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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next New Gish Spells! (Both cantrips and higher level spells) [PEACH]



DracoKnight
2016-05-17, 08:23 PM
Bored in class; wrote these (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jX9eZh7fEeUZvvuM-rsf-hhxvOwDbzbk2TaGaBFZEuQ/edit?usp=sharing) up! Feed back is appreciated :smallbiggrin:

All of these spells are on the Bard, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard, and Warlock spell lists. With the exception of Doomblade which is on the Cleric, Paladin, Warlock and Wizard spell lists.

Requiemforlust
2016-05-17, 10:00 PM
DPR-wise they're all balanced, idk about the rider of Blade of Conquest. I love that you made higher level Gish spells. Cantrips are nice, but spells with a resource cost are awesome too.

EDIT: initially I was unsure about Sword of Thrones, but DPR is about the most boring thing you can do with a 9th-level slot, so it should be fine.

The Zoat
2016-05-18, 05:24 AM
Eldritch Strike seems too good with an Eldritch Knight. It let's you Nova extremely hard with a greatsword and the extra 2d6 is written like it works with great-weapon fighting.

DracoKnight
2016-05-18, 11:59 AM
Eldritch Strike seems too good with an Eldritch Knight. It let's you Nova extremely hard with a greatsword and the extra 2d6 is written like it works with great-weapon fighting.

I'll make it a 3rd-level spell, so that they don't get it until 13th level. That's actually probably better for Bladeaingers, too.

DracoKnight
2016-05-18, 04:17 PM
Added another spell: Blade of Birthright :smallsmile:

GandalfTheWhite
2016-05-19, 12:51 PM
Okay. So. These are kind of perfect for a gish. Blade of Fate is excellent for anyone trying to play a tankier gish. Sword of Thrones is awesome, and I would almost argue it's an 8th level spell, but it's fine where it is. Doomblade is awesomely thematic and works well as an Oathbreaker spell, but it would be nice to see spells for the other 4 Sacred Oaths. Eldritch Strike seemed to be underpowered at first, but then I realize that a) it's not an attuned item so you can pass the buffed weapon around. So b) the fighter can be swinging his greatsword for 4d6 magical damage a round. And finally c) it's non-concentration, so you can buff multiple people's DPR to a max of your 3rd level spell slots. All in all, it's fine where it is.

In conclusion I like that you've added support for gishing beyond just the cantrips that WotC deemed to be enough to gish effectively. Thanks for making a serious effort to support a play style, and adding in a Fire Emblem nod while you're at it! :smallbiggrin:

DracoKnight
2016-05-19, 12:58 PM
Okay. So. These are kind of perfect for a gish. Blade of Fate is excellent for anyone trying to play a tankier gish. Sword of Thrones is awesome, and I would almost argue it's an 8th level spell, but it's fine where it is. Doomblade is awesomely thematic and works well as an Oathbreaker spell, but it would be nice to see spells for the other 4 Sacred Oaths. Eldritch Strike seemed to be underpowered at first, but then I realize that a) it's not an attuned item so you can pass the buffed weapon around. So b) the fighter can be swinging his greatsword for 4d6 magical damage a round. And finally c) it's non-concentration, so you can buff multiple people's DPR to a max of your 3rd level spell slots. All in all, it's fine where it is.

In conclusion I like that you've added support for gishing beyond just the cantrips that WotC deemed to be enough to gish effectively. Thanks for making a serious effort to support a play style, and adding in a Fire Emblem nod while you're at it! :smallbiggrin:

I'm glad you like the spells :smallsmile:

Well, personally, it's my favorite play style :smallbiggrin:

So I find it irritating that while there are many effective options for playing a gish, there's a frustrating lack of official spell support for it. :smallfrown: I love the SCAG cantrips - they're a step in the right direction, but they don't fix the whole problem I have. Really, I just think that they need to update 4e's Sword Mage for 5e in a future sourcebook. Or maybe for PHB2, because it sounds like that might be on the horizon :smallbiggrin:

Foxhound438
2016-05-22, 01:43 AM
doom blade seems a bit too strong; a paladin spends one spell slot to about triple their damage, and if they're a PAM build it gets pretty rediculous; same for cleric 9/ fighter 11, except worse over there. Maybe stipulate that as long as you concentrate on it, you can use your action to repeat the attack, that way it doesn't explode for builds with more than one attack.

also you shouldn't be able to target a black creature with it. a bit of a magic joke there for you.

Eldritch strike is not just strong, it flat outclasses an existing spell: elemental weapon. I'd start it at 1d6 and scale only at spell levels 5 and 7, in line with the existing spell. Being a bonus action still makes it better, as well as allowing it on already magical weapons, so probably change those as well. I like strong spells and all, but not when they're written to flat out-class stuff in the books.

Not super sure on sword of thrones, but again probably hard limit it to one per round. Otherwise it competes with other 9th level spells, which I hear are pretty good to begin with.

DracoKnight
2016-05-22, 03:54 AM
doom blade seems a bit too strong; a paladin spends one spell slot to about triple their damage, and if they're a PAM build it gets pretty rediculous; same for cleric 9/ fighter 11, except worse over there. Maybe stipulate that as long as you concentrate on it, you can use your action to repeat the attack, that way it doesn't explode for builds with more than one attack.

Hmmmm...that's actually a problem, though. Because while you make a weapon attack, it's still the "cast a spell" action. I know you don't care about sage advice, but they did say that's how gish spells work, and as the designer, I'm using that design mentality.


Eldritch strike is not just strong, it flat outclasses an existing spell: elemental weapon. I'd start it at 1d6 and scale only at spell levels 5 and 7, in line with the existing spell. Being a bonus action still makes it better, as well as allowing it on already magical weapons, so probably change those as well. I like strong spells and all, but not when they're written to flat out-class stuff in the books.

Eldritch Strike, I will point out does not grant a +1 like Elemental Weapon, nor does it make your weapon's damage magical. I will consider you're points, but playtesting it didn't prove it to be broken.


Not super sure on sword of thrones, but again probably hard limit it to one per round. Otherwise it competes with other 9th level spells, which I hear are pretty good to begin with.

What do you mean "limit it to one per round?" It's "cast a spell" action, so things like Extra Attack don't apply, again.

The Zoat
2016-05-22, 05:04 AM
Because while you make a weapon attack, it's still the "cast a spell" action.


I don't think so. It says the spell does extra damage on weapon attacks, so you just have to make the weapon attack to get it to work.

Professor Gnoll
2016-05-22, 08:29 AM
It's incredibly minor, but you might want to rename Eldritch Strike, seeing as that's already an Eldritch Knight class feature. Given that it's even the class most likely to be using these kind of spells, that could be potentially confusing.

DracoKnight
2016-05-30, 02:27 AM
It's incredibly minor, but you might want to rename Eldritch Strike, seeing as that's already an Eldritch Knight class feature. Given that it's even the class most likely to be using these kind of spells, that could be potentially confusing.

That's why eldritch strike sounded so good...they already used it... :smalltongue: