3rd Level Spell "Sending", Anyone Use it?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

On level up my I might give my Lore Bard the "Sending" spell. She has put the cantrip "Message" to decent use, sometimes to good roleplaying effect.

My thoughts are she'd want it for both the ability to contact her family as many of us would if it was evening and we had a THIRD LEVEL spell slot to burn.

You all ever use this to contact missing or maybe dead family members? What kind of anti-magic fields would keep it from working besides the 5% chance if they're on another plane?

I figure it has combat communication uses too much like "Messsage" but at a greater cost. Situationally it might be worth it. Plus if a party member gets captured or kidnapped it will come in handy.

Any uses I'm overlooking?

[DarkKnightJin]

I figure it's a spell that gets more useful the higher level the party gets, when they need to inform someone they met and is in charge of an army or something, to warn them of an incoming threat the party can't handle by themselves.

Like a telegram. Quick and to the point, and they know who it's from, and they can reply.
If they're not in an Anti-Magic Field. Or the spell puttered because of a planar transition.

[holywhippet]

It would depend on the campaign you are in. If the party don't really answer to anyone or have a fixed address it might not be of use. Same if the party never gets separated (don't split the party is something many DMs prefer also). I'd personally be unlikely to take it as a lore bard since that class is so starved for spells known and something that is so situational would be a very low priority. Clerics and druids get that spell for free so if one was in your party you could just ask them to cast it for you if you needed it.

[MaxWilson]

Any uses I'm overlooking?

BBEGs like Red Dragons love it. Helps them coordinate their spy networks and other minions.

[MrStabby]

Sending, aka Summon Army is a pretty powerful spell.

It lets you do new things and have a profound effect on the game world.

[hymer]

Any uses I'm overlooking?

I've seen it used once in 5e, by a cleric: When you're sent on a mission by someone and need to report back, whether because that's the mission, or because events took an unexpected turn. This can cut a lot of time off that sort of thing, and maybe save you a lot of travel time as well. Most effective when people can contact you, too.

[bc56]

I'm not going to dig through the OOTS archives, but Nale uses it pretty effectively. The purpose of the spell is long-range communication, so anytime you have to call someone for any reason, it's quite handy.

On a similar vein, Sending Stones are very interesting magical items. My players gave one to an NPC and one to that NPC's son, so that they could communicate. (The NPC had made some enemies, and the son had been kidnapped, so the party decided that that should not happen again.)

[JakOfAllTirades]

Swap it out for Dream when you reach level 9.

[Caelic]

The two things which had the most impact on battlefields were instantaneous communications and air power. Sending is instantaneous communications.

[Ellisthion]

Sending, in the right campaign, is absolutely the best spell in the game.

I've done or DM'd for all of the following:


Split the party safely, coordinate subteams
Tell half the party that your half accidentally got sucked into the Astral Plane (Portable Hole incident)
Call an allied Wizard to come and Teleport Circle you to safety
Tell the party to rally together for a Teleport
Tell an army commander to launch an attack / retreat
Coordinate secret meetings with NPCs
Send up-to-date intel to your allies
Ask for NPC opinions on the latest developments
Tell your family to get the hell out a city after you accidentally aggro'd a god-BBEG-thing (oops...)
Ask a prisoner where they are and tell them you're coming
Coordinate with the Wizard who just died but had a Clone stashed away


In the right game, it's a top-tier pick for level 5 (even for a Wizard's free spell selection), and it only gets better as level 3+ slots become more and more plentiful.

[hymer]

The two things which had the most impact on battlefields were instantaneous communications and air power. Sending is instantaneous communications.

If fantasy battles were sufficiently spaced out geographically, it would have more of an impact. I think it could reasonably be said that instant communications allowed battlefields to grow larger, and what would have been a campaign before became a battle.
In general medieval style, most fantasy battles can be managed by one commander with a decent vantage point for observations. A fast horse can get from one flank to the other in a matter of minutes, and signals can be relayed in various other ways. If the instant communication problem is all that's keeping you from fielding larger armies, though, then I'd certainy agree it could make for a major change.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Good points fellas.

I'll be grabbing this one at my next opportunity. Between the role-play aspects of being able to call home, the security aspects of contacting the other half of the party and the logistical benefits of contacting NPCs it rocks.

hmmmm....I can even contact bad guys I'm familiar with lol!

Ey, I just realized my character will be able to create a version of the Kylo Ren / Rey bond with EVERYONE she knows!