by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Evocation spell available to Clerics. 5d6 Fire plus 5d6 Radiant in a 3m radius, Dexterity save for half. It is the Cleric’s Fireball: smaller area, same total dice, and half the damage is Radiant, which almost nothing resists.
Spell description: Make a pillar of divine fire roar down from the heavens like the wrath of affronted angels.
Spell properties
- Damage: 5d6 Fire + 5d6 Radiant
- Damage type: Fire, Radiant
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 3m (10ft) radius
- Save: DEX save (half damage on success)
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d6 Fire and 1d6 Radiant damage for each spell slot level above the 5th.
How to obtain Flame Strike
- Cleric at Class level 9
- Light Domain and War Domain Clerics get it as a Domain spell at Class level 9
- The Fiend Warlocks at Class level 9
Make a pillar of divine fire roar down from the heavens like the wrath of affronted angels.
On save: Targets still take half damage.
When to cast Flame Strike
Cast it when a group of enemies is bunched up and you need real damage from your Cleric. Ten dice is a lot at Level 9, and the Fire and Radiant split means fire-resistant enemies still eat half of it in full.
The two damage types are two separate hits, so anything Concentrating in the area has to make two Concentration saves. Dropping it on an enemy caster is a reliable way to break whatever they are holding.
The 3m radius is small, roughly half of Fireball’s footprint, so it is more of a precision strike than a room-clearer. The upside is you can drop it right next to your melee without catching them.
It does not need a line of sight path like Fireball does, just a target you can see, so it comes down through cover and over walls. Upcasting adds 2d6 per level, which is one of the better upcast rates on any damage spell.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Enchantment spell available to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Pick a humanoid, they fail a Wisdom save, and they spend ten turns fighting for you instead of against you. Taking the enemy’s best fighter and pointing it at the enemy is the biggest single swing you can make at this level.
Spell description: Dominate a nearby humanoid. Allies are unaffected. Every time the creature takes damage, it may repeat the Saving Throw against your domination.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Dominated. The humanoid follows you and fights your enemies for 10 turns. It repeats the save whenever it takes damage.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Dominate Person at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Dominate Person
- Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 9
- Trickery Domain and Knowledge Domain Clerics (Domain spell) and The Archfey and The Great Old One Warlocks at Class level 9
Source items: Nymph Cloak, Scroll of Dominate Person
Dominate a nearby humanoid. Allies are unaffected. Every time the creature takes damage, it may repeat the Saving Throw against your domination.
Duration: 10 turns
- The creature follows and fights alongside the caster.
- Every time it takes damage, it may break free with a successful Wisdom Saving Throw.
- It is not directly controllable like a summon.
When to cast Dominate Person
Cast it on the enemy who is doing the most damage. Not the boss with legendary resistance, the lieutenant with the big weapon. You remove their attacks from the enemy side and add them to yours, which is worth double what any damage spell would have done.
Humanoid only, which covers most of the named villains, every cultist, drow, gith, and Flaming Fist you will ever fight. Beasts need Dominate Beast, and the aberrations and undead are out.
The Dominated creature is not a summon. It fights on its own and picks its own targets, so it will sometimes do something daft. It still hits enemies, and that is the point.
Every time it takes damage it gets a new save, so tell your party to leave it alone. The enemy will happily hit it for you, and each of those hits is a chance for it to break free. It is Concentration as well, so keep the caster out of the scrum.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Abjuration spell available to Clerics. Ten turns where undead, fiends, fey, elementals, and celestials attack you with Disadvantage, plus a touch that clears Charm, Fear, and Possession from allies. It is a self-buff for one specific kind of fight.
Spell description: Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, and Undead have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against you. You can also break Enchantments that Charm, Frighten, or Possess allies.
Spell properties
- Range: Self
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Dispel Evil and Good. Otherworldly creatures have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against you, and you gain Break Enchantment to free Charmed, Frightened, or Possessed allies.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Dispel Evil and Good at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Dispel Evil and Good
Aberrations, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, and Undead have Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against you. You can also break Enchantments that Charm, Frighten, or Possess allies.
Duration: 10 turns
- Celestials, Elementals, Fey, Fiends, and Undead have
Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against you.
- Grants Break Enchantment: touch an ally to remove Charm, Fear, or Possession caused by an otherworldly creature.
- Despite the description, it currently does nothing against Aberrations.
When to cast Dispel Evil and Good
Cast it when the enemy roster is mostly undead or fiends and your Cleric is going to be in the middle of them. Act Two is full of undead, the House of Hope is full of devils, and Disadvantage on every attack against you is a real defensive layer for a frontline Cleric.
The Break Enchantment part is the emergency use. A Dominated or Frightened ally can be snapped out of it with a touch, which matters against things like the Fiend-style charm effects and the Possession in Act Three.
It is Concentration and it only protects the caster. If you would rather Concentrate on Spirit Guardians, which you usually would, this loses. It works best on a Cleric who does not have a better Concentration spell running.
The Aberration part of the description is not implemented, so it does nothing against mind flayers, intellect devourers, or anything from the colony. Do not plan around it for those.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Necromancy spell available to Clerics and Druids. A melee spell attack that poisons the target, and if they fail three Constitution saves before passing three, they catch a permanent disease of your choosing. It is slow, it is melee, and it is mostly not worth it.
Spell description: Poison a target and possibly afflict them with a disease of your choice. Once infected, the target rolls a Constitution Saving Throw each turn. On 3 successes it recovers; on 3 failures it contracts the chosen disease.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Attack: Melee spell attack
- Save: CON save (each turn, 3 successes to recover)
- Conditions applied: Contagion Poisoned. Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Checks. After 3 failed saves the target contracts the chosen disease permanently.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Contagion at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Contagion
- Cleric, Druid at Class level 9
- Circle of the Spores Druids (Circle spell), Circle of the Land Druids (Arctic, Forest, or Underdark), and Death Domain Clerics (Domain spell) at Class level 9
- Bard via Magical Secrets at Class level 10
Poison a target and possibly afflict them with a disease of your choice. Once infected, the target rolls a Constitution Saving Throw each turn. On 3 successes it recovers; on 3 failures it contracts the chosen disease.
Save: CON save each turn
- Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks.
- Each turn the creature rolls a Constitution Saving Throw. Three successes end the effect.
- Three failures replace it with the chosen disease, which lasts until cured with Lesser Restoration or similar.
Contagion spell variants
You pick the disease when you cast. Every variant starts as the same Contagion Poisoned effect and only becomes the disease after three failed saves, but the diseases are permanent until cured, and they are all nasty.
1. Contagion: Filth Fever
The target receives Disadvantage on Strength Ability Checks, Saving Throws, and Attack Rolls that use Strength.
2. Contagion: Flesh Rot
The target receives Disadvantage on Charisma Ability Checks, and is afflicted with Vulnerability to all damage.
3. Contagion: Slimy Doom
The target receives Disadvantage on Constitution Ability Checks and Saving Throws. Whenever they are hit, they get Stunned.
4. Contagion: Seizure
The target receives Disadvantage on Dexterity Ability Checks, Saving Throws, and Attack Rolls.
5. Contagion: Mindfire
The target receives Disadvantage on Intelligence Ability Checks and Saving Throws, and is Befuddled.
6. Contagion: Blinding Sickness
The target receives Disadvantage on Wisdom Ability Checks and Saving Throws, and is Blinded.
When to cast Contagion
The honest answer is: rarely. You need to hit with a melee spell attack, then wait for the target to fail three saves, and by the time the disease lands most fights are over. The Poisoned part is fine but a Level 5 slot buys much better things.
Where it earns a place is before a fight starts. Casting it on an NPC outside combat is not treated as hostile, so you can walk up, infect a boss, and let the saves tick while you talk. If the disease lands before initiative, you start the fight against something with Vulnerability to everything (Flesh Rot) or something that gets Stunned every time it is hit (Slimy Doom).
Those two are the picks. Flesh Rot doubles all your damage against the target and Slimy Doom turns every hit into a stun. The rest are Disadvantage on a stat, which is not worth a Level 5 slot.
Missing the attack roll counts as an attack and will turn NPCs hostile, and Mindfire makes the target permanently hostile to everyone, so keep it away from anyone you still need for a quest.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Conjuration spell available to Druids and Wizards. One slot after a Long Rest and you have an Elemental for the rest of the day, or a Myrmidon if you spend a Level 6 slot. The Myrmidons in particular are some of the strongest summons in the game.
Spell description: Bend the barrier between the Planes until they disgorge an elemental ally to follow and fight for you.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: Until Long Rest
- Conditions applied: Summons an Air, Earth, Fire, or Water Elemental until Long Rest. One instance per caster.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Cast with a Level 6 slot, it summons an Air, Earth, Fire, or Water Myrmidon instead.
How to obtain Conjure Elemental
- Druid, Wizard at Class level 9
- Circle of the Land Druids (Coast or Mountain) at Class level 9
- Warlocks via the Minions of Chaos invocation at Class level 9
- Bard via Magical Secrets at Class level 10
Source item: Scroll of Conjure Elemental
Bend the barrier between the Planes until they disgorge an elemental ally to follow and fight for you.
Conjure Elemental spell variants
Four elementals at Level 5, four Myrmidons at Level 6. All of them last until Long Rest, and casting the spell again replaces the one you have out. The scroll always casts at Level 5, so no Myrmidons from scrolls.
1. Conjure Elemental: Air Elemental
The air elemental can use Primordial Gales, Gushing Air, and can Shock your foes.
2. Conjure Elemental: Earth Elemental
The earth elemental can use Seismic Strike, Soil-Clogged Slam, and can create sludgy mud surfaces while walloping your foes.
3. Conjure Elemental: Fire Elemental
The fire elemental can use Smouldering Touch, Erupting Cinder, and can make your foes Burn.
4. Conjure Elemental: Water Elemental
The water elemental can use Winter’s Breath, Slam, and can mete out cold punishment upon foes with its fists.
5. Conjure Elemental: Air Myrmidon
The myrmidon can cast Invisibility, Electrified Flail, and Raging Vortex.
6. Conjure Elemental: Earth Myrmidon
The myrmidon can cast Muck to Metal, Sludgy Sling, and Burrow.
7. Conjure Elemental: Fire Myrmidon
The myrmidon can cast Scorching Strike, Myrmidon’s Immolation, and Cinderous Swipe.
8. Conjure Elemental: Water Myrmidon
The myrmidon can cast Hiemal Strike, Healing Vapours, and Explosive Icicle.
When to cast Conjure Elemental
Cast it every morning. The summon lasts until Long Rest, it does not need Concentration, and it stacks with Conjure Minor Elemental. A Level 9 Druid or Wizard walking around with an Elemental and an Azer has a permanent frontline.
At Level 5 the Earth Elemental is the tank and the Water Elemental is the best all-rounder, thanks to Winter’s Breath making things Brittle. The Fire Elemental hurts anything that is not fire-resistant and the Air Elemental flies, which matters more than it sounds.
As soon as you have a Level 6 slot, summon a Myrmidon instead. The Water Myrmidon heals with Healing Vapours and freezes things, the Fire Myrmidon does silly damage, the Earth Myrmidon buffs your party’s weapons with Muck to Metal. All of them are a big step up from the elementals.
It is a single summon per caster, so a second cast replaces the first. If you want variety, get a second caster.
Range: 18m (60ft)
AoE: 3m (10ft) radius
