D&D: That Spell’s Trouble
Some spells are a little more trouble than they’re worth. They seem great on paper, but once they’re cast, might bring down more than you bargained for.
Magic is never without consequence. This is true whether you’re casting something as simple as a fire bolt, in which case the consequence is usually that the ogre standing over there is now an angry, singed ogre standing over there and looking right at you; or a more complex spell, like meteor swarm, where the consequence is the ogre standing over there is now a smoking crater. But some spells end up being more trouble than they’re worth when you cast them, even if you didn’t mean to. Here are a few spells that might require a bit of care.
Skywrite
This 2nd level Bard/Druid/Wizard/Artificer spell is a great way to pass a message to the rest of your party. With a single action, you can cause up to ten words or symbols, made of clouds, to form in a part of the sky you can see, and they remain in place for an hour or until a strong wind disperses them.
This spell is a great way to convince rubes that the heavens themselves bless you, when the clouds themselves say “TREMBLE MORTALS, YOUR TRUE KING ARRIVES BEARING A FALCON’S CREST” or whatever your crest actually is. Or let people know their doom is upon them or whatever–but the only problem is, if it’s in a part of the sky you can see–well there’s no restricting who else sees it. Once the sky starts sending messages, there’s sure to be questions from pretty much anyone who bothers to look up that hour. Questions you might have to answer.
Control Weather
This one is an 8th level spell that lets you take control of the weather for 5 miles around you. However, there’s a lot you have to watch out for. You can change the winds, you can cause precipitation and start making it unseasonably warm or cold–but it’s also an 8th level spell. And odds are good if you can cast that spell, people know that you’re a powerful spellcaster, and unless you’re playing in the Forgotten Realms, those don’t grow on trees.
Even if you are, people are bound to find out that you’re powerful and can change the weather and then–well they’re going to demand to know if it was you every time the weather isn’t to their liking. Not to mention the elementals that might take issue with your meddling.
Conjure Animals/Woodland Beings
These spells can be powerful. With a single action you can summon a variety of creatures, from beasts to quicklings (which can make three attacks each). The only thing to watch out for is, as written, the caster doesn’t decide what creatures are summoned. They only choose the challenge rating range and number. The DM ultimately decides.
So you might summon 32 swarms of Bats when you meant to summon a bunch of wolves. Still, probably worth it. But be careful.
Plane Shift
Plane Shift is a fantastic spell, once you get it you’ve really made it as an adventurer and a spellcaster. However, a few things to watch out for–once you cast it, you’ve got to be sure you have a way of getting back to wherever you came from. Maybe that’s another friend, maybe that means hoping for the best with a long rest–but when you’re travelling to another plane, you’re taking your own safety into your hands. You might mean to travel somewhere near the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire, and end up in the middle of a firestorm just outside the city gates.
Or perhaps you don’t know where you’re going, and you just sort of end up in a random location on a plane out there. This can be a great escape, but it can also mean that getting back is a lot harder than you’d think.
Friends
This one is a great get out of jail free card, assuming you can talk a good friend into letting you out of jail in a minute, and also get away from them. This cantrip is responsible for so many adventurers getting pursued by people they didn’t need to be pursued by. Sure it makes a target friendly, but after a minute, they turn hostile and know you were basically bamboozling them with magic.
Hope you prepared expeditious retreat.
These are some of our spells that cause unintended consequences. What spells get you and your party in over their heads? Let us know in the comments!
