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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Design a curse that curses even those who see it being cast.



Haldir
2017-01-23, 08:27 PM
Say I'm a super evil necromancer who wants to curse people for fun. It really lights my fire.

What level spell slot do I need to use to cast a spell that curses people in an area? LOS required, material components required.

Edit- Bestow Curse is a good baseline, but with an area instead of single target.

Ninjadeadbeard
2017-01-24, 04:05 AM
Gut reaction: 5th level casting. Dunno more than that unless you can tell us more.

Hillsy7
2017-01-24, 04:20 AM
Quick comparison for a range buff in terms of spell level.

Lightning Arrow: 1 target
Cone of Cold: AOE

They do similar damage on balance. One is 3rd, one is 5th. As Bestow curse is 3rd level, then 5th sounds about right. Or in other words, NinjaDeadBeard's gut is a decent barometer....

Morphic tide
2017-01-24, 11:04 AM
Personally, I'd do something like Psionic's augmentations, where you have multiple effects that you can increase the spell level of. To have the thread title effect, I'd recommend a ray attack as the means of delivery. So, you can have it be a longer-ranged Bestow Curse, but be subject to all the magic ray attack issues (which are considerably lower in 5e) If it's a Warlock-only spell, I'd have it be second level and have it be able to augment Eldritch Blast. Kind of like an Invocation that eats spell slots. Which is a wonderful design space.

Of course, if it's a Warlock spell, then the augmentations based effect build won't work because of the automatic up casting. Here, you can have "threshold" spell levels, where it gains effects from being heightened past a certain point. For example, as it's basic 2nd level spell form, it just attaches a slightly worse Bestow Curse as a rider effect of Eldritch Blast. At 5th level, it gains the "curse everyone who sees it" effect with a range limit, defined as anyone with line of sight of the line between the Warlock and the target and within the specified range of the line. Perhaps it gains Curse effects as options at each spell level, according to a table, thereby reducing the base power of it enough to be a 1st level spell, while also letting it stay relevant through the entire game.