by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Conjuration spell available to Druids and Wizards. A rolling ball of fire that burns everything near it for 2d6 Fire damage, sheds bright light, and moves for a Bonus Action. It is a persistent damage source that costs you almost nothing to keep running.
Spell description: Summon a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby enemies and objects. It also sheds bright light in a 6m radius, and dim light for an additional 6m. On a successful save, enemy creatures still take half damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: DEX save
- Damage: 2d6 Fire
- Conditions applied: Summons a flaming sphere that damages nearby enemies and objects. The sphere can be moved and emits bright light.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d6 Fire damage for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Flaming Sphere
- Druid, Wizard at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Flaming Sphere
Summon a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby enemies and objects. It also sheds bright light in a 6m radius, and dim light for an additional 6m. On a successful save, enemy creatures still take half damage.
Duration: 10 turns
A rolling sphere of fire that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby creatures and objects (Dexterity save for half). Moves as a Bonus Action and sheds bright light.
When to cast Flaming Sphere
The Bonus Action is the value. Once the sphere is out, rolling it into an enemy costs a Bonus Action, not your Action, so every turn for ten turns you get a free 2d6 while your Action does something else entirely. Over a long fight that quietly out-damages a Fireball, out of a Level 2 slot.
It also solves a problem Druids and Wizards genuinely have, which is having nothing to do with their Bonus Action. Flaming Sphere turns a dead resource into damage.
Use it to chase. The sphere moves independently, so it can roll after a runner, park itself on a downed caster, or block a corridor, and anything that walks past gets burned. It lights the area too, which matters more than you would expect in the Underdark and Act 2.
The usual Fire caveats apply. It will ignite oil, grease, and webs, including your own, and it does nothing to Fire-resistant enemies. It is also Concentration, so it competes with Spike Growth and Heat Metal for a Druid’s one slot.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Paladins. Your next weapon hit deals an extra 2d6 Radiant damage, and the target is lit up so it cannot turn Invisible for ten turns. It is the Smite you take for the utility rather than the number.
Spell description: Smite the target and possibly mark it with light, preventing it from turning Invisible.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: CON save
- Attack: Attack roll
- Damage: 2d6 Radiant
- Conditions applied: Target cannot turn Invisible.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Damage increases by 1d6 Radiant for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Branding Smite
Smite the target and possibly mark it with light, preventing it from turning Invisible.
Duration: 10 turns
- The creature sheds dim light and cannot become Invisible.
- Existing Invisibility is removed.
When to cast Branding Smite
It is a worse Divine Smite for damage, and you already have Divine Smite. Same slot, 2d6 instead of 2d8, and this one is Concentration. If all you want is a bigger hit, use the button you already own.
What it does that Divine Smite cannot is the mark. A branded creature cannot go Invisible, which matters against precisely the enemies who cheat that way: the Act 2 shadows, the assassins in Act 3, anything that vanishes and reappears behind your Wizard. Brand it and it stays where you can hit it.
Because it is Concentration and lingers, it also plays nicely with the Paladin’s habit of not concentrating on anything at all. Cast it on the approach, take the first hit with the bonus damage, and the mark keeps working while your slots go on the Smites that actually hurt.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Druids. Summons a scimitar of fire into your hand for a Bonus Action: 3d6 Fire damage a swing, lights the area, lasts ten turns. It is the Druid’s version of Shadow Blade with a worse damage type and a better damage die.
Spell description: Conjure a flaming scimitar in your hand that deals 3d6 Fire damage and sheds bright light in a 3m radius and dim light in a 6m radius. The blade can be unequipped and equipped again, but has to stay on the spellcaster’s person.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Duration: 10 turns
- Damage: 3d6 Fire
- Conditions applied: Conjures a flaming scimitar that deals 3d6 Fire damage and sheds bright light in a 3m radius.
- Cost: Bonus Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Damage increases by 1d6 Fire for every two spell slot levels above the 2nd. A total of 4d6 at Levels 4 and 5, and 5d6 at Level 6.
How to obtain Flame Blade
Source item: Scroll of Flame Blade
Conjure a flaming scimitar in your hand that deals 3d6 Fire damage and sheds bright light in a 3m radius and dim light in a 6m radius. The blade can be unequipped and equipped again, but has to stay on the spellcaster’s person.
When to cast Flame Blade
3d6 is a big number for a Level 2 weapon, and a Bonus Action to summon means you can conjure it and still attack in the same turn. For a Druid who is going to be in melee anyway, that is a real upgrade over a mundane scimitar.
The problem is Fire. From the Underdark onward you will meet a lot of things that resist it, and a resisted Flame Blade is a very expensive dagger. Check what you are fighting before you spend the slot.
It also swings off your weapon Attack Roll and Druids are not built for that. A Druid with 10 Strength and 12 Dexterity will summon a beautiful sword and miss with it. It suits a melee-leaning Druid who has invested in Dexterity, and not many others.
The bright light is a nice bonus in the dark places, and it is not Concentration, so it runs alongside Spike Growth or Moonbeam without complaint.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Warlocks. Shrinks a creature’s peripheral vision and keeps it looking at you. No scroll, no source item, no upcast benefit. It is a stealth tool wearing a combat spell’s clothes, and almost nobody uses it.
Spell description: Reduce a creature’s peripheral vision and make it look at you.
Spell properties
- Range: 6m (20 ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Enthralled. Peripheral vision is reduced and the creature keeps looking at the caster.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Enthrall at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Enthrall
- Bard, Warlock at Class level 3
Reduce a creature’s peripheral vision and make it look at you.
Duration: 10 turns
- The creature’s peripheral vision is reduced.
- It keeps looking at the caster.
Disadvantage on Perception Checks.
When to cast Enthrall
This is for the party sneaking past a guard, not the party fighting one. His vision cone shrinks and locks onto your caster, and everyone else strolls round the back of him and into the room he is standing in front of.
It pairs perfectly with a Bard who is already stood there talking. Enthrall the guard, and your Rogue picks the lock six metres behind him while he gazes politely at your face.
In combat it does close to nothing and is not worth a Level 2 slot. On a run where you are avoiding fights rather than winning them its stock rises sharply, and nothing else at this level manipulates enemy vision this directly.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Transmutation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. Make a creature bigger, and it hits harder and gets Advantage on Strength checks and saves. Make it smaller, and it hits softer and gets Disadvantage on the same. One spell, two very different jobs.
Spell description: Make a creature larger or smaller. This affects their weapon damage and Strength Checks and Saving Throws.
Spell properties
- Range: 9m (30ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: CON save (unwilling target)
- Conditions applied: Enlarged or Reduced. Affects weapon damage, Strength Checks and Saving Throws.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Enlarge/Reduce at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Enlarge/Reduce
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Elixir, Who’s a Big Boy? Staff, Oil of Diminution
Make a creature larger or smaller. This affects their weapon damage and Strength Checks and Saving Throws.
Enlarge/Reduce spell variants
Enlarge is a buff for an ally. Reduce is a debuff and gets a Constitution save on an unwilling target.
1. Enlarge
The target grows in size. Its weapon attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage and it gains Advantage on Strength Checks and Strength Saving Throws.
2. Reduce
The target shrinks. Its weapon attacks deal 1d4 less damage and it has Disadvantage on Strength Checks and Strength Saving Throws.
When to cast Enlarge/Reduce
Enlarge on your Barbarian is the obvious play and it is a good one. An extra 1d4 on every swing over ten turns adds up, but the Strength Advantage is the real prize: Advantage on shoves, Advantage against every push and grapple, and an Enlarged character shoving enemies off ledges is a lot of damage from a Level 2 slot.
Reduce is quietly the better half against the right target. A Reduced brute deals less damage with every hit and has Disadvantage on Strength saves, which means your Thunderwave, your Gust of Wind, and your Barbarian’s shove all land on it. Shrink the ogre, then push it off the cliff.
It is Concentration and it targets one creature, so it competes with Haste and Web for the Wizard’s one slot. It wins that fight early in the game and loses it from level five onward.
Range: 18m (60ft)
Save: DEX save
