Your Favourite Spell

[Clone]

I'm involved with a few games at the moment and all of which have passed 4th level, some higher. With spells and spellcasting being a big part of this, it had me thinking which spells my groups got the most millage out of or which were just plain fun to use, this becoming especially apparent when Xanathar's came out and I grabbed Thunder Step on my Bladesinger.

My question is what spells are either your favourite to use as a player/ DM and which spells see the most play, for whatever reason?
Personally I can see myself loving Thunder Step as I use it more, as I tend to play as tactically as I can, and eventually Bigby's Hand and Steel Wind Strike for Utility and Flavour.

In my games on a practical side, Phantasmal Force, Shatter and Scortching Ray have seen a BUNCH of play due to the damage output and it becoming a signature move for my Stone Sorcerer. Reflavoured and retyped to be magical Piercing instead of fire and it be metal/ stone spikes I fling at my enemies Taliyah/ Avatar style and its my current favourite spell.
What are your favourite spells, or most go-to spells? Any background as to why? Would love to know!

[JellyPooga]

One of my favourite spells has always been Gaseous Form. It's flight, it's disguise, it's stealth, it's a certain amount of protection, it's long lasting, it's handy for escapes ("what bars?"), intrusions ("that arrow slit up there? no problem"), magic shows (disappear in a puff of smoke!) and more. It's a remarkably versatile spell given that, on the surface, it doesn't appear to be that great; only a 10ft fly speed compared to the 60ft of Fly and only resistance to non-magical damage, not immunity.

[solidork]

Definitely Dimension Door. It makes many difficult situations easy, especially once you can cast it twice.

[Willie the Duck]

In any edition where they aren't the go-to broken spells, I really enjoy anything in the grease, entangle, evard's black tentacles realm. There is nothing more fun than watching a bunch of swearing pursuers trying desperately not to get entangled, captured or falling down a lot.

[DarkKnightJin]

For the very limited amount of spellcasting I've been able to do so far.. Bless and Guiding Bolt have both been invaluable for our party so far.
Bless seemed to have Ooc-ly blessed the players' dice, since all 3 of us had good rolls, save a singular Natural 1 on Stealth from my end (Disadvantage is a pain in the tail.)
And Guiding Bolt because it's 4d6 Radiant damage for a 1st level slot, and it hits our spectral enemy like a fricken truck. Enough so that the Fighter without magical weapons delivered the killing blow right afterwards.

[KorvinStarmast]

Bless
(Cantrip) Vicious Mockery: against big, low wisdom foes who hit really hard, the disadvantage on attack lets our martials close and finish with fewer negative surges in their HP.
Misty Step: nifty way to close and finish a second row spell caster.
Revivify: emergency raise dead, sort of, at lower levels when the encounter has gone horribly/badly wrong.

[ImproperJustice]

Sanctuary.

Just walk away from the super evil monsters and go heal your buddy.
Or use it to keep your friend on his feet so he can down a potion.

So many times this has saved lives

[Marvnmartian]

Personally I have gotten a lot of mileage out of Conjure animals, if I am a bard I will usually grab it as a secret for its many uses.

Monsters list: http://donjon.bin.sh/5e/monsters/

I personally will use Giant owls, Wolves, or Elks

Giant owls for 1 hour of flight for 8 characters who are under their str carry limit of 390 pounds also flyby attacks on melee foes or just a flying meat shield against casters all lovely things.

Wolves, pack tactics for advantage and ive found hitting something 4 times a round they will fail one of their fall prone checks

Elks I use purely out of combat to carry people/things at level 6 we had to get back to town from a dungeon but we had too much loot to carry so i summoned 8 elks pack horse style 3 of them and the other 5 carried us back to town since they have a 50 ft speed which is almost war horse speed.

The one thing I find annoying is when players don't know how to manage this spell in a easy manner, how I dm it and Play it is the player chooses their animal they roll once for initiative, and personally In combat I split my animals into two groups of 4 and have them hound 2 people in the fight.

Also any conjurer must have all the stats for the monsters they like to use on note cards/written down somewhere for quick combats.

Extra trick, if you are lucky enough to be able to work in inspiring leader into your build, it makes things nuts an extra 11-25 hp to 8 owls is an added 88-200 hp to the combat as well as adding that health to you and your party will make for a ton more survive ability

[Catullus64]

The spell which I think has the most ubiquitous value is Rary's Telepathic Bond. The ability for your party to communicate secretly and immediately in almost any circumstance is an invaluable roleplaying tool, and has even proven to have combat value in some circumstances where fights involved a split party or the relay of information. I love it out of sheer gratitude for how much use I've gotten out of it, even if it's not terribly flashy.

[DarkKnightJin]

Guidance. Shoot it every 60 seconds in case combat breaks out, then add it to initiative. Help the wizard with the Arcana check, the rogue with the trap, etc.

Oh yeah. I've been abusing the dickens out of that cantrip with my Cleric. If I suspect combat to break out, I pre-emptively cast it on myself.
When I was Charmed and had to soft-betray the party (Gods-damned Succybus..) I used it to pilfer the key-ring to the entire wizard tower and locked them in the dungeon to get a head start.

It's served me well so far, and I plan on keeping up the use as much as I can manage it. Kinda glad I picked Guidance over Thaumaturgy for my starting Cantrips.

[Biggstick]

For the very limited amount of spellcasting I've been able to do so far.. Bless and Guiding Bolt have both been invaluable for our party so far.
Bless seemed to have Ooc-ly blessed the players' dice, since all 3 of us had good rolls, save a singular Natural 1 on Stealth from my end (Disadvantage is a pain in the tail.)
And Guiding Bolt because it's 4d6 Radiant damage for a 1st level slot, and it hits our spectral enemy like a fricken truck. Enough so that the Fighter without magical weapons delivered the killing blow right afterwards.

Bless doesn't work for ability checks, it only works for attack rolls and saving throws. But I'm also a big fan of the spell, as my favorite class is Cleric.


Sanctuary.

Just walk away from the super evil monsters and go heal your buddy.
Or use it to keep your friend on his feet so he can down a potion.

So many times this has saved lives

Another amazing spell. Throw it on a buddy to keep them safe, throw it on yourself and take the Dodge action, and it forces an enemy to succeed on three rolls to actually hit you.


Extra trick, if you are lucky enough to be able to work in inspiring leader into your build, it makes things nuts an extra 11-25 hp to 8 owls is an added 88-200 hp to the combat as well as adding that health to you and your party will make for a ton more survive ability

Inspiring Leader temporary hp can only be applied to 6 friendly creatures (one of which would typically be the person with Inspiring Leader). This means you'd only be able to put it on a maximum of 6 Giant Owls. Another question that I'd have is do Giant Owls understand a language? For someone to receive the benefit of Inspiring Leader, they need to understand the person speaking.


Guidance. Shoot it every 60 seconds in case combat breaks out, then add it to initiative. Help the wizard with the Arcana check, the rogue with the trap, etc.

I've heard about Players doing this, and it makes me wonder what it must sound like to walk alongside a PC like this. Every 60 seconds or so, they're casting a spell asking for Guidance from their deity. This sort of casting makes noise, and would potentially give yourselves away if you're sneaking around somewhere. To continuously cast a spell while you're in the presence of someone you're trying to interact with might also (read definitely) color how the conversation is going to proceed with said NPC.

It seems too gamey to do said thing ALL THE TIME, and it would be something I'd require a Player to actually act out in game.

As for me, it's hard to really give just one favorite spell. Probably the spell I've gotten the most satisfaction out of using successfully is Dispel Magic. But if we're looking at general overall favorite spell, it's gotta be Healing Word. Everything about what you're able to do as a PC changes when you have the ability to bring someone back from unconscious-ness from 60' away with a bonus action.

[pdegan2814]

When it comes to spellcasting, I've mostly been a Warlock guy, and I've played a Cleric a couple of times. Some of my favorite spells:

Faerie Fire - My favorite Warlock type is Archfey, and this spell off their list can WRECK an encounter. And now, with all the Elfy types grabbing Elven Accuracy for that tri-vantage boost? Awww yeah.
Shatter - nothing fancy, but Warlocks don't get much AoE. Shatter shows up early, it scales, and it's a damage type that's not resisted very often.
Rary's Telepathic Bond - Like someone else mentioned, it's a great way for the party to communicate without giving away their position, even while split up. Plus since it's a ritual, it doesn't cost a spell slot
Spirit Guardians - OMG I loved this spell when I played a Cleric. Ongoing AoE damage without friendly fire plus slowing down enemy movement. Awesome. The only problem I had was when our Ranger would Conjure Animals AFTER I'd cast it, and they had to stay out of the aura.
Forcecage - My favorite Mystic Arcanum option I've used as a Warlock. Oh yes, Foresight is amazeballs when you can get it. But Forcecage is FUN. It can totally spoil a DM's plans if you can lock a Big Bad in there and keep him out of the fight while the party deals with everyone else.

[Flashy]

Banishment. It's lovely control in any campaign but in an outsider heavy game (which is how I first encountered it) it's just phenomenal.

[DarkKnightJin]

Bless doesn't work for ability checks, it only works for attack rolls and saving throws. But I'm also a big fan of the spell, as my favorite class is Cleric.

I meant that ALL our rolls that game were pretty good that session, even far after Bless had ended.
I know Bless doesn't apply to ability checks. I was using Guidance for that. I just saw that 1 and said "Okay, even Guidance can't help me on a natural 1."

[Jerrykhor]

Hold Person. I pick it on almost all the magic users I play, and its funny that all full casters have access to it, plus some half-casters too.

[Finger6842]

Finger of Death. I know it comes later in the game but it's the point at which you stop worrying about AC and start enjoying tactical battlefield mastery. Combine zombies with Illusion spells, throw in a counterspell or two and you can confuse almost anyone. This one spell changes every aspect of the campaign.

[Samayu]

Suggestion. Same level as Hold Person, but they don't get a save every round. At minimum, this removes a combatant, and quite probably gives you some greater bonus. You just have to choose your wording carefully. And speak their language.