After watching the D&D community from afar for a while, I'm finally starting to play the game for real, and I've recently had to dip my toes into homebrew for the first time. It's really fun, but it's also complicated, and I'm probably messing up in several different places.
That said, I'm looking to create my first homebrew spell and I have several questions to ask.
I do not have access to every sourcebook that has ever existed, nor do I know the ones I do have like the back of my hand. Can you recommend a way to check whether or not the thing I have in mind already exists, preferably without taking forever? The advanced filters are great, but I feel I'm not making the most of them.
Sometimes, it is immediately obvious what school of magic a spell should belong to; sometimes, it is not as obvious. What are some good ways to choose a school when you are undecided?
The Dungeon Master's Guide has a handy little table of how much damage a spell should deal in relation to its level, but how do you estimate the level of, say, a utility spell that does something other than damage?
1. Neither do I, or most people! But even just D&D Beyond Forums are a wonderful resources to ask people if what you want to make exists. We have a lot of knowledgeable people in these chats.
2. Indeed! Schools of magic can be a pain to determine. However, I would simply pull out a discription of all of them (the schools) from the internet, and try fitting in into each one, and seeing what seems to suit it best. For example, arguments could be made the the Vampiric Touch spell could be an Evocation spell, since you summon shadows to deal damage in the form of a shadowed gauntlet. You are summoning a damaging force, so that COULD be Evocation, in a way. However, it is not. It is a Necromancy spell, because those shadows not only deal damage, but siphon the damage into health for yourself. It COULD fit into both, but it works better as Necromancy. Think of it like that: It COULD be any of these, but what is BEST?
3. I would estimate that by estimating it based on PC level, then converting that into spell level. For example, the spell Misty Step. The earliest you can access this spell (excluding feats and racial features) is 3rd level. So, this is a spell that a 3rd level PC could put to good use, without it being too strong. The spell Dimension Door is basically an upgraded Misty Step, and is accessible at 7th level, because it is relative to what a 7th level PC would need to use to avoid attacks and such. The spell Teleport does what these spells do, but EVEN STRONGER, and is accessible at 13th level. The gist is: think about what you would reasonably allow a Xth level PC to do, and find the lowest possible level you think that action would be appropriate. Teleporting thousands of miles across continents isn't appropriate for a 3rd level PC, but teleporting 30 feet is, therefore where the spells are levelled at.
Thanks, that helps. (By the way, I checked what resources I could and the spell I was thinking of doesn't seem to exist in any of the published books I have, though several subtly different versions of the same concept can be found in the homebrew section, so I honestly don't know if making my own is worth the hassle anymore.)
Well, if you end up not doing it, that is all your choice. But I would encourage you to go for it, even if some versions already exist! Almost EVERY spell you could think of has probably already been done, but putting your own little touch on it can be fun :)
Basically the equivalent of a police sketch or poster of a wanted criminal or a missing person, except instead of sitting down with an artist and describing the person, you project your memory directly onto paper/some other suitable material. That was the first inkling of it. Then I started playing with it and considered expanding it to maybe a series of pictures to represent a memory of a specific event, or a transcript of what you remember of a conversation, etc.
This in turn led to a series of interesting questions as to the reliability of the result, i.e. what if the memory isn't fresh and you're misremembering some details? What if your memory has been wiped/modified? What if you perceived the event incorrectly in the first place (silly example: what if you're colorblind and the dude who stole your money wasn't actually wearing a red shirt)? Can this reproduce something you've only imagined, or does the memory have to be real (as far as you know)? Does the spell fail outright if the person has aphantasia, i.e. an inability to picture things in their mind's eye?
But I kept my initial questions generic on purpose because they're not only valid for this one instance, I needed advice that I could apply again and again in the future.
That sounds not unlike what you can achieve with Minor Illusion, except for the permanency part. (I call it Gnome Powerpoint ;) ) That spell has an Intelligence check to determine if someone is fooled by the illusion. This isn't part of the spell description, but if it's being used to "show" what someone looks like, the DM has the option of having the caster make an Intelligence check to see how well they remember the details.
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Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
You touch a piece of paper, parchment, papyrus or vellum and impart an image of a real creature or place from memory onto it. The memory must be something that you have seen yourself and cannot be an image created through an illusion. On the spell's completion the image appears in full colour (or black and white if you prefer) on the material. The image remains there for 1 week before it disappears.
To determine how well you create the image, as part of the spell you must make a Charisma (Performance) check. If you saw the creature or place for less than one minute, the DC is 15. If you saw the creature or place for up to one hour, the DC is 10. If you saw the creature or place for longer than that, the DC is 5. If you fail the check, then the image that you produce is not as accurate as you would have liked due to your imperfect memory. If the check fails by more than 5 then the creature or place is not recognisable as the intended target.
Spellcasters with the Keen Mind feat automatically succeed at this check.
* - (painter's supplies, and rare pigments worth 10gp which the spell consumes)
I can’t agree with it requiring the painter's supplies, nor the 10 gp. Not just for a sketch. You could pay a fraction of that much and just paint/draw it yourself with proficiency. I would change the components to simple charcoal, chalk, and parchment/paper. It’s a sketch, not a secret, indecipherable note. And make it permanent too, what the heck? And make it a Ritual, 20 minutes and some charcoal and parchment would get the proficient a sketch. It’s just a sketch. If you need to limit it further, make the 1st-level version a sketch of a face, cast at 2nd-level or higher it would be the whole figure, and 3rd-level or higher a whole still of a scene. (Remember, to upcast requires the spell slot, not a ritual.)
If they wanted to put them together like a flip book it would take dozens or hundreds of these sketches. The cost in parchment alone would prohibit abuse. And there would be no words whatsoever, so less information exchange then a comic book.
I am thinking of that spell being more like creating a permanent illusion of photograph quality, taken out of your mind. I was influenced in part by my players recently needing to have an NPC Scry on someone that the NPC had never seen. They used minor illusion to create a perfect image of the target for the NPC to lower the DC.
If it's only a sketch done in charcoal then just employ an artist, I don't think that there's a need for a spell to do that. Spells should be impressive beyond just things you can do normally. Painters Supplies are purely for flavour. The gold cost I can take or leave, but there's precious little to spend gold on in 5e anyway.
I put in the gold and time duration to prevent the whole world being full of photograph-realistic images in books, posters and everywhere else. Everyone and their dog has access to first level spells in a world like Faerun, so many books would contain pictures made by the spell and kind of spoil the aesthetic.
Hello, everyone!
After watching the D&D community from afar for a while, I'm finally starting to play the game for real, and I've recently had to dip my toes into homebrew for the first time. It's really fun, but it's also complicated, and I'm probably messing up in several different places.
That said, I'm looking to create my first homebrew spell and I have several questions to ask.
Thanks in advance!
1. Neither do I, or most people! But even just D&D Beyond Forums are a wonderful resources to ask people if what you want to make exists. We have a lot of knowledgeable people in these chats.
2. Indeed! Schools of magic can be a pain to determine. However, I would simply pull out a discription of all of them (the schools) from the internet, and try fitting in into each one, and seeing what seems to suit it best. For example, arguments could be made the the Vampiric Touch spell could be an Evocation spell, since you summon shadows to deal damage in the form of a shadowed gauntlet. You are summoning a damaging force, so that COULD be Evocation, in a way. However, it is not. It is a Necromancy spell, because those shadows not only deal damage, but siphon the damage into health for yourself. It COULD fit into both, but it works better as Necromancy. Think of it like that: It COULD be any of these, but what is BEST?
3. I would estimate that by estimating it based on PC level, then converting that into spell level. For example, the spell Misty Step. The earliest you can access this spell (excluding feats and racial features) is 3rd level. So, this is a spell that a 3rd level PC could put to good use, without it being too strong. The spell Dimension Door is basically an upgraded Misty Step, and is accessible at 7th level, because it is relative to what a 7th level PC would need to use to avoid attacks and such. The spell Teleport does what these spells do, but EVEN STRONGER, and is accessible at 13th level. The gist is: think about what you would reasonably allow a Xth level PC to do, and find the lowest possible level you think that action would be appropriate. Teleporting thousands of miles across continents isn't appropriate for a 3rd level PC, but teleporting 30 feet is, therefore where the spells are levelled at.
I hope this helps!!
Thanks, that helps. (By the way, I checked what resources I could and the spell I was thinking of doesn't seem to exist in any of the published books I have, though several subtly different versions of the same concept can be found in the homebrew section, so I honestly don't know if making my own is worth the hassle anymore.)
Well, if you end up not doing it, that is all your choice. But I would encourage you to go for it, even if some versions already exist! Almost EVERY spell you could think of has probably already been done, but putting your own little touch on it can be fun :)
What is your spell idea? I can’t help you if I don’t know what you want it to do.
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Basically the equivalent of a police sketch or poster of a wanted criminal or a missing person, except instead of sitting down with an artist and describing the person, you project your memory directly onto paper/some other suitable material. That was the first inkling of it. Then I started playing with it and considered expanding it to maybe a series of pictures to represent a memory of a specific event, or a transcript of what you remember of a conversation, etc.
This in turn led to a series of interesting questions as to the reliability of the result, i.e. what if the memory isn't fresh and you're misremembering some details? What if your memory has been wiped/modified? What if you perceived the event incorrectly in the first place (silly example: what if you're colorblind and the dude who stole your money wasn't actually wearing a red shirt)? Can this reproduce something you've only imagined, or does the memory have to be real (as far as you know)? Does the spell fail outright if the person has aphantasia, i.e. an inability to picture things in their mind's eye?
But I kept my initial questions generic on purpose because they're not only valid for this one instance, I needed advice that I could apply again and again in the future.
That sounds not unlike what you can achieve with Minor Illusion, except for the permanency part. (I call it Gnome Powerpoint ;) ) That spell has an Intelligence check to determine if someone is fooled by the illusion. This isn't part of the spell description, but if it's being used to "show" what someone looks like, the DM has the option of having the caster make an Intelligence check to see how well they remember the details.
Helpful rewriter of Japanese->English translation and delver into software codebases (she/e/they)
It's quite similar to illusory script.
Sanvael's Illusory Pamphlet
Level: 1st
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range/Area: Touch
Components: S, M*
Duration: 1 Week
School: Illusion
Attack/save: None
Damage/Effect: Illusion
You touch a piece of paper, parchment, papyrus or vellum and impart an image of a real creature or place from memory onto it. The memory must be something that you have seen yourself and cannot be an image created through an illusion. On the spell's completion the image appears in full colour (or black and white if you prefer) on the material. The image remains there for 1 week before it disappears.
To determine how well you create the image, as part of the spell you must make a Charisma (Performance) check. If you saw the creature or place for less than one minute, the DC is 15. If you saw the creature or place for up to one hour, the DC is 10. If you saw the creature or place for longer than that, the DC is 5. If you fail the check, then the image that you produce is not as accurate as you would have liked due to your imperfect memory. If the check fails by more than 5 then the creature or place is not recognisable as the intended target.
Spellcasters with the Keen Mind feat automatically succeed at this check.
* - (painter's supplies, and rare pigments worth 10gp which the spell consumes)
I can’t agree with it requiring the painter's supplies, nor the 10 gp. Not just for a sketch. You could pay a fraction of that much and just paint/draw it yourself with proficiency. I would change the components to simple charcoal, chalk, and parchment/paper. It’s a sketch, not a secret, indecipherable note. And make it permanent too, what the heck? And make it a Ritual, 20 minutes and some charcoal and parchment would get the proficient a sketch. It’s just a sketch. If you need to limit it further, make the 1st-level version a sketch of a face, cast at 2nd-level or higher it would be the whole figure, and 3rd-level or higher a whole still of a scene. (Remember, to upcast requires the spell slot, not a ritual.)
If they wanted to put them together like a flip book it would take dozens or hundreds of these sketches. The cost in parchment alone would prohibit abuse. And there would be no words whatsoever, so less information exchange then a comic book.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
I am thinking of that spell being more like creating a permanent illusion of photograph quality, taken out of your mind. I was influenced in part by my players recently needing to have an NPC Scry on someone that the NPC had never seen. They used minor illusion to create a perfect image of the target for the NPC to lower the DC.
If it's only a sketch done in charcoal then just employ an artist, I don't think that there's a need for a spell to do that. Spells should be impressive beyond just things you can do normally. Painters Supplies are purely for flavour. The gold cost I can take or leave, but there's precious little to spend gold on in 5e anyway.
I put in the gold and time duration to prevent the whole world being full of photograph-realistic images in books, posters and everywhere else. Everyone and their dog has access to first level spells in a world like Faerun, so many books would contain pictures made by the spell and kind of spoil the aesthetic.