Level
4th
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
30 ft
Components
V, S
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Necromancy
Attack/Save
CON Save
Damage/Effect
Necrotic
Necromantic energy washes over a creature of your choice that you can see within range, draining moisture and vitality from it. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. The target takes 8d8 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
If you target a plant creature or a magical plant, it makes the saving throw with disadvantage, and the spell deals maximum damage to it.
If you target a nonmagical plant that isn't a creature, such as a tree or shrub, it doesn't make a saving throw; it simply withers and dies.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 4th.
This is a neat spell.
very good for rp if playing the circle of spores druid
This is an awesome spell, but one I struggle a little bit to describe visually while also distinguishing it from finger of death and even disintegrate, all three of which I usually describe as a sickly gray-green ray striking at a target and causing them to necrotize and shrivel up particularly fast.
Anyone have any suggestions on distinguishing descriptions between each? How do you describe Blight?
Perhaps describe it as a wave of deep green energy that slowly wraps around and surrounds the target?
Well, Personally I have three different ways of visualizing those three in my head:
Blight- because it is just a saving throw, I don't visualize anything coming from the direction of the caster, but perhaps they do a hand movement similar to clenching their fist or whatever you deem fitting, and then the target shriveling/cracking/dry out.
Disintegrate- This is the only one I describe as a thin green beam, as per description of the spell. It is still fun to have the small beam destroy a large chunk of a building.
Finger of Death- This one is more personal, but I like to think of a dark, necrotic shroud veiling the casters hand or an ethereal skeletal hand superimposing itself over the pointing hand.
In the end, just describe it in whatever way your mind takes you, the description is what fuels the imagination of those around you, so show your personal flair and have fun
Is this spell essentially better than fireball? It does more damage and gives me a lot of health courtesy of grim harvest, but fireball has more range and has AoE. My character is a 7th level white Dragonborn Necromancer who killed the dragon who enslaved him and harnessed the soul’s power. He has mostly cold focused or necromantic spells. If fireball is better statistically, should I go against my character’s character?
You're a necromancer, take a necromancy spell. Forget about nitpicking the numbers, its far more fun to just play your character without using a calculator.
well firstly I'd describe it as more of a sickly fog.
I have a question about this sentence:
If the plant creature or magical plant makes the saving throw even with disadvantage, does it take half of maximum damage (32), or does damage still need to be rolled before being halved?
The Plant creature takes half damage on a successful save, and it still gets a max damage roll, so would take 32 points of damage.
So what is the point of the saving throw?
rip vegans
Target takes half damage on a successful save. Plant creatures will get a maximum damage roll (64), but take half damage (32) on a successful save.
So Disintegrate is a fun one by comparison (I mean they are all fun) but particularly Disintegrate is going to be different from Blight/Finger as it is a different school and damage type. As necromancy, Blight/Finger should be horrific and chilling to behold. I'm a fan of your description - causing them to necrotize and shrivel up particularly fast - for blight in particular. Finger of death I would consider is just a swift snuffing out (or drain) of the life force, perhaps no real physical indication of damage at all. Our central nervous system runs off electrical impulses. So maybe imagine an intense surge/overload (the searing pain from FoD spell description) or the exact opposite (sudden numbness, blindness, limpness) a "brown-out" if you will. Maybe a healthy dose of nausea either way, as your senses try to stabilize. Externally I guess this one is hard to pin down without having them fall prone. Maybe the strength of the magic itself holds them in place and slightly aloft as the body convulses/goes limp before staggering back into place.
Back to Disintegrate. This is transmutation force damage. So while the description may be a bit lackluster and imply the target matter's connectivity/bonding properties are simply failing (turning to dust, ever slowly trickle water on a sandcastle?), I focus on the damage type. It is actually ripping the target apart at the molecular level. With this in mind it could be described quite violently.
While I like this spell, what are people's thoughts on it being a Constitution save? Against the things you're going to want to do as much damage as possible against, won't the CON save be problematic, as tougher monsters usually have pretty good CON saves? Or do you take it out for snuffing out less durable enemies?
This is quite a late reply, so probably won't be much use, but our group usually describes the effects as the victim sarts to shrivel up and dehydrate and the water is drained into a puddle at their feet.
As a dm, I normally ignore any description of a ray or beam hitting the creature and focus on the effect, so just describing the target flinch, their veins blackening and maybe eyes ears or nose start bleeding
"You send a wave of sickening energy from your hand. All of the plant-life around you darken, rots, and wilts." and then add onto that i guess.
i mean think of actual plant blight.