Calm Emotions

Level 2 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Clerics. Creates a 6m zone where humanoids cannot be Charmed, Frightened, or Enraged. It is a hard counter to a very specific set of problems, and completely useless the rest of the time.

Spell description: Suppress strong emotions in an area, making all humanoids immune to being Charmed, Frightened or becoming Enraged.

Spell properties

• Range: 18m (60ft)
• Area: 6m (20ft)
• Duration: 10 turns
• Concentration spell
• Conditions applied: Humanoids cannot be Charmed, Frightened, or become Enraged.
• Cost: Action + Spell Slot
• Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Calm Emotions at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Calm Emotions

• Bard, Cleric at Class level 3

Source item: Scroll of Calm Emotions

When to cast Calm Emotions

Frightened is a miserable condition to have inflicted on your party. Disadvantage on everything, and you cannot move toward the thing that scared you. There are several encounters in Act 2 built specifically around fear, and they are exactly as fun as they sound.

Drop Calm Emotions on your party and none of that lands. It is not a save, it is immunity. That is a very different thing, and against a boss whose main trick is mass Fear it turns the whole fight around.

Same story with Charmed. Enemy enchanters and certain nasty creatures will turn your Barbarian against you, and once he is loose in your back line it is over. Calm Emotions prevents it happening at all.

Two things to note. It only affects humanoids, and the area is small, so keep the party grouped. And it will also suppress your own Barbarian’s Rage, which is a hilarious way to lose a fight. Do not centre it on him.

This is a spell you prepare when you know what is coming. It sits unused for hours and then wins one fight outright.