Epic Spell Combos

[TheTacoBandit]

So I was looking through the spells because I have started using a Wizard and I thought of some really awesome combos. For example what if you were to use Suggestion and Phantasmal Force in tandem. Use the Phantasmal Force to make Goblin Soldiers Boss look like a hostile creature in disguise and use Suggestion to nudge the Goblin Soldier into attacking, then, maybe throw in Charm Person for good measure. And what if you cast Friends and Charm Person on the same NPC? Are they really susceptible to what you tell them? Just something I was thinking about.

[calebrus]

The problem with your ideas are that most of the best combos would involve multiple concentration spells.
Like your example of phantasmal and suggestion. Both require concentration. As soon as you cast suggestion the phantasm would stop working. Same with friends and charm person.
Multiple casters could do it easily enough, but one caster could not.

[Ace Jackson]

It doesn't have to be suggest though, suggest works for up to eight hours, all you really need is a well placed command, which is not concentration. A good round of combat followed up with by an intimation check capped off with command "panic" or "rout" targeted on the leader, or the leader and few others if you could spare a higher slot level or two, would still accomplish quite a wonder. Panic is contagious, after another riotous combat round, they might have more genuine confusion and panic. Alternatively, command "infight," or "betray," could also self perpetuate, and doesn't strictly insure direct harm to 'self.' Self being presumed as "one's own self" not "own group," DM mileage, specific situations, and house rules may vary.

Also, I hate to put a hole in the OP's balloon, but phantasmal force is an illusion only one person can see by the look of it. I'm sure there's other things you can use to attain that effect though. And I do like the intended end.

Still, even if you do need multiple people to pull off the coolest stuff. Why not discuss those possibilities? Say you have 2 clerics or bards (maybe druids as well? Can't remember.) and one uses the wisdom check to use any action form of "bestow curse" and the other uses contagion. Would the saving throws against contagion happen or would they auto-fail as the creature in question can't take any actions? Reviewing it though, bestow curse can be used to impose disadvantage on saving throws you deem relevant, suggesting the saving throws could still happen anyway. Still, even if I made that mistake in game, I'd have effectively shut the enemy down for a while anyway. And what about a simple banishment, which can give the whole team a full minute to do whatever they want to the battlefield, wall of blades, control water, wall of fire, there is plenty of cool stuff you can do.

[Orbis Orboros]

If we're talking multiple casters, Animate Objects gets stupid for a level 5 spell.

Crusader's Mantle and Animate Objects: ten attacks at 2d4+4 a turn just for free (if the right command is issued to the tiny objects).

Or, if it's just one enemy, Hold Person and Animate Objects for ten free auto-crits a turn.