Five New Witchy Spells

I wanted to play with some other areas of folklore, and these new spells came out of it. I was also interested in trying a new mechanical concept that came to me, as you’ll see (create poppet).

Animate Hut
5th-level transmutation (druid, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (leg and foot bones from one creature)
Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours

When you cast this spell, you touch one building of up to 30 feet long by 30 feet wide, and up to two stories tall. Ten-foot-long legs resembling the creature you used as a material component (or chicken legs, if you cast this spell without components) sprout under the building, and the building gains a walking speed of 40 feet. Standing up and sitting down take the hut’s action, and it must sit down to lower its doorways to ground level.

For the duration of the spell, it becomes a Construct that follows your verbal commands and acts immediately after your turn in initiative. The hut can stomp with its legs, making a melee weapon attack using your spell attack bonus; on a hit it deals 3d10 bludgeoning damage. The animated hut has 15 AC, 100 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. It uses your saving throw bonuses. If it falls to 0 hit points, the spell ends and the hut settles to the ground.

At the time you cast the spell, any unwilling creatures in the building that aren’t incapacitated can make a Charisma saving throw; if any of them succeed, your spell fails.

At Higher Levels. If you use a spell slot of 8thlevel or higher to cast this spell, you can give it wings in addition to legs, and it gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed.

Breath of Belladonna
2nd-level necromancy (druid, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (15-ft cube)
Components: S, M (three belladonna berries, which the spell consumes)
Duration: 1 round

You consume the belladonna berries, taking 1d10 poison damage, and breathe out a poisonous cloud. Each creature that needs to breathe in a 15-foot cube originating from you must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d10 poison damage and is poisoned until the start of your next turn. On a success, a creature takes half damage and is not poisoned.

At Higher Levels. If you use a spell slot of 3rdlevel or higher to cast this spell, the damage you deal increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 2nd. The damage you take doesn’t increase.

Cleansing Crystal
2nd-level abjuration (druid)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a gem worth at least 50 gp)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You imbue a crystal with magic to absorb harmful influences. When you would take damage as a result of the space you occupy when you start your turn, reduce the damage you take by 2d6. When you would make a saving throw to avoid an effect based on the space you occupy when you start your turn, you have advantage on the saving throw.

During the spell’s duration, when you would take necrotic, poison, or psychic damage, you can end the spell as a reaction to gain resistance to the triggering damage type until the end of your next turn.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you gain the benefit of this spell. They can’t use the spell’s reaction.

Create Poppet
3rd-level transmutation (druid)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (clay and willow branches)
Duration: 1 minute

When you cast this spell, you fashion the material components into a Tiny doll (or pull the doll from your shadow if you cast it without material components). While you hold this doll in one hand, you can use any of the following bonus actions or reactions.

· As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 15 feet to regain 1d8 hit points.

· As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 15 feet that is diseased or has the blinded, deafened, poisoned, or stunned conditions. That condition ends.

· As a reaction when you are the target of baneor a curse spell, you negate its effect on you.

When you have used these three times in any combination, the doll is destroyed, leaving a seed behind. At any time in the spell’s remaining duration, a creature who eats the seed as an action gains 2d8 temporary hit points.

Spellwarping Curse
2nd-level enchantment (sorcerer, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: 24 hours

You place a curse on a creature you can see within range, or against a creature that is observing you from afar with magic, such as a clairvoyance, dream, or scrying spell. Until your spell ends, the creature takes 1d8 + its spellcasting ability modifier (minimum 1) psychic damage each time it casts a spell that deals damage or forces a creature to make a saving throw. Remove curse spells that the target casts on itself can’t remove this curse.

If you cast this spell on a creature that doesn’t have a Spellcasting feature, the spell fails, and you are aware of why it has failed.

Design Notes

Feel free to play spot-the-reference!

Breath of belladonna (I dunno, is breath of nightshade a cooler name?) is, most of all, about creating another necromancy spell for 2nd level. It’s such a hard road for necromancers at low levels in 5e, and I’ve written a ton of spells to address that over the years.

Create poppet is an experiment in changing function midway through a spell. Maybe that’ll be too much tally-keeping? I don’t know. Not going to stop trying weird ideas.

Spellwarping curse is about turning an enemy caster’s strength back on them (so stronger casters get hit a little harder). It offers a way to retaliate against scryers that you don’t see too often.

Animate hut is the most amusing to me.