D&D: Five Reaction Spells You Can Pull Off Just in the Nick of Time
Some of the most powerful spells in D&D aren’t even necessarily the ones you cast on your turn. Here are five awesome reaction spells.
In D&D, reaction spells can give you a powerful advantage; they let you cast out of turn, giving you an all important extra action in 5E’s action economy, they also let you not worry about whether you’ve used a bonus action spell or not, and finally they often contain some of the most powerful effects in D&D.
With all that in mind, making sure your spellcaster has at least one of these on their spell lists is a great way to ensure you’ll have a powerful character without having to do too much.
Shield
You knew this was going to be on here. Shield is one of the most frequently taken spell options in the game, and for good reason. It doesn’t just protect you from a single attack, it protects you from any hits you’re likely to take, granting you a +5 bonus to AC until the start of your next turn. This can be extremely clutch if used when you’re facing down multiple enemies, doubly so if they can all make multiple attacks.
Silvery Barbs
Silvery Barbs is another instant pick if it’s allowed in your games. Out of Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos, this spell made waves when it first hit D&D for its perceived bad vibes. Not hard to see why: Silvery Barbs forces a creature who succeeds on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw to reroll, effectively with disadvantage (picking the lower of the two options). Making this one of two ways to stop a Critical Hit.
But on top of that, you get to give advantage to another creature, including yourself, on the next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw that they make within the next minute. A powerful combo of debuff and buff all at once.
Counterspell
Do you hate Silvery Barbs? Or any of the other spells on this list or just in general? Well, Counterspell is a great way to shut all of that down. This spell is one of three reaction spells that aren’t 1st-level in the game. And Counterspell does exactly what it says on the tin. It shuts down a spell of 3rd level or lower immediately, and you can make a spellcasting ability check to shut down a higher level spell, or can just upcast it to take out even higher level spells without the need for a roll.
Absorb Elements
When Shield and Silvery Barbs won’t protect you, the odds are good Absorb Elements will. This spell lets you siphon off incoming elemental energy (acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage), effectively halving what you take, which is already really good. But it also empowers a melee attack with an extra 1d6 damage of the triggering type, which can be fantastic with the right character.
Gift of Gab
Have you ever instantly regretted something you’ve said in character and wished you could take it back? Well, with the Gift of Gab, one of the two other non-1st level reaction spells in the game, out of the official WotC-published Acquisitions Incorporated sourcebook, you can do exactly that.
Gift of Gab lets you skillfully reshape the memories of listeners in your immediate area, so that each creature of your choice within 5 feet of you forgets everything you said within the last six seconds, instead remembering that you actually said whatever words you say as part of the verbal component of the spell.
Finally, Shield but for roleplay encounters!
The other three reaction spells in the game are Feather Fall, which is great for when you fall, Hellish Rebuke, which is a fun way to deal extra damage even if it isn’t as powerful as some of the other spells on this list, and Soul Cage, which is hilarious but situational.
