by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Enchantment spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. It drops the lowest-health enemies in an area with no save, and sleeping targets take automatic critical hits. Brutal in the early game.
Spell description: Put creatures up to a combined 24 Hit Points into a magical slumber. Sleeping creatures awaken if they take damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 2 turns
- Conditions applied: Sleeping. The creature cannot move or act.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Sleep at a higher level affects creatures with an additional 8 Hit Points for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Sleep
- Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Knowledge Domain (Cleric) and The Archfey (Warlock) at Class level 1
- Draconic Bloodline (Brass, Fire ancestry) Sorcerer at Class level 1
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard, Sorcerer, or Wizard
Put creatures up to a combined 24 Hit Points into a magical slumber. Sleeping creatures awaken if they take damage.
When to cast Sleep
Sleep has no save. It simply puts the lowest-health enemies in the area under, up to a 24 HP budget, and a sleeping creature is helpless: it cannot act, and melee attacks against it are automatic critical hits. In the early game that is devastating.
The catch is the HP budget shrinks in relative terms as enemies get tougher, and any damage wakes them, so tell your party not to poke a sleeper you want kept down. Upcast it to raise the budget and it stays relevant longer than most Level 1 spells.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Necromancy spell available to Clerics. A melee touch for 3d10 Necrotic, the biggest single hit any Level 1 spell can land. A burst option for a Cleric willing to get close.
Spell description: Putrefy a creature with the Necrotic energy filling your hands.
Spell properties
- Damage: 3d10 Necrotic
- Damage type: Necrotic
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Attack type: Melee spell Attack Roll
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Inflict Wounds at a higher level deals an additional 1d10 Necrotic damage for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Inflict Wounds
- Cleric at Class level 1
- Oathbreaker (Paladin) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Cleric
- Source item: Blackguard’s Gauntlets
Putrefy a creature with the Necrotic energy filling your hands.
When to cast Inflict Wounds
3d10 is the biggest single hit any Level 1 spell can deal, which makes Inflict Wounds a genuine burst option for a melee-leaning Cleric. Land it and you can delete a low-health enemy or take a huge chunk out of a big one.
The problems are the range and the attack roll: you have to be in melee, and it can miss entirely, which for a fragile Cleric is a real risk. It is a gamble spell, best on a build that is already comfortable up close.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Evocation spell available to Paladins. It adds 1d6 Fire to a hit and sets the target burning for 1d6 a turn until it saves. A smite that keeps ticking.
Spell description: Your weapon flares with white-hot intensity. It deals an extra 1d6 Fire damage and marks the target with Searing Smite. A target with Searing Smite takes 1d6 Fire damage every turn until it succeeds on a Constitution Saving Throw. If the spellcaster misses the initial Attack, the Spell Slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.
Spell properties
- Damage: 1d6 Fire on hit, plus 1d6 Fire each turn
- Damage type: Fire
- Range: Weapon range
- Duration: 10 turns
- Save: CON save
- Attack type: Melee weapon Attack Roll
- Cost: Action + Bonus Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Searing Smite at a higher level deals an additional 1d6 Fire initial damage for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Searing Smite
- Paladin at Class level 2
- Zariel Tiefling at Character level 3 (a once-per-Long-Rest version)
- Source item: Skybreaker
Your weapon flares with white-hot intensity. It deals an extra 1d6 Fire damage and marks the target with Searing Smite. A target with Searing Smite takes 1d6 Fire damage every turn until it succeeds on a Constitution Saving Throw. If the spellcaster misses the initial Attack, the Spell Slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.
When to cast Searing Smite
The burn is what sets it apart from a plain smite. The target keeps taking 1d6 Fire every turn until it makes a Constitution save, so against a tough enemy that keeps failing, the damage adds up well past the initial hit.
It also does not consume the slot on a miss, so there is no risk in leading with it. It is Concentration in effect through the burn, so it competes with your other buffs, but as an early-Paladin damage option it is a solid, cheap pick.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Evocation spell available to Bards, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. It deals 2d8 Thunder in a 5m cube and pushes everything 8m away. Devastating with a cliff at your back.
Spell description: Release a wave of thunderous force that pushes away all creatures and objects.
Spell properties
- Damage: 2d8 Thunder
- Damage type: Thunder
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Area: 5m (17ft) cube
- Save: CON save
- Conditions applied: Pushed back 8m.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Thunderwave at a higher level deals an additional 1d8 Thunder damage for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Thunderwave
- Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Tempest Domain (Cleric) at Class level 1, as a Domain Spell
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Storm Sorcery (Sorcerer) at Class level 6
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, or Wizard
- Source items: Ring of Absolute Force, Thunderpalm Strikers
Release a wave of thunderous force that pushes away all creatures and objects.
When to cast Thunderwave
Thunderwave is damage plus a big shove: 2d8 to everything in a 5m cube and an 8m push on a failed save. Stand with your back to a ledge, let the enemies close, and blast the whole group off the edge for a Level 1 slot.
The push is the point, so cast it where the terrain does the killing, a chasm, a cliff, a hazard, rather than into open ground. In the right spot it is one of the highest-value Level 1 spells in the game; on flat terrain it is just a small area nuke.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Evocation spell available to Paladins. It adds 2d6 Thunder to a hit and shoves the target 3m, possibly Prone. A control smite that loves a nearby ledge.
Spell description: Your weapon rings with thunder as you strike, pushing your target 3m away and possibly knocking it Prone. If the spellcaster misses the initial Attack, the Spell Slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.
Spell properties
- Damage: 2d6 Thunder plus normal weapon damage
- Damage type: Thunder
- Range: Weapon range
- Save: STR save
- Attack type: Melee weapon Attack Roll
- Conditions applied: Pushed back 3m and knocked Prone on a failed save.
- Cost: Action + Bonus Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Thunderous Smite at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Thunderous Smite
- Paladin at Class level 2
- College of Lore (Bard) at Class level 6 via Magical Secrets
- Bard at Class level 10 via Magical Secrets
- Source item: Cacophony
Your weapon rings with thunder as you strike, pushing your target 3m away and possibly knocking it Prone. If the spellcaster misses the initial Attack, the Spell Slot and Bonus Action are not consumed.
When to cast Thunderous Smite
The push and Prone are the value, not the 2d6. Smite an enemy on a ledge and the 3m shove sends it off the edge, and a Prone target is easy pickings for the rest of your party. It is a control smite dressed up as a damage one.
It costs no slot on a miss, so there is no downside to leading with it, and the Strength save to resist the knockback is one many enemies fail. Line up a cliff or a chasm and this Level 1 slot can end a dangerous enemy outright.
Range: 18m (60ft)
Save: CON save 
AoE: 5m (17ft) cube 
