Are there any limitations to what spells can be poached with Enspelled Weapon? That seems kind of exploitable, particularly now that we have rules for crating magic items. Magic Missile daggers might be useful for example. Nothing breaking there, but what about more exotic, class locked spells. For example, a paladin crafting up Divine Smite enspelled weapons to pass out to their friends? Does it count as casting a spell for the sake of a celestial warlock's radiant soul?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
As far as I can tell there is no limitations other than the spell schools and levels of the spell.
As for the radiant soul part I guess it comes down to if you are considered casting the spell or not. "Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item" read that how you want I guess. That kind of reads like you are casting the spell its just done through an item. So I think it might work, intent of the designers is hard to know though.
Honestly I was looking at them originally kind of bummed that I couldnt get mage armor on a dagger, so I started looking to see what I /could/ put on a weapon that's going to be useful, and there's really quite a lot.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Are there any limitations to what spells can be poached with Enspelled Weapon? That seems kind of exploitable, particularly now that we have rules for crating magic items. Magic Missile daggers might be useful for example. Nothing breaking there, but what about more exotic, class locked spells.
In my opinion, this magic item should have a condition similar to the Enspelled Staff:
[...] If you expend the staff’s last charge, roll 1d20. On a 1, the staff loses its properties and becomes a nonmagical Quarterstaff.
Does it count as casting a spell for the sake of a celestial warlock's radiant soul?
I believe so. Whether you're using charges from a Magic Item or using your own spell slots, you're still casting the spell in both cases.
Spells Cast from Items Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item. The spell is cast at the lowest possible spell and caster level, doesn’t expend any of the user’s spell slots, and requires no components unless the item’s description notes otherwise [...]
We don’t even have direction on whether or not a wizard capable of casting fireball at a higher level (for example) could imbue that higher level fireball into a staff.
My immediate thought balance wise would be no, but lore wise why would a caster of that power be unable to spend the extra time and cost to imbue the staff/weapon with more potent magic? Is the time and cost the limiting factor, or the usual rules surrounding casting from an item?
We don’t even have direction on whether or not a wizard capable of casting fireball at a higher level (for example) could imbue that higher level fireball into a staff.
My immediate thought balance wise would be no, but lore wise why would a caster of that power be unable to spend the extra time and cost to imbue the staff/weapon with more potent magic? Is the time and cost the limiting factor, or the usual rules surrounding casting from an item?
If I'm not wrong, I'd say it's possible.
For example, you could craft an Enspelled Staff with a spell of level 8, in this case Fireball at that level. This would create a Legendary staff.
Then, according to the Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table in the 2024 DMG, a Legendary item would take 250 days and 100k GP to craft.
We don’t even have direction on whether or not a wizard capable of casting fireball at a higher level (for example) could imbue that higher level fireball into a staff.
My immediate thought balance wise would be no, but lore wise why would a caster of that power be unable to spend the extra time and cost to imbue the staff/weapon with more potent magic? Is the time and cost the limiting factor, or the usual rules surrounding casting from an item?
The answer is both yes and no mechanically. An upcast fireball currently works, and is represented by consuming more charges. Lorewise, a wizard would do it for flexibility. A staff can only hold so much power. By using the lower level fireball, each fireball would consume less of the power that the staff is capable of storing. A staff with an upcast fireball may only have 2 or 3 charges, so fewer casts. By imbuing at lower levels, the staff can have 10 charges which may be used to cast more fireballs, or other spells. if the big spell is needed, the wizard can simply expend more charges when he/she casts.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
We don’t even have direction on whether or not a wizard capable of casting fireball at a higher level (for example) could imbue that higher level fireball into a staff.
My immediate thought balance wise would be no, but lore wise why would a caster of that power be unable to spend the extra time and cost to imbue the staff/weapon with more potent magic? Is the time and cost the limiting factor, or the usual rules surrounding casting from an item?
The answer is both yes and no mechanically. An upcast fireball currently works, and is represented by consuming more charges. Lorewise, a wizard would do it for flexibility. A staff can only hold so much power. By using the lower level fireball, each fireball would consume less of the power that the staff is capable of storing. A staff with an upcast fireball may only have 2 or 3 charges, so fewer casts. By imbuing at lower levels, the staff can have 10 charges which may be used to cast more fireballs, or other spells. if the big spell is needed, the wizard can simply expend more charges when he/she casts.
A staff with an upcast fireball may only have 2 or 3 charges, so fewer casts. By imbuing at lower levels, the staff can have 10 charges which may be used to cast more fireballs, or other spells.
How so? An Enspelled Staff has 6 charges and regains 1d6 expended charges daily at dawn.
If it was an upcast fireball, that might eat up more charges. I didn't remember the exact number of charges (and for the purpose of the reply, wasn't caring about enspelled specifically), and in my opinion, is irrelevant.
The important part is, you're not getting a level 9 fireball with 6 charges. He asked why a caster wouldn't just cast at max level, and the answer is, weapon can't hold the power for that along with whatever the max number of those charges is.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
If it was an upcast fireball, that might eat up more charges. I didn't remember the exact number of charges (and for the purpose of the reply, wasn't caring about enspelled specifically), and in my opinion, is irrelevant.
The important part is, you're not getting a level 9 fireball with 6 charges. He asked why a caster wouldn't just cast at max level, and the answer is, weapon can't hold the power for that along with whatever the max number of those charges is.
You determine the spell at the time of crafting and has no allowances for upcasting by spending additional charges. Either this includes choosing the spell level at which the spell is cast or it is cast at the minimum possible level.
Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item. The spell is cast at the lowest possible spell and caster level, doesn’t expend any of the user’s spell slots, and requires no components unless the item’s description notes otherwise. The spell uses its normal casting time, range, and duration, and the user of the item must concentrate if the spell requires Concentration. Many items, such as Potions, bypass the casting of a spell and confer the spell’s effects with its usual duration. Certain items make exceptions to these rules, changing the casting time, duration, or other parts of a spell.
A magic item may require the user to use their own spellcasting ability when casting a spell from the item. If the user has more than one spellcasting ability, the user chooses which one to use with the item. If the user doesn’t have a spellcasting ability, their spellcasting ability modifier is +0 for the item, and the user’s Proficiency Bonus applies.
The general rule says that the spell is cast at the lowest possible spell and caster level and the Enspelled Weapons don't specify any exceptions to this.
If it was an upcast fireball, that might eat up more charges. I didn't remember the exact number of charges (and for the purpose of the reply, wasn't caring about enspelled specifically), and in my opinion, is irrelevant.
The important part is, you're not getting a level 9 fireball with 6 charges. He asked why a caster wouldn't just cast at max level, and the answer is, weapon can't hold the power for that along with whatever the max number of those charges is.
You determine the spell at the time of crafting and has no allowances for upcasting by spending additional charges. Either this includes choosing the spell level at which the spell is cast or it is cast at the minimum possible level.
AFAIK, for Magic Items (or at least the usual ones :D), the way of increasing the spell's level is by expending charges if the specific item allows it. Some examples are: Wand of Fireballs or Wand of Magic Missiles.
Ok so every spelled item has to be created in homebrew? It’s on the items table but I can’t find how to add the spell to it so I think it has to be homebrewed. Am I correct?
Ok so every spelled item has to be created in homebrew? It’s on the items table but I can’t find how to add the spell to it so I think it has to be homebrewed. Am I correct?
[...] The spell is determined when the weapon is created and must belong to the Conjuration, Divination, Evocation, Necromancy, or Transmutation school of magic. [...]
So I think an Enspelled Armor/Staff/Weapon is either awarded by DMs or crafted by characters.
Ok so every spelled item has to be created in homebrew? It’s on the items table but I can’t find how to add the spell to it so I think it has to be homebrewed. Am I correct?
If you're asking whether D&D Beyond's character builder has a way to indicate which spell is "enspelled" in an item like that, the answer is no, it doesn't, aside from just customizing the name of it in the inventory tab.
Ok so every spelled item has to be created in homebrew? It’s on the items table but I can’t find how to add the spell to it so I think it has to be homebrewed. Am I correct?
If you're asking whether D&D Beyond's character builder has a way to indicate which spell is "enspelled" in an item like that, the answer is no, it doesn't, aside from just customizing the name of it in the inventory tab.
Actually, it's not that difficult. You just go to your Actions tab and select "Manage Custom." Then select "Spell" in the drop down box. Then you click on the newly added Custom Action, and select Edit. Then you can just put in all the information you need to for the spell. Make sure to add it to the appropriate Action or Bonus Action, etc. so it will show up. This way you have the spell appear in your actions tab, and it will have all of the appropriate modifiers, damage dice to roll in DnDBeyond, etc. You just need to make sure you're going back and selecting the enspelled item and marking off the charges as you use them, the same way you would with any other magical item (like the Staff of Healing for example).
Another way to handle this would be to just create the homebrew item yourself using the homebrew functionality on DnDBeyond.
You can even choose to add a non-attack spell. I am a level 5 cleric with an enspelled weapon that allows me to cast Cure Wounds 6 times. That's a huge bump to my healing abilities. It basically just gives me 6 more level 1 spell slots for an uncommon magic item. I'd almost say it's even a little OP. The only reason I have the item is because we started our campaign at level 5 and our DM allowed us to add 1 uncommon magic item to our starting inventory. Depending on your DM, this is probably the only way you're going to get to have an enspelled item with the specific spell you want in it, unless you're using the new mechanics to craft magic items in the new DMG. And even then, I think you're going to need an appropriate caster that can cast the spell in the first place to help imbue the spell into the item.
Also, to address a lot of the other comments. There is no upcasting. The level of spell you can add is determined by the item's rarity. Uncommon gives you cantrips and level 1 spells. Rare gives levels 2 and 3, Very rare 4 and 5, Legendary gives 6 - 8. There are only 6 charges. You can't increase the charges by downcasting, and you can't upcast to use more charges. The rarity and spell level also determine the Save DC or the Attack Bonus, whichever applies to the spell in the item. It's a simple concept that people are making overly complicated.
Are there any limitations to what spells can be poached with Enspelled Weapon? That seems kind of exploitable, particularly now that we have rules for crating magic items. Magic Missile daggers might be useful for example. Nothing breaking there, but what about more exotic, class locked spells. For example, a paladin crafting up Divine Smite enspelled weapons to pass out to their friends? Does it count as casting a spell for the sake of a celestial warlock's radiant soul?
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
As far as I can tell there is no limitations other than the spell schools and levels of the spell.
As for the radiant soul part I guess it comes down to if you are considered casting the spell or not. "Some magic items allow the user to cast a spell from the item" read that how you want I guess. That kind of reads like you are casting the spell its just done through an item. So I think it might work, intent of the designers is hard to know though.
Honestly I was looking at them originally kind of bummed that I couldnt get mage armor on a dagger, so I started looking to see what I /could/ put on a weapon that's going to be useful, and there's really quite a lot.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
In my opinion, this magic item should have a condition similar to the Enspelled Staff:
I believe so. Whether you're using charges from a Magic Item or using your own spell slots, you're still casting the spell in both cases.
When crafting an item you have to have the spell prepared during the crafting process.
Where are the rules for making enspelled weapons and armor?
The Dungeon Master Guide offer very little rules for creating magic items of any kind specifically.
We don’t even have direction on whether or not a wizard capable of casting fireball at a higher level (for example) could imbue that higher level fireball into a staff.
My immediate thought balance wise would be no, but lore wise why would a caster of that power be unable to spend the extra time and cost to imbue the staff/weapon with more potent magic? Is the time and cost the limiting factor, or the usual rules surrounding casting from an item?
If I'm not wrong, I'd say it's possible.
For example, you could craft an Enspelled Staff with a spell of level 8, in this case Fireball at that level. This would create a Legendary staff.
Then, according to the Magic Item Crafting Time and Cost table in the 2024 DMG, a Legendary item would take 250 days and 100k GP to craft.
The answer is both yes and no mechanically. An upcast fireball currently works, and is represented by consuming more charges. Lorewise, a wizard would do it for flexibility. A staff can only hold so much power. By using the lower level fireball, each fireball would consume less of the power that the staff is capable of storing. A staff with an upcast fireball may only have 2 or 3 charges, so fewer casts. By imbuing at lower levels, the staff can have 10 charges which may be used to cast more fireballs, or other spells. if the big spell is needed, the wizard can simply expend more charges when he/she casts.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
Just curious. Are you referring to the Wand of Fireballs?
It's the item I found that can be used to increase the Fireball spell's level by 1 for each additional charge you expend.
How so? An Enspelled Staff has 6 charges and regains 1d6 expended charges daily at dawn.
If it was an upcast fireball, that might eat up more charges. I didn't remember the exact number of charges (and for the purpose of the reply, wasn't caring about enspelled specifically), and in my opinion, is irrelevant.
The important part is, you're not getting a level 9 fireball with 6 charges. He asked why a caster wouldn't just cast at max level, and the answer is, weapon can't hold the power for that along with whatever the max number of those charges is.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
You determine the spell at the time of crafting and has no allowances for upcasting by spending additional charges. Either this includes choosing the spell level at which the spell is cast or it is cast at the minimum possible level.
I am inclined to say that you cannot upcast it.
The general rule says that the spell is cast at the lowest possible spell and caster level and the Enspelled Weapons don't specify any exceptions to this.
How to add Tooltips.
I agree with @SmiteMakesRight_3_5
AFAIK, for Magic Items (or at least the usual ones :D), the way of increasing the spell's level is by expending charges if the specific item allows it. Some examples are: Wand of Fireballs or Wand of Magic Missiles.
Related thread here: Enspelled Weapons Upcasted Spells - Rules & Game Mechanics
Ok so every spelled item has to be created in homebrew? It’s on the items table but I can’t find how to add the spell to it so I think it has to be homebrewed. Am I correct?
This Magic Item is different from, for example, Ring of Spell Storing. For Enspelled Armor, Enspelled Staff or Enspelled Weapon:
So I think an Enspelled Armor/Staff/Weapon is either awarded by DMs or crafted by characters.
If you're asking whether D&D Beyond's character builder has a way to indicate which spell is "enspelled" in an item like that, the answer is no, it doesn't, aside from just customizing the name of it in the inventory tab.
pronouns: he/she/they
Actually, it's not that difficult. You just go to your Actions tab and select "Manage Custom." Then select "Spell" in the drop down box. Then you click on the newly added Custom Action, and select Edit. Then you can just put in all the information you need to for the spell. Make sure to add it to the appropriate Action or Bonus Action, etc. so it will show up. This way you have the spell appear in your actions tab, and it will have all of the appropriate modifiers, damage dice to roll in DnDBeyond, etc. You just need to make sure you're going back and selecting the enspelled item and marking off the charges as you use them, the same way you would with any other magical item (like the Staff of Healing for example).
Another way to handle this would be to just create the homebrew item yourself using the homebrew functionality on DnDBeyond.
You can even choose to add a non-attack spell. I am a level 5 cleric with an enspelled weapon that allows me to cast Cure Wounds 6 times. That's a huge bump to my healing abilities. It basically just gives me 6 more level 1 spell slots for an uncommon magic item. I'd almost say it's even a little OP. The only reason I have the item is because we started our campaign at level 5 and our DM allowed us to add 1 uncommon magic item to our starting inventory. Depending on your DM, this is probably the only way you're going to get to have an enspelled item with the specific spell you want in it, unless you're using the new mechanics to craft magic items in the new DMG. And even then, I think you're going to need an appropriate caster that can cast the spell in the first place to help imbue the spell into the item.
Also, to address a lot of the other comments. There is no upcasting. The level of spell you can add is determined by the item's rarity. Uncommon gives you cantrips and level 1 spells. Rare gives levels 2 and 3, Very rare 4 and 5, Legendary gives 6 - 8. There are only 6 charges. You can't increase the charges by downcasting, and you can't upcast to use more charges. The rarity and spell level also determine the Save DC or the Attack Bonus, whichever applies to the spell in the item. It's a simple concept that people are making overly complicated.
Beautiful explanation, thank you!