these and make a "Room of Death for executing prisoners" or something like that. But it's more balanced where the lingering effects are meant to be a downside that creates moral and logistical challenges for players to face.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
I agree that Singularity is a little too complicated in the "Poisoning land" ability. I understand it is meant to be a nuke, and the poisoning is the nuclear fallout, but I might reword it as a duration spell. "Any creature that enters the area of the spell affect in the next year gains the poisoned condition while within the radius. If they . . . ." or something like that might work better
I like Thundercrack, it seems balanced well enough, and is a good high level thunder damage spell.
The Sling of Magic Bullets should need attunement. No prerequisites for the attunement, just from anyone.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Attunement for the sling? I didn’t think it was that powerful.
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But it is a +1 weapon that has charges to cast spells, and grants you proficiency to it while holding it. It just fits the trend of uncommon magic items that require attunement. Generally +1 weapons are uncommon without attunement, but as soon as you add on charges and proficiency in the weapon, it normally requires attunement.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
The weapon does not automatically grant proficiency, it says if you are proficient with sling already that it still applies.
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Okay, sorry if I got that wrong. I just think it would fit in with uncommon magic items that need attunement.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
That honestly never even occurred to me. If my PC wants to execute someone they have 50 feet of rope in their bag. Throwing an NPC into an irradiated pit... wow that’s dark.
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Ya know, originally I had it with attunement, but I hadn’t thought it powerful enough for all that.
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Okay, so far I’ve got to fix/streamline/omit the residual effects for Singularity, and a suggestion to add Attunement to the sling. Does anyone else have any other feedback or constructive criticisms?
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Mmm, I kinda wonder if it's really necessary for your Sling of Magic Bullets to have the threat of losing it's magic. Compared to other items like Wand of Magic Missile, I'm not sure it really does enough to warrant that kind of risk (then again, I was never really a fan of that particular mechanic so maybe I'm not the best judge...)
That’s a good point. I had used that instead of Attunement as a balancing factor. I plan on removing that part if I add Attunement to the item. I haven’t gotten around to “next drafting” them, partly because I’m hoping for more feedback before I do, and partly because of the holiday.
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