"...and certainly not my players who generally don't let a single D&D related thought sully their empty minds in between sessions." As a forever GM I felt this in my soul.
Don't we all love the Casuals, who are solely present for socializing reasons, and would never admit to having something as mundane as TTRPGs as a hobby?
To really hammer in the point: Mordekainen was Gary Gygax's character. Melf was Luke Gygax's character. Bigby was Rob Kuntz' character. Drawmij was Jim Ward's character. Leomund was Len Lakofka's character. Tasha is named after a kid who wrote letters to Gary. I could keep going for a long, long time. It is quite literally a day zero DND tradition to have your PC wizards make up spells and name them after them. Let them! Keep the tradition going!
@@aishaali9771 Hadar was from 4E, one of their range of "star-like Elder Evils" AKA Lovecraft meets Galactus. If I recall it correctly, a series of stars were infested by the Far Realm and became bizarre sentient evils of great and unfathomable power. This was the source of their Star Pact warlock's powers, and eventually got rolled into the Great Old One patron in 5E.
I think I knew 90% of these names were PCs at one point but hearing them all listed this way together is *so* impactful for some reason. Thank you for your comment!
I’ve never made a homebrew spell, but I’ve taken to being a bit lenient with the spell lists. I recently let my party’s Eldritch Knight take the spell Ceremony even though it wasn’t on the list, solely because we agreed it would be hilarious for this deranged little chaos gremlin to be able to officiate weddings.
😆😆 brilliant. Honestly, if there's a feat that lets characters take spells that aren't on their class list, I can sure as heck just give one to a PC if I like.
I could almost see incentivizing my players who play primary spellcasters to make at least one new spell by level 10 as a sort of "graduation", especially Wizards. A magical Thesis Project.
I did this exactly. Twice. There was a bundled magic missiles spell, (3rd lvl) shoots one target 4-6 times or so and then branches to that many secondary magic missile targets. (Loosely based on chain magic missile). And a whole other character created an illusion spell where you enchant a bundle of sticks to look like wands of magic missiles, including firing illusory missile attacks that did psychic damage, briefly turning a crowd of peasants into a fairly formidable fighting force.
@@GinnyDi I did this when I played a Dread Necromancer. His Thesis spells were a spell that made an eye function like a video camera, and another that trapped the soul of a recently slain character in that dead characters skull. The DM liked the idea, and we got a really cool NPC out of that last spell 😁
The big bad of our low level campaign raises his hand and proclaims: "I cast Fire.." Our bard, Otto, interupts "BOLT". The firebolt deals 1d10 damage to a floor tile in the middle of our group. We have once again been saved by "Otto's correct"
The party breath of haze druid acquired a ring of spell change on one letter of a spell one per day. Been using goodberry and making slight research changes. Dm let me know the druid is a crafter of a new spell series. Druids been baking "goodmerry" scones, muffins. They got a kick if there's extra berries in the scones. Going to try "Goofberries" in the new batch. Field testing. "Hey party, who wants a muffin?" Party - NOO! Learning to bake spells responsibly.😊
One of my characters firmly believes that spells can be DOWNcast, not just upcast, so she keeps experimenting with magic until she discovers a way to do it
I’ve had similar ideas as an expansion of ritual casting- by using various sacrificed and expanded geometry, you can cast spells above your station for expensive costs in time and effort
I remade the spell for Clerics, with slight adjustments. It seems silly that the servants of deities with power over life and death can't tap into your will to live, but the schmuck that stumbled into a fairy circle can.
You find a spell scroll for a cantrip called "Derrick's Dirty Down Rust". It makes things lightly rust as if you were in a grimdark story. It seems to allude to an entire set of oxidizing various metals. Why Derrick was interested in mildly oxidizing metallics is unknown but it does instantly add a cool roughness to your armor
My interpretation of things was that the spells that have a name are because they were notably tied to the creator. And that all the "generic spells" used to be tied to a name at one point but it has been so genericized and ubiquitously known about, but the creator's name has been forgotten to time and only the spell name is retained.
Many campaigns ago, one of my player's signature moves was casting Flaming Sphere and rolling it through combat. This was great at lower levels, but the players started to razz him because he would keep using it even when they were 15th level and he wasn't really pulling his weight. So the player made a new spell... it LOOKED just like flaming sphere, but it did more damage, and it worked like a Resilient Sphere... only it could roll over things and trap them inside where they burned round after round. No one complained again after seeing Jaust's Incendiary Sphere in action. O.o
A couple of years ago, I played a Shadow Sorcerer/Great Old One Warlock whose gimmick was that all his "spells" were actually just him ripping open a portal to the Shadowfell and grabbing a horrific little creature (picture all the gnarly non-humanoid ghosts that show up in the "everything is going wrong" montage in every Ghostbusters movie) that creates the spell's effect and disappears back to the Shadowfell when the spell ends. So I came up with a cantrip to replace taking something like Mage Hand or Prestidigitation and give me more of that summoner vibe. Plus, I gave them some "ill-behaved pet" vibes like knocking stuff over or eating the object you wanted them to fetch. *Iwen's Minute Monsters* Conjuration cantrip *Casting Time:* 1 action *Range:* 30 feet *Components:* V, S *Duration:* Up to one minute Calling out the name of a tiny creature from another plane, you bring it to your current plane to complete a simple task. You create one of the following magical effects within range: * *Glow.* The creature glows or produces faint flames or sparks, shedding dim light of a color of your choice in a five-foot cube. * *Eat.* The creature eats one tiny, nonmagical object that weighs less than 5 pounds and that isn't being worn or carried. * *Ruin.* The creature scratches, bites, spews slime over, or otherwise causes minor cosmetic damage to one object no larger than one foot on each side, or it befouls up to 1 cubic foot of food, causing it to taste and smell disgusting. If possible, it may knock the object over as part of this effect. * *Speak.* The creature makes a loud call that can be heard up to 100 feet away. * *Fetch.* The creature picks up one tiny, nommagical object that weighs less than 5 pounds and that isn't being worn or carried and brings it to you. When you give this command, there is a 50% chance the creature will take the Eat action instead. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three creatures each performing one of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action. *Spell Lists:* Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock
Why can't anyone protect a standard noble from being assassinated by a single disgruntled sorcerer casting magic missile? *Welp* time to write a whole subclass for it! - Me...too often
I saw four types of GMs 1 Master picked any prepared start campaign and just goes with thing that written in the book 2 Master makes a campaign in prepared setting like world of forgotten realms 3 Master makes own world and campaign in ready system 4 Master creates just new full system for each campaign (and you have no right to not read all this 20 pages explanation how to cast spell building it with different 'forms' 'appearances' and 'elements' like some Lego) I found myself in last group and that's why no one ask me to play oneshot (they will have to learn stuff for half of session)
A safety valve I like to use when a player wants a custom spell is to tie a spell component to it (that is just costly enough to not be able to be bypassed by focuses, etc). Then you have leverage to make the component more expensive (More people have heard about the spell and the demand has driven up the market) if you need to reign it in, or give the player a deal buying it in bulk once it has been proven safe.
I added a simple reskinned spell to my island-hopping campaign called "freeze" which was just a water-based version of the "entangle" spell. It was granted to the party druid by an ancient lizardfolk shaman. The player has since used it to great effect. New spells are great for adding more flavor to your game.
You've sold me. I picked up "Vordanin's Book of Spellcraft" today. As someone who has been playing versions of D&D since the 1980s, it is always fascinating to see a person like you who is so enthusiastic about gaming referring to "things you learned on the internet" and the like as if it was your character excavating an ancient tomb or library. It really make me realize how long the hobby has been around and how far it has come in across the decades.
I think it's awesome how much bigger the game has gotten thanks to the internet! We have so many awesome creators sharing their ideas in online spaces. Even in the last 5 years, the game has changed so much.
MOM! Ginny called me a coward. Seriously though, my main issue with spell invention is taking the time to look over their ideas. It wouldn't even take me that long... I think I'm just lazy.
Put some of the burden back on the players then. Have them give you a few examples of similar spells and their spell levels so you can make sure it is in line with the power. That way the approval process is you reading one new and two or three existing spells and just comparing.
Also tell them to look up example spells from their current casting level that are already game approved. They should get an idea of how their own spell should go based off that
This is something I love doing with spooky and weird material components being added to spells. Experiment! Try adding monster parts of rare minerals to the spell components list! Do you like spooky symbolism? Make a new material component for Fireball from Fulgurite (lightning struck sand) - TAH-DAH! Lightning Ball! Get out there and get creative!
I recently saw a reel about the fact that spell components are actually funny jokes/puns related to the spell's effects. If a player came to me with a pun and a component, I would be SO on board.
I really really love this, and I'm definitely getting Vordanin's! I'm a therapist who runs therapeutic campaigns for teenagers with heavy trauma, so they often have very specific aesthetics that they want to match with their spells. No clue why D&D 5e just never thought to make a spell that facilitates "I want spooky murder witch vibes that make the BBEG's words appear in the air and highlight for me when he's gaslighting us" /s I've been fumbling my way through half-assed spellcasting homebrew and being bored with flipping through the PHB's spells for a million times so I am very delighted that this came out at a great time for me. It's also really appreciated that you let us know what you're worried about with Vordinin's too. Also, how you described players in the beginning made me genuinely laugh out loud which was nice. Also also, hi fellow underappreciated alto!!!
In my Sunday game, I had the idea that the party’s wizard could take the Wall of Force spell and modify it, eventually inventing a new spell called Nemezark’s Naval Ram.
"Never half-ass homebrew two spells, always whole-ass homebrew one spell" but really, I can't agree with this video enough, one small thing I love to this day is that one DM of mine let me reflavour Eldritch Blast so it more closely fit whatever patron I went with, go with some kind of fiery devil? It's now a streak of fire from your hand, and it deals fire damage not force. Swear your allegiance to some ancient beast whose corpse was found encapsulated in ice? It's now a spray of ice shards and deals cold damage. It's such a tiny thing but it feels so fun when you can reskin you most commonly used spells to feel more flavourful to the character
When we were playing Curse of Strahd, the DM had corrupted our thoughts and tried to turn us on each other. I tried to pass "Power Word Kenku Kill" as a fourth level Bard spell. My DM... Didn't approve it for some reason.
My first time running my own campaign, I was with a group of veteran players who wanted to challenge themselves. One of them was a wizard who relied exclusively on traps, who grew up in the forest teaching himself magic. Because of that, most of his spells were his own creation, designed to trip up opponents creatively. I worked with him to create the spells Valen's Adhesive Armor (which causes melee weapons to stick to his skin) and Spitfire (a touch-triggered version of Fireball that takes 10 minutes to cast), and both of them made the campaign so much more fun and unique. 10/10 would reshape reality to our will again.
We actually invented a rogue class called the hexhacker. I got the idea from the Shadowrun rpg. Want to cast a spell but are too lazy to learn magic yourself? Why not borrow someone else's spell while they are casting it. A hexhacker can see the "coding" of magic as 3 dimensional gears and dials. They tamper with a casters spell during use. Rewiring the spell to cause unintended effects. They can also crack magic locks of doors and chests. Hexkhackers come in handy for when invading magic facilities. My hexhacker was a tinker gnome that had a crude keypad connected to a headband. He hacked everything. Lol. And yes, they are "hacking the code of magic". Fun class to play.
I love using homebrewed spells and in my long running games I have been introducing them here and there with some twists. One trick that's been fun has been the introduction of what are *objectively worse* spells here and there. Like I gave my wizards (I have two in one party) a spellbook that had a selection of a few spells that were entirely new or powerful but, it was also full of others things like a spell that looked an awful lot like fireball but did less damage and was 4th level, or one that was similar to the arcane deflection feature of War Wizards but cost a spell slot and gave a much smaller bonus. I also sometimes give these sorts of spells to enemies I want to give spellcasting but not scale as much as it normally does. Not only did my players love feeling like magic as a whole has been progressing in the world over the many centuries but they occasionally get to feel uniquely powerful amongst their modern peers. It's brought such a fun dynamic to the history of my world and I love it!
One spell modification, that would be mostly useless, but could situationally be handy to have: the _Light_ cantrip A Wizard and magic researcher NPC in my campaign found this. You need material components in form of a glass sphere filled with Mercury, and then cast light on it. As a result, the light is purple. When cast this way, the cantrip produces UV light, that is harmless to anything, but certain things glow while exposed to it. Now you can look up what glows under UV light, and think about fun ways to integrate it into the adventure. Maybe the PCs are in a dark place, that crawls with Giant Scorpions, but thanks to this cantrip they now all glow bright blue and are easily spotted. Maybe they use it to test if gems are actually real. Or maybe they use it to solve a crime by making invisible blood stains visible. The only limit are your creativity and what the DM deems possible or plausible. Or dig up spells from previous Editions and bring them up to current game mechanics.
In my games, I allow my players to get creative with their spells and even combine or expand them. This often comes at a great cost, particularly on a critical fail, but allows for some more flexibility and creativity. For example, I had a player who rolled a Sorcerer who loved Magic Missile and would use additional spell slots to change the damage type, add an explosive effect, or even fuse the missiles into one "Magic ICBM," as we came to call it. (Edited for grammar)
@GinnyDi It definitely is. Restriction can breed creative thinking and it's often very helpful to have a basic idea to work off of... as long as the spell isn't obviously game-breaking or ridiculous, of course. There will be no shotgunning fireball spells or Power Word Kill-ing an entire city because you "summoned an eldritch megaphone."
I have a wizard player who really wanted to cast a cleric/paladin spell, so I let his character focus on studying the spell for two days, and roll a D20. He rolled a Nat 20, and he now knows lesser restoration. Not inventing a new spell, but letting him feel like he did something impossible. Which he kinda did.
as a person playing a non-religious wizard in a part of 2 clerics, 2 paladins, and a cleric/monk multiclass, i would *love* to be able to go "see? i can do your magic too"
Letting people learn a spell from outside their class is great. Sure some are broken but most are perfectly fine. No one was ever been hurt by letting an eldritch knight learn a healing spell.
@Merilirem Works especially well if it's something your party doesn't have access to. If you have no Cleric or Druid, learning to heal or revive is super useful for the continuation of the story
Plus, if you're worried about "following rules" you could always just allow them to take magic initial or ritual caster or something to give them a couple spells outside their list
One (free) suggestion that some can explore is looking to the UA Mystic for inspiration. It's a complicated class, but the psionic disciplines have interesting twists on classic spells. I got to play one in the last campaign, and it definitely reignited my love for casting. Broke the whole repetition of "at level one I better take shield, ok level three its time for misty step".
I made a cleric/paladin spell for a past campaign called Divine Sacrifice - A spherical barrier up to one mile in radius surrounds the caster. For 8 hours, it absorbs all attacks that target creatures, objects, or locations inside the barrier. Creatures inside the barrier can still attack outward. At the end of the 8 hours, the barrier disappears and all the damage it blocked hits the caster at once. - I didn't really expect the players to use it. It was more about what it told them about the hero who created that spell: how far they would go to defend their home. There's something about putting the "lore" into the game mechanics that can sometimes make it feel more real. Makes the players seriously consider whether they might use something like that.
The way you talk about the invention of spells in the intro gave me an idea for an adventure (y'all are free to use this and write it however you'd like): a corporation of wizards buys/steals/forges the IP rights to every spell, threatening "legal action" (read: cruel violence) against any other casters who are allegedly "plagiarizing", and it's up to the party to climb up their skyscraper and fight pencil-pushing mages along the way to defeat the CEO and win back the magic for all. Different departments could even be themed around different schools of magic, like the illusionists department is a stealth section, and the conjuration department involves a portal puzzle, etc
I’m playing a Wizard/Rogue in a campaign and I’ve worked with my DM to make a couple of spells through the course of the campaign, specifically ones that tie into my character. They’re really awesome - Cormo’s Compelled Duel will go down in history!
I laughed out loud and looked at my wife (who looked guilty) at your proclamation that your players don’t sully their thoughts with gaming between sessions. I feel seen.
I wholeheartedly agree, I love making new spells or modifying preexisting ones. Sometimes I just ask the dm if I can change the damage type to better suit my character’s aesthetic, or create something new together!
I commented on your last video about how i was going to play dnd for the first time. It sadly got delayed by one day, but everyone had a great time and I think my dad had a really fun time being the dm 😁
Homebrew Spellcrafting 101: - Take any pre-existing spell - Change one letter - Profit Our sorcerer started my Witchlight campaign by purchasing three misprinted spell scrolls. So far, Find Stud has provided some useful (sexy) mobility, while a Magic Scone laced with sleeping potion is ready to be dropped in the nearest monster's gullet!
Ahhh, Find Stud, the signature spell of every dad preparing to hang something to the wall. (Everyone within audible range needs to make a Wisdom save to prevent themselves from groaning when the dad inevitably casts it on themselves)
This reminded me of when I was reading the effect of Find steed and read "warhorse" as "warehouse" and my dm loved the idea. We did not use it but still
This is a great idea: -Tragic Missile: Inflicts unstoppable psychic damage as the target remembers their most anguishing regrets. -Mireball: Drown a 20 foot radius sphere in a sudden eruption of swamp muck. -Contusion: Inflicts bludgeoning damage on one target. -Leomund's Tiny Hat: The whole party can take refuge for their long rest inside the wizard's pointy hat.
Wither and Groom: you may be rotted, but at least you'll look good! Beacon of Dope: Makes everyone around you slightly more gullible. Arcane Date: adds an entirely new day to the calendar year. Hemiplane: it's the same thing, but now you get into arguments with linguists about it. Cone of Old: self-explanatory.
In the current campaign I am playing in, my wizard character has invented a new branch of magic. Door magic. Which is the ability to summon different types of run-of-the-mill doors. Single. Double. Stable. He has you covered for all your suddenly blocking line-of-sight, but in a way you can go through later needs.
My in-game explanation is that there are thousands of spells, and creating them isn't that hard. But creating _efficient_ spells is. Nobody wants to bother learning Myrkel's Sonic Boom to deal 3d6 thunder damage with a 5th level spell slot. For players creating their own spells, this also allows for the spell to be balanced in real time, without needing to ever nerf their favourite toy. When they first create their spell, it's super inefficient and only serves as proof of concept. It might have a really long casting time, a too-high level, an expensive component, a very short range or a very weak effect. Over time, as the character continues to work on it, these restrictions can be slowly removed or reduced, one by one, until both player and DM are happy with the power level. You can even allow the PC to have a slightly better version that the published version (since they know the strange little quirks of their baby).
I feel like Artificer is just the perfect class for people who like to create their own spells as if you use a normal spell and don't really describe it as something else, you lose touch with the class. Whereas if you come up with new names and unique descriptions, it really feels good~
Great video Ginny. Totally agree with all the points you made on home-brew spell use. Like that you touched on old-school 1st edition spell creation. Back in the day I allowed players to use spells from the Great Net Spell Book and the Great Net Prayer Book. Nearly 2000 completely different spells from Cantrips through 10th level deity-level in effect. The players loved it, but you had to provide copies of the spell when handed out, as they did not have PDF files... just hard copy. 😀 There are a couple places on-line that you can still get a copy of them. It's great source material if you want ideas for new spells.
I love reflavored spells. The picture in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything with Magic Missile shaped like chickens is one of my favorites. One of my players had a kobold sorcerer with a black dragon bloodline. He took all of his spells as acid based like fireball became acid blast. Also all his spells looked like he belched them out like a breath weapon. I had an elf wizard with bright blue hair that cast all his spell in a vibrant blue color. As a DM I enjoy giving out new spells as scrolls or wands. Or having a wizard or cleric learn spells by seeing them cast by someone else. All of your suggestions are great.
@@lacey_moon At the height of my choir time, our bass section was really skilled, but being basses we spent a lot of time waiting while everyone else learned their more complicated parts. I distinctly remember me and a couple other basses singing along with the sopranos at one point, then purposely pulling them slightly off-key 😂 (we were buttheads 😅). Our choir teacher was impressed, but not impressed, you know? 😅
@@lindafreeman7030 LMAOOOO I think the soprano version of that joke was something along the lines of "one to do it, and three others to watch and commend her on how it was done" 😂😂😂
Something to consider when inventing spells is how often creatures will resist them. If a damage type is more likely to be resisted, such as poison, fire, necrotic or cold then it should do more damage than one that isn't resisted often such as thunder psychic or force. Also certain damage types usually have saves associated with them, like cold or acid is usually constitution, lightning or fire is Dexterity, intelligence or wisdom for psychic etc
We have always done this. Back when I was doing the cons, we always left with stacks of photocopies of spells people made and circulated at the con. Sometimes, they needed rebalanced. Sometimes, they were awesome. We built on them and modified them. I expect in a way that wizards would actually do when interacting with other wizards in a social type setting. A few spells were even a hold my beer moment...
My two favorite spells of all time are from the Talislanta RPG: Rodinn's Spell of Instant Sobriety, which is great for sudden mischief to be had, and Rodinn's Spell of Sartorial Splendor; the well-kempt wizard won't ever leave home without it. Both are from a 3rd edition supplement called The Archaen Codex (old editions of Talislanta are completely free, btw).
I love alternate version of the core requisite spells. I have a Magus in a pathfinder game that uses Shadow Vortex, which is basically fireball, but looks like a swirling vortex of shadows and lightning and does half and half Lightning/Cold damage. Also, it's area is centered on the caster so the use-case is different.
one big idea about how to test a new spell is to introduce it in an ancient and almost crumbling wand, that every time it's used has a chance of breaking up. This let's you introduce the spell, test it daily and then take it away by the wand breaking if it's deemed flawed. I also introduced spell reskinning for a only ice wizard. I just said to her, pick any spell you like, treat is as if it's made of ice, and if it introduces any secondary effect by the spell element, change it to slow.
I'm so upset that we got official spellcrafting rules in Playtest 5 for the 2024 PHB and we decided it was too op. It was the most thematic thing that was introduced and I loved it, only to see it taken away immediately 😢
I physically winced when you mentioned your players "not letting a single D&D-related thought [sullying] their empty minds in between sessions," because *wow,* do I get that. It hurts, lass. Right in me little heart.
I've never played anything beyond 3.5 and never seriously tried playing as a spellcaster, but tying the invention of a new spell into a quest just sounds so good!
Homebrewing spells (alongside HB'ing just about anything fr) is one of my favorite parts of being a DM. Allows you to tell a ton of storytelling with them and the process of learning them.
I made a warlock spell called “shadow” where the caster sinks into their own shadow on a wall or similar and are then able to move along surfaces, under doors etc
My GM peppered the last game he ran with "spell augments"-variants of existing spells you could choose to cast in place of its usual effects-and "artefact spells", which were new spells with big effects that could only be cast once each between long rests. As I was playing a wizard at the time, these were my favorite treasures. The spell augment for lightning bolt to let me refract it off surfaces with trigonometry a set number of times became my Int 22 wizard's signature spell.
Back when I was running AD&D games, I created a spell that was a variant of the popular 2nd level Web spell: Constricting Web as a 3rd level spell. It had all the normal Web effects...but the web strands would tighten around those caught in it, squeezing them for minor damage every round on their turn while stuck in it.
My DM and I worked out a home brew Hex for my celestial warlock called “Ire”. It causes Radiant Dmg in place of Necrotic and provides advantage on intimidation checks instead of targeting the choice of ability check. I love it!
Creating new spells really is a blast, especially for your PCs, like a little gift just for them. It can really help personalise a character and a campaign, making them feel more unique
I'm running a campaign where the adventure location has been dimensionally isolated from Faerun for nearly 1000 years. This video helped inspire me to have enemies there use *mostly* spells from Vordanin's Book, since 900 years of divergent evolution would certainly have an effect.
There's something about a girl covered in the brightest colors of the rainbow describing Hellraiser-esque blood magic that makes my brain happy. I love featuring spells from other source materials as lost or forgotten spells from earlier eras. Also, I'm gonna send a clip of your Sickening Radiance joke to my party. They've all become shellshocked from their experiences of my Warlock using it while they're in the danger zone. The argument I present is always "I trust you all to pass".
Homebrew spells are awesome and create such joy in players. My wife was playing a oath of ancients paladin in one campaign, but wanted a more nature inclined version of Divine Favour. So we made one that instead deals elemental damage instead of radiant. Years pass and the next campaign we play, two of the artificers break out this spell out of the blue. She still smiles when they use it.
I have a nostalgia favorite from a group i played with ages ago. The wizard had created 'Inebriation' and 'Mass Inebriation'. Saved our butts when a big bad wizard flubbed his saving throw, and instantly became wasted. He was still too protected for us to hurt, but he couldn't hit us either.
great advice, especially with the lich example. nothing is cooler than your players learning that the Lich has much more powerful spells forgotten to time but were commonplace 1000 years ago.
I was once given a Ring of the Grammarian in a one shot, and my friends still talk about me creating Thunder Rave, which was an AOE spell that turned the entire room into a loud and boisterous rave, requiring all within to begin dancing, and rendering enemies unable to attack due to the dancing and the sick beats (the party also could not attack, but we could maintain awareness and therefore dance our way out of the room). Everyone should know this kind of joy.
As a DM, the idea of players creating their spells sounded terrifying, but now it sounds so much more interesting. Quest ideas, downtime activities, personal goals: so many possibilities. Also, thanks for the critique on VORDANIN'S BOOK OF SPELLCRAFT. I picked it up along with a few other things you recommended on DM"s Guild, like domestic D&D and the godly grimoire.
I had some ogres doing blood magic, pulling blood elementals from an enemy caster's veins and I had an encounter start with the party get automatically magically held in place, and they had to do skill checks to either break free or unravel the magic effect before they could start the fight proper, while the bad guys powered up each round they weren't engaged in combat. and later, I gave a spellbook with several necromancy themed spells, but also allowed the owner to scribe scrolls on his skin, like the 3.5 Blood Magus, with some perks like boosted damage or a Vampiric Touch effect. I think the wizard has forgotten about it. I should remind him before next game.
I've tinkered with making spells before, I made 'Hush' which is like a smaller reaction silence & 'Wall of Butterflies' which was a druid spell that had different effects depending on the environment they were in
My drow wizard created a spell called Leolen's Blinding Vison. A 2nd level spell that gave a target blindsight for a time with a balancing drawback that you lost your normal sight for the duration. This was primarily a countermeasure for sunlight sensitivity. I ended up debuting the spell in a pvp with our fighter/barbarian who weilded a sunblade and a shield that cast daylight. Was pretty epic.
One of the things I actually found myself doing was getting inspiration from the Mercurial Magic from Dungeon Crawl Classics. It gives some extra area or aesthetic effects to spells that aren't overpowered to add. Even creating magic the players can't learn helps give players a reason to look for NPCs. Spells cast in an ancient time that supposedly killed the caster to create a permanent barrier, ritual spells that require many casters like the Red Wizards of Thay.
Since I'm running a Discworld-esque game I've been coming up with a bunch of funny spells basically using all the different styles you mentioned and leaning often on pun names.
The first sorcerer I played had ranks in perform:comedy and a suite of custom spells to match. Bigby's Middle Finger. Tasha's Uncomfortable Chuckle. You get the idea. Worked like a charm.
I have a bone to pick about your jokes, you rib us with your puns and it leaves me unsupported on the floor in a puddle of laughter. Thank you, genuinely, I am delighted.
While creating PCs for a 5e24 campaign the Cleric Half-Elf asked to change the Detect Magic as her 3rd lvl lineage spell to Pratfall from KPs Book of Ebon Tides. Since it fit perfectly with her concept for a Trickery cleric (and he's a good dad) the DM agreed. So as long as the spell isn't overpowered or steps on another spells toes utility wise import spells.
Wow my DM wrote Vordanin’s Book of Spellcraft!! it’s so cool to see you talk about it 🙌 I’ve been using some of these spells for years I hope others enjoy them as much as our group has
I was musing with my friends this morning that every player playing a magic user should create 3 mundane cantrips for character flavor. Follow the Frieren school of magic. Have a spell that picks apples, or a spell that makes bread taste like steak. Just personal character focused silliness.
"Magic massage" - like magic missile, but you do not damage to the targets in the round you cast it. It actually feels good. But you are allowed a free question to the recipients. According to the answers, the caster may choose to damage or heal the subjects of her/his spell.
Griz-Gog's Hot Flash. 1st Level Evocation. 30f AoE, 4d4 Fore Damage to target in that range. Plus 2d4 for for every level higher, one additional target for every other level higher. It wasn't a great spell, but it was a fancy bit of spellcraft, especially for a goblin tribe in the middle of nowhere. It focuses some of the heat from the entire area on its specific targets.
I worked with my DM to create a spell to act as a magical prosthesis for my warlock's missing forearm. It's a shadowy limb that works just like normal, including transmitting sensation, even pain in the form of psychic damage. Sylvaris' Phantom Limb!
I'm running a game that has a lot of ritual spells, and I'm making most of them up on the fly. A lot of the rituals are actually hyper specific, tailored to the exact situation. They invoke symbolism to cause an effect, and I go into detail about what the casters have to do (such as in last night's game, tie a silver cord to a fae and then tie the cord to a padlock made of Cold Iron to bind it). They had to trick the creature into allowing this
Probably the most fun spell I have ever created made all combatants reroll their initiatives on a failed save, and the round continues on the Master's turn. This had the interesting effect of having some people completely losing their turn that round or other having a second turn on the round
I'm workshopping an idea for an upcoming campaign where the players' loved ones are dragged through time by an evil wizard with access to the lost art of Chronomancy and to stop him they have to find a Chronomancer NPC character I've created and convince him to help. Because 5e doesn't have a ton of great spells for time magic, I've invented a number of Chronomancy spells that were all canonically invented by the aforementioned NPC, Azaril. That way, if they can't convince Azaril to help them (he's a bit of a wildcard), they can find other ways to learn the spells themselves and become Chronomancers in their own right. It's been so much fun coming up with them and I hope at least one of my players tries to learn from Azaril's spellbook!
"...and certainly not my players who generally don't let a single D&D related thought sully their empty minds in between sessions."
As a forever GM I felt this in my soul.
Don't we all love the Casuals, who are solely present for socializing reasons, and would never admit to having something as mundane as TTRPGs as a hobby?
@@foolcat23 Urgh... The people that seem to think reading their three-page character sheet is akin to Tolstoy?
I dont understand that, I think about DnD all the time between sessions.
I felt it in my heart and in my soul. Which is part of the dramatic villain speech I'm concocting in my mind as I write this comment😉
Me too, buddy. Me too.
To really hammer in the point: Mordekainen was Gary Gygax's character. Melf was Luke Gygax's character. Bigby was Rob Kuntz' character. Drawmij was Jim Ward's character. Leomund was Len Lakofka's character. Tasha is named after a kid who wrote letters to Gary. I could keep going for a long, long time. It is quite literally a day zero DND tradition to have your PC wizards make up spells and name them after them. Let them! Keep the tradition going!
Is Hadar anyone's character?
@@aishaali9771 As far as I know, no. Earliest reference I can find to him is in Dragon Magazine #366 as an example Star Pact Warlock's patron.
This is such a cool fact. I didn't know about Tasha's name!
@@aishaali9771 Hadar was from 4E, one of their range of "star-like Elder Evils" AKA Lovecraft meets Galactus. If I recall it correctly, a series of stars were infested by the Far Realm and became bizarre sentient evils of great and unfathomable power. This was the source of their Star Pact warlock's powers, and eventually got rolled into the Great Old One patron in 5E.
I think I knew 90% of these names were PCs at one point but hearing them all listed this way together is *so* impactful for some reason. Thank you for your comment!
I’ve never made a homebrew spell, but I’ve taken to being a bit lenient with the spell lists. I recently let my party’s Eldritch Knight take the spell Ceremony even though it wasn’t on the list, solely because we agreed it would be hilarious for this deranged little chaos gremlin to be able to officiate weddings.
😆😆 brilliant. Honestly, if there's a feat that lets characters take spells that aren't on their class list, I can sure as heck just give one to a PC if I like.
I could almost see incentivizing my players who play primary spellcasters to make at least one new spell by level 10 as a sort of "graduation", especially Wizards. A magical Thesis Project.
Oooh yes, great idea! I just love weaving it into character storylines
Love this idea!
I did this exactly. Twice.
There was a bundled magic missiles spell, (3rd lvl) shoots one target 4-6 times or so and then branches to that many secondary magic missile targets. (Loosely based on chain magic missile).
And a whole other character created an illusion spell where you enchant a bundle of sticks to look like wands of magic missiles, including firing illusory missile attacks that did psychic damage, briefly turning a crowd of peasants into a fairly formidable fighting force.
@@GinnyDi I did this when I played a Dread Necromancer. His Thesis spells were a spell that made an eye function like a video camera, and another that trapped the soul of a recently slain character in that dead characters skull. The DM liked the idea, and we got a really cool NPC out of that last spell 😁
Oh, that is a solid idea!
“That’s why I always carry a sword.” I’m noticing a running gag. 🤔
people are always asking me, "Ginny, why do you always carry a sword?" so I thought I'd let 'em know 😌
The correct response to that is, "why don't you?" It's not your fault they're grossly unprepared.
What type of sword is your favorite?
Ginny should do a colab with The Click, so they can compare blades.
It's a sword that casts fireball right?
The big bad of our low level campaign raises his hand and proclaims: "I cast Fire.."
Our bard, Otto, interupts "BOLT".
The firebolt deals 1d10 damage to a floor tile in the middle of our group. We have once again been saved by "Otto's correct"
That's genius
Hahaha, that’s amazing.😂
The party breath of haze druid acquired a ring of spell change on one letter of a spell one per day. Been using goodberry and making slight research changes.
Dm let me know the druid is a crafter of a new spell series. Druids been baking "goodmerry" scones, muffins. They got a kick if there's extra berries in the scones.
Going to try "Goofberries" in the new batch. Field testing. "Hey party, who wants a muffin?"
Party - NOO!
Learning to bake spells responsibly.😊
@@saccherrirhysha2660"Godberry."
Holy crap this is such a good bard feat idea. Suddenly your encyclopedic knowledge of 5e spells becomes a super power 😂
One of my characters firmly believes that spells can be DOWNcast, not just upcast, so she keeps experimenting with magic until she discovers a way to do it
Very cool idea
@@logancuster8035 thank you! She’s one of my favorites I’ve ever made!
Downcasting would be WAY more powerful than upcasting. You'd be able to cast 9th level spells multiple times per encounter.
@@BiowareNut I’m well aware, a weaker but lower spell slot fire ball would be broken
I’ve had similar ideas as an expansion of ritual casting- by using various sacrificed and expanded geometry, you can cast spells above your station for expensive costs in time and effort
My wife developed a psychic-themed version of wither and bloom and it's a very fun addition to our campaign.
Ooh that sounds amazing!! 😍
I remade the spell for Clerics, with slight adjustments. It seems silly that the servants of deities with power over life and death can't tap into your will to live, but the schmuck that stumbled into a fairy circle can.
You find a spell scroll for a cantrip called "Derrick's Dirty Down Rust". It makes things lightly rust as if you were in a grimdark story. It seems to allude to an entire set of oxidizing various metals. Why Derrick was interested in mildly oxidizing metallics is unknown but it does instantly add a cool roughness to your armor
Lol 😂
Lol
Amazing 😅
Instantly casts it on an overly pompous and pretentious knight captain who loves his finely polished armour
My interpretation of things was that the spells that have a name are because they were notably tied to the creator. And that all the "generic spells" used to be tied to a name at one point but it has been so genericized and ubiquitously known about, but the creator's name has been forgotten to time and only the spell name is retained.
Many campaigns ago, one of my player's signature moves was casting Flaming Sphere and rolling it through combat. This was great at lower levels, but the players started to razz him because he would keep using it even when they were 15th level and he wasn't really pulling his weight.
So the player made a new spell... it LOOKED just like flaming sphere, but it did more damage, and it worked like a Resilient Sphere... only it could roll over things and trap them inside where they burned round after round. No one complained again after seeing Jaust's Incendiary Sphere in action. O.o
A couple of years ago, I played a Shadow Sorcerer/Great Old One Warlock whose gimmick was that all his "spells" were actually just him ripping open a portal to the Shadowfell and grabbing a horrific little creature (picture all the gnarly non-humanoid ghosts that show up in the "everything is going wrong" montage in every Ghostbusters movie) that creates the spell's effect and disappears back to the Shadowfell when the spell ends. So I came up with a cantrip to replace taking something like Mage Hand or Prestidigitation and give me more of that summoner vibe. Plus, I gave them some "ill-behaved pet" vibes like knocking stuff over or eating the object you wanted them to fetch.
*Iwen's Minute Monsters*
Conjuration cantrip
*Casting Time:* 1 action
*Range:* 30 feet
*Components:* V, S
*Duration:* Up to one minute
Calling out the name of a tiny creature from another plane, you bring it to your current plane to complete a simple task. You create one of the following magical effects within range:
* *Glow.* The creature glows or produces faint flames or sparks, shedding dim light of a color of your choice in a five-foot cube.
* *Eat.* The creature eats one tiny, nonmagical object that weighs less than 5 pounds and that isn't being worn or carried.
* *Ruin.* The creature scratches, bites, spews slime over, or otherwise causes minor cosmetic damage to one object no larger than one foot on each side, or it befouls up to 1 cubic foot of food, causing it to taste and smell disgusting. If possible, it may knock the object over as part of this effect.
* *Speak.* The creature makes a loud call that can be heard up to 100 feet away.
* *Fetch.* The creature picks up one tiny, nommagical object that weighs less than 5 pounds and that isn't being worn or carried and brings it to you. When you give this command, there is a 50% chance the creature will take the Eat action instead.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three creatures each performing one of its 1-minute effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.
*Spell Lists:* Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock
give that spell to a imp or trickster enemy "terrorizing" a small village.
This is WAY too cute
This is great fun! And brilliant for distractions. I bet your rogue LOVED you 😆
SPELL OF LITTLE GUY?! I love it!
Love this topic. Make your own EVERYTHING!
Yesssss 🙌🙌 why not spend ALL our time making D&D content, spells, stories, characters....
‘There’s no limit to what you can homebrew’ is my motto!
Why can't anyone protect a standard noble from being assassinated by a single disgruntled sorcerer casting magic missile?
*Welp* time to write a whole subclass for it! - Me...too often
And put them all in a cauldron which you name after yourself?
**wink**
I saw four types of GMs
1 Master picked any prepared start campaign and just goes with thing that written in the book
2 Master makes a campaign in prepared setting like world of forgotten realms
3 Master makes own world and campaign in ready system
4 Master creates just new full system for each campaign (and you have no right to not read all this 20 pages explanation how to cast spell building it with different 'forms' 'appearances' and 'elements' like some Lego)
I found myself in last group and that's why no one ask me to play oneshot (they will have to learn stuff for half of session)
A safety valve I like to use when a player wants a custom spell is to tie a spell component to it (that is just costly enough to not be able to be bypassed by focuses, etc). Then you have leverage to make the component more expensive (More people have heard about the spell and the demand has driven up the market) if you need to reign it in, or give the player a deal buying it in bulk once it has been proven safe.
I like that. I'm gonna steal it. Thx
That is exactly the sort of advice I was looking for in these comments. Thanks!
I added a simple reskinned spell to my island-hopping campaign called "freeze" which was just a water-based version of the "entangle" spell. It was granted to the party druid by an ancient lizardfolk shaman. The player has since used it to great effect. New spells are great for adding more flavor to your game.
You've sold me. I picked up "Vordanin's Book of Spellcraft" today.
As someone who has been playing versions of D&D since the 1980s, it is always fascinating to see a person like you who is so enthusiastic about gaming referring to "things you learned on the internet" and the like as if it was your character excavating an ancient tomb or library. It really make me realize how long the hobby has been around and how far it has come in across the decades.
I think it's awesome how much bigger the game has gotten thanks to the internet!
We have so many awesome creators sharing their ideas in online spaces. Even in the last 5 years, the game has changed so much.
MOM! Ginny called me a coward.
Seriously though, my main issue with spell invention is taking the time to look over their ideas. It wouldn't even take me that long... I think I'm just lazy.
Honestly there is SO much to manage as a dm. Not wanting to do this too is valid!
Put some of the burden back on the players then. Have them give you a few examples of similar spells and their spell levels so you can make sure it is in line with the power. That way the approval process is you reading one new and two or three existing spells and just comparing.
You're not a coward if you intend your puns.
I have them cover their spell ideas with me in-between sessions myself. Gives everyone more time and less pressure.
Also tell them to look up example spells from their current casting level that are already game approved. They should get an idea of how their own spell should go based off that
This is something I love doing with spooky and weird material components being added to spells. Experiment! Try adding monster parts of rare minerals to the spell components list! Do you like spooky symbolism? Make a new material component for Fireball from Fulgurite (lightning struck sand) - TAH-DAH! Lightning Ball! Get out there and get creative!
I recently saw a reel about the fact that spell components are actually funny jokes/puns related to the spell's effects.
If a player came to me with a pun and a component, I would be SO on board.
@@GinnyDi You know the famous Detect Thoughts spell? Well... A penny for your thoughts is quite literally the component!
As a former choir bro myself, your altos vs sopranos jokes speaks to my deeply and tickles me immensely 😂
I really really love this, and I'm definitely getting Vordanin's! I'm a therapist who runs therapeutic campaigns for teenagers with heavy trauma, so they often have very specific aesthetics that they want to match with their spells. No clue why D&D 5e just never thought to make a spell that facilitates "I want spooky murder witch vibes that make the BBEG's words appear in the air and highlight for me when he's gaslighting us" /s I've been fumbling my way through half-assed spellcasting homebrew and being bored with flipping through the PHB's spells for a million times so I am very delighted that this came out at a great time for me. It's also really appreciated that you let us know what you're worried about with Vordinin's too. Also, how you described players in the beginning made me genuinely laugh out loud which was nice. Also also, hi fellow underappreciated alto!!!
In my Sunday game, I had the idea that the party’s wizard could take the Wall of Force spell and modify it, eventually inventing a new spell called Nemezark’s Naval Ram.
"Never half-ass homebrew two spells, always whole-ass homebrew one spell" but really, I can't agree with this video enough, one small thing I love to this day is that one DM of mine let me reflavour Eldritch Blast so it more closely fit whatever patron I went with, go with some kind of fiery devil? It's now a streak of fire from your hand, and it deals fire damage not force. Swear your allegiance to some ancient beast whose corpse was found encapsulated in ice? It's now a spray of ice shards and deals cold damage. It's such a tiny thing but it feels so fun when you can reskin you most commonly used spells to feel more flavourful to the character
"I have a scroll of Emesis."
- "Nemesis?"
"No, I said it right. I wonder what the spell does. You want to try it out?"
Wouldn't it make you vomit?
"I chug my potion of Eructation. What does that do?"
"A cone of thunder damage and non-goblinoids are embarrassed to be seen with you."
When we were playing Curse of Strahd, the DM had corrupted our thoughts and tried to turn us on each other. I tried to pass "Power Word Kenku Kill" as a fourth level Bard spell. My DM... Didn't approve it for some reason.
My first time running my own campaign, I was with a group of veteran players who wanted to challenge themselves. One of them was a wizard who relied exclusively on traps, who grew up in the forest teaching himself magic. Because of that, most of his spells were his own creation, designed to trip up opponents creatively. I worked with him to create the spells Valen's Adhesive Armor (which causes melee weapons to stick to his skin) and Spitfire (a touch-triggered version of Fireball that takes 10 minutes to cast), and both of them made the campaign so much more fun and unique. 10/10 would reshape reality to our will again.
We actually invented a rogue class called the hexhacker. I got the idea from the Shadowrun rpg. Want to cast a spell but are too lazy to learn magic yourself? Why not borrow someone else's spell while they are casting it. A hexhacker can see the "coding" of magic as 3 dimensional gears and dials. They tamper with a casters spell during use. Rewiring the spell to cause unintended effects. They can also crack magic locks of doors and chests. Hexkhackers come in handy for when invading magic facilities. My hexhacker was a tinker gnome that had a crude keypad connected to a headband. He hacked everything. Lol. And yes, they are "hacking the code of magic". Fun class to play.
"That's why I carry a sword!" The GinnyDi tag line - we may need a t-shirt
I love using homebrewed spells and in my long running games I have been introducing them here and there with some twists. One trick that's been fun has been the introduction of what are *objectively worse* spells here and there.
Like I gave my wizards (I have two in one party) a spellbook that had a selection of a few spells that were entirely new or powerful but, it was also full of others things like a spell that looked an awful lot like fireball but did less damage and was 4th level, or one that was similar to the arcane deflection feature of War Wizards but cost a spell slot and gave a much smaller bonus. I also sometimes give these sorts of spells to enemies I want to give spellcasting but not scale as much as it normally does.
Not only did my players love feeling like magic as a whole has been progressing in the world over the many centuries but they occasionally get to feel uniquely powerful amongst their modern peers. It's brought such a fun dynamic to the history of my world and I love it!
I wish my players were that inventive! I've given them many hints and straight-to-the-point possibilities, but they can't be bothered.
One spell modification, that would be mostly useless, but could situationally be handy to have: the _Light_ cantrip
A Wizard and magic researcher NPC in my campaign found this. You need material components in form of a glass sphere filled with Mercury, and then cast light on it. As a result, the light is purple.
When cast this way, the cantrip produces UV light, that is harmless to anything, but certain things glow while exposed to it.
Now you can look up what glows under UV light, and think about fun ways to integrate it into the adventure. Maybe the PCs are in a dark place, that crawls with Giant Scorpions, but thanks to this cantrip they now all glow bright blue and are easily spotted.
Maybe they use it to test if gems are actually real.
Or maybe they use it to solve a crime by making invisible blood stains visible.
The only limit are your creativity and what the DM deems possible or plausible.
Or dig up spells from previous Editions and bring them up to current game mechanics.
In my games, I allow my players to get creative with their spells and even combine or expand them. This often comes at a great cost, particularly on a critical fail, but allows for some more flexibility and creativity.
For example, I had a player who rolled a Sorcerer who loved Magic Missile and would use additional spell slots to change the damage type, add an explosive effect, or even fuse the missiles into one "Magic ICBM," as we came to call it.
(Edited for grammar)
This is cool!! It's arguably easier to get creative with existing spells rather than inventing totally new ones
@GinnyDi It definitely is. Restriction can breed creative thinking and it's often very helpful to have a basic idea to work off of... as long as the spell isn't obviously game-breaking or ridiculous, of course. There will be no shotgunning fireball spells or Power Word Kill-ing an entire city because you "summoned an eldritch megaphone."
College of Scribes Wizards get to change damage types on spells at second or third level I think.
Tactial Magic Missiles
I have a wizard player who really wanted to cast a cleric/paladin spell, so I let his character focus on studying the spell for two days, and roll a D20. He rolled a Nat 20, and he now knows lesser restoration. Not inventing a new spell, but letting him feel like he did something impossible. Which he kinda did.
as a person playing a non-religious wizard in a part of 2 clerics, 2 paladins, and a cleric/monk multiclass, i would *love* to be able to go "see? i can do your magic too"
@@splatman7300 "Oh, it's just a couple of runes and a weird swishing motion. It was nothing, really"
Letting people learn a spell from outside their class is great. Sure some are broken but most are perfectly fine. No one was ever been hurt by letting an eldritch knight learn a healing spell.
@Merilirem Works especially well if it's something your party doesn't have access to. If you have no Cleric or Druid, learning to heal or revive is super useful for the continuation of the story
Plus, if you're worried about "following rules" you could always just allow them to take magic initial or ritual caster or something to give them a couple spells outside their list
One (free) suggestion that some can explore is looking to the UA Mystic for inspiration. It's a complicated class, but the psionic disciplines have interesting twists on classic spells. I got to play one in the last campaign, and it definitely reignited my love for casting. Broke the whole repetition of "at level one I better take shield, ok level three its time for misty step".
Great tip!!
Just... be careful. We banished Mystic to the shadow realm for a reason.
I made a cleric/paladin spell for a past campaign called Divine Sacrifice - A spherical barrier up to one mile in radius surrounds the caster. For 8 hours, it absorbs all attacks that target creatures, objects, or locations inside the barrier. Creatures inside the barrier can still attack outward. At the end of the 8 hours, the barrier disappears and all the damage it blocked hits the caster at once. - I didn't really expect the players to use it. It was more about what it told them about the hero who created that spell: how far they would go to defend their home. There's something about putting the "lore" into the game mechanics that can sometimes make it feel more real. Makes the players seriously consider whether they might use something like that.
The way you talk about the invention of spells in the intro gave me an idea for an adventure (y'all are free to use this and write it however you'd like): a corporation of wizards buys/steals/forges the IP rights to every spell, threatening "legal action" (read: cruel violence) against any other casters who are allegedly "plagiarizing", and it's up to the party to climb up their skyscraper and fight pencil-pushing mages along the way to defeat the CEO and win back the magic for all. Different departments could even be themed around different schools of magic, like the illusionists department is a stealth section, and the conjuration department involves a portal puzzle, etc
0:14 The Return of the Sword
I’m playing a Wizard/Rogue in a campaign and I’ve worked with my DM to make a couple of spells through the course of the campaign, specifically ones that tie into my character. They’re really awesome - Cormo’s Compelled Duel will go down in history!
I laughed out loud and looked at my wife (who looked guilty) at your proclamation that your players don’t sully their thoughts with gaming between sessions. I feel seen.
I wholeheartedly agree, I love making new spells or modifying preexisting ones. Sometimes I just ask the dm if I can change the damage type to better suit my character’s aesthetic, or create something new together!
I commented on your last video about how i was going to play dnd for the first time. It sadly got delayed by one day, but everyone had a great time and I think my dad had a really fun time being the dm 😁
Glad to hear it!! Hope you get to play another session soon 😊
"That's why I carry a sword" is my new favorite bit-always gets a bank out of me.
Homebrew Spellcrafting 101:
- Take any pre-existing spell
- Change one letter
- Profit
Our sorcerer started my Witchlight campaign by purchasing three misprinted spell scrolls. So far, Find Stud has provided some useful (sexy) mobility, while a Magic Scone laced with sleeping potion is ready to be dropped in the nearest monster's gullet!
Ahhh, Find Stud, the signature spell of every dad preparing to hang something to the wall. (Everyone within audible range needs to make a Wisdom save to prevent themselves from groaning when the dad inevitably casts it on themselves)
This reminded me of when I was reading the effect of Find steed and read "warhorse" as "warehouse" and my dm loved the idea. We did not use it but still
“Scroll of Inn Visibility - You can see all inns and taverns in a 10 mile radius.”
This is a great idea:
-Tragic Missile: Inflicts unstoppable psychic damage as the target remembers their most anguishing regrets.
-Mireball: Drown a 20 foot radius sphere in a sudden eruption of swamp muck.
-Contusion: Inflicts bludgeoning damage on one target.
-Leomund's Tiny Hat: The whole party can take refuge for their long rest inside the wizard's pointy hat.
Wither and Groom: you may be rotted, but at least you'll look good!
Beacon of Dope: Makes everyone around you slightly more gullible.
Arcane Date: adds an entirely new day to the calendar year.
Hemiplane: it's the same thing, but now you get into arguments with linguists about it.
Cone of Old: self-explanatory.
In the current campaign I am playing in, my wizard character has invented a new branch of magic. Door magic. Which is the ability to summon different types of run-of-the-mill doors. Single. Double. Stable. He has you covered for all your suddenly blocking line-of-sight, but in a way you can go through later needs.
Ooooo….
Real fake doors, come on down and get doors that go nowhere and troll your friends
Just imaging them setting up a fake door like a Loony Toons gag.
My in-game explanation is that there are thousands of spells, and creating them isn't that hard. But creating _efficient_ spells is.
Nobody wants to bother learning Myrkel's Sonic Boom to deal 3d6 thunder damage with a 5th level spell slot.
For players creating their own spells, this also allows for the spell to be balanced in real time, without needing to ever nerf their favourite toy. When they first create their spell, it's super inefficient and only serves as proof of concept. It might have a really long casting time, a too-high level, an expensive component, a very short range or a very weak effect.
Over time, as the character continues to work on it, these restrictions can be slowly removed or reduced, one by one, until both player and DM are happy with the power level.
You can even allow the PC to have a slightly better version that the published version (since they know the strange little quirks of their baby).
I feel like Artificer is just the perfect class for people who like to create their own spells as if you use a normal spell and don't really describe it as something else, you lose touch with the class. Whereas if you come up with new names and unique descriptions, it really feels good~
Great video Ginny. Totally agree with all the points you made on home-brew spell use. Like that you touched on old-school 1st edition spell creation. Back in the day I allowed players to use spells from the Great Net Spell Book and the Great Net Prayer Book. Nearly 2000 completely different spells from Cantrips through 10th level deity-level in effect. The players loved it, but you had to provide copies of the spell when handed out, as they did not have PDF files... just hard copy. 😀
There are a couple places on-line that you can still get a copy of them. It's great source material if you want ideas for new spells.
I love reflavored spells. The picture in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything with Magic Missile shaped like chickens is one of my favorites.
One of my players had a kobold sorcerer with a black dragon bloodline. He took all of his spells as acid based like fireball became acid blast. Also all his spells looked like he belched them out like a breath weapon.
I had an elf wizard with bright blue hair that cast all his spell in a vibrant blue color.
As a DM I enjoy giving out new spells as scrolls or wands. Or having a wizard or cleric learn spells by seeing them cast by someone else.
All of your suggestions are great.
My sister loves your videos, keep up the great work!
"Altos can hold a pitch and a grudge" SENT MEEEEEEEEEE
As a Bass, I'm cackling 😂🤣
@@khayyin359 I'm a soprano and fully believe we deserve all the hate we get 😂
@@lacey_moon At the height of my choir time, our bass section was really skilled, but being basses we spent a lot of time waiting while everyone else learned their more complicated parts. I distinctly remember me and a couple other basses singing along with the sopranos at one point, then purposely pulling them slightly off-key 😂 (we were buttheads 😅). Our choir teacher was impressed, but not impressed, you know? 😅
No lie detected! Do you know how many of us altos it takes to change a lightbulb? Only one, but I'm going to bitch and moan about how high it is.
@@lindafreeman7030 LMAOOOO I think the soprano version of that joke was something along the lines of "one to do it, and three others to watch and commend her on how it was done" 😂😂😂
Something to consider when inventing spells is how often creatures will resist them. If a damage type is more likely to be resisted, such as poison, fire, necrotic or cold then it should do more damage than one that isn't resisted often such as thunder psychic or force. Also certain damage types usually have saves associated with them, like cold or acid is usually constitution, lightning or fire is Dexterity, intelligence or wisdom for psychic etc
We have always done this. Back when I was doing the cons, we always left with stacks of photocopies of spells people made and circulated at the con. Sometimes, they needed rebalanced. Sometimes, they were awesome. We built on them and modified them. I expect in a way that wizards would actually do when interacting with other wizards in a social type setting. A few spells were even a hold my beer moment...
My two favorite spells of all time are from the Talislanta RPG: Rodinn's Spell of Instant Sobriety, which is great for sudden mischief to be had, and Rodinn's Spell of Sartorial Splendor; the well-kempt wizard won't ever leave home without it. Both are from a 3rd edition supplement called The Archaen Codex (old editions of Talislanta are completely free, btw).
my experience of being a dm is mostly just saying "woah that's fucked, go on then"
I love alternate version of the core requisite spells. I have a Magus in a pathfinder game that uses Shadow Vortex, which is basically fireball, but looks like a swirling vortex of shadows and lightning and does half and half Lightning/Cold damage. Also, it's area is centered on the caster so the use-case is different.
one big idea about how to test a new spell is to introduce it in an ancient and almost crumbling wand, that every time it's used has a chance of breaking up. This let's you introduce the spell, test it daily and then take it away by the wand breaking if it's deemed flawed.
I also introduced spell reskinning for a only ice wizard. I just said to her, pick any spell you like, treat is as if it's made of ice, and if it introduces any secondary effect by the spell element, change it to slow.
can we talk about the subtle dig at Leomund? had me ROLLING
I'm so upset that we got official spellcrafting rules in Playtest 5 for the 2024 PHB and we decided it was too op. It was the most thematic thing that was introduced and I loved it, only to see it taken away immediately 😢
Making our own spells has been something my brother and I have enjoyed in our games.
"Altos can hold a tune, AND A GRUDGE!"
I physically winced when you mentioned your players "not letting a single D&D-related thought [sullying] their empty minds in between sessions," because *wow,* do I get that.
It hurts, lass. Right in me little heart.
I've never played anything beyond 3.5 and never seriously tried playing as a spellcaster, but tying the invention of a new spell into a quest just sounds so good!
Homebrewing spells (alongside HB'ing just about anything fr) is one of my favorite parts of being a DM. Allows you to tell a ton of storytelling with them and the process of learning them.
"Altos can hold a pitch AND a grudge." PREACH IT!!!
Trying new spells is so much fun and adds so much variety to characters!
I appreciate that it is now canon that Tenser is the Disney of the DnD realm.
I made a warlock spell called “shadow” where the caster sinks into their own shadow on a wall or similar and are then able to move along surfaces, under doors etc
Ive messed around with making spells specifically for the way of the shadow monk.
My GM peppered the last game he ran with "spell augments"-variants of existing spells you could choose to cast in place of its usual effects-and "artefact spells", which were new spells with big effects that could only be cast once each between long rests. As I was playing a wizard at the time, these were my favorite treasures. The spell augment for lightning bolt to let me refract it off surfaces with trigonometry a set number of times became my Int 22 wizard's signature spell.
Back when I was running AD&D games, I created a spell that was a variant of the popular 2nd level Web spell: Constricting Web as a 3rd level spell. It had all the normal Web effects...but the web strands would tighten around those caught in it, squeezing them for minor damage every round on their turn while stuck in it.
My DM and I worked out a home brew Hex for my celestial warlock called “Ire”. It causes Radiant Dmg in place of Necrotic and provides advantage on intimidation checks instead of targeting the choice of ability check. I love it!
Creating new spells really is a blast, especially for your PCs, like a little gift just for them. It can really help personalise a character and a campaign, making them feel more unique
Altos unite!
HUH, 6:48 is a series of words I did not ever expect to hear in that order
"Altos can hold a pitch and a grudge" 😂 Yes but they only have to work with 2 notes😊
I'm running a campaign where the adventure location has been dimensionally isolated from Faerun for nearly 1000 years. This video helped inspire me to have enemies there use *mostly* spells from Vordanin's Book, since 900 years of divergent evolution would certainly have an effect.
There's something about a girl covered in the brightest colors of the rainbow describing Hellraiser-esque blood magic that makes my brain happy.
I love featuring spells from other source materials as lost or forgotten spells from earlier eras.
Also, I'm gonna send a clip of your Sickening Radiance joke to my party. They've all become shellshocked from their experiences of my Warlock using it while they're in the danger zone. The argument I present is always "I trust you all to pass".
The soprano vs. alto bit was **chef's kiss**
Homebrew spells are awesome and create such joy in players. My wife was playing a oath of ancients paladin in one campaign, but wanted a more nature inclined version of Divine Favour. So we made one that instead deals elemental damage instead of radiant. Years pass and the next campaign we play, two of the artificers break out this spell out of the blue. She still smiles when they use it.
I have a nostalgia favorite from a group i played with ages ago. The wizard had created 'Inebriation' and 'Mass Inebriation'. Saved our butts when a big bad wizard flubbed his saving throw, and instantly became wasted. He was still too protected for us to hurt, but he couldn't hit us either.
great advice, especially with the lich example. nothing is cooler than your players learning that the Lich has much more powerful spells forgotten to time but were commonplace 1000 years ago.
I was once given a Ring of the Grammarian in a one shot, and my friends still talk about me creating Thunder Rave, which was an AOE spell that turned the entire room into a loud and boisterous rave, requiring all within to begin dancing, and rendering enemies unable to attack due to the dancing and the sick beats (the party also could not attack, but we could maintain awareness and therefore dance our way out of the room).
Everyone should know this kind of joy.
As a DM, the idea of players creating their spells sounded terrifying, but now it sounds so much more interesting. Quest ideas, downtime activities, personal goals: so many possibilities.
Also, thanks for the critique on VORDANIN'S BOOK OF SPELLCRAFT.
I picked it up along with a few other things you recommended on DM"s Guild, like domestic D&D and the godly grimoire.
I had some ogres doing blood magic, pulling blood elementals from an enemy caster's veins
and I had an encounter start with the party get automatically magically held in place, and they had to do skill checks to either break free or unravel the magic effect before they could start the fight proper, while the bad guys powered up each round they weren't engaged in combat.
and later, I gave a spellbook with several necromancy themed spells, but also allowed the owner to scribe scrolls on his skin, like the 3.5 Blood Magus, with some perks like boosted damage or a Vampiric Touch effect. I think the wizard has forgotten about it. I should remind him before next game.
I've tinkered with making spells before, I made 'Hush' which is like a smaller reaction silence & 'Wall of Butterflies' which was a druid spell that had different effects depending on the environment they were in
My drow wizard created a spell called Leolen's Blinding Vison. A 2nd level spell that gave a target blindsight for a time with a balancing drawback that you lost your normal sight for the duration. This was primarily a countermeasure for sunlight sensitivity. I ended up debuting the spell in a pvp with our fighter/barbarian who weilded a sunblade and a shield that cast daylight. Was pretty epic.
One of the things I actually found myself doing was getting inspiration from the Mercurial Magic from Dungeon Crawl Classics. It gives some extra area or aesthetic effects to spells that aren't overpowered to add.
Even creating magic the players can't learn helps give players a reason to look for NPCs. Spells cast in an ancient time that supposedly killed the caster to create a permanent barrier, ritual spells that require many casters like the Red Wizards of Thay.
Since I'm running a Discworld-esque game I've been coming up with a bunch of funny spells basically using all the different styles you mentioned and leaning often on pun names.
The first sorcerer I played had ranks in perform:comedy and a suite of custom spells to match. Bigby's Middle Finger. Tasha's Uncomfortable Chuckle. You get the idea. Worked like a charm.
I have a bone to pick about your jokes, you rib us with your puns and it leaves me unsupported on the floor in a puddle of laughter. Thank you, genuinely, I am delighted.
While creating PCs for a 5e24 campaign the Cleric Half-Elf asked to change the Detect Magic as her 3rd lvl lineage spell to Pratfall from KPs Book of Ebon Tides. Since it fit perfectly with her concept for a Trickery cleric (and he's a good dad) the DM agreed.
So as long as the spell isn't
overpowered or steps on another spells toes utility wise import spells.
One of my players picked up a scroll of Grease, well guess who wrote Geese on thier character sheet and now has a spell scroll for Geese.
😂 Incredible. That's the most perfect accident
Wow my DM wrote Vordanin’s Book of Spellcraft!! it’s so cool to see you talk about it 🙌 I’ve been using some of these spells for years I hope others enjoy them as much as our group has
I was musing with my friends this morning that every player playing a magic user should create 3 mundane cantrips for character flavor.
Follow the Frieren school of magic. Have a spell that picks apples, or a spell that makes bread taste like steak. Just personal character focused silliness.
"Magic massage" - like magic missile, but you do not damage to the targets in the round you cast it. It actually feels good. But you are allowed a free question to the recipients. According to the answers, the caster may choose to damage or heal the subjects of her/his spell.
45 seconds in Ginny perfectly describes the pain of every DM.
Griz-Gog's Hot Flash. 1st Level Evocation.
30f AoE, 4d4 Fore Damage to target in that range. Plus 2d4 for for every level higher, one additional target for every other level higher.
It wasn't a great spell, but it was a fancy bit of spellcraft, especially for a goblin tribe in the middle of nowhere. It focuses some of the heat from the entire area on its specific targets.
I worked with my DM to create a spell to act as a magical prosthesis for my warlock's missing forearm. It's a shadowy limb that works just like normal, including transmitting sensation, even pain in the form of psychic damage. Sylvaris' Phantom Limb!
I'm running a game that has a lot of ritual spells, and I'm making most of them up on the fly. A lot of the rituals are actually hyper specific, tailored to the exact situation. They invoke symbolism to cause an effect, and I go into detail about what the casters have to do (such as in last night's game, tie a silver cord to a fae and then tie the cord to a padlock made of Cold Iron to bind it). They had to trick the creature into allowing this
Probably the most fun spell I have ever created made all combatants reroll their initiatives on a failed save, and the round continues on the Master's turn. This had the interesting effect of having some people completely losing their turn that round or other having a second turn on the round
I'm workshopping an idea for an upcoming campaign where the players' loved ones are dragged through time by an evil wizard with access to the lost art of Chronomancy and to stop him they have to find a Chronomancer NPC character I've created and convince him to help. Because 5e doesn't have a ton of great spells for time magic, I've invented a number of Chronomancy spells that were all canonically invented by the aforementioned NPC, Azaril. That way, if they can't convince Azaril to help them (he's a bit of a wildcard), they can find other ways to learn the spells themselves and become Chronomancers in their own right. It's been so much fun coming up with them and I hope at least one of my players tries to learn from Azaril's spellbook!
This video has the best title of any you've released yet!