April Spell Collection

There are a couple of spells that have shown up in Aurikesh for which I promised actual rules “sometime soon,” which apparently means today. Since those two spells don’t a satisfying post make, I’ve added in a few more ideas.

Protection from Moonlight

3rd-level abjuration (bard, cleric, druid, paladin, ranger, sorcerer, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

For the duration, the willing creature you touch gains resistance to radiant damage and ignores the effects of exposure to moonlight.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 3rd.

Summon Genie

3rd-level conjuration (bard, sorcerer, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 90 feet
Components: V, S, M (a brass oil lamp worth at least 150 gp)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You call forth an elemental spirit from the courts of the genies. It manifests in an unoccupied space that you can see within range. This corporeal form uses the Genie Spirit stat block. When you cast this spell, choose a genie type: dao, djinni, efreeti, or marid. The creature resembles a Medium-sized version of a genie of your choice, which determines certain traits in its stat block. The creature disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.

The creature is an ally to you and your companions. In combat, the creature shares your initiative count, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. It obeys your verbal commands (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any, it takes the Dodge action and uses its move to avoid danger.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, use the higher level wherever the spell’s level appears in the stat block.

GENIE SPIRIT
Medium elemental

Armor Class 12 + the level of the spell
Hit Points 35 + 10 for each spell level above 3rd
Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft. (dao), fly 40 ft. (dao, efreeti, and marid) or fly 90 ft. (djinni), swim 60 ft. (marid)

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

17 (+3) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 14 (+2) 12 (+1) 16 (+3)

Damage Resistances acid (marid only)
Damage Immunities poison; fire (efreeti only); lightning and thunder (djinni only)
Condition Immunities charmed; petrified (dao only)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Primordial, understands the languages you speak
Challenge – Proficiency Bonus equals your bonus

Actions

Multiattack. The genie makes a number of scimitar attacks equal to half this spell’s level.

Scimitar. Melee Weapon Attack: your spell attack modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d6 + 3 + 1d6 + the spell’s level force damage (dao only), lightning damage (djinni only), fire damage (efreeti only), or acid damage (marid only). If the target is a Large or smaller creature within 5 feet of you, the genie pushes that creature 5 feet away from you and can choose to enter its space.

Mighty Smash. Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from the genie must make a Dexterity (dao, efreeti) or Strength (djinni, marid) saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 3d8 bludgeoning damage (dao only), thunder damage (djinni only), fire damage (efreeti only), or acid damage (marid only).

Bonus Actions

Master’s Call. The genie teleports to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you.

Winterpetal Rite

3rd-level abjuration (ritual; bard, druid, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (one winterpetal flower, typically worth 50 gp, which the spell consumes)
Duration: 1 hour

A protective magical force surrounds you and up to six other willing creatures. Each creature other than you with an Intelligence of 4 or higher rolls a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check. Creatures that succeed this check, as well as you and creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or lower, gain 5 temporary hit points for the duration. If a creature hits you with a melee attack while these temporary hit points remain, the creature takes 5 cold damage.

Additional Components. For every additional winterpetal you spend as a component in this spell, the spell grants an additional 5 temporary hit points, to a maximum of 25 temporary hit points.

Baleful Starfire

4th-level evocation (warlock)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 120 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous

When you cast this spell, the baleful stars flare brightly enough to be seen in daylight. One creature of your choice within range makes a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 5d10 radiant damage and is blinded until the start of your next turn; they take an additional 1d10 damage if you use a bonus action to speak their name immediately before you cast this spell, and an additional 1d10 damage if they can see the night sky.

On a successful saving throw, the target takes half damage and has disadvantage on the next ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the damage increases by 1d10 for each slot level above 4th.

Mythbreaker

7th-level enchantment (bard, warlock)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, M (a scroll describing the target’s legendary deeds)
Duration: 1 year

This dire curse severs part of a creature’s connection to its own legend. Choose a creature you can see within range that has the Legendary Resistance or Legendary Action traits, or has 15 or more class levels. If you choose a creature that isn’t a valid target, you lose your action, but the spell slot is not expended. The creature rolls a Constitution saving throw, a Wisdom saving throw, and a Charisma saving throw, and for these saving throws, Legendary Resistance grants a reroll rather than an automatic success.

If the target fails three saving throws, it loses three Legendary Resistances and two Legendary Actions for the duration of the curse, and spells you cast ignore its Magic Resistance trait, if any. For the duration of the spell, it takes an additional 3d6 psychic damage each time you deal damage to it. Legend lore spells to learn about the creature receive almost no information.

If the target fails two saving throws, it loses two Legendary Resistances and two Legendary Actions for the duration of the curse, and spells you cast ignore its Magic Resistance trait, if any. Legend lore spells to learn about the creature receive reduced or garbled information.

If the target fails one saving throw, it loses one Legendary Resistance and one Legendary Action for the duration of the curse.

If the target kills you while the curse is active, the curse’s duration becomes 100 years. A remove curse spell cast to break this curse must be cast with a spell slot of a higher level than the one you used to cast this spell.

Thirsting Lash

3rd-level necromancy (sorcerer, warlock, wizard)

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V, S, M (a squid’s tentacle)
Duration: Instantaneous

You lash out with a tendril of dark energy toward one, two, or three creatures in range. You can make three melee spell attacks, divided any way you choose among those targets. On a hit, you deal 2d8 necrotic damage. Half of the damage you deal becomes a pool of hit points that you can spend as a bonus action to restore hit points to yourself or a creature you touch. If any points remain in this pool 1 minute after you cast the spell, they are lost.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, you deal an additional 1d8 damage on a successful hit for every 2 slot levels above 3rd.

Design Notes

Protection from moonlight came about because moonstone dragons deal radiant damage. The PCs weren’t fighting the moonstone dragon, but helping it hatch, which was just as dangerous. The warlock’s patron gave her this as a bonus Spell Known to help.

On a related note, why on earth doesn’t protection from energy allow extra targets when upcast?

In general, of course, you just don’t need that much resistance to radiant damage, but I think we’re seeing a little more radiant damage from new monster/NPC stat blocks. This would be a middling spell choice at best for a warlock if it hadn’t been given for free.

The Aurikesh PCs got a scroll of summon genie sometime back, and I needed to get it written. Here it is, very similar to both summon elemental and summon fey, but (hopefully) just different enough from both to have its own interesting usage. Probably needs some additional work, tbh.

Winterpetal rite is an experiment in ritual group buffs with expensive components. The Aurikesh PCs have this, and a limited supply of winterpetal. They haven’t used it yet, as far as I recall. It’s a group version of armor of Agathys, with a different mechanic for temporary hit point scaling and no damage scaling.

Baleful starfire is a remake of Thirteen Baleful Stars in the 4e PH warlock. I had to tweak it a bit further because my first draft was excessively close to Raulothim’s psychic lance. It’s still pretty close, frankly, but I hope its oddities distance it enough to be its own thing. I like that it has some peripheral effect beyond damage on a successful save.

Mythbreaker is just taking a cool item name from Shattered Isles and thinking about what that might be as a spell. I think of it as interacting with the current direction of legendary and mythic creature design.

Thirsting lash takes the lifeleech thorns concept I wrote in a post last year and bringing it down in level. A key part of my goal was getting rid of concentration; one of the major problems Kainenchen is having in picking spells for her warlock is that so very many warlock spells require concentration. (Also part of my thinking for baleful starfire.)