by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 5 Evocation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. 8d8 Cold in a 9m cone from your hands, Constitution save for half. It is the big Cold blast at this level, and it is exactly as simple as it sounds.
Spell description: Make a flurry of frost, crisp air, and condensed snow crystals erupt from your hands.
Spell properties
- Damage: 8d8 Cold
- Damage type: Cold
- Range: Self
- Area: 9m (30ft) cone
- Save: CON save (half damage on success)
- Conditions applied: Turns Water surfaces in the cone into Ice.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d8 Cold damage for each spell slot level above the 5th.
How to obtain Cone of Cold
- Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 9
- Circle of the Land Druids (Arctic) and The Fiend and The Hexblade Warlocks at Class level 9
- Bard via Magical Secrets at Class level 10
Source items: Markoheshkir, Scroll of Cone of Cold
Make a flurry of frost, crisp air, and condensed snow crystals erupt from your hands.
On save: Targets still take half damage.
When to cast Cone of Cold
Cast it when the enemies are lined up in front of you and Fire is a bad idea. Cold resistance is rarer than Fire resistance, so the fights where Fireball does nothing are the fights Cone of Cold was made for. Devils, fire elementals, most of the House of Hope.
The cone starts at your feet, so the caster has to be close. That is the tradeoff against Fireball’s 18m range. Cast it from the flank or from high ground so you are not standing in the middle of the enemy afterwards.
If there is water on the floor it freezes into ice, and enemies standing on that have to save or fall Prone. Create Water first, then Cone of Cold, is a proper combo when you have a turn to set it up.
Constitution is the save most monsters are best at, so expect half damage more often than you would with a Dexterity spell. Upcasting adds 1d8 per level, which is fine but not exciting.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 4 Evocation spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. A wall of flame up to 36m long that does 5d8 Fire to anything that walks through it or ends its turn inside, and sets them on fire for good measure. It lasts ten turns and it is a nightmare to path around.
Spell description: Create a blazing wall of fire, Burning anyone who dares stand too close. Deals Fire damage to anything that moves into or ends its turn in the area.
Spell properties
- Damage: 5d8 Fire
- Damage type: Fire
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Area: 36m (120ft) line
- Duration: 10 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: DEX save (half damage on success)
- Conditions applied: Burning. Creatures take 5d8 Fire when they enter or end their turn in the wall, and 1d4 Fire per turn while Burning.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d8 Fire damage for each spell slot level above the 4th.
How to obtain Wall of Fire
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 7
- Light Domain Clerics (Domain spell), Circle of the Land Druids (Desert), and The Fiend Warlocks at Class level 7
- Bard via Magical Secrets at Class level 10
Source items: Markoheshkir, Scroll of Wall of Fire
Create a blazing wall of fire, Burning anyone who dares stand too close. Deals Fire damage to anything that moves into or ends its turn in the area.
On save: Targets still take half damage.
Duration: 10 turns
AoE: 36m (120ft) line
A wall up to 36m long and 3m wide. Creatures that enter it or end their turn inside take 5d8 Fire damage (Dexterity Saving Throw for half) and start Burning.
- Takes 1d4 Fire damage per turn.
- Removed by the Help action, a healing potion, or becoming Wet.
- Wet creatures are immune.
When to cast Wall of Fire
Cast it between the enemy and your party. Anything that wants to reach your casters has to walk through 5d8 Fire, and the AI often does exactly that. A long wall across a corridor turns a charge into a queue of Burning enemies.
It also works as a cage. Draw it around a group already engaged with your tank and every one of them ends their turn inside it. Ten turns of 5d8 to everyone standing in the line adds up to more damage than any Fireball.
It is Concentration and it is Fire, so it does nothing to devils, fire elementals, and a good chunk of Act Three. Check resistances before you spend the slot, and stand somewhere your Wizard will not get hit.
Wet creatures are immune to Burning and Fire damage goes down in the rain. If your Druid has been throwing Create Water around, the wall will be a lot less impressive.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 4 Necromancy spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards. 8d8 Necrotic to a single target, Constitution save for half, no effect on undead or constructs. It is a big single-target hit, and it does something horrible to plants.
Spell description: Deal 8d8 Necrotic damage to a target. Plants take maximum damage and have Disadvantage on the Saving Throw. No effect on undead and constructs.
Spell properties
- Damage: 8d8 Necrotic
- Damage type: Necrotic
- Range: 9m (30ft)
- Save: CON save (half damage on success)
- Conditions applied: Plants take maximum damage (64) and roll the Saving Throw with Disadvantage. No effect on undead or constructs.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Deals an extra 1d8 Necrotic damage for each spell slot level above the 4th.
How to obtain Blight
- Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard at Class level 7
- Circle of the Spores Druids (Circle spell) and Death Domain Clerics (Domain spell) at Class level 7
- Bard via Magical Secrets at Class level 10
Source items: Woe, Scroll of Blight
Deal 8d8 Necrotic damage to a target. Plants take maximum damage and have Disadvantage on the Saving Throw. No effect on undead and constructs.
On save: The target still takes half damage.
When to cast Blight
Blight is the single-target damage option at this level for casters who do not have a better one. 8d8 averages 36, and Constitution is a save most monsters are good at, so expect half damage more often than you would like.
Where it shines is against plants. They take the maximum 64 and roll the save with Disadvantage. Wood woads, blights, and the myconid-adjacent things in the Underdark all count. Act Two plants resist Necrotic, which cuts it back to 32, but that is still a lot for one cast.
Skip it against undead and constructs entirely, it does nothing to them. That rules out a lot of Act Two and Act Three enemies, so check the target type before you commit the slot.
For a Sorcerer or Wizard with Fireball available, Fireball upcast to Level 4 usually does more total damage. Blight earns its slot when you need to hit one thing hard without catching your own melee in the blast.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 4 Abjuration spell available to Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Touch an ally and they take half damage from non-magical weapons until Long Rest. It is a strong buff with one enormous catch: it costs your Concentration for the whole day.
Spell description: Turn a creature’s flesh hard as stone. It takes only half the damage of all non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
Spell properties
- Range: Melee: 1.5m (5ft)
- Duration: Until Long Rest
- Concentration spell
- Conditions applied: Stoneskin. Resistance to non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Stoneskin at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Stoneskin
- Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 7
- War Domain Clerics (Domain spell) and Circle of the Land Druids (Mountain) at Class level 7
Source item: Scroll of Stoneskin
Turn a creature’s flesh hard as stone. It takes only half the damage of all non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
Duration: Until Long Rest
- Resistance to non-magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage.
- Ends if the caster loses Concentration.
When to cast Stoneskin
Cast it on your tank before a fight full of ordinary weapon attacks. Goblins, bandits, gnolls, animals, most of Act One. Half damage from every sword, arrow, and claw is a big deal at that stage.
The Concentration requirement is what stops it being an every-day buff. Your caster cannot Concentrate on anything else while it is up, and one failed save ends it. On a Sorcerer or Wizard that usually means giving up Haste, Hold Person, or Hypnotic Pattern. That is a bad trade in most fights.
It only covers non-magical damage. By Act Three most enemies who matter carry magical weapons, and spells never counted, so the value drops off hard as you level.
Where it fits is on a caster who does not need their Concentration: a Wizard playing pure damage with Fireball and Magic Missile, or a Druid about to Wild Shape. Otherwise leave it in the spellbook.
by Claude Helper | Sep 25, 2026 | Spells
Level 4 Transmutation spell available to Bards, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Wisdom save or the target is a sheep with 3 Hit Points for five turns. It cannot attack, cannot cast, and the only thing that ends it early is someone on your side hitting the sheep.
Spell description: Transform a creature into a harmless sheep. If the sheep’s Hit Points drop to 0, the target reverts to its original form with its original Hit Points.
Spell properties
- Range: 18m (60ft)
- Duration: 5 turns
- Concentration spell
- Save: WIS save
- Conditions applied: Polymorphed. The creature becomes a sheep with 3 Hit Points for 5 turns. Reducing the sheep to 0 reverts it with its original Hit Points.
- Cost: Action + Spell Slot
- Recharge: Per action
Spell upcasting
Casting Polymorph at higher levels provides no additional benefits.
How to obtain Polymorph
- Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 7
- Trickery Domain Clerics (Domain spell) and Circle of the Land Druids (Grassland) at Class level 7
- Warlocks via the Sculptor of Flesh invocation at Class level 7
Source item: Scroll of Polymorph
Transform a creature into a harmless sheep. If the sheep’s Hit Points drop to 0, the target reverts to its original form with its original Hit Points.
Duration: 5 turns
- The creature is a harmless sheep with 3 Hit Points.
- It can only Dash.
- If the sheep is reduced to 0 Hit Points, the creature reverts to its original form with its original Hit Points.
When to cast Polymorph
Use it to take one enemy out of the fight for five turns. A boss, a caster, the thing that hits hardest. Unlike Hold Person it works on any creature type, so it is the answer for the big non-humanoid that Hold Person cannot touch.
Do not hit the sheep. Three Hit Points means any stray attack ends the spell and gives the enemy back its full health. Tell your party, mark it, and fight around it. It is Concentration as well, so keep the caster safe.
The value is the tempo. Five turns of the strongest enemy doing nothing while you kill its friends usually ends the fight before it turns back. When it does, you are fresh and it is alone.
One trick: it also works on allies. A downed friend about to take a killing blow can be turned into a sheep, and when the sheep dies they come back with the Hit Points they had. Niche, but it has saved runs.
Range: Self
Save: CON save
