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.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Transmutation spell available to Bards, Clerics, Druids, and Sorcerers. Pick an ability and touch an ally: they get Advantage on every Ability Check with it until a Long Rest. Six variants, one of which is the best conversation buff in the game.
Spell description: Bestow a magical enhancement upon an ally. They gain Advantage on Ability Checks with a chosen Ability.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Target gains Advantage on Ability Checks with a chosen Ability.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Enhance Ability at a higher level affects one additional creature for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Enhance Ability
- Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Enhance Ability
Bestow a magical enhancement upon an ally. They gain Advantage on Ability Checks with a chosen Ability.
Enhance Ability spell variants
You pick the ability when you cast it. All six last until a Long Rest and all six are Concentration.
1. Enhance Ability: Bear’s Endurance
The target gains Advantage on Constitution Checks. The target also gains 2d6 temporary Hit Points.
2. Enhance Ability: Bull’s Strength
The target gains Advantage on Strength Checks. The target’s carrying capacity is doubled.
3. Enhance Ability: Cat’s Grace
The target gains Advantage on Dexterity Checks. The target does not take damage from falling 6m or less.
4. Enhance Ability: Eagle’s Splendour
The target gains Advantage on Charisma Checks.
5. Enhance Ability: Fox’s Cunning
The target gains Advantage on Intelligence Checks.
6. Enhance Ability: Owl’s Wisdom
The target gains Advantage on Wisdom Checks.
When to cast Enhance Ability
Eagle’s Splendour is the one you will cast most. Advantage on every Charisma check for the whole day means Advantage on every Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation roll in every conversation until you sleep. Put it on whoever talks for the party before you walk into anywhere important.
Cat’s Grace is the sneaky one: Advantage on Stealth for the day, plus no damage from short falls. Combine it with Pass Without Trace on a Ranger and you have a character who does not fail Stealth checks anymore.
It is Concentration, so a Cleric running Eagle’s Splendour through town drops it the moment a fight starts, and that is fine. It is a spell for the time between fights, not the fights themselves.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Transmutation spell available to Druids, Rangers, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Touch a creature and it can see in the dark out to 12m until a Long Rest. It is a utility spell for a problem the game mostly solves for you by handing out Darkvision to half the playable races.
Spell description: Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Duration: Long Rest
- Conditions applied: Can see in the dark out to a range of 12m.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Darkvision at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Darkvision
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3
- Ranger at Class level 5
Source items: Sunwalker’s Gift, Scroll of Darkvision, Elixir
Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m.
Duration: Until Long Rest
- The creature can see in the dark out to 12m.
- Does not allow sight through magical darkness.
When to cast Darkvision
If you have a Human, a Halfling, or a Dragonborn in the party, they cannot see in the dark, and darkness in this game means Disadvantage on attacks and a walk into every trap you failed to spot. Darkvision fixes that for one slot per character per day.
The places it matters are the Underdark and the Shadow-Cursed Lands, where the light is bad for hours at a time. Cast it on the one party member who needs it before you go in and stop thinking about it.
It does nothing against magical Darkness, the spell, which is a different thing entirely. And a torch in the off-hand does most of the same job for free, so this is a spell of last resort rather than a daily ritual.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. Fills a 5m sphere with magical darkness. Nobody shoots into it, nobody shoots out of it, and everything inside is effectively Blinded. The most double-edged spell at this level, and in the right build it is close to broken.
Spell description: Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of the darkness.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 5m (16ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Heavily Obscured. Blinded.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Darkness at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Darkness
- Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Darkness
Create a cloud of magical darkness that Heavily Obscures and Blinds creatures within. Creatures cannot make ranged attacks into or out of the darkness.
When to cast Darkness
Cast this without thinking and you have just blinded your own party. Congratulations. Cast it with Devil’s Sight and you are a war crime. The difference is one Warlock Invocation.
Here is the trick. Devil’s Sight lets you see through your own Darkness. Nobody else can. So you stand in a black sphere hitting everything with Advantage, while they swing at you with Disadvantage, assuming they can find you at all. Eldritch Blast from inside a Darkness cloud is the closest thing a Level 3 Warlock has to cheating.
No Devil’s Sight? Use it as a wall. Drop it on the enemy archers and they cannot shoot. Drop it on yourself and retreat and nothing can target you. Still good, just less fun.
Two gotchas. Ordinary Darkvision does not work. This is magical darkness, so your Drow is just as blind as everyone else, sorry. And it is Concentration, so one solid hit to your caster and the whole plan evaporates.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Conjuration spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. A small cube full of whirling blades that deals 4d4 Slashing damage to anything inside, with no Saving Throw and no Attack Roll. If a creature is in the cloud, it takes the damage. That is the entire pitch, and it is enough.
Spell description: Conjure a cloud of spinning daggers that attack anyone inside.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 2m (7ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Damage: 4d4 Slashing
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Damage increases by 2d4 Slashing for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Cloud of Daggers
- Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Cloud of Daggers
Conjure a cloud of spinning daggers that attack anyone inside.
Duration: 10 turns
AoE: 2m (7ft) Cube
Creatures inside the cloud take 4d4 Slashing damage at the start of their turn. No Saving Throw, no Attack Roll.
When to cast Cloud of Daggers
The no-save clause is why this spell is worth knowing. Against the enemy with monstrous Constitution or Dexterity, the one who shrugs off your Fireball and laughs at your Shatter, Cloud of Daggers just does its damage. There is nothing to roll. It is good against precisely the bosses everything else in your book is bad against.
The area is tiny, though, and the daggers do not follow. A boss who takes one tick and steps out has cost you a Level 2 slot for 4d4. To get real value the target has to be unable to leave, so pair it with control. Cloud of Daggers on a Held, Enwebbed, or Ensnared enemy is a guaranteed 4d4 per turn for as long as the control holds.
Failing that, drop it on a chokepoint the AI has decided it must walk through. It cannot path around a doorway, and it will take the damage rather than stand still.
Both this and your control spell are Concentration, so one caster cannot hold both. This is a two-caster combo. Plan it that way or do not plan it at all.
Range: 9m (30ft)
Save: CON save
Disadvantage and attacks against it have 
Advantage.
