Otto’s Irresistible Dance

Level 6 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Wizards. There is no save when you cast it. The target just starts dancing, loses its next turn, and only gets to try a Wisdom save at the start of each turn after that. It is the most reliable single-target lockdown in the game.

Spell description: Cause a creature to start dancing, making it unable to take Actions or Move. Its attackers have Advantage on Attack Rolls. The dancer has Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Dexterity Saving Throws.

Spell properties

• Range: 9m (30ft)
• Duration: 10 turns
• Concentration spell
• Save: WIS save (no save on the initial cast)
• Conditions applied: Otto’s Irresistible Dance. The creature cannot take Actions or Move. Attacks against it have Advantage; its own attacks and Dexterity saves have Disadvantage.
• Cost: Action + Spell Slot
• Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Otto’s Irresistible Dance at higher levels provides no additional benefits.

How to obtain Otto’s Irresistible Dance

• Bard, Wizard at Class level 11

Source item: Scroll of Otto’s Irresistible Dance

When to cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance

Cast it on the enemy who must not get a turn. Bosses, legendary casters, the one creature with a game-ending ability. Every other control spell gives them a save first. This one takes their next turn away with no roll at all, and Counterspell is about the only thing that stops it.

While it lasts, the dancer cannot move or take Actions, everyone hits it with Advantage, and it has Disadvantage on Dexterity saves, so your Fireball and your Disintegrate are very likely to land in full. Point everything at it.

It repeats the save at the start of its turns, and it is a Wisdom save, so against a high-Wisdom boss you might only get the one guaranteed turn. That one turn is still often the whole fight.

It is Concentration and 9m range, so the caster has to be fairly close. Sorcerers cannot learn it, which is one of the better arguments for a Bard or a Wizard in an Act Three party.