Divine Ward (Homebrew Spell)

[Saelethil]

Divine Ward
3rd Level, Abjuration
Range: 10 feet
Duration: 10 minutes
V, M, S
Cleric, Paladin

Choose a number of creatures within range equal to the level of the spell slot used (at 3rd level you choose 3). They gain the following benefits:
- Their AC increases by 1 for the duration.
- They gain temporary HP equal to 2 times the level of the spell.

[Yakk]

3rd Level, Abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 feet
Duration: 10 minutes
V, M, S
Cleric, Paladin

Choose 3 creatures within range. For the duration of the spell, they gain 1 AC and 6 temporary HP.

At higher levels: When casting this spell using a 4th level or higher slot, you can select one additional creature per slot level higher than 3, and they gain 2 extra temporary HP per slot level higher than 3.

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Critique:
1. Stacking AC is already a problem. This concentration-free perfectly-stacking AC boost isn't a good plan.
2. +1 AC, outside of massive stacking situations, is barely worth tracking. Don't mess with the core resolution path (did it work? What happens?) unless the effects are significant.
3. Spells in 5e are typically linear, not quadratic. This gives linear HP on linear targets.
4. 6 temporary HP for a level 5+ party is not all that much, even on 3 targets. Compare with mass healing word, at 6.5 HP healed on 6 targets further away as a bonus action.

First, sit down and make the spell a decent spell for the level you intend. Then work out higher level scaling, and make the higher level scaling as simple as you can.

Also, as a spell, this seems to fit in the same fiction as the existing spell "aid". At 2nd level that grants 5 extra durability to 3 targets, scaling the amount of durability with higher level casting. Fiction wise they are identical.

[Composer99]

False life, a 1st-level spell, gives the caster 1d4 + 4 temporary hit points (average 6-7), plus 5 temporary hit points per slot level above 1st. Cast at 3rd level, a single creature gets 16-17 temporary hp.

Aid, a 2nd-level spell, gives up to three creatures 5 hit points by increasing their maximum and current hit points (15 hit points in aggregate), plus 5 hit points per creature per per slot level above 2nd. What's more, aid lasts for 8 hours, so these extra hit points last for that entire time when healing is taken into account.

This spell, at its base level, gives up to three creatures 6 temporary hit points (18 in aggregate) and "bonus" hit points by making them harder to hit, effectively increasing their hit point total because they take less damage.

Cast at base level, this spell might be worse than upcasting aid, and it's not enormously better than upcast false life. On the other hand, since you affect one more creature and the temporary hit points increase for each slot level at which you upcast this spell, it scales quite nicely.

If 5e spells had lower scaling, that wouldn't be too much of an issue - a little patching and this spell would be good. But a 3rd-level spell is usually better than an upcast lower-level spell. (For instance, magic missile does an average of 17-18 damage cast as a 3rd-level spell, and even one of the weakest damage-dealing 3rd-level spells, vampiric touch, exceeds that amount if you hit with it twice during the spell's duration, never mind spells like fireball or lightning bolt.)

So this spell could do with a buff. I would suggest adding some fixed or temporary hit points (3 or 1d4 - maybe more?) that each creature gets.


Edit to add:
Yakk raises a good point about the in-fiction effect of the spell when compared to aid.

What is it you see about this spell that sets it apart from aid or from, say, a hypothetical mass shield of faith?

[MrStabby]

Divine Ward
3rd Level, Abjuration
Range: 10 feet
Duration: 10 minutes
V, M, S
Cleric, Paladin

Choose a number of creatures within range equal to the level of the spell slot used (at 3rd level you choose 3). They gain the following benefits:
- Their AC increases by 1 for the duration.
- They gain temporary HP equal to 2 times the level of the spell.

What do you want the spell to achieve?

I am guessing you want it played - you you want it to be good enough to play. I guess you don't want anything game breaking... or else you have a broken game. Something about a 7.5 out of 10 on a power scale?

I guess you have a player that wants something a bit sexy from a level 3 slot. Like fireball is to damage or hynoticpattern is to control, they want something that is an abjuration spell that is a stand out protection spell.

How do they want it to feel? Well I guess party wide - or at least multiple PCs. It also feels like you are aiming for something generic - not a death ward or a protection from elements but something you can preemptively cast before ANY encounter and it will probably help.

The issue as I see it is that it doesn't feel that distinct from other AC boosts or temporary HP.

Not knowing exactly what you want it is hard to offer a fix, but some other elements that might be put together for a level 3 non-concentration spell for multiple allies could include:

Resistance to the next source of damage for each creature
Advantage on saves made form the stat of your choice
Add your casting stat to AC for each until it causes an attack to miss that PC

[Yakk]

I'd be tempted by a BIG defensive boost that lasts very little time, or fades quickly.

Like, it grants 1 round of boost. Or it granta lots of temp HP, but you lose half of the temp HP each round.

As opposed to a passive buff.

Like, 10 temporary HP, advantage on all saves, and resistance to all damage. One round duration, and ends after you take damage that removes the temporary HP, or have the tempirary HP replaced by some effect. Hits 3 targets.

At higher levels, +1 target and +2 temp HP per slot level over 3.

...

At level 5 using a level 3 slot that feels beefy. At T2, the action plus level X slot gives a round/hit of resistance and saving throw advantage for X targets.

Temp HP don't scale that much; I want to avoid making allies indestructible.