Gave my party’s monk in Icewind Dale a pair of boots that allowed him to cast Burning Hands, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, and Ashardalon’s Stride. It was extremely cool.
Yeah, needs to be added to a 4 Elements homebrew fix Discipline list. (And, honestly, while the main reason Way of the Four Elements needs fixing is because it's under-powered, I'd totally lose Fireball from the list for more cool and thematic options compared to the printed version of the subclass. It doesn't need more raw damage, it needs spells and spell-like abilities that combo well with the base class features. Zephyr Strike is another example.)
Huh, I knew that Hex would've been high on the list but I didn't expect it to surpass healing word. That said, my monk casting Hex (Fey Touched, I needed the +1 to Wis) on the big guy in one of our fights for me and our fighter to prone lock it was the only thing that kept that from being a potential TPK, so I don't really disagree.
@@MethosJK9 not Stunning Strike, the fighter grappled and I sent it prone. Since it was grappled it's movement speed was 0 and couldn't get up and had to do pretty much everything at disadvantage except for the saving throw attack it had, and it had to make a strength check to break the grapple, which it also had disadvantage on because of Hex. We called it Prone-Locking.
@@AguionStryke that's a ton of investment to achieve that: Hex + a shove + grapple. At best you have a fighter with access to Hex spending their entire turn at 5th level or above to get one enemy in this position. Not to mention this possibly nerfs every party member that uses ranged attacks. Plus at Tier 2 you might come across creatures with +8, +9, +10 to their Athletics or Acrobatics making it harder to combo the shove & grapple, and if you miss with either of those you just blew that turn.
@@MethosJK9 They're taking out one big guy. Like any tactic, it's usefulness in predicated on the circumstances. That "ton of investment" is 1 action for a 5th level battle master (a trip attack and a grapple) and 1 bonus action from the monk. If you think that's a "ton" to lock down the big guy, I think you're terrible at math. Who cares if the ranged attackers get disadvantage? They can either draw knives and advance, pick off other targets, attack with disadvantage, or just point and laugh. As far as "if you miss [...] you just blew that turn", dude, you just described 85% of the actions available to you in the game. So back off and chill a bit. It's a tactic like any other. Sounds like this guy found a great spot for this tactic, and good on him.
@@MethosJK9 It was a one time strategy and we only have one person that uses ranged attack rolls, the other two use saving throw cantrips most of the time, not to mention that we were basically locking down the big guy so the others could clean the rest of the enemies. Besides, I mostly took Hex for the damage increase and variety if I'm being honest, the "curse" is just a big plus for me. (We're in a dream arc right now and pretty much everyone has vulnerability to necrotic, so it's really helping me at the moment) Also, it took us a turn to set that up. The next round it was two attacks from the fighter, seven from the druid's little army from Conjure Animals (set up a few turns prior, one of them had died), a Thorn Whip from the druid (which is a melee spell attack so no disadvantage and they chose not to pull the guy in as to not break the grapple), and then three from me. Needless to say, the monster went from 80% to dead, and I ended up not even needing my Flurry of Blows. We cleaned up the other six smaller guys the next two or so turns. When I said it saved us from a tpk I mean it, the fighter was on single digit hit points and everyone else was below 1/3 of their health. The monster would've killed us all in two turns if that hadn't worked.
I was about to mention that! I have a player on my campaign with a Horizon Walker/Bladesinger combination and he learned that lesson the hard way. His words at that moment were: 'Man, rangers suck!".
@@Feltyr rangers are in my opinion one of the best classes of 5e post tasha. However, horizon walker is potentially the worst ranger subclass, despite the very cool theme and fleshy level 11 feature (too late and actually not that effective).
@@loganmcgee18 I partially disagree. Gloomstalker is indeed the most impressive subclass damage-wise, but beast master gives a very decent sustained DPR + tactical advantage package, fey wanderer is a very well designed subclass with good balance between RP and combat, and swarmkeeper is very interesting tactically. Some other subclasses are still viable and operate in other niches. I just think that one doesn't get enough from horizon walker till level 11 and even level 11 is questionable. Still, you have a point, gloomstalker is a damm frontloaded subclass and is powerful under any circumstance.
It's not the greatest spell but I need to give a shout-out to one of my favourites, Zephyr Strike. Bonus action 1st level Ranger spell to completely avoid AOO, for one minute is pretty solid, if situational, but you can activate it once during that time to get advantage on an attack roll and deal 1d8 extra force damage and you gain 30 feet of movement for that turn. Thus you could run right up to an enemy key target, say their spellcaster, hit them with advantage and extra damage, and walk right back to where you were. It has shades of Ashardalons stride, but is much more accessible at level 1 and is a tool I always take on rangers, particularly as an opener.
Cody: "... especially since Clerics don't depend on bonus actions a lot" Me: Wha?? Cody (later on): "wow, lots of cleric spells on this list" Me: Mmm hmmm
@@johnymey4034 Please excuse the quotations implying direct quotes, but the spirit of what he said was well-represented 4:23 9:03 Also, it's not an insult or anything, it's a simple observation and I was playfully (that was the intent anyway) pointing out the discrepancy. So, no need to get defensive about it
One that people might miss out on is Aura of Vitality. It is, as far as I've seen, the only accessible 5e spell that RAW heals the undead as a bonus action. We have a vampire in the party and they're very happy with that :')
As a cleric player, I love this and agree. Guaranteed it would have been on the list had the spell not been an action to cast, then a bonus action to heal. Technically making it not a ‘spell with a casting time of 1 bonus action ‘ and thus can’t be on the list
@@logancuster8035 best case scenario is you’re in combat with lots of people at low hp, so you can repeatedly bonus action heal people up (bascially multiple healing words). That or abusing the grave cleric ability to heal 12 guaranteed
One time during my second ever game in DnD while I was playing my Tiefling Cleric of Life, I walked into a room full of skeletons, I proceeded to cast sanctuary on myself and walked by them. Good times.
But really... 1. No attack of opportunity 2. Advantage on weapon attack 3. 1d8 Force damage on top of normal damage 4. 30 ft of extra movement 5. Only a 1st level spell !!!!!!!!!!
One thing to add about Hex, specifically in the hands of a warlock, is the absolutely amazing duration of the spell given how warlock casting works. Getting either 1, 8, or 24 hour duration on a spell slot that's easily replenished on a short rest is amazing given how useful it is.
I used your arcane Archer build (with small tweaks) in my last campaign, I took her all the way to level 16. She was amazing. Ditching out a waking 150 something damage in one round without the +3 bow... It was amazing. One of my fav characters to play so far. Thanks
My DM was super confused when my ranger/wizard climbed up a tree and jumped to grapple the flying vampire who was trying to get away. He warned me it was a bad idea. I went with it anyway. My character failed the grapple check and the vampire went to bite him. _Misty Step back to the tree._ My DM was kinda mad at me after that. lol.
I was expecting Tasha's otherworldly guise, considering the massive bonus, despite being quite high level (6) It is a bonus action imunnity to 2 elements, you choose between FIRE AND POISON or necrotic and radiant, while gaining +2 AC, Double attack AND 40FT FLIGHT, on top of a condition imunnity (poisoned for one, charmed for the other). Is like a pseudo haste + the fly spell combined, plus imunnity. But thats my opinion. Please feel free to tell if you don't think is good.
@@stewartb1019 u rite. My bad, in the campaign I'm currently playing, I only use the necrotic imunnity, so I forgot the first one. Also I'll add the condition imunnity.
IMO it's amazing spell in some builds, next to useless in others. Overall one of the better bonus action spells, but because of the level I wouldn't put it in top 10.
As a costly 6th level (meaning 11+ levels of a full caster) concentration spell that makes a more-often-squishy-than-not caster go into melee, it's already not ideal. The +2 AC goes further on people with some level of AC already, which may or may not be the case (Mage Armor isn't a great base here). Damage immunity is extremely useful yet niche, and using the spell just for that may not be a great use of concentration or a 6th level spell. Attacking with an ability modifier is nice... for wizards who can't go Hexblade. And the extra attack feature, though fun, isn't as impactful or necessarily desired when one considers cantrips like Booming Blade. Finally, flight is cool, but in any campaign with magic items... Broom of Flying or Winged Boots (both just uncommon) feel just fine. So, at least for the shield-toting Hexblade builds I'm fond of, it's really not worth taking. I'd much rather concentrate on Darkness and enjoy advantage from my Devil's Sight--maybe crit on a Booming Blade--as well as disadvantage to enemies that rely on mundane sight (including darkvision). This is not to say the spell doesn't have a use. It's just that I have to find them, rather than good uses being obvious and abundant. And I do think it's a cool spell, even if I never take it.
I took the Fey touched feat for my Centaur Rune Knight that im playing ROTFM. I needed to add some versatility and utility to her, and gaining misty step as well as hex has been an incredible addition to her arsenal. Since she's always on the frontline and also has trouble climbing things, misty step has been invaluable and hex coupled with the effects of the runes and classic fighter tools like action surge it's been fantastic.
Although it rarely comes up given the high level, hexing a target’s intelligence and then casting Maze pretty much knocks them out of the battle with zero recourse (unless the enemy is a Minotaur).
Many DM's would rule the combo doesn't work, anyway, since 'Hex wouldn't stay on when you're banished to another plane of existence.' I bedgrudge the fact that I agree. It makes no sense for a low level concentration spell to transcend planes.
I like that you allow a target to be hexed without alerting them. That totally makes sense and makes the spell so much better. I think a lot of people assume casting any spell on a target is always an obvious sign of aggression and starts combat.
Cause that's what the rules says. That spellcasting with a verbal component is very obvious to those who hears it. And while they may not k ow what you cast they know you did cast something.
I'm not sure that's the case if you're 90 feet away. There's definitely a case to be made for whispering. Besides, adjudicating things this way just sounds like more fun.
THANK YOU for pointing out that Hex isn't just a damage boosting move. If you have a grappling Barbarian, or a Web casting Wizard, you can make escaping them nearly impossible. Like, Giants have high strength and typically low dexterity. You throw Web on them, and it usually lands, but then they just rip out of it instantly because of how strong they are. Not when hexed, lol. Add in that the person who cast Hex is now shooting a restrained target, and you get a lot of reliable damage out of it. People also forget that Hunter's Mark has its own background mechanic that you become really good at tracking that target. You can put it on someone fleeing a losing fight, and follow him back to his leader or base. It's a move that's specifically meant to be applied long before a fight, without anyone knowing it happened, but even after the fight, you can use it to hunt down the remaining targets.
Dang! This was probably one of the best videos you've done. Quite a few of the Spells you've listed I've seen used in the ways you kind of talk about them being used to create great Advantage for players. Great work Cody
While only applicable to high level play, I found Crown of Stars to be incredibly potent. (Well until the terrasque). Bonus action for 4d12 radiant damage is very good, with the added bonus of shedding light. At high levels your attack bonus means you almost always hit. It just got crazier with my build though. Chaos Sorcerer able to get advantage on most attack rolls due to Tides of Chaos. Also had a similacrum (ala wish) so had two identical characters firing off 4d12 bonus action volleys with advantage, chaos bombardment for the occasional extra d12, rerollable damage with metamagic and of course the occasional crit. Often it was 60-80 damage per round on the bonus actions. Then you throw in a couple twinned disintegrates….. Oh an I had 2 9th level spell slots due a boon acquired by using the deck of many things fates card to restore a deity’s power. Turns out a similacrum with a 9th level spell slot is pretty handy.
I recently wrapped up a level 20 “Pit of 100 Trials”-styled multi-shot where Healing Word was my Moon Druid’s most useful spell - Shapechanged into an Ancient White Dragon and did my claw claw bite/breath weapon? Healing Word. Calling lightning while dancing around in the sky as an Air Elemental? Healing Word. Just that little extra bit goes such a long way for keeping the party alive and in the fight!
Good shout out on Shield of Faith. As a Paladin, I found it could be very helpful in saving teammates. It’s both a bonus action and ranged, which means you can cast it while engaged in melee to help another teammate who might be getting surrounded, without having to run directly to them. Taking a PC’s AC from 16 to 18 makes a big difference. I’ve saved my teammates’ bacon with this little spell more than once as a Paladin. I’ve also used Blade of Disaster. It’s like a spiritual weapon on monster energy cocaine. It’s definitely worth taking. 10/10 Would take again.
The unexpected number one was very good! While it may or may not be the best spell, I think you had at least an interesting view on the matter, and I think it taking number one due to it being undervalued is a good choice.
No mention of Guardian of Nature? Love the Great Tree form for my Circle of Stars Druid - advantage on Archer Starry Form attacks, Guiding Bolt, Thorn Whip, etc. Also no mention of Dragon’s Breath? So much fun to play a wizard/sorcerer with a damage-dealing familiar! Lastly, Zephyr Strike is fantastic for certain Ranger builds!
Yaaaaas for Guardian of Nature. My axe-wielding dryad ranger uses it in most of her fights!! I don't think it's super-optimal, but damned if it isn't a great time!
Also with Hex the ability to maintain the spell for up to 24 hr at higher lvl is amazing. If you just want a rival npc politician to have a shit day, hex their charisma. The fact that you can set and forget is so good and so on brand flavor wise. I have a character in a downtime heavy campaign that will often use all their spell slots at the beginning of the day to hex their competition or people they dislike.
I like the video, good analysis. My only gripe would be about a target being unaware of the hex. With v, s,m components required I would rule that it is pretty obvious that the caster is using magic of some kind and if that happens no guard will sit there and listen to the party’s attempt at lying. Most of the other examples were great, especially with initiative disadvantage.
I know there are some great spells that may be an ACTION to Cast But then use a BONUS ACTION to subsequently activate. ANIMATE OBJECTS comes to mind. A great use of the bonus action for players. I’d love to see a video of just best BONUS actions to harness in the game completely. Ex: misty step, crossbow expert, cunning action, quicken spell, etc... perhaps separated into categories like: - class abilities, - subclass abilities, - spells, - racial/lineage traits, - magic items, - feats that grant or buff bonus action uses. Thanks so much for posting about these awesome bonus action spells!
As a DM, I wouldn't let Hex be so good at imposing disadvantage on foes outside of combat. Maybe the target won't notice something change right away when the spell is cast, but It has somatic, material and verbal components. The target will notice someone chanting and waving at it, unless unseen and hushed somehow.
hex is a bonus action spell which means its casting time is less than that of a standard action ie quickened spell reduces a standard action spell casting time to that of a bonus action casting time... we can infer from this that bonus action casting times are less than standard action casting times so then the casting time of hex is sub 3 seconds and i'd say that its closer to almost instant ... do u know how far away 90 feet is? roughly 6 cars end to end now if some guy 6 cars away points his finger in your general direction for literally a second and says something that you obviously couldn't hear from that distance would you be worried? And then to the larger question how many times a day does this happen and you just literally dont notice it because you are talking to someone else? looking at your phone? reading a book? looking a different direction? I'd say that you are severely overestimating the kind of reaction doing something like this would cause.
The problem with Hex is that casting a spell on someone is almost always going to lead to initiative being rolled first. Hex has verbal components, it will break stealth and everyone will know you're casting a spell. You're either going to have to go Metamagic Adept as a Warlock, Magic Initiate as a Sorcerer, or multiclass a Sorlock.
Yes but once it's cast you can flick it around as a bonus action for as much as 24 hours and who actually pays attention to what the edgelord over in the corner is mumbling to himself about.
@@poppazoz you can't change the target unless the previous target is dead or unconscious tho, and for these "creative uses" you might don't want to kill the person you hexed. And who's even gonna cast it with 24h duration? Don't you have anything better to concentrate on at that level?
Agree with everything except Hex on 1. Healing word and misty step just do so much more compared to the 3-4 damage you get for a concentration spell. Because thats what it is like 90% of the time.
@@peterlynch9929 I see that but thats why I referred to the damage to being the only thing the spell offers most of the time. Depending on your group you may not get the chance too often to use hex before a fight starts to use it on initiative and grappling doesn´t happen too much either since it doesn´t offer many mechanical advantages. Misty step gets you out of situation, through locked doors, up on a roof or wherever you want to be. Healing word kind of "revives" other players at the cost of a bonus action and a 1st lvl slot.
@@leonpetrich5864 I agree. I think the monsters in my group might do an ability check once a year. Putting disadvantage on initiative rolls in intriguing, but I think my GM would snuff that out pretty fast.
@@leonpetrich5864 especially with his sneaking up scenario. Hex requires all 3 types of components, so unless you've got a couple levels of Sorcerer with Subtle Spell your enemy will hear you cast it, even from 90 ft.
It's 1d6 per a hit. With spells like Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray hitting multiple times it procs each time, every round, and can be transferred to new targets.
My favourite bonus action spell is ranger's "Zephyr Strike". +30 ft of movement and immunity to opportunity attacks and advantage on one attack on the same turn and 1d8 bonus damage.
What makes most of the level one bonus action spells even more powerful is anyone can get them through magic initiate or just one or two levels in that class. Even being able to cast it just once between long rests is a huge advantage but also a great facet of your character's development.
Glad to see Sanctuary on this list. With smart play and timing (usually dependent on how Initiative Order is), you can really do lots of shenanigans with it.
I used sanctuary to allow our barbarian to move across the battlefield and engage the BBEG. It required 3 turns of movement to get there, so without sanctuary the numerous enemy minions would have dog piled her en-route, as well as the BBEG targeting her with spells. With sanctuary 2/3rd of the enemy failed their saves and didn't attack. A tactically useful and fun use of a 1st level spell slot. (This was early tier 2 play, so dimension door/haste etc wasn't in play.)
I love all these spells, but I think an honourable mention has to go to Expeditious Retreat. Expeditious retreat allows you ON THAT TURN and any subsequent turn, to use your bonus action as a Dash action. So at any point in the fight you can double move if: you need to plain run away, you need to chase down a retreating foe, you need to get out of difficult terrain, or plain and simply need to reposition slightly more than your movement would allow. It's a level 1 spell available to Artificers, Eldritch Knights, Arcane Tricksters, Sorcerors, Warlocks or Wizards. I love spells that allow me to pick up extra movement ability, and the best bit about this one is you can use a single bonus action to both activate this spell and reap it's benefits!
I was honestly expecting dragons breath to be here somewhere. I've been using it to make my mount able to do damage when normally they can't, and it is simply deadly over the course of a battle
Hunter's Mark and Hex are at their best taken via the Fey Touched feat on a Fighter. A fighter has the most attacks to maximize the additional damage, and has no higher level spells to concentrate on.
I am interested on how would you guys rule the "Hexing a Dragon to surprise it" bit.... I mean it has a verbal component so I dont think the dragon would be surprised, even if the group is hiding.
@@DaDunge I agree, you would probably need some noise cover. Dragons have good hearing. Maybe it's windy on the top of the mountain where the dragon perches. Or the dragon's lair is behind a raging waterfall.
In terms of using hex to give disadvantage on initiative, I think the rules state that verbal components must be clear and loud (or something to that effect), so by casting hex, you're breaking stealth and losing surprise, making it a gamble to beat the dragon on initiative instead of just taking the surprise round.
Shield of Faith is especially potent with the Twinned Spell metamagic. Even if you merely have it through Metamagic Adept, it only costs one point. Same applies with Healing Word.
One spell I'd throw into the honorable mentions is Expeditious Retreat. Dashing as a bonus action has come in so much use for my character. I took it as a "Eh, I might use it once in a while." I can fly as a variant tiefling, and getting out of bowshot rapidly is incredibly useful, especially with a 600ft Eldritch Blast (Eldritch Spear and Spell Sniper).
Maybe it’s just because I’m relatively new to D&D, but the thing about casting hex out of combat had never occurred to me and seems wildly useful. The disadvantage on athletics was really the only thing I’d figured that extra ability was good for, but the options described here blew my mind.
Hex has somatic and verbal components, so you can't really pull it off stealthily. Meaning that, even though the spell doesn't say the target becomes aware it's hexed, it most likely will be aware you cast some sort of spell on them.
Before hearing about Hex in this video I thought initative was a separate static number derived from your dexterity modifier and not a dexterity check, but I was wrong (PHB 190). This means that exhaustion level 1 also causes a disadvantage on initative rolls as well... Pretty cool stuff.
I'm currently playing a Grave Cleric in a Curse of Strahd game. Spiritual weapon definitely helped against the Nighthag coven. We were able to save one of the kids!
Here's a video idea: What are the best spells to take as an Eldritch Knight? They have a very limited spell pool, but it comes with an interesting added mechanic in Eldritch Strike. What are some interesting combos you can think of?
I agree with Hex, in the game I finally got to play (forever DM) I cast it on a boss fight while environmental effects were in play. The look on my friends faces when the boss couldn't avoid the steam geysers was great. Nat 20 to nat 1
I know this is kinda nuts but we started a campaign at 10 to 12 I can't remember the exact lvl, and I ran a multiclass of an Abjuration Wizard and a Divine Sorc. , honestly one of my favorite characters I've ever played. Very fun for anyone who likes to run supports. The vid just reminded me of this as I use a lot of these spells with that character.
Hex can also give someone disadvantage on the DC 20 intelligence check to escape the Maze spell, but it is a high level wizard spell and concentration itself.
The problem with swift quiver is that you are most likely to use it as a ranger (though you could use it through magical secrets you are not likely to be doing it due to other great spells being options). This means you only get it at very high levels. The best rangers (generally) make use of crossbow expert + sharpshooter, this means that you are already using you BA to make an attack. Though swift quiver does remove the requirement for ammunition lots of DM's already ignore it. So for this hand crossbow CBE + sharpshooter ranger you are just making one extra attack on your turn with swift quiver AND CONCENTRATION. This concentration could otherwise be spent on great spells like summon woodland beings, conjure animals, entangle, spike growth or keeping pass without trace up throughout a combat meaning you could potentially give your entire team a free surprise round, which means everyone has advantage on attacks and the enemy essentially miss their turns! just with this one ranger that is 3 attacks for the CBE + Sharpshooter ranger. Plus lets say a fighter (which at level 15, where you get swift quiver, is making three attacks) and a spell caster means so much more that swift quiver AND WITH ONLY A SECOND LEVEL SLOT. Although having fun is the most important thing at the end of the day
Divine Word deserves a mention, appart from it's main effect depending of the enemy's hitpoints, it's last effect is why it´s worth of the mention, practically functions as a mass banishment for Celestials, Elementals, Fey and Fiends who are in range regardless of their hitpoints if they fail the save
Yes, hex people in the middle of a casual non combat encounter. This is definitely not gonna go wrong with it needing a verbal somatic and material component. I'm sure the guards will not notice they are being hexes. It will work out great.
I make major use of Hex with my Bardlock when we get the drop on the baddies, toss hex one for disadvantage and if there’s more than one use cutting words on another’s initiative roll. The party getting our turns in first frequently means 1-2 enemies never get a turn at all.
I like Shadow Blade. Certain builds, it stands out compared to these other spells. Eldritch Knight can absolutely thrash with it (with Extra Attacks), and so can a Bladesong (with upcasts) and combines well with Haste (if you can get someone else to boost you).
SB forever! At lvl 3 my bladesinger deals 2d8 + dex mod, it's just bonkers! And it scales, and then you get 2 attacks at lvl 6...I crit, and dealt more damage to a dragon than with a fireball!
Multiclass Cleric/Bard/Warlock was rocking Chainmail, shield and Shield of Faith being dogpiled by three Shadows that were getting flanking ... needed three turns of Shield spell, but 25 AC let me tank like a boss!
And the fact they need a check to shake it off means they roll it at disadvantage because of frightened, making it last longer when it lands. Banishing Smite (as discussed in the video) requires no save, but relying on gauging a target's hitpoints is not good.
Misty Step becomes even better when you're an Order of Scribes Wizard above 6th level. With your Manifest Mind ability (which can be up to 300 ft. away from you before it vanishes) you can cast the spell as though you were in the Spectral Mind's space (up to your proficiency times per day); the "a place you can see" also being satisfied by being able to see anywhere the Spectral Mind because you see anything it sees. If you have the Manifest Mind positioned just right, you could get your Misty Step up to 330ft. away. The trick is just getting your Spectral Mind into the position you'll want to Misty Step from ahead of time; when you first create it you can have it start up to 60 ft. away from you, and you can move it up to 30ft with a bonus action each round after that. It hovers just over the ground (no fllying) and it can't pass through objects (so it will be blocked by doors). With those limitations in mind, if you can imagine a way to get it in the right position, you can use it to amplify your Misty Step.
Yup, Hex is powerful. Currently, I've got a echo knight fighter/aberrant mind sorcerer that's gonna have it soon (tasha's lets it be swapped in). It'll really starts to sing with 5 levels of echo knight. Subtle-spell Hex or have echo out before initiative; first round, BA the one you haven't done, action surge and echo strike twice for 18d6+X with a maul, drop 1-2's with GWF. That comes online at level 6 if your DM is lenient. (The build does dump everything in 2 rounds though.)
Regarding the effect of Hex on the target's initiative roll: I don't think it works that way. If you manage to sneak up to the target and open with a Hex, what I think would happen is that both the party and the target roll for initiative, but the target doesn't get to act that round on their turn because they are surprised. The initiative roll however is made as per usual.
And you also need the have a feat: Grappler to get the pin and restrain someone for disadvantage. But like the post above stated, Grapple is an attack nullifying Sanctuary.
thanks for the list. I use spiritual weapon almost every combat encounter as a cleric. and misty step is amazing. haven't used Hex before- but we always take the Alert feat as soon as possible since initiative is so important. Hex + Alert + Surprise.. the BBEG is going down!
I gave the party cleric a Mjolnir-inspired flame tongue warhammer that does lightning damage instead of fire. He's started casting holy weapon on it lately. Holy crap, he just destroys things with it now.
I was sad for a moment when I realised that as a player I might not ever get access to Blade of Disaster... but as a DM, I can throw it on an enemy and use it as much as I want. Could be a very cool villain that can cast Spiritual Weapon and Blade of Disaster and attack the players with floating spectral swords
@@tomraineofmagigor3499 YEAH. Could be a cool origin story if I know one of my players wants to take a level in Hexblade. Or just any martial class that might want a magic weapon. Kill a dragon, gonna loot the hoard and a sword pops out and attacks them
Ok, if I'm not mistaken, a level 9 Warlock basically needs to cast Hex only once per day, as long as every Hexed enemy gets to 0HP: nowhere in the description is said that the retargeting must happen soon after, it says on "a subsequent turn" not on "*the* subsequent turn" so if HexedenemyN is killed at the end of fightX, at the beginning of fightY you can get an HexedenemyN+1
An Order Cleric might cast Sanctuary on themselves and then only cast healing spells on friends, activating Voice of Authority to make them do reaction attacks.
My arcane trickster 4/DM homebrew artificer 5 is blessed with shadow touched and shadow touched II (fey touched but flavoured as a evolution of this "disease" he has), so he can cast Invisibility, inflict wounds, misty step and hex at will once per day, then re-cast it with his slots... IT'S SO FUN TO PLAY, I swear. The "downside" of these feats it's the lore component that my char now has to live with a shadow entity that inhabits his body, as some kind of infection, that sometimes takes over control and creates chaos. Since the start, the shadow would feed on his strength and life power, eventually leading to him going from 12 to 8 strength. The ordeal would kill him in the process if we didn't find a solution, the easiest being a greater restoration/remove curse (spell house ruled to remove only one specific curse, working as a ritual with multiple rolls to determine success). In the end, my char and his shadow got to communicate and created an alliance, in which the shadow would feed of animals while controlling the body, and they would be on good terms. The shadow is kind of stupid, chaotic stupid and so, so funny to interact with. It creates a lot of problems as a chaotic energy, since my character is a known prince and needs to keep his image, so sometimes we have to fix problems caused by the shadow, as roleplay. It's amazingly entertaining and since the "feeding on cow strength" whole ordeal started the town a urban legend of a kind of chupacabra, the chupavaca (cowsucker). It's amazing. So yeah, although it may sound a bit op those two feats combined, it's really not (the shadow can be inconvenient as it's very impulsive. It caused for my character to lose its arm (which was fine by the end since my char is also an artificer and his mechanical prosthetic is VERY COOL) and also offended a high clerical figure of the capital, making me spend time and money trying to rebound the situation, it's really entertaining), it's something that I work every session to keep a quick, fast paced thought process with creative solutions using those control spells. It's nice, since it syncs with my character high intelligence. TL DR.: Yes, hex and misty step are fucking fun to use and I also love my character
Misty Step is literally the reason I'm playing an Eladrin Wizard right now. It's such a useful movement skill for such a nominal cost that I couldn't pass up gaining it as a racial ability. Even just once a day, being able to teleport on top of a building, across a chasm, or otherwise out of danger (plus seasonal effects) is spectacular.
It's not technically a bonus action spell but I gotta shout out imo a super overlooked spell. Melf's Minute Meteors may use an action to activate but you can use it immediately and then as a bonus action after. Being able to bonus action deal up to 4d6 damage and then cast another full spell is great, and sure you only get 6 meteors but that's still three rounds at its base 3rd level that you get that extra 4d6 damage (on potentially multiple creatures, but it's good just targeting only one creature) but in my experience both in my games and watching others play, you won't often be in a combat that lasts more than 4 or 5 rounds. It's just a lot of free bonus action damage without a big cost, and it's flavor text is rad as hell
Cure Wounds on a Shepherd Druid with the Unicorn spirit. Use your action to Dodge or use a different attack, command your beasts to attack, and cure one guy as a bonus action to cure all.
Sanctuary doesn't work with Blindness/Deafness. Blindness/Deafness is a spell that affects an enemy. Sanctuary does work with features like Hypnotic Gaze, or the various Channel Divinity options.
A fun thing about hex... if you know you're going against a caster and you know their Spell score then you can pick that and it will give them disadvantage on undercasted dispel magic and counterspells, not a huge thing but it is notable in my opinion
Community Note: That beeping noise is in this video. Don't do like I did and check your phone, other computers, battery life, or home smoke detector. It's just a background sound from the video. To make this comment relevant, such sounds aren't available in a D&D game, but Ventriloquism, Ghost Sound, or a bard who passes a CHA check can all "yell fire in a theatre" to great effect when done cleverly.
My favorite combo as a cleric is to cast Guardian of Faith before combat (assuming the combat isn't something unexpected), then cast Spiritual Weapon and Sacred Flame the first round of combat, then the second round cast Spirit Guardians. The only concentration spell in the bunch is Spirit Guardians. And stacking those duration spells together makes for a truly broken combo.
Ok I will say that I never thought of the out of combat effects of hex, makes it like 10 times better, especially for a campaign that doesn't do combat a whole lot.
I personally love Melf's Minute Meteors. It gives my wizard a good use for his bonus action (apart from misty step) and yes it is concentration, but it just feels good to roll more dice on my turn, as most of my spells are saves. Dice are just fun
Gotta admit opened my eye's to a few new idea's for my bonus action spell use. Most of the time i use magic stone for my BA since its a damaging cantrip and finding a rock is easy (or take a small bag of rocks with you) plus you can share the stones, and i can still use my action for a spell
One of my players bypassed a door in an ancient by asking if he could see anything through the tiny cracks if the door. When I said yes he misty stepped through.
I have personally found what I feel is a fair fix for healing word spam/ cure wounds getting little love: don't allow it to heal if the character is unconscious or in silence. We play it that the character has to hear the healing word to benefit and this has made the party play smarter and less recklessly. Although we do also have an extra home rule called chanting the word where every time a different character casts healing word within 30 feet of another then every friendly creature targetted by healing word heals an additional hitpoint per level (so if 3 casters cast level one healing words in a turn then the amount healed for all the castings would be d4 + spellcasting mod + 2). I think it adds a great bit of flavour to the idea of a something like a sonorous gregorian chant resonating through the air. It also encourages co-ordinated team work What do you think?
I’d love to use a combination of Compelled Duel with Sanctuary and Hex. Protect the party member who compelled the duel and hex that enemy’s wisdom checks. 😱
I expected Divine Word to be on the list because it can be an instakill when the enemy is hanging on too long. Or after they get Polymorphed into a rabbit.
You can banishing smite and divine smite with the same attack. You can banishing, eldritch, and divine smite with the same attack. You can banishing, eldritch, divine smite a target that has been hit by path to the grave from a grave cleric. You can crit with a banishing, eldritch, divine smite on a target that has been hit by a path to the grave from a grave cleric. If you did you'd do 44d8+20d10 damage. Even ignoring the silly, when I played curse of strahd, our hexblade archer crit with a banishing+eldritch smite on strahd at level 9 and knocked off more than 2/3 of his health with one attack
When it comes to Hex, a big issue is someone hearing or seeing the components, and 90ft is a lot closer than some people think especially when trying to cast it on a guard in the middle of the quiet night. It doesn't matter if a player uses stealth or sleight of hand, verbal components must be spoken out loud in an average conversational tone and verbal components are not just a few wiggles of your fingers that you can hide behind your back. Unless you are a sorcerer or have subtle spell from the metamagic adept feat, your verbal and somatic components are a majority of the time not able to be hidden from your target. I would accept a loud crowd covering up the verbal components from the target, but the people around you are definitely going to know you a doing much more than just being loud. The solution is this: Catch yourself a beetle or some other type of harmless bug/creature, cast Hex on them from a good distance, get within 90 feet of your target, crush the bug(unarmed strike for at least 1 damage), and then use your bonus action to move it over to your target without any noise or visual effects. Easy and effective, a since Hex is at minimum 1 hour this is easy to plan ahead of time. Bonus points if you twin it on two bugs(I don't agree ***at all*** with this ruling and think it is ridiculous rpg.stackexchange.com/q/132921/47234).
If only Ashaldaron's stride could be used on a monk, just runs across the battlefield burning people with kicks XD
I'm pinning this because I approve wholeheartedly Christian.
@@Taking20 I think my first character is gonna take a couple levels in wizard or warlock just so I can live this through.
15 Kensei/5 Bladesinger is a pretty strong combo
Gave my party’s monk in Icewind Dale a pair of boots that allowed him to cast Burning Hands, Aganazzar’s Scorcher, and Ashardalon’s Stride. It was extremely cool.
Yeah, needs to be added to a 4 Elements homebrew fix Discipline list.
(And, honestly, while the main reason Way of the Four Elements needs fixing is because it's under-powered, I'd totally lose Fireball from the list for more cool and thematic options compared to the printed version of the subclass. It doesn't need more raw damage, it needs spells and spell-like abilities that combo well with the base class features. Zephyr Strike is another example.)
Huh, I knew that Hex would've been high on the list but I didn't expect it to surpass healing word. That said, my monk casting Hex (Fey Touched, I needed the +1 to Wis) on the big guy in one of our fights for me and our fighter to prone lock it was the only thing that kept that from being a potential TPK, so I don't really disagree.
Uhhhh, Hex affects only checks, not saving throws, so it wouldn't help your monk land that Stunning Strike.
@@MethosJK9 not Stunning Strike, the fighter grappled and I sent it prone. Since it was grappled it's movement speed was 0 and couldn't get up and had to do pretty much everything at disadvantage except for the saving throw attack it had, and it had to make a strength check to break the grapple, which it also had disadvantage on because of Hex. We called it Prone-Locking.
@@AguionStryke that's a ton of investment to achieve that: Hex + a shove + grapple. At best you have a fighter with access to Hex spending their entire turn at 5th level or above to get one enemy in this position. Not to mention this possibly nerfs every party member that uses ranged attacks. Plus at Tier 2 you might come across creatures with +8, +9, +10 to their Athletics or Acrobatics making it harder to combo the shove & grapple, and if you miss with either of those you just blew that turn.
@@MethosJK9 They're taking out one big guy. Like any tactic, it's usefulness in predicated on the circumstances. That "ton of investment" is 1 action for a 5th level battle master (a trip attack and a grapple) and 1 bonus action from the monk. If you think that's a "ton" to lock down the big guy, I think you're terrible at math. Who cares if the ranged attackers get disadvantage? They can either draw knives and advance, pick off other targets, attack with disadvantage, or just point and laugh.
As far as "if you miss [...] you just blew that turn", dude, you just described 85% of the actions available to you in the game.
So back off and chill a bit. It's a tactic like any other. Sounds like this guy found a great spot for this tactic, and good on him.
@@MethosJK9 It was a one time strategy and we only have one person that uses ranged attack rolls, the other two use saving throw cantrips most of the time, not to mention that we were basically locking down the big guy so the others could clean the rest of the enemies. Besides, I mostly took Hex for the damage increase and variety if I'm being honest, the "curse" is just a big plus for me. (We're in a dream arc right now and pretty much everyone has vulnerability to necrotic, so it's really helping me at the moment)
Also, it took us a turn to set that up. The next round it was two attacks from the fighter, seven from the druid's little army from Conjure Animals (set up a few turns prior, one of them had died), a Thorn Whip from the druid (which is a melee spell attack so no disadvantage and they chose not to pull the guy in as to not break the grapple), and then three from me. Needless to say, the monster went from 80% to dead, and I ended up not even needing my Flurry of Blows. We cleaned up the other six smaller guys the next two or so turns.
When I said it saved us from a tpk I mean it, the fighter was on single digit hit points and everyone else was below 1/3 of their health. The monster would've killed us all in two turns if that hadn't worked.
Just another boost to Hex. Hunter's Mark is only weapon attacks that trigger the bonus damage. Hex is any attack.
I was about to mention that! I have a player on my campaign with a Horizon Walker/Bladesinger combination and he learned that lesson the hard way. His words at that moment were: 'Man, rangers suck!".
Right. Druidic warrior was added but it doesn't synergize. Not only Hunter's Mark so many ranger features interact specifically with weapon attacks
@@Feltyr rangers are in my opinion one of the best classes of 5e post tasha. However, horizon walker is potentially the worst ranger subclass, despite the very cool theme and fleshy level 11 feature (too late and actually not that effective).
@@PedroHISilva Ah, Horizon Walker or as I like to call it - and every other ranger class besides one - "Not Gloom Stalker"
@@loganmcgee18 I partially disagree. Gloomstalker is indeed the most impressive subclass damage-wise, but beast master gives a very decent sustained DPR + tactical advantage package, fey wanderer is a very well designed subclass with good balance between RP and combat, and swarmkeeper is very interesting tactically. Some other subclasses are still viable and operate in other niches. I just think that one doesn't get enough from horizon walker till level 11 and even level 11 is questionable. Still, you have a point, gloomstalker is a damm frontloaded subclass and is powerful under any circumstance.
It's not the greatest spell but I need to give a shout-out to one of my favourites, Zephyr Strike.
Bonus action 1st level Ranger spell to completely avoid AOO, for one minute is pretty solid, if situational, but you can activate it once during that time to get advantage on an attack roll and deal 1d8 extra force damage and you gain 30 feet of movement for that turn.
Thus you could run right up to an enemy key target, say their spellcaster, hit them with advantage and extra damage, and walk right back to where you were.
It has shades of Ashardalons stride, but is much more accessible at level 1 and is a tool I always take on rangers, particularly as an opener.
Agreed. Compared to other ranger spells that require concentration it may not have as much payoff, but I rate it high purely on the uniqueness of it
I prefer zephyr strike over hunter's mark especially being a small lineage. My gnome SwarmKeeper Ranger took it. Sometimes just for the ZOOM!
@@KnicKnac I have a Gnomish ranger rolled up! I just need a campaign to play them in!
@@wanstedt0138 Yes more gnomes!!
@@KnicKnac i use Zephyr Strike like it's a class feature. a first level spell with some serious benefits.
Cody: "... especially since Clerics don't depend on bonus actions a lot"
Me: Wha??
Cody (later on): "wow, lots of cleric spells on this list"
Me: Mmm hmmm
Ya... that's not at all what he said... you should work on your attention span
@@johnymey4034
Please excuse the quotations implying direct quotes, but the spirit of what he said was well-represented
4:23
9:03
Also, it's not an insult or anything, it's a simple observation and I was playfully (that was the intent anyway) pointing out the discrepancy. So, no need to get defensive about it
@@BriConRPGyeah your correct
One that people might miss out on is Aura of Vitality. It is, as far as I've seen, the only accessible 5e spell that RAW heals the undead as a bonus action. We have a vampire in the party and they're very happy with that :')
Do you use the grim hollow transformation or something else?
As a cleric player, I love this and agree. Guaranteed it would have been on the list had the spell not been an action to cast, then a bonus action to heal. Technically making it not a ‘spell with a casting time of 1 bonus action ‘ and thus can’t be on the list
AoV is a great shout out!
It’s probably best out of combat. 20 D6 of healing is a lot lol
@@logancuster8035 best case scenario is you’re in combat with lots of people at low hp, so you can repeatedly bonus action heal people up (bascially multiple healing words). That or abusing the grave cleric ability to heal 12 guaranteed
One time during my second ever game in DnD while I was playing my Tiefling Cleric of Life, I walked into a room full of skeletons, I proceeded to cast sanctuary on myself and walked by them. Good times.
Zephyr strike, a ranger only spell that gives the benefit of the dash and disengage action while also giving you advantage for 1 minute.
But really...
1. No attack of opportunity
2. Advantage on weapon attack
3. 1d8 Force damage on top of normal damage
4. 30 ft of extra movement
5. Only a 1st level spell
!!!!!!!!!!
One thing to add about Hex, specifically in the hands of a warlock, is the absolutely amazing duration of the spell given how warlock casting works. Getting either 1, 8, or 24 hour duration on a spell slot that's easily replenished on a short rest is amazing given how useful it is.
I used your arcane Archer build (with small tweaks) in my last campaign, I took her all the way to level 16. She was amazing. Ditching out a waking 150 something damage in one round without the +3 bow... It was amazing. One of my fav characters to play so far. Thanks
My DM was super confused when my ranger/wizard climbed up a tree and jumped to grapple the flying vampire who was trying to get away. He warned me it was a bad idea. I went with it anyway. My character failed the grapple check and the vampire went to bite him. _Misty Step back to the tree._
My DM was kinda mad at me after that. lol.
I was expecting Tasha's otherworldly guise, considering the massive bonus, despite being quite high level (6) It is a bonus action imunnity to 2 elements, you choose between FIRE AND POISON or necrotic and radiant, while gaining +2 AC, Double attack AND 40FT FLIGHT, on top of a condition imunnity (poisoned for one, charmed for the other). Is like a pseudo haste + the fly spell combined, plus imunnity. But thats my opinion. Please feel free to tell if you don't think is good.
Isn't it immunity to fire and poison? And I think there are condition immunities.
@@stewartb1019 u rite. My bad, in the campaign I'm currently playing, I only use the necrotic imunnity, so I forgot the first one. Also I'll add the condition imunnity.
wow...that is all kinds of brutal. Adding to my list of awesome.
IMO it's amazing spell in some builds, next to useless in others. Overall one of the better bonus action spells, but because of the level I wouldn't put it in top 10.
As a costly 6th level (meaning 11+ levels of a full caster) concentration spell that makes a more-often-squishy-than-not caster go into melee, it's already not ideal. The +2 AC goes further on people with some level of AC already, which may or may not be the case (Mage Armor isn't a great base here). Damage immunity is extremely useful yet niche, and using the spell just for that may not be a great use of concentration or a 6th level spell. Attacking with an ability modifier is nice... for wizards who can't go Hexblade. And the extra attack feature, though fun, isn't as impactful or necessarily desired when one considers cantrips like Booming Blade. Finally, flight is cool, but in any campaign with magic items... Broom of Flying or Winged Boots (both just uncommon) feel just fine.
So, at least for the shield-toting Hexblade builds I'm fond of, it's really not worth taking. I'd much rather concentrate on Darkness and enjoy advantage from my Devil's Sight--maybe crit on a Booming Blade--as well as disadvantage to enemies that rely on mundane sight (including darkvision).
This is not to say the spell doesn't have a use. It's just that I have to find them, rather than good uses being obvious and abundant. And I do think it's a cool spell, even if I never take it.
I took the Fey touched feat for my Centaur Rune Knight that im playing ROTFM. I needed to add some versatility and utility to her, and gaining misty step as well as hex has been an incredible addition to her arsenal. Since she's always on the frontline and also has trouble climbing things, misty step has been invaluable and hex coupled with the effects of the runes and classic fighter tools like action surge it's been fantastic.
Although it rarely comes up given the high level, hexing a target’s intelligence and then casting Maze pretty much knocks them out of the battle with zero recourse (unless the enemy is a Minotaur).
Many DM's would rule the combo doesn't work, anyway, since 'Hex wouldn't stay on when you're banished to another plane of existence.'
I bedgrudge the fact that I agree. It makes no sense for a low level concentration spell to transcend planes.
Hex give disadvantage on CHECKS not saving throws
@@johnymey4034 Yeah but the Maze spell requires the target to make intelligence checks.
@@johnymey4034 Maze has no saving throw. You navigate the maze with an Intelligence check.
@@johnymey4034 yes EXACTLY. That’s why it works!
I like that you allow a target to be hexed without alerting them. That totally makes sense and makes the spell so much better. I think a lot of people assume casting any spell on a target is always an obvious sign of aggression and starts combat.
Cause that's what the rules says. That spellcasting with a verbal component is very obvious to those who hears it. And while they may not k ow what you cast they know you did cast something.
You'd need the Subtle Spell metamagic to actually cast it without everyone noticing it
I'm not sure that's the case if you're 90 feet away. There's definitely a case to be made for whispering. Besides, adjudicating things this way just sounds like more fun.
THANK YOU for pointing out that Hex isn't just a damage boosting move. If you have a grappling Barbarian, or a Web casting Wizard, you can make escaping them nearly impossible. Like, Giants have high strength and typically low dexterity. You throw Web on them, and it usually lands, but then they just rip out of it instantly because of how strong they are. Not when hexed, lol. Add in that the person who cast Hex is now shooting a restrained target, and you get a lot of reliable damage out of it.
People also forget that Hunter's Mark has its own background mechanic that you become really good at tracking that target. You can put it on someone fleeing a losing fight, and follow him back to his leader or base. It's a move that's specifically meant to be applied long before a fight, without anyone knowing it happened, but even after the fight, you can use it to hunt down the remaining targets.
Dang! This was probably one of the best videos you've done. Quite a few of the Spells you've listed I've seen used in the ways you kind of talk about them being used to create great Advantage for players. Great work Cody
While only applicable to high level play, I found Crown of Stars to be incredibly potent. (Well until the terrasque).
Bonus action for 4d12 radiant damage is very good, with the added bonus of shedding light. At high levels your attack bonus means you almost always hit.
It just got crazier with my build though. Chaos Sorcerer able to get advantage on most attack rolls due to Tides of Chaos. Also had a similacrum (ala wish) so had two identical characters firing off 4d12 bonus action volleys with advantage, chaos bombardment for the occasional extra d12, rerollable damage with metamagic and of course the occasional crit. Often it was 60-80 damage per round on the bonus actions. Then you throw in a couple twinned disintegrates…..
Oh an I had 2 9th level spell slots due a boon acquired by using the deck of many things fates card to restore a deity’s power. Turns out a similacrum with a 9th level spell slot is pretty handy.
I recently wrapped up a level 20 “Pit of 100 Trials”-styled multi-shot where Healing Word was my Moon Druid’s most useful spell - Shapechanged into an Ancient White Dragon and did my claw claw bite/breath weapon? Healing Word. Calling lightning while dancing around in the sky as an Air Elemental? Healing Word. Just that little extra bit goes such a long way for keeping the party alive and in the fight!
Good shout out on Shield of Faith. As a Paladin, I found it could be very helpful in saving teammates. It’s both a bonus action and ranged, which means you can cast it while engaged in melee to help another teammate who might be getting surrounded, without having to run directly to them. Taking a PC’s AC from 16 to 18 makes a big difference. I’ve saved my teammates’ bacon with this little spell more than once as a Paladin.
I’ve also used Blade of Disaster. It’s like a spiritual weapon on monster energy cocaine. It’s definitely worth taking. 10/10 Would take again.
The unexpected number one was very good! While it may or may not be the best spell, I think you had at least an interesting view on the matter, and I think it taking number one due to it being undervalued is a good choice.
No mention of Guardian of Nature? Love the Great Tree form for my Circle of Stars Druid - advantage on Archer Starry Form attacks, Guiding Bolt, Thorn Whip, etc. Also no mention of Dragon’s Breath? So much fun to play a wizard/sorcerer with a damage-dealing familiar! Lastly, Zephyr Strike is fantastic for certain Ranger builds!
Yaaaaas for Guardian of Nature. My axe-wielding dryad ranger uses it in most of her fights!! I don't think it's super-optimal, but damned if it isn't a great time!
Also with Hex the ability to maintain the spell for up to 24 hr at higher lvl is amazing. If you just want a rival npc politician to have a shit day, hex their charisma. The fact that you can set and forget is so good and so on brand flavor wise. I have a character in a downtime heavy campaign that will often use all their spell slots at the beginning of the day to hex their competition or people they dislike.
Yup especially combined with subtle spell or the aberrant mind feature.
I like the video, good analysis. My only gripe would be about a target being unaware of the hex. With v, s,m components required I would rule that it is pretty obvious that the caster is using magic of some kind and if that happens no guard will sit there and listen to the party’s attempt at lying. Most of the other examples were great, especially with initiative disadvantage.
I know there are some great spells that may be an ACTION to Cast But then use a BONUS ACTION to subsequently activate. ANIMATE OBJECTS comes to mind. A great use of the bonus action for players.
I’d love to see a video of just best BONUS actions to harness in the game completely. Ex: misty step, crossbow expert, cunning action, quicken spell, etc... perhaps separated into categories like:
- class abilities,
- subclass abilities,
- spells,
- racial/lineage traits,
- magic items,
- feats that grant or buff bonus action uses.
Thanks so much for posting about these awesome bonus action spells!
As a DM, I wouldn't let Hex be so good at imposing disadvantage on foes outside of combat. Maybe the target won't notice something change right away when the spell is cast, but It has somatic, material and verbal components. The target will notice someone chanting and waving at it, unless unseen and hushed somehow.
hex is a bonus action spell which means its casting time is less than that of a standard action ie quickened spell reduces a standard action spell casting time to that of a bonus action casting time... we can infer from this that bonus action casting times are less than standard action casting times so then the casting time of hex is sub 3 seconds and i'd say that its closer to almost instant ...
do u know how far away 90 feet is? roughly 6 cars end to end now if some guy 6 cars away points his finger in your general direction for literally a second and says something that you obviously couldn't hear from that distance would you be worried? And then to the larger question how many times a day does this happen and you just literally dont notice it because you are talking to someone else? looking at your phone? reading a book? looking a different direction?
I'd say that you are severely overestimating the kind of reaction doing something like this would cause.
You'd definitely need the Subtle Spell metamagic
@@nickdiemer7808 I think distance for sound gets forgotten by most people in these discussions about verbal components.
The problem with Hex is that casting a spell on someone is almost always going to lead to initiative being rolled first. Hex has verbal components, it will break stealth and everyone will know you're casting a spell.
You're either going to have to go Metamagic Adept as a Warlock, Magic Initiate as a Sorcerer, or multiclass a Sorlock.
You can also pick it up from fey touched feat, which is already a great feat for a caster. I did that with vhuman sorcerer and it worked out great
Yes but once it's cast you can flick it around as a bonus action for as much as 24 hours and who actually pays attention to what the edgelord over in the corner is mumbling to himself about.
@@poppazoz you can't change the target unless the previous target is dead or unconscious tho, and for these "creative uses" you might don't want to kill the person you hexed. And who's even gonna cast it with 24h duration? Don't you have anything better to concentrate on at that level?
Agree with everything except Hex on 1. Healing word and misty step just do so much more compared to the 3-4 damage you get for a concentration spell. Because thats what it is like 90% of the time.
I think Cody’s point on Hex was that it’s not good for the damage, but for the utility the save-less disadvantage on checks brings in/out of combat
@@peterlynch9929 I see that but thats why I referred to the damage to being the only thing the spell offers most of the time. Depending on your group you may not get the chance too often to use hex before a fight starts to use it on initiative and grappling doesn´t happen too much either since it doesn´t offer many mechanical advantages. Misty step gets you out of situation, through locked doors, up on a roof or wherever you want to be. Healing word kind of "revives" other players at the cost of a bonus action and a 1st lvl slot.
@@leonpetrich5864 I agree. I think the monsters in my group might do an ability check once a year. Putting disadvantage on initiative rolls in intriguing, but I think my GM would snuff that out pretty fast.
@@leonpetrich5864 especially with his sneaking up scenario. Hex requires all 3 types of components, so unless you've got a couple levels of Sorcerer with Subtle Spell your enemy will hear you cast it, even from 90 ft.
It's 1d6 per a hit. With spells like Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray hitting multiple times it procs each time, every round, and can be transferred to new targets.
Blade of Disaster on the Hexblade Warlock I played in a campaign was amazing.
My favourite bonus action spell is ranger's "Zephyr Strike".
+30 ft of movement and immunity to opportunity attacks and advantage on one attack on the same turn and 1d8 bonus damage.
SMITE SPELLS Can be used on the same attack as a regular smite!
What makes most of the level one bonus action spells even more powerful is anyone can get them through magic initiate or just one or two levels in that class. Even being able to cast it just once between long rests is a huge advantage but also a great facet of your character's development.
Glad to see Sanctuary on this list. With smart play and timing (usually dependent on how Initiative Order is), you can really do lots of shenanigans with it.
I used sanctuary to allow our barbarian to move across the battlefield and engage the BBEG. It required 3 turns of movement to get there, so without sanctuary the numerous enemy minions would have dog piled her en-route, as well as the BBEG targeting her with spells. With sanctuary 2/3rd of the enemy failed their saves and didn't attack. A tactically useful and fun use of a 1st level spell slot. (This was early tier 2 play, so dimension door/haste etc wasn't in play.)
Rare situation though most DMs in my experience don't initiate combat where it takes 3 turns to get to the enemy where the enemy can also attack you.
I love all these spells, but I think an honourable mention has to go to Expeditious Retreat.
Expeditious retreat allows you ON THAT TURN and any subsequent turn, to use your bonus action as a Dash action. So at any point in the fight you can double move if: you need to plain run away, you need to chase down a retreating foe, you need to get out of difficult terrain, or plain and simply need to reposition slightly more than your movement would allow. It's a level 1 spell available to Artificers, Eldritch Knights, Arcane Tricksters, Sorcerors, Warlocks or Wizards. I love spells that allow me to pick up extra movement ability, and the best bit about this one is you can use a single bonus action to both activate this spell and reap it's benefits!
Lol Cody calling Spiritual Weapon a level 1 spell while showing a full page background saying how it's level 2.
Oops! Oh well, we’ve all been there.
I was honestly expecting dragons breath to be here somewhere. I've been using it to make my mount able to do damage when normally they can't, and it is simply deadly over the course of a battle
Hunter's Mark and Hex are at their best taken via the Fey Touched feat on a Fighter. A fighter has the most attacks to maximize the additional damage, and has no higher level spells to concentrate on.
I am interested on how would you guys rule the "Hexing a Dragon to surprise it" bit.... I mean it has a verbal component so I dont think the dragon would be surprised, even if the group is hiding.
90 feet.
@@Taking20 Verbal compenents are loud. It says so in the rules. D&D as written does not support whispering spells under your breath.
@@DaDunge I agree, you would probably need some noise cover. Dragons have good hearing. Maybe it's windy on the top of the mountain where the dragon perches. Or the dragon's lair is behind a raging waterfall.
In terms of using hex to give disadvantage on initiative, I think the rules state that verbal components must be clear and loud (or something to that effect), so by casting hex, you're breaking stealth and losing surprise, making it a gamble to beat the dragon on initiative instead of just taking the surprise round.
Shield of Faith is especially potent with the Twinned Spell metamagic. Even if you merely have it through Metamagic Adept, it only costs one point. Same applies with Healing Word.
One spell I'd throw into the honorable mentions is Expeditious Retreat. Dashing as a bonus action has come in so much use for my character. I took it as a "Eh, I might use it once in a while." I can fly as a variant tiefling, and getting out of bowshot rapidly is incredibly useful, especially with a 600ft Eldritch Blast (Eldritch Spear and Spell Sniper).
Before watching, Healing Word
Same. Lol. Saw your comment before vid started.
Spiritual Weapon?
Maybe it’s just because I’m relatively new to D&D, but the thing about casting hex out of combat had never occurred to me and seems wildly useful. The disadvantage on athletics was really the only thing I’d figured that extra ability was good for, but the options described here blew my mind.
My wizard from our recently-concluded 1-20 campaign had 'Blade of Disaster'. She once decapitated a demon lord with it.
If my current wizard (who happens to be a conjuration savant) ever gets to or appears as level 20...she is 100% using this
Hex has somatic and verbal components, so you can't really pull it off stealthily. Meaning that, even though the spell doesn't say the target becomes aware it's hexed, it most likely will be aware you cast some sort of spell on them.
Before hearing about Hex in this video I thought initative was a separate static number derived from your dexterity modifier and not a dexterity check, but I was wrong (PHB 190).
This means that exhaustion level 1 also causes a disadvantage on initative rolls as well... Pretty cool stuff.
Oh dang, never realized that! Thanks for pointing that out!
I'm currently playing a Grave Cleric in a Curse of Strahd game. Spiritual weapon definitely helped against the Nighthag coven. We were able to save one of the kids!
Here's a video idea: What are the best spells to take as an Eldritch Knight? They have a very limited spell pool, but it comes with an interesting added mechanic in Eldritch Strike. What are some interesting combos you can think of?
I agree with Hex, in the game I finally got to play (forever DM) I cast it on a boss fight while environmental effects were in play. The look on my friends faces when the boss couldn't avoid the steam geysers was great. Nat 20 to nat 1
I know this is kinda nuts but we started a campaign at 10 to 12 I can't remember the exact lvl, and I ran a multiclass of an Abjuration Wizard and a Divine Sorc. , honestly one of my favorite characters I've ever played. Very fun for anyone who likes to run supports. The vid just reminded me of this as I use a lot of these spells with that character.
Sanctuary dispels the moment you cast a spell that affects an enemy, so no blindness/deafness
Hex can also give someone disadvantage on the DC 20 intelligence check to escape the Maze spell, but it is a high level wizard spell and concentration itself.
The problem with swift quiver is that you are most likely to use it as a ranger (though you could use it through magical secrets you are not likely to be doing it due to other great spells being options). This means you only get it at very high levels. The best rangers (generally) make use of crossbow expert + sharpshooter, this means that you are already using you BA to make an attack. Though swift quiver does remove the requirement for ammunition lots of DM's already ignore it. So for this hand crossbow CBE + sharpshooter ranger you are just making one extra attack on your turn with swift quiver AND CONCENTRATION. This concentration could otherwise be spent on great spells like summon woodland beings, conjure animals, entangle, spike growth or keeping pass without trace up throughout a combat meaning you could potentially give your entire team a free surprise round, which means everyone has advantage on attacks and the enemy essentially miss their turns! just with this one ranger that is 3 attacks for the CBE + Sharpshooter ranger. Plus lets say a fighter (which at level 15, where you get swift quiver, is making three attacks) and a spell caster means so much more that swift quiver AND WITH ONLY A SECOND LEVEL SLOT. Although having fun is the most important thing at the end of the day
Divine Word deserves a mention, appart from it's main effect depending of the enemy's hitpoints, it's last effect is why it´s worth of the mention, practically functions as a mass banishment for Celestials, Elementals, Fey and Fiends who are in range regardless of their hitpoints if they fail the save
Yes, hex people in the middle of a casual non combat encounter. This is definitely not gonna go wrong with it needing a verbal somatic and material component. I'm sure the guards will not notice they are being hexes. It will work out great.
I make major use of Hex with my Bardlock when we get the drop on the baddies, toss hex one for disadvantage and if there’s more than one use cutting words on another’s initiative roll.
The party getting our turns in first frequently means 1-2 enemies never get a turn at all.
I like Shadow Blade. Certain builds, it stands out compared to these other spells. Eldritch Knight can absolutely thrash with it (with Extra Attacks), and so can a Bladesong (with upcasts) and combines well with Haste (if you can get someone else to boost you).
SB forever! At lvl 3 my bladesinger deals 2d8 + dex mod, it's just bonkers! And it scales, and then you get 2 attacks at lvl 6...I crit, and dealt more damage to a dragon than with a fireball!
Sanctuary also doesn't end if the person you cast it on casts healing spells, so if your healer is hurting, it's a solid choice.
Multiclass Cleric/Bard/Warlock was rocking Chainmail, shield and Shield of Faith being dogpiled by three Shadows that were getting flanking ... needed three turns of Shield spell, but 25 AC let me tank like a boss!
My Eldritch Knight took Hex as his level 1 spell with the Fey Touched feat and basically turned him into a melée ranger.
Wrathful smite is actually really good. The damage is absolutely terrible, but making your enemies frightened is great.
And the fact they need a check to shake it off means they roll it at disadvantage because of frightened, making it last longer when it lands.
Banishing Smite (as discussed in the video) requires no save, but relying on gauging a target's hitpoints is not good.
Misty Step becomes even better when you're an Order of Scribes Wizard above 6th level. With your Manifest Mind ability (which can be up to 300 ft. away from you before it vanishes) you can cast the spell as though you were in the Spectral Mind's space (up to your proficiency times per day); the "a place you can see" also being satisfied by being able to see anywhere the Spectral Mind because you see anything it sees. If you have the Manifest Mind positioned just right, you could get your Misty Step up to 330ft. away. The trick is just getting your Spectral Mind into the position you'll want to Misty Step from ahead of time; when you first create it you can have it start up to 60 ft. away from you, and you can move it up to 30ft with a bonus action each round after that. It hovers just over the ground (no fllying) and it can't pass through objects (so it will be blocked by doors). With those limitations in mind, if you can imagine a way to get it in the right position, you can use it to amplify your Misty Step.
Yup, Hex is powerful. Currently, I've got a echo knight fighter/aberrant mind sorcerer that's gonna have it soon (tasha's lets it be swapped in). It'll really starts to sing with 5 levels of echo knight. Subtle-spell Hex or have echo out before initiative; first round, BA the one you haven't done, action surge and echo strike twice for 18d6+X with a maul, drop 1-2's with GWF. That comes online at level 6 if your DM is lenient. (The build does dump everything in 2 rounds though.)
Regarding the effect of Hex on the target's initiative roll: I don't think it works that way. If you manage to sneak up to the target and open with a Hex, what I think would happen is that both the party and the target roll for initiative, but the target doesn't get to act that round on their turn because they are surprised. The initiative roll however is made as per usual.
I agree, but it's common to see a pre-initiative "freebie" at any given table. I wish the rules on commencing combat addressed this more clearly.
Great video, Cody! Glad to see you again, brother. Prayers for you and your lovely family.
Sanctuary on an artificer with a high ac that grapples the enemy so the party can attack them with advantage and hold down the enemy is crazy powerful
And you also need the have a feat: Grappler to get the pin and restrain someone for disadvantage. But like the post above stated, Grapple is an attack nullifying Sanctuary.
Honorable Mentions: Hunter's Mark, Banishing Smite
10: Ashardalon's Stride
9: Compelled Duel
8: Spiritual Weapon
7: Shield of Faith
6: Swift Quiver
5: Blade of Disaster
4: Sanctuary
3: Misty Step
2: Healing Word
1: Hex
thanks for the list. I use spiritual weapon almost every combat encounter as a cleric. and misty step is amazing. haven't used Hex before- but we always take the Alert feat as soon as possible since initiative is so important. Hex + Alert + Surprise.. the BBEG is going down!
I gave the party cleric a Mjolnir-inspired flame tongue warhammer that does lightning damage instead of fire. He's started casting holy weapon on it lately. Holy crap, he just destroys things with it now.
I was sad for a moment when I realised that as a player I might not ever get access to Blade of Disaster... but as a DM, I can throw it on an enemy and use it as much as I want. Could be a very cool villain that can cast Spiritual Weapon and Blade of Disaster and attack the players with floating spectral swords
It would also make a good magic weapon to represent a shardblade from the stormlight archive
@@tomraineofmagigor3499 YEAH. Could be a cool origin story if I know one of my players wants to take a level in Hexblade. Or just any martial class that might want a magic weapon. Kill a dragon, gonna loot the hoard and a sword pops out and attacks them
Ok, if I'm not mistaken, a level 9 Warlock basically needs to cast Hex only once per day, as long as every Hexed enemy gets to 0HP: nowhere in the description is said that the retargeting must happen soon after, it says on "a subsequent turn" not on "*the* subsequent turn" so if HexedenemyN is killed at the end of fightX, at the beginning of fightY you can get an HexedenemyN+1
An Order Cleric might cast Sanctuary on themselves and then only cast healing spells on friends, activating Voice of Authority to make them do reaction attacks.
My arcane trickster 4/DM homebrew artificer 5 is blessed with shadow touched and shadow touched II (fey touched but flavoured as a evolution of this "disease" he has), so he can cast Invisibility, inflict wounds, misty step and hex at will once per day, then re-cast it with his slots... IT'S SO FUN TO PLAY, I swear. The "downside" of these feats it's the lore component that my char now has to live with a shadow entity that inhabits his body, as some kind of infection, that sometimes takes over control and creates chaos. Since the start, the shadow would feed on his strength and life power, eventually leading to him going from 12 to 8 strength. The ordeal would kill him in the process if we didn't find a solution, the easiest being a greater restoration/remove curse (spell house ruled to remove only one specific curse, working as a ritual with multiple rolls to determine success). In the end, my char and his shadow got to communicate and created an alliance, in which the shadow would feed of animals while controlling the body, and they would be on good terms. The shadow is kind of stupid, chaotic stupid and so, so funny to interact with. It creates a lot of problems as a chaotic energy, since my character is a known prince and needs to keep his image, so sometimes we have to fix problems caused by the shadow, as roleplay. It's amazingly entertaining and since the "feeding on cow strength" whole ordeal started the town a urban legend of a kind of chupacabra, the chupavaca (cowsucker). It's amazing. So yeah, although it may sound a bit op those two feats combined, it's really not (the shadow can be inconvenient as it's very impulsive. It caused for my character to lose its arm (which was fine by the end since my char is also an artificer and his mechanical prosthetic is VERY COOL) and also offended a high clerical figure of the capital, making me spend time and money trying to rebound the situation, it's really entertaining), it's something that I work every session to keep a quick, fast paced thought process with creative solutions using those control spells. It's nice, since it syncs with my character high intelligence. TL DR.: Yes, hex and misty step are fucking fun to use and I also love my character
The dragon hex example is what happened in a game I was playing. We killed the dragon before it even got a turn. Our DM was so upset.
Misty Step is literally the reason I'm playing an Eladrin Wizard right now. It's such a useful movement skill for such a nominal cost that I couldn't pass up gaining it as a racial ability. Even just once a day, being able to teleport on top of a building, across a chasm, or otherwise out of danger (plus seasonal effects) is spectacular.
It's not technically a bonus action spell but I gotta shout out imo a super overlooked spell. Melf's Minute Meteors may use an action to activate but you can use it immediately and then as a bonus action after. Being able to bonus action deal up to 4d6 damage and then cast another full spell is great, and sure you only get 6 meteors but that's still three rounds at its base 3rd level that you get that extra 4d6 damage (on potentially multiple creatures, but it's good just targeting only one creature) but in my experience both in my games and watching others play, you won't often be in a combat that lasts more than 4 or 5 rounds. It's just a lot of free bonus action damage without a big cost, and it's flavor text is rad as hell
Cure Wounds on a Shepherd Druid with the Unicorn spirit. Use your action to Dodge or use a different attack, command your beasts to attack, and cure one guy as a bonus action to cure all.
Sanctuary doesn't work with Blindness/Deafness. Blindness/Deafness is a spell that affects an enemy.
Sanctuary does work with features like Hypnotic Gaze, or the various Channel Divinity options.
About Hex, it has Verbal and somatic components. Doing that will probably break stealth and will definitely make a guards suspicious.
A fun thing about hex... if you know you're going against a caster and you know their Spell score then you can pick that and it will give them disadvantage on undercasted dispel magic and counterspells, not a huge thing but it is notable in my opinion
Community Note: That beeping noise is in this video. Don't do like I did and check your phone, other computers, battery life, or home smoke detector. It's just a background sound from the video.
To make this comment relevant, such sounds aren't available in a D&D game, but Ventriloquism, Ghost Sound, or a bard who passes a CHA check can all "yell fire in a theatre" to great effect when done cleverly.
My favorite combo as a cleric is to cast Guardian of Faith before combat (assuming the combat isn't something unexpected), then cast Spiritual Weapon and Sacred Flame the first round of combat, then the second round cast Spirit Guardians. The only concentration spell in the bunch is Spirit Guardians. And stacking those duration spells together makes for a truly broken combo.
Ok I will say that I never thought of the out of combat effects of hex, makes it like 10 times better, especially for a campaign that doesn't do combat a whole lot.
I personally love Melf's Minute Meteors. It gives my wizard a good use for his bonus action (apart from misty step) and yes it is concentration, but it just feels good to roll more dice on my turn, as most of my spells are saves. Dice are just fun
Gotta admit opened my eye's to a few new idea's for my bonus action spell use.
Most of the time i use magic stone for my BA since its a damaging cantrip and finding a rock is easy (or take a small bag of rocks with you) plus you can share the stones, and i can still use my action for a spell
As a frequent tank, I love the idea of compelled duel, but it really could use a rewrite for mechanical clarity.
One of my players bypassed a door in an ancient by asking if he could see anything through the tiny cracks if the door. When I said yes he misty stepped through.
I have personally found what I feel is a fair fix for healing word spam/ cure wounds getting little love: don't allow it to heal if the character is unconscious or in silence. We play it that the character has to hear the healing word to benefit and this has made the party play smarter and less recklessly.
Although we do also have an extra home rule called chanting the word where every time a different character casts healing word within 30 feet of another then every friendly creature targetted by healing word heals an additional hitpoint per level (so if 3 casters cast level one healing words in a turn then the amount healed for all the castings would be d4 + spellcasting mod + 2). I think it adds a great bit of flavour to the idea of a something like a sonorous gregorian chant resonating through the air. It also encourages co-ordinated team work
What do you think?
I took the fey touched feat with high elf gunslinger and got hunters mark and misty step in one feat. They're both great spells.
Kids, don't forget that you can get access to Hex and Misty step just by taking the Fey Touched feat (in addition to a +1 to INT, WIS, or CHA).
Taking20 I would have liked to see a honorable mention to quicken spells
I’d love to use a combination of Compelled Duel with Sanctuary and Hex. Protect the party member who compelled the duel and hex that enemy’s wisdom checks. 😱
It doesn't affect saving throws
One of my bucket list characters is a Valor Bard with Swift Quiver and find greater steed.
I expected Divine Word to be on the list because it can be an instakill when the enemy is hanging on too long. Or after they get Polymorphed into a rabbit.
You can banishing smite and divine smite with the same attack. You can banishing, eldritch, and divine smite with the same attack. You can banishing, eldritch, divine smite a target that has been hit by path to the grave from a grave cleric. You can crit with a banishing, eldritch, divine smite on a target that has been hit by a path to the grave from a grave cleric. If you did you'd do 44d8+20d10 damage.
Even ignoring the silly, when I played curse of strahd, our hexblade archer crit with a banishing+eldritch smite on strahd at level 9 and knocked off more than 2/3 of his health with one attack
Holy Weapon! That is my favorite at least. Our Fighter/Warlock loves it on his bow
When it comes to Hex, a big issue is someone hearing or seeing the components, and 90ft is a lot closer than some people think especially when trying to cast it on a guard in the middle of the quiet night. It doesn't matter if a player uses stealth or sleight of hand, verbal components must be spoken out loud in an average conversational tone and verbal components are not just a few wiggles of your fingers that you can hide behind your back. Unless you are a sorcerer or have subtle spell from the metamagic adept feat, your verbal and somatic components are a majority of the time not able to be hidden from your target. I would accept a loud crowd covering up the verbal components from the target, but the people around you are definitely going to know you a doing much more than just being loud.
The solution is this: Catch yourself a beetle or some other type of harmless bug/creature, cast Hex on them from a good distance, get within 90 feet of your target, crush the bug(unarmed strike for at least 1 damage), and then use your bonus action to move it over to your target without any noise or visual effects.
Easy and effective, a since Hex is at minimum 1 hour this is easy to plan ahead of time. Bonus points if you twin it on two bugs(I don't agree ***at all*** with this ruling and think it is ridiculous rpg.stackexchange.com/q/132921/47234).
Thanks for the great video! Your breakdowns really have helped me keep my players happy and challenged.
I loved twinning sanctuary on my divine sorcerer. I skinned him as a shamen buffing the front liners with haste or banashing a problem enemy or two.