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View Full Version : Mark of Syrix 5e Wizard/Sorcerer Spell (EDITED)



LightSongFox
2017-11-24, 12:16 AM
Mark of Syrix
5th-level conjuration
Casting time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a volcanic rock)
Duration: 1 minute
A creature within range you choose has a Mark of Syrix placed on them. Any time the targeted creature takes fire damage, the Mark deals 6d8 fire damage to that creature. This damage can only be dealt a number of times per round equal to the level this spell was casted at. As a bonus action and at any time, you can destroy a Mark of Syrix on any creature within range, dealing an amount of fire damage to the creature equal to the fire damage it has already taken this round. Marks of Syrix fade off of targeted creatures 1 minute after being casted.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 7 or higher, cast an additional mark of Syrix for every two levels above 5th.

5th Level Wizard Spell, 5th Level Sorcerer Spell

It’s pretty simple and I honestly have no clue if it’s been done before, but I played a recent home brew friendly campaign and figured I’d make a spell for my half-Dragon Wizard. X3

I’d love some critique. The spell was inspired by a home brew cantrip called Firebrand I found on the DnDwiki.

Thanks for reading!

JNAProductions
2017-11-24, 01:46 PM
Right, so it's basically an extra 6d8 damage every time you cast Firebolt.

Comboed with a fire-using party, this can get pretty ridiculous-imagine a Flametongue wielding Fighter dropping 6 attacks (assume level 11 and Action Surge) with that massive rider. That being said, I'm inclined to think it's okay-fire is commonly resisted, and often even immune, and it takes teamwork to really abuse it, which should be encouraged.

clash
2017-11-24, 03:21 PM
Considering wall of fire @5th level can do 6d8 to multiple creatures each round I dont think you are far off. I would probably limit it to once/turn. 1 min duration, and remove the exploding at the end part as that basically doubles the damage.

Also nitpicky but there is no such thing as a free action.

JNAProductions
2017-11-24, 03:42 PM
Considering wall of fire @5th level can do 6d8 to multiple creatures each round I dont think you are far off. I would probably limit it to once/turn. 1 min duration, and remove the exploding at the end part as that basically doubles the damage.

Also nitpicky but there is no such thing as a free action.

Actually, thanks for referencing Wall of Flame. That can hit multiple targets, so I'd DEFINITELY allow it to proc every time you take fire damage-maybe a max of the spell level per turn, but it should be a high number.

I'd agree on duration change, but honestly, 1 minute or 30 minutes is basically just one fight.

And it doesn't double damage-it doubles damage for ONE ROUND, by ending the spell. Powerful, but not ridiculous.

clash
2017-11-24, 06:21 PM
Oh ya that's my bad. I had read it as repeating all the cabbage that had been done so far

LightSongFox
2017-12-01, 09:02 AM
Thank you so much for the feedback, everyone! This is my first homebrewed spell, so I really appreciate the critique. I tried my best to keep it relatively balanced, but I wasn’t too sure how good of a job I did.


Right, so it's basically an extra 6d8 damage every time you cast Firebolt.

Comboed with a fire-using party, this can get pretty ridiculous-imagine a Flametongue wielding Fighter dropping 6 attacks (assume level 11 and Action Surge) with that massive rider. That being said, I'm inclined to think it's okay-fire is commonly resisted, and often even immune, and it takes teamwork to really abuse it, which should be encouraged.

That’s a really good point; multiple attacks do make the spell much more dangerous, and it’s only something I had moderately planned on. I figured because it procked multiple times, I ought to keep the damage relatively low for a fifth level spell. I could definitely lower it a little more if it’s still a little extreme.


Considering wall of fire @5th level can do 6d8 to multiple creatures each round I dont think you are far off. I would probably limit it to once/turn. 1 min duration, and remove the exploding at the end part as that basically doubles the damage.

Also nitpicky but there is no such thing as a free action.

Yeah, I think that was a bit of 4th Edition bleedover. That was the edition I started with, and I think they used “Free Actions”. I’ll change the wording to match Fifth Edition.
That being said, I think I will probably also take you up on shortening the duration. One minute is ten rounds, and that’s still plenty of time to do its job, plus it would require for multiple castings if the fight dragged on for too long. I’ll go ahead and do that. Thank you!


Actually, thanks for referencing Wall of Flame. That can hit multiple targets, so I'd DEFINITELY allow it to proc every time you take fire damage-maybe a max of the spell level per turn, but it should be a high number.

I'd agree on duration change, but honestly, 1 minute or 30 minutes is basically just one fight.

And it doesn't double damage-it doubles damage for ONE ROUND, by ending the spell. Powerful, but not ridiculous.

That’s actually a really fascinating idea! It wouldn’t matter too terribly much for a Wizard or Sorcerer, but for a fighter who can hit multiple times and perhaps even to limit reactions stacking damage in a single turn, I could put that cap of procs per turn by spell level. Thank you so much!
Perhaps as another idea, I could change it to instead have a cap of procs per round. It would match the motif of burning at the end of the round, and make overcasting a bit more useful as well. It would keep the spell from being too open-ended, as well as limiting the damage t keep it more on a fair playing field.

Anyone else think it would be better to limit by turn, or by round?

Nifft
2017-12-01, 02:52 PM
There are a few different ways to go about this. Two obvious ones are:

- Optimize for multiple attacks -- in 4e: "this is a Leader effect; the whole party should cash in on this"

- Optimize for a few big attacks, which are probably your own -- in 4e: "this is a Striker effect; watch me waste this guy"


As a Leader effect, it should impose a small amount of damage for an unlimited number of attacks, since getting more attacks on the target is the whole idea.

As a Leader effect: "For one minute, every attack that hits the target deals an extra 10 fire damage."


As a Striker effect, it should reward large damage attacks from you specifically.

As a Striker effect: "For one minute, the target has Vulnerability to the caster's fire damage."