by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 3 Necromancy spell available to Bards, Clerics, and Wizards. Touch a creature and pick your curse: cripple an ability, cripple its attacks, add damage to everything you throw at it, or simply take its turns away. Nine variants, one slot, and the last one is the reason you take it.
Spell description: Curse a creature with your touch. The curse either bestows Disadvantage on Ability Checks and Saving Throws, Disadvantage on Attack Rolls, lets you deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of its Actions.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Bestow Curse (varies by variant)
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Upcasting increases the duration: 20 turns at Level 4, 50 turns at Level 5, and 100 turns at Level 6. The effect itself does not change.
How to obtain Bestow Curse
- Bard, Cleric, Wizard at Class level 5
Source item: Scroll of Bestow Curse
Curse a creature with your touch. The curse either bestows Disadvantage on Ability Checks and Saving Throws, Disadvantage on Attack Rolls, lets you deal additional damage to the target, or robs it of its Actions.
Bestow Curse spell variants
You choose the curse when you cast. All nine cost the same slot and all nine last the same ten turns, so the only question is what you want the target to stop doing.
1. Bestow Curse: Strength
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Strength Ability Checks and Strength Saving Throws.
2. Bestow Curse: Dexterity
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Dexterity Ability Checks and Dexterity Saving Throws.
3. Bestow Curse: Constitution
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Constitution Ability Checks and Constitution Saving Throws.
4. Bestow Curse: Intelligence
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Intelligence Ability Checks and Intelligence Saving Throws.
5. Bestow Curse: Wisdom
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Wisdom Ability Checks and Wisdom Saving Throws.
6. Bestow Curse: Charisma
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Charisma Ability Checks and Charisma Saving Throws.
7. Bestow Curse: Attack Rolls
The cursed creature has Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against you.
8. Bestow Curse: Additional Damage
You deal an additional 1d8 Necrotic damage to the cursed creature with every attack.
9. Bestow Curse: Lose Action
At the start of each of its turns, the cursed creature has a chance to lose its Action entirely.
When to cast Bestow Curse
Take the Lose Action variant and stop reading. A boss that spends half its turns doing nothing is a boss that is not killing anyone, and there is no other Level 3 spell that shuts a single enemy down this hard for this long.
The additional damage variant is the one to pick when the target is going to die anyway and you just want it dead faster. 1d8 Necrotic on every attack from every source adds up over ten turns, especially with a party that all attacks twice.
The ability variants look weak and mostly are, with one exception: cursing a caster’s spellcasting ability wrecks their save DCs and their Concentration checks. Against an enemy Wizard that is a fight-ender.
The problem is the range. It is Touch, which means your Wizard has to walk into melee with the thing he is trying to disable, which is not what Wizards are for. Cast it from a Cleric who is already there, or accept the risk and bring Misty Step.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 3 Necromancy spell available to Clerics and Wizards. Raises a corpse as an undead servant that fights for you until it dies or you Long Rest. It costs one slot, once, out of combat, and then you have a permanent extra body. That is a very good deal.
Spell description: Animate a corpse to create an undead servant while not in combat.
Spell properties
- Range: 3m (10ft)
- Duration: Until Long Rest or destroyed
- Conditions applied: Summons an undead servant
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
- Cannot be cast in combat
Spell upcasting
At Level 4, raise up to 3 Skeletons or Zombies instead of 1. At Level 5, raise a Ghoul or Flying Ghoul. At Level 6, raise up to 3 Ghouls or Flying Ghouls instead of 1.
How to obtain Animate Dead
- Cleric, Wizard at Class level 5
Source items: Circle of Bones, Scroll of Animate Dead
Animate a corpse to create an undead servant while not in combat.
Animate Dead comes in four forms depending on the spell slot you spend. A Level 3 slot raises a Zombie or a Skeleton, a Level 5 slot raises a Ghoul or a Flying Ghoul, and casting at Level 4 or Level 6 raises three of the lower-tier undead instead of one. Here is what each servant brings to the fight.
1. Animate Dead: Zombie
This variation raises a Zombie, a slow but stubborn melee bruiser. Its Slam hits hard and infects the target with Crawling Gnaw, and if a creature dies while gnawed it rises as a Newborn Zombie on your side. Undead Fortitude also lets the Zombie get back up with 1 hit point unless the killing blow was a critical hit or Radiant damage, so it soaks far more punishment than its hit points suggest.
Create a zombie that specialises in melee combat.
STR
16
+3
DEX
6
-2
CON
16
+3
INT
3
-4
WIS
6
-2
CHA
5
-3
Features & Abilities
Hit a target with bare fists for 2d6 + Strength modifier Bludgeoning damage and infect it with Crawling Gnaw.
2. Animate Dead: Skeleton
This variation raises a Skeleton that hangs back and shoots. It carries a makeshift shortbow that deals extra Necrotic damage, so it is the pick when you want a summon that stays out of melee and chips away from range. It is fragile, vulnerable to Bludgeoning damage and immune to Poison, so keep it behind your front line.
Create a skeleton that specialises in ranged combat.
STR
10
+0
DEX
16
+3
CON
8
-1
INT
6
-2
WIS
8
-1
CHA
5
-3
Features & Abilities
Make a ranged attack with the makeshift bow, dealing weapon damage plus extra Necrotic damage.
3. Animate Dead: Ghoul
Cast with a Level 5 slot, the spell raises a Ghoul instead. It is a far sturdier melee summon with 35 hit points and 17 Armour Class, and its Claws can Paralyse on a hit, although the save DC is only 5 so do not count on it. Devour is the real prize: against a knocked down, prone or sleeping target it deals heavy Slashing damage and heals the Ghoul for the same amount.
Create a ghoul that specialises in melee combat.
STR
16
+3
DEX
17
+3
CON
10
+0
INT
11
+0
WIS
10
+0
CHA
8
-1
Features & Abilities
Lash out with deadly claws for 3d6 + Strength modifier Slashing damage and possibly Paralyse the target (Constitution save, DC 5).
Bite a knocked down, prone or sleeping target for 3d10 + Strength modifier Slashing damage and heal that many hit points.
4. Animate Dead: Flying Ghoul
The Flying Ghoul trades a little toughness for mobility. It has 30 hit points and 15 Armour Class, but it can Fly, which lets it reach ledges, cross hazards and get to the backline without eating opportunity attacks. Its Claws paralyse on a DC 10 Constitution save, a clear step up from the grounded Ghoul, and it keeps Devour for finishing off downed enemies.
Create a Flying Ghoul that specialises in melee combat.
STR
16
+3
DEX
17
+3
CON
10
+0
INT
11
+0
WIS
10
+0
CHA
8
-1
Features & Abilities
Lash out with deadly claws for 3d6 + Strength modifier Slashing damage and possibly Paralyse the target (Constitution save, DC 10).
Bite a knocked down, prone or sleeping target for 3d10 + Strength modifier Slashing damage and heal that many hit points.
Fly to a target position, spending half as much movement as walking.
When to cast Animate Dead
Cast it before the fight, because you cannot cast it during one. Walk over a corpse, spend the slot, and go into the next encounter with an extra body that soaks hits nobody has to heal.
The upcast is where it gets silly. A Level 6 slot raises three Ghouls at once, and Ghouls paralyse. Three of them do a lot more than any single Level 6 spell you were considering.
The undead persist until they die or you Long Rest, which makes this the most slot-efficient thing a Necromancy Wizard does. Spend your leftover slots on it at the end of the day and start tomorrow with an army.
The catch is the corpse. You need one, it has to be intact, and the game will not always give you a body where you want one. Keep an eye out for a convenient graveyard before a hard fight.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 3 Abjuration spell available to Clerics. Every heal your party receives rolls maximum, and everyone gets Advantage on Wisdom and Death Saving Throws. It is the spell that turns your Cleric from a healer into a very annoying problem.
Spell description: Your allies will regain the maximum Hit Points possible when healed. They also gain Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws and Death Saving Throws.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Area: 9m (30ft) radius
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Beacon of Hope
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Beacon of Hope at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Beacon of Hope
Source item: Till Death Do Us Part
When to cast Beacon of Hope
Maximum healing is a bigger number than it sounds. Every Healing Word, every potion, every Cure Wounds, every Lay on Hands, all rolling top of the dice. A Cleric running Beacon of Hope roughly doubles the output of your entire party’s healing for ten turns.
It is at its best in the fights that grind: the ones with waves, the ones where you are being chipped down rather than deleted. In a fight that ends in three turns it does almost nothing, so do not lead with it.
Advantage on Wisdom saves is quietly the second best thing here. Most of the nastiest crowd control in the game, Hold Person, Fear, Hypnotic Pattern, Dominate, is a Wisdom save, and Advantage on all of it for the whole party is a real defensive buff.
It is Concentration, which means it is competing with Spirit Guardians for the same slot in your Cleric’s head. Spirit Guardians usually wins. Beacon of Hope is what you cast when the fight is about surviving rather than winning.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Abjuration spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. It sets an unarmoured caster’s Armour Class to 13 plus Dexterity until Long Rest. Near-mandatory on a robe-wearer.
Spell description: Surround an unarmoured creature in a protective magical force. Its Armour Class increases to 13 + its Dexterity modifier.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Duration: Until Long Rest
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Mage Armour at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Mage Armour
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 1
- Arcane Trickster (Rogue) and Eldritch Knight (Fighter) at Class level 3
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Sorcerer, Magic Initiate: Wizard
- Source item: Moon Devotion Robe
- Warlocks can gain a permanent version through the Armour of Shadows Invocation
Surround an unarmoured creature in a protective magical force. Its Armour Class increases to 13 + its Dexterity modifier.
When to cast Mage Armour
Cast it the moment you stand up from a Long Rest and never think about it again. It sets an unarmoured caster’s Armour Class to 13 plus Dexterity, which is a big jump for a robe-wearer and lasts the whole day for a single slot.
It does nothing for anyone already wearing armour, so it is strictly a caster buff. On a Wizard or Sorcerer it is close to mandatory; on a Warlock, take the Armour of Shadows Invocation instead and save the slot entirely.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 1 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Paladins. It makes a creature immune to Frightened and feeds it 5 temporary Hit Points every turn. A rolling shield on your front-liner.
Spell description: Bolster yourself or an ally with valour and health. The target can no longer be Frightened and gains 5 temporary Hit Points each turn.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee (1.5m)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Immune to Frightened. Gains 5 temporary Hit Points each turn.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Heroism at a higher level affects an additional target for each spell slot level above the 1st.
How to obtain Heroism
- Bard at Class level 1
- Paladin at Class level 2
- Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Bard
- Source item: Absolute’s Warboard
Bolster yourself or an ally with valour and health. The target can no longer be Frightened and gains 5 temporary Hit Points each turn.
When to cast Heroism
The 5 temporary Hit Points a turn stack up fast and refresh every round, so on a front-line target Heroism is a rolling shield that soaks a surprising amount of damage over ten turns. Put it on whoever is going to be hit the most.
Frightened immunity is the situational half: against the fear-heavy encounters in Act 2 it is a hard counter. It is Concentration, though, so you are trading it against your other control, and one solid hit on the caster drops it.
Range: Melee (1.5m)
Save: WIS save
Duration: 10 turns
AoE: 9m (30ft) Radius 
Advantage on Wisdom Saving Throws.
