D&D: Five of the Worst 8th-Level Spells
8th-level spells are extremely powerful. For the most part. But not these ones. These are some of the worst 8th-level spells in D&D.
8th-level spells verge on the power of demigods. They’re among the highest-level spells that player characters can have access to. Like 7th-level spells, they’re the ones you only ever get one spell slot for. So it has to matter. If it doesn’t change a whole encounter, it’s not worth it.
This is how you get 8th-level spells that make the list of “worst spells.” Whether they’re too finicky, or don’t give you enough bang for the buck, these spells just don’t cut the mustard.
Glibness
Glibness is a spell that is kind of nice, but by the time you get to it, you almost don’t care about it. It gives you an automatic 15 on any Charisma check, for an hour, and can magically defeat spells like Zone of Truth.
But by the time you’re 8th level, anyone who cares about making Charisma checks will have skill bonuses through the roof. And even if you don’t already care about rolling, the fact that the spell only lasts an hour means you’re only rarely going to get more than one or two checks out of it.
Horrid Wilting
This spell hits a smaller area than its other 8th-level counterparts, and while it does slightly more damage, it does it to a much smaller range of creatures. It does 12d8 damage but not to constructs or undead creatures. Sunburst not only hits more and does comparable-ish damage, but it also blinds creatures until they successfully save against the effect.
Control Weather
This is an impressive spell, to be sure. But it’s a tricky one for players. Mostly because its casting time is so long: it takes 10 minutes just to cast the spell. And the spell itself isn’t instantaneous, it just lets you take control of the weather, making changes that happen over 1d4x10 minutes. So a minimum of 20 minutes before you can change the weather. And the effect is very subtle too.
Sure, there are situations and campaigns where this might be useful. But for the typical D&D adventure, it doesn’t even let you call down a lightning bolt. It just lets you gradually make weather conditions set in.
It really feels like a spell meant for NPC antagonists, more than anything.
Telepathy
This spell isn’t bad, it’s just, for an 8th-level spell it feels a little underwhelming. It lets you telepathically with one community and lets you talk as long as you’re somewhere in the same world. Which is cool.
Until you realize that lower-level spells, which you can cast as rituals, allow you to bring the whole party in on the telepathic network. Meaning Telepathy is extremely situational at best.
Power Word Stun
There’s a reason nobody talks about Power Word Stun. It’s probably the least useful of the Power Words. Sure it’s dashed easy to cast, needing only a voice to call upon its power. But Power Word Stun hits below its weight for an 8th-level spell. For one, it only works on creatures at fewer than 150 hit points.
This is many of them, but it’s also the sort of thing that when you’re facing down opponents at 15th level (which is when you could cast this spell at the earliest), oftentimes if they’re below 150 health, they’re basically dead this round anyway. And if they’re not below the threshold, then nothing happens, you just wasted your only 8th-level spell slot for the day.
What are your picks for the worst 8th-level spell?
