D&D 5E Flaming sphere or avoided area

[BasinRimmel]

My group started a campaign up and I was excited to try some new spells out , I decided to take the undying light patron for my warlock and flaming sphere seemed to be a go to spell. I then noticed the my enemies have to end their turn in the fireballs range. I'm wondering will my fire do anything?


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[Nagol]

From the spell description: "Any creature that ends its turn within 5 feet of the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw. The creature takes 2d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one."

So yes. Ending a turn within 5' of the sphere triggers a new saving throw/damage event.

 

[aco175]

It also does damage when you roll it into someone. One of my players uses it and it seems to catch some monsters at the end of their turns. I think it may be some DM fiat involved as well. Unintelligent monsters like skeletons may not move on their turn if they are engaged with another PC. As a player, you can use it to help other PCs by making the DM choose between keeping the monster in place and taking the fire damage or moving the monster and provoking an opportunity attack from your ally.

 

[Ancalagon]

This was *waaaay* back in 2nd ed, but we had a situation where goblins were attacking us from several sides. The party wizard (me? maybe another player) cast flaming sphere in a tunnel, therefore blocking the way for about 1/3 of the goblin horde (and giving us a fighting chance vs the rest).

A flaming sphere is great at blocking passages, doorways, narrow roads etc. "Blocking", when used smartly, allows you to divide the enemy in smaller groups, making victory far easier to achieve. It is one of the most powerful thing a spellcaster can do!

 

[discosoc]

Flaming Sphere, and spells like it, seem to come in two flavors.

1st: They do damage when you cast the spell, and if they *end* their turn in the area.
2nd: They do no damage immediately, but the effect is triggered if the *start* their turn in the area.

The timing difference between the two might seem minor, but it's still important to understand. In both cases, you'll have a chance to do immediate or hard-to-avoid damage, and then anything extra depends on how the creature chooses to act later on. To be honest, I'm not sure why they split spell design up between the two aside from the first type feeling more like an attack and the second type more like a trap.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Flaming Sphere, and spells like it, seem to come in two flavors.

1st: They do damage when you cast the spell, and if they *end* their turn in the area.
2nd: They do no damage immediately, but the effect is triggered if the *start* their turn in the area.

The timing difference between the two might seem minor, but it's still important to understand. In both cases, you'll have a chance to do immediate or hard-to-avoid damage, and then anything extra depends on how the creature chooses to act later on. To be honest, I'm not sure why they split spell design up between the two aside from the first type feeling more like an attack and the second type more like a trap.

Yeah, the inconsistency is kind of annoying.

But flaming sphere, considered in its own right, is a perfectly fine spell. As others have mentioned, you get the damage whenever you roll it into somebody regardless of what they do, so it's a reliable source of repeated damage. And the end-of-turn damage effect doesn't have to deal damage to be useful; you can use it to herd bad guys away from places you don't want them to be, protect flanks and escape routes, etc. And of course, if you do want to deal damage with it, there are lots of ways you can box them in or restrain them.

Flaming sphere is also notable for scaling very well when cast with a higher-level spell slot. A +1 fireball only gets 1d6 extra damage, but a +1 flaming sphere gets 1d6 damage and possibly more each round.

 

[dropbear8mybaby]

Flaming Sphere is a great spell as long as you have enough room to move it around. You can bump it into anyone as a bonus action, invoking the save for damage and force people to either move or take damage, which can often provoke opportunity attacks from other PC's. It's a really good battlefield control spell with a decent damage option as well.