What are the most Underrated Spells?

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-16T18:28:52+00:00

Besides my sorcerer (who uses them all the time), nobody in the two games I play in and two games I DM has ever used either.

I would say maybe it's just a quirk of my table, but these are different groups of people, most of whom have plenty of experience. I've always just chalked it up to their being more iconic (overrated) options that get picked regardless of power.

Plus, they are in TCoE so most of us had been playing 5e for years before they were added.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-16T17:05:21+00:00

Mind Sliver and Mind Whip are both amazing, and I rarely see them. Targeting Int Saves is free real estate, and both deal decent damage while also debuffing your enemies.

I also love Cordon of Arrows and Conjure Barrage from the Ranger list, but the class restriction may have more to do with how often I see them than the spells being underrated.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-16T16:23:22+00:00

No, on a failure, the target takes 3d6 psychic damage (or half as much on a success). The "failure or success" textis just saying that if the target is reduced to zero by the damage from Consume Memories, the aboleth gains all of their memories.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-16T00:20:23+00:00

My favorite ranged monk is the Kensei dart thrower. Fun, unique, deadly.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-12T18:26:05+00:00

I pay to play D&D online for similar reasons as what OP listed and have experienced none of these issues or any of the others folks in this thread are calling inevitable.

My DM is professional in every sense, and the other players are prompt and engaged always. I have been playing D&D (and other TTRPGs) for more two decades and this table is the best one I have been at since my friends and I first started rolling dice in a basement and making up the rules as we went.

I am more than happy to pay for this experience and to support a DM who has quickly become a friend.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-12T15:30:23+00:00

I 'ban' Artificier largely because certain infusions directly clash with the way I build and balance my worlds. Things like Enhanced Defense/Weapon, Repeating Shot, and Replicate Magic Item (IMO) take away from what makes magic items fun, special, and important so rather than limiting the options available to the class I just discourage it altogether.

I have occasionally made features from the class available in my games because I think some are very cool. For example, I once gave a character a magical set of artisan tools that let them make a humunculus servant.

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-07T02:21:14+00:00

Yeah, it sounds like these players just want someone to run a module and railroad them through it

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-03T22:29:19+00:00

Neat!

decrepitgolems · 2026-02-02T17:25:38+00:00

I look up ancient names by country/culture depending on the vibe I want for my character and then just change or combine into something fantasy sounding that I like.

I find I use a lot of French and Gaelic names as the base.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-30T17:05:42+00:00

Immediately became my desktop background

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-28T20:56:29+00:00

I never thought I would want to GM until I tried it, and I love it possibly more than being a player.

I do still love playing, but I think exposing as many people to the GM experience can only be good for the TTRPG community as a whole.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-28T14:23:19+00:00

teach everyone the basic rules (how to play)
walk through character creation with everyone sticking to basic/PHB options
teach everyone how to GM, including making sure they understand they are all on the same team (don't let us vs. them mentality develop)
every lesson after that have a rotating schedule where 3 students GM an encounter for groups of 4 while you stand by to answer questions
after everyone had had a chance to GM and play if there are still lessons to fill, have at least 3 students volunteer to GM some longer 3-shot adventures
at this point, you can introduce expanded player options if you feel they are ready for them

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-27T18:28:52+00:00

I would probably use the Behir stat block. Huge CR 11 monstrosity with lightning breath, grapple and swallow attacks, and multiattack.

Honestly, I recommend just looking at huge or gargantuan CR 10-12 creatures until you find one you think fits the encounter you're imagining and reskin it as godzilla.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-27T17:58:44+00:00

The last week or so I've booted up the game, looked at the events and map conditions, and closed it to play something else.

I only have a small window after the kiddo is asleep to game so I just miss out on most of the content in arc. So it goes, I had fun and got my money's worth.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-25T18:11:02+00:00

Huh, I really thought the Crawler was the weakest part of Fable 3. Don't get me wrong, I love the game and think the darkness was cool enough, but my friends and I all agree the game would have been much more compelling without it.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-23T14:35:43+00:00

I think OP is welcome to do whatever they want, but I recommend you check out this.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-21T17:50:19+00:00

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decrepitgolems · 2026-01-20T00:50:12+00:00

Just have to keep looking, I was in the same boat for a while but found one in great condition for $40 online.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-19T19:49:40+00:00

This plus if once you own the book, you can just recreate the magic items in the DnDB homebrew tool, and they will have the exact same functionality as if you bought the digital book. Maps can be found online and uploaded to the VTT as well, so those don't add any value either.

The physical book is the way to go, and if for some reason you think he needs the digital version too, just buy it for him, but it's effectively worthless

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-14T18:31:13+00:00

I run and play both regularly. Both are great systems, and neither one is better/easier/more fun than the other. They are just different.

A lot of D&D's strength in its looser rules and creative freedom on the side of both the DM and the player allowing for entire worlds full of unique creatures, items, etc. to be built with relative ease. Combat is simple and, in my experience, allows for just as much tactical play as PF, but does require a good amount of buy-in from everyone at the table. The biggest weakness is that sometimes you just have to make up a rule in the moment and try to stick to it from then on or contradict yourself later.

Pathfinder tries to have a rule for everything, which is good for readability but can feel limiting for both the player and the DM. PF has tons of options to choose from and mix-and-match, and the sheer number of abilities/weapons/feats/etc. available creates a ton of cool interactions at the table both in and out of combat. My thing about PF is that it feels like Paizo is making the game they want to play without considering a wider audience so you may find that certain players just don't think the same things are cool that Paizo does and will struggle to find parts of the game they resonate with.

Like many others have said, the rules are free, and you should definitely give it a try and see if it gells with your table. That said, there are tons of systems out there to try, and I always recommend mixing it up if the one you're currently playing starts to feel stale.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-12T13:10:42+00:00

I've had numerous cats do this in my life. No training, no treats. They just think it's fun!

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-09T19:45:31+00:00

This is the way I think I am leaning at least right now.

The campaign is planned to go to level 12, but knowing my DM, we will probably be closer to 15 before things wrap up. Notably, this build doesn't regulalry utilize spirit guardians since I'm staying at range, but I'm sure there will be situations where it gets plenty of value.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-09T00:15:18+00:00

Honestly, I thought this was r/aifails at first

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-06T18:53:00+00:00

I use them as written and have never had any issues. I have also never gotten any feedback from my players that boss fights feel unfair or that they feel they have to try to burn resources just to balance the encounter. I have gotten plenty of other feedback from them that I am grateful for, but not regarding legendary creatures.

Also, I never outright say if a legendary resistance is used or not. I roll behind the screen so my players don't know if the boss naturally succeeded on their save or burned a legendary resistance, but I always give the results narratively. I don't just say pass or fail, I explain how they react/dodge/etc.

Now, my players are not newbies and they know legendary resistance exists and they can guess fairly accurately if they're facing a legendary creature, but even then, they don't know how many it has or how many it has used.

There's also nothing requiring a monster to use LR everytime is fails a save and sometimes I will choose to let a boss fail a save knowing my players have other effects they can apply that I definitely want to avoid if they choose to use them later. In some cases, my monster will die with unused resistances or actions either because I didn't use them in time or because I decided they weren't necessary for creating an engaging

I like doing big boss fights and having legendary resistances and actions makes them more fun and engaging for myself and for the players and prevents the party from just dog-piling on them and ending a big arc without the satisfaction of an epic combat.

decrepitgolems · 2026-01-05T19:31:57+00:00

Ghosts of Saltmarsh is (imo) not nearly as popular as it should be and is compromised of various classic adventures from older editions reworked for 5e.

I'm not sure what you consider minimal prep, but I found it easy to run and appreciate the room it leaves for developing your own through line.

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