Time Stop in Xanathar's

[LeonBH]

With the new Xanathar's spells, has Time Stop gained a power up? Are there any spells worth casting that wouldn't break Time Stop to form a powerful combination casting?

Time Stop is in the Wizard's and Sorcerer's spell list, but the Bard can steal it and couple it with any other non-Bard spell due to Magical Secrets. So it could be combined with any other spells.

[Vaz]

You briefly stop the flow of time for everyone but yourself. No time passes for other creatures, while you take 1d4 + 1 turns in a row, during which you can use actions and move as normal.
This spell ends if one of the actions you use during this period, or any effects that you create during this period, affects a creature other than you or an object being worn or carried by someone other than you. In addition, the spell ends if you move to a place more than 1,000 feet from the location where you east it.

The problem with Time Stop is the looseness of what "affects a creature" means. Cloudkill, for example, deals damage at the start of the creature's turn, so does that affect a creature? What about a Delayed Blast Fireball? Does Darkness affect an enemy? If yes, does it have no affect if they can see through it normally as per Devil's Sight? Sit down, and have a word with your DM about exactly what it allowed by Time Stop.

Tbh, Time Stop absolutely sucks as a spell, and you're better off not wasting your time on it, due to the combination of targeting limitations (no party buffing, self buffing limited by Concentration etc). Any sort of self buff you might do, just replace with Invulnerability, which gives you Immunity to Damage instead.

Time Stop can be useful to prepare just in case you need to snatch McGuffin (combine with Far Step for 120ft Teleport+2*Movement Speed from Dash) and get out again, but as a combat use, you're wasting any sort of utility you get from just blowing tf out of the enemy, or making you immune to damage.

[Naanomi]

Very limited use spell in this edition, but I will say a Subtle Time Stop can be hilarious

[Easy_Lee]

Perhaps I shouldn't bring it up again but, based on dev tweets about the Rakshasa, the word "affects" can be quite expansive.

[DarthPenance]

As a spell, especially in combat, it doesn't have a lot of uses, especially compared to the other 9th level spells. The only niche things you can do is with delayed blast fireball or use it to get something from someone/somewhere and get away quickly, but against the delayed blast fireball you can just cast meteor swarm, which deals double damage and has much larger radius. On the other, if your DM rules that you taking something from someone is affecting that creatures... well, you're a wizard/sorcerer in front of the BBEG and just lost your turn, rip.
I love it to troll though, also to look cool (especially if you've watched Jojo Bizzare Adventures)

[LeonBH]

I understand that Time Stop is a bad spell in and of itself. I was asking if any of the new spells in Xanathar's were compatible with it though - things that didn't affect other creatures or objects they were wearing or holding, so as not to break the spell, but still be able to use all 1d4+1 extra turns.

[Beechgnome]

I understand that Time Stop is a bad spell in and of itself. I was asking if any of the new spells in Xanathar's were compatible with it though - things that didn't affect other creatures or objects they were wearing or holding, so as not to break the spell, but still be able to use all 1d4+1 extra turns.

Crown of Stars is a high level (7th) non-concentration buff that might be nice to have suddenly orbiting your head if you needed to get your offence up quickly. Using your turns to put up, for example, Mind Blank, Crown of Stars, True Seeing and Fireshield, for example, would give you an ok mix of ready-made offence and defence for when you are caught flat-footed. Still not great use of resource, but you already know that.

A second option involves a generous interpretation of affecting your surroundings... but Time Stop plus Mighty Fortress could be used to great comic affect.

[Citan]

The problem with Time Stop is the looseness of what "affects a creature" means. Cloudkill, for example, deals damage at the start of the creature's turn, so does that affect a creature? What about a Delayed Blast Fireball? Does Darkness affect an enemy? If yes, does it have no affect if they can see through it normally as per Devil's Sight? Sit down, and have a word with your DM about exactly what it allowed by Time Stop.

Tbh, Time Stop absolutely sucks as a spell, and you're better off not wasting your time on it, due to the combination of targeting limitations (no party buffing, self buffing limited by Concentration etc). Any sort of self buff you might do, just replace with Invulnerability, which gives you Immunity to Damage instead.

Time Stop can be useful to prepare just in case you need to snatch McGuffin (combine with Far Step for 120ft Teleport+2*Movement Speed from Dash) and get out again, but as a combat use, you're wasting any sort of utility you get from just blowing tf out of the enemy, or making you immune to damage.
And then you as a Wizard are stuck with non-concentration spells for the remaining of the fight.
Not necessarily a problem, but does quite reduce your offensive potential.

Someone in this forum had suggested using it to prepare several Otiluke's Freezing Sphere but apart from setting a trap it seemed too cumbersome to set up for its worth...

However, Time Stop can be used for good uses...
- Buff your defenses / offenses: Wizard has a few low-level spells, concentration or not, that will greatly up his resilience and offensive: Mirror Image, Fire Shield, Greater Invisibility, True Seeing, Haste, Shadow Blade, Warding Wind, probably others I forgot...
- Take your chances at dispelling a hard to crack effect that is really dangerous for your party right now, although that is a gamble I wouldn't to every day. ^^ Or dispelling several effects.
- Take the time to move at the best position to cast an encounter-changing spell such as a Wall spell and come back to safety or hide...
- Or just safely cross enemy lines to launch a surprising, devastating attack from behind (Greater Invisibility + instant spell): sure you end the spell, but people will have trouble understanding what's happening and attacking you, even if by RAW you are not hidden (although I'd rule you are, since for your enemies you instantly disappeared from where you were, without any way to understand where you went thanks to view/sound/smell).
- If you are alone, it can also give you more options to "flee" for a fight if for some reason basic means like Haste / Dimension Door are not options.
I wonder how people would rule about Create Undead, since you don't affect a creature technically when you cast a spell, but you do create one. ^^

And I bet other people could find other/better uses for it from their experiences. :)
Let's not forget that characters also have Dash / Hide that could be useful, or special abilities from a magical quarterstaff/cape/whatever too.

I wonder for example what useful buffs or non-concentration "neutral" effects you could put in a Ring of Spell Storing for use during a Time-Stop.

There are many 9th level spells that are easier to use well, or better in their own areas, and I would definitely pick Wish over Meteor Swarm over Time Stop if I had to choose only one to learn. Good thing though, as a Wizard, I shouldn't have.
And as far as prepared spells go, I personally would always have Wish and Time Stop. You never know... ^^

[Vaz]

And then you as a Wizard are stuck with non-concentration spells for the remaining of the fight.
Not necessarily a problem, but does quite reduce your offensive potential.

Someone in this forum had suggested using it to prepare several Otiluke's Freezing Sphere but apart from setting a trap it seemed too cumbersome to set up for its worth...

However, Time Stop can be used for good uses...
- Buff your defenses / offenses: Wizard has a few low-level spells, concentration or not, that will greatly up his resilience and offensive: Mirror Image, Fire Shield, Greater Invisibility, True Seeing, Haste, Shadow Blade, Warding Wind, probably others I forgot...
- Take your chances at dispelling a hard to crack effect that is really dangerous for your party right now, although that is a gamble I wouldn't to every day. ^^ Or dispelling several effects.
- Take the time to move at the best position to cast an encounter-changing spell such as a Wall spell and come back to safety or hide...
- Or just safely cross enemy lines to launch a surprising, devastating attack from behind (Greater Invisibility + instant spell): sure you end the spell, but people will have trouble understanding what's happening and attacking you, even if by RAW you are not hidden (although I'd rule you are, since for your enemies you instantly disappeared from where you were, without any way to understand where you went thanks to view/sound/smell).
- If you are alone, it can also give you more options to "flee" for a fight if for some reason basic means like Haste / Dimension Door are not options.
I wonder how people would rule about Create Undead, since you don't affect a creature technically when you cast a spell, but you do create one. ^^

And I bet other people could find other/better uses for it from their experiences. :)
Let's not forget that characters also have Dash / Hide that could be useful, or special abilities from a magical quarterstaff/cape/whatever too.

I wonder for example what useful buffs or non-concentration "neutral" effects you could put in a Ring of Spell Storing for use during a Time-Stop.

There are many 9th level spells that are easier to use well, or better in their own areas, and I would definitely pick Wish over Meteor Swarm over Time Stop if I had to choose only one to learn. Good thing though, as a Wizard, I shouldn't have.
And as far as prepared spells go, I personally would always have Wish and Time Stop. You never know... ^^

If you've got the McGuffin, what fight is there? Most fights are to claim the McGuffin, or stop someone else from claiming the McGuffin. If McGuffin is a powerful weapon, use it on the last turn of your Time Stop, and win. And you don't have to maintain concentration on Far Step once you've got what you needed from it? You've just use 2 Spells to achieve mission objective. Maybe a 7th level to bamf out if you don't want to attack.

If you're buffing your defenses or offenses, wanna know what's better? Just killing it dead. Meteor Swarm is 40d6 damage straight up if you want.

What do you mean "other people can use it"? It's self only. If you're spending 1 9th level spell to get a lower level dispel, why do you not just cast a 9th level dispel magic? If you're using an Action to Cast Time Stop, you're using the same action to cast Teleport or Plane Shift?.

Citan, normally I think you have some decent ideas, but all of these are absolutely horrific. Just, no.

[Sorlock Master]

Time Stop + Haste + Immoveable rods

Time Stop + 100 feet of rope + Haste

Stop relying on the spell for damage and affects and tie some shoelaces together.

[OvisCaedo]

Time Stop + Haste + Immoveable rods

Time Stop + 100 feet of rope + Haste

Stop relying on the spell for damage and affects and tie some shoelaces together.

Though not literally, of course, because as soon as you touched someone's shoelaces the spell would end. Tying people up probably counts as affecting them, too. I guess you could try setting up a bunch of rope tripwires all over, but even with haste I feel like you're not going to get far with that in 30 seconds max. Setting up a mid-air "cage" of immovable rods is probably in the clear! Except you'd need to have a bunch of immovable rods in an edition where magic items are meant to be more rare and magic-marts are meant to not be a thing. I guess they're only "uncommon", at least.

[Envyus]

Delayed Blast Fireball and Cloudkill are spells that don't break timestop. As they are used as examples for a mage with time stop. (Namely if attacked, he uses time stop, then cloudkill, if he has time Delayed Fireball, and then teleport to get out.

[Ellisthion]

If Time Stop were not 1d4+1 but you just got X rounds, does it change peoples' assessment of it?

Eg if you just flat out got 5 rounds every time, is it better / worth taking?

[MaxWilson]

If Time Stop were not 1d4+1 but you just got X rounds, does it change peoples' assessment of it?

Not by much, though obviously it depends on what value X is. (If X=5 as you suggest, then the value goes up simply because you're getting more rounds on average.)

The key thing is that the targeting limitations on Time Stop interact poorly with 5E's concentration economy and the relatively strict limits on 9th level spells. If you have Epic Boons (or BBEG features) that grant you multiple 9th level spells per day, Time Stop gets significantly better: e.g. Time Stop (Foresight + Invulnerability + Armor of Agathys V + Fire Shield + Meteor Swarm) is obviously a better use of action economy than just casting Meteor Swarm.

As an aside, Armor of Agathys + Invulnerability is a potentially-hilarious combo for BBEGs, at least until the PCs cotton on and Dispel it.

[darknite]

I tried Invulnerability in the last big battle my Wizard was in. Very cool. We were fighting a God and it really couldn't do much to him. I also like True Polymorph to turn his Simulacrum into anything up to CR 20.

[Amdy_vill]

With the new Xanathar's spells, has Time Stop gained a power up? Are there any spells worth casting that wouldn't break Time Stop to form a powerful combination casting?

Time Stop is in the Wizard's and Sorcerer's spell list, but the Bard can steal it and couple it with any other non-Bard spell due to Magical Secrets. So it could be combined with any other spells.

i would rule with the wording that time stop would stop spells cast with range. thing like fireball would be casted and then just sit waiting until time stop ends. things like inflict wounds would end time stop. the wording of the spell seems to be a dm discretion thing