I am a new DnD player who wants to play a Tiefling Eldritch Knight with a theme on fire and I wanted to make a spell that allows them to lockdown an enemy since he used to be a guard of a town. The target creature here will NOT take damage until they actually try to escape the cage.
I wanted feedback since I am still not familiar with the balance of combat in DnD 5e. If the spell looks overpowered, how would you adjust the values on the spell?
Here are the points I aimed for while creating the spell
- A spell that discourages an enemy from moving.
- A spell that punishes accomplices that are trying to help the enemy.
- The target is the main point so he takes more damage compared to his accomplices.
The damage might be a bit high, given that the effective area of the spell is a 15 foot cube, which is the area around a medium-sized target. A 2nd-level spell like Cloud of Daggers functions similarly to restricting enemy movement (they are punished for entering an area.) It does comparable damage (4d4, avg. 10 damage, compared to 3d6, avg. ~10 damage) but Cloud of Daggers only covers a single 5' square. Maybe reduce the damage to nearby creatures down to 2d6. Flaming Sphere, another 2nd-level, also affects its adjacent area and does 2d6 around it.
I like that the crux of the spell is to discourage the trapped creature from moving, and that it doesn't actually do anythingto the target unless it tries to move out of it. This potentially gives the enemy a round where nothing happens and you lose concentration on the spell after getting hit with an attack. However, if the targeted creature does decide to leave the cage, it should probably cause the spell to end after the 5d6 is dealt, rather than persist on the field, and even then I might knock that damage down to 4d6.
A final note, 1 hour seems kinda long, but more on the basis that this spell seems very focused on controlling a single encounter. Maybe make it 1 minute instead? I'm thinking of situations where you would want to maintain the full hour concentration without wanting to switch out for something else in the meantime and remember, "Oh yeah, I still got that one guy trapped in another room."
I'll be sure to adjust the damage values once I get the chance. I always intended for the effect to dispel when the target escapes but seems like I forgot to add that into the description.
Regarding the duration of the spell, I wanted it to be 1 hour with concentration because I wanted to use it in Role Play Opportunities such as trapping a bandit in it for interrogation. But if 1 hour is too much, would a 5 or 10 minute duration on the spell suffice for balance?
Regarding the duration of the spell, I wanted it to be 1 hour with concentration because I wanted to use it in Role Play Opportunities such as trapping a bandit in it for interrogation. But if 1 hour is too much, would a 5 or 10 minute duration on the spell suffice for balance?
I don't really see the duration as an actual problem, and this was the sort of thing I was coming to think of after the post; roleplaying effects. If the caster wants to devote a whole hour to just holding this up for an interrogation or impromptu cell, sure. As long as the spell ends if the creature leaves, or you lose concentration, or its dispelled, etc, that should be good.
It also just occurred to me what happens if the caster goes beyond the 30 foot range of the spell after casting the spell. I'd say nothing, the spell persists, but it could end if the caster moves more than 300 feet away or something like that. Again, I'm not confident this is an actual problem.
I am a new DnD player who wants to play a Tiefling Eldritch Knight with a theme on fire and I wanted to make a spell that allows them to lockdown an enemy since he used to be a guard of a town. The target creature here will NOT take damage until they actually try to escape the cage.
I wanted feedback since I am still not familiar with the balance of combat in DnD 5e. If the spell looks overpowered, how would you adjust the values on the spell?
Here are the points I aimed for while creating the spell
- A spell that discourages an enemy from moving.
- A spell that punishes accomplices that are trying to help the enemy.
- The target is the main point so he takes more damage compared to his accomplices.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/627565-salizirs-fiery-cage
The damage might be a bit high, given that the effective area of the spell is a 15 foot cube, which is the area around a medium-sized target. A 2nd-level spell like Cloud of Daggers functions similarly to restricting enemy movement (they are punished for entering an area.) It does comparable damage (4d4, avg. 10 damage, compared to 3d6, avg. ~10 damage) but Cloud of Daggers only covers a single 5' square. Maybe reduce the damage to nearby creatures down to 2d6. Flaming Sphere, another 2nd-level, also affects its adjacent area and does 2d6 around it.
I like that the crux of the spell is to discourage the trapped creature from moving, and that it doesn't actually do anything to the target unless it tries to move out of it. This potentially gives the enemy a round where nothing happens and you lose concentration on the spell after getting hit with an attack. However, if the targeted creature does decide to leave the cage, it should probably cause the spell to end after the 5d6 is dealt, rather than persist on the field, and even then I might knock that damage down to 4d6.
A final note, 1 hour seems kinda long, but more on the basis that this spell seems very focused on controlling a single encounter. Maybe make it 1 minute instead? I'm thinking of situations where you would want to maintain the full hour concentration without wanting to switch out for something else in the meantime and remember, "Oh yeah, I still got that one guy trapped in another room."
I'll be sure to adjust the damage values once I get the chance. I always intended for the effect to dispel when the target escapes but seems like I forgot to add that into the description.
Regarding the duration of the spell, I wanted it to be 1 hour with concentration because I wanted to use it in Role Play Opportunities such as trapping a bandit in it for interrogation. But if 1 hour is too much, would a 5 or 10 minute duration on the spell suffice for balance?
I don't really see the duration as an actual problem, and this was the sort of thing I was coming to think of after the post; roleplaying effects. If the caster wants to devote a whole hour to just holding this up for an interrogation or impromptu cell, sure. As long as the spell ends if the creature leaves, or you lose concentration, or its dispelled, etc, that should be good.
It also just occurred to me what happens if the caster goes beyond the 30 foot range of the spell after casting the spell. I'd say nothing, the spell persists, but it could end if the caster moves more than 300 feet away or something like that. Again, I'm not confident this is an actual problem.
That would be consistent with RAW for similar effects.
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Thank you both of you for the feedback, here's the hopefully balanced version of the spell. The spell now ends if the caster moves 120 feet away.
I made it this distance to the caged target so the enemy still has a chance to retaliate if they want to hit the caster if they want to escape.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/627573-salizirs-fiery-cage