Slow

Slow

Level 3 Transmutation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. Slows up to six enemies: halved movement, minus 2 Armour Class, no Reactions, and only one Action or Bonus Action a turn rather than both. It is Haste in reverse, aimed at the whole enemy team.

Spell description: Alter time around up to 6 enemies to Slow them. They won’t get far, they can’t do much, and they’re easier to hit.

Spell properties

  • Range: 18m (60ft)
  • Area: Up to 6 targets
  • Duration: 10 turns
  • Concentration spell
  • Save: WIS save
  • Conditions applied: Slowed
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Slow at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Slow

  • Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 5

Source item: Scroll of Slow

SLOW

Level 3 Transmutation Spell

Alter time around up to 6 enemies to Slow them. They won’t get far, they can’t do much, and they’re easier to hit.

On save: The creature is not Slowed.

Range: 18m (60ft) Save: WIS save AoE: Up to 6 targets Duration: 10 turns

CONDITION: SLOWED

Duration: 10 turns

Condition: Slowed

WIS Save
  • Movement Speed is halved.
  • The creature suffers a penalty to Armour Class and Dexterity Saving Throws.
  • It cannot take Reactions.
  • It can take an Action or a Bonus Action on its turn, but not both.

When to cast Slow

Six targets is the number that matters. Most Level 3 control spells handle one enemy. This one halves the effectiveness of an entire enemy party for ten turns, and unlike Hypnotic Pattern it does not break when you hit them.

That last point is the argument for taking it over Hypnotic Pattern. Slow lets your party attack freely. Hypnotic Pattern punishes them for it. If your party is full of people who like hitting things, Slow is the one that actually gets used.

Losing Reactions is quietly enormous. No opportunity attacks means your Rogue walks wherever they like, and enemy Counterspells stop happening.

It is a Wisdom save and it is Concentration, so expect a couple to resist and protect the caster afterwards. Even landing it on three of six is usually a fight-winning turn.

Sleet Storm

Sleet Storm

Level 3 Conjuration spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Freezes a 9m area into ice, knocks people over, puts out fires, and breaks enemy Concentration. It does no damage whatsoever and it is one of the most disruptive spells in the game.

Spell description: Call forth a storm that douses fire, creates an Ice surface, and forces spellcasters to succeed at a Concentration Saving Throw in order to maintain Concentration.

Spell properties

  • Range: 18m (60ft)
  • Area: 9m (30ft) radius
  • Duration: 10 turns
  • Concentration spell
  • Save: CON save
  • Conditions applied: Surface: Ice; Prone
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Sleet Storm at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Sleet Storm

  • Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 5

Source item: Scroll of Sleet Storm

SLEET STORM

Level 3 Conjuration Spell

Call forth a storm that douses fire, creates an Ice surface, and forces spellcasters to succeed at a Concentration Saving Throw in order to maintain Concentration.

Range: 18m (60ft) Save: CON save AoE: 9m (30ft) Radius Duration: 10 turns

SURFACE: ICE

Duration: 10 turns
AoE: 9m (30ft) Radius
Creatures moving across the ice must succeed on a Saving Throw or fall Prone. Fire surfaces in the area are extinguished.

Condition: Prone

  • The creature is knocked to the ground and must spend movement to stand up.
  • Its Attack Rolls have Disadvantage.
  • Melee Attack Rolls against it have Advantage.

When to cast Sleet Storm

The Concentration break is the headline. Every enemy caster in the area has to roll to keep whatever they are holding, every turn, and most of them will fail eventually. Against an encounter built around an enemy Wizard’s control spell, this dismantles the whole plan.

Then the ice. Anything crossing it falls over, and a Prone enemy is attacked at Advantage and has to waste movement standing up, at which point it can fall over again. Melee enemies trying to reach you across a Sleet Storm frequently never arrive.

It also puts out fire, which is more useful than it sounds when someone has just filled the room with burning oil, and it is a hard counter to a Wall of Fire or a Fireball follow-up.

It is Concentration on your side too, and the ice does not care whose feet are on it. Do not lay it where your own melee has to cross, and be aware you are giving up Haste or Hypnotic Pattern to hold it.

Revivify

Revivify

Level 3 Necromancy spell available to Clerics and Paladins. Brings a dead companion back at 1 Hit Point, mid-combat, at 9m range. Scrolls do the same thing and Withers does it for 200 gold, but having it prepared means you never have to walk back to camp.

Spell description: Revive a companion. They return to life with 1 hit point.

Spell properties

  • Range: 9m (30ft)
  • Conditions applied: The target returns to life with 1 Hit Point.
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Revivify at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Revivify

  • Cleric, Paladin at Class level 5
  • Oath of Devotion (Paladin) and Life Domain (Cleric) also gain it at Class level 5

Source items: The Reviving Hands, Scroll of Revivify

REVIVIFY

Level 3 Necromancy Spell

Revive a companion. They return to life with 1 hit point.

Range: 9m (30ft)

When to cast Revivify

Cast it the turn someone actually dies, not when they are downed. Downed characters get up from any heal. Dead ones need this, a scroll, or a trip to Withers. Being able to do it from 9m away in the middle of a fight is what the slot buys you.

They come back with 1 Hit Point, so follow it with a Healing Word or move them out of the way. Reviving someone next to the thing that killed them is a good way to pay for two revives.

Scrolls of Revivify are common and anyone can use them, so most parties do not prepare this. On a Cleric or Paladin with slots to spare it is worth having anyway, because the scroll costs an Action too and it is one fewer thing to keep stocked.

Remove Curse

Remove Curse

Level 3 Abjuration spell available to Clerics, Warlocks, and Wizards. Strips every Curse and Hex from a creature or an object. It does nothing at all until the moment it does everything, which is a fair description of most Abjuration.

Spell description: Touch a creature or object to remove all Curses and Hexes affecting it.

Spell properties

  • Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
  • Conditions applied: Removes all Curses and Hexes
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Remove Curse at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Remove Curse

  • Cleric, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 5

Source item: Scroll of Remove Curse

REMOVE CURSE

Level 3 Abjuration Spell

Touch a creature or object to remove all Curses and Hexes affecting it.

Range: Melee (1.5m)

When to cast Remove Curse

It strips Hex, which is the reason to have it in a fight. An enemy Warlock hexing your Fighter is a real problem, and this deletes it in one Action rather than waiting it out.

Outside combat it is the answer to cursed items, and the game is full of them. There are weapons and pieces of armour that are genuinely excellent apart from the curse attached, and Remove Curse quietly turns them into free upgrades.

It does not cure everything. It removes Curses and Hexes, not diseases, not poison, not conditions. Lesser Restoration is a different spell for a different problem, and confusing the two at the wrong moment is expensive.

It is not Concentration and it does not need to be prepared in advance if you have the scroll, which is usually the sensible way to carry it. Very few parties want to give up a prepared slot for it every day.

Plant Growth

Plant Growth

Level 3 Transmutation spell available to Bards, Druids, and Rangers. Weeds erupt across a 6m area and cut movement to a quarter. No damage, no save, not Concentration. It is a wall that nothing can walk through in a reasonable amount of time.

Spell description: Make weeds burst from the ground and smother the area. Creatures moving through the weeds have their Movement Speed quartered.

Spell properties

  • Range: 18m (60ft)
  • Area: 6m (20ft) radius
  • Duration: 10 turns
  • Conditions applied: Area: Plant Growth
  • Cost: Action + Spell Slot
  • Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Plant Growth at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Plant Growth

  • Bard, Druid at Class level 5
  • Ranger at Class level 9

Source item: Armour of Landfall

PLANT GROWTH

Level 3 Transmutation Spell

Make weeds burst from the ground and smother the area. Creatures moving through the weeds have their Movement Speed quartered.

Range: 18m (60ft) AoE: 6m (20ft) Radius Duration: 10 turns

AREA: PLANT GROWTH

Duration: 10 turns
AoE: 6m (20ft) Radius
Creatures moving through the area have their Movement Speed quartered. There is no Saving Throw.

When to cast Plant Growth

Quartered movement with no save is a hard stop. An enemy that normally crosses the battlefield in one turn now needs four, and there is nothing they can roll to avoid it. For a ranged party, that is four free turns of shooting.

It is not Concentration, which is what separates it from Spike Growth and from every other control spell your Druid is holding. Cast it, keep concentrating on Call Lightning, and let the weeds do their job for free.

Layer it over Spike Growth. They stack. Anything crossing takes the spikes’ damage and is stuck in the field four times as long, which means four times the ticks. It is one of the nastiest combinations available to a Druid.

It does no damage at all, so it is a setup spell, not a solution. Pair it with something that punishes standing still, or with a party that can shoot.