Damage over Time spells?

[Zergrusheddie]

Ok, my inner Electronic Gaming Nerd is calling my Pen-and-Paper Nerd half to try and figure out a build that specializes in dealing some damage every round with a spell that you cast a few rounds ago. The only spell that I can think of is Acid Arrow other than spells like Incendiary Cloud but that doesn't really fit the concept of a character in a very popular online game :smallwink:.
What other spells deal damage over time?

Best of luck
-Eddie

[Douglas]

Ball Lightning from the Spell Compendium works pretty well. It's like Flaming Sphere, except electricity damage and 1d6/level (max 15d6) instead of a mere 2d6.

[Ganurath]

Creeping Cold is a L2 Druid spell that lasts three rounds, dealing 1d6 per round, plus the number of d6s from previous rounds. Goes great with Extend Spell.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Power Word Pain is what you're looking for, but I forget the requirements. I do know it's almost always fatal at low levels though. :smallbiggrin:

[Zergrusheddie]

*smacks self in the head*

I COMPLETELY forgot about Creeping Cold! A 'Hexemeister' could just be a Wizard who focuses solely on Metamagic Reducers for Creeping Cold. That and Power Word: Pain would also work.

[Shades of Gray]

Could you use Persist spell on it? That might just be brokensville. I can't see anything that would disallow it. It would be an eighth level spell though.

[ZeroNumerous]

Could you use Persist spell on it? That might just be brokensville. I can't see anything that would disallow it. It would be an eighth level spell though.

Persists must be personal, if I recall correctly.

[Frog Dragon]

Phew. Good. Just thiink about the damage after some time. Is there a cap to the damage? If not youre soon dealing hundreds of damage dies per round.

[Saph]

Druids have a handful. In Core, they have Heat Metal and Chill Metal, as well as Flaming Sphere (which is pretty much a Damage-Over-Time spell in how it works, with the added bonus of being able to switch targets).

Outside of Core there's Creeping Cold, as well as a low-level but potentially nasty spell called Decomposition.

I can't think of any higher level DoTs off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone else can. :P

- Saph

[ZeroNumerous]

So far:

Chill Metal
Heat Metal
Flaming Sphere
Power Word: Pain
and Creeping Cold

Hmm.. Take out Power Word: Pain and you've got a DoT Mage, since PW:P seems more like a Shadow Priest spell. :smalltongue:

[Shades of Gray]

The prerequisites for a persisted spell is that it has a personal or fixed range. I do not know what fixed means in this context however.

[holywhippet]

Black tentacles keep smacking your target as long as they are held

Not so much a single spell as a spell combo - blade barrier + some kind of paralysis spell.

[The Glyphstone]

Fixed range means it doesn't have a variable range dependent on any factors - so touch spells qualify, as do ray spells with a definite range. That's why Ocular Spell is so hilariously broken when combined with Persistent Spell.

[Shades of Gray]

What is the range of creeping whatever?

[Fishy]

Summon Swarm is like Flaming Sphere but with bugs. However, if the point is to stack on a bunch of DoTs, you probably want to avoid the concentration-duration spells.

And then there's Thunderhead from SpC, which... is probably the worst of these spells ever, but still.

Briar Web, also from SpC, and continuing with the druid theme?

[BobVosh]

Could you use Persist spell on it? That might just be brokensville. I can't see anything that would disallow it. It would be an eighth level spell though.

Then you probably aren't looking at persist close enough. Fixed range (I.E. 30 ft IOW without variables like 25 + 5ft/lvl) or personal range.

[The Glyphstone]

Creeping Cold is Close range (25ft. + 5ft/ 2 levels).

As for Thunderhead....that's actually my favorite subject for the Persistent Ocular combo. Sure, it's 1 damage/round....for 14,440 rounds.

Arcane Thesis on Creeping Cold would let you Ocularize and Persist it into an 8th level slot. I don't even want to contemplate how many d6's of cold damage that unfortunate soul would be taking.

[ZeroNumerous]

Arcane Thesis on Creeping Cold would let you Ocularize and Persist it into an 8th level slot. I don't even want to contemplate how many d6's of cold damage that unfortunate soul would be taking.

Well, the last two rounds are 14,399d6 + 14,400d6, which should be enough to kill anything sans Epic.

[Talic]

Well, the last two rounds are 14,399d6 + 14,400d6, which should be enough to kill anything sans Epic.

Except a Frost Giant.
White Dragon.
Anything else with the cold subtype.
A mage with Energy Immunity.
Someone in an Antimagic Field.
Undead.

:smallbiggrin:

[arguskos]

Except a Frost Giant.
White Dragon.
Anything else with the cold subtype.
A mage with Energy Immunity.

:smallbiggrin:
Isn't there a feat that is like Searing Spell for cold?

[Talic]

Piercing Cold. However, it doesn't bypass the immunity of creatures with the Cold subtype, just as searing doesn't bypass the immunity of creatures with the Fire subtype.

[ChrisDemilich]

Archmage with Elemental Mastery. Turn it fire. Or Electric. Or sonic.

[Dagren]

Crushing Hand? Would that count?

[Gorbash]

I cannot believe I haven't been ninja'd on this.

Three words. Maw of Chaos.

[Zanatos777]

Blackfire from the Spell Compendium is fun. 1d4 con damage per round.
Sword of Darkness, again Spell Compendium. Negative levels on hit 1 round/level.
The cloud spells that do damage like Acid Fog or Chilling Fog.
Shroud of Flame (SpC), Blistering Radiance (SpC), Vortex of Teeth (SpC), Burning Blood (SpC)...Actually just look in the Spell Compendium. I just looked there for two or three minutes and found all these just looking at a couple of levels.

[Epinephrine]

I love Decomposition... (the spell, not the process, though the process can be pretty neat too).

It's not a lot of damage per round (2), but it covers a huge area (50' radius) and lasts a round/level. Handy for wiping out large numbers of enemy soldiers (who have had something like briar webs pop up around them, triggering the decay?).

Also good for interrogating people - nick them with a knife and watch the wound fester and rot in real time. My DM agrees that it's a pretty decent bonus to intimidate.

[kjones]

Inevitable Defeat from PHB II, if nonlethal damage counts.

[Gaiyamato]

Power Leech for ability damage over time. :)

Rapture of Rupture - 6D6 damage, stuns them and then 1D6 every round.

Slow consumption
Damning Darkness (2D6 damage or 1D6 per round to anyone in darkness)
Whilring teeth (1D8/2 levels per round!!)
Steal life (take an ability point per round and grow younger as you do.)
Crushing fists of spite (1D6/level damage per round)

Just for some evil fun. :)

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Control Winds, once you can use it to make a Tornado.

[shadzar]

I feel like I need something before properly coming into this thread.....

~20pp for KEI! Need KEI here and SoW if you got it! Casting Temperance!~

Ok not that that is over...DoTs in D&D....:smallannoyed:

Any elemental spell that changes the area for a duration + hold person/monster/etc

Natural elements of course, not silly crap like sonic.

(Kender Taunt: Built for kiting mobs)

[Keld Denar]

Vitrolic Sphere also has a DoT effect, if you fail the save. Its also SR:No, and acid damage, so its pretty much good to go on anything with a low fort save. 3 rounds of DoT, IIRC.

[IM@work]

any summon monster X spell,
any summon spell for that matter.
not exactly what you're looking for but too obvious not to mention

[Leon]

Shard Storm (Spell Comp) does 3d6 Force a round/level to a area

[Capricornus]

Kelgore's Grave Mist from PHBII

[mikethepoor]

I'm surprised Burning Blood hasn't gotten a mention yet. Sure, they get a Fort save to negate, but they have to make it every round, and take 1d8 acid and 1d8 fire on a failure.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Born of the Three Thunders would be decent for damage over time effects, assuming it's ruled that they'd take the three thunders effect each time they're dealt damage by it. Thunderhead is a fairly obvious low-level choice, but Energy Substitution: Electricity on any of the other spells would make a good candidate. That would actually make it worth being dazed for a round after casting the spell, since the target would risk being stunned and knocked prone every round for the duration.

My all-time favorite damage over time effect is going Spellsword 4+ and channeling a Cloudkill. It becomes a targeted effect, dealing 1d4 Con damage per round for one minute per caster level, minimum 10 Con damage per caster level.

[GolemsVoice]

There's also a spell that creates a tiny little cloud that strikes your enemy with lighting damage every round, but I don't have any D&D book with me, so I can't tell you the name, or if it has already been mentioned.
And, I think, Death by thorns is also DoT, is it?

[Leon]

Thunderhead
does 1 lightning damage with a reflex save to avoid it...

[Alavar]

How could someone not have mentioned the best spell ever?

Flensing! from Complete Arcane

Strips strips of flesh from the enemy, causing charisma and constitution dmg, and dmg over 4 rounds....


Might I refer you to the stripping of the enemy's flesh again? Cool! :smallcool:


Edit: Also, I think there are several druid spells in the BoED that deal a bunch of dmg/sicken evil monsters for 1round/level

[Sinfire Titan]

Piercing Cold. However, it doesn't bypass the immunity of creatures with the Cold subtype, just as searing doesn't bypass the immunity of creatures with the Fire subtype.

Searing Spell deals half damage to creatures immune to Fire, so it still bypasses Fire Immunity.

[Epinephrine]

Ooh, Blood Creepers and Infestation of Maggots.