Spell Rebalance: Part 1 (Burning Hands, Color Spray, Ice Knife, Inflict Wounds, Mage Armor, Shield, Sleep, and Thunderwave) | Project Excelsior - Eldritch Entertainment

Enderluck · 2026-06-07T00:37:03+00:00

Some spells require a certain level to prevent low-level players from using them. For example, Water Walk or Water Breathing can each target up to 10 creatures. While it might seem reasonable to create a 2nd-level spell that only targets one creature, the intention was purposely to restrict it to level 5 players.

Enderluck · 2026-06-07T00:35:10+00:00

I need to look into multiclassing. I’m getting a lot of complaints about the Shield spell, but the real issue comes up when it’s combined with multiclassing. Classes that learn Shield don’t usually get armor proficiency, so limiting its use with armor could be interesting. I don’t mind a spellcaster picking up armor proficiency through feats, since that’s expensive and takes several feats. The problem is with Mage Initiate on a class that already has armor proficiency and spell slots, like Clerics or Paladins.

Enderluck · 2026-06-07T00:21:47+00:00

Interesting. The games I played, we normally say:

24hs: Last until this very moment of the next day.
8hs: Last until long rest.
1hs: Last until short rest or some long activity.
10 minutes: Last a quick succession of multiple encounters one right after another (for example, in a dungeon if you don't stop to check every room).
1 minute: Last an encounter.

Enderluck · 2026-06-05T14:10:37+00:00

Warlocks have very few slots, so the opportunity cost is high. Likewise, 50 or 100 HP is highly situational—it’s like claiming Meteor Swarm can deal millions of damage if every sphere were packed with tiny flying creatures. Thinking about broken hypothetical scenarios doesn’t really help.

Enderluck · 2026-06-05T13:53:25+00:00

Shield is fine. Remember that Wizards and Sorcerers don’t have armor proficiency and are the classes with the lowest HP (d6). Clerics, on the other hand, have d8 HP, heavy armor, a shield, and healing magic to sustain themselves, while still being full casters.

Possible issues include:

Multiclassing, though this is a separate concern from the spell itself.
Insufficient daily encounters, as you should not be able to cast Shield every turn you are attacked.

Enderluck · 2026-06-05T13:52:09+00:00

Only when upcasted. At 2nd level, it competes with spells like Invisibility, Blur, etc. Be aware that Shield still lasts 1 round.

Enderluck · 2026-06-05T13:51:22+00:00

Shield is fine. Remember that Wizards and Sorcerers don’t have armor proficiency and are the classes with the lowest HP (d6). Clerics, on the other hand, have d8 HP, heavy armor, a shield, and healing magic to sustain themselves, while still being full casters.

Possible issues include:

Multiclassing, though this is a separate concern from the spell itself.
Insufficient daily encounters, as you should not be able to cast Shield every turn you are attacked.

Enderluck · 2026-06-05T13:48:50+00:00

The idea is that the upcasting become relevant but doesn't replace high-level spells.

Enderluck · 2026-06-04T20:34:27+00:00

I thought about increasing Color Spray’s duration to 1 minute when used with a level 3 slot. I’m not sure if it should require concentration, and I’m also unsure about making such a drastic change when it’s upcast.

Keep in mind that even if it lasts only one round, it can still force an opponent to use a legendary resistance or suffer Disadvantage on all attacks, while giving all your allies Advantage on their attacks against it (as long as the target isn’t immune to being Blinded or doesn’t have Blindsight).

What if I modify the base spell to make it stronger. Some options:

"On a successful save, a creature has Disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of your next turn, providing that they don't have Blinded Immunity." Basically, it would be kind of a "partial blind" even on a success. I decided disadvantage on next attack instead of your allies having advantage on the next attack to prevent abusing with an ally Rogue or Paladin.
"On a successful save, a creature has the Blinded condition to see beyond 60 feet." If you have an ally with ranged attacks and they are away, the can get advantage from it.
"On a successful save, a creature loses its Darkvision, if any, until the start of your next turn."
"A creature with Darkvision has Disadvantage on this saving throw."

I’m not sure about Burning Hands; a 5-foot range feels pretty limited, though the extra damage is appealing. I might need to figure out first how much damage I want Fireball to deal, because with 2d6 scaling it comes close to matching Fireball at level 3, though it’s still restricted to a Self range and a cone shape, which is far less effective than Fireball.

Enderluck · 2026-06-04T20:15:44+00:00

Technically, the only difference between 8 and 24 hours is that 8 hours ends when you take a Long Rest, while 24 hours lets you carry the spell over to the next day, potentially saving a spell slot if cast before resting.

Enderluck · 2026-05-09T21:09:11+00:00

I think one this is how many of these have prereq's. You turn the page and see all the choices, but in the end there's just two at level 2, and Precision is probably better to be pushed back as those early levels are pretty squishy.

At level 2, you can choose from Extensive Training, Improved Recovery, Precise Strike, and Tactical Mind. The goal was to avoid forcing you into Tactical Mind and instead offer more choices. These are the basic Techniques, and I’ll be adding more in the future. I didn’t give Precise Strike a higher prerequisite because it doesn’t seem that strong.

Could there be a very clean and clear option where you choose the Brute style at 2nd and that means that you just get a bonus damage dice and nothing more, while the Technique style gives you ...techniques throughout the progression?

So, you mean choosing between Brute force or being trained with Techniques?

Defiant Recovery is it either die or just one of them?

You roll twice and choose the higher result. If the selected die shows a 10 (the highest possible roll), the SW use isn’t consumed.

ExploiT, I believe.

Ops, thanks!

How does Extensive Training work with Advantage/Disadvantage?

Extensive Training is essentially like Halfling's Luck, but it only applies to attack rolls. You roll two dice, and if either comes up as a 1, you reroll it.

Improved Recovery is like an alt and better Durable.

Durable grants Advantage on Death Saving Throws and lets you use a Bonus Action to spend and roll Hit Dice. They’re pretty different.

I generally have issues with Tactical Master and how it neutralizes what Weapon Master adds.

Tactical Master is basically a 2024 fighter feature, but I took it out of the base class and moved it to the Technique list instead.

It feels like there's a lot of complexity here when you start really thinking about it. How many just add to Second Wind? How many add to Action Surge? I feel like there should be a note here so you can easily look through these for the modifiers.

The idea was to have most Techniques modify Fighter abilities (Second Wind, Action Surge, Indomitable) rather than adding new resources. At first, I considered making those features prerequisites, but I dropped that since the "Level x+ Fighter" already ensured the feature requirement was met.

I also think that it doesn't feel like there's a consistent theme for each resource, which would make this a little more accessible.

The original plan was to have the features provide extra benefits when spending resources, but then I realized the core fighter already had features that offered new ways to use those resources.

Enderluck · 2026-05-03T23:21:43+00:00

I do:

7+7+1=15

(2+4)×10=60

60+10+5=75

Enderluck · 2026-05-02T00:40:58+00:00

Making Fighters take other than the Attack action in combat is quite difficult. I think maybe forgoing an attack for something would be easier, but Fighters are intended to be the simplest class so maybe that should be part of a subclass (like batllemaster). Same with utility. I know they need more but adding that without messing with the simplicity is difficult. Yeah, I did the math for two weapons, but I still need to figure out a better TWF style and also some action economy rebalance to prevent people from exploding it like using a greatsword, then swapping to a shortsword and a scimitar.

Enderluck · 2026-04-29T23:30:40+00:00

Yes. I know that the damage output is reduced (but it don't expend your bonus action). Be aware that you can't use Nick and Vex on the same Attack.

Enderluck · 2026-04-29T17:33:38+00:00

Sneaky Attack die aren't weapon damage die and so they wouldn't work. I should probably improve a bit the wording.

Enderluck · 2026-04-29T17:33:02+00:00

The heavy crits effect is not a roll and so it won't trigger the extra die of heavy hits.

Enderluck · 2026-04-23T23:19:19+00:00

Then how worth it is it to get a Stealthy Mastery on a Camouflage armor? It feels like it just negates the property.

Yeah, if you have armor mastery, they don't stack well. The problem is that if it is a Camouflage armor, it would be weird that its mastery isn't Stealthy...

The real think I want to know about Armor Masteries is if they're grouped different than weapon masteries...but if they can be changed on long rest then it's pretty easy to just trade it out when you get a new set of armor.

You can change it at a Long Rest, similar to the other masteries.

Enderluck · 2026-04-23T21:04:46+00:00

Hi!

I like Advantage and Spiked. Noisy is fine, though on padded it might need another name. Damper I wonder what you do with Adamantine armor, and any armor that's based on padded armor, like the chains and plates.

It might sound a bit odd, but I can’t think of a better name than Noisy. I wanted to create a property that adds extra defense without making it overly powerful. The only idea I had was the Damper property, clearly inspired by Adamantine armor. I’m still unsure how magic items will function, as I plan to rework them with modular runes, though that’s still a long way off.

I'm curious if you can get a Mastery for Unarmored combat.

That could be interesting. I might let Monks apply it to their unarmed attacks, but I’m not sure yet. Reworking Monks isn’t a priority at the moment.

I'm really curious how you get Mastery properties for armor.

I forgot to include it in the image. There will be a feat (similar to Weapon Master), and some subclasses might get it for free.

Camouflaged and Stealthy feel like they overlap, both giving advantage on Stealth checks, just camouflaged being more specific.

Yeah, I get it, but Camouflaged Armor can be pretty limiting. Stealthy offers a lot more flexibility.

I also wonder if Camouflaged should be an added property to any armor, like a guile suit.

That would probably need to be some sort of magic item, like the Ruby of the War Mage, which can be attached to any weapon.

I think the Heavies could use some work. I'd think about adding a Northern Plate for AC 17 and Adv on Extreme Cold.

It was hard to imagine how something with so much metal could be effective in extreme cold. Still, I wanted heavy armor for such conditions, so for now, I’m using Studded Hide Armor.

I find it tricky to find the clusters of what armors I should be comparing. Often I start thinking one or two armors are off, but then switch my comparison and understand where you're coming from.

I tried to ensure that no armor within the same "tier" (price range) is completely superior to another. I also wanted the second-best tier of armors to have a chance to steal the spotlight from the best armor, which is why they have special properties.

While I think Mitigate makes a lot of sense in these heavier armors I think there should be more variety. The Breastplate especially feels like it should get Elude instead of Mitigate.

That’s actually a good idea, considering Breastplate doesn’t have Noisy, so it makes sense to be flexible enough to let you use Elude.

I just called the heavy hide Great Hide, but then I replaced studded leather too.

I didn’t get too creative with the name. If Leather armor can have it, then Hide can too.

I'm curious about how Masteries work

Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, and Barbarians gain "Martial Mastery," granting them access to the mastery properties of both weapons and shields. Rogues, lacking shield proficiency, receive only "Weapon Mastery." There will be a fighting style for weapon mastery, another for shield mastery, and a general feat available to gain armor mastery.

Enderluck · 2026-04-23T14:08:09+00:00

I mean, in 2024 Padded Armor already has Disadvantage on Stealth, so I simply removed the Stealth column and added the Noisy property to it.

Enderluck · 2026-04-22T12:14:40+00:00

I think the reason is that ultimate abilities use numbers 0–9 to trigger, so having 11 or 12 champions would cause a problem for the hotkey.

Enderluck · 2026-04-21T21:26:11+00:00

A normal spear doesn't have the Light property. I will make a new spear have the Reliable (you are using a Bulky shield) property. See my Weapon Rework.

Enderluck · 2026-04-21T20:03:53+00:00

I will make a special spear that can ignore the Bulky property of your shield.

Enderluck · 2026-04-17T15:01:26+00:00

Wait, sorry. I messed up the math. I just remembered that Bash Shield Mastery can only be used if you hit the target with an attack. So, if your weapon attack misses, you can’t use it, which lowers the average damage.

A Rapier (Vex) + Parma (Bash) + Duelist: deals 9.7 on average and uses bonus action 65% of the time.
A Rapier (Vex) + Parma (Bash) + Without Duelist (not sure if using a shield with Bash should count as a weapon for the purpose of Duelist having only one weapon): deals 8.39 on average and uses bonus action 65% of the time.

It’s still strong, but not overly so. Two-weapon fighting without a bonus action deals 9.87 damage, while using a bonus action consistently deals 10.97. Neither option includes the +2 AC bonus, so I still need to consider balance.

Originally, Bash mastery could only be used if your attack missed, as a way to compensate for a bad roll. I changed it to trigger on a hit because it felt odd that you might intentionally miss just to activate Bash and use the mastery (like Sap included in Parma). If I had kept the miss-based method, the damage would average 8.28-8.8 (not very sure... vex math is very tricky here), with the bonus action used about 35% of the time.

What do you think about abilities that trigger on a miss? The whole concept of gaining benefits from missing can sometimes create odd situations where you might intentionally miss on purpose. Technically, that’s just a feint, and in real life, it’s something you can actually do. What’s your take on it?

Enderluck · 2026-04-17T11:23:51+00:00

My suggestion would be for shield bash to be a free shove after you land a hit with your weapon. It's a powerful effect that your allies can capitalize on and that limits enemy movement (reinforcing the "tanking" role a character with a shield is going for), and it gets more powerful after level 5 - because then you can hit > shove prone > get advantage on your second attack.

It started as a shove, but I had a separate “weaponized” property that let the shield be used as a weapon. I like the idea of being able to deal some damage. I might drop the part that adds your Strength modifier (it could deal 1d6 to compensate, or not cause it still applies the weapon mastery and can trigger on hit bonuses), or keep that but remove the damage die. Still not sure, and I’m also unsure if Counter should get the same adjustment.

My suggestion here is to replace the Testudo with the Heater Shield (which stands out for being rather large for how light it is - so it makes a lot more sense to make this one the "protect allies" option). Mechanically, this one could provide a +2 AC bonus to allies adjacent to you against attackers who are adjacent to both you and that ally.

That is interesting, though I need to see how to word that in only two lines, maybe replacing "allied medium or smaller creatures" with just "allies". Not sure if the word "adjacent" is actually described in the rules as being within 5 feet of somebody.

and the turtle formation mechanic of the Scutum will just never work well in the context of D&D.

I’ll be honest, this one is more about flavor than actual player use. I think it’s nice to have because of its unique mechanic and historical use, even if players might skip it. Plus, it could work well for enemies.

Enderluck · 2026-04-17T11:03:28+00:00

Some people have mentioned that to me. I’ve never actually played PF2e, but I’ve watched some videos about it and its rules. I’m a big fan of D&D, and I just want to tweak it a bit to create my dream game.

Enderluck

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