Is this custom darkness spell unbalanced?
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As written, the Darkness spell is a 2nd level spell that last 10 minutes, requires concentration, impacts a 15' radius, and cannot be seen through even with darkvision.
As written, the Daylight spell is a 3rd level spell that lasts 1 hour, does not require concentration, impacts a 60' radius with bright light, and another 60' with dim light. This seems notably stronger without a countering spell.
To counter this, I'd propose a spell with properties similar to those for Daylight, but for darkness:
Greater Darkness
3rd Level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: 1 hour
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill
a 60-foot-radius sphere for the duration. The darkness spreads around
corners. A creature with darkvision canâÂÂt see through this darkness,
and nonmagical light canâÂÂt illuminate it.
If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that
isnâÂÂt being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and
moves with it. Completely covering the source of the darkness with an
opaque object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.
If any of this spellâÂÂs area overlaps with an area of light created by
a spell of 3rd level or lower, the spell that created the light is
dispelled.
If it affects the balance, I'd make this spell available to any class that has Darkness on their spell list.
Is this spell unbalanced?
dnd-5e spells
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4
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As written, the Darkness spell is a 2nd level spell that last 10 minutes, requires concentration, impacts a 15' radius, and cannot be seen through even with darkvision.
As written, the Daylight spell is a 3rd level spell that lasts 1 hour, does not require concentration, impacts a 60' radius with bright light, and another 60' with dim light. This seems notably stronger without a countering spell.
To counter this, I'd propose a spell with properties similar to those for Daylight, but for darkness:
Greater Darkness
3rd Level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: 1 hour
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill
a 60-foot-radius sphere for the duration. The darkness spreads around
corners. A creature with darkvision canâÂÂt see through this darkness,
and nonmagical light canâÂÂt illuminate it.
If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that
isnâÂÂt being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and
moves with it. Completely covering the source of the darkness with an
opaque object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.
If any of this spellâÂÂs area overlaps with an area of light created by
a spell of 3rd level or lower, the spell that created the light is
dispelled.
If it affects the balance, I'd make this spell available to any class that has Darkness on their spell list.
Is this spell unbalanced?
dnd-5e spells
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
up vote
4
down vote
favorite
As written, the Darkness spell is a 2nd level spell that last 10 minutes, requires concentration, impacts a 15' radius, and cannot be seen through even with darkvision.
As written, the Daylight spell is a 3rd level spell that lasts 1 hour, does not require concentration, impacts a 60' radius with bright light, and another 60' with dim light. This seems notably stronger without a countering spell.
To counter this, I'd propose a spell with properties similar to those for Daylight, but for darkness:
Greater Darkness
3rd Level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: 1 hour
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill
a 60-foot-radius sphere for the duration. The darkness spreads around
corners. A creature with darkvision canâÂÂt see through this darkness,
and nonmagical light canâÂÂt illuminate it.
If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that
isnâÂÂt being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and
moves with it. Completely covering the source of the darkness with an
opaque object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.
If any of this spellâÂÂs area overlaps with an area of light created by
a spell of 3rd level or lower, the spell that created the light is
dispelled.
If it affects the balance, I'd make this spell available to any class that has Darkness on their spell list.
Is this spell unbalanced?
dnd-5e spells
As written, the Darkness spell is a 2nd level spell that last 10 minutes, requires concentration, impacts a 15' radius, and cannot be seen through even with darkvision.
As written, the Daylight spell is a 3rd level spell that lasts 1 hour, does not require concentration, impacts a 60' radius with bright light, and another 60' with dim light. This seems notably stronger without a countering spell.
To counter this, I'd propose a spell with properties similar to those for Daylight, but for darkness:
Greater Darkness
3rd Level Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: 1 hour
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill
a 60-foot-radius sphere for the duration. The darkness spreads around
corners. A creature with darkvision canâÂÂt see through this darkness,
and nonmagical light canâÂÂt illuminate it.
If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that
isnâÂÂt being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and
moves with it. Completely covering the source of the darkness with an
opaque object, such as a bowl or a helm, blocks the darkness.
If any of this spellâÂÂs area overlaps with an area of light created by
a spell of 3rd level or lower, the spell that created the light is
dispelled.
If it affects the balance, I'd make this spell available to any class that has Darkness on their spell list.
Is this spell unbalanced?
dnd-5e spells
dnd-5e spells
asked 41 mins ago
Pyrotechnical
12.1k245115
12.1k245115
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2 Answers
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up vote
3
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I think what you are confusing is the fact that Daylight is a ècounterspellè. What I mean by that is that most spellcasters won't find the spell useful outside of RP and dungeons where lighting is a problem. Darkness on the other hand can be used in a lot more situations. For example, you can cast darkness on the archers that are shooting you from the top of the castle. Now, imagine that instead of darkness being 15 ft radius (3x3) it is 60 ft (12x12). This is 16 times stronger than the lvl 2 darkness spell.
I think at the moment the spell is too powerful as a level 3 spell. Make it lvl 4 or 5 and it's more balanced.
New contributor
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
This spell is too powerful when comparing PCs, monsters, and Darkness
Almost all PCs in D&D 5e have no way to see through magical darkness. Of the ones that can, there are exactly two ways you can do so:
- Warlock level 2 invocation, Devil's Sight.
- Ranger Gloom Stalker level 3 feature, Umbral Sight.
Due to how specific these abilities are, you are unlikely to have more than one character in your party who can see through Darkvision.
Consider the fact that there are a decent number of creatures who have Blindsense, Tremorsense, Truesight, or the ability to see through magical darkness. Many of these abilities are more common to monsters, and as a result, creating an encounter around this concept is extremely "unfun", as one of two things are capable of happening:
- They can ignore the Darkness, making it so only one player is capable of aptly participating in the fight while the rest bumble around.
- They can try to cast some kind of level 3+ light spell in an attempt to dispel it, assuming they had one prepared.
- They can go around it (6x6 square)
- They can break the concentration of the caster (disadvantage to hit, can't use most saving throw abilities due to no Line of Sight)
- Counterspell
That's the issue with the existing Darkness. You can either deal with it, or you can't, and there's not much in-between these options.
Compound this fact that the existing Darkness spell has a 15 foot radius, and the fact that your Greater Darkness spell has a 60 foot radius. The area of the Darkness spell is roughly a 6x6 box. Your spell, in comparison, is roughly a 12x12 box, or covering 4 times as much area than the Darkness spell.
In this situation, how do you plan for mundane fighters to participate in this kind of encounter? By upcasting a light spell they have prepared with a level 4 spell slot? In how many situations is that going to be a possibility?
The Darkness spell works because upcasting it when you have higher spell slots isn't very beneficial (when it can be dealt with using higher spell slots, more prepared spells, or magical items) and also due to its limited area. By removing those weaknesses, you leave no real possibility for counter play.
Player decision making is the heart of D&D, and this spell injures that. This spell is not beneficial to D&D as it is.
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
I think what you are confusing is the fact that Daylight is a ècounterspellè. What I mean by that is that most spellcasters won't find the spell useful outside of RP and dungeons where lighting is a problem. Darkness on the other hand can be used in a lot more situations. For example, you can cast darkness on the archers that are shooting you from the top of the castle. Now, imagine that instead of darkness being 15 ft radius (3x3) it is 60 ft (12x12). This is 16 times stronger than the lvl 2 darkness spell.
I think at the moment the spell is too powerful as a level 3 spell. Make it lvl 4 or 5 and it's more balanced.
New contributor
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
I think what you are confusing is the fact that Daylight is a ècounterspellè. What I mean by that is that most spellcasters won't find the spell useful outside of RP and dungeons where lighting is a problem. Darkness on the other hand can be used in a lot more situations. For example, you can cast darkness on the archers that are shooting you from the top of the castle. Now, imagine that instead of darkness being 15 ft radius (3x3) it is 60 ft (12x12). This is 16 times stronger than the lvl 2 darkness spell.
I think at the moment the spell is too powerful as a level 3 spell. Make it lvl 4 or 5 and it's more balanced.
New contributor
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
I think what you are confusing is the fact that Daylight is a ècounterspellè. What I mean by that is that most spellcasters won't find the spell useful outside of RP and dungeons where lighting is a problem. Darkness on the other hand can be used in a lot more situations. For example, you can cast darkness on the archers that are shooting you from the top of the castle. Now, imagine that instead of darkness being 15 ft radius (3x3) it is 60 ft (12x12). This is 16 times stronger than the lvl 2 darkness spell.
I think at the moment the spell is too powerful as a level 3 spell. Make it lvl 4 or 5 and it's more balanced.
New contributor
I think what you are confusing is the fact that Daylight is a ècounterspellè. What I mean by that is that most spellcasters won't find the spell useful outside of RP and dungeons where lighting is a problem. Darkness on the other hand can be used in a lot more situations. For example, you can cast darkness on the archers that are shooting you from the top of the castle. Now, imagine that instead of darkness being 15 ft radius (3x3) it is 60 ft (12x12). This is 16 times stronger than the lvl 2 darkness spell.
I think at the moment the spell is too powerful as a level 3 spell. Make it lvl 4 or 5 and it's more balanced.
New contributor
edited 5 mins ago
Rubiksmoose
38.3k5191294
38.3k5191294
New contributor
answered 15 mins ago
Oxtrooo
14318
14318
New contributor
New contributor
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
add a comment |Â
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Daylight is not a counterspell but a roving dispel of any magical darkness cast with a lower level slot. It will dispell any darkness within 120' so long as it has line of sight/effect.
â Slagmoth
3 mins ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
Your archer example might not be the best one. Creatures in a heavily obscured area have both advantage and disadvantage and thus roll a single d20 (unless they have a way to see through it). Enemy mages might be a better example, since heavy obscurement blocks any spell that requires you to see your target.
â Chris Starnes
50 secs ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
This spell is too powerful when comparing PCs, monsters, and Darkness
Almost all PCs in D&D 5e have no way to see through magical darkness. Of the ones that can, there are exactly two ways you can do so:
- Warlock level 2 invocation, Devil's Sight.
- Ranger Gloom Stalker level 3 feature, Umbral Sight.
Due to how specific these abilities are, you are unlikely to have more than one character in your party who can see through Darkvision.
Consider the fact that there are a decent number of creatures who have Blindsense, Tremorsense, Truesight, or the ability to see through magical darkness. Many of these abilities are more common to monsters, and as a result, creating an encounter around this concept is extremely "unfun", as one of two things are capable of happening:
- They can ignore the Darkness, making it so only one player is capable of aptly participating in the fight while the rest bumble around.
- They can try to cast some kind of level 3+ light spell in an attempt to dispel it, assuming they had one prepared.
- They can go around it (6x6 square)
- They can break the concentration of the caster (disadvantage to hit, can't use most saving throw abilities due to no Line of Sight)
- Counterspell
That's the issue with the existing Darkness. You can either deal with it, or you can't, and there's not much in-between these options.
Compound this fact that the existing Darkness spell has a 15 foot radius, and the fact that your Greater Darkness spell has a 60 foot radius. The area of the Darkness spell is roughly a 6x6 box. Your spell, in comparison, is roughly a 12x12 box, or covering 4 times as much area than the Darkness spell.
In this situation, how do you plan for mundane fighters to participate in this kind of encounter? By upcasting a light spell they have prepared with a level 4 spell slot? In how many situations is that going to be a possibility?
The Darkness spell works because upcasting it when you have higher spell slots isn't very beneficial (when it can be dealt with using higher spell slots, more prepared spells, or magical items) and also due to its limited area. By removing those weaknesses, you leave no real possibility for counter play.
Player decision making is the heart of D&D, and this spell injures that. This spell is not beneficial to D&D as it is.
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
This spell is too powerful when comparing PCs, monsters, and Darkness
Almost all PCs in D&D 5e have no way to see through magical darkness. Of the ones that can, there are exactly two ways you can do so:
- Warlock level 2 invocation, Devil's Sight.
- Ranger Gloom Stalker level 3 feature, Umbral Sight.
Due to how specific these abilities are, you are unlikely to have more than one character in your party who can see through Darkvision.
Consider the fact that there are a decent number of creatures who have Blindsense, Tremorsense, Truesight, or the ability to see through magical darkness. Many of these abilities are more common to monsters, and as a result, creating an encounter around this concept is extremely "unfun", as one of two things are capable of happening:
- They can ignore the Darkness, making it so only one player is capable of aptly participating in the fight while the rest bumble around.
- They can try to cast some kind of level 3+ light spell in an attempt to dispel it, assuming they had one prepared.
- They can go around it (6x6 square)
- They can break the concentration of the caster (disadvantage to hit, can't use most saving throw abilities due to no Line of Sight)
- Counterspell
That's the issue with the existing Darkness. You can either deal with it, or you can't, and there's not much in-between these options.
Compound this fact that the existing Darkness spell has a 15 foot radius, and the fact that your Greater Darkness spell has a 60 foot radius. The area of the Darkness spell is roughly a 6x6 box. Your spell, in comparison, is roughly a 12x12 box, or covering 4 times as much area than the Darkness spell.
In this situation, how do you plan for mundane fighters to participate in this kind of encounter? By upcasting a light spell they have prepared with a level 4 spell slot? In how many situations is that going to be a possibility?
The Darkness spell works because upcasting it when you have higher spell slots isn't very beneficial (when it can be dealt with using higher spell slots, more prepared spells, or magical items) and also due to its limited area. By removing those weaknesses, you leave no real possibility for counter play.
Player decision making is the heart of D&D, and this spell injures that. This spell is not beneficial to D&D as it is.
add a comment |Â
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
This spell is too powerful when comparing PCs, monsters, and Darkness
Almost all PCs in D&D 5e have no way to see through magical darkness. Of the ones that can, there are exactly two ways you can do so:
- Warlock level 2 invocation, Devil's Sight.
- Ranger Gloom Stalker level 3 feature, Umbral Sight.
Due to how specific these abilities are, you are unlikely to have more than one character in your party who can see through Darkvision.
Consider the fact that there are a decent number of creatures who have Blindsense, Tremorsense, Truesight, or the ability to see through magical darkness. Many of these abilities are more common to monsters, and as a result, creating an encounter around this concept is extremely "unfun", as one of two things are capable of happening:
- They can ignore the Darkness, making it so only one player is capable of aptly participating in the fight while the rest bumble around.
- They can try to cast some kind of level 3+ light spell in an attempt to dispel it, assuming they had one prepared.
- They can go around it (6x6 square)
- They can break the concentration of the caster (disadvantage to hit, can't use most saving throw abilities due to no Line of Sight)
- Counterspell
That's the issue with the existing Darkness. You can either deal with it, or you can't, and there's not much in-between these options.
Compound this fact that the existing Darkness spell has a 15 foot radius, and the fact that your Greater Darkness spell has a 60 foot radius. The area of the Darkness spell is roughly a 6x6 box. Your spell, in comparison, is roughly a 12x12 box, or covering 4 times as much area than the Darkness spell.
In this situation, how do you plan for mundane fighters to participate in this kind of encounter? By upcasting a light spell they have prepared with a level 4 spell slot? In how many situations is that going to be a possibility?
The Darkness spell works because upcasting it when you have higher spell slots isn't very beneficial (when it can be dealt with using higher spell slots, more prepared spells, or magical items) and also due to its limited area. By removing those weaknesses, you leave no real possibility for counter play.
Player decision making is the heart of D&D, and this spell injures that. This spell is not beneficial to D&D as it is.
This spell is too powerful when comparing PCs, monsters, and Darkness
Almost all PCs in D&D 5e have no way to see through magical darkness. Of the ones that can, there are exactly two ways you can do so:
- Warlock level 2 invocation, Devil's Sight.
- Ranger Gloom Stalker level 3 feature, Umbral Sight.
Due to how specific these abilities are, you are unlikely to have more than one character in your party who can see through Darkvision.
Consider the fact that there are a decent number of creatures who have Blindsense, Tremorsense, Truesight, or the ability to see through magical darkness. Many of these abilities are more common to monsters, and as a result, creating an encounter around this concept is extremely "unfun", as one of two things are capable of happening:
- They can ignore the Darkness, making it so only one player is capable of aptly participating in the fight while the rest bumble around.
- They can try to cast some kind of level 3+ light spell in an attempt to dispel it, assuming they had one prepared.
- They can go around it (6x6 square)
- They can break the concentration of the caster (disadvantage to hit, can't use most saving throw abilities due to no Line of Sight)
- Counterspell
That's the issue with the existing Darkness. You can either deal with it, or you can't, and there's not much in-between these options.
Compound this fact that the existing Darkness spell has a 15 foot radius, and the fact that your Greater Darkness spell has a 60 foot radius. The area of the Darkness spell is roughly a 6x6 box. Your spell, in comparison, is roughly a 12x12 box, or covering 4 times as much area than the Darkness spell.
In this situation, how do you plan for mundane fighters to participate in this kind of encounter? By upcasting a light spell they have prepared with a level 4 spell slot? In how many situations is that going to be a possibility?
The Darkness spell works because upcasting it when you have higher spell slots isn't very beneficial (when it can be dealt with using higher spell slots, more prepared spells, or magical items) and also due to its limited area. By removing those weaknesses, you leave no real possibility for counter play.
Player decision making is the heart of D&D, and this spell injures that. This spell is not beneficial to D&D as it is.
edited 15 secs ago
answered 3 mins ago
Daniel Zastoupil
4,9761155
4,9761155
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