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thought experiment: You need to make a 4th-level spell in DnD 5th edition. All DnD designers have somehow been banished to the ethereal plane and are unavailable for consultation. How much damage should it do, on average, per cast? How would you go about figuring this out?

thought experiment: You need to make a 4th-level spell in DnD 5th edition. All DnD designers have somehow been banished to the ethereal plane and are unavailable for consultation. How much damage should it do, on average, per cast? How would you go about figuring this out?

  • JeffAHamilton
    Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
    thought experiment: You need to make a 4th-level spell in DnD 5th edition. All DnD designers have somehow been banished to the ethereal plane and are unavailable for consultation. How much damage should it do, on average, per cast? How would you go about figuring this out?

    • JeffAHamilton
      Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
      I'll answer this at some point after 10 pm, so if you answer before then I'll give ya feedback.

      • JeffAHamilton
        Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
        Several people outlined really good, detailed approaches. The most detailed was @Sparkly_Julie - https://t.co/PtUih6XdoF Having done the various spell comparisons recently, my general answer is "Somewhere between 50 and 85 damage at most" depending on spell details

        • JeffAHamilton
          Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
          @Sparkly_Julie Wall of Fire is 4th lvl, 1 min duration concentration, 5d8 fire, Dex save for half. Let's assume you can get 3 creatures in it on the turn it casts and get 2 other hits out of it during the course of a fight since it deals damage to creatures that end their turn within 10 feet.

          • JeffAHamilton
            Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
            @Sparkly_Julie That's 25d8 with a save for half, if we assume creatures will fail Dex saves most of the time, an average of (25 * 4.5 * .75) = 84.375 damage. It does cost your concentration slot.

            • JeffAHamilton
              Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
              @Sparkly_Julie Fireball is instantaneous, let's say we're upcasting it just to keep leveling consistent so it's 9d6 damage to the creatures in the area. Let's say you hit 3 enemies with it even though we both know that's a lie and you hit 8, two of whom are friendly.

              • JeffAHamilton
                Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
                They get the same Dex save for half here, so (27 * 3.5 * .75) = 70.875 damage. This does NOT take your concentration slot. (Untagged Julie, sorry Julie, forgot mentions carried downstream by default.)

                • JeffAHamilton
                  Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
                  I also looked at Greater Invisibility. this required Greater Tools: The caster in this case is a bladesinger with +3 prof, +7 tohit, using a Rapier with a damage bonus of +3 per swing I abstracted Advantage as being worth the same as +5 tohit. It's not, exactly, but it's close. https://t.co/tIgHgVaxR1

                  • JeffAHamilton
                    Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
                    (Of course, Greater Invisibility has a lot of advantages in that it does way more than just damage. You can't be targeted by many things, attacks against you have disadvantage. But that's actually a super useful lens here it still contributes damage despite all that)

                    • Chadd Nervigg
                      Posted 3 years, 3 months ago (Source)
                      @JeffAHamilton I love this thread.
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