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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Are These Cleric Spells Balanced?



Levism84
2015-12-05, 10:39 PM
NEW CLERIC SPELLS
These cleric spells are taken from The (not really) Complete Tome of Spells, a 3rd party spell resource for 5th edition D&D. I wanted to use them for a new character concept, but I didn't know if they were particularly balanced. I would love to get some insight and feedback from the community of their thoughts and opinions.

Thank you in advance for your time and feedback.

Amanuensis
3rd-level transmutation (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (a quill pen and something to write on)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You animate a quill pen to precisely duplicate any form of nonmagical writing you see.
Anesthesia
3rd-level enchantment (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a petal from a lotus flower)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You render one living creature you can touch unconscious and insensate. The target creature may attempt a Constitution saving throw, ending this effect on a success. Undead, constructs, and creatures that are immune to being charmed or unconscious are immune to this spell.

Upon waking up, the creature has disadvantage on all rolls for 1 minute.
Blessed Forgetfulness
4th-level enchantment (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a few drops of holy water)
Duration: Instantaneous

You touch a willing creature and remove one terrible memory it has. This can negate the effects of a failed fear or sanity check or simply remove a horrible memory that has no actual game effect. This has no effect on magically-induced or altered memories. You cannot use this spell on yourself.
Call
9th-level conjuration (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Special
Components: V, S, M (a miniature wax statue of the target)
Duration: Instantaneous

You call a specific intelligent creature by name. If that target is on the same plane as you, then it becomes aware of your call and may choose to accept or reject it. If the target accepts, it is instantly teleported to any safe location within 30 feet of you.
Comfort
3rd-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 hour

You sing a pleasant song and all allies within range will cease feeling nonmagically-caused pain, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, or exhaustion. This spell does not negate normal damage, but affected creatures have advantage on all saving throws against magical effects that cause pain, negatively affect emotions (such as by causing fright), or that cause hunger, thirst, or exhaustion.
Copy
Transmutation cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You hold a blank sheet of paper, a book with empty pages, or another similar material over a document and this spell produces a perfect copy. Each casting of this spell will duplicate a standard 8 inch x 10 inch quarto size.

Attempts to copy magical text of any sort will automatically fail.
Death Recall
2nd-level divination (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a fragment from a shattered mirror)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You touch a corpse and go into a trance, wherein you relive the final ten minutes of the subject's life, seeing it from its own perspective. You must remain in physical contact with the corpse the entire time. If you are interrupted at any point during this spell, it ends and you cannot cast it again on that corpse.
Diction
1st-level evocation (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (10-foot radius)
Components: V, M (a pint of vinegar)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

While this spell is active, any words you or anyone within ten feet of you speak magically appear on a blank piece of paper in the language in which they were spoken. Spells with verbal components that are cast during that time cannot be recorded; the spell will continue but simply skip the time when the spell was cast or record a row of asterisks. Command words for magical items, however, can be recorded.
Empathy
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

You look at one target within range and learn what it is feeling: anger, anticipation, anxiety, curiosity, desire, disgust, distress, fatigue, happiness, hatred, hostility, horror, hunger/thirst, love, lust, fear, need, optimism, pain, panic, pleasure, shame/guilt, sorrow, surprise, torment, uneasiness, or wonder, and whether it is a weak, moderate, or strong emotion. This does not reveal the source of the emotion or any other information about it. Only one emotion (the most prominent one the target is experiencing) is revealed.

A creature that is aware that you are or might be attempting to contact its mind may attempt to make an Intelligence saving throw to resist; otherwise, there is no saving throw. Only humanoids, giants, beasts, monstrosities, and dragons with an Intelligence of 2 or higher can be affected with this spell.
Music of the Spheres
4th-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (30-foot radius)
Components: V, S, M (three ribbons, one, four, and nine inches long that are made from fine silver thread and worth 100 gp each)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

Utterly beautiful cosmic music begins playing around you. All creatures within range become so distracted by the music they must make a Wisdom saving throw or be at disadvantage on all attacks against you and at all attempts to resist any affect that would charm them.
Oathbinding
5th-level enchantment (ritual)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Components: V
Duration: 1 year

You or one willing creature you touch vows to behave in a certain way for the length of the oath and, if it breaks its vow, to perform a certain act of contrition, which must be feasibly possible and not be suicidal in nature. Because this spell only affects willing creatures, it is effective on creatures that are immune to being charmed.

If the creature breaks its vow, even unknowingly, it takes 1d10 psychic damage. If the creature then fails to perform the chosen act of contrition within 1 week, it takes 5d10 psychic damage, and its hit point total is reduced by that amount, until it performs the act of contrition.

Breaking the vow and performing the act of contrition does not end the spell. You may choose to end the spell early by using an action to dismiss it, and a remove curse, greater restoration, or wish spell also ends it.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7th level or higher, the spell lasts until it is ended by one of the spells mentioned above.
Pool of Deeds
7th-level divination
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a handful of colored powder)
Duration: 24 hours

You turn a pool of water that is anywhere from 1 foot to 30 feet in diameter into a storyteller. It shows, in images only, the deeds of any one person you name, living or dead. You must name which deeds you wish to see (i.e., the deeds must be publicly known), but the pool will show even unknown details. It will show the event in real-time. If there are details that the named person does or did not want known, you must make a DC 18 Intelligence check to reveal them.
Protective Amulet
1st-level abjuration (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 hour
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (an item of jewelry that costs 50 gp per level of the spell it is designed to protect against)
Duration: Permanent

You enchant an amulet with the ability to protect the wearer from a specific spell that you know how to cast and that allows for a saving throw. When the wearer is attacked by that spell and fails the saving throw, the amulet absorbs the magic and shatters, protecting the wearer.
Scapegoat
5th-level enchantment
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (goat hair and a small stone)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You touch the target, who must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, all other creatures within 20 feet of the target that have an Intelligence of at least 5 believe that the target is responsible for whatever troubles are plaguing them. They are allows to make an Intelligence saving throw to come to their sense. This saving throw is at disadvantage if they already have reason to dislike or distrust the target.
Secret Page
1st-level transmutation (ritual)
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (powdered herring scales and the essence of a will o' wisp)
Duration: Permanent

You touch a piece of paper or a page in a book that has writing on it, and the writing changes to something completely different, of your choice. You may speak a command word to see the original text. A true seeing spell will reveal the original text.
Storm
8th-level evocation (ritual)
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Self (10-mile radius)
Components: V, S, M (a lightning rod or a branch from a tree which has been struck by lightning at least once)
Duration: 30 minutes plus 12 hours

You cause a horrendous thunderstorm to develop over the course of 30 minutes and to rage for 12 hours. Rain falls at the rate of 1/2 inch per hour.

Once every 10 minutes, you may direct a lightning bolt to hit a target of your choice. If the target is a living being, it may make a Dexterity saving throw. The target takes 4d8 lightning damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much on a successful one.

ShamasTheBard
2015-12-06, 10:03 AM
a 3rd level slot to have a pen write stuff down for you?

That's a cantrip i'd say.

khadgar567
2015-12-06, 11:18 AM
a 3rd level slot to have a pen write stuff down for you?

That's a cantrip i'd say.
agreed with you mate

Ninja_Prawn
2015-12-06, 11:30 AM
My thoughts:

Amanuensis should be a cantrip.
Anesthesia should be 8th-level (in line with Power Word: Stun), unless you offer a save, in which case 3 or 4 is okay. And I don't see why it should be a ritual.
Blessed Forgetfulness looks ok.
Call is basically Gate for people that are on the same plane, right? I guess that's ok. Again, why is it a ritual? Should probably have a material cost as well.
Comfort is ok, if a little bard-y.
Copy is fine, but I can't imagine anyone actually choosing it over, you know, *carrying an inkpen*.
Death Recall is, in my opinion, a better version of Speak with Dead and should therefore be 4th-level. Also, 1 round is a non-standard casting time and I can't see why you wouldn't just put 1 action.
What do you have against scribes? Diction will put a lot of honest folks out of business. It's probably okay for a 1st-level effect though.
Empathy is okay, but again, why would you waste a cantrip slot on it? 99% of the time, and insight check will give you the same information (often passively - how often does an NPC go out of their way to hide an emotion).
Music of the Spheres is probably ok. Maybe a little on the weak side for a 4th-level spell (the main effect can be replicated by Blur, after all).
Oathbinding is ok, but it's so similar to Geas that there's no need for it to exist.
I like Pool of Deeds. 7th level is probably fair.
Protective Amulet should have to be cast at a level equal to the spell it wards against. I would be unlikely to allow this spell anyway, because I feel this kind of effect should be the sole domain of magic items.
Is Scapegoat worth a 5th-level slot? It's basically Calm Emotions in reverse. Hard to tell.
What's the point of Secret Page? May as well just roll it into Illusory Script.
Um, I'd rather have Call Lightning than Storm... and that's a 3rd-level spell! I can see what you're trying to do, but you're going to have to increase the damage if you want to keep it at 8th. Something like 10d10 every 10 minutes?

Flashy
2015-12-06, 04:04 PM
Death Recall is, in my opinion, a better version of Speak with Dead and should therefore be 4th-level. Also, 1 round is a non-standard casting time and I can't see why you wouldn't just put 1 action.

Especially since it has the critical advantage of having the ritual tag when Speak with Dead doesn't.

Ninja_Prawn
2015-12-06, 05:12 PM
Especially since it has the critical advantage of having the ritual tag when Speak with Dead doesn't.

True. At least clerics still have to actually prepare their rituals though... unlike those bleedin' wizards. :smallmad:

Levism84
2015-12-06, 11:08 PM
True. At least clerics still have to actually prepare their rituals though... unlike those bleedin' wizards. :smallmad:

The plus side of death recall is you can see the last 10 minutes of a creature's life, which can be very useful for investigating a murder or finding out other information relating to (arguably) the most important 10 minutes of that creature's life. The down side of the spell is it is ONLY those last 10 minutes, from the dead creature's point of view. Also, the being unable to cast it on the same creature twice, if you get interrupted, also sucks but is thematically awesome.

The spell speak with dead is a little more open ended and lets you actually ask questions of a corpse. Sure, 5 questions may not seem like a lot and a corpse that sees you as hostile can be a pain in the butt to you, but you can always wait 10 days and cast it again. I think the one-shot nature of death recall along with its narrow focus makes it much less prone to abuse as a ritual.

Flashy
2015-12-07, 05:37 PM
The big difference is that the view you get of the last 10 minutes will be impartial. If you try to ask an enemy's corpse if that corridor they just walked down was trapped they're allowed to lie to you and you're down a 3rd level spell slot. If you use Death Recall you can just watch the path they followed, see what they touched etc, and it cost you nothing. Need to know the combination to the safe? Guaranteed answer if the corpse opened the lock in the last 10 minutes. Need to know if there's anyone in that room they just came out of? Guaranteed answer. Need to know exactly what was in the message they sent just before you burst into the room? Guaranteed answer. There are a lot of situations where it's more useful than Speak With Dead.