One of my close friends has challenged me to find out how he managed to deal 43,236 average damage with a spell in 5.5e. All I know right now is that it is rules as written, not 9th level, doesn't use wish at all, uses d6s for damage, and that there is 14,412 d6s (for the average he just uses half the damage die times the amount of die).
Well, the average of 14412d6 is actually significantly higher than that at 50,442. (Your friend may have forgotten that you can't roll a zero on a d6.)
One point I'd want to clarify is whether this number is the damage done to a single target, or the sum of the damage dealt to several targets at the same time. If it's the latter, Earthquake cast in a very crowded area near a very tall building could potentially do that much damage to everyone combined.
Another thing to consider is that the "Circle Magic" thing from Heroes of Faerun can be used to expand the area of effect of many damaging spells to pretty much any arbitrary size as long as you have enough people contributing, so something as simple as Fireball could deal damage over an immense area full of many creatures.
If you assumed a crowd of medium sized creatures, all massed around a 5'x5' pillar-like structure (1 creature per 5'x5' space), every creature within a distance of half the height of the tower would be hit for 12d6 bludgeoning damage each. In order for this to do the stated 14412d6, the pillar would have to be roughly 200' high (depending on how you measure distance using a grid) in order to hit the required 1201 creatures at once. 1201 creatures x 12d6 damage/creature = 14412d6 damage.
Alternatively, if you had an army of tiny creatures, and cast Sunburst right in the middle of them, you would likely be able to hit about the the same number of creatures (again, depending on how you measure your areas on a map), and the spell also does 12d6 per enemy, so that is an alternative answer that would be more likely to make happen than a crowd around a collapsing structure.
Yeah, Sunburst is likely the answer. I don't want to figure out the exact details, but you can actually damage way more creatures than in the OP's scenario at once if the creatures are Tiny and they are all flying, such as a group of Stirges. If using some sort of template with a grid system, the general rule is that if at least half of a 5-foot square falls within the template then that square is affected by the AoE. How such a model is meant to be extended for 2.5-foot cubes is not explicitly spelled out, so that's a DM call.
But, as a rough estimate, you can fit 8 Tiny creatures into one 5-foot cube which has a volume of 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 cubic feet. The formula for the volume of a sphere is (4/3) x (pi) x r x r x r. Since the Sunburst spell creates a 60-foot radius sphere, it fills a volume of 1.3333 x 3.1416 x 60 x 60 x 60 = 904,758 cubic feet. Divide by 125 and then multiply by 8 and we see that this is enough volume to fit about 57,905 Tiny flying creatures.
Well, the average of 14412d6 is actually significantly higher than that at 50,442. (Your friend may have forgotten that you can't roll a zero on a d6.)
One point I'd want to clarify is whether this number is the damage done to a single target, or the sum of the damage dealt to several targets at the same time. If it's the latter, Earthquake cast in a very crowded area near a very tall building could potentially do that much damage to everyone combined.
Another thing to consider is that the "Circle Magic" thing from Heroes of Faerun can be used to expand the area of effect of many damaging spells to pretty much any arbitrary size as long as you have enough people contributing, so something as simple as Fireball could deal damage over an immense area full of many creatures.
Yeah with circle magic the 1st level earth tremor "RAW" its area is its range and you can increase range up to a mile. Up cast to level 8 so it does 8d6 to everything on the ground for a mile in every direction put in the middle of waterdeep or something and that is a lot of damage. RAW was in quotes because its a old spell from a supplement before they unified emanation effects into a area as opposed to a range. so clearly not intended that way, But "RAW" that will be absurd. And it only requires like 6 extra casters not 600. Though some cities probably do have 600 lackeys so mile diameter fireballs can exist in FR. I don't know anyone who actually uses these rules, but oh well.
Yeah, Sunburst is likely the answer. I don't want to figure out the exact details, but you can actually damage way more creatures than in the OP's scenario at once if the creatures are Tiny and they are all flying, such as a group of Stirges. If using some sort of template with a grid system, the general rule is that if at least half of a 5-foot square falls within the template then that square is affected by the AoE. How such a model is meant to be extended for 2.5-foot cubes is not explicitly spelled out, so that's a DM call.
But, as a rough estimate, you can fit 8 Tiny creatures into one 5-foot cube which has a volume of 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 cubic feet. The formula for the volume of a sphere is (4/3) x (pi) x r x r x r. Since the Sunburst spell creates a 60-foot radius sphere, it fills a volume of 1.3333 x 3.1416 x 60 x 60 x 60 = 904,758 cubic feet. Divide by 125 and then multiply by 8 and we see that this is enough volume to fit about 57,905 Tiny flying creatures.
Even without having flying creatures, the 60' sphere should cover enough squares at ground level to be able to get the required number of tiny creatures if they are tightly packed (4 per 5x5 square). If you use a grid, the Sunburst spell should hit an area that is 24x24 squares; that is 576 spaces. With that area, you could potentially hit 2304 tiny creatures that were all on the ground in a single casting. That is a lot of Rat's.
Well, the average of 14412d6 is actually significantly higher than that at 50,442. (Your friend may have forgotten that you can't roll a zero on a d6.)
One point I'd want to clarify is whether this number is the damage done to a single target, or the sum of the damage dealt to several targets at the same time. If it's the latter, Earthquake cast in a very crowded area near a very tall building could potentially do that much damage to everyone combined.
Another thing to consider is that the "Circle Magic" thing from Heroes of Faerun can be used to expand the area of effect of many damaging spells to pretty much any arbitrary size as long as you have enough people contributing, so something as simple as Fireball could deal damage over an immense area full of many creatures.
Yeah with circle magic the 1st level earth tremor "RAW" its area is its range and you can increase range up to a mile. Up cast to level 8 so it does 8d6 to everything on the ground for a mile in every direction put in the middle of waterdeep or something and that is a lot of damage. RAW was in quotes because its a old spell from a supplement before they unified emanation effects into a area as opposed to a range. so clearly not intended that way, But "RAW" that will be absurd. And it only requires like 6 extra casters not 600. Though some cities probably do have 600 lackeys so mile diameter fireballs can exist in FR. I don't know anyone who actually uses these rules, but oh well.
I shared in a thread Circle Casting the sad story behind Earth Tremor, but I agree that, being a 5e spell, the interaction with Circle Casting is not as clear as it should be:
So, first off: there is no 2024 version of Earth Tremor. The only version that exists is from the 2015 adventure module Princes of the Apocalypse (the character options from which were also published as the free Elemental Evil Player's Companion).
Probably because it's so old, it is written in kind of an odd way that makes it hard to figure out how it's meant to work, but I think the general consensus is that it's meant to work the way 2024 Emanation AoEs do, affecting all the ground within a specified distance from the caster. If this spell were written in the 2024 style, it would have a range of Self and thus not be eligible for the "Augment" option of Circle Casting.
So, I think you could maybe make an argument that under RAW it can work, but that's pretty clearly unintended and I expect a lot of DMs would not allow it (I wouldn't).
The story behind the spell is interesting, since it was updated between EE and XGtE, which ended up causing some confusion. I shared my interpretation a while ago here:
I was reading some spells from Xanathar's Guide to Everything when I spotted Earth Tremor, and it has a strange combination of range and description.
RAW:
Range: 10 feet
Description: You cause a tremor in the ground within range. Each creature other than you in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw. [...]
It seems that previously the range and description was a little bit different according to this tweet and if you read this edition of the Elemental Evil Player's Companion:
Range: Self (10-foot radius)
Description: You cause a tremor in the ground in a 10-foot radius. Each creature other than you in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw [...]
Assuming then it's not a radius, even RAW, I see two interpretations if you're playing on a grid:
You choose a point of origin and then the tremor is a 10 x 10 ft square (2x2 squares on a grid)
Your character is the point of origin and then the tremor is a 25 x 25 ft square (5x5 squares on a grid). This could be sustained by the previous linked tweet:
One of my close friends has challenged me to find out how he managed to deal 43,236 average damage with a spell in 5.5e. All I know right now is that it is rules as written, not 9th level, doesn't use wish at all, uses d6s for damage, and that there is 14,412 d6s (for the average he just uses half the damage die times the amount of die).
Help me out here please
Kind regards - A Silly Nerd
Well, the average of 14412d6 is actually significantly higher than that at 50,442. (Your friend may have forgotten that you can't roll a zero on a d6.)
One point I'd want to clarify is whether this number is the damage done to a single target, or the sum of the damage dealt to several targets at the same time. If it's the latter, Earthquake cast in a very crowded area near a very tall building could potentially do that much damage to everyone combined.
Another thing to consider is that the "Circle Magic" thing from Heroes of Faerun can be used to expand the area of effect of many damaging spells to pretty much any arbitrary size as long as you have enough people contributing, so something as simple as Fireball could deal damage over an immense area full of many creatures.
pronouns: he/she/they
Tsunami, same effect as Earthquake
Tsunami’s damage is in d10s, though.
pronouns: he/she/they
If you assumed a crowd of medium sized creatures, all massed around a 5'x5' pillar-like structure (1 creature per 5'x5' space), every creature within a distance of half the height of the tower would be hit for 12d6 bludgeoning damage each. In order for this to do the stated 14412d6, the pillar would have to be roughly 200' high (depending on how you measure distance using a grid) in order to hit the required 1201 creatures at once. 1201 creatures x 12d6 damage/creature = 14412d6 damage.
Alternatively, if you had an army of tiny creatures, and cast Sunburst right in the middle of them, you would likely be able to hit about the the same number of creatures (again, depending on how you measure your areas on a map), and the spell also does 12d6 per enemy, so that is an alternative answer that would be more likely to make happen than a crowd around a collapsing structure.
Yeah, Sunburst is likely the answer. I don't want to figure out the exact details, but you can actually damage way more creatures than in the OP's scenario at once if the creatures are Tiny and they are all flying, such as a group of Stirges. If using some sort of template with a grid system, the general rule is that if at least half of a 5-foot square falls within the template then that square is affected by the AoE. How such a model is meant to be extended for 2.5-foot cubes is not explicitly spelled out, so that's a DM call.
But, as a rough estimate, you can fit 8 Tiny creatures into one 5-foot cube which has a volume of 5 x 5 x 5 = 125 cubic feet. The formula for the volume of a sphere is (4/3) x (pi) x r x r x r. Since the Sunburst spell creates a 60-foot radius sphere, it fills a volume of 1.3333 x 3.1416 x 60 x 60 x 60 = 904,758 cubic feet. Divide by 125 and then multiply by 8 and we see that this is enough volume to fit about 57,905 Tiny flying creatures.
Yeah with circle magic the 1st level earth tremor "RAW" its area is its range and you can increase range up to a mile. Up cast to level 8 so it does 8d6 to everything on the ground for a mile in every direction put in the middle of waterdeep or something and that is a lot of damage. RAW was in quotes because its a old spell from a supplement before they unified emanation effects into a area as opposed to a range. so clearly not intended that way, But "RAW" that will be absurd. And it only requires like 6 extra casters not 600. Though some cities probably do have 600 lackeys so mile diameter fireballs can exist in FR. I don't know anyone who actually uses these rules, but oh well.
Even without having flying creatures, the 60' sphere should cover enough squares at ground level to be able to get the required number of tiny creatures if they are tightly packed (4 per 5x5 square). If you use a grid, the Sunburst spell should hit an area that is 24x24 squares; that is 576 spaces. With that area, you could potentially hit 2304 tiny creatures that were all on the ground in a single casting. That is a lot of Rat's.
I shared in a thread Circle Casting the sad story behind Earth Tremor, but I agree that, being a 5e spell, the interaction with Circle Casting is not as clear as it should be: