Stunned until saved? (pictures victim rolling on ground from pain, etc)
edit: grappled would be better...
D&D 5E Is witchbolt underated?
- Thread starter ECMO3
- Start date
edit: grappled would be better...
Stormonu
NeoGrognard
This is the version I’m considering for my game.
Witch Bolt
1st-level Evocation
___
A beam of crackling, blue energy lances out toward a creature within range, forming a sustained arc of lightning between you and the target. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 lightning damage and is grappled. As an action, the target can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, the target is no longer grappled.
On each of your turns for the duration, you can use a bonus action to deal 2d6 lightning damage to the target automatically. The spell ends if the target is ever outside the spell's range or if it has total cover from you.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.
<EDIT> Removed the line “spell ends if you do anything else with your action.”
Witch Bolt
1st-level Evocation
___
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Range: 30 feet
- Components: V, S. M (a twig from a tree that has been struck by lightning)
- Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
A beam of crackling, blue energy lances out toward a creature within range, forming a sustained arc of lightning between you and the target. Make a ranged spell attack against that creature. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 lightning damage and is grappled. As an action, the target can make a Dexterity saving throw. On a success, the target is no longer grappled.
On each of your turns for the duration, you can use a bonus action to deal 2d6 lightning damage to the target automatically. The spell ends if the target is ever outside the spell's range or if it has total cover from you.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the initial damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.
<EDIT> Removed the line “spell ends if you do anything else with your action.”
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It's a mistake to think of warlock slots as having "built-in upcasting," because that assumes the best thing you can do with that slot is upcast a 1st-level spell. A 5th-level warlock's slots can be used to cast powerhouse spells like hypnotic pattern, or fear, or (for fiendlocks) fireball.
But set that aside: Let's just consider witch bolt upcast to 3rd level, versus the tried-and-true hex plus EB spam. Each uses one spell slot and requires concentration.
- The first round of witch bolt is an attack roll for 19.5 damage.
- Subsequent rounds of witch bolt are 6.5 automatic damage if you hit on the first round. If you didn't, you're making an attack roll for 19 damage (EB spam without hex).
- EB spam with hex is an attack roll for 26 damage (well, technically two attack rolls for 13), every round.
Witch bolt is a lousy spell for anybody, but it's especially bad for warlocks due to the opportunity cost.
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I was familiar with all the mechanical reasons witch bolt is a wretched spell, but I must admit that "facilitates graphic torture scenes at the gaming table" had not occurred to me.
All depends on the player comfort at your table, of course. But as it's name implies I feel it is best used as a villainous spell, rather than a heroic one.
I don't care who's on the receiving end. If my table is roleplaying out a torture scene in detail, it's not going to be my table any more.
That would be the "Player comfort" at your table, yeah. I have players fill out consent sheets at my table. And this scene I've just described won't happen in any games with some of the players I run games for.
But if I were running a game where people were accepting of torture scenes and there was a reason to include the scene, I'd be willing to use it to establish a villainous character -as- a villain.
No, Witch Bolt is a terrible spell any way you slice it. I like the option to cause it to grapple a target, but I'm conflicted that it might be too powerful a debuff for some targets, as it bypasses legendary resistance and can really ruin a BBEG's day if applied correctly.
I see a lot of arguments on line about this and other spells being justified as "DM spells" for use by NPCs/Monsters for show or flavor, but I have a hard time swallowing that as DMs can just make up stuff, or have things be part of a Monster's stat block for effect. It smacks of trying to justify bad design after the fact.
But, on the other hand, it is impossible to finely tune balance to such a degree that spells are always equally viable in every situation.
One major issue with spell balance in 5e is that they have added balancing factors in addition to level and (potentially costly) material components:
I see a lot of arguments on line about this and other spells being justified as "DM spells" for use by NPCs/Monsters for show or flavor, but I have a hard time swallowing that as DMs can just make up stuff, or have things be part of a Monster's stat block for effect. It smacks of trying to justify bad design after the fact.
But, on the other hand, it is impossible to finely tune balance to such a degree that spells are always equally viable in every situation.
One major issue with spell balance in 5e is that they have added balancing factors in addition to level and (potentially costly) material components:
- Concentration, which can effect how likely a caster is to employ a spell. Is concentration worth X levels? Or, in other words, would adding X levels to the spell be "balanced" with removing concentration? Some spells (Bestow Curse & Major Image come to mind) do this through upscaling, but could this be applied more broadly?
- Actions to maintain. This is an opportunity cost that is often overlooked, but requiring the caster to spend their action every round to maintain the spell is a very large burden, and I'm pleased to see that WOTC seems to be moving away from this recently (the last spell to use this method was Enervation in Xanthanar's)
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