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Feb 24, 2020  I use a base price of 25 gp and then use Spell level and caster level you have that spell slot modifiers so that spells can be scribed at higher levels. So a 1st level spell cast as if it was using a 1st level spell slot is 25gp to make (1x1x25). A 9th level spell is 3825gp to make (9x17x25).

1. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell Card
2. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell In English
3. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell In Spanish
4. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell New
5. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell List
6. Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell Free

From D&D Wiki

• 15e Equipment Design Guide
  • 1.2Mundane Equipment
  • 1.3Magical Items

5e Equipment Design Guide[edit]

Have you ever felt like you creating an item to highlight a unique idea or concept, but were unsure of how to create a piece of equipment? Well, you're in luck, because this guideline is a good place to start, as it should help cover how to create most types of equipment in 5e. As with everything on the wiki, please make sure that you are familiar with the precedent, which in this case for items is set by the 5th edition corebooks, the Player's Handbook, (PHB) and Dungeon Master's Guide, (DMG). Explicit guidelines for creating a magical item are provided on 5e DMG pp. 284-5.

Naming Your Item[edit]

Mundane Equipment[edit]

Most mundane items and equipment tend to be quite common in any campaign, mainly due to the fact that many townsfolk have jobs relating to the creation and sale of mundane equipment. This section of the Equipment Design Guideline will go over many of the nuances behind creating a homebrew piece of mundane equipment as well as guide the creation process of creating any particular piece of mundane equipment.

Mundane Weapons[edit]

A mundane weapon should have something that differentiates itself from other existing homebrew and 1st party mundane weapons. A mundane weapon can be made to be unique through a variety of ways. It can have differing properties than another weapon. It can deal a different amount of damage. It could deal a different damage type. Or, it could even have a special property unique to the weapon.

General

Mundane items should be able to be used by all characters. They should not have class, race, or background requirements and they should not provide additional features for being a certain class, race, background.

Mundane Item Description

Adding a description to nonmagical items is essential to understanding what the item looks like. Everyone is not going to know what exactly you mean when you call an item a katana, even if the name fits the item you are creating. Explaining how the weapon looks, its length, and any other discerning characteristics is key to having a good description.

Cost

Realistically, changing the cost of mundane weapons does not affect how balanced the item would be, though if an item does have a gold cost that falls too out of line of the standard gold cost for mundane weapons, it likely needs to be adjusted. Weapons should, however, usually have a gold cost similar to its weapon counterpart if it has one. Below are the approximate costs of what a mundane weapon should cost based on the 1st party mundane weapons.

• Simple melee weapons should usually cost between 1 sp and 5 gp
• Simple ranged weapons usually shouldn't cost more than 25 gp
• Martial melee weapons should usually cost between 5 and 50 gp
• Martial ranged weapons should usually cost between 25 and 100 gp
• Renaissance weapons costs vary greatly, but they should usually fall between 50 and 500 gp
• Modern and futuristic items are assumed to be anachronistic in a vanilla D&D campaign, so do not have a purchase cost(—). ^[1] Specific campaigns in which these items are considered 'mundane' may list prices.

Considerations for the cost include:

• The materials used. For example, a steel-hafted polearm will cost more than a wooden one. Even if the weapon statistics are the same, it matters when the DM needs to adjudicate (such as what might burn, or what is magnetic). It could conceivably matter for a homebrew class's weapon proficiencies, for example, if the class is restricted to cheaper wooden weapons.
• If the item has some versatility (not as in the versatile property!). For example, if the weapon can deal more than one type of damage, this could add an extra 5 gp to its value.

Properties

While weapons can have a variety of different properties, there are some combinations of properties that a singular weapon should not have.

• Heavy weapons may not have the light property
• Two-handed weapons may not have the light or versatile properties
• Light weapons may not have the versatile property

Mundane Armor[edit]

General

Even more so than mundane weapons, a homebrew piece of armor should be unique and not serve the same purpose as another piece of armor, whether homebrew or official. Below you can find a few pointers on how to create a piece of armor.

• Armor should fit into the general theme of medieval armor (no steampunk armor)
• Armor should generally fit into its appropriate category (no heavy metal light armor)
• Light armor should add your Dexterity modifier
• Medium armor should add your Dexterity modifier, but should have a maximum such as (max 2)
• Heavy armor should just provide a static Armor Class, such as 15

Cost

A piece of armor's cost should be reflective of how much AC the armor provides, what material the armor is made out of, whether it has any requirements, and whether it has any special properties. See 5e SRD:Armor for the costs of armor of mundane 1st party armor and 5e Armor for the costs of several homebrew pieces of armor.

Trinkets[edit]

If you have ever wanted to create a bobble and feel like it wouldn't fit well as a common magical item, well you’re in luck, D&D Wiki is host to an ever-growing list of trinkets on the 5e Trinkets page. While some PC's may consider these items to be worthless, they have the potential to both create interesting backstories on how you obtained such an item and they can be used for plot purposes by DM's. Remember, these items are meant to be mysterious and whimsical, so have fun using and creating them.

Tools[edit]

Tools are specialized equipment that allows you to do things you normally wouldn’t be able to do such as create glasswork, create a painting, or sew a blanket. A tool always has an associated tool proficiency, so you need to describe what the character can achieve with that proficiency, e.g. proficiency with this tool lets you add your proficiency bonus to any ability checks you make to (whatever the tool does). Any ability check you make with a tool that you are proficient in allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the check.

Tools should not state what ability score is required to use them as the use of a tool should not be tied to a single ability score, ^[2] and DM’s should interpret how a tool is used. For example, a DM could ask for an Intelligence check to come up with on how to incorporate a reloading feature with tinker’s tools onto a crossbow and a Dexterity check to see whether you could create such an apparatus. See 5e PHB pp. 154 for the list of descriptions on 1st party artisan tools.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell Card

Poisons[edit]

While often hard to obtain without the right contacts, poisons they can be extremely useful to a trained assassin. The effects of poison and how they are applied vary considerably, but there are some things that should remain consistent across all poisons. Creatures should be able to apply poisons by contact, ingestion, inhalation, or through an injury, poisons should always require a saving throw, poisons should never just kill a creature, and the price of a poison indicates its cost per single dose. Info on what each how poisons are applied can be found on 5e DMG pp. 257.

Mounts and Vehicles[edit]

The speed of vehicles is measured in mph and the speed of mounts is measured in movement speed per turn. As a rule of thumb, 1mph equals a movement speed of 10 feet.

Mounts

Mounts are common tamable creatures that can be used to carry gear and pull vehicles. Creating a mount is fairly straightforward, all you need a creature name, a gold cost, a movement speed, and a carrying capacity. When you are creating the mount think about how its size and physical characteristics translate into stats. See 5e PHB pp. 156-7 for more info on mounts.

Vehicles

See the 5e DMG pp. 119.

Magical Items[edit]

So you want to create a magical item? Well then your in luck, as this section on magical items should provide you with a plethora of tips and tricks on how to properly build a magical item. Let us get started then.

Making A Unique Magical Item

Making a unique magical item is usually much trickier than making mundane items. When creating such an item, ask yourself, has a similar item to this already been made by WotC(see 5e DMG pp. 150-214/5e SRD) and do a quick search on the wiki's relevant equipment section to see whether there is an already existing item that is similar to what you are trying to create. In general though, your magical items should not just provide a bonus to damage or AC, or something else similar as those concepts aren't interesting and have already been done plenty of times before. Try giving the item a one of a kind property or two to differentiate it from other magic items, and by doing so, turning a plain magical item into an interesting one.

Adding A Description

Besides having one of a kind properties, adding a description to your magical item will make it both more flavorful while also differentiating it from other magical items. Magical item descriptions can include: a short description of how the magical item was made or info on the history of the item, or info on how the item look. Specifically, if the magical item is a piece of armor or weapon describe how the item is different than a standard piece of that specific armor or weapon. For example, does the item have a different color palette than a regular weapon or armor? Does the item have a slightly different shape? Is the item made of unique or different materials than regular weapon or armor? And are there any small touches to the item that would make it unique, such as having a tassel, engravings/inscriptions, or something else.

Looking At Balance

If you are unsure of how balanced a magical item you are creating would be, it is a good idea to look up a relevant 1st party magical item to compare it to. See the 5e DMG pp. 150-214 for the full list of magical items and see 5e SRD:Magic Items for magical items that appear in the System Reference Document(SRD). In terms of magical item balance, remember that items that give bonuses that you don't need to hold are better than those you do need to hold, as demonstrated by the +2 shield and the +1 armor being the same rarity(rare).

Do’s and Don’ts

While you do have a lot of creative freedom when creating a magical item, there are some guidelines you should follow when creating a magical item.

• Don’t have a magical item gain additional effects or charges based on your level, ability scores, class, race, other equipment, or through other means. A piece of equipment should also not grant additional effects to a PC's already existing traits or features.
• Don't include a gold cost for a magical item as the purchasing of magic items and their cost should entirely be under the purview of the DM in the specific campaign that they are running.
• Do use the standardized durations: 1 round, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc. over durations with round-counting, e.g. 6 turns, 1d4 + 1 turns
• Advantage on any check is extremely strong, if given consider making it circumstantial, for example, you have advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made against dragons.
• Do allow an item to have a prerequisite to attune to it. Examples include 15 Strength, class/es, and a spellcaster. Try and avoid homebrew class requirements as well, as it is far too strict of a requirement.
• Don’t change how much damage a weapon itself deals (a longsword should deal 1d8/10 not 2d8/2d10) or how much Armor Class a piece of armor itself gives (plate should only give 18 AC).
• Don't have an effect that requires an on hit saving throw with every hit as it greatly slows down combat.
• Do explain exactly what bonuses a magical item grants. A +2 battleaxe does not inform players what the +2 entails. Does it mean a bonus to spell attack rolls, just damage rolls, or something else?
• Items themselves shouldn’t have a level requirement, but the DMG does state that PC's should typically obtain certain rarity magical items when they are around a certain level ^[3]. See the Magic Item Rarity table for specifics.

Attunement

Remember, a character can only attune to 3 magical items at any time, and PC’s who attempt to attune to any more must first end their attunement with one of their items before being able to attune to another^[4]. Also, if a magical item can be abused by passing it around or if having multiple items with bonuses would make a PC too strong, an item should require attunement. ^[5]Magical items themselves should never allow you to attune to more magical items, or else PC’s power can get out of control. Attunement slots should never be adjusted by player-accessible entities, as only the DM’s should have full control over this power. By giving a PC an item that allows for them to attune to more magical items, it prevents the DM from fine-tuning the power granted to PC’s by magical items.

Charges and Regaining Powers

So you want to give a magical item the ability to cast spells multiple times or use power from a pool of power, then creating a magical item with charges should suit your need. Charges can be used to use homebrew properties items have or casting spells, in which case the charge cost should typically cost the same as the spell slot level.

It is, however, important to remember that magical items have their own powers, and don’t draw power from you. As such, magical items should regain a certain amount of charges and their uses of certain properties after a certain amount of time such as at dawn or after a certain amount of days. This is based on the precedent set by WotC for magical items. See these for an example of how a magical item's properties are recharged figurine of wondrous power, wand of lightning bolts, and staff of thunder and lightning.

Potions and Other Consumable Magic Items[edit]

Creating consumable items can be a fun endeavor. These items effects can provide a variety of boons and buffs to a PC or they can be downright silly. Also remember, when you use a consumable item such as a potion, scroll, or something else, the item is used up. ^[6] Generally, a consumable item should only provide an effect when used or drunk and the effect the consumable item provides shouldn't be permanent. Making its effect permanent would be like making an item that needs to require attunement and try and balance it around not requiring attunement. If done, you are effectively just giving PC's bonus traits/abilities that can not be taken back or reigned in by the DM if needed.

With that said, there a few magical items which can boost a pc's ability scores permanently. These items include the tomes and manuals. Although these and other potentially permanent consumable items could be given to pcs, DM's should remember to make these items both few and far between and not more powerful than a +2 ability score increase, lest the issues descripted above come to fruition.

Cursed Items[edit]

Generally, curses on items shouldn’t be too deliberating since severely punishing a player for attuning to a magical item doesn’t feel good as the PC and often times is just downright cruel. Cursed items should also require attunement as to not overtly punish PC's for being inflicted by a curse just for finding a magical item and because all 1st party cursed item require attunement. Also, when making a cursed item, the item itself should be balanced as a standalone item without the curse, as again, 1st party cursed items are balanced this way. Remember, that attunement to a cursed item cannot be undone except through use of a remove curse spell. ^[7] Having to suffer the effects of curse that you can not get rid of because it needs a spell of a much higher level than you have access to can be very frustrating for a player, especially if their character is dramatically changed (gender change, becoming another race, turning a neutral good hero into an chaotic evil murder without talking to your pc about it, etc.) and the effect has no relevance to the story. Remember that cursed items too are rated by rarity. ^[8] This helps you to balance the effects of the curse to something appropriate to the level at which the player character will be usually encountering the item. In general, no effect of a cursed item is permanent. In addition, no cursed item provides benefits unless it helps it fulfill the function of its curse, neither is it unique. (A bag of devouring function as a bag of holding so you want to reach inside it, a berserk axe grants an attack bonus so its berserk wielder can better kill people, etc.) Unique items with powerful, long lasting advantages and penalties are the purview of artifacts, the deck of many things (which functions more as an artifact and campaign killer than a 'normal' magic item) or items that grant access to the wish spell. Remember, you are trying to develop something FOR your PC's to interact and tell a story with, not to humiliate or punish them. Lastly, your players are very likely to find a way to weaponize cursed items against their enemies or for personal gain, so be careful with items that self replicate, control creatures, polymorph something into another form, etc.

Sentient Items[edit]

The 5e Dungeon Master's Guide contains an excellent guide on how to create sentient items, covering generating its ability scores, its method of communication, special senses, alignment, characteristics, purpose and conflict on page 214-6 which should be referenced throughout the process. Regardless, this design guide will go through the nuances of creating a sentient item as sentients items are one of the hardest types of equipment to create. But first, know that sentient items shouldn't just be more powerful than other items of its rarity, though they can have a variety of unique effects.

General Info

The first things to consider when making a sentient item is the name of the item and the name of the sentience that is occupying this item. This name may be identical, but it isn't the name of the sentient item should reflect the appearance and properties of the said sentient item. After that, the item likely needs a unique appearance that sets it apart from any regular item. Finally, you may include a summary as to how this sentient item was created and its background.

Properties

Overall, sentient items tend to just have more properties than a regular magical item of a similar rarity. For example, if a regular legendary item has 2 properties, a sentient item that is legendary might have 5. With that said, these properties should not make the sentient item more powerful than other items of its rarity. A legendary sentient item should still be on similar power level to other legendary items.

Sentience

The sentience section should have include all the mechanical stats of the sentient mind housed in a sentient item. This section should include the sentience's alignment, their mental (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) ability scores and their corresponding ability score modifiers, the sentience's hearing, vision range, and any special visions, what languages the sentience can speak, read, and understand, and how they communicate(out loud, telepathically to wielder, telepathically to creatures within X range).

Personality

Here you should describe the sentient item's personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws, as if you were making a new character. This info should include what the weapon likes, dislikes, its goals, how the item reacts to a wielder, and how the sentient item could possibly get into arguments with their wielder.

Finally, a model example of how a sentient item should be formatted and balanced can be found in Sunlight Rose (5e Equipment).

References[edit]

1. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 267
2. ↑ 5e PHB pp. 154
3. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 135
4. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 138
5. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 285
6. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 139
7. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 138-9
8. ↑ 5e DMG pp. 135

Back to Main Page → 5e Homebrew → Equipment

From D&D Wiki

Pages 283 and 284 of the Dungeon Master's Guide provide some basic advice for creating spells. This page builds on those guidelines and more thoroughly analyzes them. Many standards set on this page are based on SRD spells.

This page assumes you understand the content on the pages 5e SRD:About Spells and 5e SRD:Casting a Spell. It is also assumed you are generally familiar with how spells work in 5th edition (e.g., no 'caster level'; concentration is a thing; cantrips scale with your character level and not your class level; etc).

• 2Class identity
• 3Saving Throws and Attack Rolls
• 4Balancing
  • 4.1Damage
  • 4.3Effect duration

Fundamental considerations[edit]

Whenever possible, look for an SRD spell to use as a guideline. Chances are there is at least one spell that has something in common with what you have in mind.

In practice, simpler is generally better. A spell with a simpler effect is easier to remember without reference, and is generally easier to use. Complex spells aren't inherently bad, of course, but complexity for the sake of complexity is usually undesirable.

Class identity[edit]

When creating a spell for existing classes (as opposed to a homebrew class you are making), take into consideration the style of spells available to that class. Clerics, for instance, don't go around casting explosive fireballs or arcane magic, just as wizards and sorcerers don't wield spells based on divinity or healing wounds. Summaries of each class's spellcasting identity are listed below.

Artificer[edit]

Artificer spells tend to focus on item iteration, study of the arcane, and enhancing either their ability to do things or their allies ability to do things. They tend to have very little spells which directly aid in combat via healing or by dealing damage.

Bard[edit]

Bard spells are usually subtle and focus on interaction far more than the spells of other classes. Few bard spells are blatantly harmful to their targets, but those that inflict damage usually inflict either thunder damage, psychic damage, or damage based on a weapon. They notably lack any spells which strongly invoke elements like ice and fire, or any spells that conjure creatures—such spells would likely clash with the bard motif.

While bards can cast protective and healing spells, the best spells in this domain are usually reserved for clerics or paladins.

Cleric[edit]

Clerics spells tend to focus on healing, exploration, and protection, with some emphasis being put on spells that relate to death and the divine. The best restorative spells are usually reserved for clerics.

Overall the class has very few damaging spells. Those which do inflict damage are usually less powerful than those available to warlocks and wizards, either because they have less range, affect a fewer number of creatures, or deal less damage outright. The few damaging spells the cleric can cast tend to deal fire, radiant, or necrotic damage.

Druid[edit]

In many ways, druid spells can be the most versatile of any spellcasting class. They can cast healing and protective spells nearly as well as a cleric, and have offensive options that are nearly as good as a wizard or sorcerer. However, the best of these spells are usually reserved for those classes. Druids have access to many exploration spells as well, but are most noticeably lacking in interaction spells—unless interacting with animals.

Although druid spells can be offensive, those that deal damage almost always do so over time. They dabble in spells that inflict cold, fire, and poison damage, but the most explosive ones are reserved for sorcerers and wizards. A druid can cast flaming sphere for example but not the more powerful fireball. In the same vein, a druid can cast healing spells but doesn't have something as potent as revivify.

Almost all spells available to druids invoke the natural world—through weather, water, plants, animals, or more esoteric phenomenon like moonlight or geological events.

Paladin[edit]

Although it has as many spell slots as a ranger, a paladin's spells are noticeably more potent than those of its counterpart. It has several damaging options, casts protective spells, and can cast many healing spells like cure wounds, but notably has very few exploration and interaction spells. What interaction and exploration spells are available usually fit into the paladin motif of truth, purity, heroism, and justice.

Perhaps most defining of paladin-exclusive spells is that they often protect or empower allies that are physically close to the paladin, such as within 30 feet. Paladins also wield many exclusive spells that can be cast as bonus actions, and empower the first weapon attack they make that hits within the duration—these spells usually have 'smite' in their name, and the Player's Handbook contains many such spells. Since smite spells require concentration, a paladin can't benefit from more than one on a given attack.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell In English

Paladin spells have a very short range, usually no more than 30 feet, or only activate when the paladin hits with a weapon attack. Compared to other spellcasting classes, paladins are very purposefully designed and encouraged to engage in melee combat instead of fighting at range.

When a paladin spell inflicts damage, it is usually radiant damage. They can dabble in other types, however, such as necrotic, psychic, thunder, and even force.

Ranger[edit]

Like druids, ranger spells often invoke the natural world, but they often do so in a manner more similar to a huntsman than a naturalist. More so than any other class, ranger spells tend to be subtle. Even their attack spells don't come across as flashy, and are usually derived from weapons the ranger wields—such as hunter's mark or conjure volley, which can be found in the Player's Handbook.

A ranger spell should virtually never be flashy or invoke obtusely magical phenomenon like a fireball or a conjured elemental. Its spells are arguably the least 'magic'-esque of all spellcasters in the SRD, as evidenced by the fact that it is the only one unable to learn spells available to literally every other spellcasting class, such as dispel magic.

Ranger spells often deal with exploration (though not with teleportation); and tracking animals, objects, or people. Several of their spells often deal with avoiding being tracked or detected, such as nondetection and silence, but they wield nothing as obtuse as invisibility.

Sorcerer[edit]

Sorcerer spells are largely defined by wizard spells. The two classes share most spells, and the few that aren't shared between them are exclusive to wizards.

If a spell is exclusive to sorcerers and not available to wizards, it will likely pertain to the class features or archetypes of the sorcerer class.

Warlock[edit]

Warlock spells are of special consideration, because unlike every other SRD class a warlock restores its spell slots after a short or long rest instead of only a long rest. Spells that could be abused if they can be cast too often, such as certain healing spells or spells with long durations, should not be made available to this class.

Fitting to its name, warlock spells are most often offensive or battle-oriented. Although they are not all blatant attacks, most of them can be used to gain the upper hand in a battle. Even when they are subtle, warlock spells are insidious—controlling the minds of others, invoking fear, or granting invisibility. The few spells a warlock wields that aren't harmful are usually spells that are common among spellcasters, such as dispel magic.

Aesthetically, warlock-exclusive spells often invoke the surreal, disturbing, or alien beings that could serve as the warlock's Otherworldly Patron. They may also invoke fey, or pertain to dreams, among other possibilities.

Wizard[edit]

Wizards have perhaps the broadest domain of any spellcasting class. They have by far the widest variety of damaging spells, but also have protective spells, interaction spells, exploration spells, and more. Just about the only thing they can't do very well is restore hit points or alleviate negative conditions.

Wizard spells, particularly ones that inflict damage, are usually long range. Wizards are generally built to avoid melee combat.

Many wizard spells are also available to sorcerers. Virtually all battle-oriented spells are shared between them, though a wizard has access to some exploration and interaction spells as well. Those that aren't shared are usually either more subtle spells that encourage more long-term planning, such as alarm and guards and wards; or they deal with knowledge and intelligence, such as feeblemind and legend lore.

One important consideration of wizard spells is that in most campaigns, some of them can be cast by an eldritch knight (a fighter archetype in the Player's Handbook) or an arcane trickster (a rogue archetype also in the PHB). Specifically, EKs can cast spells of the abjuration and evocation schools up to 4th level, while ATs can cast spells of the enchantment and illusion schools up to 4th level. Because these archetypes' spell progression is so slow and their spell slots so limited, most spells should be fine for them. The only exceptions would be ones that overwhelmingly empower or augment the class features of these classes.

Saving Throws and Attack Rolls[edit]

Buffing or nonharmful spells like cure wounds and greater invisibility don't call for saving throws. By contrast, almost every single harmful spell either requires an attack roll to have any effect, or allows a saving throw to negate or mitigate the effect. The few that are harmful but always have an effect are usually damage spells, like magic missile, or aren't really all that harmful. The following sections list each type of attack roll or saving throw; for your harmful homebrew spell consider which of these best suits the spell you are creating.

Melee spell attack[edit]

Compare to spells like inflict wounds, flame blade, and shocking grasp. If you touch the target or hit it, the bad stuff happens. It doesn't matter how willful or resilient the target is. It will pretty much have the same effect as a goblin and an ancient red dragon. A minority of spells use this, and those that do usually imitate magic weapons or are directly damaging spells like inflict wounds. Clerics and druids have these, but fancier casters like sorcerers and wizards almost always have ranged spell attacks instead.

Ranged spell attack[edit]

See spells like chill touch, chromatic orb, guiding bolt, and ray of enfeeblement. Most often these spells involve sending a visible ray, orb, bolt, or another projectile of energy to hit the target from a distance. Like melee spell attacks, spells in this category primarily deal damage. If the projectile explodes or otherwise covers an area, it would probably be a Dexterity saving throw instead.

Strength saving throw[edit]

Obviously enough, if they can mitigate the effect primarily be being strong or stalwart, this is your go-to. In the SRD Strength saves are made primarily to avoid being physically knocked prone, avoid being grappled, and avoid being flung across the battlefield. If an effect is instead mitigated by the strength of one's internal composition, such as mitigating a poison or avoiding fatigue, a Constitution save might be better.

Generally, Strength is used for, 'Opposing a force that would physically move or bind you.'

Dexterity saving throw[edit]

See spells like fireball, prismatic spray, and faerie fire. Dexterity saves are also very commonly imposed by the breath attacks of dragons and dragonborns. More often than not, a Dexterity save represents an explosion of fire, lightning, cold, or other magic that bursts in a wide area that no one in that area could realistically avoid. Succeeding on a Dexterity save in this instance represents covering one's face, hiding behind a shield, or taking as much cover as possible. Fittingly, a successful Dexterity save only halves the damage, and anyone who fails it takes the full damage.

Of course, Dexterity saves can also be imposed from spells that agility or a quick reflex could mitigate. Although a Strength save is made to avoid being physically shoved prone, a Dexterity save could be used to navigate slippery terrain without falling prone (see the grease spell).

As a guideline, Dexterity is used for, 'Dodging out of harm's way.'

Constitution saving throw[edit]

Consider spells like blindness/deafness, finger of death, levitate, poison spray, symbol, and thunderwave. Constitution saves are possibly the most common saving throw imposed by spells. Usually any spell that can only be overcome with fortitude, a strong immune system, a healthy body, or just pure gusto will be a Constitution save. Spells which deal cold damage, poison damage, or to a lesser extent necrotic damage often impose this kind of saving throw. Debilitating physical conditions such as poison, blindness, deafness, other mitigated senses, or restricted body parts often rely on a successful Constitution save to end them.

An important consideration is how much the spell affects a creature made of stone, or a mindless but sturdy creature like a cockroach. If these kinds of creatures seem like they might be particularly resistant to the spell, then a Constitution save is probably your best bet. Otherwise, you may want to consider a Wisdom saving throw, or possibly a Dexterity saving throw.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell In Spanish

At its core, Constitution saving throws are used for, 'Enduring a disease, poison, or other hazard that saps vitality.'

Intelligence saving throw[edit]

Feeblemind is the only SRD spell which calls for this kind of save, though detect thoughts calls for an Intelligence check. Psychic effects could call for this kind of save, as could any effect that relies on intelligence as opposed to willpower.

Since Intelligence is a numerical value of a creature's intellect, it should generally be used for, 'Disbelieving certain illusions and resisting mental assaults that can be refuted with logic, sharp memory, or both.'

Wisdom saving throw[edit]

See spells like charm person, dominate monster, fear, hold monster, polymorph, and scrying. Spells which affect the mind or consciousness almost always call for a Wisdom save. It is one of the most common types of saves from spells.

Wisdom is used for, 'Resisting effects that charm, frighten, or otherwise assault your willpower.'

Charisma saving throw[edit]

See spells like bane, banishment, calm emotions, dispel evil and good, divine word, hallow, and zone of truth. Charisma saves aren't terribly common, but they cover a few distinct areas that Wisdom spells otherwise would. Any spell dealing with interplanar travel, whether it is forcing it or restricting it, usually calls for a Charisma save. Anything which primarily limits or restrict a creature's capability to express itself (including deception or intimidation) likely calls for a Charisma save. Some offensive cleric spells may call for Charisma saves as well, especially those which deal with divinity or repelling undead.

The DMG states that Charisma saving throws are used for 'Withstanding effects, such as possession, that would subsume your personality or hurl you to another plane of existence.'

Balancing[edit]

The most fundamental aspect of balancing a spell is determining an appropriate level. You never want to make a spell so good that someone would be a fool to not learn it over other options.

For example, if you want to create a spell that changes the appearance of any willing creature, it should probably be higher in level than disguise self and alter self. These spells can only affect you, the caster, and can change your appearance. A spell that could change the appearance of any willing creature for a similar duration is inherently more useful than either of these spells. Thus, it should probably be a higher level, or have some kind of drawback, so it isn't always an inherently better option than either of those spells.

Damage[edit]

The adjacent table is derived from material in the Dungeon Master's Guide. If a spell has a cast time of '1 action' and a duration of Instantaneous, it should generally do damage according to its level according to the adjacent table. A spell with significant drawbacks can get away with doing a little more than the recommended damage, whereas one with powerful effects in addition to damage should probably deal less damage.

For each damage column, the first value represents ideal average damage for a spell of the given level. The value in parenthesis shows damage dice that, on average, will be equal or nearly equal to the first value. You can generally substitute any damage dice that will yield a similar average without significantly changing the spell's balance.

Note that even in the SRD, some spells defy these suggestions. This is most notable with 3rd level and 9th level spells available to sorcerers and wizards. Most classes get a boost to damage at 5th level; where many classes get an Extra Attack feature at this point, sorcerers and wizards instead get a few unusually powerful 3rd level spells like fireball. Meanwhile, these class's 9th level spells (see meteor swarm and wish) seem to follow completely different rules. When making spells for these classes at these levels, one may go a bit beyond the norms, but on D&D Wiki, homebrew spells that are greater than or equal to fireball and meteor swarm are frowned upon.

Damage over time[edit]

There are spells which can deal damage once every turn for a number of turns, and these can come in one of several different varieties. The damage dealt by these spells is still based on the damage table above.

• Stationary hazard. With this kind of spell, you create a cloud or other hazard that is fixed in space. Some examples of these are cloudkill, wall of fire, and incendiary cloud. Usually these spells require concentration. An important aspect of this spell is that it is fixed in space, so a creature will only be subject to the damage again if it doesn't remove itself from the hazard. Generally this type of spell should use the same damage as an instantaneous spell. A hazard which covers a large area or a very nuanced area might be better dealing a little less damage.

• Repeating action. This kind of spell lets you use your action to deal damage on your turn when you cast it, and lets you repeat that action on subsequent turns for the duration. Usually these spells require concentration. This kind of spell should deal half as much damage as a spell for its level, according to the Damage Table. A good example of this is flame blade. The flame blade spell lasts for a while, but each attack with it only deals an average damage of 10.5. Referencing the adjacent table, we can figure out a 2nd-level spell with a single target that does nothing on a failed attack roll should deal 21 damage. Of course, half of 21 is 10.5, meaning this is a virtually perfect amount of damage for the spell.

• Second hit. This kind of spell deals ⅔ of its damage instantaneously, then ¹/₃ of its damage at the end of the target's next turn. In the SRD, this kind of spell deals approximately as much damage as an instantaneous spell, albeit with the damage split between the two 'hits.' A good example of this is acid arrow.

• Repeating bonus action. This kind of spell is similar to repeating action, but on subsequent turns only requires a bonus action to use the effect again. Some examples include the spells arcane sword and flaming sphere. Based on these two spells, one can see at lower levels this kind of spell will deal about half as much as the recommended damage, whereas at high levels it may only deal ⅕. This difference is largely due to the fact player-characters' actions are designed to scale in damage much more rapidly than their bonus actions. As a rough guideline, this spell should deal ½ as much recommended at 1st or 2nd spell level; ¹/₃ as much at 3rd and 4th; ¼ as much at 5th and 6th; and ⅕ at levels higher than 6th.

• Automatic damage. A more powerful damage-over-time spell involves an action to cast the spell, and only requires concentration to deal damage on subsequent turns. Unless the spell level is very high, or the damage is very low, this kind of spell should afford the target(s) a saving throw every round to end the damaging effect. There are no spells in the SRD which fall into this category, and the only one in the Player's Handbook which does is searing smite, which only deals 1d6 damage and can be ended by any creature that uses its action to douse the fire. Suffice to say any spell which does automatic damage over time should have very low damage output compared to other spells of similar level.
  

Smite damage[edit]

Paladins have an array of spells which deal damage, but follow a different and distinct pattern. Casting one of these 'smite' spells only requires a bonus action, lasts for 1 minute with concentration; if you hit with a weapon attack while it lasts, the spell does extra damage on top of that weapon attack, and then usually the spell ends.

This kind of spell has numerous benefits. A bonus action cast instead of an action cast means it has much less weight on your action economy. Triggering only on a weapon attack that hits mean the spell slot is rarely if ever wasted, as even if you miss the attack roll the spell is still there waiting for your next hit. Because of all these benefits, a paladin's smite spell usually deals much less damage on a hit compared to a normal damaging spell cast by a sorcerer or warlock.

Based on the paladin's Divine Smite feature, we can see a guideline for a smite is 9 (2d8) damage at 1st level, and an extra 1d8 for each level after this, to a maximum of 22.5 (5d8) damage. All smite spells in the Player's Handbook deal less damage than this feature, but trade that extra damage for benefits such as knocking the creature prone or making it frightened.

Smite spells are intentionally designed to be low in level, and don't scale to the extent normal damage spells do. Weapon damage and spell damage both scale as player levels increase, and consequently giving a character full progression in both domains can result in an overpowered character. Even with 5th level spell slots, a paladin is unable to outright deal more than 5d8 damage with any smite.

Hit point restoration[edit]

The damage table isn't as fine-tuned for this purpose, but you can use it as a rough estimate of how many hit points should be restored by a healing spell. Healing spells towards the lower end should restore a little bit less than the table suggests (see cure wounds), while those towards the high end should restore a little bit more (see heal).

According to the Dungeon Master's Guide, a cantrip shouldn't offer healing.

Effect duration[edit]

As a general guideline, the longer a spell's effect lasts, the weaker the effect should be.

This is most notable with spells that impose debilitating conditions, such as poisoned or stunned. Almost every spell that imposes disadvantage on attack rolls, or advantage on attack rolls against the target (or a condition that does so) affords the target creature a free saving throw on each of its turns to end the effect. If a spell inflicts a condition like this and doesn't afford regular saving throws, it should generally be at least 6th level.

By comparison, a spell that reduces speed or restricts reactions isn't considered as debilitating. Such a spell might require the target use an action to attempt a saving throw to end the effect, or in extreme cases not even afford a saving throw.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell New

Concentration[edit]

Far more often than not, a spell with a duration of more than instantaneous calls for concentration. 'Debuffing' spells, in particular, should virtually always call for concentration.

Duration increments[edit]

Almost every spell that isn't instantaneous lasts for one of the following time periods:

• 1 round (until the start of your next turn)
• 1 minute (one encounter)
• 10 minutes (one exploration period including one encounter)
• 1 hour (a quick dungeon crawl)
• 8 hours (practically all day)
• 24 hours (until you cast this spell again tomorrow)
• Permanent / Until dispelled

There are very few reasons to make a spell with a lasting effect which doesn't fall into one of these periods of time. Using a different increment of time will generally make the spell more difficult to remember accurately, and thus more difficult to use.

Range and area of effect[edit]

Spells with an unusually long range or a particularly wide area of effect can make up for lesser effects somewhat.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell List

Likewise, a spell that is particularly strong for a class that has it probably should have a small range or only affect one target. This is perhaps most noticeable with inflict wounds; it is one of the most damaging spells for its level available to a cleric, but it has a range of only touch.

Consider multiclass balance[edit]

In a typical campaign, cantrips and 1st-level spells are not inherently exclusive to one class. Some races such as elves can gain cantrips regardless of their class, and the Magic Initiate feat (PH, pg. 168) lets anyone pick up two cantrips and a 1st-level spell. Aside from this, a player-character is usually allowed to multiclass into a class like wizard or cleric to pick up cantrips and spells, which can augment their capabilities in another class.

For most spells, this isn't problematic, but it can sometimes be disastrous. For example, a wizard cantrip that improves the damage of your unarmed strike might seem balanced at first glance, but consider: a high elf can take that cantrip as a racial feature at 1st level, then start off in the monk class. A monk already has strong unarmed strikes, and can make more unarmed strikes per turn than other classes. This could easily snowball into an unintentionally overpowered option.

Casting ability[edit]

Ideally, every spell uses a casting ability in one subtle but important way. As a general guideline, it should be less vital than an ability score for weapon attacks. An attack with a longsword, for example, adds Strength to both the attack roll and the damage roll. By contrast, an attack with a fire bolt spell only adds casting ability to the attack roll.

Avoid overusing the casting ability. If a spell imposes a spell attack or a saving throw, then the casting ability has already been used once. It shouldn't be added again, such as to the spell's damage. Casting ability should never be so vital that it could alter the appropriate level of a spell; for example shield of faith uses a flat +2 bonus because the difference between a +0 and a +5 bonus to AC is far too large.

Dmg Guidelines For Creating A Spell Free

When feasible, you should also avoid under-using the casting ability. A Wisdom-based spell should be at least a little better if you cast it with 20 Wisdom instead of 7 Wisdom. Cure wounds doesn't have an attack roll or a saving throw, but it still makes use of casting ability in a way that is significant to that spell. It isn't always feasible to implement casting ability in a way that works well, however; this is especially true for nonharmful, nonhealing spells like mage armor and lesser restoration. It's better to not use a casting ability than to use it poorly.