How good is Jim's magic missile

[Throne12]

Magic missile is On my top magic spell list because I like the visual of the of the Dart of raw arcane power and the fact they never miss. So I took a gander at Jim's magic Missile and I was thinking since JMM is now a range spell attack this opens more combos like stacking stuff hex & spellsniper. I'm horrible with math and white room sims so here's the question how does JMM stack up in the long run and how is as a spell

[Kane0]

Well rolling a 1 still really sucks, but otherwise its an improvement as long as your to hit chances are good. Its good in the same ways scorching ray is.

[ftafp]

Jim's magic missile is a complicated spell. On paper it looks nice since – assuming you have advantage on the attack rolls – it has a higher average damage than magic missile, but the problem is that outside of specialized "nuclear caster" builds, the point of magic missile isn't its damage output. The point is that magic missile is a spell that can hit regardless of the enemy's saving throws or armor class, and that it can hit multiple times in sequence, forcing multiple saving throws to maintain concentration. Furthermore, many of those "nuclear caster" builds hinge on the fact that magic missile's damage uses the same roll for every single dart. Jim's magic missile, which makes individual attack rolls, doesn't do that. You can take advantage of the fact that it's an attack roll to use spells like hex or spirit shroud to stack on extra damage, but generally past level 5 those spells are significantly weaker than your other concentration options.

In general, it's just not something you want to cast

[ProsecutorGodot]

Jim's magic missile is a complicated spell. On paper it looks nice since – assuming you have advantage on the attack rolls – it has a higher average damage than magic missile, but the problem is that outside of specialized "nuclear caster" builds, the point of magic missile isn't its damage output. The point is that magic missile is a spell that can hit regardless of the enemy's saving throws or armor class, and that it can hit multiple times in sequence, forcing multiple saving throws to maintain concentration. Furthermore, many of those "nuclear caster" builds hinge on the fact that magic missile's damage uses the same roll for every single dart. Jim's magic missile, which makes individual attack rolls, doesn't do that. You can take advantage of the fact that it's an attack roll to use spells like hex or spirit shroud to stack on extra damage, but generally past level 5 those spells are significantly weaker than your other concentration options.

In general, it's just not something you want to cast

The bolded part is part of a critical table ruling you'll likely have to make. The spell automatically fails if any attack roll is a 1, which would technically include discarded rolls made with advantage/disadvantage. Your table will have to decide if discarded rolls do count for this aspect of the spell.

I wouldn't really recommend the spell either way, although it is fun to use. 1st level spell slots are pretty competitive, with Magic Missile (the OG), Shield, Absorb Elements and the more recent Silvery Barbs you're better off not using it. Upcasting it is pretty underwhelming since now it's competing directly with Scorching Ray.

There's also the silly Acq Inc. spin on the spell, the Royalty Component. You can't avoid paying it, someone has to spend 1 or more gp, although with a DC15 Arcana Check you can force someone within 10ft (most likely your friends) to pay it without their knowledge.

[Sigreid]

...The point is that magic missile is a spell that can hit regardless of the enemy's saving throws or armor class...

This right here is why I take/prepare it. It's one thing that can be almost completely counted on to work when I'm desperate to have something stick. It's not a spell that gets used every day, but I've up cast it to as high as a 7th level slot when I could be almost certain that that many missiles would end an opponent, preventing escape and nothing else I had on tap had that level certainty.

I'm not familiar with Jim's Magic Missile though.

[Zhorn]

I'm not familiar with Jim's Magic Missile though.

https://i.imgur.com/KTtXQ21.png

[herrhauptmann]

This right here is why I take/prepare it. It's one thing that can be almost completely counted on to work when I'm desperate to have something stick. It's not a spell that gets used every day, but I've up cast it to as high as a 7th level slot when I could be almost certain that that many missiles would end an opponent, preventing escape and nothing else I had on tap had that level certainty.

I'm not familiar with Jim's Magic Missile though.
Magic missile with an attack role. If you fumble you get hit instead.

[Sigreid]

Magic missile with an attack role. If you fumble you get hit instead.

Then I probably would never prepare it as it doesn't do the one thing I count on MM for.

[Kane0]

https://i.imgur.com/KTtXQ21.png

Oh thats good

[PhantomSoul]

Then I probably would never prepare it as it doesn't do the one thing I count on MM for.

Yeah, Jim's Magic Missile is really an alternative to conventional Damage-dealing Spells (and hey, with Advantage and/or something like Halfling Luck), rather than competing for Magic Missile's niche.

[LudicSavant]

It's kind of like an alternate Scorching Ray. The things that synergize with Scorching Ray tend to synergize with it, too.

The main thing you need to worry about is the chance of rolling a 1 -- after all, the chance of backfire isn't that low if you're rolling multiple times (especially if you upcast). But if we get something like Elven Accuracy, or a halfling with advantage, our chance of rolling a 1 becomes near-zero, even with upcasting.

Getting elven accuracy also boosts your crit rate, with the attendant benefits. Also, since it's an attack, you can append stuff like Hex, Hexblade's Curse, Spirit Shroud, or Bugbear Surprise Attack... more times than you could with an equivalent-leveled Scorching Ray (since it fires more attacks at the same slot level). And it'll be force damage instead of fire.

[Psyren]

I'm not familiar with Jim's Magic Missile though.

It's Acquisitions Incorporated content (Penny Arcade). (Presumably the "Jim" is Jim Darkmagic. (https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/06/15/jim-darkmagic))

[Coidzor]

The bolded part is part of a critical table ruling you'll likely have to make. The spell automatically fails if any attack roll is a 1, which would technically include discarded rolls made with advantage/disadvantage. Your table will have to decide if discarded rolls do count for this aspect of the spell.

Does anything else in the game care about what number shows on the face of lower die with ADV or the higher die with DIS? I'm drawing a blank here trying to remember anything like that.