I really like these kind of combo. I had a Barb that got enlarged and hasted while raging. It was glorious seeing a 13ft tall fast af barb just anihilate everything.
I see your shenanigans and raise you two Sorceress twinning dragons breath and invisibility. Using the Breath Weapon isn't an an attack or casting a spell so its like Greater Invisibility. Works the best when they both took magic initiate at level 4 and got familiars to break the turn economy.
When casting invisibiliy as an escape, loudly yell "I cast... TELEPORTATION!" (or something similar). Lots of creatures won't even bother to search for you because they assume you just teleported away.
@@erelat my player did that while breaking out of prison, the guards still look for him because he could just have done that in the prison, he still got away
For the polymorph spell, I agree that a creature can still distinguish friend from foe, and the spell feeblemind is the best way to show this. Feeblemind reduces a character’s intelligence to the lowest possible, 1, and completely shatters their personality, but the spell says that they can still identify and even protect their friends. So even the most powerful spell in the lore designed specifically to shatter personality doesn’t make its target feral, so neither should polymorph
Agreed. I once played with a trickery domain cleric and that was awesome. The rogue (and my familiar) were virtually invisible and even the heavily armored fighter was suddenly 'good enough' that we could try it. So many times we ended up surprising foes, catching them in the worse possible conditions. So many combats were nearby over before they started as that kind of stealth can be used to gain such a massive advantage.
Playing an alchemist artificer in a pirate-themed campaign. We got engaged by another pirate ship. I gave a potion of flight to our Warforged, he flew up 20 feet over their ship, then I cast Enlarge on him and he fell, all 4800lbs of him. Greatest moment of the campaign. I guess what I'm saying is that Enlarge/Reduce is worth being on this list too lol.
When multiple heroes turn invisible as a DM I have great fun playing on the fact they cannot see each other. If the party has not planned and agreed meticulously exactly what they will do much hilarity can ensue when they all go their separate ways or run into each other.
Temperus Maximus so true. Thanks for being at work even though we are all stuck at home. You guys really do put in the work and produce quality broadcast material. If that ain’t a hero then I’m screwing up my party’s composition!
@@DungeonDudes I know you don't usually talk about other systems, but a video maybe comparing 5e Polymorph with Starfinder Polymorph would be really cool. I tried to make a Witchwarper that used polymorph as their main spell, but it's really complicated in SF and I was totally lost on how it's supposed to work.
Gonna have to bring up another: Enlarge/Reduce. It's great in combat, first of all, either enlarge a martial character for more damage and advantage on strength checks/save, or reduce an enemy to reduce damage and give disadvantage on the same stuff. But it encourages creativity outside of combat. Got an important door that is just too tough to pick? Reduce it. The Fighter got the chance to roll a boulder down a slope at some enemies or to break a barricade? Why not enlarge it on the way down? Need to carry a petrified friend out of a tough spot? While only lasting for a minute, maybe a reduce spell can give you the time you need to lift them up and get them out of the situation. I could go on and on about hypothetical situations, but it is really just a fun spell to use.
I think the fact that it only last a minute makes it too hard to use for me. Every time i have taken the spell, i've noticed that i have never gotten a single chance to use it, and even if i did, it wouldn't help all that much.
I have/had a Rune Knight Fighter. At level 6, with Enlarge/Reduce from our party wizard, the polearm master feat, great weapon fighting style, great weapon master feat, he's rolling a d10+d6+d4+10 for damage 3 or 4x per round (one is a reaction) and re-rolling any 1s or 2s. Minimum damage each time he hits: 16. But its rare that he rolls lower than 20 per hit. Rare! (One of those attacks is usually the opposite end of the polearm with a base d4 for damage (but again re-roll 1s or 2s on a d4 is essentially ensuring near max damage each time). Add in the fact that he has a raging wolf barbarian next to him, he crits multiple time. Max damage: 53 (per hit). Average: 25-30. AND he gets to use the Hill Giant Rune to reduce slashing/bludgeoning/piercing (non-magical is not stated). He tanks like a barbarian and hits like a tank. BUT, I really like your comments on utility for the spell: boulder, door, etc. Nice!
@@jjw2437 great weapon fighting only allows you to reroll 1s and 2s on your weapon damage rolls, not the others. So you can reroll the d10 and d4. My polearm wielding STRanger sure wishes you could reroll any damage dice though.
Agree with everything you say. I selfishly want my fix of "Shadows of Drakkenheim", but I'd rather every member of the cast remain healthy in order to make even more future content.
Hey guys, if you've not done one already, I was wondering if you could do a video talking about spells that specifically scale well when cast using higher level spell slots. Offensive or utility spells that, when cast at a higher level, might outclass or evenly match spells that fill a similar role for that same higher level.
It is great to see you back up on line again. I've got my fingers crossed that you can sort out something to allow you to continue with Shadows of Drakkenheim.
Thank you for putting in the time stamps. It let me jump to the spell, listen to the first 20-30 seconds, and move to the next so I spent less than 5 minutes instead of 21 minutes.
You guys are just the best. Your videos have made me a better player, and made our games better in general. Even with all the Critical Roles and other Streaming D&D, Dungeons of Drakkenheim was the first one I decided to binge, cuz I like the way you guys go about the game. ONLY TWO EPISODES TO GO AND THEN I'VE FINISHED!!! Thanks for what ya'll do.
The first one I binged on was Roll20 presents Tomb of Annihilation. That was because I was preparing to DM that campaign. The first one I binged on because I enjoyed the play was Dungeons of Drakenheim!
Thank you so much for making the best D&D info videos out there. I picked up polymorph after watching Dungeons of Drakkenheim. One of my favorite moments ( of an epic campaign) was when Sebastian transformed Pluto into a giant ape for the first time ; "This is about to get weird" :D
Warlocks also have limited access to polymorph through the Sculptor of Flesh invocation. I'm currently playing an Archfey warlock in an online game with some friends, and my character has this invocation. I'm really enjoying how the class (and subclass) encourage me to be creative in every situation. Haven't had a chance to use polymorph yet, but I'm ready to pull the trigger at the first opportunity!
I’m sure it wasn’t for me personally that you made these buff videos, but I very much appreciate you making them after I commented requesting them on 5 separate videos of yours.
For the first one you chose I saw it more as a way to negate the negatives of a character, so if the guy who has low charisma has to talk, give this to him to give him that edge, as you are only as strong as your weakest link. Also would like to mention that I love your D&D shows, I binge watched all of drakkenheim by only watching that everyday and loved it! Already caught up on shadows
One of my favorites, which I feel is a bit OP is Rope Trick. Great for quick escapes, and gives the party a chance to hide, buff, heal, etc. (though I just realized you were doing "buffs" not just utility spells :) Great vid guys!
Louis Loutrel I suppose that’s true. I think the appeal for me is based on the fact it uses a bonus action so it’s very versatile from an action economy standpoint
Enhance Ability is crazy good for exploration. You can upcast your Cat's Grace to cover multiple characters, and for that next hour they don't take damage from falling 20 feet (so you can hop off of a single-story roof or ledge), they all have advantage on Stealth checks, advantage on uses of your Thieves' Tools to disarm traps and pick locks, advantage on Acrobatics checks to keep your balance, advantage on Sleight of Hand checks to steal or plant items, and if you do get caught you have advantage on the initiative rolls and advantage on Acrobatics checks to avoid being grappled or shoved.
In my session yesterday, I used Pass Without Trace to get myself (Druid) and two other party members to get into a Hill Giant camp. My wizard friend proceeded to use Enemies Abound on the Chieftain, who steamrolled several of the other giants before they finally pinned her and knocked her unconscious. After we fled, I eventually had to go back in alone to retrieve a quest item from the unconscious Chieftain, so my artificer used Invisibility on me which allowed me to successfully sneak in and get the items without being noticed at all
Ive heard you guys mention several times on this show how you could spend an entire episode talking about the Polymorph spell. Honestly will this be a future episode for you guys? Id love to hear you talk about the spell in depth, the rulings behind it, fun strategies for it, and a list of cool and useful beasts for every level :D
Set my Celestial Warlock just took Mirror Image. I found it helpful in protecting me in combat since I'm the primary healer of the group and it also confuses foe's that don't have truesight or other abilities that can see through illusions. I haven't had a chance to RP with it yet, but I have several ideas if an encounter warrants the use for persuasion, intimidation, etc.
Where's my boy Shape Water? Need to cross a body of water? Shape Water's got you covered because you can either Moses it out of your way or Frozen yourself a sweet ice bridge. Want to make icy difficult terrain for your enemies? Dump out your canteen and Shape Water, son. Want to create some cover? Shape that water. Got a bunch of snow around? Sounds like Water, just waiting to be Shaped. Is it raining? No, now it's hailing on the enemy because that Water has been Shaped. Do like Bruce Lee said and be water, my friends.
In my world a lot of young wizards learn shape water and get paid by a couple of restaurants/food service because they freeze a huge block of ice that doesnt melt for a whole hour. Also freezing blocks can be real good for stopping small boats
If it only affects a 5 foot cube at a time, wouldn't using it be kind of hard to "Moses" water out of the way with that? Seems like it would require a lot of casts to clear to the bottom of a large body of water 1 cube at a time and then move across -- assuming the other water doesn't fill in the space as you spread the water
When running for your lives, pass without trace is the world's most valuable spell. I played in an underdark campaign where we were constantly being pursued, but once we figured out the beautiful synergy that exists between pass without trace and rope trick, we quickly realized that if we can get behind our pursuers, our chances of being caught decrease dramatically.
How do you guys feel about using polymorph on a creature and then hitting it with power word kill? Do you guys go with word of the law (it works) or spirit of the law (it doesn’t make sense)? Rules as written, it technically works, so I’d be interested in seeing how you guys would rule it. “The BBEG is out of legendary resistance? Cool, let’s cast polymorph on him to make him a rat, have the divination wizard make him fail his save with portent, and then hit him with a readied power word kill.”
Death Ward is a fourth level hard counter to this 9th level spell. I’d run with it They saved resources and combo’d them together effectively and intelligently. Dude’s dead.
That was a tactic we had some enemy wizards using against our party. It wasn't that bad though, we were somewhere around level 18 or 19, our economy was counted in millions of GP and a couple of PCs had True Resurrection and other spells at our disposal, so death was rarely too big of an issue, assuming they ever managed to get past our Counterspells and our Paladin's auras. Against a low/mid level party though that would have been nasty. Also, as it has been said, Death Ward is a direct counter to PWK. It's not without its counters, though, Dispel Magic for example.
My friends and I were just discussing the Catnap spell earlier. Considering how many times my party often calls for an early retreat to take a short rest, this seems like an EXTREMELY good utility to have for a Bard or a Cleric. For the cost of a single spell and 10 minutes of time, you basically let your party members refresh their short rest abilities AND spend hit dice to heal up any wounds they might have. I suppose the only caveat is that you need someone to keep watch, but if parties are willing to pull a retreat to get a 1 hour short rest, finding a way to sneak in a 10 minute short rest shouldn't be a problem.
2:03 minor nitpick (or major depending on how you view it). Enhance ability affects ability checks, not just ability skill checks, so things like initiative or counterspell are affected with the corresponding ability.
My first experience casting invisibility 'definitely' didn't end with me rolling two natural 1s on stealth, because imagine how unlucky that would be 😭
Enlarge/Reduce, bless, guidance, resistance the last two are potent buffs that as cantrips can be used over and over, magic mouth (archanebprogramer for life)
Flight is awesome at level 5! It's the same level dispel magic comes available. Or counterspell! Also, get shot by an arrow while you fly! It's awesome!
Yeah, like for example at level 12 I used polymorph and its utility uses for infiltration, a literal fly on the wall to get in her information and get out
Hey guys, loved the video! I've seen your Monster Tactics series and it really helped me out! I was hoping we could get a Monster Tactics video for gnolls in the future? Can't wait for the next one!
Dont forget that Enhance ability does apply to counterspell and dispel magic if you target the right ability score, as well initiative if you target dex
I don't know if you guys are counting the new Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, but the second level divination spell Fortune's Favor is also pretty good. It's a one minute casting time, but once cast, the target has a luck point for the next hour.
Could you guys please do an episode on the "best" polymorph transformations? Basically a short list of useful or surprisingly useful transformations. Thanks.
Hahaha! I doubt that a "short list" exists for such a flexible spell. The biggest limitation (outside of the CR/Character Level) is the imagination of the player casting it. Edited for spelling.
Best transformations is entirely situational. I can tell you my top choices. In combat it’s either the giant ape or T-rex. Outside of combat it’s the giant eagle for the ability to fly party members around. I also often use it to turn in to something small and inconspicuous for infiltration
So I only just realized the area of effect on Earth Tremor. I used to think it was a bad 1st level spell, but it’s actually quite awesome, particularly if you are a earth Genasi, a Druid, or someone with means of flight, or can do a good standing jump. The area of effect is 10 feet out from your 5 ft area. Everyone in that area except you makes a dex save of falls prone and if they fail their save they also take 1d6 bludgeoning damage. That whole area then becomes difficult terrain, only being fixed by someone spending a minute per 5 foot square to remove the earth. I’m imaging an earth Genasi eldritch knight casting it to stop a large group of attackers from getting passed him or perusing fleeing individuals. The Earth Genasi then walks over it as if it isn’t difficult terrain. Or takes advantage attacking prone targets. Regardless that’s a huge area of difficult terrain for a 1st level spell.
Polymorph becomes useful once again at 17th level when paired with Power Word Kill. Spam polymorph to burn legendary resistances, make the BBEG a bunny, and then Power Word Kill to end the encounter quickly.
Our Druid tamed a Giant Crocodile to use as a mount far later in the campaign. Between its size and strength, it gave almost our entire party the power to fly on its back. No town ever saw us the same.
Sheirinam, fertile clutch on its list of components are double circled six nursemaid's and an ample financial base.It's duration is until your an elder and the original transcript states I did not leave my widowhood un avenged. Dispel would have clearly been lethal for years as I bore a child or two four sometimes EVERY MONTH. NATURAL SIZE!! It's an level 8 spell upcasting is advised.
Hi guys, thanks for your awesome videos! I'm an old school gamer since '84, and I am still always learning how different spells and abilities can be used in such creative ways through your vids. I thought I'd share our "house rules for polymorph", since the worded version in 5e does seem quite limiting. We allow polymorph of any creature with CR up to your level, but it has to be something your character has actually encountered in their experiences. And "encounter" means more than just seeing it walk or fly by, there has to be enough sense or awareness of the critter to make it a plausible transformation. Limits options but expands possibilities?
Our group runs Polymorph like a varied Wild Shape. As in, you have to at least see the creature to be able to transform into them. Makes it so you can't just turn into a CR 7 Giant Ape every fight, which is fair.
I like summon animals as a top choice for druids. Any DM where I've played has always let me choose my animals, making the spell amazing for so many situations.
I came up with a spell idea I'm calling magic burst, it's a 9th level spell and it's casting time is a bonus action. I would like some help balancing out the effects of the spell because the effects when you have all your spell slots (using a wizard at 20th level casting Fireball) is the equivalent of 4 or 5 9th level Fireball spells. Also magic boost uses all your spell slots and it's you one level of exhaustion upon use, buffing the spell that you cast as your action before it.
Party had a blade singer, Bard, Sorcerer, and warlock. Stacked invulnerability, extended haste, Darkness, and fly. (Note we all had devil sight as the eldritch feat)
I have thought about many builds because I got a new Campaign starting in a few months, and I considered combing these spells with meta magic. Buff both the barbarian and the fighter with enhance ability or enlarge.
Can we get a run down on some of your personal ideas for traps and magical deviousnesses - I’m betting you make some crazy “mad mage” magical lair setups. I want my villains to cackle when the surrounded players suddenly realize there’s no way out. ...then I want them to get out. So you gotta tell me how to break the trap too. Or maybe just some of these wall of force / cloud kill stories I keep hearing just the edges of? I love those.
Enhance Ability would also give advantage to spell casters for things like counter spell, dispel magic, and telekinesis which could be a game changer. An abjurer with their proficiency bonus getting advantage to counter spell would be amazing
Enhance Ability can be used for more than bolstering an ability at which a character is already skilled. Most intelligent spell casters will target large PC Barbarian/Fighter types for their enchantments. If those targets were to have their allies bolster their Wisdom before an encounter those spell casters could be in for quite a surprise!
My party, over the course of several campaigns, has a tendency to use polymorph to CC a troublesome opponent into something small, harmless and easy to catch like a tortoise and then shove them into a small sturdy container like a small chest and end the concentration on the spell to crush them to death. It's so brutally efficient.
You Forgot 'Phantom Steed' For when Wizards wants to move something heavy they use this beauty to pull it/give your parties muscle to gain advantage. The Creature made uses a riding horses stats and get a +3 to strength.
Polymorph is my favorite spell. Transformed my party's rogue who was getting cornered by a shadow dragon into a T-Rex and saved his life. Saved by Guard Drake pet into a giant crocodile to save him and grapple the enemy. Changed an amethyst dragon into a cat in combat and it toughed the whole fight! So, so good.
Polymorph question; can you polymorph an unconscious character in order to prevent them from making death saving throws until polymorph ends? Curious if you could use this as a get out of jail free card in case you can't stabilize/heal a downed character. If yes, would any extra damage carried over when the polymorph creature reaches 0 hit points cause an automatic failure of a death save?
I'm a bit surprised that Gaseous Form didn't make your list. It combines the utility of flight (slower, granted, but still flight) with stealth and the ability to bypass a tremendous number of obstacles.
I'd just like to point out the red "Strange Times" T-shirt on Kelly. Pretty pointed with a small sense of humor. I like it. P.S. Why does the US need to be leading in all the bad stuff?
One time I cast Enlarge on a player Goliath during a boss fight against a tiefling warlock. The Goliath player proceeded to grab the poor warlock and hurl them against the wall. The DM used fall damage calculations for the toss. That tiefling became a stain on that wall.
We used polymorph to possibly kill an opposing wizard. The paladin put a bane on him I used cutting words, and I polymorphed him into a small turtle. After we killed his henchmen we took the turtle rowed out to a deep part of the city adjacent lake put him in a strong fishing net, tied rocks to it and dropped him overboard. No idea if he’s dead but he hasn’t bothered us since then… I think if he really managed to survive he’s really really pissed… but I couldn’t imagine how he would have…
Pass Without Trace saved my group's butt in a recent break-in. We had to break into the home of a high ranking guard to locate information he was keeping secret that would possibly save our monk and get rid of his exile from Neverwinter.
So after reading a few DnD novels where polymorph is used to kill(turn into a mouse and squished) it got me wondering. It states that the spell ends if the target dies. So if you transform a target to a rat, hurts it for more than 2 hp, sure they turn back into a not-hurt body, but are they actually not dead? They have already died,and healthy body or not, dead is dead. You don't lose HP from Power Word Kill either
19:22 - You use some version of the phrase "how useful this (BLANK) is cannot be *_understated"_* in a lot of your videos, when I think you mean to say it cannot be *_OVERstated._* If a thing's usefulness can't be UNDERstated that would mean it's basically useless. 😬 (Sorry to bring this up, I hate that my obnoxious pedantry prevents me from leaving things like this alone. You guys have a BRILLIANT channel, keep up the good work!!! 😁)
Party had a Bard, Cleric, and Wizard. We cast Enhance Ability, Invisibility, and Spider Climb on the Rogue. It was glorious.
I really like these kind of combo. I had a Barb that got enlarged and hasted while raging. It was glorious seeing a 13ft tall fast af barb just anihilate everything.
I can see the John Cena hand to the face now!
I see your shenanigans and raise you two Sorceress twinning dragons breath and invisibility. Using the Breath Weapon isn't an an attack or casting a spell so its like Greater Invisibility. Works the best when they both took magic initiate at level 4 and got familiars to break the turn economy.
enhance ability and invisibility aren't a great combo unless you're enhancing something other than dex since the 2 spells don't stack their benefits
@@corberus3119 what? how did you come to that conclusion? giving a rogue advantage on dex checks is for a lot more than just not being seen my dude
When casting invisibiliy as an escape, loudly yell "I cast... TELEPORTATION!" (or something similar).
Lots of creatures won't even bother to search for you because they assume you just teleported away.
Definitely stealing this, though I'll have to double-check if I get Invisibility as a Druid.
@@alien_nation3617 circle of Grassland gets it
I like this guy because we can all imagine the DM's face of surprise and begrudging acceptance.
@@erelat ....time for an insight check from any intelligent creatures....
@@erelat my player did that while breaking out of prison, the guards still look for him because he could just have done that in the prison, he still got away
For the polymorph spell, I agree that a creature can still distinguish friend from foe, and the spell feeblemind is the best way to show this. Feeblemind reduces a character’s intelligence to the lowest possible, 1, and completely shatters their personality, but the spell says that they can still identify and even protect their friends. So even the most powerful spell in the lore designed specifically to shatter personality doesn’t make its target feral, so neither should polymorph
+
Jarek Marcinek well put
We rule it that the intelligence drop is really there just for stat wise, do that they have a weakness.
Or just go Giant Ape for that sweet int 7 which might be comparable to your stat dumped melee pcs
Nicely said and super agree.
Before the video starts, I'm calling "Pass without a trace" as one the best Buffs. As a ranger I was even able to make our party tanks into Ninjas.
Agreed. I once played with a trickery domain cleric and that was awesome. The rogue (and my familiar) were virtually invisible and even the heavily armored fighter was suddenly 'good enough' that we could try it. So many times we ended up surprising foes, catching them in the worse possible conditions. So many combats were nearby over before they started as that kind of stealth can be used to gain such a massive advantage.
Dungeon Dudes: Post new video
Me: "There's gonna be a Polymorph there somewhere"
Playing an alchemist artificer in a pirate-themed campaign. We got engaged by another pirate ship. I gave a potion of flight to our Warforged, he flew up 20 feet over their ship, then I cast Enlarge on him and he fell, all 4800lbs of him. Greatest moment of the campaign.
I guess what I'm saying is that Enlarge/Reduce is worth being on this list too lol.
Absolutely! Use a metal ring, enlarge it, put it on a persons head. Then reduce it.
Its also great for transportation
@Brandon: How did your DM adjudicate the falling object damage?
I don't know exactly, but I know he looked up a table with weight and velocity, then rolled a certain number of d6 against the ship's HP.
Your warforged has a 20 str and was overencumbered? Only way for you to get 4800 lbs
thats a very specific case, the spell doesn't have the versatility of many on the list
for even more uses of Enhance Ability remember: initiative is an ability check, and so are the rolls involved with Counterspell and Dispel Magic
Good point.
It’s also a rare spell that almost all casters get except wizard
When multiple heroes turn invisible as a DM I have great fun playing on the fact they cannot see each other. If the party has not planned and agreed meticulously exactly what they will do much hilarity can ensue when they all go their separate ways or run into each other.
That's exactly how it should be!
This is always a good time!
With everyone in quarantine, these videos are more important than ever.
Congrats on the 164k subs, you guys are really racking them up!
Temperus Maximus so true. Thanks for being at work even though we are all stuck at home. You guys really do put in the work and produce quality broadcast material.
If that ain’t a hero then I’m screwing up my party’s composition!
Kelly and Monty make entire videos to just talk about Polymorph again lol.
We should probably just make a whole video about Polymorph and get it out of our systems!
@@DungeonDudes I know you don't usually talk about other systems, but a video maybe comparing 5e Polymorph with Starfinder Polymorph would be really cool. I tried to make a Witchwarper that used polymorph as their main spell, but it's really complicated in SF and I was totally lost on how it's supposed to work.
@@DungeonDudes do the video, but don't get it out of your system :P way too much fun hearing you talk about t-rex's and giant apes !!!
@@DungeonDudes honestly, i think that Polymorph is Fireball levels of busted, possibly even more so.
@@MythicMachina sometimes the players need a leg up. DM's aren't known for creating "careful" opfor!
Gonna have to bring up another: Enlarge/Reduce. It's great in combat, first of all, either enlarge a martial character for more damage and advantage on strength checks/save, or reduce an enemy to reduce damage and give disadvantage on the same stuff.
But it encourages creativity outside of combat. Got an important door that is just too tough to pick? Reduce it. The Fighter got the chance to roll a boulder down a slope at some enemies or to break a barricade? Why not enlarge it on the way down? Need to carry a petrified friend out of a tough spot? While only lasting for a minute, maybe a reduce spell can give you the time you need to lift them up and get them out of the situation. I could go on and on about hypothetical situations, but it is really just a fun spell to use.
I think the fact that it only last a minute makes it too hard to use for me. Every time i have taken the spell, i've noticed that i have never gotten a single chance to use it, and even if i did, it wouldn't help all that much.
I have/had a Rune Knight Fighter. At level 6, with Enlarge/Reduce from our party wizard, the polearm master feat, great weapon fighting style, great weapon master feat, he's rolling a d10+d6+d4+10 for damage 3 or 4x per round (one is a reaction) and re-rolling any 1s or 2s. Minimum damage each time he hits: 16. But its rare that he rolls lower than 20 per hit. Rare! (One of those attacks is usually the opposite end of the polearm with a base d4 for damage (but again re-roll 1s or 2s on a d4 is essentially ensuring near max damage each time).
Add in the fact that he has a raging wolf barbarian next to him, he crits multiple time. Max damage: 53 (per hit). Average: 25-30.
AND he gets to use the Hill Giant Rune to reduce slashing/bludgeoning/piercing (non-magical is not stated). He tanks like a barbarian and hits like a tank.
BUT, I really like your comments on utility for the spell: boulder, door, etc. Nice!
@@jjw2437 great weapon fighting only allows you to reroll 1s and 2s on your weapon damage rolls, not the others. So you can reroll the d10 and d4. My polearm wielding STRanger sure wishes you could reroll any damage dice though.
Seriously though @DungeonDudes I'm glad you guys are healthy, safe and still able to make videos! Stay safe guys and keep rolling!! ✊⚔️
Agree with everything you say. I selfishly want my fix of "Shadows of Drakkenheim", but I'd rather every member of the cast remain healthy in order to make even more future content.
@@Exterminator5k My sentiments exactly!
One thing that Enhance Ability can do is give a character (or characters if upcast) advantage on initiative checks.
It makes sense you would be able to talk for upwards of 10 minutes about Polymorph. Just imagine how long you could talk about True Polymorph for.
Enhance Ability also give casters advantage when they make ability checks using Dispel Magic, Counterspell, and Telekinesis.
Hey guys, if you've not done one already, I was wondering if you could do a video talking about spells that specifically scale well when cast using higher level spell slots. Offensive or utility spells that, when cast at a higher level, might outclass or evenly match spells that fill a similar role for that same higher level.
Staff of the Woodlands lets a druid cast Pass without trace completely free, no charge or spell slot.
Good thing you can always count on getting that.
@@MurdersMachine exactly
Me: "hey dm, can I have -"
DM: "it's a no from me, dawg"
It's one of my go to spells when I use that staff. V useful for sure
There is also the Wood Elf Magic feat. A pretty fun pick for classes other than druids.
It is great to see you back up on line again. I've got my fingers crossed that you can sort out something to allow you to continue with Shadows of Drakkenheim.
Thank you for putting in the time stamps. It let me jump to the spell, listen to the first 20-30 seconds, and move to the next so I spent less than 5 minutes instead of 21 minutes.
You guys are just the best. Your videos have made me a better player, and made our games better in general. Even with all the Critical Roles and other Streaming D&D, Dungeons of Drakkenheim was the first one I decided to binge, cuz I like the way you guys go about the game. ONLY TWO EPISODES TO GO AND THEN I'VE FINISHED!!!
Thanks for what ya'll do.
The first one I binged on was Roll20 presents Tomb of Annihilation. That was because I was preparing to DM that campaign.
The first one I binged on because I enjoyed the play was Dungeons of Drakenheim!
Thank you so much for making the best D&D info videos out there.
I picked up polymorph after watching Dungeons of Drakkenheim. One of my favorite moments ( of an epic campaign) was when Sebastian transformed Pluto into a giant ape for the first time ; "This is about to get weird" :D
Warlocks also have limited access to polymorph through the Sculptor of Flesh invocation. I'm currently playing an Archfey warlock in an online game with some friends, and my character has this invocation. I'm really enjoying how the class (and subclass) encourage me to be creative in every situation. Haven't had a chance to use polymorph yet, but I'm ready to pull the trigger at the first opportunity!
I’m sure it wasn’t for me personally that you made these buff videos, but I very much appreciate you making them after I commented requesting them on 5 separate videos of yours.
For the first one you chose I saw it more as a way to negate the negatives of a character, so if the guy who has low charisma has to talk, give this to him to give him that edge, as you are only as strong as your weakest link.
Also would like to mention that I love your D&D shows, I binge watched all of drakkenheim by only watching that everyday and loved it! Already caught up on shadows
One of my favorites, which I feel is a bit OP is Rope Trick. Great for quick escapes, and gives the party a chance to hide, buff, heal, etc. (though I just realized you were doing "buffs" not just utility spells :) Great vid guys!
Great list! I've always been a big fan of Misty Step. A bonus action to teleport always seems to find a way to be useful.
While it is a great spell, a DM can easily negate its usefulness by creative environment building. Same thing with Thunder Step.
Louis Loutrel I suppose that’s true. I think the appeal for me is based on the fact it uses a bonus action so it’s very versatile from an action economy standpoint
Great video. Also thanks for answering my question in the LifeStream sorry I didn't stick around to say thanks during the Stream.
Any time!
Your guys' videos have gotten me through many many boring work days. Thank you. Stay healthy, stay safe!
makes me happy everytime I see you've uploaded :)
More to come!
I love your guy's beards.
As a rogue main, all of these spells just make me so happy 😄
Enhance Ability is crazy good for exploration. You can upcast your Cat's Grace to cover multiple characters, and for that next hour they don't take damage from falling 20 feet (so you can hop off of a single-story roof or ledge), they all have advantage on Stealth checks, advantage on uses of your Thieves' Tools to disarm traps and pick locks, advantage on Acrobatics checks to keep your balance, advantage on Sleight of Hand checks to steal or plant items, and if you do get caught you have advantage on the initiative rolls and advantage on Acrobatics checks to avoid being grappled or shoved.
Enhance ability also works well for getting advantage on dispel magic and Counterspell.
Great as always Dudes. Hope everyone in the Dudership is happy and healthy in these strange times.
Thanks from NYC - it’s rough here but I look forward to your content to get through this more than you realize.
My favourite role is a support magic caster so this was such a interesting video
It's "cannot be overstated".
"Cannot be understated" means that a thing is so minuscule or insignificant that it would be impossible to undersell it.
Or it maybe a command
In my session yesterday, I used Pass Without Trace to get myself (Druid) and two other party members to get into a Hill Giant camp. My wizard friend proceeded to use Enemies Abound on the Chieftain, who steamrolled several of the other giants before they finally pinned her and knocked her unconscious. After we fled, I eventually had to go back in alone to retrieve a quest item from the unconscious Chieftain, so my artificer used Invisibility on me which allowed me to successfully sneak in and get the items without being noticed at all
Ive heard you guys mention several times on this show how you could spend an entire episode talking about the Polymorph spell. Honestly will this be a future episode for you guys? Id love to hear you talk about the spell in depth, the rulings behind it, fun strategies for it, and a list of cool and useful beasts for every level :D
I love your content guys! Thanks for all the great videos you guys make ^^
Kelly pronouncing Artificer two different ways in the same video is going to keep me up at night...
Set my Celestial Warlock just took Mirror Image. I found it helpful in protecting me in combat since I'm the primary healer of the group and it also confuses foe's that don't have truesight or other abilities that can see through illusions.
I haven't had a chance to RP with it yet, but I have several ideas if an encounter warrants the use for persuasion, intimidation, etc.
"We could go on for hours about the polymorphism spell"
You guys probably have collectively in your videos haha
Where's my boy Shape Water? Need to cross a body of water? Shape Water's got you covered because you can either Moses it out of your way or Frozen yourself a sweet ice bridge. Want to make icy difficult terrain for your enemies? Dump out your canteen and Shape Water, son. Want to create some cover? Shape that water. Got a bunch of snow around? Sounds like Water, just waiting to be Shaped. Is it raining? No, now it's hailing on the enemy because that Water has been Shaped.
Do like Bruce Lee said and be water, my friends.
In my world a lot of young wizards learn shape water and get paid by a couple of restaurants/food service because they freeze a huge block of ice that doesnt melt for a whole hour.
Also freezing blocks can be real good for stopping small boats
Just get 2x the maximum amount of water for shape water. Freeze both blocks of water midair. Let it fall. Smash enemy. Repeat.
Icy slanted floor with a raging barbarian at the bottom
If it only affects a 5 foot cube at a time, wouldn't using it be kind of hard to "Moses" water out of the way with that? Seems like it would require a lot of casts to clear to the bottom of a large body of water 1 cube at a time and then move across -- assuming the other water doesn't fill in the space as you spread the water
When running for your lives, pass without trace is the world's most valuable spell. I played in an underdark campaign where we were constantly being pursued, but once we figured out the beautiful synergy that exists between pass without trace and rope trick, we quickly realized that if we can get behind our pursuers, our chances of being caught decrease dramatically.
I just started making my own D&D videos, was inspired by your channel. You have great content, and I have learned alot about 5th edition D&D.
How do you guys feel about using polymorph on a creature and then hitting it with power word kill? Do you guys go with word of the law (it works) or spirit of the law (it doesn’t make sense)? Rules as written, it technically works, so I’d be interested in seeing how you guys would rule it.
“The BBEG is out of legendary resistance? Cool, let’s cast polymorph on him to make him a rat, have the divination wizard make him fail his save with portent, and then hit him with a readied power word kill.”
Death Ward is a fourth level hard counter to this 9th level spell.
I’d run with it They saved resources and combo’d them together effectively and intelligently. Dude’s dead.
That was a tactic we had some enemy wizards using against our party. It wasn't that bad though, we were somewhere around level 18 or 19, our economy was counted in millions of GP and a couple of PCs had True Resurrection and other spells at our disposal, so death was rarely too big of an issue, assuming they ever managed to get past our Counterspells and our Paladin's auras. Against a low/mid level party though that would have been nasty.
Also, as it has been said, Death Ward is a direct counter to PWK. It's not without its counters, though, Dispel Magic for example.
My friends and I were just discussing the Catnap spell earlier. Considering how many times my party often calls for an early retreat to take a short rest, this seems like an EXTREMELY good utility to have for a Bard or a Cleric. For the cost of a single spell and 10 minutes of time, you basically let your party members refresh their short rest abilities AND spend hit dice to heal up any wounds they might have. I suppose the only caveat is that you need someone to keep watch, but if parties are willing to pull a retreat to get a 1 hour short rest, finding a way to sneak in a 10 minute short rest shouldn't be a problem.
2:03 minor nitpick (or major depending on how you view it). Enhance ability affects ability checks, not just ability skill checks, so things like initiative or counterspell are affected with the corresponding ability.
So if I cast Invisibility on a party member's mount that someone is on BOTH of them go invisible, since the mount is CARRYING the person on it :D
My first experience casting invisibility 'definitely' didn't end with me rolling two natural 1s on stealth, because imagine how unlucky that would be 😭
I can just imagine the hurt in that moment
You are suddenly seized with a loud coughing fit just as you walk through the guards barracks x)
Enlarge/Reduce, bless, guidance, resistance the last two are potent buffs that as cantrips can be used over and over, magic mouth (archanebprogramer for life)
Flight is awesome at level 5! It's the same level dispel magic comes available. Or counterspell!
Also, get shot by an arrow while you fly! It's awesome!
Yeah, like for example at level 12 I used polymorph and its utility uses for infiltration, a literal fly on the wall to get in her information and get out
Enhance ability and Hex put together can bring down armies in my experience
Hey guys, loved the video! I've seen your Monster Tactics series and it really helped me out! I was hoping we could get a Monster Tactics video for gnolls in the future? Can't wait for the next one!
Very relevant T shirt Kelly.
Dont forget that Enhance ability does apply to counterspell and dispel magic if you target the right ability score, as well initiative if you target dex
I don't know if you guys are counting the new Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, but the second level divination spell Fortune's Favor is also pretty good. It's a one minute casting time, but once cast, the target has a luck point for the next hour.
Could you guys please do an episode on the "best" polymorph transformations? Basically a short list of useful or surprisingly useful transformations. Thanks.
Hahaha! I doubt that a "short list" exists for such a flexible spell. The biggest limitation (outside of the CR/Character Level) is the imagination of the player casting it.
Edited for spelling.
Best transformations is entirely situational. I can tell you my top choices.
In combat it’s either the giant ape or T-rex.
Outside of combat it’s the giant eagle for the ability to fly party members around.
I also often use it to turn in to something small and inconspicuous for infiltration
So I only just realized the area of effect on Earth Tremor. I used to think it was a bad 1st level spell, but it’s actually quite awesome, particularly if you are a earth Genasi, a Druid, or someone with means of flight, or can do a good standing jump.
The area of effect is 10 feet out from your 5 ft area. Everyone in that area except you makes a dex save of falls prone and if they fail their save they also take 1d6 bludgeoning damage. That whole area then becomes difficult terrain, only being fixed by someone spending a minute per 5 foot square to remove the earth.
I’m imaging an earth Genasi eldritch knight casting it to stop a large group of attackers from getting passed him or perusing fleeing individuals. The Earth Genasi then walks over it as if it isn’t difficult terrain. Or takes advantage attacking prone targets.
Regardless that’s a huge area of difficult terrain for a 1st level spell.
Polymorph becomes useful once again at 17th level when paired with Power Word Kill.
Spam polymorph to burn legendary resistances, make the BBEG a bunny, and then Power Word Kill to end the encounter quickly.
Our Druid tamed a Giant Crocodile to use as a mount far later in the campaign.
Between its size and strength, it gave almost our entire party the power to fly on its back.
No town ever saw us the same.
Sheirinam, fertile clutch on its list of components are double circled six nursemaid's and an ample financial base.It's duration is until your an elder and the original transcript states I did not leave my widowhood un avenged. Dispel would have clearly been lethal for years as I bore a child or two four sometimes EVERY MONTH. NATURAL SIZE!! It's an level 8 spell upcasting is advised.
Hi guys, thanks for your awesome videos! I'm an old school gamer since '84, and I am still always learning how different spells and abilities can be used in such creative ways through your vids. I thought I'd share our "house rules for polymorph", since the worded version in 5e does seem quite limiting. We allow polymorph of any creature with CR up to your level, but it has to be something your character has actually encountered in their experiences. And "encounter" means more than just seeing it walk or fly by, there has to be enough sense or awareness of the critter to make it a plausible transformation. Limits options but expands possibilities?
Our group runs Polymorph like a varied Wild Shape. As in, you have to at least see the creature to be able to transform into them. Makes it so you can't just turn into a CR 7 Giant Ape every fight, which is fair.
Don't forget that an invisible creature cannot be targeted by an opportunity attack! (PHB pg. 195)
I like summon animals as a top choice for druids. Any DM where I've played has always let me choose my animals, making the spell amazing for so many situations.
Enhance ability could also give your spellcaster advantage on their counter spell checks or give an assassin rogue advantage on initiative.
I missed bless, but you can save 3 members in their concentration spells too, starting by level 1.
I came up with a spell idea I'm calling magic burst, it's a 9th level spell and it's casting time is a bonus action. I would like some help balancing out the effects of the spell because the effects when you have all your spell slots (using a wizard at 20th level casting Fireball) is the equivalent of 4 or 5 9th level Fireball spells. Also magic boost uses all your spell slots and it's you one level of exhaustion upon use, buffing the spell that you cast as your action before it.
Party had a blade singer, Bard, Sorcerer, and warlock. Stacked invulnerability, extended haste, Darkness, and fly. (Note we all had devil sight as the eldritch feat)
Before the video:
Enhance ability, enlarge/reduce, fly, invisibility, plane shift.
Shit, I forgot polymorph again.
I have thought about many builds because I got a new Campaign starting in a few months, and I considered combing these spells with meta magic. Buff both the barbarian and the fighter with enhance ability or enlarge.
Can we get a run down on some of your personal ideas for traps and magical deviousnesses
- I’m betting you make some crazy “mad mage” magical lair setups.
I want my villains to cackle when the surrounded players suddenly realize there’s no way out.
...then I want them to get out.
So you gotta tell me how to break the trap too.
Or maybe just some of these wall of force / cloud kill stories I keep hearing just the edges of? I love those.
Enhance Ability would also give advantage to spell casters for things like counter spell, dispel magic, and telekinesis which could be a game changer. An abjurer with their proficiency bonus getting advantage to counter spell would be amazing
Sick video my dudes
Enhance Ability can be used for more than bolstering an ability at which a character is already skilled. Most intelligent spell casters will target large PC Barbarian/Fighter types for their enchantments. If those targets were to have their allies bolster their Wisdom before an encounter those spell casters could be in for quite a surprise!
My party, over the course of several campaigns, has a tendency to use polymorph to CC a troublesome opponent into something small, harmless and easy to catch like a tortoise and then shove them into a small sturdy container like a small chest and end the concentration on the spell to crush them to death. It's so brutally efficient.
Where can I find a guide about the artificier 5e? I'm trying looking everywhere, but that class is absent even in the newest guides
It’s in the Eberron setting book.
Rising from the Last War.
I'm a little surprised Guidance isn't on this list. It's only a little bonus, but being a cantrip, it can be consistently useful.
Shadow monks can also cast "Pass without Trace"; once rolled a 47 with it for my shadow monk/assassin, just shy of a nat 20.
You Forgot 'Phantom Steed' For when Wizards wants to move something heavy they use this beauty to pull it/give your parties muscle to gain advantage. The Creature made uses a riding horses stats and get a +3 to strength.
And its a ritual spell i like using it. With tensor disk to make a makeshift horse and wagon
Polymorph is my favorite spell. Transformed my party's rogue who was getting cornered by a shadow dragon into a T-Rex and saved his life. Saved by Guard Drake pet into a giant crocodile to save him and grapple the enemy. Changed an amethyst dragon into a cat in combat and it toughed the whole fight! So, so good.
I'm playing a divine soul sorcerer and I can with Aid and twinned spell deathwards give my whole party a major boost to our survivability
Uninvisible
Polymorph question; can you polymorph an unconscious character in order to prevent them from making death saving throws until polymorph ends? Curious if you could use this as a get out of jail free card in case you can't stabilize/heal a downed character.
If yes, would any extra damage carried over when the polymorph creature reaches 0 hit points cause an automatic failure of a death save?
I think part of the polymorph spell says that you can't transform a creature with 0 hit points.
@@Lack340 Ah dang it. My PHB doesn't say that, but did a quick search and I see there is an errata on the spell. Appreciate the help!
I used polymorph to turn into a bat in a cave as being the only human without darkvision
I'm a bit surprised that Gaseous Form didn't make your list. It combines the utility of flight (slower, granted, but still flight) with stealth and the ability to bypass a tremendous number of obstacles.
“You’ll need to get there quick to make it in time”
“How much faster is it on horseback?”
“You don’t have a horse”
“Not yet”
I'd just like to point out the red "Strange Times" T-shirt on Kelly. Pretty pointed with a small sense of humor. I like it. P.S. Why does the US need to be leading in all the bad stuff?
Literally just look at our history; It tracks
You did miss that Warlocks can get Polymorph through the eldritch invocation Sculptor of Flesh.
Sneak into bandit cave, Polymorph bandits into chickens. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
One time I cast Enlarge on a player Goliath during a boss fight against a tiefling warlock. The Goliath player proceeded to grab the poor warlock and hurl them against the wall. The DM used fall damage calculations for the toss. That tiefling became a stain on that wall.
We used polymorph to possibly kill an opposing wizard. The paladin put a bane on him I used cutting words, and I polymorphed him into a small turtle. After we killed his henchmen we took the turtle rowed out to a deep part of the city adjacent lake put him in a strong fishing net, tied rocks to it and dropped him overboard. No idea if he’s dead but he hasn’t bothered us since then… I think if he really managed to survive he’s really really pissed… but I couldn’t imagine how he would have…
Alchemists can make flight potions. Granted a fly speed of 10 isn't exactly the greatest, but they can get to those hard to reach places when needed
So thats how the dwarf stole the cookie jar
Hey guys, how about a video teaching how to make props for games or even how you guys did those Drakkenheim pieces for the players to use?
Pass Without Trace saved my group's butt in a recent break-in. We had to break into the home of a high ranking guard to locate information he was keeping secret that would possibly save our monk and get rid of his exile from Neverwinter.
The guides are great, but the comments here are a trove of good ideas :D Thanks for that, Dudes! :)
So after reading a few DnD novels where polymorph is used to kill(turn into a mouse and squished) it got me wondering. It states that the spell ends if the target dies. So if you transform a target to a rat, hurts it for more than 2 hp, sure they turn back into a not-hurt body, but are they actually not dead? They have already died,and healthy body or not, dead is dead. You don't lose HP from Power Word Kill either
Do an episode on Polymorph!
19:22 - You use some version of the phrase "how useful this (BLANK) is cannot be *_understated"_* in a lot of your videos, when I think you mean to say it cannot be *_OVERstated._* If a thing's usefulness can't be UNDERstated that would mean it's basically useless. 😬
(Sorry to bring this up, I hate that my obnoxious pedantry prevents me from leaving things like this alone. You guys have a BRILLIANT channel, keep up the good work!!! 😁)