how many buffs can be stacked??

[animewatcha]

So a lot of buff-stacking got reigned in (somewhat justifiably) with the concentration mechanic. However, there are some spells that has escaped this limitation like mage armor and air breathing. What other spells have been spared the concentration limitation?

[Mastikator]

A whole bunch

Off the bard's spell list, though not all of these are strictly combat buffs

Comprehend Languages
Disguise Self
Feather Fall
Longstrider
Aid
Motivational Speech
Nondetection
Freedom of Movement
Rary's Telepathic Bond
True Seeing
Regenerate
Glibness
Mind Blank
Foresight

[Mork]

I would go to DND beyond/spells, with advanced filters and selecting the non-concentration spells. Then sort by duration. Buffs are all between 1 minute and 24 hours in general. You filter even more by slecting either the "buff" or the "warding".

Some notable that have not been mentioned yet
Mirror image
armor of agathys
false life

Also depending on the setting you are running in, and if magic is for sale, in tier 4 potion of heroism are very affordable and incredible strong. Same for potion of speed, but those are more expensive.

[Kane0]

You can abuse glyph of warding to circumvent concentration.

[kingcheesepants]

heck even with concentration if you've got a standard 5 person party (with rings of spell storing to the non casters) and then potentially simulacrum and the aforementioned glyphs of warding. At that point concentration only really matters when we're talking about self only spells. So you'll have to use your concentration on the best self buff (invulnerability) and then your parties concentrations on things like bless and haste and what have you. What really takes the wind out of the sails of buff stacking is that many buffs just don't stack. For example you can only benefit from one source of temp HP, advantage doesn't stack and therefore there's no point in having more than one source of advantage a lot of higher level buffs like foresight and true seeing do what lower level buffs do plus more (so not really any point in having the lower level version up even if you technically can) and there are specific rules which state that you can't benefit from the same spell more than once at a time (so no double bless or shield of faith even if you've got multiple clerics/paladins wanting to help out). But even with all those caveats you could have a ton of buffs on one guy if you had a whole party (or a bunch of glyphs or whatever) willing to help out.

[Man_Over_Game]

Semi-relevant, there are a few zoning spells that provide future benefits without needing Concentration. Grease, most ice spells and some water spells come to mind.

[ff7hero]

Death Ward hasn't been mentioned yet.

[lall]

An infinite amount can be stacked, but one 3rd level Dispel Magic could potentially wipe them all out. (I think one or two spells state that Dispel Magic only works if used with a higher slot.)

[DwarfFighter]

How about six clerics casting Bless on the same targets for +6d4 to attack rolls?

[Mellack]

How about six clerics casting Bless on the same targets for +6d4 to attack rolls?

Nope, same spells will not stack.

"The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect - such as the highest bonus - from those castings applies while their durations overlap."

[RogueJK]

How about six clerics casting Bless on the same targets for +6d4 to attack rolls?

Nope. As noted, can't stack two of the same effects. However, you can stack similar but differently names effects. For example, stacking the Bless spell and Peace Cleric's Emboldening Bond, which would give you +2d4 to one attack per turn and +1d4 to all your other attacks.

[RogueJK]

You can sometimes stack otherwise unstackable Concentration buffs by getting them from an item. There are some items that can give you the effect of what's normally a Concentration spell, without requiring Concentration. Haste vs. Potion of Speed, for example.



But another thing to keep in mind is Action Economy. Just because you could cast (for example) one Concentration buff and two non-Concentration buffs on yourself, is that really going to be the best use of your first 3 turns in a combat? Or the best way for your entire party to spend their first turn, each casting a separate buff on you? Is the enemy going to gain some advantage while you sit back and "buff up". It's not just Concentration that often limits you to just getting one primary buff up and running.

(And no, you can't always pre-cast a whole slew of buffs before combat begins, since spellcasting takes time and is noisy/obvious, and surprise encounters are a thing. Plus the durations are often only 1 minute/10 rounds, so they need to be cast either during or immediately before combat begins.)

[PhantomSoul]

You can sometimes stack otherwise unstackable Concentration buffs by getting them from an item. There are some items that can give you the effect of what's normally a Concentration spell, without requiring Concentration. Haste vs. Potion of Speed, for example.

...


This is also why you should have a massive retainer of spellcasting friends to set up all (concentration or not) non-self spells and effects on you right off the bat in the first round (or keeping them up all day, for longer buffs and/or if you have TONS of friends with nothing better to do)!

[strangebloke]

You can abuse glyph of warding to circumvent concentration.

The real answer.

As far as theoretical optimization goes, just put it in a glyph.

[Chronos]

Don't forget in our big long list of buffs, that you can always add one concentration spell of your choice to the end of the list.

[Mjolnirbear]

The real answer.

As far as theoretical optimization goes, just put it in a glyph.

I mean, it only works for a fixed location, but it's a really impressive home-field advantage.

Another workaround to concentration is artificers' spell-storing item with homunculi or familiars. More, their infusions can provide various benefits: goggles of night, ring of mind shielding, lantern of revealing, and gauntlet of ogre strength are all arguably buffs.

[Chronos]

Or you can put your pile of buff-glyphs in a demiplane, or arguably in a Bag of Holding or the like, and access them from anywhere.