Level
5th
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
120 ft.
(20 ft. )
Components
V, S
Duration
Concentration
10 Minutes
School
Conjuration
Attack/Save
CON Save
Damage/Effect
Poison
You create a 20-foot-radius Sphere of yellow-green fog centered on a point within range. The fog lasts for the duration or until strong wind (such as the one created by Gust of Wind) disperses it, ending the spell. Its area is Heavily Obscured.
Each creature in the Sphere makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 5d8 Poison damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature must also make this save when the Sphere moves into its space and when it enters the Sphere or ends its turn there. A creature makes this save only once per turn.
The Sphere moves 10 feet away from you at the start of each of your turns.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. The damage increases by 1d8 for each spell slot level above 5.
So the 2024 Great Old One Warlock who uses the 3rd level Psychic Spells feature and somehow has this as a Warlock spell can essentially inflict a 20ft radius sphere doing 5d8 Psychic damage? Interesting.
Doesn't spread around corners anymore, so there could be a wedge of clean air within the area, if the sphere is blocked by let's say a 5ft wide pillar in one angle.
Changes since 2014:
- It is blocked by total cover. Being a Constitution saving throw it's unaffected by 1/2 and 3/4ths cover.
- Makes it easier to benefit from features that grant a bonus to one damage roll of a spell. Makes it less convenient to use during Time Stop.
- Behaves more intuitively for beings that live in a world with equal and opposite reactions (ie, real world people).
- Meaning Cloudkill can now move up or down so long as the direction is "away from you" and can even stay suspended in mid air.
Still vague in 2024: (meaning the DM decides)
Are you sure about it affecting them when it's cast, and it's just not when the spell moves to an area the person is in?
Pretty sure.
It states: "Each creature in the Sphere makes a Constitution saving throw, taking 5d8 Poison damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one."
It doesn't explicitly say "when the sphere appears" but it also doesn't say "When a creature enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there" the way that Legacy Cloudkill does, thus it implies this saving throw occurs when the spell is cast, similar to Fireball (which also doesn't explicitly specify when).
Then it goes on to say: "A creature must also make this save when the Sphere moves into its space and when it enters the Sphere or ends its turn there. A creature makes this save only once per turn."
The "must also" further reinforces that the initial saving throw occurs when the spell appears. Otherwise they would have started with that stipulation on when the saving throw occurs.
Do warlocks even have the ability to cast cloudkill?
Answer no.
A multiclassed one could.
Yes, but it wouldn't matter for the specific scenario that was suggested, because that "Psychic Spells" feature only applies to Warlock spells.