When you cast this spell, you inscribe a harmful glyph either on a surface (such as a section of floor, a wall, or a table) or within an object that can be closed to conceal the glyph (such as a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest). If you choose a surface, the glyph can cover an area of the surface no larger than 10 feet in diameter. If you choose an object, that object must remain in its place; if the object is moved more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being triggered.
The glyph is nearly invisible, requiring an Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC to find it.
You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast the spell. For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most typical triggers include touching or stepping on the glyph, removing another object covering it, approaching within a certain distance of it, or manipulating the object that holds it. For glyphs inscribed within an object, the most common triggers are opening the object, approaching within a certain distance of it, or seeing or reading the glyph.
You can further refine the trigger so the spell is activated only under certain circumstances or according to a creature's physical characteristics (such as height or weight), or physical kind (for example, the ward could be set to affect hags or shapechangers). You can also specify creatures that don't trigger the glyph, such as those who say a certain password.
When you inscribe the glyph, choose one of the options below for its effect. Once triggered, the glyph glows, filling a 60-foot-radius sphere with dim light for 10 minutes, after which time the spell ends. Each creature in the sphere when the glyph activates is targeted by its effect, as is a creature that enters the sphere for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there.
Death. Each target must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 10d10 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful save.
Discord. Each target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a target bickers and argues with other creatures for 1 minute. During this time, it is incapable of meaningful communication and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Fear. Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw and becomes frightened for 1 minute on a failed save. While frightened, the target drops whatever it is holding and must move at least 30 feet away from the glyph on each of its turns, if able.
Hopelessness. Each target must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the target is overwhelmed with despair for 1 minute. During this time, it can't attack or target any creature with harmful abilities, spells, or other magical effects.
Insanity. Each target must make an Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the target is driven insane for 1 minute. An insane creature can't take actions, can't understand what other creatures say, can't read, and speaks only in gibberish. The GM controls its movement, which is erratic.
Pain. Each target must make a Constitution saving throw and becomes incapacitated with excruciating pain for 1 minute on a failed save.
Sleep. Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw and falls unconscious for 10 minutes on a failed save. A creature awakens if it takes damage or if someone uses an action to shake or slap it awake.
Stunning. Each target must make a Wisdom saving throw and becomes stunned for 1 minute on a failed save.
* - (mercury, phosphorus, and powdered diamond and opal with a total value of at least 1,000 gp, which the spell consumes)
Wait, wait, wait, wait. As far as I can tell, there's no limitation to placing multiple Symbols in the same place so you could potentially have a few of them go off simultaneously. I guess the glyph itself takes up a physical space that it specifies as no larger than 10 feet, and overlapping these glyphs could be disruptive to each other... but then you can have the trigger be within a certain proximity so it's entirely reasonable that more than 1 go off simultaneously in a single room.
Fairly sure an intelligent mage who does not want to be disturbed would assume it's reasonable to combine glyphs in such a way.
Keep in mind that it also consumes 1000gp of rare materials with each cast. Depending on how generous your DM is with GP or how readily they let you acquire rare materials, it could be really difficult to pull this off more than once.
But yeah, if your DM wants to really put a group through the ringer, they could basically have a dungeon that's tiled with different symbols on every inch.
what if you have an arcane focus
A focus can only replace the Material Component of a spell if the component has no cost listed and is not consumed by the spell.
So this spell costs 1000gp of powdered diamond and opal every time it is cast.
True, but if I"m a high enough level BBEG to cast this, I've probably got several thousand gold lying around and could afford probably at least five or so of these in my home all ready to go. (or my wretched slaves are mining it for me) I'd want to be careful, since there is nothing that excludes the caster or minions from being affected. I can exclude my minions from triggering it but not from being harmed by it when it triggers because it hits everything in range. Either I pick something I'm immune to entirely, or I have to consider very carefully where these will go and what they will do. If I'm dumb enough to put five of these set to Death on my throne to trigger when someone attacks me, I'm taking 50d10 necrotic damage along with everyone else, minions included.
Just have several death in a BBEG. BBEG opens the chest, sees runes, boom! Dozen death runes go off.
Are there any other source books besides mad mage that have additional symbols?
That's an interesting idea, but unless bbeg is a big deal in the precious gem industry, you're probably look more at quantity rather than quality if you want to go the mining route
Using wish, you can cast this spell with no material component and no ill affect. Each day, one new glyph.
yes, I think the design team did not spend much time thinking through the high level stuff.
Why would a high level boss would not have every inch of their lair covered with symbol/glyph if they have access to the wish spell once per day?
To be fair, any high level boss with access to the wish spell will be doing a lot worse then symbol if you really get into the nitty gritty of them being able to cast wish each day.
Multiple simulacrums, clones, many MANY enslaved extra planar beings, hallows all over the place, a few permenant incredibly powerful illusions, and that's just to start. Anything with a permenant option as a high level cast they would probably get around to if they have been at wish power level for more then a year or two.
Besides Halastar, I have not actually seen a BBEG with the option for wish. But that's just my limited expereince.
Thats before you think of the BBEG actually loading the full cannon of wish and making a request.
You're making the unwarranted assumption that Wish is a spell one can just easily find and learn. Sure, a player wizard or sorcerer can just learn it for free at 17th-level, but at that point, you're so good at magic you're basically capable of inventing new magic.
Also, there are ways to defeat Symbol. Detect Magic would easily reveal many, many auras of abjuration, in your example. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that could mean.
Also, keep in mind that ALL creatures within 60-feet of the glyph suffer the effects. You can only protect certain creatures from triggering the spell, not from suffering the effects.
I think this spell is perfectly balanced for 7th-level. It's powerful magic. Powerful magic should be hard to defeat.
Why would anyone use the Pain option, that incapacitates on a CON save, if they can use the Stunning option, that incapacitates and also does other things on a WIS save (a far superior save)? Really poor design.
Targeting a con save means more failures, meaning less risky. Targeting wis means more successes since plenty of high CR monsters have really high wis and proficiency in wis saves, meaning really risky. Imagine setting your 1k-cost Symbol and nobody was affected - that’s why it gives you options, so your party can choose whether it’s worth the risk.
CON save, less risky? You got it backwards - most things worthwhile stunning have better CON saves. Anything that is big has a high CON save - that is one of the main drawbacks of stunning strike, for instance. CON save is a really bad save to target, even worse than wisdom.
I don't think combining multiple Symbols is possible. In Chapter 10 of the PHB under the section labeled "Combining Spell Effects" it reads the following:
As such, a creature could only be subjected to 1 Symbol spell at a time, even if the effects you choose are different.
Very good point, alas, it would have been a wicked plan.
Unless somebody is frightened or made insane and wanders into more. The truly evil mage has a trap that teleports you into a maze with these. You get frightened of a glyph which makes you move far away from that glyph where you stand in a death one. So many nasty combinations. The maze of death.
So combining Symbol, Illusory Script and Geas i can create a pretty nasty magical contract? similar to a Warlock Pact?
Give the contract to somebody, decive them in signing it and BAM now they have to do everything you say. To make a useful contract is probably necessary muliple castings of Symbol/Geas and that is pretty expensive both in time and resources.
But if you can make it sign to somebody or something particulary powerful (who dosen't have truesight otherwise this would't work) like a Dragon or a Vampire then you obtain a powerful servant magicaly bound to you.
No, a TRULY evil mage wouldn't use symbol for the damaging effects, as glyph of warding is just better for that.