So I just started making an Arcane Trickster, and I just noticed the description of a spell I usually don't use, Colour Spray. 6d10 HP of affected creatures, WITHOUT A SAVING THROW? Now the wording is unclear, does the spell make them all blind until my next turn? So can I use my sneak attack on any affected target in the next turn? Do all of my allies get an advantage against it? If yes, I think that this spell is great for a melee rouge. Or maybe by casting it and then dashing back and using sneak attack with a ranged weapon next turn, you can cause a lot of damage to melee-based enemies.
It makes them blind until the end of your next turn. This means that the enemy will have a disadvantage on their attack rolls and your allies and yourself will have an advantage on your attack rolls against it. So yes, you can make an attack that will get Sneak Attack against them on your next turn.
Indeed, a great spell. The problem with it, as well as with Sleep is that, although they give the enemy no saving throws, they cannot affect them if the enemy has a lot of hp. On average, 6d10 will give you 33 hit points to blind. If the enemy with the lowest amount of hp has more than what you rolled, no enemy is affected. At level 3, most enemies are likely to have that much, so you're probably not going to use this as your opening attack. None the less, a good spell when used right. It's also useable out of combat in many situations that a Rogue is likely to find themselves in.
I mostly view it as a way to make people stop pursuing my PC, or a method to make it easier for my LG magic detective to arrest people. I guess it can be useful to kill low-health enemies, or make them automatically fail the saving throw for the wizard's Fireballs, due to the save requiring you to see the ball coming and to duck in time. I considered Sleep, but I think that compared to Colour Spray, Sleep's benefits aren't really worth it, since they don't last more than one attack.
In terms of non-combat use, it's definitely useful. Most NPCs will not have a lot of HP anyway so you'll usually land the spell. In the end, spells and non-combat encounter are only limited by imagination. Usually.
In terms of combat though, I just have one thing to say about Sleep:
An unconscious creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can't move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings
The creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone.
The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.
Though every single bullet here is great to inflict upon an enemy in combat, the last one is especially powerful for rogues. A guaranteed critical on a hit (you have an advantage, you should hit, and the target doesn't wake up on a miss anyway) means that, even at level 3, you're dealing 4d6+2xweapon damage die (I'll assume it's a d8 because it usually is for rogues)+modifier. Assuming a +3 modifier, that means 26 average damage. Okay, doesn't sound thrilling, but it's still quite good (I won't talk about scaling to higher levels because these HP-based spells are less effective at higher levels when enemies have more hp). Also, the maximum damage of 43 damage. Lastly, if you're Half-Orc/have one of Tasha's new feats (Slasher/Piercer mostly) or have a different crit-based buff, it'll be even more significant.
Again, not that Colour Spray is bad, not at all, I just pointed out the benefits of Sleep. On the other hand, a good reason to take Colour Spray and not Sleep is that the other Enchantment spells are better than the other Illusion spells.
I mostly view it as a way to make people stop pursuing my PC, or a method to make it easier for my LG magic detective to arrest people. I guess it can be useful to kill low-health enemies, or make them automatically fail the saving throw for the wizard's Fireballs, due to the save requiring you to see the ball coming and to duck in time. I considered Sleep, but I think that compared to Colour Spray, Sleep's benefits aren't really worth it, since they don't last more than one attack.
What’s this about the fireball save? Some kind of house rule, because there’s not (I don’t think) anything RAW that says you need to see it coming. If you are in the area, you get a save.
Sleep is a great spell for Arcane Trickster, because its a good spell for putting guards and the like to sleep when you're infiltrating some place. Getting nameless mooks out of the way without combat. Remember that the majority of humanoids are actually between levels 1-4, with only the exceptional hitting 5+, and the best of the best reaching beyond 11+.
For an arcane detective, the same logic applies, but with nameless mook criminals instead big bad criminals.
If you're going to default to deadly combat, Shadow Blade tends to be the Arcane trickster go-to spell. Another happy option of late has been getting Darkness and using a feat for Blind Fighting or Devil's Sight.
So I just started making an Arcane Trickster, and I just noticed the description of a spell I usually don't use, Colour Spray. 6d10 HP of affected creatures, WITHOUT A SAVING THROW? Now the wording is unclear, does the spell make them all blind until my next turn? So can I use my sneak attack on any affected target in the next turn? Do all of my allies get an advantage against it? If yes, I think that this spell is great for a melee rouge. Or maybe by casting it and then dashing back and using sneak attack with a ranged weapon next turn, you can cause a lot of damage to melee-based enemies.
Pronouns: He/Him
It makes them blind until the end of your next turn. This means that the enemy will have a disadvantage on their attack rolls and your allies and yourself will have an advantage on your attack rolls against it. So yes, you can make an attack that will get Sneak Attack against them on your next turn.
Indeed, a great spell. The problem with it, as well as with Sleep is that, although they give the enemy no saving throws, they cannot affect them if the enemy has a lot of hp. On average, 6d10 will give you 33 hit points to blind. If the enemy with the lowest amount of hp has more than what you rolled, no enemy is affected. At level 3, most enemies are likely to have that much, so you're probably not going to use this as your opening attack. None the less, a good spell when used right. It's also useable out of combat in many situations that a Rogue is likely to find themselves in.
Varielky
I mostly view it as a way to make people stop pursuing my PC, or a method to make it easier for my LG magic detective to arrest people. I guess it can be useful to kill low-health enemies, or make them automatically fail the saving throw for the wizard's Fireballs, due to the save requiring you to see the ball coming and to duck in time. I considered Sleep, but I think that compared to Colour Spray, Sleep's benefits aren't really worth it, since they don't last more than one attack.
Pronouns: He/Him
In terms of non-combat use, it's definitely useful. Most NPCs will not have a lot of HP anyway so you'll usually land the spell. In the end, spells and non-combat encounter are only limited by imagination. Usually.
In terms of combat though, I just have one thing to say about Sleep:
Though every single bullet here is great to inflict upon an enemy in combat, the last one is especially powerful for rogues. A guaranteed critical on a hit (you have an advantage, you should hit, and the target doesn't wake up on a miss anyway) means that, even at level 3, you're dealing 4d6+2xweapon damage die (I'll assume it's a d8 because it usually is for rogues)+modifier. Assuming a +3 modifier, that means 26 average damage. Okay, doesn't sound thrilling, but it's still quite good (I won't talk about scaling to higher levels because these HP-based spells are less effective at higher levels when enemies have more hp). Also, the maximum damage of 43 damage. Lastly, if you're Half-Orc/have one of Tasha's new feats (Slasher/Piercer mostly) or have a different crit-based buff, it'll be even more significant.
Again, not that Colour Spray is bad, not at all, I just pointed out the benefits of Sleep. On the other hand, a good reason to take Colour Spray and not Sleep is that the other Enchantment spells are better than the other Illusion spells.
Varielky
The problem is that if the enemy is low enough to be reliably slept, you probably don't need to crit them to finish them off.
I have used Sleep a lot, but nearly always as a way to subdue someone we didn't want to kill.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
What’s this about the fireball save? Some kind of house rule, because there’s not (I don’t think) anything RAW that says you need to see it coming. If you are in the area, you get a save.
Sleep is a great spell for Arcane Trickster, because its a good spell for putting guards and the like to sleep when you're infiltrating some place. Getting nameless mooks out of the way without combat. Remember that the majority of humanoids are actually between levels 1-4, with only the exceptional hitting 5+, and the best of the best reaching beyond 11+.
For an arcane detective, the same logic applies, but with nameless mook criminals instead big bad criminals.
If you're going to default to deadly combat, Shadow Blade tends to be the Arcane trickster go-to spell. Another happy option of late has been getting Darkness and using a feat for Blind Fighting or Devil's Sight.