by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Illusion spell available to Bards, Clerics, and Rangers. A 6m sphere in which no sound exists. Nothing inside can cast a spell that needs speech, which is almost all of them, and nothing inside takes Thunder damage. It lasts 100 turns and it is a hard shutdown for enemy casters.
Spell description: Create a sound-proof sphere. All within are Silenced and Immune to Thunder damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 6m (20ft)
- Duration: 100 turns
- Concentration spell
- Ritual spell
- Conditions applied: Silenced. Cannot cast spells that require speech. Immune to Thunder damage.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Silence at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Silence
- Bard, Cleric at Class level 3
- Ranger at Class level 5
Source item: Scroll of Silence
Create a sound-proof sphere. All within are Silenced and Immune to Thunder damage.
Duration: 100 turns
AoE: 6m (20ft) Radius
No sound can be created within or pass through the sphere.
- Cannot cast spells with a verbal component.
- Immune to Thunder damage.
- Cannot be heard, and cannot hear.
When to cast Silence
Drop it on the enemy caster and they are done. No Fireball, no Hold Person, no Counterspell, nothing with a verbal component, which in this game means nearly the whole list. A Silenced Wizard is a man in a robe holding a stick.
The enemy can walk out of it, of course, and the AI will, so pair it with something that stops them. Web or Spike Growth under the Silence, or a Fighter standing on the edge with a Reaction ready. Silence plus Hold Person on the same caster is one of the cleanest lockdowns in the game.
It is also a stealth tool. Cast Silence on the door you are about to force and nobody hears the lock break. Cast it on the guards and they cannot raise the alarm. Combat is the obvious use, but the sneaky one is more fun.
It is Concentration and it affects your side too. Do not drop it on your own Cleric.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. A burst of ringing sound for 3d8 Thunder damage in a 3m radius. It is the closest thing Level 2 has to a Fireball, and far fewer things resist Thunder than resist Fire.
Spell description: Generate a painfully intense ringing noise that deals 3d8 Thunder damage to all nearby creatures and objects. Affected creatures made of inorganic material such as stone have Disadvantage on their Saving Throws. On a successful save, creatures still take half damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 3m (10ft)
- Save: CON save
- Damage: 3d8 Thunder
- Conditions applied: Creatures made of inorganic material such as stone have Disadvantage on their Saving Throw.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d8 Thunder damage for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Shatter
- Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Markoheshkir, Sentient Amulet, Scroll of Shatter
Generate a painfully intense ringing noise that deals 3d8 Thunder damage to all nearby creatures and objects. Affected creatures made of inorganic material such as stone have Disadvantage on their Saving Throws. On a successful save, creatures still take half damage.
When to cast Shatter
Two things make Shatter better than its damage number suggests. The first is the damage type. Almost nothing in the game resists Thunder, while Fire resistance is everywhere from Grymforge onward. A 3d8 Shatter that lands in full often beats an 8d6 Fireball that gets halved.
The second is the stone clause. Constructs, animated armour, and anything made of rock roll their save with Disadvantage. The things that shrug off the rest of your spellbook are exactly what this is for.
The 3m radius cuts both ways. It is much easier to catch a cluster without cooking your own frontline than it is with Fireball, but you do need them genuinely bunched. Save it for the moment three of them pile into the same doorway.
It damages objects, which includes every smokepowder barrel in Act 1. That is either the best thing that has ever happened to you or a very expensive mistake.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Illusion spell available to Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. Conjures a blade of solid shadow into your main hand: 2d8 Psychic damage, lasts until a Long Rest, no Concentration. For any caster who fancies actually swinging something, this is the spell.
Spell description: Creates a Shadow Blade in the caster’s main hand which deals Psychic damage.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Duration: Long Rest
- Damage: 2d8 Psychic
- Cost: Bonus Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Damage increases to 3d8 Psychic with a Level 3 or 4 spell slot, and to 4d8 Psychic with a Level 5 or 6 spell slot.
How to obtain Shadow Blade
- Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Shadow Blade Ring, Scroll of Shadow Blade
Creates a Shadow Blade in the caster’s main hand which deals Psychic damage.
Duration: Until Long Rest
A finesse weapon of solid shadow dealing 2d8 Psychic damage. Attacks have Advantage in dim light or darkness. Damage rises to 3d8 at Level 3 or 4 slots and 4d8 at Level 5 or 6.
When to cast Shadow Blade
2d8 beats a greatsword, and almost nothing in the game resists Psychic, so a Wizard holding a Shadow Blade hits harder in melee than most Fighters do at the same level. Bonus Action to summon, no Concentration, and it persists until you rest. There is essentially no downside.
The build it exists for is the Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster who wants to cast and swing in the same turn. Conjure the blade once in the morning, then spend the rest of the day making Extra Attacks with it while your spell slots go on control.
Upcasting is unusually efficient because the duration does not change. A Level 5 Shadow Blade is 4d8 a swing, all day, for one slot. If you have spare high-level slots at the start of a long day, this is one of the best places to put them.
The catch is that it swings on a normal weapon Attack Roll, not your spellcasting modifier. A caster with no Dexterity to speak of will conjure a magnificent blade and then miss with it repeatedly. Build for it, or leave it alone.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Divination spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. You can see Invisible creatures until a Long Rest, and anything Invisible within 9m that fails a Dexterity save loses it on the spot. It is a counter to one trick, and the game uses that trick more than you would like.
Spell description: Allows the spellcaster to see Invisible objects and creatures within range while not Incapacitated. Creatures within range which fail a Dexterity Saving Throw lose their Invisibility.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Area: 9m (30ft)
- Duration: Long Rest
- Save: DEX save
- Conditions applied: Creatures within range that fail a Dexterity Saving Throw lose their Invisibility.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting See Invisibility at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain See Invisibility
- Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Assassin of Bhaal Cowl, Volo’s Eye, Scroll of See Invisibility
Allows the spellcaster to see Invisible objects and creatures within range while not Incapacitated. Creatures within range which fail a Dexterity Saving Throw lose their Invisibility.
When to cast See Invisibility
There are a handful of fights in Acts 2 and 3 built around enemies that vanish, hit you, and vanish again, and they are infuriating without an answer. See Invisibility is the answer. Cast it on the turn they disappear and they stop being a problem.
The area effect is the part people miss. It is not just you seeing them: anything Invisible within 9m makes a Dexterity save or becomes visible to everyone. Your whole party gets to attack again, not just the caster.
It lasts until Long Rest and it is not Concentration, so on a day when you expect Invisible enemies you cast it in the morning and forget it. On every other day it is a dead spell known, which is why the Bard is usually better off with a scroll.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. Three rays of fire, each rolled as its own ranged spell attack for 2d6 Fire damage. Dump all three into one target or spread them about, and because every ray rolls separately, this scales with attack bonuses like almost nothing else at this level.
Spell description: Hurl three rays of fire. Make a ranged spell attack for each ray. For each ray that hits, you deal 2d6 Fire damage. You can hurl the rays at one target or several.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Attack: Attack roll
- Damage: 2d6 Fire per ray
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Hurls an additional ray for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Scorching Ray
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Circlet of Blasting, Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle, Hellfire Hand Crossbow, Scroll of Scorching Ray
Hurl three rays of fire. Make a ranged spell attack for each ray. For each ray that hits, you deal 2d6 Fire damage. You can hurl the rays at one target or several.
When to cast Scorching Ray
Every ray is its own attack roll, so anything that boosts one attack boosts all three. Advantage, high ground, Bless, and above all flat damage riders like the Callous Glow Ring or the Gloves of Cinder and Sizzle, all applied per ray. Stack two or three of those and this stops being a decent nuke and becomes the hardest-hitting spell you own.
The flip side is that it can miss with everything and achieve nothing at all. Fireball at least does half on a save. Do not cast this into Disadvantage, and do not fire it at long range without high ground.
Spreading the rays is usually a trap. Three targets means three chances to miss and nothing dead at the end of it. Put all three into the scariest thing on the field and remove it.
Range: 18m (60ft)
Save: CON save 
