by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Transmutation spell available to Bards and Druids. Pick a creature wearing or holding metal and cook it: 2d8 Fire damage with no save on the first cast, then a Bonus Action every turn to do it again. Fail the Constitution save and the target drops its weapon or fights at Disadvantage. It is one of the best single-target spells at this level.
Spell description: Cause a metal weapon or armour to glow red-hot and force the creature touching it to let go or receive Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. If the creature is only wearing metal armour, it always receives Disadvantage. If the creature is still touching the metal, you can use a Bonus Action on subsequent turns to deal another 2d8 Fire damage and force the creature to let go or receive Disadvantage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: CON save
- Damage: 2d8 Fire
- Conditions applied: Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. Can be reapplied each turn as a Bonus Action.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d8 Fire damage for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Heat Metal
- Bard, Druid at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Heat Metal
Cause a metal weapon or armour to glow red-hot and force the creature touching it to let go or receive Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. If the creature is only wearing metal armour, it always receives Disadvantage. If the creature is still touching the metal, you can use a Bonus Action on subsequent turns to deal another 2d8 Fire damage and force the creature to let go or receive Disadvantage.
Duration: 10 turns
- Takes 2d8 Fire damage each time the caster re-heats the metal (Bonus Action).
- On a failed Constitution save, the creature drops the held item or has
Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks.
When to cast Heat Metal
The first hit does not get a save. That alone is unusual. Then every turn afterwards you re-heat it for a Bonus Action, another 2d8, and the target either drops what it is holding or takes Disadvantage on everything it does while it burns. Over ten turns that is a frankly rude amount of damage from one slot.
It targets whoever has the most metal on them, which is exactly who you want it on: the armoured knight, the greatsword brute, anything in plate. A heated enemy in full armour is disarmed, Disadvantaged, and burning, and it cannot take the armour off.
It is Concentration, it needs a metal target, and it does nothing to a wolf, an ooze, or a naked cultist. Read the enemy before you cast. Against the right target it wins the fight on its own.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Blows a 12m line of wind out from you, shoving anything that fails a Strength save 5m backwards and knocking it Off Balance. It deals no damage whatsoever. It does not need to.
Spell description: Summon a strong wind that clears all clouds. Any creatures caught in the gale who fail a Strength Saving Throw will be pushed back 5m (17ft) and be thrown Off Balance.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Area: 12m (40ft) line
- Duration: 1 turn
- Save: STR save
- Conditions applied: Off Balance. Pushes creatures back 5m (17ft) and clears cloud surfaces.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Gust of Wind at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Gust of Wind
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 3
Source items: Amulet of Windrider, Bottled Breath, Scroll of Gust of Wind
Summon a strong wind that clears all clouds. Any creatures caught in the gale who fail a Strength Saving Throw will be pushed back 5m (17ft) and be thrown Off Balance.
When to cast Gust of Wind
The push is the spell. This game is nothing but ledges, chasms, and conveniently placed cliff edges, and 5m of shove off one of them does more damage than any Level 2 Evocation ever will. Line it up along a ridge and it pays for itself several times over.
It also blows cloud surfaces away, which is the job nobody remembers it has. Fog Cloud, Stinking Cloud, Cloudkill, Hunger of Hadar, all gone where the wind passes. Including the one an enemy caster just dropped on your party.
The save is Strength, so it lands beautifully on casters and rogues and does absolutely nothing to an ogre. Aim accordingly.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Conjuration spell available to Druids and Wizards. A rolling ball of fire that burns everything near it for 2d6 Fire damage, sheds bright light, and moves for a Bonus Action. It is a persistent damage source that costs you almost nothing to keep running.
Spell description: Summon a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby enemies and objects. It also sheds bright light in a 6m radius, and dim light for an additional 6m. On a successful save, enemy creatures still take half damage.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: DEX save
- Damage: 2d6 Fire
- Conditions applied: Summons a flaming sphere that damages nearby enemies and objects. The sphere can be moved and emits bright light.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d6 Fire damage for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Flaming Sphere
- Druid, Wizard at Class level 3
Source item: Scroll of Flaming Sphere
Summon a flaming sphere that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby enemies and objects. It also sheds bright light in a 6m radius, and dim light for an additional 6m. On a successful save, enemy creatures still take half damage.
Duration: 10 turns
A rolling sphere of fire that deals 2d6 Fire damage to nearby creatures and objects (Dexterity save for half). Moves as a Bonus Action and sheds bright light.
When to cast Flaming Sphere
The Bonus Action is the value. Once the sphere is out, rolling it into an enemy costs a Bonus Action, not your Action, so every turn for ten turns you get a free 2d6 while your Action does something else entirely. Over a long fight that quietly out-damages a Fireball, out of a Level 2 slot.
It also solves a problem Druids and Wizards genuinely have, which is having nothing to do with their Bonus Action. Flaming Sphere turns a dead resource into damage.
Use it to chase. The sphere moves independently, so it can roll after a runner, park itself on a downed caster, or block a corridor, and anything that walks past gets burned. It lights the area too, which matters more than you would expect in the Underdark and Act 2.
The usual Fire caveats apply. It will ignite oil, grease, and webs, including your own, and it does nothing to Fire-resistant enemies. It is also Concentration, so it competes with Spike Growth and Heat Metal for a Druid’s one slot.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Evocation spell available to Paladins. Your next weapon hit deals an extra 2d6 Radiant damage, and the target is lit up so it cannot turn Invisible for ten turns. It is the Smite you take for the utility rather than the number.
Spell description: Smite the target and possibly mark it with light, preventing it from turning Invisible.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: CON save
- Attack: Attack roll
- Damage: 2d6 Radiant
- Conditions applied: Target cannot turn Invisible.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Damage increases by 1d6 Radiant for each spell slot level above the 2nd.
How to obtain Branding Smite
Smite the target and possibly mark it with light, preventing it from turning Invisible.
Duration: 10 turns
- The creature sheds dim light and cannot become Invisible.
- Existing Invisibility is removed.
When to cast Branding Smite
It is a worse Divine Smite for damage, and you already have Divine Smite. Same slot, 2d6 instead of 2d8, and this one is Concentration. If all you want is a bigger hit, use the button you already own.
What it does that Divine Smite cannot is the mark. A branded creature cannot go Invisible, which matters against precisely the enemies who cheat that way: the Act 2 shadows, the assassins in Act 3, anything that vanishes and reappears behind your Wizard. Brand it and it stays where you can hit it.
Because it is Concentration and lingers, it also plays nicely with the Paladin’s habit of not concentrating on anything at all. Cast it on the approach, take the first hit with the bonus damage, and the mark keeps working while your slots go on the Smites that actually hurt.
by Claude Helper | Sep 8, 2026 | Spells
Level 2 Enchantment spell available to Bards and Warlocks. Shrinks a creature’s peripheral vision and keeps it looking at you. No scroll, no source item, no upcast benefit. It is a stealth tool wearing a combat spell’s clothes, and almost nobody uses it.
Spell description: Reduce a creature’s peripheral vision and make it look at you.
Spell properties
- Range: 6m (20 ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Enthralled. Peripheral vision is reduced and the creature keeps looking at the caster.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Enthrall at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Enthrall
- Bard, Warlock at Class level 3
Reduce a creature’s peripheral vision and make it look at you.
Duration: 10 turns
- The creature’s peripheral vision is reduced.
- It keeps looking at the caster.
- Disadvantage on Perception Checks.
When to cast Enthrall
This is for the party sneaking past a guard, not the party fighting one. His vision cone shrinks and locks onto your caster, and everyone else strolls round the back of him and into the room he is standing in front of.
It pairs perfectly with a Bard who is already stood there talking. Enthrall the guard, and your Rogue picks the lock six metres behind him while he gazes politely at your face.
In combat it does close to nothing and is not worth a Level 2 slot. On a run where you are avoiding fights rather than winning them its stock rises sharply, and nothing else at this level manipulates enemy vision this directly.
Range: 18m (60ft)
Save: CON save
AoE: 12m (40ft) Line 
